Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian Muslims protested Sunday in Jakarta against US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the latest global show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Demonstrators – many in white Islamic robes and skullcaps – gathered outside the US embassy in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country to vent their anger against the unilateral decision.

Protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners saying "We are with the Palestinians" and "Pray for Palestine".

The rally in Indonesia's capital drew a crowd of at least 5,000 people, police said.

Trump's move on Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital upended decades of American diplomacy, causing an overwhelming global diplomatic backlash and sparking Palestinian protests and clashes with Israeli security forces.

The status of Jerusalem is deeply sensitive for Muslims, and protesters have taken to the streets in cities across the world following the policy shift.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Thursday he "condemned" Trump's decision on Jerusalem, and ordered the US ambassador in Jakarta to be summoned over the move.

The Islamist Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS – which organized the Jakarta rally and several others around the country – slammed Trump's decision as a declaration of "hostility to Muslims throughout the world."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/10/thousands-protest-in-jakarta-against-trumps-jerusalem-move-.html

Protesters rally against Trump's Israel decision at US embassy

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2017

Jakarta – Hundreds of people staged a rally on Friday in front of the United States Embassy in Central Jakarta to protest US President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

"We condemn the statement because Jerusalem is not the Israeli capital, [Jerusalem] is the capital of Palestine," one of the protesters said aloud. The rally lasted for two hours in the afternoon, involving at least 200 protesters.

National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said that to anticipate any turmoil, Jakarta Police had deployed hundreds of its personnel to guard the rally. He added that the police had also cooperated with the person in charge of the rally to make sure that the protest remained peaceful.

"What we do is to communicate between the police and the protesters so that we know what they want," Martinus said as quoted by kompas.com.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had previously said Indonesia denounced the US' unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, as the unilateral decision violated Security Council resolutions concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (vny)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/08/protesters-rally-against-trumps-israel-decision-at-us-embassy.html

Protests erupt in Indonesia, Malaysia over Trump's Jerusalem plan

Asian Correspondent - December 8, 2017

Anti-American protests have taken place in Muslim-majority Southeast Asian states of Indonesia and Malaysia against United States President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel.

Several thousand protesters marched to the US embassies in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur on Friday, following strong official condemnation of Trump's decision from their respective governments earlier in the week.

"We're standing here in the name of justice and humanity. We've gathered to defend our Palestinian brothers and sisters," said one rally leader in Jakarta as quoted by Reuters. Some wore checkered scarves and waved Palestinian flags, while others shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great).

Water cannons were on standby at the site, but the rally was peaceful and the number of demonstrators appeared far lower than the 500 to 1,000 police had anticipated.

On Wednesday, Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo tweeted that the world's largest Muslim-majority nation "strongly condemned the unilateral recognition" of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

"The people of Indonesia are consistently with the Palestinians in their fight for independence and their rights," he said. Jokowi later urged the United States to reconsider its decision and instructed his foreign minister to summon the US ambassador for an explanation.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said this week that "Indonesia clearly expressed its deep concern over the issue of the status of Jerusalem."

"Any change in the status of Jerusalem will endanger the peace process and peace itself," she said as quoted by the state Antara News agency. At the 10th Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday, Retno appeared wearing a Palestinian-style scarf.

Indonesia has been a long-running supporter of the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and there have been demonstrations in support of the Palestinians in recent years.

But one protester named Yuddy Kurniawan told Reuters on Friday he was not satisfied with his government's response to the US decision. "Jokowi can be tougher and call for a boycott of American products for instance," he said.

In Kuala Lumpur, meanwhile, protesters shouting anti-US slogans and burning an effigy of Trump. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday called on Muslims worldwide to strongly oppose any recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

A statement from the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country was "extremely concerned" with Trump's announcement, which it said would increase the risk of terrorism.

Recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was "aggression not only against the Arab and Islamic Ummah, but are also infringements on the rights of Muslims and Christians alike," it said.

On Friday, leaders from the ruling party United Malay National Organisation and the right-wing Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, both of which represent majority, ethnic-Malay Muslims, led the rally of several thousand people.

"Mr President, this is an illegal announcement. Jerusalem is an occupied territory," Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin said through a loud hailer towards the embassy. The protesters later dispersed peacefully.

Trump said on Wednesday the United States would move its embassy to Jerusalem in the coming years.

Protests have erupted in the West Bank and the Gaza strip as the Islamist group Hamas urged Palestinians to launch a fresh uprising against Israel.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognised internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek.

[Additional reporting from Reuters.]

Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/12/jerusalem-protest-malaysia-indonesia/

Indonesian political parties, FPI call for boycott of America over

Coconuts Jakarta - December 8, 2017

The decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and eventually move the US Embassy to the heavily disputed city has had major political ramifications throughout the world, including Indonesia.

Trump's Jerusalem decision was sharply criticized by just about every major Indonesian politician, from President Joko Widodo to deputy house speaker and (former) Trump fanboy Fadli Zon. But beyond words of condemnation, there are also several Indonesian political factions now calling for the country to actively boycott US products to punish Trump's actions.

"The people have a way of (showing their condemnation) on their own. So let the people do so by boycotting American and Israeli products," said Reni Marlinawati, chairperson of the United Development Party (PPP) during a session at the House of Representatives yesterday as quoted by Kumparan.

The PPP faction was joined in their call for Trump's decision to be punished politically and economically by the National Mandate Party (PAN). PAN Vice Chairman Hanafi Rais said Trump's decision "hurt the hearts of Muslims around the world", especially Indonesia in Indonesia, and encouraged Muslims here and around the world to boycott American products.

Hanafi went even further, arguing that the Indonesian government should end cooperation with the United States over the Jerusalem decision. "Conduct an embargo of cooperation for this insult to Islamic nations," he said yesterday as quoted by Tribun.

Unsurprisingly, Indonesia's most outspoken Islamic hardliner organization, the infamous Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) also called for a boycott America. FPI spokesperson Slamet Maarif said a mass boycott would hurt US economic growth and provide a deterrent effect by showing that the American economy could be influenced by Muslims in Indonesia.

"It would give a lesson to the US, that they might be aware that the US economy can also be affected by Muslims," Slamet told CNN Indonesia today. The FPI has also demanded that President Joko Widodo sever ties with the US and expel the country's ambassador from Indonesia.

US ambassador Joseph Donovan was called to meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi yesterday to clarify the US government's position on Israel and he reiterated that the US remained committed to the peace process despite Trump's controversial decision.

Donovan was forced to issue another clarification today after an earlier embassy release stated that the US government had actually consulted with Indonesia before making the Jerusalem decision, an error he blamed on a mistranslation.

Jerusalem is one of the most fiercely contested cities in the world, owing to millennia-old disputes between religions over the region. The city is the holiest site in Judaism as well as being home to one of the three sacred mosques in Islam, the Madjid al-Aqsa. Politically, both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem to be their capital, though neither claim has so far been widely recognized internationally.

Indonesia enjoys strong diplomatic relations with Palestine – Indonesia being one of the first countries to recognize the struggling Islamic nation as an independent state.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/indonesian-political-parties-fpi-call-boycott-america-trumps-decision-recognize-jerusalem-israeli-capital/

West Papua

Lawyer says U.S. responsible for dark history of Papua

Tempo - December 13, 2017

M Yusuf Manurung, Jakarta – Human rights lawyer Veronica Koman said that the United States is also responsible for the dark history of Papua recorded in the U.S. declassified files.

"The United States knew about violations of the right to self-determination and war crimes in Papua, but it did nothing," she said.

Veronica said that the U.S. failed to address the frauds in a referendum (Perpera) in 1969. Having brokered the New York Agreement on August 15, 1962, leading to the Pepera, the U.S. did not oversee its implementation.

Based on the New York Agreement that was agreed by the UN, the U.S., the Netherlands and Indonesia, the Pepera adopted the one man, one vote system. In reality, Veronica said, the referendum only involved 1,220 out of 800,000 then-Papua population.

"They turned a blind eye," she said. Moreover, the U.S. also ignored the massacre of Papuans in 1967 as stated in the declassified files. The Indonesian military also allegedly committed gross human rights violations as retaliation for the attack against two of its personnel by Papuans.

The declassified U.S. files say that Papuans asked the U.S. favor to fund and arm them against the Indonesian military in mid-1960. The files also recorded Papuan grievances about clashes with Indonesian security forces. Papuan nationalists have caught the attention of the United Nations (UN).

As for Indonesia, Veronica considers the declassified US files on the history of the Papua independence struggle as a gift for Indonesia. The files reopened one of Indonesia's dark pasts, especially regarding human rights violation.

She argues that the issue is similar to the alleged human rights violation of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) massacre on September 30, 1965. "The files' disclosure means that Indonesia has two historical issues that must be solved," she said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/13/055914053/Lawyer-Says-US-Responsible-for-Dark-History-of-Papua

Asian Church group raises concerns after Papua visit

Radio New Zealand International - December 13, 2017

A group from the Christian Conference of Asia has reported about a pattern of severe human rights violations in Indonesia's Papua region, known as West Papua.

After a visit to Indonesian-controlled West Papua, the Conference said the indigenous Papuans face "grave human rights violations and repression... in their own home land".

Last week's visit was part of the organisation's support for churches and people in vulnerable situations.

The Conference said its three-member pastoral solidarity team spent four days in West Papua with an "intensive" programme of visits and meetings.

It says West Papuans told the delegation about on-going repression and systematic human rights violations, including the passing of laws that suppress freedom of speech and freedom of association.

According to the Conference, people in West Papua spoke of the growing concern at the impunity for human rights abuses enjoyed by the police and the military.

The Christian Conference of Asia includes 17 national councils and more than 100 churches in 21 countries.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/346143/asian-church-group-raises-concerns-after-papua-visit

Papua, Mimika most prone to security disruptions in 2018 regional

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – Papua and Mimika have been categorized as two among 171 regions participating in the 2018 regional elections that are most prone to security disruptions.

"In the provincial election category, Papua is considered the most vulnerable, followed by Maluku and West Kalimantan," said Papua Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) head Peggy Wattimena in Jayapura on Tuesday.

"In the regency election category, Mimika is the most vulnerable regency, followed by Paniai and Jayawijaya. Both are in Papua province," she went on.

Friets Edward Siregar, from the Bawaslu headquarters in Jakarta, said three indicators had been used to measure the vulnerability level of a region in the 2018 election.

"They are the condition of contestation in those regions, the implementation of elections in the previous years and voter participation in previous elections," he said.

"The vulnerability is closely related to whether candidates had prioritized programs or just highlighted ethnic sentiments in their campaigns in the previous elections, to whether the election organizers had violated ethics and to whether the elections were marred with turmoil," he added.

Friets further said in the 2017 regional elections, out of a total 11 participating regencies and municipalities, only one region had no dispute that had to be settled at the Constitutional Court.

Unrest in last year's elections resulted in 11 deaths, 77 injured victims, and the several offices being burned down.

Meanwhile, the Papua Police categorized four regions in the Pegunungan Tengah region, namely Puncak, Deiyai, Paniai and Mimika, as most prone to turmoil in 2018 because many armed groups reside in those areas. (nmn/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/papua-mimika-most-prone-to-security-disruptions-in-2018-regional-elections.html

Declassified US files about Papua a gift for Indonesia

Tempo - December 12, 2017

M Yusuf Manurung, Jakarta – Human Rights lawyer Veronica Koman considers the declassified US files on the history of the Papua independence struggle as a gift for Indonesia.

"This is a gift for Indonesia as a nation, which means that it is a historical political debt that must be solved," Veronica told Tempo on Tuesday, December 12.

According to Veronica, the documents issued by the US reopened one of Indonesia's dark pasts, especially regarding human rights violation. She argues that it is similar to the alleged human rights violation of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) massacre in September 30, 1965.

"The files' declassification means that Indonesia has two historical debts that must be solved," she said.

The Papua independence struggle files state that in 1967, before the Pepera referendum, Indonesian military forces conducted a human rights violation by massacring 1,000-2,000 indigenous Papuans. The massacre was said to be retaliation after two Indonesian military personnel were injured by Papuans.

"They shot on Papuans who walked past, that is clearly a war crime," said Veronica.

The US files also suggest that in 1960, the people of Papua asked the United States to fund Papuans with firearms to fight the Indonesian military. The files also documented the complaints of Papuans clashing with the Indonesian security forces.

Veronica hopes that the Indonesian government will be able to solve the case if it truly contains elements of human rights violation. She also suggests that the government must publicly apologize for past mistakes. She argues that the root cause of the conflicts in Papua can be traced back to the exact conflict.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician and member of House of Representatives Charles Honoris said that society does not need to overreact in responding to the declassified files on Papua. He reasons that the files are packed with subjective views of the US Government in Indonesia at the time.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/12/055914039/Declassified-US-Files-about-Papua-a-Gift-for-Indonesia

US discloses documents on Papua independence struggle

Tempo - December 11, 2017

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The United States has disclosed documents on Papua independence struggle. The documents say that Papuans asked for U.S. funding and armed them to fight Indonesian military in mid-1960.

The documents also recorded Papuan grievances about clashes with Indonesian security forces. Papuan nationalists have caught the attention of the United Nations (UN).

Researchers are currently trying to serve the documents online. AP reported that the dossier contains thousands of diplomatic telegrams between the U.S. State Department and Embassy in Jakarta. The documents recorded history from 1960 and were declassified early this year. Thirty-seven boxes of telegrams are stored at the National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland.

The documents say that around 1,000 Papuans were cheated out of their rights as citizens to vote to strengthen Indonesia's foothold in 1969. Before the annexation, the Netherlands had said that it would allow Papuans to prepare for their own government. In 1967, the U.S. government assisted mining company Freeport to exploit rich mining and gold deposit in Papua.

In April 1966, the documents transmitted by telegraph cable between the State Department and the U.S. Embassy recorded the "eloquence and intensity" of Markus Kaisiepo, an exiled Papuan leader. Kaisiepo talked with U.S. senior official on the plight of Papuans under the Indonesian rule.

Kaisiepo said that Papuans were striving for independence, but they lack financial resources and military equipment to fight the Indonesian government. He asked whether the U.S. government could lend a hand.

The request was rejected just like a similar request from another Papuan leader Nicolaas Jouwe. His request for funding and firearms to the U.S. and Australia was denied.

The documents also show how Indonesian government officials looted Papua after Indonesia seized the region in 1962. It has left the region with a collapse in living standards, sparking anger that boiled over into outright rebellion.

But the most notable issue to the international community is the Indonesian government's reluctance to uphold a settlement signed with the Netherlands brokered by the U.S. and the UN. The settlement holds that West Papuan holds the right to self-determination.

Victor Yeimo, leader of pro-independence West Papua National Committee, said that the documents are 'very important' because they provide evidence of crimes against Papuans by Indonesian military and the United States' role in denying their rights to self-determination.

Victor said that the U.S. economic and political interests played a major role in West Papua colonization. Information gained from these documents shows the world and today's generation that the U.S. and Indonesia have been hand-in-hand in hiding the truth all along," Yeimo was quoted as saying by AP.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/11/055914014/us-discloses-documents-on-papua-independence-struggle

Students' movement held silent protest remembering 'Paniai Berdarah'

Tabloid JUBI - December 11, 2017

Jayapura, Jubi – Commemorates the Bloody Paniai tragedy on December 8, 2014, four students and youth organizations: Papuan Youth and Student Movement (GEMPAR), Student Independent Forum (FIM), West Papua Student and Youth Solidarity (Sonamappa) and Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), staged a silent action by walking from Perumnas III Waena to Imbi Jayapura City, on Friday (December 8),in Jayapura.

Representative of Gempar Papua, Nelius Wenda, said that the case should not be forgotten, and that their movement is part of "refuse to forget" movement. Therefore, the action continues to be done as a sense of grief. "We commemorate it by doing silent action and walking," he said.

He continued, the people of Papua are still grieving as perceived by the families of the victims. "Today the judicial process to unveil the perpetrators, has not worked, and even the promise of Indonesian President on Christmas 2014 in Mandala field is not well realized," he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman I of Sonamappa, Pilipus Robaha, said the action they held is aimed for those in office to not forget the case.

"We want the legislators, law enforcement agencies in Papua, not to forget the Paniai case it is a very heartbreaking for Papuans, since it happens when Papuans are preparing themselves to welcome Christmas. "

FIM Secretary General, Alex Mujijau, demand for more democratic space for Papuans. "Let us deliver the cases of human rights violations to be known internationally," he said.(*)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/students-movement-held-silent-protest-remembering-paniai-berdarah/

Files show birth of Papua independence struggle

Washington Post - December 10, 2017

Jakarta, Indonesia – Prominent Papuans pleaded for the U.S. to give them money and arms in the mid-1960s to fight Indonesia's colonization of their vast remote territory, according to recently declassified American files that show the birth of an independence struggle that endures half a century later.

The documents add to the historical evidence of deep Papuan grievances against Indonesia at a time when clashes between rebels and Indonesian security forces have flared in the impoverished region and Papuan nationalists have succeeded in drawing more attention to their cause at the United Nations. Indonesia's defense minister said last week that activists who attended a recent pro-Papuan independence meeting in Vanuatu should be arrested on return to Indonesia.

The files are among the thousands of pages of cables between the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta from the 1960s that were declassified earlier this year. The 37 boxes of telegrams are stored at the National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland and researchers are working on making them available online.

Papua, which makes up the western half of the giant island of New Guinea, remained in Dutch hands after Indonesia shook off colonial rule at the end of World War II. Many Indonesians saw their government's campaign in the early 1960s to take Papua from the Dutch as the final victory in their struggle for independence. But to Papuans, with a Melanesian culture and history distinct from Southeast Asia, Indonesia was a hostile colonizer.

The rest of the world looked away as a rigged vote of a little more than 1,000 hand-picked and closely managed Papuans cemented Indonesia's control in 1969. The Netherlands, which before annexation was preparing Papua for self-rule, did not object. The U.S., which in 1967 helped American mining company Freeport secure rights to exploit rich copper and gold deposits in Papua, did not want to upset a status quo favorable for U.S. business or destabilize Indonesia's pro-U.S. government.

An April 1966 cable from the State Department recorded the "eloquence and intensity" of Markus Kaisiepo, an exiled Papuan leader, who spoke with a senior U.S. official about the "desperate plight of the Papua people under Indonesian rule."

Kaisiepo said Papuans were determined to have independence but were completely without financial resources or the military equipment needed to "rise against the Indonesian oppressors."

Kaisiepo, whose son would also become a prominent advocate for Papuan independence, asked if the U.S. "could provide money and arms secretly to assist him and his movement." He was rebuffed, as was another Papuan leader, Nicolaas Jouwe, who made a similar request to the U.S. in September 1965 and also to Australia.

The documents also show how officials looted the region after Indonesia annexed it in 1962 and brought about a collapse in living standards, stoking anger that boiled over into outright rebellion. But the biggest source of resentment was Indonesia's reluctance to honor its U.N.-supervised and U.S.-brokered treaty with the Netherlands, which mandated that Papuans would decide in a plebiscite whether to stay with Indonesia or become self-ruled.

After U.N. troops left Papua, Indonesians systematically looted public buildings and sent the booty to Jakarta, the April 1966 cable said, citing Kaisiepo. Hospitals built by the Dutch were stripped of beds, X-ray equipment and medicines, desks were taken from schools and soldiers stole anything "that took their fancy" from private homes.

Other cables citing American missionaries working in Papua described widespread food shortages, and how Indonesian officials bought up all consumer goods and shipped them out of Papua for a profit. When shipments of goods and food arrived at ports, Indonesian troops would commandeer them.

Victor Yeimo, chairman of the pro-Independence West Papuan National Committee, said the documents are "very important" because they provide evidence of crimes against Papuans by the Indonesian military and the U.S. role in denying self-determination. Administratively, Indonesia divides the region into two provinces, Papua and West Papua, but Papuans refer to both as West Papua.

"Information gained from these documents shows the world and today's generation that the U.S. and Indonesia have been hand-in-hand in hiding the truth all along. The economic and political interests of the U.S. played a big role in West Papua's colonization," Yeimo said. "We, West Papuans, have been butchered since Indonesia first entered our land and up to now. And we have never seen any justice."

Papuans were not without supporters in the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta but their views did not prevail. In August 1965, the embassy's political officer Edward E. Masters recommended the department leak word of violent uprisings against Indonesia's rule in Papua to the world press. Without the glare of publicity, Papuans would suffer "complete colonial subjugation" by Indonesia, he wrote in a prescient cable.

Citing the U.S. role in negotiating the 1962 treaty between the Netherlands and Indonesia, Masters wrote "we would appear to have a special responsibility to see that the terms of that treaty concerning ascertainment of the true wishes of the Papuan people are respected."

Another cable written by Ambassador Marshall Green, however, described Papuans as "stone-age" people. Their "horizons are strictly limited," it said, and they weren't capable of deciding their own future, contradicting other assessments by the embassy of Papuans' widespread desire for independence.

Word of violent uprisings, which began about March 1965, began trickling out of Papua as American missionaries who were working in the region visited Jakarta and embassy officials tapped sources in the Indonesian military for information.

In June 1965, rebels launched a full-scale attack on a government post in the town of Wamena that killed at least a dozen Indonesian soldiers and an unknown number of Papuans.

"No figure on the number of Papuans killed is available but one informant described it as a 'slaughter,' since almost the only weapons in the hands of the highland Papuans were knives and bows and arrows," said a cable sent two months later.

The same document reported that rebels overran most of Manokwari, a major coastal town, in early August and held it for a week until beaten back by Indonesian soldiers.

A massacre by Indonesian forces the previous month may have been a catalyst for that attack. A Dutch missionary told U.S. officials that rebels had shot three soldiers raising a flag in a valley near Manokwari in late July.

"Indo reaction was brutal," said a cable transmitted in September 1965. "Soldiers next day sprayed bullets at any Papuan in sight and many innocent travelers on roads gunned down. Bitterness thus created not easily healed."

By early 1967, there were persistent rumors within Indonesia and abroad that 1,000 to 2,000 Papuans had been killed by an Indonesian air force bombing campaign.

The Indonesian government denied it, asserting instead that 40 tribesmen were killed in "strafing" runs by an air force bomber in response to an ambush of paramilitary police, according to an April 1967 cable. The number of police wounded in the ambush: two.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/apnewsbreak-files-show-birth-of-papua-independence-struggle/2017/12/10/81cfa50a-de0f-11e7-b2e9-8c636f076c76_story.html

Self-determination resistance continues in West Papua

The Malay Mail - December 8, 2017

Roshni Kapur – The province of West Papua continues to be shrouded in secrecy from the rest of the world.

West Papua's struggle for independence from the Indonesian government has been simmering for half a century. The conflict has received little media coverage since the Indonesian government has managed to block and censor information. The government has also implemented a policy that bars foreign journalists from entering West Papua, hence preventing stories of human rights violations from being reported and reaching the outside world.

West Papua was the only territory of the East Indies Empire which the Dutch did not give to Indonesia. In 1961, the Dutch formed a national assembly and the Morning Star flag was hoisted declaring its independence. Soon after, Indonesia invaded West Papua with the military support of the Soviet Union.

The US intervened by brokering the New York Agreement without consulting or involving the indigenous people. The agreement gave Indonesia interim control of West Papua until the 1969 Act of Free Choice, a UN-sponsored referendum to vote for either independence or integration will be held. Instead of holding a universal referendum, only one per cent of the population was handpicked to vote. Those selected by the authorities were intimidated with force which resulted in a unanimous vote that was in favour of joining Indonesia.

Although the outcome of the referendum was unopposed around that time, many West Papuans think that their mandate was not taken into account on whether they want to be a part of Indonesia. The Indonesian government wrests their control of West Papua through the New York agreement.

The West Papua resistance is the most protracted conflict in the Pacific which is a highly sensitive issue for Indonesia. Almost 500,000 people have been killed since Indonesia's annexation in 1969. The province is the most heavily militarised place of Indonesia with around 45,000 military personnel currently deployed. In 2012, security forces deployed in Wamena ambushed civilians and burned down houses and vehicles. The violence continued where in May 2015 some 487 activists were arrested for taking part in the signature-raising campaign, where some were subjected to torture.

Jokowi's administration

There have been high hopes that the incumbent Indonesian president Joko Widodo may bring in new reforms on Indonesia's policy towards West Papua. He granted release to five West Papuan inmates and removed restrictions on international media during his visit to the province in May 2015.

"The Jokowi administration has been trying to improve the human rights, economic, and security conditions in Papua," DrIkrar Nusa Bhakti, a research professor at the Research Centre for Politics was quoted in an online article on ABC.

"Mr Jokowi has visited Papua four times and become the first Indonesian president (to) spend his time and attentions on Papua," he added.

Although Widodo has tried to pacify Melanesian leaders that Indonesia upholds democracy, the police continue to use unrestrained force on West Papua.

The UN now faces regional pressure to probe the alleged human rights violations in West Papua. In March 2017, seven Pacific countries, led by Vanuatu, pushed for an UN inquiry into the alleged human rights abuses such as extrajudicial executions, fatal shootings and beatings of nonviolent protesters.

The appeal on behalf of the seven states was made by Vanuatu's Justice Minister Ronald Warsal during a session in the UN Human Rights Council who requested for a detailed report from the high commissioner for human rights.

"To date the Government of Indonesia has not been able to curtail or halt these various and widespread violations," he said.

"Neither has that Government been able to deliver justice for the victims. Nor has there been any noticeable action to address these violations by the Indonesian Government," he added.

In response, Indonesia has denied that human rights abuses are rife in West Papua and criticised the countries for meddling into its affairs.

"The Indonesian Government has always endeavoured to address any allegation of human rights violation as well as taking preventative measures and delivering justice," an Indonesian Government spokesperson told the Human Rights Council.

Some think that chances remain slim for an UN supervised referendum without approval from the Indonesian government who is ferociously against holding another referendum. West Papua's mandate for liberation is the government's biggest nightmare.

"The TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) has made very clear it will not allow it, and no president has sufficient political will or capital to push it that hard," Damien Kingsbury, Professor of International Politics at Deakin University in Melbourne was quoted in an online article on Pasifik News.

On the other hand, others think that the heightened awareness from the unwavering and persisted self-determination struggle may be a positive step.

"We need to look at what the movement has been able to achieve in recent years in terms of raising the profile of this issue not just in our region but across the world," said Tess Newton Cain, political analyst from the Vanuatu-based TNC Consulting.

High-profile politicians such as Britain's opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn have also backed the resistance movement, calling for a political strategy for West Papuans.

"It's about a political strategy that brings to worldwide recognition the plight of the people of West Papua, that forces it onto a political agenda, that forces it to the UN, and ultimately allows the people of West Papua to make a choice about the kind of government they want and the kind of society in which they want to live," he said during a meeting of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua at the House of Commons in the UK.

The mountainous region, comprising the provinces of Papua and West Papua, is home to more than 250 Melanesian ethnic groups. The tribes have not shown any inclination to join Indonesia, a country with which there is no common culture, history, ethnicity or religion. West Papuans belong to the Melanesian race. In 2007, the province's name changed from West Irian Jaya to West Papua to fulfil the aspirations of the indigenous people.

Indonesia's sovereignty of West Papua is recognised by most countries including the US and Australia. Australia has said that Indonesia's rule over the region Papua provinces is defined by the 2006 Lombok Treaty. However, many Pacific island countries think that another referendum should be held to decide West Papua's sovereignty.

The province is a poverty-stricken region even though it is one of the most mineral-rich areas in the world. According to the Australian Institute of International Affairs, the poverty level in the province is thrice more than Indonesia's national average.

Indeed secession movements against an occupation are a tall order where the propensity of achieving full secession is grim. The self-determination resistance will continue until West Papuans are not given the freedom of choice to decide about their political future. Getting outsiders involved in the movement might be one way to push for democratic reform that will restore the dignity, freedom and respect for them.

[Roshni Kapur graduated from the University of Sydney where she specialised in Master of Peace and Conflict Studies. Her research interests are in the areas of women's rights, civil society, and migration, conflict transformation and reconciliation. This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represents the views of Malay Mail Online.]

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/self-determination-resistance-continues-in-west-papua-roshni-kapur#1CAJTWrbr27HMGhD.97

Students march in Papua to mark 3 years since bloody Paniai shootings

Tabloid JUBI - December 8, 2017

David Sobolim, Jayapura – Scores of students from Solidarity Against Forgetting the Student Shootings Case in Paniai Regency have held a march from the Waena hosing estate to the Imbi Park in Jayapura, West Papua.

During the action they handed out leaflets containing demands for a full investigation in the bloody Paniai shootings which occurred three years ago on December 8, 2014.

"Our action today is to remember the student shooting case in Paniai on December 8, 2014", action coordinator Nelius Wenda told Tabloid JUBI on Friday.

Nelius said that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had promised to resolve the shooting which resulted in the death of four students in Paniai. "But to this day who the perpetrators are has not been revealed nor has there been any legal process", added Nelius.

According to Nelius, the Paniai shootings were a gross human rights violation that must be resolved. Unfortunately President Widodo's promise to the Papuan people was a false one and has never been followed up.

"The Paniai case has not been able to be resolved by the state even though it has already been three years", he said.

Solidarity Against Forgetting the Student Shootings Case in Paniai Regency is pushing for the formation of an ad hoc team to investigate the case.

This demand was conveyed to the Papuan Regional House of Representatives (DPRP) and the Papuan representative office of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM). They also held a public discussion on the incident.

Ogai Mumiyau, the chairperson of the Independent Student Forum (FIM) which also supported the march, said that the FIM has been handing out leaflets to remind the public about the shootings.

"The government has been incapable of solving the Paniai case. We are calling on the state to open access to foreign journalists [to West Papua] so that they are free to cover the news so the world will know", said Ogai.

In addition to the Paniai case, Ogai said that there still sill several other important cases that have yet to be resolved. These include, among others, the Biak, Wasior and Wamena cases. "All of them have resulted in the loss of life", he said (*)

Notes

On December 8, 2014 five students were killed and 17 others seriously injured when police and military attacked and shot at local residents in Paniai regency. Only July 6, 1998 scores of people in Biak Island's main town were wounded, arrested or killed while staging a peaceful demonstration calling for independence. Some were shot on the spot while many others were taken onto naval boats and dumped at sea. On June 13, 2001 a number of civilians from dozens of villages were killed and tortured in Wasior during a joint police and military operation following a break-in at a military arsenal in which five police officers were killed by unknown attackers. On April 4, 2003 at least nine people were killed and scores tortured and arrested during military sweeps on villages in Wamena after a raid on a military armoury which was blamed on Free Papua Movement rebels.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa gelar aksi melawan lupa pelanggaran HAM".]

Source: https://tabloidjubi.com/artikel-12180-mahasiswa-gelar-aksi-melawan-lupa-pelanggaran-ham–.html

Human rights & justice

Activists slam Jokowi for lip service on human rights cases

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been criticized for claiming that resolving past human rights violations was still part of his administration's agenda, despite having failed to take any concrete measures in the matter.

Jokowi made the statement at an event commemorating International Human Rights Day on Sunday, but his comment was dismissed by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) as "diplomatic language."

At the event, which was held in Surakarta, Central Java, Jokowi admitted that resolving past human rights violations was not an easy task.

Kontras further criticized the President for his lack of sincerity in truly resolving the atrocities, which was part of his platform for the 2014 presidential campaign.

"[His statements] were nothing more than diplomatic language and political communication aimed at winning public sympathy," Kontras said in a statement on Tuesday.

In direct contrast to his promise, Jokowi has appointed several figures allegedly involved in past human rights violations as key members of his cabinet.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, for example, is a retired military general who allegedly played a key role in facilitating military violence against civilians during the referendum of East Timor, now Timor Leste, in 1999.

In his current post, Wiranto oversees the work of related ministries and government institution tasked with handling past abuse cases, like the Attorney General's Office, (AGO) which also remains sluggish in the matter, rights activists claim. (ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/activists-slam-jokowi-for-lip-service-on-human-rights-cases.html

Half of cases of violence in N. Sumatra involved police, TNI: Kontras

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2017

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has reported that half of the cases of violence in North Sumatra this year involved members of the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

The commission recorded 118 incidents of violence as of December, 59 of which were allegedly perpetrated by police and military personnel.

"Protecting human rights in North Sumatra remains a challenge to this day," Kontras spokesperson Amin Multazam said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The commission said police officers were involved in 39 cases while the rest implicated TNI members. Members of Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) were also culpable in 10 cases of violence this year.

In August, a police officer identified as Chief Brig. Fadli allegedly beat a prisoner to death after a heated argument. The victim, identified as Rifzal Riandi Siregar, suffered wounds and bruises, but the police, Kontras said, claimed he was depressed and committed suicide.

Fifteen people were killed and 94 injured in 118 cases of violence in 2017, according to Kontras. (vla/ahw)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/10/half-of-cases-of-violence-in-n-sumatra-involved-police-tni-kontras.html

Much work still needs to be done on human rights, Jokowi admits

Tempo - December 10, 2017

Antara, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo admitted that much work to be done by the government to uphold human rights.

"I realize there are still a lot of big work to uphold human rights that we need to undertake," President Joko Widodo said in Solo on Sunday(10/12) while attending the 69th world's Human Rights Day.

Several cases of human rights violation are left unsolved including 1982-1985 mysterious shooting, 1997-1998 abduction, May 1998 Riot, Trisakti, Semanggi I, and Semanggi II and others.

"This requires joint force between central government, local government, and all societal components to uphold human rights justice, we uphold social justice to all people of Indonesia," President stated.

President also highly appreciates great effort from all parties who have given real contribution to uphold the principles of human rights in Indonesia, and also lauds governors, mayors, and regents who develop human rights cities and regions with the insights of human rights.

In addition, President also expressed his gratitude to Human Rights National Commission and human rights activists.

In the event, President also handed out awards to provinces, regencies, and cities that Law and Human Rights Ministry assessed and ranked to have human rights awareness that include Central Java Province, Bangka Belitung Province, West Sulawesi Province, Tapin Regency, SangiheIslands Regency, Surakarta, Gunung Sitoli, and Bekasi.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/10/055913978/Much-Work-Still-Needs-to-be-Done-on-Human-Rights-Jokowi-Admits

International Human Rights Day rally in Yogya calls on government to

Tribune Yogya - December 10, 2017

Ahmad Syarifudin, Yogya – Hundreds of students held a protest action at the Pal Putih Monument in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on the afternoon of Sunday December 10 to commemorate International Human Rights Day.

The students voiced their concerns over the problem of human rights cases in Indonesia which they said are far from being resolved. They could be seen forming a line around the monument while they held up banners with demands on the government.

They also took turn giving speeches articulating the uncertainty of government policies on handling human rights cases. They questioned the active role of the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Yusuf Kalla in addressing past cases of human rights violations.

Action coordinator Muslim Hidayat said that the action marking International Human Rights Day was held by the students so that those in power would reflect on the human rights cases that have taken place in Indonesia.

According to Muslim, there are still many human rights cases that have yet to be clarified an even seem to have been made to disappear.

"We here are demanding that those in power immediately take firm action to prosecute the perpetrators of human rights [violations]", said Muslim during a break in the action on Sunday. Muslim explained that many fighters and defenders of justice in Indonesia have in fact lost their lives in ways that are inhuman. This, said Muslim, is sign of the government's fear so in the end they are forcibly disappeared by villainous rouges.

"We here still remember how Munir was assassinated, Marsinah was abducted and Udin lost his life. To this day these cases have yet to be resolved", said Muslim.

Because of this Muslim and his other student colleagues want to refresh the public's memory about human rights cases in Indonesia that have yet to be resolved.

Particularly so in relations with the momentum of International Human Rights day which falls on December 10 this year, "We are urging the government to immediately investigate these cases", Muslim added.

The action was also joined by students from the Student Association from the Yogyakarta State University (UNY) citizenship education department. Protesters also came from the UNY education faculty and the Yogyakarta Polytechnic.

"There are around 400 students [at the protest]", said Muslim, who added that the activities on International Human Rights Day will not just restricted to commemorations and demonstrations.

The students will also hold social services and seminars related to cases of human rights violations. "Like being instantly educated, we will also hold seminars so that we have a whole picture of human rights violations in Indonesia", he asserted.(*)

Notes

On September 7, 2004 renowned human rights defender Munir Said Thalib died of arsenic poisoning onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight. Although off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of the murder in 2005 the alleged mastermind behind the assassination, former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwopranjono, was acquitted of all charges.

Marsinah was a women activist who was murdered on May 8, 1993 after leading a strike at a watch factory in Surabaya, East Java. She has since become a symbol and hero of the Indonesian labour struggle.

Fuad Muhammad "Udin" Syafruddin was a journalist with the Yogyakarta based newspaper Bernas who died in August 16, 1996 after being severely beaten in his home by unknown intruders. At the time he was investigating a corruption case involving Bantul Regent Sri Rosa Sudarmo who was implicated in the murder but never questioned by police.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Peringati Hari HAM Sedunia, Ratusan Mahasiswa Gelar Aksi di Tugu Pal Putih Yogyakarta".]

Source: http://jogja.tribunnews.com/2017/12/10/peringati-hari-ham-sedunia-ratusan-mahasiswa-gelar-aksi-di-tugu-pal-putih-yogyakarta

1965 anti-communist purge

Indonesia: A ray of hope for communist purge victims

UCA News - December 11, 2017

Konradus Epa – Indonesian Aris Panji Irianto did not mind traveling from his home in Central Java to Jakarta to meet with fellow victims of the nation's bloody 1965-66 anti-Communist purge.

He came to the capital in October to learn more about 30,000 pages of official United States records relating to the bloody repression of that time.

Irianto believes the documentation confirms the extensive role of the Indonesia military during the purge that killed more than 500,000 people and imprisoned a million more.

Now aged 66, Irianto was a teenager at the time of the widespread violence that followed the murder of a group of army generals on Sept. 30, 1965.

He did not know then why members of his family were dragged away by anti-communists in his hometown of Kebumen in Central Java.

He was lucky to survive, but to this day he is branded a communist, resulting in social exclusion and a ban on government employment. Irianto is glad the stigma was not passed to his children.

New milestone

The U.S. documents counter military assertions that it was not involved in wholesale killings.

Irianto said the revelations brought new hope for victims by dispelling "black propaganda" under the 1967-1998 regime of the late President Suharto.

Bedjo Untung, 77, who suffered in the purge, told ucanews.com that he and other victims met members of Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights to discuss the implications of the released records.

They were opened to the public by relevant U.S. security agencies and archives.

Untung called on the present Indonesian government to examine the records and take remedial action to help those who were mistreated.

Indonesian students have long been taught that military personnel were guardian angels who rescued the nation from communist subversives.

"In fact, the document shows that the military was involved," said Untung. He said new evidence included details of behind-the-scenes U.S. support for the purge.

The Indonesia military allegedly worked with several large Muslim organizations as well as recruiting and arming village anti-communist militias.

Untung called on the Indonesian government and the National Commission on Human Rights to act on the disclosures without giving in to military pressure.

Commission member Amiruddin Al Rahab said the U.S. documents would require further investigation before their validity could be accepted.

The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Wiranto, who uses only one name, said that verification would be necessary before use could be made of the documents in any legal proceedings

"Thorough examination is necessary to establish whether the information contained in the archives was factually correct," Wiranto, a former military commander, told reporters recently.

History professor at the Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, Jesuit Father Fransiskus Baskara Tulus Wardaya, said that the military and government must allow Indonesian citizens to learn the facts about the 1960s massacre.

"We should be open to historical documents, even if they come from outside Indonesia, so that we can know our history more completely and contextually," Father Wardaya said.

The priest admitted to studying some of the U.S. documents when he was conducting research back in the mid 2000s, but access had been on condition that he not make public the names of individuals while they were still alive.

Amnesty International Indonesia has also called the government to release all relevant historical documents.

Irianto, Untung and other victims are still fighting for truth to prevail.

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/11122017-indonesia-a-ray-of-hope-for-communist-purge-victims/

Sexual & domestic violence

NGOs call for action to end violence against women, children

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Djemi Amnifu, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – A group of NGOs has called for greater efforts to stop rampant violence against women and children in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), after recording 119 of such cases from 2013 to 2016.

These 119 cases include gang rapes and sexual assaults, in which 93 percent of the victims were children under 18.

"Most perpetrators are close with or known by the victims; 56 percent are family members, while 26 percent are boyfriends," said Timor Adil and Setara Consortium coordinator Ansi Rihi Daha, citing data from the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK), which had long assisted victims of violence in seeking justice.

According to the foundation, the number only represented cases reported to the authorities. It believes many cases of violence against children and women are left unreported.

Ansi said that in 2017, seven NGOs – namely LBH APIK, CIS Timor, Suara Sanggar Perempuan (SSP), Yabiku, Lopo Belajar Gender, Koalisi Perempuan NTT and Bengkel Appek, all part of the Timor Adil and Setara Consortium – held a 16-day campaign to celebrate International Anti Violence Against Women Day.

"This consortium is a power that works to reduce violence against children and women in NTT by preventing and resolving the crime," Ansi said, adding that the campaign was supported by worldwide development organization Oxfam.

Oxfam's gender justice partner coordinator, Juliana Ndolu, said Indonesia had hosted the campaign every year since 2003, including in NTT, as a part of efforts to eradicate violence against women. (nmn/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/NGOs-call-for-action-to-end-violence-against-women-children.html

Indonesian women combat 'epidemic' of street harassment

Straits Times - December 10, 2017

Jakarta (New York Times) – Tunggal Pawestri says she will never forget being groped on a public bus while travelling to her high school in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, when she was 14.

While Tunggal had become used to enduring daily harassment on her way to and from classes – mostly catcalls and sexually suggestive looks and comments – when a man suddenly began gyrating against her from behind, she said, "I froze."

"I didn't know what to do – I didn't even know that I should have screamed," said Tunggal, who now works for a women's organisation.

Two decades after that disturbing episode, a growing number of activist groups and volunteers like Tunggal are emerging to explain exactly what to do: expose the long-standing problem of harassment on roads, sidewalks, trains and buses across Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation.

"It's an epidemic, and, unfortunately, at the moment, Indonesia has no legal protection for sexual harassment," said Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, vice-chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, who said she was once groped after falling asleep on a public bus.

"Women have to be brave to report it, and the police services here are not friendly toward victims," she said. "There's a lot of victim-blaming, like it is their own fault."

According to the women's commission, only 268 street harassment reports were filed last year with the police, nongovernmental organisations or the commission itself across a nation of more than 260 million people.

By comparison, more than 200 women in the Jakarta region alone posted accounts in the past 12 months, both under their name and anonymously, of harassment or groping on the streets or on public transportation to the Indonesia website of Hollaback, an international initiative against street harassment.

"I feel street harassment has been normalised within our society," said Anindya Restuviani, coordinator of Feminist Festival Indonesia, which organises events on women's issues, including harassment.

Activists in Indonesia estimate that millions of street harassment incidents go unreported each year.

"We are sure this is just the tip of the iceberg," said Angie Kilbane, an American high school teacher in Jakarta and leader of Hollaback's Jakarta chapter, referring to the hundreds of posts on the site.

The Indonesian National Police did not reply to multiple requests for official data on street harassment cases.

To discourage sex abuse in public places, the authorities have set aside women-only cars on packed commuter trains and spaces designated for females on public buses, but activists say much more needs to be done – by the government and society.

Kilbane, who has lived in Indonesia for nearly 10 years, said she got involved in combating harassment after a motorcyclist drove up beside her while she was bicycling, grabbed her right breast and said, "Hey, baby," in Indonesian before roaring off.

Kilbane's chapter organises discussions and workshops on sexual harassment and conducts training in self-defence and bystander intervention. Still, she said, "I don't ride my bike to work any more."

A 19-year-old student at the University of Indonesia, who asked not to be named because she feared publicly confronting her attacker, had anonymously posted two stories of harassment on the Hollaback Jakarta website, one about being molested twice by a close family friend while she was in elementary school and the other about recent catcalling on the street.

Although she said she wanted to share her stories with the group, she has never told her parents what happened and has yet to warn her younger sister, 14, about the problem. She said the issue was considered taboo in Indonesia, and she did not have the courage to tell them.

In 2014, Kate Walton, an Australian activist and writer based in Jakarta, started an online discussion group after experiencing near-daily street harassment. She also has been groped.

In January, she conducted an experiment to gauge the scale of the problem by walking from her home in South Jakarta to a shopping mall 4km away. She was harassed 13 times in 35 minutes and posted a tweet about each incident as it happened.

Walton's discussion group has more than 2,000 Indonesian and expatriate members, and stories of street harassment are a regular topic of conversation.

"The more stories people see, the more brave and willing they are to come forward," she said, expressing frustration at what women in Indonesia endure in public spaces. "It just adds up when it happens every day. It's tiring."

A 2014 report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found that Jakarta had the fifth-most dangerous public transportation system for women in the world, and the second-worst in Asia behind New Delhi.

Wulan Danoekoesoemo, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Lentera Sintas Indonesia, which counsels sexual violence victims, said the country's street harassment problem stemmed from its patriarchal society, in which men traditionally hold authority over women.

Adolescent boys, activists said, harass women on Indonesian streets nearly as frequently as men.

"People look up to their peers who catcall or talk inappropriately to women, and it goes without consequences," said Wulan, whose organisation has countered by conducting an education campaign at 78 schools in Jakarta, hoping to change the next generation.

"It's something so common. And for boys, it's one way to prove you are macho and that you are good at pickup lines, which of course they are not," she said.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesian-women-combat-epidemic-of-street-harassment

Labour & migrant workers

Thousands of passengers stuck as 'angkot' drivers strike

Jakarta Post - December 13, 2017

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, North Sumatra – A strike by drivers of public minivans, or angkot, in Medan, North Sumatra, caused chaos on Wednesday and left thousands of passengers, including students, stranded across the city.

The mood turned violent when the striking angkot drivers vented their anger at drivers of app-based taxis carrying passengers on Jl. Setia Budi. They blocked the vehicles and forced the passengers to get out, causing quarrels between the two camps.

They almost got into physical fights, before dozens of police officers arrived and forced them to disperse.

Rido Butar-Butar, a resident of Amplas, said many city residents were late for work or school because of the strike held by the public minivan drivers. He said the strike was driven by the angkok drivers and business interests, while those suffering were all of the city residents.

"We want them to stop the strike," Rido told The Jakarta Post after he had quarreled with several public minivan drivers at the Amplas intersection in Medan.

Medan Police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) personnel were deployed to take care of the stranded passengers.

North Sumatra Police operational division head Adj.Sr.Comr. D.Sembiring said 700 police officers had been deployed to anticipate any potential chaos.

The chairman of the Medan chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), Montgomeri Munthe, said around 15,000 drivers had taken part in the strike.

He said the strike was aimed at forcing local authorities to enforce regulations on online taxis, especially regarding fares, as stipulated in Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 108/2017. (ami/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/13/thousands-of-passengers-stuck-as-angkot-drivers-strike.html

Batam industry turns to robots as minimum wage skyrockets

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Fadli, Batam, Riau Islands – Industrial players in Batam, Riau Islands, are considering using robots to increase production cost efficiency as the monthly city minimum wage (UMK) for workers has continued to increase.

The advisory council head for the Riau Islands chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Abidin Hasibuan, said Batam's UMK for 2018 was high, even higher than the minimum wage in Johor Baru, Malaysia.

Last month, Riau Islands governor Nurdin Basirun decided the UMK next year would be Rp 3.52 million (US$246.63), or 8.7 percent higher than the previous year.

"We are taking careful steps to anticipate the impact of such a high minimum wage," he said recently.

Abidin further said the skyrocketing minimum wage had forced the electronic manufacturing industry in Batam to use robots instead of manual labor to increase their production cost efficiency.

Abidin, who is also the president director of cellphone manufacturing company Satnusa Persada, said it would unfortunately lead to massive layoffs, said

"This is the only thing they can do to manage their production costs and make it more efficient, as the minimum wage [in Batam] is too high," he added.

"One robot can replace one line of a production process, which usually consists of seven to 10 workers," said factory worker Arnold Novi.

Simon Ng, the general manager of electronic manufacturer Honfoong Plastic Industries, said his company now employed only 450 workers, whereas in 2001, it had 3,400 employees.

"The problem [in Batam] is that the minimum wage increases every year, but it is not balanced with increases in the productivity of workers," he said. (nmn/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/batam-industry-turns-to-robots-as-minimum-wage-skyrockets.html

Political parties & elections

Agus Yudhoyono eyes millennials as base voters

Tempo - December 11, 2017

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono is eyeing to make Indonesia's millennial generation as his future base voters. Indonesia currently consists of 35 percent millennial from its total population of 260 million people.

"The millennial generation is plentiful," said Agus in an interview with us at The Yudhoyono Institute on Friday, December 8.

Making full use of his young age, Agus (39) is eying the opportunities to attract the attention of first-time voters.

However, attracting the millennial generation that is already politically-literate could not just rely on popularity alone. "That is one of my reasons to travel around Indonesia."

Other than visiting known political figures in numerous regions, Agus also often provides public lectures in campuses throughout Indonesia.

Agus suggested that in becoming a leader, one must be able to detect various interests from all generations and not just be able to pick a segment. "I want to listen to them," said Agus Harimurti.

Agus did not blatantly acknowledge his activities as a form of preparation towards his candidacy in the 2019 Presidential Election. During many occasions, he admitted that 2019 would be too early for him. Staying true to his military background, he claims that he doesn't have a target to be a candidate in 2019 but is preparing himself for whenever he would be needed.

"I am only preparing myself, whether it be the 2019 presidential election or maybe in another time, only God knows," said Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/11/055913993/Agus-Yudhoyono-Eyes-Millennials-as-Base-Voters

Surveys & opinion polls

Negative social media content breeds intolerance among Indonesian youth:

Jakarta Globe - December 12, 2017

Adinda Putri, Jakarta – Negative content in the form of hate speech, fake news and divisive ethnic and religious sentiments on social media platforms has a major impact on the mindset and behavior of younger Indonesians and often cultivates intolerant attitudes, a survey by Islamic-based think-tank, the Maarif Institute showed.

The survey was conducted among 835 high school students from Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Semarang in Central Java and Surabaya in East Java during the "#1nDONEsia: Cerdas Bermedia Sosial" ("Smart on Social Media") training seminar, initiated by the Maarif Institute and YouTube Creators for Change.

The survey showed 57 percent of respondents believe that a teenager who is often exposed to negative content tends to develop an intolerant attitude towards people from other backgrounds.

"Hate speech has a major impact on young people in making them act in an intolerant way, while negative content on the internet strongly promotes incidents of intolerance and discrimination," Maarif Institute research director Khelmy Pribadi told the Jakarta Globe on Monday (11/12).

Khelmy said the recent upsurge in ethnic and religious sentiments online, such as the distinction between so-called pribumi (indigenous) and non-pribumi Indonesians, intensifies a negative view of the differences between people, which is very worrying as those in the younger generation use the internet as their main source of information.

"The number indicates that the heaps of negative content on social media negatively impacts the younger generation," Khelmy said.

The worrying trend led YouTube Creators for Change and the Maarif Institute to present a series of seminars to raise awareness and teach participants to actively combat negative content on social media.

According to the survey, some 70 percent of respondents indicated that they would combat negative content on social media, which increased by 20 percentage points by the end of the seminars.

"A concerted cross-sectoral effort is required to counter negative content by spreading positive content on social media, as well as reporting and speaking up against intolerance," Khelmy said.

He added that the younger generation can start by not simply ignoring fake news or negative posts and instead flagging or reporting it, because social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube provide mechanisms for that purpose.

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has recorded 13,829 cases of hate speech, 6,973 of fake news stories and 13,120 involving pornographic postings on social media so far this year. The government had also blocked 782,316 websites as of September.

Recent surveys have showed that Jakarta is the most intolerant city in Indonesia. The rising level of intolerance in the world's largest Muslim population country has alarmed the authorities.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/negative-social-media-content-breeds-intolerance-among-indonesian-youth-survey/

Environment & natural disasters

'Where are the trees?', Jokowi slams green programs

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2017

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has criticized greening and land-restoration programs that he described as purely decorative without concrete follow-up action.

"For years we have conducted monotone acts without any change. The budget [for tree planting] at the Environment and Forestry ministry is big but where are the trees? Where is the greenery? Who can show it to me?," said the President during his speech marking Indonesian Tree Planting Day and the 2017 National Tree Planting Month in Karangasem village, Gunungkidul regency, Yogyakarta on Saturday.

He quipped that every year there were expensive ceremonial tree-planting events for 1 million trees, which, if executed properly, would see Indonesia swamped by trees.

"Tree saplings 30 centimeters tall are planted with no funding for maintenance, how can they survive?" he said.

Replanting programs must not only involve tree-planting activities, Jokowi said, but also intensive maintenance processes to preserve and boost the growth.

Meanwhile, Environment and Forestry Ministry Siti Nurbaya Bakar said this year's commemoration aimed at inviting all parties to join hands in forest and land management.

With around 3,000 farmers living in the village, there were 45,000 fruit, teak and acacia saplings on 15 hectares of land, which was also the habitat of long-tailed macaques, she said.

The government would also provide 50 million of trees to support the program of 25 trees planted for each citizen per year. The program has so far seen 2.7 million trees planted on 5,463 ha of land across the archipelago, Siti added. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/10/where-are-the-trees-jokowi-slams-green-programs.html

Health & education

Education minister apologizes for Jerusalem 'error' in school textbooks

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2017

Jakarta – Education and Cultural Minister Muhadjir Effendy has apologized for what he admitted was an error made in sixth-grade social science textbooks, which referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The issue recently sparked controversy in Indonesia, particularly as the global debate on Jerusalem's status continues to heat up after it was recognized by Unites President Donald Trump as Israel's capital city.

The ministry has taken down the electronic version of the social science textbooks from its website, pending an investigation on how the error could have slipped by the publisher's attention.

"The ministry will find out how this mistake could have happen. We will also investigate whether it was made deliberately," Muhadjir said in a press release on Thursday.

The ministry, he said, will also start revising its social science e-textbooks on Wednesday, promising that the correct version would be published shortly. He called on publishing companies Intan Pariwara and Yudhistira to retract the books.

The government and a number of organizations, including the country's two largest Islamic groups, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have condemned both Trump's controversial acknowledgement and his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. (nmn/ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/14/education-minister-apologizes-for-jerusalem-error-in-school-textbooks.html

Indonesia's asbestos 'time bomb'

Daily Mail - December 14, 2017

The symptoms were mild and seemingly innocuous at first: mostly coughing and fatigue. But it wasn't long before Sriyono got a grim diagnosis – he had asbestosis – an incurable scarring of the lungs that often leads to cancer.

It was caused by decades of inhaling asbestos fibres at the factory where the 44-year-old still works outside the sprawling capital Jakarta.

"There was a feeling of shock," said the rail-thin Sriyono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "There was no information telling us that asbestos could cause diseases like cancer when I got into the industry," he told AFP.

The soft-spoken father of three is the first person to win compensation for exposure to asbestos in Southeast Asia's biggest economy – one of the world's top consumers of a toxic material blamed for more than 100,000 annual deaths globally.

He was awarded 57 million rupiah ($4,200) by the government this year, and he may not be the last: a local NGO is pushing for compensation in 15 similar cases.

Asbestos fibres that lodge in the lungs can cause diseases including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Banned in more than 60 countries, including all members of the EU, the carcinogenic material is still widely used in developing countries for construction, textiles, brake pads and cheap insulation.

Canada, once the world's top producer of asbestos, announced a ban last year, but some other countries, including Russia and India, have resisted global efforts to outlaw it.

'Very high levels'

And asbestos use shows no sign of waning in Asia's emerging economies, said Ken Takahashi, director of the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) at the University of Sydney.

"The consumption in these countries remains at a very high level, exposing many workers and, eventually, as they go into the market and community there is the potential to expose the general population as well," he said.

Asia now accounts for more than 60 percent of world asbestos consumption.

Indonesia's use of the material grew by nearly six times from 1990 through 2012 when it peaked at an all-time high of 161,823 metric tons before slipping back to 109,000 metric tons in 2014, according to the latest data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

For years, Sriyono toiled away producing gland packing, which uses asbestos to seal systems such as pumps and shafts. He was never warned his health was at risk and did not wear safety equipment that could have kept him safe.

This limited awareness about the health hazards of asbestos is typical across the archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, while poor work safety standards compound the problem, health experts said.

"They let people use it and that means that people don't think it is dangerous," said Dr Anna Suraya, from the Occupational Doctors Association of Indonesia.

Families at risk

There are no definitive figures on the number of Indonesian workers directly exposed to asbestos.

The Indonesia Asbestos Ban Network (INA-BAN) estimates at least 4,000 people are directly involved in the manufacturing of asbestos products, but that does not include contract and other non-permanent employees or construction workers.

It also does not take into account the risk of secondary exposure among workers' families as people can bring asbestos fibres home with them on their hands, hair, clothes, shoes or on tools. Nearly 180 Indonesian companies import asbestos either as a raw material or finished product.

Because it is cheap and durable, the national statistics agency estimates asbestos is found in about 10 percent of all homes for roofing. It can also be found in schools, markets and even hospitals, activists say.

Indonesia has taken some steps to minimise the impact with exposure limits and work safety regulations, but enforcement is haphazard and medical expertise in detecting asbestos-related disease remains low.

Jakarta, however, is not mulling an outright ban, saying it's focusing instead on getting the word out about the health risks.

"We've already started awareness-raising programmes, but of course Indonesia is very big and we have to do it gradually," said Kartini Rustandi, director of occupational health and sports at the ministry of health.

That worries some who warn that Indonesia is a public health time bomb and could suffer the fate of some developed nations that are awash in asbestos-related lawsuits. Rian Irawan from INA-BAN said: "We have to join the asbestos ban now."

– AFP

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5177783/Indonesias-asbestos-time-bomb.html

Doctors say haram vaccine hoax contributing to 'extraordinary'

Coconuts Jakarta - December 8, 2017

Indonesia is in the midst of a diphtheria outbreak that has affected hundreds and killed dozens this year, with medical professionals saying anti-vaxxers played a crucial part in the spread of the disease.

According to the Health Ministry, as of November 2017, there were 593 reported diphtheria cases, resulting in 32 deaths, in 20 Indonesian provinces. The bacterial infection affected children and adults alike.

"This is an extraordinary incident because there are no age limits in the diphtheria outbreak of 2017. The youngest affected was 3-and-a-half while the oldest was 45," said Mohamad Subuh, director of the Disease Prevention and Control at the Health Ministry, as quoted by Kompas.

Subuh added that of those affected, 66% had not been given the vaccine against diphtheria, while 31% had only been partially vaccinated against the disease.

In response, the government is carrying out a free vaccination program in the 20 provinces affected, starting on December 11 in three of the most populated and affected provinces: Jakarta, West Java, and Banten.

However, it's likely that there will be resistance against the vaccine as anti-vaxxers in the country have become more vocal in accusing vaccines of containing traces of pig DNA making them haram (forbidden) under Islam.

Medical professionals in East Java, which is also seeing high levels of diphtheria outbreak this year, say there are many parents who risk their children being affected by all sorts of preventable diseases because they still believe in false rumors about vaccines.

"Why is (the diagnosis of diphtheria) high in East Java? Because many are refusing vaccination. They say that the vaccines contain traces of pig. That's not true," said Dr Agus Hariyanto, a pediatrician at the state-owned Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, as quoted by CNN Indonesia yesterday.

Diphtheria is a bacterial infection of the nose and throat that could be deadly if not prevented or treated in time. It is considered an ancient disease in many parts of the world due to the emergence of vaccines.

In 2015, the World Health Organization recorded 4,500 cases of diphtheria worldwide (down from close to 100,000 in 1980), with most cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Indonesia. It's not too surprising considering that the diphtheria immunization coverage in infants in Indonesia is amongst the lowest in the world at 50-79%.

The anti-science, anti-vaccine movement seems to be gaining ground in Indonesia. It doesn't help that some anti-vaccine celebrities are public about their stance, like self-proclaimed cleric Oki Setiana Dewi, whose daughters suffered from measles due to lack of immunization against the disease.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/doctors-say-haram-vaccine-hoax-contributing-extraordinary-diphtheria-outbreak-indonesia-thats-killed-least-32-year/

Tobacco tax to cover public healthcare deficit: Ministry

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2017

Jakarta – Finance Deputy Minister Mardiasmo has said the government would start setting aside revenues from the tobacco excise duty next year to fund the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), which has suffered a deficit since the program kicked off in 2013.

As reported by kompas.com, Mardiasmo assured on Thursday that the agency's cash flow was secure through the yearend, after which the government would disburse fund to cover a shortage of Rp 9 trillion (US$630 million).

He added that the government had disbursed Rp 7.8 trillion for this year's deficit and an additional Rp 2.1 trillion to pay the January 2018 premiums of low-income health insurance participants.

BPJS Kesehatan president director Fachmi Idris hoped that the plan to reallocate tobacco excise revenues to cover the agency's shortfall would not become embroiled in public debate.

"There is nothing wrong with the idea to use the tobacco excise duty to finance the healthcare program," Fachmi said, adding that it was an option to provide a sustainable financial resource for the healthcare program, even if the number of smokers continued to decrease.

The BPJS Kesehatan's deficit has always been covered by state funding according to Law No. 24/2011, which stipulates that the agency's income must come from insurance premiums and government assistance. The government has disbursed Rp 18.84 trillion from 2013 to 2016 to support the agency. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/08/tobacco-tax-to-cover-public-healthcare-deficit-ministry.html

LGBT & same-sex marriage

LGBT activists in Indonesia face rising death threats

Asian Correspondent - December 11, 2017

"The extremists called and told us they planned to attack. We called the police beforehand, they wouldn't come... [they] showed up at the very end and watched us be beaten."

Advocates for the rights of Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are facing increasingly "frequent, personal, and violent" threats according to a new report released on Friday by Front Line Defenders, a watchdog.

Research for the report included interviews with 25 human rights defenders working on the issue of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) rights across the archipelago, the vast majority of whom reported having received death threats.

Activists reported increasing threats in the wake of anti-LGBT comments, policies and raids by Indonesian authorities throughout 2016.

"Our investigation illustrates that the government's own crackdown on LGBT rights in 2016 emboldened those who want to terrorise human rights defenders [HRDs] into silence," said Front Line Defenders Executive Director Andrew Anderson.

"Ongoing police raids and a failure to respond to attacks against HRDs send the message that violence against peaceful activists is acceptable in Indonesia."

In Indonesia – where a Pew survey has shown some 93 percent of the population says "homosexuality should be rejected" – LGBT issues are often conflated in public discourse with immorality, Western intervention or mental illness.

"The situation is getting worse and worse," said Lini, advocacy coordinator at local LGBT rights organisation Arus Pelangi. Not only do activists face threats of violence, but also "rejection by their families, neighbourhoods and universities".

According to the report, 23 out of 25 rights advocates had received death threats since the beginning of 2016, "and their partners or family members have been beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted in detention in an attempt to intimidate them into stopping their work."

Threats took the form of online abuse, threatening phone calls and physical attacks on LGBT events. The report noted the increasing use of religious terminology in threats such as "your blood is halal", meaning it would be acceptable under Islam to murder them.

Arus Pelangi is working to advise activists on how to pay attention to one's personal security both online and offline, Lini told Asian Correspondent.

The Front Line Defenders report's findings come at a time of growing fears of rising religious conservatism and intolerance in Indonesia – the world's largest Muslim majority country.

The nation's largest mainstream Muslim organisation the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has now joined calls for the criminalisation of homosexuality and forced "rehabilitation" of LGBT people.

In May, the autonomous province of Aceh caned two young men for being gay for the first time under its 2015 anti-homosexuality law.

Front Line Defenders claimed that "social media accounts known to be affiliated with Islamist groups increasingly post photos or videos of activists with public calls to attack them".

High-profile raids including on several gay spas in Jakarta during 2017 reflected that the LGBT community is "scapegoated by various political actors to distract public attention from other scandals – usually corruption scandals – or to secure votes," said the report.

Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/12/lgbt-indonesia-threats-front-line-defenders-report/

Marriage & the family

Court rules marriage ban between coworkers 'unconstitutional'

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2017

Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has ruled on Thursday that a provision in the 2003 Labor Law allowing a company to ban marriages between its employees violated the 1945 Constitution.

The court argued that marriage between coworkers did not affect the rights of other people, nor would such a union undermine their productivity. "The court declares the petitioners' arguments legally valid," justice Aswanto said.

The petition for judicial review was filed by members of state electricity company PT PLN's labor union. They challenged Article 153 of the Manpower Law that permitted companies to lay off a worker for marrying a colleague.

Most companies prohibit employees from marrying their colleagues, and require one employee of the couple to resign if they intended to proceed with the marriage.

One of the plaintiffs, Jhoni Boetja, argued that marriage was a religious institution and the bond between a man and woman who loved each other could not be denied.

"This regulation can be abused by parties that want to terminate workers," he said. (ahw)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/14/court-rules-marriage-ban-between-coworkers-unconstitutional.html

Child marriage is at 'emergency' levels in Indonesia: Deputy minister

Coconuts Jakarta - December 11, 2017

Several stories about children as young as 14 getting married have went viral on social media in Indonesia in recent months, highlighting what many experts warn is a worrying trend of child marriages becoming more mainstream and normalized by society.

The country's deputy minister for child development at the Ministry of Female Empowerment and Child Protection, Lenny Rosalin, made one of the strongest government statements against underage unions yet yesterday by declaring that the rising number of child marriage had reached "emergency" status.

Lenny said that, based on UNICEF data, Indonesia ranks seventh in the world and the second highest in Southeast Asia in terms of the overall percentage of marriages in which at least one of the spouses is under 18 years old. According to government census data, 17% of all Indonesian girls married in 2016 were under 18.

"This means that one in seven women under 18 years old in Indonesia is married. This is an emergency," Lenny said during at an event titled "The Declaration of the Stop Child Marriage Movement" in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara yesterday as quoted by Republika.

The deputy minister said that West Nusa Tenggara was one of the provinces with the highest level of child marriage at 25%.

Lenny reiterated many of the problems caused by child marriage cited by development experts, such as low education rates due to girls dropping out of school early, higher risk of maternal and infant mortality, higher percentages of child laborers and an overall reduction in the country's Human Development Index (HDI).

Despite the high percentage of child marriages in the area, Lenny said West Nusa Tenggara had taken some important steps to help reduce the rate, praising Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi for issuing a circular advising local officials that the ideal marriage age for men and women is after they turn 21 years old.

But Lenny said much more work had to be done, which is why the Stop Child Marriage Movement, which seeks to create a united front amongs community, religious and government leaders to end the practice, is so important.

The percentage of child marriages in Indonesia may be significantly higher than even the government census data suggests since many marriages involving underage children are done unofficially through nikah siri, which is a type of marriage that follows religious norms but is not recognized by the state.

The official legal minimum age of marriage in Indonesia is actually 16 for girls and 19 for boys, as stated in Law no. 1/1974 on Marriage. But in that very same law that, there is a contradictory clause that says, "A marriage is recognized if done according to the laws of their religion and beliefs," which protects nikah siri from being seen as a violation of the law, creating a loophole for child marriages to be legally sanctified.

A draft to introduce punishments for marriages that aren't recognized by the state was put forward to parliament in 2010, but it was never passed into law. In fact, two of Indonesia's largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, publicly rejected the draft, with their argument being marriage, whether officially recognized by the state or not, is a great way to reduce sexual harassment and/or sex outside marriage.

In April of this year, Indonesian female Muslim clerics issued an unprecedented fatwa (edict) declaring child marriage to be harmful as it is a large contributor to Indonesia's high maternal mortality rate. Furthermore, they cited studies that many Indonesian child brides could not continue their studies once wed and half their marriages ended in divorce in addition to child marriage increasing the risks of exploitation, sexual violence, and domestic abuse.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/child-marriage-emergency-levels-indonesia-deputy-minister-child-development/

Movement against child marriage launched in W. Nusa Tenggara

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2017

Panca Nugraha, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – The government launched on Sunday a movement against child marriage in West Nusa Tenggara as part of an effort to end the practice, which remains rampant across the archipelago.

The Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry and the West Nusa Tenggara government signed a joint declaration at the West Nusa Tenggara Cultural Park in Mataram on Sunday.

The declaration was made as Indonesia's child marriage status was set at "emergency," the children's development deputy at the ministry, Leny Nurhayanti Rosalin, said. The average rate of child marriage in the country stood at 17 percent, 2016 data from the ministry show.

Furthermore, Indonesia is ranked seventh in the world and second in ASEAN after Cambodia in recorded cases of child marriage.

"We signed the declaration in West Nusa Tenggara because the province was among provinces with the highest rates of child marriage," Lenny said, adding that East Java, West Java, Central Java and South Sulawesi also had high rates.

The movement was needed as the government aimed to promote awareness to end the practice as child marriage contributed to violence and discrimination toward children and took away children's right to live a healthy life and develop in accordance to their age, Lenny said.

Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI) secretary-general Dian Kartika Sari said a campaign would be launched on social media to encourage students to become involved in the cause. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/10/movement-against-child-marriage-launched-in-w-nusa-tenggara.html

Corruption & abuse of power

Tempo News: ICW Launches Indonesialeaks to report corruption

Tempo - December 14, 2017

Chitra Paramaesti, Jakarta – The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), in collaboration with Indonesian mass media, today launched a whistleblower platform, called Indonesialeaks, for the public to report corruption acts.

"We refer to the legality basis related to corruptions defined in the Anticorruption Law," ICW coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo said during the event today, Dec. 14.

According to Adnan, the ICW will guarantee the anonymity of people who report any corruption acts. "Regarding the security issue, we have the code of ethics. We can't reveal information to anyone," he said.

Adnan hopes that the public will participate in the corruption eradication effort. He pointed out that the state has not appreciated people who reveal corruption practices.

"We're not talking about money, but appreciations. For instance, a civil servant who reveals a corruption practice should be rewarded with a promotion. Therefore, we can be aware of corruption practices," Adnan explained.

Indonesialeaks is an independent platform founded by ten mass media outlets and five non-governmental organizations (NGO). The platform allows the public to submit data or documents related to public interests anonymously. The media outlets will verify the data or documents in light of journalism aspects.

Institutions participating in the launch of Indonesialeaks are Tempo, CNN Indonesia, KBR, Bisnis Indonesia, Independen.id, Jaring, Suara.com, the Jakarta Post, Sindo Weekly, Liputan 6, ICW, LBH Pers, Change.org, Greenpeace, Auriga, PPMM, and Free Press Unlimited.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/14/055914113/Tempo-News-ICW-Launches-Indonesialeaks-to-Report-Corruption

First day of House Speaker Setya Novanto's corruption trial delayed by

Agence France Presse - December 13, 2017

Indonesia's biggest corruption trial in years was derailed Wednesday after its graft-charged parliament speaker, Setya Novanto, claimed a bout of diarrhea had left him too ill to participate, prompting jeers from the courtroom gallery.

The claim was just the latest in a string of maneuvers – including allegedly faking an injury in a car crash – that critics say the 62-year-old has employed to dodge serious charges.

Novanto – who has faced corruption allegations in the past but has never been convicted – is among several senior politicians accused of taking kickbacks from funds for a government project to issue new ID cards to Indonesia's more than 250 million inhabitants.

The graft scandal, which came to light earlier this year, is estimated to have syphoned around $170 million out of government coffers.

The scope of the claims has shocked many in the Southeast Asian nation, even by the standards of one of the world's most corrupt countries.

Novanto, who arrived at Central Jakarta Court in an orange vest worn by graft suspects, appeared dejected and meekly grunted when a judge repeatedly asked his name.

"I've had diarrhea for five days – I asked the doctor for medicine but I was not given drugs," Novanto told the court, which frequently erupted in laughter in response to his behavior.

His lawyer said Novanto was too ill to take part in the trial – despite arguments from prosecutors that three doctors had examined him earlier and declared him fit.

"This person is sick and we did not make it up," Maqdir Ismail told the court. "Please grant us a chance for him to be examined by other doctors." Presiding judge Yanto suspended the proceedings in the late morning.

It was another twist in a saga that has captivated the country and taken on elements of drama befitting of Indonesia's popular sinetron soap operas.

Novanto dodged questioning by Indonesia's anti-corruption agency for months, but was arrested in hospital last month after he claimed to have been injured in a car crash.

The reported accident came shortly after a failed raid on his palatial estate in a ritzy part of the capital.

Novanto, an influential politician from the main opposition Golkar Party, has been caught up in corruption scandals in the past.

He was forced to quit as speaker in 2015 after he was caught on tape trying to extort a stake in the Indonesian unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan in exchange for extending the company's right to operate in the archipelago.

He was cleared of the allegations and was reappointed as speaker in 2016. This week he tendered his resignation. (dsa/hp/pb/amu)

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/first-day-house-speaker-setya-novantos-corruption-trial-delayed-diarrhea/

More rules, more corruption: Jokowi

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said the deregulation program is an effective method of eradicating corruption because more rules tend to result in more corruption.

"Regulations that protect the public interest are important but each time a new regulation is made, there will always be a chance for corrupt transactions to occur," he said in his remarks during the opening ceremony of the 2017 International Anticorruption Day celebration in Jakarta on Monday.

Jokowi said the issuance of licenses required by regulations had often become transaction targets for local administrations and related stakeholders. "Each license becomes a transaction object. We should not let this happen," he said.

Since 2015, the government has been attempting to abolish at least 42,000 regional administration regulations deemed as unnecessarily burdensome for businesses. However, in June, the Constitutional Court revoked the central government's authority to abolish regional administration regulations

"I will make a competition. I will give a reward to the entity that can cut the most rules," Jokowi said. The central government will soon create an integrated licensing system that will connect the central and regional administrations, Jokowi said.

With the new system, he said, the central government could trace the bottlenecks in the licensing process. As of August, 531 out of 538 regencies and municipalities have implemented the one-stop integrated service system (PTSP). However, only 405 of them have applied standard operating procedures and only 200 have included all of their licenses in the PTSP.

Jokowi pointed out that most corruption cases taking place in Indonesia involved bribery of government officials. Since 2004, 12 governors, two Bank Indonesia (BI) officials and 64 regents and mayors have been prosecuted for corruption. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/more-rules-more-corruption-jokowi.html

Corruption combat not serious, Jokowi Says

Tempo - December 11, 2017

Istman Musaharun Pramadiba, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo or Jokowi said the battle against corruption in Indonesia is not serious, as evidenced by the many numbers of regional heads found to have given or received bribes.

"Indonesia is one of the countries whose corruption cases are 'active'," Widodo said during the World Anti- Corruption Day event at Jakarta's Bidakara Hotel, Monday, December 11.

According to the president, since 2004 12 governors and 64 regents have been arrested for their involvement in corruption. The KPK has also arrested members and chiefs of the House of Representatives. "There are so many of them I lost count," Jokowi said.

The president added that efforts to prevent corruption must be intensified. There are many ways to do so, he added, such as by revamping administrative services in government institutions to educate the public.

Widodo added that deregulation can also be a solution to strengthen corruption prevention, since many cases began from ways of cutting short administrative processes that complicate rules or licensing.

"Many people seem to like publishing unclear, gray rules. They then become object of shady transactions," he remarked, saying that licensing rules are often used as a blackmail tool for bribery and kickback dealings.

Regarding deregulation, President Widodo reminded bureaucrats to stop making administrative rules that are vulnerable to being manipulated. Additionally, he said there are many rules that need to be simplified, "There are 42,000 that must be trimmed."

Deregulation poses a particular challenge for Jokowi's government. The Constitutional Court has determined that the cancellation of Regional Regulation can no longer be done by the Central Government.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/11/055914007/Corruption-Combat-Not-Serious-Jokowi-Says

House speaker Setya Novanto's lawyers suddenly resign shortly before

Coconuts Jakarta - December 8, 2017

Indonesia's House Speaker Setya Novanto has dodged several corruption charges in the past, but it's starting to look like his luck has run out as he's set to soon face trial for corruption without two of his biggest legal guns.

Setya was charged by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for his alleged involvement in the massive e-KTP (electronic ID cards) graft case.

After so much drama, (including his being hospitalized, beating the KPK's first charge, disappearing, getting in a car crash and getting hospitalized again until his eventual detainment by the KPK) things are looking particularly bad for the Golkar party chairman now that Otto Hasibuan and Fredrich "I-spend-5-billion-rupiah-when-I-go-on-holiday" Yunadi – two of the most high profile lawyers in Indonesia – have both announced that they have officially resigned as Setya's legal representatives.

The first to announce his resignation was Otto, who only joined Setya's legal team in late November. Otto was rather cryptic about the reason behind his decision, elaborating no further than a supposed differences in opinion with Novanto over how best to mount his defense.

"If there's no clear agreement on how to approach a case, then that could be problematic for both me and him," Otto said today, as quoted by Detik.

Otto's announcement was then followed by Fredrich's, which is more surprising because he has been a loud and staunch defender of Setya (often offending logic in the process), to the point that he threatened to sue anybody who made fun of Setya for defamation (including former Constitutional Court Judge Mahfud MD).

"It's done, I informed (Setya Novanto) verbally yesterday," Fredrich told reporters, as quoted by CNN Indonesia today.

Setya's remaining legal team submitted a pretrial motion to have their client's suspect status rescinded on procedural grounds (he successfully used a similar motion to get his first corruption suspect status nullified).

However, they are in a race against time to pressure the pretrial judge to come up with a decision by Tuesday, as the opening session for Setya's trial in the Corruption Court begins on Wednesday, by which time any pretrial motion would be legally void.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/house-speaker-setya-novantos-lawyers-suddenly-resign-shortly-start-corruption-trial/

Terrorism & religious extremism

Four arrested over alleged plan to attack police in Riau

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru, Riau – Densus 88, the National Police's counterterrorism squad, supported by Riau Police personnel, have arrested four suspected terrorists in separate locations. The arrested are accused of having planned terrorist attacks against police offices across the province.

Three of the four men are affiliated with Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. They are reportedly connected to four terrorism suspects arrested in Riau on Oct. 24.

The three men have reportedly attended multiple paramilitary terrorist training courses in Bukit Gema in Lipat Kain district, Kampar, at the beginning of 2017.

The three JAD-linked suspects were identified as DG alias Abu Syuhada, 24, RR alias Huat alias Abu Khanza, 29, and DRP alias Riski, 21. The fourth arrestee, who is not associated with JAD, was identified as AR alias Raja, 42.

"The four men were arrested by different police teams. We arrested AR and then DG, RR and DRP, one after another. During the arrests they were outside of their homes," Riau Police chief Insp. Gen. Nandang said on Tuesday.

"AR had gone to Pekanbaru to avoid police arrest. He was a fugitive for alleged involvement in the arson attack on the Dharmasraya Police office in West Sumatra on Nov. 12," said Nandang.

He said DRP had volunteered to become a "bride," a code word for a suicide bomber, along with suspected terrorist Wawan Kurniawan, with Riau Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters as their target. Wawan had been arrested before. (saf/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/four-arrested-over-alleged-plan-to-attack-police-in-riau.html

Indonesia arrests more than a dozen in pre-Christmas terror sweep

Agence France Presse - December 12, 2017

More than a dozen people have been arrested by Indonesian anti-terrorism police, authorities said Monday, as they beef up security in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Police said they detained 13 suspected militants in separate, pre-emptive raids over the weekend across the Southeast Asian nation, which has long struggled with Islamic militancy.

"As usual, we are conducting pre-emptive strikes. We move before they do and we arrest the groups we believe will potentially commit an act (of terror)," national police chief Tito Karnavian said Monday.

The arrests took place in South Sumatra, East Java and West Kalimantan over the weekend.

One of the men arrested in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-biggest city, was known to have gone to Syria in 2013 and has links to Abu Jandal, an influential Indonesian militant who fought with the Islamic State group in the Middle Eastern country, authorities said.

Another suspect was involved in a February terror attack in the Indonesian city of Bandung, where a pressure cooker bomb exploded in a park before a gun battle erupted nearby, leaving one militant dead.

However, authorities have no specific information on a new planned attack, said national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto. "There's no confirmed plan for a terror attack that we have heard so far," he said.

Indonesia's anti-terror squad can detain and hold suspected extremists for seven days without charge.

Indonesia has suffered a string of deadly incidents, including a Christmas Eve attack in 2000 that left 18 dead and scores injured.

In 2002, a bomb in a Bali nightclub killed over 200 people while, more recently, a suicide bombing and gun attack claimed by IS in the capital Jakarta killed eight people in January 2016. (dsa-str/pb/amz)

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/indonesia-arrests-dozen-pre-christmas-terror-sweep/

Three suspected terrorists arrested in East Java

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2017

Aman Rochman, Malang, East Java – The National Police's counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, arrested three men alleged to be involved in a local terrorism network in East Java on Saturday.

Densus 88 personnel arrested Kiki Rizky, Paripung Dhani and Muh. Muhidin in three separate locations. Kiki was arrested during a raid at his house in Malang, while Paripung was arrested in Sidoarjo and Muhidin in Surabaya.

Kiki and Muhidin are suspected members of Abu Jandal, a terrorist network affiliated with the Islamic State group, while Paripung is suspected to have been involved with Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an organization founded and led by terrorist convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

East Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Frans Barung Mangera said Paripung was allegedly involved in a plot to bomb a police post in Surabaya in 2014. The police accused him of having had a role in purchasing raw materials for the bomb.

Meanwhile, Kiki allegedly traveled with Indonesian militants to Syria in 2013 without his family's knowledge, Frans said. Both Kiki and Muhidin were allegedly involved in military training led by the Abu Jandal group.

The three are currently detained at the Mobile Brigade's headquarters in Ampeldento, Malang, for questioning. "As for the [suspected] roles and links of the three men, Densus 88 personnel were questioning them," Frans said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/10/three-suspected-terrorists-arrested-in-east-java.html

Police apprehend suspected terrorist in Surabaya

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2017

Jakarta – The National Police's antiterror squad, Densus 88, arrested a suspected terrorist in Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday morning.

The man, identified only by his initials MM, also known by his alias DE, was apprehended at his residence on Jl. Ampel Kembang 25 in Semampir area.

"We arrested him at around 5 a.m.," Tanjung Perak Harbor Police Chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Ronny Suseno said as quoted in a statement released by the National Police.

Ronny stopped short of providing further information about DE, including the name of the terror group he is allegedly affiliated with.

At least 50 police officers stood guard around DE's house, the statement said. Antara reported that DE was well known by his neighbors. He and his family had lived in the neighborhood for four years.

"I never thought that he would be involved in a terrorist network," Noval Salim, one of the neighbors, said. (vla/ahw)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/09/police-apprehend-suspected-terrorist-in-surabaya.html

What's in the new Singapore-Indonesia counterterrorism exercise?

The Diplomat - December 8, 2017

Prashanth Parameswaran – Last week, Singapore and Indonesia carried out a new exercise in counterterrorism, an area of growing concern for the two sides. The interaction highlighted the ongoing collaboration by the two countries in the defense realm in spite of the lingering challenges they continue to face in managing their broader relationship.

As I have pointed out before in these pages, though the defense ties between Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest state, and Singapore, the subregion's smallest, have tended to be prickly historically speaking, both sides still maintain a cordial security relationship that includes the usual components, including visits, exchanges, and exercises.

Some of these interactions have been in the spotlight this year more so than usual as both sides commemorate the 50th anniversary of their relationship this year. Indeed, from November 13 to November 20, both sides had held the 29th iteration of the flagship annual exercise between the infantries from both armies known as Exercise Safkar Indopura.

Last week saw Singapore and Indonesia holding a new, noteworthy interaction covering counterterrorism, a growing concern for both sides with the threat posed by the Islamic State and its affiliates in Southeast Asia. From November 28 to 29, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) held a counterterrorism table-top exercise (CT TTX) in Singapore.

According to Singapore's defense ministry (MINDEF), the two-day exercise involved 27 personnel from the SAF and the TNI as well as the respective homeland security agencies. Both the SAF and TNI delegations comprised members from the Operations and Intelligence Departments, personnel from the Special Operations and Maritime Security Task Forces, and homeland security forces from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Indonesian National Agency for Combating Terrorism (BNPT).

The primary objective of the exercise was to boost interagency cooperation in the area of counterterrorism by discussing and sharing potential responses to possible scenarios. In that respect, both sides went through sessions on several realistic scenarios to identify areas for improvements and further collaboration, including bomb threats in public areas, vehicles ramming into pedestrians, and gunmen launching an assault in shopping malls.

In terms of its significance, The Straits Times noted that the CT TTX was not only the first such exercise between the two countries, but the first of its kind that Singapore had held with a foreign military. It also quoted the head of the Singapore delegation, Colonel Lim Kok Hong, who is the head of the SAF Current Operations Group, as saying that both sides were "very serious and interested" in making the exercise a regular one in the future.

Source: https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/whats-in-the-new-singapore-indonesia-counterterrorism-exercise/

Freedom of religion & worship

Cleric Alfian Tanjung gets 2 years jail time in hate speech case

Tempo - December 13, 2017

Nur Hadi, Surabaya – Surabaya District Court has sentenced cleric Alfian Tanjung to two years in prison in a hate speech case. The panel of judges found Alfian guilty of hate speech during a religious event at a mosque in Tanjung Perak in February.

"The defendant is found to have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal act of expressing hate or animosity against others based on racial and ethnic discrimination," Surabaya District Court chief judge Dedi Fardiman said.

The judges also ordered an immediate detention of the defendant. The sentence is less than the three years the prosecutors had sought. Following the verdict, Alfian and his lawyers said they will file an appeal.

The case started from a viral YouTube video that was uploaded in February showing Alfian Tanjung preaching in front of a congregation at a mosque accusing that President Jokowi and then-Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) were sympathizers of the banned Communist Party (PKI) and China.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/13/055914073/Cleric-Alfian-Tanjung-Gets-2-Years-Jail-Time-in-Hate-Speech-Case

Sex, pornography & morality

Court ruling on extramarital, gay sex draws mixed reactions from

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2017

Jakarta – A Constitutional Court ruling that rejected a petition to outlaw extramarital and gay sex on Thursday has drawn mixed reactions from netizens.

Some applauded the decision, saying it upheld human rights and protected people's private lives as well as minority groups.

Twitter user Gita Putri wrote on her Twitter account that Indonesian law should be influenced by a sense of justice, instead of religious sentiments.

The Masyarakat Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat), one of the groups opposing the petition, said on Twitter that it hoped the court would "not bow to any pressures from various groups that often act in the name of religious morality."

Negative responses also mushroomed on the social networking site, with some arguing that extramarital and gay sex was immoral and forbidden by religion.

Filed by conservative academics, the petition not only brought to the courtroom an intense debate, but it also sharply divided the bench, with four out of nine justices, including Chief Justice Arief Hidayat, dissenting.

Meanwhile, justices Saldi Isra, Maria Farida Indrati and I Dewa Gede Palguna – all of whom are considered progressive – were among the five justices who rejected the petition.

Saldi appeared to play a key role in influencing the outcome of the case, which was started when former justice Patrialis Akbar, known for his conservative statements, was in office. Saldi joined the court in April, replacing Patrialis who was arrested for bribery in late January. (nmn/ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/14/court-ruling-on-extramarital-gay-sex-draws-mixed-reactions-from-netizens.html

Mass organizations to rally against rave music festival

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2017

Jakarta – Central Jakarta Police have said they will provide security for the planned rallies against the annual electronic music festival Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) set to be held at JIExpo, Kemayoran over the weekend.

Police chief Sr. Comr. Roma Hutajulu said the organizer had made sure no alcoholic beverages would be sold during the event. Mass organizations have previously argued the music festival would degrade the morals of the youth, expressing concern about the consumption of drugs and alcohol.

"The Constitution specifically says that people are free to express their opinions in public. We will provide standard security as long as it does not lead to a riot," said Roma on Wednesday.

Society Allies, and several others plan to stage rallies in front of the festival venue on Thursday.

"The organizer has guaranteed that no drugs and the like will be permitted. We have deployed the National Narcotics Agency [BNN] to cooperate," Roma said.

Last week, the Jakarta administration said they would dispatch a surveillance team to supervise the nation's biggest music festival to ensure no drug or alcohol related activities would be present. (dpk)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/14/mass-organizations-to-rally-against-rave-music-festival.html

Indonesia under threat of deviant sexual practices: IPB professor

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2017

Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – One of the 12 petitioners who sought to ban premarital sex and same-sex relationships through a judicial review petition at the Constitutional Court has said that the court's decision to reject their request was a mistake.

Euis Sunarti, a professor in family studies at the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), told reporters shortly after the court issued its ruling that Indonesia was currently under the threat of "deviant" sexual practices.

"We have studied this matter on the ground. We know that, for example, in one village, adultery was committed by 70 percent of families there," she said. "This is a problem haunting parents who pray all the time asking that their children become pious individuals."

Euis and other petitioners have demanded that the Constitutional Court expand the definition of zina in the Criminal Code (KUHP), which is currently defined only as adultery, to all kinds of sexual relations outside of marriage. They also challenged the article on sodomy in the prevailing law, which currently only mentions pedophilia.

The court rejected the judicial review petition on the grounds that it was not authorized to formulate new criminal acts in the KUHP. It also argued that just because a law does not conform to existing norms, that does not mean it is unconstitutional.

Human rights activists have opposed the petition, saying it was an affront to civil liberties.

Euis said they would continue their fight to protect family values by outlawing extramarital sex. They plan to visit the House of Representatives, which is currently deliberating a revision to the KUHP. (ahw)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/14/indonesia-under-threat-of-deviant-sexual-practices-ipb-professor.html

Indonesia's Constitutional Court rejects petition to criminalize gay sex

Coconuts Jakarta - December 14, 2017

Many people were waiting with bated breath this morning to see how Indonesia's Constitutional Court would finally rule on a petition, filed by representatives of conservative Islamic organization, to make homosexual acts and all sex outside of marriage illegal under the country's criminal code.

Thankfully, the Constitutional Court announced that they had rejected the petition, 5-4, leading many human rights and LGBT rights defenders to breath a sigh of relief.

The petition was filed and hearing on it began back in 2016, making this the longest the constitutional court has ever taken to adjudicate on a petition. It was submitted by representatives of Islamic conservative groups including Aliansi Cinta Keluarga (Family Love Alliance) and the Islamic Wives Association (PII) during what some have termed the "LGBT panic" of 2016 in which discrimination and rhetoric against the minority group became increasingly vocal and mainstream.

The petition sought to change an article in Indonesia's criminal code including amendments to the laws on adultery (art. 284), rape (art. 285), and sex with a minor (art. 292). The cumulative effect of their petition would have not only made homosexual acts illegal, but any and all forms of consensual sex that took place outside of marriage.

During hearings on the petition, the court heard from "experts" who argued that gay sex inherently leads to the spread of HIV, was not in line with the state ideology of Pancasila, that making homosexuality legal would lead to end of human births and one law professor's whose entire argument boiled down to his opinion that seeing men kiss is gross.

In their decision, the majority of judges took the restrained position that it was parliament's, not the court's, role to criminalize actions. However, constitutional and human rights factored into their considerations as well.

The narrow 5-4 decision against the petition might have looked very differently had former Constitutional Court Judge Patrialis Akbar not been sentenced to 8 years in prison in September for accepting bribes.

During hearing on the petition Patrialis would often make points in favor of the petition rather than attempt any sort of objective inquiry into its necessity. At one hearing, he said that Indonesia was not a secular country and that so-called human rights had to be limited by religious and moral beliefs. At another, he read a verse from the Quran in support of the argument that adultery exceeded the boundaries of morality and thus should be criminalized. But Patrialis was obviously unable to lend his voice to the court's decision on the petition from his jail cell, perhaps granting those of us who support human rights, freedom and equality for all Indonesian people this heartening legal victory (okay, it's actually more of a bullet dodged than a victory, but hey we'll take what we can get – until the next fight).

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/indonesias-constitutional-court-rejects-petition-criminalize-gay-sex-sex-outside-marriage-5-4/

Indonesian Constitutional Court declines to ban sex outside marriage

New York Times - December 14, 2017

Jeffrey Hutton, Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia's Constitutional Court on Thursday narrowly rejected a petition asking it to criminalize all sex outside marriage, in a blow to religious conservatives who have been gaining influence in the secular, Muslim-majority country.

The court's nine justices voted 5-4 to reject a suit filed in March 2016 by the Family Love Alliance, a group of conservative scholars. The group had asked the court to dramatically expand an existing law that bars married people from having sex with anyone but their spouse, arguing that it should apply to all sex between unmarried people.

Such a ban would also have effectively criminalized homosexuality, since Indonesia does not recognize same-sex marriage. Human rights advocates had feared an increase in the persecution of gay Indonesians, hundreds of whom have been arrested in a series of well-publicized raids of gay bars and other venues over the past year or so.

The court's decision came as a surprise to rights activists as well as conservatives, who packed a courtroom in Jakarta, the capital, to hear the ruling Thursday.

"We didn't expect the decision to be on our side," said Naila Zakiah, an attorney for the nonprofit Community Legal Aid Institute in Jakarta, which specializes in human rights law.

Conservatives argued that the ban on adultery, which dates from Indonesia's colonial period, needs updating because it no longer reflects the values of a more devout population. "These are laws created by the Dutch, but they don't match our current situation," said Bagus Riyono, an organizational psychologist who testified in support of the Family Love Alliance's petition.

Indonesia has experienced a sharp rightward shift in recent years as conservative Islamic groups have gained influence in the political sphere.

In April, President Joko Widodo, a moderate Muslim, saw his onetime protege Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, lose his bid for re-election as governor of Jakarta after being prosecuted on charges of insulting the Quran. Hard-line Islamic groups had called for Mr. Basuki, a Christian, to be arrested and even hanged. He was jailed in May.

In its ruling Thursday, the court referred the Family Love Alliance's petition to Parliament, saying that matters of criminal law fell outside its mandate. Ms. Zakiah, the attorney, said she worried that Parliament might take up the issue. She noted that Indonesia is heading into a politically charged election season, with important votes in conservative regions scheduled for next year, and said politicians might have reason to raise the matter.

But Kevin O'Rourke, who writes a weekly newsletter on Indonesian politics, Reformasi, said the referral to Parliament effectively killed the issue. There is little support for a ban on non-marital sex except in conservative pockets of the country, he said.

Mr. O'Rourke said that Parliament passes fewer than half a dozen pieces of legislation a year, and he noted that a years-long legislative effort to ban alcohol, also pushed by Islamic conservatives, had come to nothing.

"This is a substantial ruling and a convenient way of passing the buck rather than shoot it down outright," Mr. O'Rourke said.

Andreas Harsono, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said the case's outcome may well have hinged on a corruption scandal. One of the court's justices, Patrialis Akbar, who last year seemed to indicate that he agreed with the Family Love Alliance's position, has since been stripped of his robe and sent to prison for taking bribes. His replacement voted with the majority on Thursday.

"If Patrialis hadn't been arrested and dismissed from the bench this would have ended differently," Mr. Harsono said. "Hallelujah."

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/world/asia/indonesia-court-ban-sex.html

Indonesian court rejects push to outlaw extramarital and gay sex

Sydney Morning Herald - December 14, 2017

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Indonesia's Constitutional Court has narrowly rejected a petition to outlaw extramarital and gay sex after more than a year of fierce debate.

Last May the conservative Family Love Alliance petitioned the court to amend the criminal code to punish sex outside of marriage and to ban homosexual acts. The proposed legislation would have carried penalties of up to five years' jail.

In a close ruling on Thursday, five of the nine judges rejected the petition, arguing it was up to law-making bodies to define new crimes and was not the authority of the Constitutional Court.

The ruling was a fillip for human rights in Indonesia and came as a huge relief to the LGBT community, which has recently faced a spike in anti-LGBT discrimination.

There had been fears the ruling would go the other way after judges – including Patrialis Akbar who has since been jailed for bribery – appeared to be swayed by conservative religious arguments during the hearings.

In August, The Jakarta Post quoted Patrialis as saying that Indonesia's legal system was "too liberal". "We are not a secular country, this country acknowledges religion," he said at the time.

"Huge relief from the Constitutional Court. But remember it won only by one vote!," Rocky Intan from the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies tweeted. "Would have gone the other way if Patrialis Akbar was still there. So important to prevent our judiciary from being sabotaged by fundamentalists and corrupt hacks."

The Legal Aid Institute welcomed the decision saying the Constitutional Court had upheld the right to privacy, refused to contribute to the overpopulation of prisons and prevented gender minorities and women from being persecuted. However it regretted that four judges had dissenting views, saying their reasoning was invalid and misplaced.

"The four dissenting judges tended to agree to... criminalising extramarital and gay sex under the pretext of religious morality that is highly subjective and open to interpretation," the Legal Institute said in a statement.

Prominent Indonesian gay activist Dede Oetomo warned the fight was not over, with Parliament also deliberating similar changes to the criminal code.

Family Love Alliance leader Rita Soebagio said the rejection of the petition had been technical in nature because the court ruled it should have been brought before Parliament. "It's something that we will continue to fight for," she said.

Homosexuality is legal in Indonesia except in the ultra-conservative province of Aceh, which enforces Sharia law.

Indonesia's transgender community of biological men who believe they were born with the souls of women, known as waria, live openly in the Muslim-majority country.

However the past couple of years has seen a crackdown on the LGBT community, with raids on spas popular with gay men. Two men in Aceh received 83 lashes of the cane for having gay sex, and Indonesia's parliament is considering legislation that would ban LGBT content from TV.

This is the second progressive ruling the Constitutional Court has brought down in recent weeks. Last month it ruled in favour of the rights of Indonesia's native faith followers in a historic victory for religious freedom.

– With Karuni Rompies

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesian-court-rejects-push-to-outlaw-extramarital-and-gay-sex-20171214-h04q3e.html

Land & agrarian conflicts

Tiberias residents seek govt's help to end land dispute

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Jakarta – Residents of Tiberias village in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, have called on the government to help end their land dispute against plantation company Malisya Sejahtera that has not yet shown any sign of settlement since it started in 2015.

The company has allegedly claimed the land where Tiberias village is located and has become the sole livelihood of its people since 1890s. The locals have reportedly been forced to hand over their agriculture harvests to the company in 2015.

The right to cultivate (HGU) obtained Malisya Sejahtera in 2001 is deemed flawed by the locals as the company was legally established only in 2002.

"There is no way a permit can be issued before the company even exists," said Abner Patras, a representative of Tiberias residents in Jakarta on Sunday.

When Tiberias residents took their case to the court, they won the lawsuit – but it was only related to the company's legal status and not on the premature issuance of the HGU.

Abner said Tiberias people had occupied and managed the land since the Dutch colonial administration brought them from Sanger Island, North Sulawesi, to the village to cultivate. After Indonesia's independence in 1945, the people have continued to live in the village, where they have lived through up to three generations from reaping what their ancestors sow, including coconuts and other crops.

Since the company claimed their land, the villagers have faced a series of intimidation. "The intimidation has traumatized the people," said Indonesian Forum of Environment (Walhi) North Sulawesi executive director Theo Runtunewe. (nmn/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/tiberias-residents-seek-govts-help-to-end-land-dispute.html

Students reject new Yogyakarta airport, call for end to forced evictions

Detik News - December 9, 2017

Ristu Hanafi, Sleman – Protesters and students from the Alliance against the Kulon Progo Airport have again demonstrated in front of the PT Angkasa Pura (AP I) offices in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta this afternoon.

The action was marred by scuffles between protesters and security personnel and the blockading of the road in front of AP I.

The demonstration began at 10am on Saturday December 9. The protesters took turns in giving speeches opposing the construction of the New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) in Kulon Progo regency.

Although the demonstration initially proceeded without incident, it was suddenly marred by a scuffle between the protesters and AP I Yogyakarta security personnel. As a result, the front gate to the AP I offices was damaged.

The demonstrators then blockaded the road in the direction of Solo-Yogya. Not surprisingly, there was a long traffic jam on the length of road alongside the Adisutjipto International Airport which is located not far from the demonstration.

As of going to print, the demonstrators were still blockading the road and giving speeches in the middle of the street.

The blockade is located in front of the PT AP I office on Jl. Raya Solo Km 9. As a result the flow of traffic from the east towards Yogyakarta city was brought to a standstill.

Security personnel from AP I, the police and the TNI (Indonesian military) could be seen guarding the rally.

"We are protesting in solidarity with the residents of Temon sub-district, Kulon Progo, who are being impacted on by the airport project. Reject the NYIA project and stop the forced eviction of Kulon Progo residents", said action coordinator. (sip/sip)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Demo Tolak Bandara Kulon Progo, Mahasiswa Orasi dan Blokir Jalan".]

Source: https://news.detik.com/berita-jawa-tengah/d-3762199/demo-tolak-bandara-kulon-progo-mahasiswa-orasi-dan-blokir-jalan

Governance & public services

Jokowi shocked, budget allocations for meetings more than core

Tempo - December 9, 2017

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo says that the drafting of budgets at both the ministries, state institutions and regional bodies focus more on supporting activities rather than core activities.

"We who are present here know 100 percent that what is happening is that the drafting of RKA KL (State Ministry/Institution Budget Activities Plan) or agencies [budget plans] instead focus on supporting activities not core activates", said Widodo when speaking at the handover of the Approved Budget Allocation Lists (DIPA) and the Regional and Village Fund Transfer Allocation Registers for the year 2018 at the Bogor Palace on Wednesday December 6.

Widodo requested that ministry/institutional chiefs and regional heads implement efficiency and not inflate operational budgets, including spending on civil servants, official travel, honorariums and office activities and meetings.

The president gave as an example the drafting of a budget at the Labour Ministry (Kemenaker) related to the repatriation of migrant workers (TKI) which reached 3 billion rupiah, yet the cost of the actual repatriations was only 500 million rupiah, with the remainder being used for office meetings, meetings outside the office, coordinating meetings, regional travel expenses and so forth.

"It cannot go on like this. This is the model in almost all the ministries and state institutions, in the regions, it's the same. Just check them one by one. This has all been changed at the Kemenaker, and just see the results", said Widodo.

The President said that budgetary funds allocated for core activities are only around 20 percent while the remainder are just used for supporting activates.

"This kind of model must stop. Later I will go through them one by one, I won't point them out specifically right now. How can you expect results when all the planning is like this, [when] spending on support [activities] is actually dominant instead of spending on core activities", said Widodo.

Widodo said however that he has already held a discussion with the Minister of Labour in relation to the matter and improvements have been made.

The President also said that state spending in 2018 will reach Rp 2,220.7 trillion rupiah, a huge figure.

"Because of this we must jointly monitor it both in terms of planning, in terms of budgeting as well as later in terms of implementation", said Widodo.

The President revealed that the DIPA which has already been disbursed to the ministries and state institutions, which amounts to 847.4 trillion rupiah, and regional and village fund transfers which are as high as 766.2 trillion, must be allocated through quality budgeting and not repeat the earlier mistakes.

"Once again this is a huge figure. Because of this improve the quality, which is one of the things, by of course studying past problem so we don't repeat the mistakes which have been made. It will be absolutely terrible if we already know it's wrong, that there are errors, but then we still repeat the same mistakes", he asserted.

The president also asked all of the ministries, state institutions and regional governments to continue simplifying state budget implementation so that they are orientated towards results, not procedure.

The president admitted that during the anniversary of National Teachers Day in the Jakarta satellite city of Bekasi, West Java, he was criticised by the teachers for the complex administration and procedures for allowances, promotions and certification.

"They said, Pak [Widodo] we're not concentrating on teaching but instead wasting our energy on dealing with administration, the procedures that I have conveyed", he said.

The President said that this is not just happening to teachers but in other areas that are still caught up in problems like this.

"It wastes time, wastes energy, wastes ideas, just dealing with complicated administration. We cannot just cut off what is being conveyed today. Because of this everyone, from the central government to the regions, must immediately simplify things", he asserted.

Widodo also requested that the planning and budgeting be focused. "Once again, don't just spend all the money on lots of activities so that there are no tangible results, when even a sense of it isn't tangible, let alone the physical [results]. This is how it is if we have too many [support] activities", he said.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Jokowi Heran, Anggaran Rapat Lebih Besar dari Kegiatan Inti".]

Source: https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1040130/jokowi-heran-anggaran-rapat-lebih-besar-dari-kegiatan-inti

Jakarta & urban life

Urban problems worsening this year: LBH Jakarta

Jakarta Post - December 13, 2017

Jakarta – The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) received fewer complaining reports in 2017 compared to last year, but city and urban-related problems increased this year.

The head of LBH Jakarta's advocation division, Yunita, said the institute received 1,224 complaining reports this year, compared to 1,444 reports last year.

"In Jakarta alone the overall figure has decreased, but reports complaining about city and urban society problems related to land and housing cases have increased. There are 20 more cases related to such issues this year than last year," said Yunita during the institute's annual end-of-year evaluation on Tuesday.

The institute received a wide range of cases from 19,039 justice seekers this year. The cases included city and urban society, civil society and politics, women and children, family and labor, as well as non-structural issues.

On city and urban society issues, LBH Jakarta received 154 complaining reports with 6,807 justice seekers. On labor issues, they got 223 reports with 4,565 justice seekers.

The institute also received 188 reports on family-related issues, with 188 justice seekers. While for non-structural cases there were 532 reports; 41 reports on women and children issues; and 86 on civil society and political issues.

Even though the overall number of reports and justice seekers has declined, LBH Jakarta director Alghiffari Aqsa said the general trend and situation in justice and human rights enforcement in Jakarta was not better than last year. In 2017, there were still many important events that indicates there were infringements of human rights and justice. (roi)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/13/urban-problems-worsening-this-year-lbh-jakarta.html

Anies unaware of lunch meeting with mass organizations

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Jakarta – Members of several mass organizations went to City Hall on Tuesday to meet Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, claiming they had been invited to join him for lunch.

Islam Defenders Front (FPI) member Irfan Fauzi, who was part of the group, said FPI had received a lunch invitation from the governor that was scheduled for 12 p.m. at City Hall.

However, as the men waited in front of Balai Agung (Great Hall), they were approached by Eliazar Hutapea, head of the mass organization division at the city's agency for the National and Political Unity Office (Kesbangpol), who informed them the lunch meeting was canceled and would be rescheduled as Anies had been invited to meet President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

"We had informed them of the cancellation earlier, but the members were disappointed with the explanation," Eliazer said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Majid and his entourage from FPI left City Hall while Eliazer was explaining the reason for the cancellation. Also seen at City Hall were members of the Betawi People's Communication Forum (Forkabi), Trikora and Berkarya Party.

Mass organizations were believed to have played a significant role in helping Anies win the gubernatorial election in April.

Separately, Anies said he was unaware of the scheduled lunch on Tuesday. "I'll check it later; I just learned about it," he told reporters. Anies later said the lunch meeting had been rescheduled to Wednesday evening. (wnd)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/anies-unaware-of-lunch-meeting-with-mass-organizations.html

Jakarta Council Speaker urges Anies to focus on work

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Jakarta – Jakarta Council Speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi has urged Governor Anies Baswedan to focus on his work and not get side tracked building his personal image, following the chaos caused by flooding in several locations in Jakarta on Monday.

Prasetio said on Tuesday that Anies and his deputy Sandiaga Uno were not responsive enough in their handling of the floods as it was common knowledge that extreme weather and heavy rains would occur until February next year.

"[Anies should] stop focusing on his image and speaking of unimportant things. Let's focus on fixing Jakarta," Prasetio said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

Prasetio added that he was surprised to see the city's major thoroughfares and the Dukuh Atas underpass in Central Jakarta become inundated with water.

Earlier, Anies blamed the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) transportation development projects for being the cause of the flooding, arguing that the construction of the projects had obstructed waterways.

According to Prasetio, funds for the Jakarta Water Resources Agency in the 2018 city draft budget reached Rp 3.2 trillion (US$235.5 million) while funds for stationer pumps, mobile pumps, water gates, pump building and the like was Rp 21.9 billion.

In the 2017 revised city budget, the allocation for the agency was Rp 1.5 trillion, while funds for pumps and supporting infrastructure reached Rp 25.9 billion.

Prasetio said he wondered why broken pumps and dirty waterways had caused the floods. "I cannot accept [Anies'] argument that the MRT, LRT and road improvement projects caused the flooding," he said. (wnd)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/jakarta-council-speaker-urges-anies-to-focus-on-work.html

Anies-Sandi's response to yesterday's flooding in Jakarta doesn't

Coconuts Jakarta - December 12, 2017

If you live or work anywhere within the Greater Jakarta Metro Area, you know all about yesterday's widespread flooding throughout the capital since, at best, it ruined your commute home and, at worst, it left you up to your waist in murky waters as you tried to forge a path through it.

One of the many distressing aspects of yesterday's flooding is that it was caused by just one hour of heavy downpour. Although the rainfall during that hour was categorized as "extreme" in some areas, as Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of data and information at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) pointed out in a tweet this morning, the amount of rain that caused such widespread flooding in Jakarta yesterday was far less than the amount required to trigger flooding in the past.

As we noted yesterday, this is the first real test of recently inaugurated Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Vice Governor Sandiaga Uno's preparedness and response to Jakarta's annual flooding. And, frankly speaking, the way they handled yesterday's crisis doesn't fill us with a ton of confidence for how they'll handle the next one.

One of the most flooded areas of the city was the Dukuh Atas underpass in Menteng, Central Jakarta, which reached up to 1 meter high. Anies visited the area and was supposedly angered to learn that water pumps in the area that were meant to displace flood waters were broken. When he asked Mulyadi, one of the pump operators, how long they had been broken, Mulyadi said they had been offline since October 22 but that nobody had responded to his reports and fixed them.

The governor told reporters that those responsible for not fixing the pump would be punished accordingly. "We will act firmly against anyone who does not respond quickly to flood issues, will be dealt with firmly," Anies said at the pump station as quoted by Kompas.

We'd just like to point out that it was Anies' predecessor, former Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama who helped set up and expand the capital's current water pump system as part of his comprehensive flood prevention strategy. He also did things like instruct government agencies to make sure the pumps were working before potential weather emergencies, as he did in anticipation of La Nina last year.

That is in contrast to one of Vice Governor Sandiaga Uno's explanations for yesterday's flooding, which is that is was due to a "weather anomaly" caused by climate change so they couldn't have predicted it (although he also mentioned that he had read a book about climate change and totally knew about how it can cause extreme weather changes).

But Sandi also said that yesterday's rain was just a natural phenomenon that we should accept. "We can not fight nature, it is wrong to fight nature. Do not say this is receding or flooding just like that, this is a natural phenomenon," he said as quoted by Liputan 6.

He also said, "Allah again sends rain. If we had a good system, then the rain should be a blessing for us," referring to his idea that the capital should have a way of capturing rainwater for uses such as drinking.

As for the numerous fallen trees throughout the city, Sandiaga said that the government had wanted to cut down many of the trees that were prone to falling down or that had been ravaged by termites but...

"The problem is that we received a lot of resistance from the community who want the trees to be saved," he said, also as quoted by Liputan 6. (Tsk, tsk, the powerful tree-loving lobby of Jakarta once against preventing the government from doing it's job...)

It is perhaps unfair to expect any new administration to be totally prepared for Jakarta's massive flooding problem (even though it is an annual problem, caused by the annual rainy season). And, to be more fair, there have not been extensive flooding throughout Jakarta in the last few years (mainly due to the work of Ahok's administration, but also less heavy rainfall in general) so flood prevention strategy was not exactly a major talking point of the Anies-Sandi campaign.

But one last thing we'll note about Ahok is that, rather than blaming nature or other people when flooding did happen under his watch, he humbly apologized to the people who were affected. We've yet to see Anies or Sandi do anything similar.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/anies-sandis-response-yesterdays-flooding-jakarta-doesnt-exactly-fill-us-confidence/

Jakarta administration criticized for not uploading meeting videos

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Fachrul Sidiq, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's decision to discontinue the publication of videos of executive meetings has been criticized by an activist, saying it was a setback to efforts to create a clean and transparent government.

Based on Gubernatorial Decree No. 159/2016 on uploading videos of leadership meetings, the administration is mandated to make the videos accessible to the public by uploading the decision-making process in the hopes of creating transparency. It stipulates that the videos should be uploaded three days after the meeting.

Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno, however, recently said the administration would discontinue uploading the videos to YouTube because they had been misused and instead created public division.

Idris Ahmad from online platform Kawal Jakarta has lamented such a new policy, saying that it contravened the prevailing regulation.

"If the deputy governor does not like transparency, he may revise the regulation. However, as long as it still prevails, the administration should display the leadership meeting videos [...]," he said in a statement on Monday.

Based on his observations, Idris said, most of the videos uploaded to the administration's official channel were dominated by less important content, such as ceremonies and working visits, with only one video displaying an executive meeting.

He added that Kawal Jakarta rejected the proposal to discontinue the move, which was introduced by the previous administration. "As the capital, Jakarta should become an example to other cities," he said. (fac)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/jakarta-administration-criticized-for-not-uploading-meeting-videos.html

Public must formally ask to see Jakarta gov't meeting videos to avoid

Coconuts Jakarta - December 11, 2017

Under former governors Joko Widodo and Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, Jakartans had unprecedented access to video recordings of meetings conducted by the Jakarta provincial government on Youtube as part of their administration's efforts to increase transparency.

Ironically, it was one of those recordings that was used as evidence to put Ahok in jail for his controversial blasphemy conviction.

Governor Anies Baswedan and Vice Governor Sandiaga Uno's administration are taking a very different approach from Ahok's administration, reversing many of his transparency policies – including regular uploads of government meetings onto Youtube – citing their potential for creating divisions among the public.

"The public is so creative, and my job is to unite all the people. But, if (the videos) are used for memes or edited by those who support us or who don't yet support us, there could be divisions," Sandiaga said, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.

However, Sandi insisted that the public is still free to view the video recordings, although they will no longer be easily accessible on Youtube like before. Instead, the vice governor said citizens must file a formal request to the Jakarta provincial government's IT and Communications department to view a recording of a meeting.

"We're not hiding anything. We're open kimono, open kebaya. We're not hiding anything," Sandiaga said.

Last year, a university professor named Buni Yani posted a trimmed version of a video uploaded to the Jakarta provincial government's Youtube page showing Ahok's infamous speech in the Thousand Islands in which he warned those in attendance not to be fooled by those who use the Quran as a political tool.

Buni Yani's misleading transcription of the video clip ultimately led to Ahok's blasphemy trial and his eventual 2-year prison sentence, while the university professor was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for creating religious unrest by uploading the video.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/public-must-formally-ask-see-jakarta-govt-meeting-videos-avoid-divisive-memes-vice-gov-sandiaga-uno/

Retail & service industry

Beware of false discounts, expired products on year-end sales, says YLKI

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has warned people about false discounts and products unfit for consumption, which are rampant as the end of the year approaches.

"Consumers should be careful not to buy products with expiry dates that are approaching, or even that have already passed," YLKI chairman Tulus Abadi said in his press release on Monday.

Consumers should also be especially wise regarding discounts for fashion products, he said, as many retailers increase the prices before applying discounts during the holiday season.

"We often find a 100 percent price increase of fashion products before a 50 percent discount. This practice is a violation of law," he said.

The YLKI also demanded the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) and the Health Agency increase monitoring and market inspections near the end of the year.

"The YLKI also requests the police strengthen law enforcement toward products' trade violations," Tulus added. (gis)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/beware-of-false-discounts-expired-products-on-year-end-sales-says-ylki.html

Online shops not causing closure of retail outlets: BPS

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency's (BPS) balance and statistics analysis deputy head, Sri Soelistyowati, denied that poor sales at a number of retail outlets were caused by the emergence of online shops.

Sri said the market share of e-commerce was still relatively low compared to the market share of offline retail. "Online shopping share for total household spending was less than 1 percent," she said at a press conference in Bogor, West Java, over the weekend.

She, however, acknowledged that there was a lack of data on the number of online shopping transactions as her agency was conducting a survey to collect data on e-commerce transactions.

"Therefore, it is wrong to blame online shopping for the closure of several retail outlets," she added.

Sri said there had been a shift in how people spent their money. "There has been a shift in spending from non-leisure [to leisure]," she said, adding people prefer to spend their money, for example on going to restaurants, to stay at hotels and to seek entertainment.

Therefore, she advised the government to encourage people to spend their money domestically by developing leisure facilities.

According to BPS data, household sending for restaurants and hotels reached 5.52 percent of income in the third quarter of 2017, compared to the figure in the corresponding period of 2016, which stood at 5.01 percent. (jlm/bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/online-shops-not-causing-closure-of-retail-outlets-bps.html

Stagnant wages and e-commerce ravage Indonesia's department stores

Nikkei Asian Review - December 10, 2017

Jun Suzuki, Jakarta – After years of torrid growth, sales at retail establishments in Indonesia, especially department stores, are losing steam, as wage growth slows and online shopping takes off.

The growth rate for retail stores is now at single-digit levels, falling from above 10% in recent years. Online shopping is shouldering part of the blame, but the main culprit is a slowdown in overall consumer spending – long the driver of Indonesia's economy – due to sluggish wage growth.

Since the busy Ramadan shopping season ended in the summer, Indonesian consumers apparently have tucked away their wallets, at least at brick-and-mortar establishments. Retail store sales in October grew by an anemic 1.3% from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank.

This is causing store closures across the country, where the modern retail business model had entrenched itself over the years. At the end of June, all Indonesian 7-Eleven convenience stores closed their doors. In September, Matahari Department Store, the nation's largest department store chain, shuttered two southern Jakarta stores.

Same-store sales of the chain over the first nine months of the year fell 2.7% from the same period last year.

The recent lack of foot traffic at a major Jakarta department store typified the trend. As some 40 clerks stood idly chatting away, a nearby supermarket swarmed with shoppers.

Online onslaught

Many of the vacant store fronts in the country's commercial centers are due to the increase in e-commerce. According to one survey, online sales surged 22% in 2017 from the previous year to around $7 billion.

A bevy of powerful e-commerce sites – among them Tokopedia, one of Indonesia's largest online marketplaces, and Alibaba Group Holding's Lazada – are siphoning shoppers away from stores, a trend that shows no sign of abating. Online sales are projected to keep climbing at a brisk annual rate of around 20% for the foreseeable future.

The growth in smartphone usage has also spurred online shopping, especially in rural areas where modern retail shops are still few and far between.

Stagnant wages

But the rise in online shopping tells only part of the story. The main reason for tepid consumer spending is weak wage growth. The minimum wage growth rate will slow to 8.71% in 2018, the lowest in recent years, according to the government, noting that relatively low-income earners will be hit particularly hard.

As recently as 2013, minimum wages had soared more than 40%, fueling the country's free-spending ways. Now, consumers are being forced to cut back in order to save for future outlays, such as on housing and education. This has put a crimp on spending for even daily products.

With a population of over 250 million, Indonesia is the largest consumer market in Southeast Asia. Many economists say the country's consumption will continue to rise over the long term.

There is little doubt, however, that Indonesian's retail industry is facing a crisis of sorts, and the government is not helping with the situation.

If this trend continues, the ensuing shock waves may hit other sectors of the economy, possibly dampening foreign direct investment in the country's consumer market.

Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Stagnant-wages-and-e-commerce-ravage-Indonesia-s-department-stores

Armed forces & defense

TNI, National Police leaders to strengthen unity

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, accompanied by several high-ranking police officers visited newly inaugurated Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto on Monday, in an apparent gesture of cooperation and support.

During their meeting at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, the two leaders stressed the importance of solidarity between their institutions in securing the nation.

"Let's continue our good relationship," said Hadi during a banquet held on Monday afternoon in the hall of Soedirman Building.

The new commander hoped the National Police chief's visit was not merely ceremonial, and that they would meet again soon. He expected that military-police solidarity could be established at all levels, not just among the upper echelons of the two institutions.

Congratulating the new TNI Commander on his inauguration, Tito said the National Police force was committed to supporting Hadi's leadership in strengthening the professional capacity of the Armed Forces.

Tito added that the military and the police were only two institutions that distanced themselves from the elections to maintain neutrality. As long as the two institutions were in unity, the nation's security could be assured, he said. "For the police, the military is a key partner," Tito said.

He hoped for stronger cooperation between the TNI and the National Police in securing events in the near future, such as the 2018 regional elections and 2019 general elections, as well as in mutually supporting their institutional duties. (ami/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/tni-national-police-leaders-to-strengthen-unity.html

TNI chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto visits national heroes' cemetery

Tempo - December 11, 2017

Antara, Yogyakarta – Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Commander Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto went on a pilgrimage to the tomb of TNI's first commander-in-chief General Soedirman, which is located in Kusuma Negara Heroes' Cemetery in Yogyakarta, on Sunday, December 10.

Hadi stated that he is keen on continuing Soedirman's struggle to build a professional and modern army. "We will continue the struggle of Commander-in-Chief General Soedirman in assembling an army that is professional and modern," said Chief Marshal Hadi.

Hadi reasons that General Soedirman is responsible for establishing basic values for TNI soldiers in maintaining Indonesia's sovereignty and wholeness. He said that he had planned to go on pilgrimage before he was transferred to the main TNI headquarters in Jakarta.

"It's been my initial intention to go on pilgrimage to General Soedirman's tomb before I started working in Jakarta, at the TNI Headquarters," he said.

Following his pilgrimage, TNI Commander Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto paid a visit to several other national heroes' burial site such as the one at Air Force's Monument of Struggle in Bantul.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/12/11/055913986/TNI-Chief-Marshal-Hadi-Tjahjanto-Visits-National-Heroes-Cemetery

Gatot needs 'soft-landing' before retirement: Expert

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Jakarta – A proper transition period is needed for Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, who, while still a serving general, has no active assignment, following the inauguration of Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto as Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, an expert has said.

Muradi, a military expert from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, said it would probably be uncomfortable for Gatot, a former TNI commander, to adjust to his non-active role.

"A non-active position is not a desirable one, especially for a four-star general," he said. Gatot will enter retirement on April 1, 2018.

Muradi said there should be a "soft-landing" for Gatot. "This is important to prevent him from feeling useless or suffering from a post-power syndrome."

Muradi said there were two possible options that could be used as a "soft-landing" position for Gatot. First, Hadi as the new TNI commander could provide Gatot with an active role, such as military advisor.

"This can be a way for Gatot, who is more experienced in leading the TNI, to transfer his knowledge to Hadi," said Muradi. "I think Hadi needs a transfer of knowledge."

In a second suggestion, Muradi said, it would be better if Gatot could be appointed as an expert faculty member at the Indonesian Defense University (Unhan). Gatot has extensive experience in the military field that he could share in his position as an instructor, he said. (nmn/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/gatot-needs-soft-landing-before-retirement-expert.html

New TNI Commander called on to strengthen solidarity

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Jakarta – Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has called on newly inaugurated Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto to strengthen the unity of the TNI, tempo.co reported on Saturday.

"The TNI must be solid. It should not be fragmented. It must move as one. Its loyalty must be steadfast, to the President," he said on Saturday following the TNI Commander succession ceremony from Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to Hadi at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Ryamizard asked Hadi to work harder to face increasingly tougher challenges in the future.

Replacing Gatot who will retire on April 1, Hadi was installed as TNI Commander by President Joko Widodo on Saturday.

Hadi, who served previously as the Air Force Chief of Staff, said he was committed to developing military personnel that were professional, disciplined, combat-ready and humble. These qualities will make the TNI greater, stronger and more confident in all its active duties, he added.

"This is not rhetoric, but a goal that we must achieve through dedication," Hadi said during the ceremony. "We must be optimistic that we can achieve those goals," he added.

High-ranking military officials, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mulyono and Navy Chief of Staff Vice Adm. Ade Supadi, National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) chief Air Vice Marshal M. Syaugi, also attended the event. (nmn/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/new-tni-commander-called-on-to-strengthen-solidarity.html

Hadi officially begins tenure as TNI commander

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2017

Jakarta – Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has officially begun his tenure as the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, replacing Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, after a handover ceremony at the military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Saturday. At the ceremony, Gatot thanked all military personnel who had supported him during his term as commander. He also expressed his support that his successor could meet the nation's expectations in leading the TNI.

"Good luck on carrying out a not-so-easy mandate," Gatot said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Hadi reasserted his determination to develop the military's professional capabilities to win the public's trust, as well as working under the designated minimum essential force (MEF) corridor.

"The TNI will continue the programs initiated by Pak Gatot," Hadi said, referring to his predecessor.

The handover ceremony took place only a day after Hadi was sworn in as TNI commander on Friday at the Presidential Palace. The former Air Force chief of staff replaced Gatot, who was dismissed with honor by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo earlier this week.

Hadi will lead the TNI until his retirement in 2020. (kuk)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/09/hadi-officially-begins-tenure-as-tni-commander.html

Foreign affairs & trade

Indonesia to ban products violating national standard requirements

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Jakarta – The Trade Ministry has announced the results of goods and product inspection throughout 2017, based on the Indonesia National Standard (SNI) and manual and guarantee card (MKG) requirements.

The ministry found 171 out of 582 products inspected violated requirements. "We have sent warnings and stopped some imports," said the ministry's consumer protection and trade order director general, Syahrul Mamma, in Jakarta on Monday

He said if the ministry found no improvement in the next inspection, the companies would be sued based on consumer protection regulations. The annual inspection is held to protect consumers, said Syahrul, adding that the government also wanted to ensure fair business practices.

Officials found that 27.4 percent of the products failed to meet the national standard, 33.9 percent violated the manual and guarantee card regulations, while the remaining consisted of imports that failed to provide labels or manufacturer information in Indonesian.

However, this year showed an 11 percent improvement from last year. The inspected products spanned from electronics, household and food products to automotive goods.

Syahrul said the government would also increase monitoring in border areas as such places were prone to illegal importing. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/indonesia-to-ban-products-violating-national-standard-requirements.html

Indonesia seeks to impose import duties on intangible goods

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2017

Jakarta – Indonesia is looking to impose import duties on intangible goods, such as electronic books and software, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

She earlier said that Indonesia was bound by a World Trade Organization (WTO) moratorium that banned developing countries charging import tariffs on intangible goods traded electronically.

"We are coordinating with the relevant ministry so that the decision on the moratorium can be reviewed and there will be a way for Indonesia [to impose the duties]," Sri Mulyani said on Friday as quoted by Kontan.co.id, referring to the Trade Ministry.

"The moratorium is merely related to import tariffs. We can still charge value-added tax and other taxes. So, let's see [if these taxes] can be charged," she added.

Head of communications and publication at the Finance Ministry's customs and excise department Deni Surjantoro said that this year developing nations, including Indonesia, had proposed to the WTO to charge duties on intangible goods next year.

"Developed countries still expect [the moratorium] to be in place permanently. If the lobbying is successful, we will impose [the duties]," he said, adding that if the global trade governing body decided otherwise, the government would comply with that.

The moratorium was first initiated by the WTO on May. 20, 1998, during the Second Ministerial Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. A declaration made during the conference stated "members will continue their current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions". (fny/lnd)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/10/indonesia-seeks-to-impose-import-duties-on-intangible-goods.html

Mining & energy

Indonesia to stop services to miners who fail to pay taxes

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2017

Jakarta – Starting on Jan. 1, the government will stop providing services to mining companies that failed to pay their taxes for 2017, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Mineral Resources and Coal Director General Bambang Gatot Ariyono has said.

In a letter dated Nov. 23, the ministry calls on several government institutions to stop serving mining companies – regardless of whether they have the clean and clear (CnC) status or not – that have failed to honor their tax obligations.

"The relevant institutions will block the companies and refuse to serve them," said Bambang, as reported by kontan.co.id on Thursday. He cited as an example that those companies would not get export recommendations.

The letter was addressed, among other institutions, to the Law and Human Rights Ministry's General Law Administration Directorate General, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Customs and Excise Office and the Transportation Ministry's Sea Transportation Directorate General.

Bambang said tough punishment was needed, because many holders of mining permits (IUP) had not paid their taxes, with unpaid taxes totaling Rp 4.3 trillion (US$301 million).

The government has issued 9,704 mining permits – 6,565 for companies assessed as CnC and the others for companies that have not achieved CnC status.

Law and Human Rights Ministry General Law Administration Director General Fredi Haris expressed his support for move of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and his readiness to stop serving companies that failed to pay taxes. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/08/indonesia-to-stop-services-to-miners-who-fail-to-pay-taxes.html

Economy & investment

Stop wait-and-see stance, Jokowi tells business

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2017

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Tuesday criticized businesspeople, saying they had spent too long in a wait-and-see position, because they were overly wary about the country's political situation amid upcoming regional elections.

He said this had been the case ever since he won the presidential election in 2014, and had continued in the following years, because of regional elections in 2015 and 2016.

"In 2018, we will have more regional elections, and the businesses will be in wait-and-see mode again. In 2019, there will be the presidential election, and they will wait and see yet again. The question is, how long will they be in this wait-and-see mode?" Jokowi said in Jakarta, as reported by tribunnews.com.

Therefore, he called on businesspeople to separate political issues from business issues, because Indonesia had long experience with elections and a mature democracy, as evidenced in the recent regional elections in many parts of the country that went smoothly and peacefully.

"Let a political event take place as it does. Let the economic activities take place normally. Everything is all right and safe. Our economy was also not disrupted by the recent regional elections," he added. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/12/stop-wait-and-see-stance-jokowi-tells-business.html

Household spending still weak next year: Economists

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2017

Jakarta – Several economists say people will still prefer keeping their money in banks next year.

"People will still prefer saving because they are waiting for government policies, especially those related to administered prices such as fuel prices, next year" Permata Bank economist Josua Pardede said as quoted by kontan.co.id, recently.

The increase of global crude oil prices is likely to push the government to increase the prices of subsidized fuels next year.

Josua also said people were anticipating possible food-price hikes in the next three months amid heavy downpours. "The government needs to announce its policy for next year so as to not boost household spending," he said.

Meanwhile, Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) director Enny Sri Hartati added that low consumer spending was sparked by negative sentiment over lack of employment opportunities in the next six months, as indicated by the Availability of Employment Expectations Index, which was stagnant at 120.9 in November.

"It means there was no significant addition of jobs in November," Enny added.

A Bank Indonesia survey shows that the consumer confidence index in November stood at 122.1, an increase of 1.4 points from the figure in October, sparked by the better expectations index, which increased one point from 133.8 to 134.8.

Although there was optimism, the respondents' spending allocation decreased 0.4 percent to 65.3 percent. (srs/bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/11/household-spending-still-weak-next-year-economists.html

Kadin, govt sign MoU to improve easy of doing business

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2017

Stefani Ribka, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the government on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate businesspeople in becoming members of the organization.

"The agreement is to be used as a legal basis for the Trade Ministry and Kadin to improve ease of doing business for Indonesian business communities," said Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita during the signing ceremony in Jakarta.

Kadin chairman Rosan P. Roeslani said the simplification for businesspeople, including for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to become members of Kadin was important because under Presidential Decree No. 17/2010, all businesses were required to become Kadin members.

Rosan said Kadin had finished revamping its membership information technology (IT) system to accommodate a database of 65 million members. He added that Kadin currently had 324,000 active members. Under the newly signed MoU, any firms that have business permits (SIUP) and registration certificates (TDP) registered under the ministry will automatically become a member of Kadin. They will be given membership cards (KTA) for free.

He said Kadin would talk to the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry about Kadin membership for MSMEs and cooperatives, even without legal establishment documents because the small firms rarely had such documents.

Rosan said as Kadin members, businesspeople could easily channel their complaints or difficulties to the government. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/12/08/kadin-govt-sign-mou-to-improve-easy-of-doing-business.html

People & places

Fugitive FPI leader Rizieq Shihab tops Google's list of the top trending

Coconuts Jakarta - December 14, 2017

Google recently released its Year in Search 2017 lists, showing the top unique terms that people entered into the digital giant's search engine this year. The various 2017 lists for Indonesia contain a lot of unique insights but for this article we'll focus on their list of the top trending tokoh (public figures) of the year.

Coming in at the top of the list is a man little-known outside of Indonesia but infamous and admired in nearly equal measures within the archipelago. Rizieq Shihab (referred to on the list as Habib Rizieq – 'Habib' being an honorific commonly used to refer to Islamic scholars from the Sayyid community, or descendants of Prophet Muhammad, which Rizieq claims to be) is both the founder and current spiritual leader of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) as well as a fugitive from Indonesian justice, allegedly hiding in Saudi Arabia after being charged as a suspect in a high-profile (and highly ironic) pornography case by the Jakarta Police.

Why was Rizieq, the leader of an organization that has been described as a band of rent-a-thugs in Islamic robes, so frequently searched for this year, even more so than celebrities like national politicians like President Joko Widodo (#4) or recently inaugurated Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (#5)?

Those of you who are familiar with the firebrand cleric's history will know that he has been a blight on Indonesia for many years, almost since he founded FPI in the wake of Suharto's downfall in 1998. But while he's made plenty of headlines in years past with his crusades against the likes of Playboy and Lady Gaga, it was only late in 2016 and this year that he rose to national political prominence as the figurehead of the movement to criminalize and imprison former Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama on highly-politicized blasphemy allegations.

Rizieq's crusade gained the acclaim of Islamists around the country who wanted to prevent Ahok, a Christian of Chinese ancestry, from leading the capital once again. As the figurehead at the forefront of the massive anti-Ahok protests in Jakarta, he quickly become a household name throughout Indonesia.

But there's no doubt that the real reason searches for Rizieq went into overdrive in 2017 is due to his pornography scandal, which first surfaced towards the beginning of the year when a site appeared online alleging to contain leaking materials documenting the FPI leader's adulterous affair with one of his followers, including explicit sexts from the woman in question.

While the authenticity of the leaked documents were heatedly debated by Rizieq's detractors and followers, police turned it into a criminal matter under the purview of Indonesia's strict pornography laws and eventually named Rizieq a suspect for helping to "produce" the materials.

Rizieq fled Indonesia shortly before he was officially named a suspect and has refused to return to the country to face the charges ever since, though he has broadcast several messages to his followers, including his latest, played at the one year anniversary of the 212 anti-Ahok rally on December 2 in which he called for his followers to fight for the "Sharia state of Indonesia" and in which his followers named him the high priest of the Indonesian people (a completely made up position BTW).

Coming in second on this year's trendling list is Novel Baswedan, an investigator from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) who had acid splashed in his face by unknown attackers in April (police have still not named any suspects in the case). He was investigating the enormous electronic ID card corruption case that most recently (and finally) ensnared House Speaker Setya Novanto as a suspect.

In third is Anniesa Hasibuan, who was once most famous as a fashion designer but become infamous this year due to her other role as the owner and director of PT First Anugerah Karya Wisata, or First Travel. Along with her husband Andika Surachman, the president director of the company, Anniesa has been named a suspect for her alleged role in First Travel's defrauding of thousands of Indonesians who had purchased cheap umrah pilgrimage travel packages to Mecca through the company.

President Joko Widodo's position in 4th place is unsurprising given his well demonstrated social media savviness. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan showing up in 5th place is also not much of a surprise given the huge amount of attention given to the controversial Jakarta gubernatorial race this year. We don't have any prediction yet for who may appear on next year's trending figure list, but wouldn't be surprised if both Jokowi and Anies both make the cut once again.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/fugitive-fpi-leader-rizieq-shihab-tops-googles-list-top-trending-public-figures-indonesia-2017/

Analysis & opinion

Nobody safe in Indonesia's 'trial of the century'

Asia Times - December 14, 2017

John McBeth, Jakarta – Billed as Indonesia's 'trial of the century', the formal arraignment on December 13 of Golkar Party chairman and former House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto paves the way for a leadership change in Indonesia's oldest and most influential party ahead of what promises to be a bitterly fought 2018-19 election season.

Within hours of a sickly looking Novanto's appearance before the Jakarta Corruption Court, Golkar's central board chose industry minister Airlangga Hartarto to replace him, although the appointment must still be approved by a special party congress next week.

Golkar is in urgent need of a makeover, barely budging off 14% of the national vote in the last two legislative elections and still led by many of the same old faces who were around when it was president Suharto's unbeatable political machine.

Hartarto, 55, the Australian-educated son of a former Suharto Cabinet minister, has the firm support of president Joko Widodo, whose influence appears to have been decisive despite him being a member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P).

Analysts don't rule out Widodo jumping ship if PDI-P leader Megawati Sukarnoputri continues pushing him to select either her daughter, chief social affairs minister Puan Maharani, or National Intelligence Agency director Budi Gunawan as his 2019 running mate.

Novanto is charged with engineering the embezzlement of 2.3 trillion rupiah (US$172 million) from a 5.9 trillion rupiah electronic identity card project, known as e-KTP, in a case that has left the 560-seat Parliament a target of public scorn.

The veteran legislator quietly resigned from his parliamentary post a week before his arraignment invalidated his second pre-trial motion seeking to bring a premature end to the Anti-Corruption Commission's (KPK) investigation into the scandal, which has also implicated scores of other past and serving politicians.

Novanto was a compromise choice to end a damaging leadership conflict between failed presidential candidate Aburizal Bakrie and previous House Speaker Agung Laksono, which simmered all through 2015 and into 2016 when Golkar formally joined the ruling coalition.

As part of the Laksono faction, Hartarto had been expected to overcome any serious opposition with vice president Jusuf Kalla and former party chairman Akbar Tanjung both supporting his candidacy and Bakrie himself distracted by problems with his business empire.

Novanto's first indictment was scrapped by a district court judge on tenuous legal grounds last September, but the KPK has since gathered new evidence, including incriminating tapes provided by an E-KTP vendor who shot himself in Los Angeles last August.

The vendor's death came four months after chief KPK investigator Novel Baswedan, 40, a former police major and a cousin of new Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, was partly blinded in an acid attack in North Jakarta which remains unsolved.

"We have the evidence to show how it all unfolded, from the budget process, to the meetings and to the flow of funds to the parties involved," said a KPK spokesman, putting a cap on an inquiry that could send Novanto to jail for 20 years.

The 62-year-old politician may also face money-laundering charges related to the funds he is alleged to have taken himself, and is under scrutiny as well for understating his net worth in the asset declaration required of all public officials.

The 144 billion rupiah he reportedly declared is even 50 billion rupiah less than the value of his home in the upmarket Jakarta suburb of Kebayoran Baru, which investigators searched for five hours last month while Novanto was officially a fugitive.

The KPK has frozen the bank accounts of Novanto, his wife and two children, and has extended its search for the spoils in Indonesia's most egregious official graft case ever to nieces and nephews and to two family-owned companies and their directors and commissioners.

Delays in the second pre-trial hearing gave the KPK time to complete the case file and allow the corruption court to set a starting trial date, which fell just a day before the district court was due to deliver its ruling. As a result, the pre-trial proceedings became void.

What remains to be seen now is whether Parliament proceeds with its effort to introduce legislation that would effectively cripple the KPK by appointing an overall supervisory body, removing its powers of prosecution and revoking its right to wiretap – a key tool in all graft probes.

While there has been plenty of denials, the catalyst for the bill's revival stems from the fact that nine of the 10 political parties benefited in one way or another from the E-KTP rip-off, along with 37 lawmakers from the 2009-2014 parliamentary legal commission.

The scandal has already seen the jailing of two senior Home Ministry bureaucrats and may yet claim a lot more scalps, among them acting Golkar chairman Idrus Marham himself and possibly PDI-P's deposed Jakarta governor Basuki Purnama, jailed earlier this year for blasphemy, who reportedly sent the money back.

So far, none of the lawmakers have been indicted – and neither have a long list of other figures linked to the case, including justice minister Yasonna Laoly (PDI-P), Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo (PDI-P) and Anas Urbaningrun, the ex-Democrat chairman already serving eight years for corruption.

One of those implicated is Golkar's Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa, chairman of the special parliamentary committee of inquiry seeking to justify the clipping of the KPK's wings. KPK documents allege he received US$1.04 million from the illegal windfall.

It is yet another sign that vested interests and legal niceties mean very little in Indonesia's political life. Neither does the rhetoric from lawmakers who have convinced no-one that weakening the KPK's powers is justified in the face of a Parliament notorious for its money politics.

With the legislative process now seemingly dragging on into the new year, Widodo may be compelled to intervene again if he feels it could harm his chances of re-election in 2019.

"The president shouldn't just sit on his hands," Tempo magazine said in a July editorial. "(He) must immediately stop the move by these parties unless he wants to be accused of going along with the weakening of the KPK."

Source: http://www.atimes.com/article/nobody-safe-indonesias-trial-century/

The Islamist to watch in Indonesia

Asia Times - December 13, 2017

Luke Lischin – On December 2, alumni of the so-called "Aksi 212" protest that contributed to the downfall of former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama held a rally to commemorate the event at the city's National Monument.

Among those in attendance was Bachtiar Nasir, a key organizer of the Islamic protests that mobilized against Purnama's alleged "blasphemy" for questioning a section of the Koran which suggests Muslims should not pick non-Muslims as leaders. Purnama, an ethnic Chinese known by his nickname "Ahok", is now serving a two-year prison sentence on the charge.

At this month's reunion, Nasir expressed his hope that the alumni would reconvene every year and work peacefully towards building a stronger nation alongside the government and civil society. In doing so, Nasir made his latest public appeal in a long campaign to promote his emerging brand of Islamic populism as a driving force in the political mainstream.

Islamic populism in Indonesia is difficult to grasp due to the variety of forms the phenomenon takes and the organizational incoherence of Islamist political parties, which are among the most visible but necessarily most effective articulators of political Islam.

Vedi Hadiz, a professor at Australia's University of Melbourne, argues that Islamic parties do not mobilize their constituencies through patronage politics, but rather sustain themselves via ideational appeals and the churn of political controversy.

Given the dramatic mass demonstrations that toppled Purnama, the argument that manufacturing controversy effectively marshals popular mobilization for political ends is compelling. But to better understand how the process works, it is worth examining Nasir as one of Indonesia's chief practitioners of the art.

Unlike other controversial religious personalities, including Habib Rizieq of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Nasir has largely evaded critical commentary on his actions in the Western media.

Although he is far better known to Indonesians, he lacks a strong national constituency beyond his fellow activists and relatively narrow religious base. Nevertheless, Nasir's star is clearly on the ascent.

He recently rose from serving as a respected ustadz leading the Ar-Rahman Koranic Learning Islamic Center, replete with a popular television show and publications, to vice secretary of Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body, the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI).

The MUI, created under former President Suharto's New Order regime to advise the Muslim community on contemporary issues, has maintained its clout in the democratic era as an interface between the secular government and Islamic community.

Nasir also founded the Gerakan Nasional Pengawal Fatwa Majelis Ulama Indonesia (GNPF MUI), a relative newcomer to Indonesia's civil society that won national recognition after co-organizing the Aksi 411 and Aksi 212 protests against Purnama.

After the "success" of the anti-Ahok protests, Nasir leveraged into the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar to foment further controversy by staging more demonstrations across Java in support of the persecuted Muslim minority group, symbolically at the world-renowned Borobudur Buddhist temple complex as well as in Jakarta.

In the lead-up to those protests, the GNPF MUI posted a list of 230 organizations to Facebook that were purportedly participating in the event, underscoring Nasir's ability to bring disparate Muslim groups together under one umbrella.

Many of the organizations were self-reputed sharia advocacy groups from districts in Central and West Java.

Groups such as Laskar Umat Islam Surakarta, meanwhile, are well-established anti-vice organizations from the town of Solo with histories of low-level violence, including vandalizing local restaurants and beating their patrons for serving and consuming alcohol or violating state restrictions on operating hours.

While local FPI chapters were also on the list, groups engaged in thuggery represented a small percentage of the list. Most of the organizations are public morality associations that pressure and appeal to local authorities to regulate social norms rather than resort to violence.

Forum Silaturahmi dan Komunikasi Antar Masjid (Fokisam), another protest participant, is no stranger to political activism, having demonstrated on issues ranging from American foreign policy to alleged abuses committed by Indonesia's elite counterterrorism police, known as Detachment 88.

Other groups represent more diverse interests, including professional associations of Muslim merchants and even journalists.

The protesters at Borobudur were not simply "drunk on religion", as some observers claimed, but rather represented a sober coalition of groups organized under Nasir's GNPF MUI umbrella.

While Nasir cannot claim sole credit for organizing the protestors at Borobudur or Jakarta, it is difficult to imagine how these demonstrations could have coalesced in the absence of his leadership and coalition-building.

After renaming GNPF MUI to "GNPF Ulama" in order to differentiate the group from the MUI, Nasir has made clear that his organization is not a political party.

Yet he decisively entered the political fray when he urged voters to reject political parties that supported President Joko Widodo's controversial Mass Organization Law, which bans civil organizations deemed as going against the country's secular state ideology. The law received tepid approval from MUI's chairman.

Nasir pilloried Widodo for slowly transforming Indonesia into an un-Islamic nation, but his open disagreement with the chairman of the MUI may indicate that Nasir is positioning himself to become an important figure who deftly straddles the mainstream and extreme ends of the political spectrum.

Nasir is a regular lecturer and participant at events and forums hosted by a variety of mass Islamic organizations, including the Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, while also maintaining working relations with more extreme organizations such as the FPI.

Unlike FPI leader Habib Rizieq, who explicitly rejects democratic politics, Nasir advocates for greater unity among Islamic civil society groups. He also previously demonstrated a willingness to work selectively with Widodo's and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on certain issues.

Although outspoken in illiberal views, including a promise to hit ethnic Chinese wealth as a next target, Nasir is still a comparatively flexible ideologue interested in forging ties among Islamists while also brokering practical accommodations with those outside of his camp.

By building broad coalitions among like-minded activists and leading them in protest while also positioning himself as an interlocutor with government officials, Nasir is proving to be an effective though controversial leader in both civil society and politics.

Nasir has stepped away from Widodo's administration and intimated indirect support for the political opposition lead by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), National Mandate Party (PAN), and presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto's Gerindra party.

Nasir, to be sure, has not yet definitively hitched his wagon to any specific party or political camp. But that could change during what is expected to be a heated campaign for legislative and presidential elections in 2019.

For a man capable of – if not largely responsible for – orchestrating public opinion to oust a popular incumbent governor in the name of Islamic principle would be a potential valuable ally on the hustings.

[Luke Lischin is an academic assistant at the US-based National War College. The views expressed here are solely of the author.]

Source: http://www.atimes.com/article/islamist-watch-indonesia/

Fair trade and fatwas: the new halal product regime

Indonesia at Melbourne - December 12, 2017

Stewart Fenwick – Negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between Australia and Indonesia continue, with little tangible progress so far. One of the more entertaining reports emerging from recent discussions was a joke made by Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita that he might require imports of Australian wine to pass halal certification (clearly, wine would be prohibited by Islamic precepts and therefore not pass).

"Halal wine" aside, the minister's Australian counterpart, Steven Ciobo, has reportedly endorsed Indonesia's new halal regime, which will require all meat sold in Indonesia to be halal certified. This new requirement is linked to the controversial 2011 suspension of Australian live beef exports to Indonesia. Live exports are designed in part to allow animals to be slaughtered by having their throats cut (before or after stunning) to comply with Islamic requirements.

The new halal regime was established by legislation passed in 2014, following years of debate – the bill sat with the legislature for more than eight years. In October this year, Minster of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakim Saifuddin made an important move in preparation for the implementation of the legislation by launching the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH). This new agency is a policy response primarily driven not by the rise of public piety but rather by longstanding concerns about the integrity of halal certification processes.

The current process began in 1989, when the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI, Majelis Ulama Indonesia) created an institute to test food, medicines and cosmetics. A mesh of regulations and decrees emerged to add a veneer of regulation but the truth was that MUI had an unregulated monopoly over halal certification.

Since then, many complaints have been made to the country's independent competition regulator, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), over the way MUI has exploited this monopoly. Although reliable public figures are hard to come by, MUI is thought to generate a major portion of its income from charging fees for halal certificates. A certificate for a small or medium sized business reportedly costs about Rp 3 million (about $A296) for two years.

Concerns about the use of the halal monopoly to generate revenue for MUI have not been limited to Indonesian producers. Australian businesses have also made allegations of corruption in MUI's management of this "voluntary" certification procedure. One business claimed to have paid fees but not received a license to produce halal food. MUI denied the claims but it led to an expose in Tempo Magazine. The cover featured a Warhol-style can of soup bearing, provocatively, the image of a pig and the editorial described MUI certification as being conducted in a forbidden (haram) fashion.

Bringing the religious approval of food and other produce under government control has been a matter of controversy for a long time. But the way the national legislature has resolved this debate will have important implications for Indonesian law and regulation.

Certification of halal products will now be conducted by the new BPJPH, rather than MUI. The law attacks MUI's monopoly position further by establishing a system for the establishment and accreditation of Halal Examination Institutes (LPH). Recognised Islamic institutions can propose to establish a LPH, which will then issue reports on the status of products for which certification is being sought.

What MUI loses in its direct control over certification, however, it gains through the legislative recognition of its fatwas. MUI has a long history of issuing fatwa on the status of animal and food products, and under the new law, halal certificates cannot be issued for foods or other products unless they are approved at an MUI Halal Fatwa Hearing. This is not simply legislative recognition of MUI religious opinions. Rather, it establishes a procedural requirement meaning that all requests for certification must pass not just an independent examiner but also MUI's scrutiny.

The new system dictates that all products entering or marketed in Indonesia must be halal compliant but it does provide an exception for non-compliant products that are labelled accordingly. The sale of "prohibited", or un-Islamic, products will not breach the law but the predominant standard for producers, distributors and retailers will now be compliance with shari'a.

The new scheme also imposes criminal sanctions. Failure to "protect the halal status" of products once certified may attract criminal sanctions in the form of a custodial sentence of up to five years, or a fine of up to Rp 2 billion. Unfortunately, exactly what "failure to protect" means is not at all clear.

Further, at least 20 government or ministerial regulations are reportedly required for the implementation of the new framework, which will commence on 17 October 2019, five years from the passage of the legislation. Until the regulations emerge, how this system will actually operate in practice remains uncertain.

This is not the first national law to recognise MUI fatwas. Indonesia's syari'a banking system already rests on the recognition of financial products and services by MUI. But the sheer scope of the halal product regime and its potential to have an impact on so many commercial and consumer transactions makes the new law a potential gamechanger for Indonesian public life.

It has also contributed to ongoing dialogue in Indonesia about the formal embrace of Islamic teachings by state law. Police Chief Tito Karnavian, for example, has pointed out that the fatwas are not recognised as part of the formal hierarchy of laws and regulations in Indonesia, which could complicate enforcement.

Despite these reservations, MUI has applauded the new regime as establishing its religious rulings as part of the official state record, asserting that under the law they become "state records with legal force, and having formal and certain legal status".

Indonesian lawmakers have created a scheme that further reinforces the country's embrace of a fusion of both secular and religious approaches to national governance. In this Janus-like state, the community and peak religious bodies have their desire for explicit recognition of religious rules and values recognised. Equally, the state remains sovereign, determining on a case-by-case basis where law should incorporate Islamic rulings.

In this particular reform, MUI has effectively been pardoned for its questionable record in relation to halal certification in the past. What is more, it has now been catapaulted into a truly central function, one that holds the potential to influence most areas of industry and commercial activity in the world's largest Muslim nation. This is an unprecedented kind of status and recognition for a national religious body, and transforms the Indonesian legal and regulatory landscape.

It is unsurprising then to see that there is an emerging debate in Indonesia as to the role and status of MUI and its fatwas. This suggests that the current vision for MUI's continuing monopoly role as the ultimate arbiter on matters of doctrine may not be shared by broader civil society. This is a good debate to have, as monopolies are by their nature ungoverned spaces and the methodology the new law has adopted to balance state and faith-based centres of authority may prove unsustainable.

[Dr Stewart Fenwick is the author of 'Blasphemy, Islam and the State: Pluralism and Liberalism in Indonesia', published by Routledge in 2017. He is an honorary professor at Australian Catholic University and Senior Associate at the Centre for Indonesian Law Islam and Society at Melbourne Law School.]

Source: http://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/fair-trade-and-fatwas-the-new-halal-product-regime/