• Falintil guerrillas grope for a peacetime role - Asiaweek
• Rising from the ashes - Time
• 'I don't feel prepared to lead this country' - Time
• Respect for UN mission is falling - South China Morning Post
• Apologists are revising history to absolve Jakarta - The Melbourne Age
• US Envoy: Army still supports East Timor militias - Associated Press
• East Timorese women reflect on 1999 - Green Left Weekly
• UN establishes East Timor's first tax system - UNAET
• UN seizes weapons smuggled from Indonesia - Japan Economic Newswire
• UN staff battle over independence policy - Sydney Morning Herald

• Gus Dur prays at Suharto's residence - Agence France-Presse
• Plotters no worry to 'popular' leader - Sydney Morning Herald

• The political economy of violence in Maluku - Green Left Weekly
• Eleven killed, thousands flee Maluku fighting - Straits Times

• Troops in search of rebels raid villages - South China Morning Post
• Irianese leaders accused of plot against the government - Jakarta Post
• Aceh atrocities 'commonplace' - Associated Press
• Lured to death by fake Red Cross - Sydney Morning Herald
• West Papuans demand independence vote - Green Left Weekly
• Indonesian Aceh crackdown - Financial Times
• Civilian killed in Aceh rebel ambush of troops - Agence France-Presse
• Army drives rich region into rebels' arms - The Guardian

• IWD marchers demand working women's rights - Green Left Weekly
• Angry terminal vendors break bus windows - Jakarta Post

• Human rights abuses in Indonesia still rife - Green Left Weekly
• Rights group protests draft rights bill - Agence France-Press

• Plan to reopen 1965 coup case draws controversy - Jakarta Post
• Rice farmers protest low prices - Dow Jones Newswires
• Complete works of banned writer to be published - Agence France-Presse
• Indonesian parliament building hit again - Straits Times
• State universities brace for big monetary cutbacks - Jakarta Post

• Wanted: A single agency to enforce the law - Straits Times
• Students demand closure of Indorayon - Reuters

• Jakarta 'must act on reform or growth will slow' - Straits Times
• IMF advises caution on lifting fuel subsidies - Dow Jones Newswires
• Security problems said causing big business losses - Antara
• Jakarta set to crack down on debtors - Straits Times

Student protesters hospitalized

Jakarta -- Two student protesters participating in a hunger strike at the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta for the past week were admitted to St. Carolus Hospital on Monday because of dehydration. Six other students are continuing the hunger strike.

Fachrul and Ucok, students of Jakarta University, have not had anything to eat for seven days or had any water for two days. The six other students are from Atmajaya University, Interstudi Communication College, Satya Negara Indonesia and Christian Djaja University. They are grouped in the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (Famred).

They lambasted the Attorney General's Office for its sluggish action in handling alleged graft cases implicating former president Soeharto, members of his family and business associates. The students said they would leave the Attorney General's Office on Tuesday.
 

East Timor

Falintil guerrillas grope for a peacetime role

Anastasia Vrachnos, Ailieu -- In the mountains south of Dili, men with long hair and guns stand in the pre-dawn mist. They introduce themselves to a visitor with noms de guerre.

"Earth-quake. Nice to meet you." "Hi, I'm Every-where." They wait patiently for their patrol shift to end. They are used to waiting. They are members of Falintil, East Timor's rebel army. After 24 years of armed struggle, Falintil won in the end by waiting. When pro-Jakarta militia rampaged through East Timor after last-year's United Nations-sponsored vote on independence, the rebels stayed in the hills as they promised to the international community, avoiding an all-out civil war. They won the respect of Interfet multinational peacekeepers for their local intelligence, and their restraint. Today, Earthquake, Everywhere and 800 or so fellow guerrillas are cantoned in Ailieu, meaning they can carry arms only within a designated area. And they wait while their leaders and UN officials try to work out if they have anything to wait for.

In what ought to be a time of triumph, Falintil floats in limbo. All agree that it played a big part in East Timor's independence, but what is its role now? The group wants to keep its arms and eventually form the core of a national army. "Interfet turned over its mandate to PKF [UN peacekeeping forces]. Who will PKF turn the mandate over to?" asks Falintil field commander Taur Matan Ruak. "One day they will leave, and we must be prepared to keep the peace." But the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) maintains that all "irregular" forces must disarm and disband if the territory is to heal its divisions and build a new civil society. Also, while no one suggests that Falintil would ever become oppressors, UN officials fret about the many rebels in other countries who turned into repressive regimes after gaining power. "Falintil was a force which had a cause, and now that cause has changed," says one official. "So what you have is an armed force without a cause and that is a dangerous thing."

For the moment, Falintil is a stabilizing force in the shell- shocked territory -- although it turns rough at times. UNTAET and other international agencies rely heavily on Falintil's local knowledge and intelligence channels. While anger toward pro- Jakarta militia, many of whom fled to Indonesian West Timor, remains wide-spread, Falintil recently met militia leaders in Singapore for talks on reconciliation. At the village level, Falintil has helped the reintegration of returning militia members in the absence of a functioning judicial system by administering home-brew justice, generally relying on community service-type sentences but sometimes veering to beatings. As long as things do not go too far, UNTAET and others have been willing to turn a blind eye.

But questions over the group's future are mounting. UNTAET had hoped that some members of Falintil might join the police force now being set up. But the rebel group forbade its members from applying.

Ruak says Falintil troops are too busy to become policemen -- an assertion belied by the rowdy volleyball and soccer games that mark afternoons in Ailieu. The group also launched a recruitment and remobilization campaign recently. Training camps are springing up outside the cantonment area. Some guerrillas in Ailieu say they expect to be deployed to towns like Same, Los Palos and Suai in the coming weeks, which would put Falintil clearly in violation of their cantonment and could lead to an embarrassing standoff with UN peacekeepers. The possibility of confrontation is at odds with the record of cooperation between the two sides but Falintil seems determined to go about its business as an army-in-waiting -- and in the process is strengthening its bargaining position in discussions on its future.

Those discussions are set to intensify. A meeting of top decision-makers -- including UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello and independence leader Xanana Gusmao, Falintil's supreme commander and East Timor's de facto president, and field commander Rauk -- is expected shortly, following several weeks of working-level talks.

A senior UN official says several ideas have been floated, such as incorporating some Falintil members or units within the PKF, although nothing is likely to be settled quickly. UNTAET realizes that it needs Falintil's local knowledge and contacts, and that it cannot stop all recruitment and training. What it wants to avoid is a parallel military structure acting outside its control. Falintil needs UNTAET's expertise and humanitarian assistance, as well as its blessing to pursue links with countries like Australia and Portugal which are offering training and other incentives.

Is Falintil the seed of a future national army? The question is moot. East Timor may need international peacekeepers for years, and Falintil's 1,000-plus troops (compared to the PKF's 8,500) are not about to replace them any time soon. The powers-that-be are scrambling to provide alternatives. The International Organization for Migration is working on plans to reintegrate Falintil members into society. Chris Gascon, the IOM's head of mission, says a program could offer vocational training or support in starting up micro-enterprises. "Falintil's return to the community is a great opportunity," he says. "They are local heroes and in some cases charismatic leaders who can function as catalysts for community rebuilding." Meanwhile, Earthquake and his comrades pass their time playing volleyball and mooching cigarettes from passing cars -- rebels waiting for a cause.

Rising from the ashes

Terry McCarthy, Dili -- The woman in black is waiting for him. Xanana Gusmao, East Timor's poet-revolutionary and de facto leader, is working his way through a crowd of admirers. When he reaches her, she throws her arms around him and sobs uncontrollably on his shoulder. Her husband and brother were killed by the Indonesian-backed militia last September, she says, so what should she do with her five children? Gusmao holds her for an age, all the time talking in a low, soothing voice. Then he reaches up and gently wipes tears from the woman's face, kisses her on both cheeks and moves on. The mass of people around him have backed off and gone silent.

Gusmao's life is full of such religious moments these days. Minutes later the crowd has raised him on their shoulders, and Gusmao is pumping them up again with his trademark rallying cry: "Viiiiva East Timorrrr, Viiiiva Independencia." They have no food in this village of Padiai in Oecussi district, 175 km west of the capital, Dili. Most of their houses are still charred ruins from the militia's rampage six months ago, and all have tales of torture, rape or murder. But Xanana Gusmao has come to them as a savior and a healer. After 500 years of Portuguese colonialism followed by the 24 years of Indonesian occupation that the East Timorese have endured, Gusmao is promising them freedom from fear -- and the crowd is delirious.

When 80% of East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia last August 30, many outsiders thought it made neither political nor economic sense: 850,000 people living on half an island (Indonesian West Timor occupies the rest), a thousand kilometers from nowhere. The humiliated Indonesian military did its best to make the predictions of disaster come true. As they killed, burned and looted all they could on their way out, they left graffiti on the walls of Dili promising, A FREE EAST TIMOR WILL EAT STONES. East Timor joined the world's list of nations at the very bottom: the World Bank estimated per capita GDP at $240, down among the poorest of the poor along with Mozambique and Ethiopia.

But something remarkable is happening in that half of the island. Gusmao, 53, a former guerrilla leader and political prisoner, has tapped into reserves that are out of reach of the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, reserves of willpower and pride the people themselves barely knew existed.

Combining the authority of Nelson Mandela and the charisma of Che Guevara, Gusmao has been traveling the country, spreading his vision of the future.

"All of us must let go of the bad things they have done to us," he said in his first speech after returning to Timor in October, "because the future is ours." The romance of the revolutionary is irresistible to the masses, and he gets rock-star adulation wherever he goes. Timorese may be hungry, but for the first time they are learning to stand on their own feet. Gusmao in turn draws strength from the crowds that surround him. "The man is shaping the nation," says Father Filomeno Jacob, a Jesuit priest in Dili who worked secretly with the resistance from the 1980s. "He believes he is the embodiment of people's hopes."

The cult of Gusmao is not without its detractors. "Like all humans, there are positive and negative factors," says Bishop Carlos Belo, Nobel laureate and head of East Timor's Catholic Church. "He is not 100% savior or hero." The air around Gusmao is musky with the appeal of the poet-warrior, and some of his fellow leaders in the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), the umbrella group that campaigned for independence last year, are envious of the attention he receives.

Others criticize his personalized, highly emotional approach to politics. "If people saw the way he handles meetings," says Jose Ramos-Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Belo and represented the East Timorese cause overseas for 24 years, "he screams and shouts and pounds his fist on the table -- but then he smiles and jokes. He can do it because of his authority."

At the grass roots, this authority is unchallenged. Last month during the visit of Indonesia's reformist President Abdurrahman Wahid, an angry crowd gathered to protest the disappearance of their relatives during the Indonesian occupation. Gusmao immediately jumped off the podium and plunged into the crowd, arguing, calming, pleading and reasoning until, single-handedly, he had pacified several hundred people. Then he led three of the protesters in to meet Wahid, including the widow of David Alex, a resistance leader who was captured by Indonesian troops and presumed executed in 1997. "It was amazing," says Peter Galbraith, former US ambassador to Croatia and now in charge of politics for the United Nations in East Timor, who was present at the meeting. "There was this woman, politely asking Wahid where her husband was buried, and he replied that he would do what he could -- and Xanana sitting beside them, smiling."

Stories about the demonstration and how Gusmao had turned it into a form of reconciliation quickly spread through Dili. By nightfall everyone knew how Wahid, charmed by Gusmao, had later gone on to the Santa Cruz cemetery and apologized on Indonesia's behalf for "the things that have happened in the past."

Gusmao's background may not contain much economic theory or public administration know-how. He says he is not suited to the job of running the country. But his ability to reach out to people and bring them together is unmatched. In battered, directionless East Timor, that is the kind of leadership the people need. "This man knows what suffering is," says Father Jacob. "It is not theory." According to his 1994 autobiography East Timor, One People, One Homeland, Xanana Gusmao was born in Manatuto, 50 km east of Dili "either on the night of the 20th or in the early hours of the 21st of June, 1946, in the scorching heat that ripens the rice." East Timor was a harsh place then, still recovering from the wartime Japanese occupation and laboring under a heavy-handed Portuguese colonial regime. From his childhood Gusmao remembers the groans of prisoners being whipped in public, and early on he learned how the colonials discriminated against those with darker skin.

An unruly pupil, Gusmao was regularly beaten in elementary school. By the age of 12 when his parents dispatched him to a seminary to prepare for the priesthood, he says, he was "already a rebel." After four years of studying with the priests, Gusmao ran away. He ended up teaching Portuguese at the Chinese school in Dili and working for the provincial government as a surveyor -- a job that ended when he threatened to punch his boss in an argument over racial discrimination by the Portuguese overlords.

Burning with resentment at colonial rule, Gusmao became a journalist in 1974 and watched with satisfaction as the Portuguese finally decided to leave East Timor. But the following year Indonesia invaded, and Gusmao joined the resistance. He fled into the mists of the mountains that run the length of East Timor and would hide the guerrillas for a quarter of a century.

Indonesia's annexation of East Timor was not recognized by the United Nations and virtually all of its member countries, with the notable exception of nearby Australia. Some 200,000 Timorese would be killed by the Indonesians, and the occupation was to be former President Suharto's single biggest foreign policy liability.

The dangerous, romantic life of the revolutionary appealed to the bearded young rebel, as he and his men in the falintil (or Armed Forces for the Liberation of East Timor) resistance tried to stay one step ahead of Indonesian troops. "Sometimes in the mountains a lot of people died, suffered -- but we never forgot to sing," he says. "Music for us means many things, but most often it expresses sorrow." In 1975 Gusmao had given up his family, including a wife and two young children: from then on, the struggle for East Timor would fill his life.

Back in Dili, his family was harassed by Indonesian intelligence. "I felt very scared," says his mother, Antonia, now 77. "Sometimes they would come and say he was dead. All I could do was go to church and pray for him." Occasionally intermediaries would smuggle letters to her from her son. She would memorize them quickly and burn them. The Indonesians tried to pressure Gusmao's father, Manuel, to persuade his son to surrender. He told them, "A lion is a wild animal, but he never eats his own." They gave up. By 1981 Gusmao had become the leader of the armed resistance and the most wanted man of the Indonesian special forces. But the steep mountains covered in thick foliage were perfect cover for the guerrillas. It was not until 1992 when Gusmao was on a secret trip to Dili to liaise with the urban underground that he was betrayed by a friend and arrested by the Indonesians.

It may have been the best thing that happened to him. Not only was Gusmao sick from living in the mountains, with their dengue and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. He was also isolated from the outside world. Now he had a platform. At his trial in Dili he used his defense statement to call for a vote on East Timor's future: "Whoever is afraid of the referendum is afraid of the truth." He was sent to Jakarta and quickly became one of the world's most prominent political prisoners, and the campaign to get Indonesia to withdraw from East Timor began to attract attention internationally. Nelson Mandela visited him in 1997 and called for his release. "When I was in Cipinang jail, we started making contact with the pro-democracy movement," Gusmao recalls. "Our independence was not something we could force, but we could perceive it as coming." Although the guards monitored his mail, his sister Armandina sent him Christian prayer cards with key words underlined to spell out secret messages. He replied in kind. To pass the time he wrote poetry and painted from memory the landscapes of East Timor he could not see from his cell.

With the downfall of Suharto in 1998, the new government in Jakarta began talking seriously about some form of autonomy for East Timor. Gusmao himself would have accepted that, had not President B.J. Habibie surprised everyone -- particularly his own military -- by taking up Gusmao's challenge from six years before of a referendum on full independence. The Indonesian military felt betrayed by Habibie, and they armed and trained militia groups in East Timor to terrorize the population against voting for independence.

Gusmao was confident the elections would go his way, but he then faced one of the most difficult decisions of his life. Still nominally head of the falintil resistance guerrillas, he had to give the order for them not to intervene in the massacres that followed the elections.

"Of course it was very difficult, knowing that our people were being killed," he says now. "But we knew the strategy of the Indonesian generals, and we wanted to avoid falling into their trap. They wanted to show East Timorese were fighting each other, so no UN intervention would have come." As the killings and burnings by Indonesian-backed militias went on in the early days of September, falintil guerrillas were watching from the slopes over Dili -- but they obeyed orders and did not intervene. Three weeks after the independence vote, an Australian-led force sanctioned by the UN landed in East Timor to reestablish order and security. One month later Gusmao himself, newly released from house arrest by the Indonesians, arrived back in his homeland. In his first speech in Dili, he had tears in his eyes as he told the crowd: "We knew we would suffer, but we are still here."

Gusmao now works in uneasy alliance with the UN, which has been criticized by many Timorese as hopelessly slow in delivering economic aid. Six months after the burning of Dili, the majority of the buildings are still without roofs for lack of construction materials. The problems in starting a country from scratch are mindboggling: everything is up for grabs. An initial proposal to use the Portuguese escudo as the currency has been scrapped in favor of the US dollar. Gusmao is still holding out for Portuguese as the official language, although many in the younger generation think English would be more appropriate. An international country code -- 670 -- has been approved for East Timor's telephones, though this is still academic since most phone lines were ripped out by the Indonesians last September.

But the single biggest issue will be the political transition -- at the moment the UN is legally the holder of East Timor's sovereignty, the first time in its history the world body has played such a role. So far no date has been set for elections for the presidency, although the chief of UNTAET (UN Transitional Authority in East Timor), Sergio de Mello, says he favors elections by the summer of next year. Gusmao has said repeatedly he does not want to be president. "Our struggle is not for us, but for the young people. Independence needs more capacity than I have."

Gusmao's aides and family believe he really does not want the power. After 25 years of struggle, says his sister Armandina, "he has done a lot for East Timor. As a human he needs to rest." But in East Timor today, Gusmao is more than a human -- he has become an icon of a new freedom, bitterly won and still fragile and unsure of itself. The brains, the technical skills for reconstruction -- Timorese can get these from elsewhere. Gusmao is their heart, and now, more than ever, they need him to keep beating strongly.

[With reporting by Jason Tedjasukmana/Dili]

'I don't feel prepared to lead this country'

Xanana Gusmmo, East Timor's de facto leader, discusses the past and looks to the future. John Stanmeyer/Saba for Time. An enthralled crowd greets Xanana Gusmao, making his first visit to Oecussi, a remote East Timorese enclave.

For years Xanana Gusmao, East Timor's de facto leader, led the resistance to Indonesian rule. Now -- after his release from house arrest following last year's successful vote for independence -- he's shaping the future of his new nation. In this revealing interview with Time East Asia correspondent Terry McCarthy, Gusmao discusses life as one of the world's most prominent political prisoners, as well as the violence that raged throughout the territory following the August 30 vote. He also talks about his future -- he wants to continue playing a role in rebuilding his shattered nation, but not as its president. McCarthy spoke with the former guerilla leader during a trip to visit East Timorese living in the enclave of Oecussi, 175 km west of Dili.

Time: What do you feel when you hear accounts of the killings and burnings that took place in East Timor last year?

Xanana Gusmao: The people who tell me these stories send me the message that history was made by them with their suffering, with all that happened to them. And although they suffered for all these years, they were still determined to fight. They knew independence was the goal they had to achieve.

Behind that goal were dreams -- dreams of a true independence that would give them a chance in their daily lives, better possibilities for their children.

Everywhere I go I hear songs or stories about the struggle, about people's dreams and beliefs. I feel this is a message to me reminding me about the real meaning of independence.

Time: How do you feel now about your decision to order Falintil guerrillas not to attack the militias last September?

Gusmao: Of course it was very difficult. When the population fled into the mountains, they asked the guerrillas to defend them. But we had to be rigid in our decision. We knew the strategy of the Indonesian generals, and we wanted to avoid falling into their trap. The generals wanted to show that the East Timorese were fighting each other. But we were fighting for self-determination. We didn't want to be used any more. During this difficult struggle we learned to love peace and dialogue. We had to be firm. The people understand that decision now. It would have been worse if we had responded to their provocation.

Time: How do you feel about starting a nation from zero?

Gusmao: It is a very great challenge, but it is not new for us. In our generation, we have witnessed three destructions: one after the Japanese occupation, the second in the [Indonesian] invasion of 1975 and this is the third. The people are confident, and I'm very sure that in a few years you will see everything new in East Timor, built with the spirit and determination of the Timorese.

Time: Did you always think you would see independence in your lifetime?

Gusmao: Yes. When I was in Cipinang jail in Jakarta, I started making contact with the pro-democracy movement [in Indonesia]. We knew independence was not something we could force, but something we could perceive as coming because the pro-democracy movement was supporting us. We combined our forces to fight the regime.

Time: How can East Timorese be reconciled with those who fought in the militias?

Gusmao: Reconciliation will be a long process. First we have to solve the social and economic problems -- that will help people to forgive, although maybe not to forget. I believe the militias should start thinking about what they did, and what role they have to play here now. I know people are mad for justice, but if people have things explained to them, maybe they can forgive. I know it is a difficult process. Right now we are concerned with when reconstruction will start.

Time: Were you happy with the visit of the Indonesian president, Gus Dur?

Gusmao: It was good. He made promises about many issues that need to be solved. Our people also had an opportunity to send a message to the world -- that they have the courage to forgive.

Time: He came only six months after the massacres.

Gusmao: Some people say the visit was too early. I don't think so. In November we went to Jakarta and invited him to visit. We support Gus Dur and all the measures he is taking to achieve justice and democracy. We want to stress that we support all the ministers who are doing their best to help Gus Dur in the democratic process. Yes there were demonstrations during his visit. Well it is a free country. But the people were not protesting against his visit -- they just wanted to make some demands. They have the right to know where the people that have disappeared have gone to, and the TNI (the military) must explain this. People want to know. I spoke to Gus Dur about this.

Time: Many people say you will have no choice but to become president.

Gusmao: I don't think so. I think people will understand. I told them we are very old. Our struggle is not for us, but for the young people. We will rest with this happiness, with what we have done for them. They have to understand it is time for them to participate. I am only 53, yes, but I feel very old. I don't feel prepared to lead this country to independence. What I did I did with the help of a lot of people, anonymous people. I think it is my task to help with the transition period. But after, it has to be people who are really prepared. It is not just a matter of talking emotionally to crowds; it is a question of efficiency. I don't see myself as the man leading the country. Yes I want to make sure East Timorese people are well led but independence needs more capacity than I have. Until I die, I can play a role.

But people have to decide what sort of identity they want -- a fake identity or a real one. I don't have to be inside the process. I would rather be outside, and maybe push people to think about creating a real identity. I will leave that for the young people. We fought for independence for them.

Time: Why do you want Portuguese as the official language?

Gusmao: The young people think that if Portuguese is the official language, they will not have the opportunity to be civil servants. But that is more an act of self-defense than a conviction of identity. Of course, 90% of the young people studied in Indonesia. But if they want to keep Bahasa (the official Indonesian language) it is very shameful of them. English? It is the international language so we will have it in the curriculum. But to impose it on farmers? Just because Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines speak English it is not an argument to go with them. When we meet Thai or Malay diplomats, they will speak informally to us in English. But when we have an official meeting, they will use their own language. We should be the same. It is easy for East Timorese to learn languages. Tetum (indigenous to East Timor) is not yet a modern language -- it will take time, a minimum of five years to develop.

Time: When do you think East Timor's Independence Day should be?

Gusmao: Personally I would like it to be August 30 (the date of the referendum last year) because that was an act from our people. But it will be decided by the people. August 30 would remind everyone of all the liberation movements in the world.

Time: What kind of help do you need from the world?

Gusmao: We need a real understanding of our socio-economic problems. The world can help us, but sometimes the world sees Timor as just another cause, another conflict like Kosovo or Bosnia. Maybe there are similarities in conflicts but I don't think there are two cases which are the same. If the world just praises the CNRT (National Council of Timorese Resistance), nothing will happen. If you don't trust East Timorese to be part of the government, it will not work. We have absolutely nothing. Yes, we get praise -- "CNRT, Xanana, you are heroes -- but if I ask for help, we get nothing. This makes us feel sad.

Time: Your paintings in Cipinang jail were of mountains, sea, sky. How does it feel to see these things again?

Gusmao: The reality of those years of physical separation was hard. The country that we loved, the country that we didn't mind offering our lives to ... This is what fed our ancestors, feeds us and will feed our future generation -- our birthplace, our center.

Respect for UN mission is falling

Joanna Jolly, Jakarta -- The respect of East Timorese for the United Nations transitional administration's work is waning and it is in danger of being compared to the previous Indonesian colonial regime, observers said yesterday.

Francisco Guterres, legal adviser to the main political party, the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), said the UN's inability to consult directly with the Timorese people might lead to a campaign of civil disobedience in the country.

"The UN is seen as selfish, working to their own agenda without consulting with the people of East Timor," Mr Guterres said in the East Timorese capital, Dili.

"If the community leaders keep complaining and the UN continues to refrain from allowing them to participate in the decision- making, we are afraid this will create civil disobedience against the UN in East Timor."

Mr Guterres, who was involved in setting up the meeting between East Timorese guerilla group Falintil and pro-Jakarta militia in Singapore last month, said that previously, the UN had been viewed as helping the East Timorese.

But over the past month, the UN had made decisions regarding the social and government structure of the new country without consulting CNRT leadership.

"We have discussed this and agreed that the UN administration is now working at a sub-district level without consultation with us. This has caused a lot of disappointment in East Timor," Mr Guterres said.

His comments follow the resignation on March 6 of a British UN official, Professor Jarat Chopra, from the UN mission. Professor Chopra said that he resigned out of frustration as he believed the UN was not setting a meaningful timetable for the transfer of power to the East Timorese.

In particular, Professor Chopra was disillusioned with negotiations regarding the World Bank-funded Community Empowerment Project (CEP), in which he said the UN was reluctant to delegate power directly to the community.

"There is no planned or methodical timetable for a handover. If the UN was serious they would set a clear date for independence and set milestones along the way," he said. "But none exist. Instead, there is vague talk about an election next year. "This is a typical UN exit strategy. The Timorese will have no more capacity built then, than they do now."

Professor Chopra blamed the lack of progress on ambitious officials in UN head Sergio Vieira de Mello's team who planned to come to East Timor for a short time, maintain control of the mission and ensure their chances of promotion within the UN.

Meanwhile yesterday the UN said more than 1,000 mostly anti- independence East Timorese had left camps in West Timor, raising hopes that many more will soon decide to go home.

The movement from the Tuapukan, Noelbaki and Naibonat camps was the biggest since aid agencies started returning refugees to the east in October, said Kris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Apologists are revising history to absolve Jakarta

Scott Burchill -- Indonesia would not have been able to illegally occupy and terrorise East Timor for a quarter of a century without the support it received from the West, particularly Australia.

The tactics employed by pro-integrationists in Australia to ensure Canberra's diplomatic collaboration with Jakarta were often crude, but they were remarkably effective.

Death toll figures in the early years of occupation were revised down to mitigate Jakarta's crimes -- an act of denial that would have made David Irving blush. Subsequent and regular atrocities, such as the 1991 Dili massacres, were untruthfully described as "aberrant acts" in an attempt to hose down public outrage. The victims were blamed for their "tribal war-like disposition", even as they were being slaughtered by Indonesia's military forces (TNI).

Canberra claimed that East Timor was entitled to self- determination provided it was under the umbrella of Indonesian sovereignty, a meaningless and insulting gesture. When this formula was rejected, the concept of self-determination itself was attacked as a threat to regional stability and "not a sacred cow". On its own, East Timor was said to be economically unviable, a reasonable conclusion if you steal its only significant natural resources.

As the violence reached a level beyond the apologetics of even the most loyal commissar, the perpetrators were described as "rogue elements" in an effort to exculpate the Indonesian state that the "rogues" themselves claimed to be serving. Meanwhile, critics of ongoing human-rights abuses were branded "racist" and "anti-Indonesian" by servants of power who inferred the only alternative to appeasement was estrangement.

Their most recent tactic is even more brazen. Rewriting recent history to shift the onus of responsibility for the collapse of relations between Canberra and Jakarta on to the Howard Government has become the latest modus operandi of the Jakarta lobby.

One might have been forgiven for thinking that, as a consequence of its state terrorism in East Timor, Indonesia bears most of the blame for the downturn. Not so.

According to ANU Indonesia specialist Harold Crouch, Howard's response to the slaughter in East Timor "was offensive to many Indonesians". The Prime Minister's limited cultural understanding of our northern neighbor means he "doesn't quite know how to convey things to Indonesians" -- true enough given that messages such as "stop the killing" fell on deaf ears in Jakarta last September.

Former diplomat Tony Kevin also worries about Australia's "provocative" behavior. "Indonesian military and strategic elites will not quickly forgive or forget how Australian foreign policy cynically exploited their weak interim president in order to manoeuvre Indonesia into a no-win situation," says Kevin.

Australians may be surprised to learn they were seeking TNI's forgiveness for rescuing a defenceless civilian population from yet another Indonesian military attack. They may also wonder why Jakarta is absolved of the exclusive legal responsibility it sought to maintain law and order in East Timor before, during and after the August ballot.

However, raising these questions would only indicate just how "mired in anti-Indonesian attitudes" the Australian public had become.

If only Howard stopped basking in "jingoistic self- satisfaction over East Timor" and said sorry, bridges with Indonesia could be repaired. But, according to Kevin, Canberra isn't up to the task. "This Government would not know how to apologise for the way in which our diplomacy exploited and aggravated their president's misjudgment and the TNI's subsequent brutality." Kevin's message is clear. The East Timorese should never have been given the choice of independence and it was Canberra, not Jakarta, that encouraged the TNI to turn the territory into a charnel house.

Support for this revisionism has come from Jakarta's new ambassador to Australia, Arizal Effendi, whose recent National Press Club address suggests that Jakarta "doesn't quite know how to convey things to Australians". Effendi claimed to be concerned about the "jingoism of using the humanitarian pretext to justify unilateral armed intervention into the internal affairs of a developing country, including by way of a coalition of nations outside the framework of the UN".

He didn't apparently know that InterFET was a coalition of 20 nations, authorised by the UN Security Council and, ultimately, the Government in Jakarta, and that the issue of "intervention" arose only for those nations that had granted Indonesia the right of territorial conquest. In the absence of any legitimate claim to sovereignty by Indonesia, most of the world saw the UN as finally administering one of its own non-self-governing territories.

Effendi's prescription for improving the bilateral relationship "based on mutual respect" and a desire "not to dwell further on what or who was to blame" for the downturn suggests Indonesia has not yet made a successful transition to democracy. Is there a "Canberra lobby" of Indonesian-based journalists, bureaucrats and academics, faithfully loyal to their southern neighbor, who will point out to His Excellency the importance of accounting for past crimes and media scrutiny of government behavior in a modern democracy? Perhaps President Wahid's new adviser, Henry Kissinger, can share his well-known love of democracy with Indonesia's new political elite?

The outlines of a new orthodoxy about events in East Timor last year are becoming clear. It's a mixture of inverted history and national self-flagellation. Despite the absence of any alternative regional responses to the slaughter, Canberra "took too much ownership of the process" (The Australian's Greg Sheridan), meaning the East Timorese should have been left to their awful fate. Indonesia has nothing to be sorry about and no reparations to pay. The Howard Government, on the other hand, was "meddling" in Indonesia's internal affairs and has been engaged in "triumphalism", "neo-colonialism" and "latent racism" (former diplomat Richard Woolcott). The sooner we get back to the "main game" (The Australian's Paul Kelly) the better.

[Scott Burchill is a lecturer in international relations at Deakin University.]

US Envoy: Army still supports East Timor militias

Dili -- Elements of the Indonesian military are providing direct support for armed pro-Jakarta militiamen infiltrating into East Timor, a senior US diplomat said Tuesday. Robert Gelbard, the US ambassador to Indonesia, said he didn't concur with UN peacekeepers who say that while the Indonesian military, or TNI, was turning a blind eye to militia activity, there is no evidence of active logistical or other support.

"There is TNI involvement. We were told all the militias had been disarmed, suddenly and magically they seem to have come up with arms," Gelbard said. "But I do believe this is not TNI policy. These are probably individuals who have maintained their long- standing ties to the militias and maybe some remnants of some specialized units," he added.

The cross-border incursions and militia activity in refugee camps in Indonesian-held West Timor have been blamed for keeping the more than 100,000 refugees in the camps six months after international peacekeepers took control of East Timor and forced the militiamen to flee.

The UN's Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Soren Jessen Petersen, blamed the slow rate of refugee repatriation on a propaganda campaign mounted by the militia umbrella group, Untas. "That is the major obstacle in the way of return. People are being kept in the situation where they do not have enough access to objective information, they are constantly being pumped with misinformation and at the same time suffering clear intimidation and harassment," Petersen said.

East Timorese women reflect on 1999

Vannessa Hearman, Dili -- Activities to mark International Women's Day on March 8 here included performance art and a public forum on the place of women in the rebuilding process in East Timor. Held in a large indoor stadium, the events were organised by Fokupers, a local women's rights organisation.

The situation of women under Indonesian occupation was re- enacted, showing them being chased, raped, arrested and tortured, and children being orphaned. Many in the crowd cried at seeing these scenes.

The coordinator of the Alliance of Socialist Women, Domingas da Silva, said the scenes were reminiscent of the experiences of many Timorese women last September, as they fled militia violence. The performance ended on a powerful note, with the women winning independence.

Speakers at the forum included Jose Ramos Horta from the National Council of Timorese Resistance, Fokupers coordinator Maria Fernandes, United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor representatives Sidney Jones and Sharon Scharf, Lucia Lobato from the Judicial Commission and UNTAET administrator Sergio de Mello.

De Mello pointed out that women did not take part in the looting, raping and burning that happened in East Timor last year, but they are now living a very difficult life as a result of those attacks.

UN establishes East Timor's first tax system

Dili -- The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) Thursday established East Timor's first customs and tax system to provide the territory with much-needed revenue.

The new regulation, signed in Dili by UNTAET head Sergio Vieira de Mello, covers imports, exports and domestically produced goods, except for those goods that are already on their way to East Timor by March 20.

According to the regulation, importers will pay an import duty of five percent of the customs value of the goods, while the exporters of coffee -- the main export of East Timor -- will be charged a tax of five percent of the value of the beans. The first taxes and duties will be collected by UNTAET's border service.

Mr. Vieira de Mello also signed a regulation on the procurement of goods, works and services in East Timor, which aims to maximize the efficiency of public spending, facilitate reconstruction and economic development, promote competition and provide for the fair treatment of all bidders.

UN seizes weapons smuggled from Indonesia

Dili -- The United Nations peacekeeping force in East Timor has confiscated a number of weapons smuggled by ship from Indonesia's West Timor and detained at least five people, a UN spokesman said Friday.

Manoel de Almeida, spokesman of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), told a press conference the weapons were confiscated Thursday from a ship carrying refugees returning to East Timor.

"The ship carried 386 returnees from Kupang and upon arrival in Dili as the baggage was being unloaded and passengers started disembarking, customs officers conducted a routine search of one of the passengers and discovered two hand grenades," de Almeida said.

The grenades were concealed in a cassette player. The passenger was detained and handed over to UN civilian police, he said. Following the discovery, the custom officers conducted a search of all the baggage on the ship, and found three weapons, several packages of air gun pellets, and a bundle of bayonets, de Almeida said.

"The confiscated weapons were handed over to UN peacekeeping personnel and four other individuals were detained for questioning by civpol [civilian police]," he said.

The discovery, he said, has prompted the UN border control service to conduct a search of the baggage on all ships bringing back returnees from West Timor. By Friday the number of such returning refugees had reached 150,194. "Body searches may be carried out if it is deemed warranted," de Almeida said.

In a related development, Lt. Col. Brynjar Nymo, chief spokesman for the peacekeeping forces, said their presence in the Ermera District town of Atsabe in the central part of the territory "will remain high and patrols and checkpoints throughout the area will continue.S"

Troops from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Portugal are taking part in the operation, he said. The level of alertness along the East Timor border with West Timor has been increased from "medium" to "high", following a series of cross-border incursions and attacks on people in West Timor by pro-Indonesia militias. The attacks have claimed at least one life, that of a villager.

"Yesterday [Thursday], members of the militia were spotted by the peacekeeping forces, but the distance, the difficult terrain and the bad weather prevented the peacekeeping forces from making physical contact or positively identifying the group," Nymo told reporters. Based on observations in Atsabe, however, the group consisted of 15 males, wore dark clothes, and all of them were carrying weapons, he said.

According to Nymo, the pro-Jakarta militias are very active in isolated areas of the entire western part of East Timor and the Ermera district in the central part, driving unarmed civilians into hiding.

UN staff battle over independence policy

Mark Dodd, Dili -- Infighting involving senior United Nations staff is threatening East Timor's transition to independence, a senior official says.

The policy dispute has led to the resignation of the UN's head of district administration, who claims "Stalinist" and "colonialist" practises by several senior staff members are jeopardising the UN mission.

In his letter of resignation, dated March 6, Professor Jarat Chopra warned that a handful of senior UN officials were more interested in self-advancement than helping the East Timorese rebuild their devastated country.

"The courageous course for UNTAET [the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor] would have been to fix a date for independence, organise early elections for a Constituent Assembly, transfer power and remain in East Timor for long-term capacity building," Professor Chopra wrote.

"I don't believe we [UNTAET] are prepared to do this even now. Without a meaningful timetable and methodical stages for a transfer of power, this mission will drift, hold an election as an exit strategy next year and leave the Timorese with no genuine capacity built. We will have replicated the overnight decolonisations of decades past."

Professor Chopra, a Briton, is considered one of the most experienced and qualified of the UNTAET administrators. He designed East Timor's district administration policy based on a strategy developed last June for the chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. His resignation letter was addressed to UNTAET's head, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Professor Chopra, a research associate and lecturer in international law at Brown University in the US, was formerly special assistant in peacekeeping at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

The most controversial element of the district policy is a World Bank-funded $A57million community empowerment project (CEP), which would let sub-district and village-level officials determine their own development and reconstruction priorities.

Under the plan those officials would be democratically elected, a prerequisite strongly opposed by several senior UNTAET officials, but notably by the head of Territorial Administration, Mr Jesudas Bell. Mr Bell's opposition to the CEP strained relations with several senior members of the East Timorese pro-independence body, the CNRT, including its president, Mr Xanana Gusmao.

While the CEP will go ahead, Professor Chopra's staunch defence of the project's terms and conditions put him on a collision course with Mr Bell.

He questioned Mr Bell's competence as an administrator, claiming the department head was responsible for a spate of resignations of other senior officials. A second UNTAET official, Mr David Harland, was also singled out for criticism.

Yesterday, the Herald failed in several attempts to contact Mr Bell, who is in Darwin, on his mobile telephone. Asked for his reaction to claims by Professor Chopra that he had "acted arrogantly, undermining the capacity of the office", Mr Harland replied: "I don't want to talk to you about that."

Mr Harland is serving as UNTAET's Acting Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Governance and Public Administration.

The UN Mission in East Timor was responsible for organising last August 30's referendum on self-determination, in which about 80 percent of the population voted for independence from Indonesia. Within days, anti-independence militia backed by Indonesian security forces began a murderous campaign of terror and destruction across the territory.

Professor Chopra served as an election monitor and was evacuated from Dili on September 6 after witnessing the destruction of the capital and the forced deportation of tens of thousands of East Timorese.
 

Government/politics

Gus Dur prays at Suharto's residence

Jakarta -- Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid attended joint prayers held at the residence of former President Suharto to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of Mr Suharto's wife, a report said on Thursday.

Mr Abdurrahman and Mr Suharto were side by side for the evening prayers at the latter's residence in the upmarket Menteng residential area in Central Jakarta late on Wednesday, the Antara news agency has reported.

It was the second time in just over one week that Mr Abdurrahman and his wife, Mrs Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, visited Mr Suharto's home. The two had lunch with Mr Suharto on March 8.

After the evening prayers on Wednesday, the first couple attended the recital of holy verses and a dinner. They left Mr Suharto's residence two hours after their arrival, said Antara.

Mrs Siti Suhartinah Suharto died of a heart attack at the age of 73 on April 28, 1996, but the commemoration was for the fourth anniversary, according to the Javanese calendar, which is based on a combination of the solar and lunar calendars.

Plotters no worry to 'popular' leader

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Indonesia's President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, said yesterday that some senior military officers were plotting to overthrow him but any attempt would fail because he had the public's support.

Speaking on state-run television, Mr Wahid said he knew several military commanders were "gathering strength to stand against me". "It does happen," he said. "[But] I have nothing to worry about ... the people are behind me."

His comments follow a major reshuffle two weeks ago of top military commanders that installed reformers into key posts and dumped hardliners loyal to the former armed forces commander, General Wiranto.

Mr Wahid, Indonesia's first democratically elected president, suspended General Wiranto as Co-ordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs after a tense stand-off that fuelled rumours of a military takeover.

Since his suspension General Wiranto, who faces an Attorney- General's investigation into his role in last year's violence in East Timor, has maintained a high public profile.

Mr Wahid's comments came as the Attorney-General's office indicated it expected soon to summon generals implicated in the East Timor violence, including General Wiranto who was armed forces commander at the time.

General Wiranto and 32 others were named as suspects in a report by a government-sanctioned investigation team. The report has been accepted by the Attorney-General, Mr Marzuki Darusman, as the basis for its investigations.

Mr Wahid and his closest advisers have warned several times in the past that influential people, including some in the armed forces, want to destroy his Government.

"If someone is supported by the people, he should not be afraid of anything," he said yesterday. "Let [the plotters] face me."

Officials close to Mr Wahid believe that powerful business people with links to former president Soeharto are prepared to bankroll disgruntled military officers plotting to destabilise the Government.

Mr Soeharto, 79, was forced on Monday night to submit to medical tests so Mr Darusman could determine whether he is well enough to be questioned about the operation of several foundations he formed when president. Mr Soeharto's lawyers have claimed he is too unwell to undergo questioning.

Associated Press reports Mr Wahid said yesterday he would support an unprecedented judicial inquiry into the massacre of hundreds of thousands of alleged communists in the 1960s. "The Government's task is to follow up the findings of the investigations. To punish those ... who are found guilty," Mr Wahid said in a television interview.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian leftists were slaughtered in the aftermath of an abortive coup in 1965. The purge was conducted by Major-General Soeharto, who later took over as head of state from then-President Sukarno.
 

Regional conflicts

The political economy of violence in Maluku

George J. Aditjondro -- Since the forced withdrawal of the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) from East Timor, and with the TNI's "dual function" (its integration into Indonesia's political structures) being more openly challenged, old methods of instigating so-called "horizontal conflicts" have been revived by the forces opposed to Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri's leadership.

For more than a year, the people of the Maluku islands have been embroiled in a "civil war" between Muslims and Christians. Fatalities have been in the thousands, a high percentage for the islands' population of 2 million.

The chain of sectarian conflict in Maluku, which has spread to Sulawesi, Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and Java, has been triggered and fed by provocateurs paid by the former president Suharto's family and several of his cronies, according to allegations by Thamrin Amal Tomagola, a Moluccan sociologist at the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, two human rights organisations, Kontras (Commission for Missing People and Victims of Violent Acts) and Komnas HAM (Indonesian Human Rights Commission), and various reports published by members of the Indonesian Independent Journalists Association (AJI).

Two names most often mentioned are Yorris Raweyai and Brigadier General Kivlan Zein. Yorris Raweyai is the deputy chair of the Pancasila Youth and is close to Bambang Trihatmodjo, the second son of Suharto. Brigadier General Kivlan Zein has allegedly taken over the role of ex-general Prabowo Subianto, Suharto's son-in- law, in directing a group of vigilantes -- drop-outs from the Indonesian Military Academy and martial art practitioners from West Java -- recruited by the Indonesian army's special forces, Kopassus, when it was commanded by Prabowo. Because the military academy is located near Mount Tidar, Central Java, these "private soldiers'" of the Suharto family are called the "Tidar Boys".

Yorris Raweyai, reportedly in collaboration with Yapto Suryosumarno, chair of the Pancasila Youth and a relative of the Suharto family, has been involved in inciting ethnic conflicts in other provinces. In West Kalimantan, Malay and Dayak ethnic groups, who last year were comrades in arms against Madurese migrants, are beginning to wage a bloody conflict against each other.

In Ambon, the provocateurs incited local Christian and Muslim gangs of young delinquents to spark conflict. The Christian gang is named Cowok Keren (the "Handsome Boys"), shortened to Coker, and is based in the Kudamati neighbourhood. They are connected to two Christian Moluccan youths, Milton Matuanakota and Ongky Pieters, in Jakarta. This Jakarta gang of Christian Moluccan youths dominate the shopping centre, parking area and gambling dens in West Jakarta. After the Ketapang incidents in Jakarta in November, 1998, in which four of Ambon's young men died, hundreds of Milton and Ongky's followers moved to Ambon.

In Jakarta, the antagonists of the Milton and Ongky group are represented by Ongen Sangaji, a Pancasila Youth activist and coordinator of a Moluccan Muslim university student organisation. Many members of this group were recruited into the PAM Swakarsa (civilian security troops) used by then armed forces chief, General Wiranto, to cordon off the parliament building from university students protesting at the extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly in November l998.

Ongen is reported to have close ties to Bambang Trihatmodjo, while Milton is said to be closer to Suharto's daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, aka Tutut.

Other reports state that Ongen received funds from Tutut and a retired general close to the Suharto family, Abdul Gafur, who hails from North Maluku.

Unfortunately for them, four of Ongen's Moluccan youth died in the battle between the students and the vigilantes.

Tutut and Gafur's foundation, Yayasan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Indonesia (Yakmi), mobilised 10,000 PAM Swakarsa troops armed with sharp bamboo spears to fight against the unarmed students near the Semanggi bridge near Senayan. Those vigilantes were first trained in military discipline and skills at the Jakarta military headquarters, Rindam Jaya, and by the Tidar Boys. Ten Yakmi vigilantes who hailed from Cianjur, West Java, were allegedly arrested in Ambon for involvement in the unrest. Military links

The bloody conflict in Maluku also involves active military personnel, who can be traced back to generals closely linked to former minister of defence and TNI chief General Wiranto. He was recently sacked from his cabinet post by President Wahid.

On January 15, three members of the armed forces were apprehended in a raid in Ambon. One of them was a member of Kopassus, and two were police. They were not the only "armed forces elements" involved in the Maluku unrest.

In early December, after President Wahid and vice-president Sukarnoputri's visit to Ambon, the military commander sent 500 troops to the area. Only some 200 troops reached the barracks, while 300 sent on the same ship disappeared with their weapons into the civilian population. Not long after, the "massacres" erupted. The same type of weapons as those carried by the missing troops were found in the hands of civilians.

During the first months of the conflict, army troops from the Wirabuana command in Makassar, Sulawesi, and Kostrad (Army Strategic Command) troops sent from Java, openly sided with Moluccan Muslims. They simply watched when the symbolic old Silo church in Ambon was attacked and burned.

The Wirabuana commander at that time, General Suaidi Marasabessy, as well as the Kostrad commander General Djadja Suparman were supporters of Wiranto. Both have since been removed.

On the other hand, the police special forces, Brimob, who are mostly Christian Moluccans, have sided with the Christians. Whenever there was a temporary peace, snipers continued to create victims on both sides to reignite the conflict.

The military have benefited from the conflict. It has helped those in the top military hierarchy who want to maintain the military's territorial system. Using the conflict as an excuse, the Pattimura command in Ambon, which had been abolished during the Suharto era, has now been revived. About 17,000 troops are currently stationed in Maluku.

Funding the conflict Apart from the Suharto family, which funds the Tidar Boys and the Yakmi vigilantes, the "Maluku operation" is allegedly also being funded by two Suharto cronies with business interests in Maluku, Eka Tjipta Widjaja and Prajogo Pangestu.

The Eka Tjipta Widjaja family is the owner of the Sinar Mas group of companies, which includes PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART). SMART is chaired by General Yoga Sugama, a relative and business partner of the Suharto family and former head of the Indonesian intelligence agency, BAKIN. A SMART subsidiary, PT Global Agronusa Indonesia, runs a banana plantation in Halmahera, in a joint venture with US fruit giant Del Monte.

Prajogo Pangestu owns the Barito Pacific group, in which two Suharto children, Tutut and Bambang, Suharto's son-in-law Indra Rukmana and two younger brothers (Ibnu Hartomo and Bernard Ibnu Hardoyo) of Tien Suharto, Suharto's late wife, have shares and/or management positions. Barito Pacific owns the largest number of forest licenses in Indonesia (52 areas) with a total of more than 5 million hectares.

Prajogo is also one of the largest contributors to the Suharto clique. In l990, Indoverbank NV in the Netherlands received US$225 million in the name of three foundations chaired by Suharto -- Supersemar, Dharmais, Dakab -- transferred from Prajogo's account at the Singapore branch of Citibank and BDN, Jakarta.

Prajogo's "treasury" in Maluku is enormous. Barito Pacific controls 10 timber concessions covering nearly one million hectares of forest in Maluku which feed the group's several plywood factories. Some of these companies are joint ventures with charities owned by the armed forces, as well as with the Poleko group, owned by A.A. Baramuli, a crony of former president B.J. Habibie.

The Suharto clique and the generals who are against the reforms of President Wahid have another source of funds in Maluku. Tommy Winata, the boss of the Artha Graha group and close friend of Yorris Raweyai, is a shareholder in the PT Ting Sheen Bandasejahtera. This fishing company has invested US$200 million to catch 2.5 million tonnes of fish per year in the Banda Sea. It is a joint venture with Bambang Trihatmodjo and a Taiwanese company.

The conflict in Maluku is an extension of the political struggles in Jakarta.

Disgruntled generals feel that the army's powers have been curtailed with the appointment of the new commander in chief from the navy, Admiral Widodo Adi Sujipto. They are trying to show that the new chief is incapable of controlling the situation in Maluku.

This group of generals, who have the most at stake in maintaining the armed forces "dual function", are trying to demonstrate that the army is still needed as the "peace-maker" in a civil society prone to conflict.

In addition, certain Muslim groups which feel they have not been given an appropriate share in the Wahid-Megawati government and that Wahid has given too many concessions to the Chinese and Christian minorities in Indonesia, are using the Maluku unrest to call for a holy war (jihad) to bring down the administration headed by the liberal cleric and the secular nationalist.

Behind all this, the one who stands to gain the most is Suharto, his family and his cronies. The political troubles hinder serious efforts to bring them to court to account for their political and economic crimes. They benefit from disturbances that serve to perpetuate the armed forces' "dual function".

Eleven killed, thousands flee Maluku fighting

Jakarta -- Thousands of people are fleeing to safer areas as fresh fighting between religious groups in the Maluku islands left many dead and more than 100 houses burnt or damaged.

Mr Muhammad Albar, a Muslim activist, said the bodies of 11 Muslims were found in Galela, a town on Halmahera in North Maluku, the biggest island in the region, AP reported.

He was quoted as saying that the victims were believed to have died in fighting between Muslims and Christians on March 5. That brought to 17 the number of Muslims killed in fighting that day, according to The Indonesian Observer. Many Christians were also killed in the March 5 fighting, but Mr Albar said he had no exact numbers. Nearly 2,000 people have perished since January last year when the sectarian violence erupted in Maluku, the Observer reported.

On Friday, new violence between Muslims and Christians killed 30 people in Halmahera and more than 100 houses damaged. Following Friday's riots, as many as 270 migrants, mostly from Java, who have lived on Halmahera for many years, are now being accommodated at Muhajirin Falajawa Mosque in Ternate municipality, locals and officials said yesterday.

On Saturday, around 550 migrants from Kaosub district left for Java by ship following the clashes. An official in Ternate said the exodus of refugees began after they had received threats from local people.
 

Aceh/West Papua

Troops in search of rebels raid villages

Agencies in Banda Aceh -- Indonesian troops yesterday raided four villages in troubled Aceh province searching for rebels, a day after a landmark meeting there between an Indonesian envoy and a rebel leader, residents said.

Four truckloads of soldiers from the army Kostrad strategic reserve command went from village to village in Gleumpang Tiga sub-district, assaulting people and rounding up men, the residents said.

The action follows a meeting on Thursday between acting State Secretary Bondan Gunawan and the commander of the Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) Movement, Abdullah Syafi'ie, in the same district.

The soldiers made no arrests in the four villages, the closest of them just 7km away from the site of the meeting between Mr Gunawan and Syafi'ie.

"Why just after the meeting between Bondan [Mr Gunawan] and Syafi'ie, with Bondan himself calling for a halt to violence, did the troops conduct the search?" a resident, Teungku Mahatmuda, asked.

Earlier Acehnese leaders expressed hope that the 25-year civil war in Indonesia's western province may be coming to an end. Mr Gunawan said he and Syafi'ie had agreed to try to spare non- combatants from the conflict between soldiers and rebels that has killed thousands, including many civilians.

"The meeting was to get to know each other," he said. "Both of us don't like violence. We agreed not to make the people victims."

Mr Gunawan said after meeting President Abdurrahman Wahid on the outcome of his talks with Syafi'ie that the commander was wishing for a creation of a federal Indonesia. "I ... believe [Syafi'ie] is wishing for a federal state," he said without giving further details.

"We welcome the meeting of the two," Teuku Maulida, another rebel leader, said. "We hope it paves the way for negotiations and for a peaceful settlement."

Irianese leaders accused of plot against the government

Jayapura -- Local police have officially named nine leading Irianese figures here as suspects for allegedly plotting against the state. Irian Jaya Police chief of detectives Col. Tukarno said on Wednesday that the nine were named suspects for their alleged involvement in a series of proindependence rallies since late last year.

The suspects are activist leader Theys H. Eluay, Father Herman Awom, Cenderawasih University lecturer Isaak Ayomi, secretary of the provincial Development and Planning Board (Bappeda) Don Al. Flasy, former political prisoner John Mambor, former councillor Beatrix Rumbino and student leaders Martinus Werimon, Barnabas Yufuway and Laurens Mehue.

The nine were specifically said to be behind three incidents. The first was a gathering on September 12, 1999, at Theys' house, which declared that the separatist Morning Star flag would be hoisted on December 1. The second was the December 1 hoisting of the flag and the third was when the Papuan Congress was held in Sentani from February 23 to February 26.

All are members of the Papuan Presidium Council, set up by the Papuan Congress. The Congress ended with a unanimous rejection of the 1969 plebiscite which became the basis for the incorporation of the former Dutch territory into Indonesia.

"Aspirations for independence are acceptable, but don't commit crimes against the state, including separating from the Republic of Indonesia," Tukarno said, adding that they were being charged with Articles 106, 110 and 154 of the Criminal Code.

"The status of the nine is that they are officially suspects based on the information we have gathered and from witnesses," he added. Tukarno said two other figures, Amungme tribal leader Tom Beanal and lecturer Willy Mandowen, were also being questioned. "Willy Mandowen has fulfilled our summons but Tom Beanal hasn't," he said.

Demands for independence have been on the rise over the past two years in the province, which is home to one of the world's largest gold and copper mining industries, amid the backdrop of past human rights violations and the unfair divisions of revenue earned from exploiting its natural resources.

Aceh atrocities 'commonplace'

Jakarta -- Despite claims by Indonesia's President that the situation in Aceh province is improving, the Red Cross said yesterday that the violence was as bad as ever, with torture and murder a common occurrence.

Mr Paul Grossrieder, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the situation in Aceh was "very critical".

"Our delegates on the spot have ... indications of disappearances, missing people, groups being killed," he said in Jakarta after a 10-day visit to Indonesia. "We are seeing people who are left on the ground, killed, hands detached."

Up to 30 people every week asked the Red Cross for assistance in tracing family members who had disappeared, he said. Most were not found.

Mr Grossrieder refused to say who was responsible for the killings. But other human rights activists have accused the Indonesian Army of running death squads in the province and being responsible for numerous human rights abuses. On Monday, President Abdurrahman Wahid said the situation in Aceh was steadily improving and that he had ordered his military commander in the province to "rein in" his troops.

Lured to death by fake Red Cross

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has asked the Indonesian Government to investigate findings that its armed forces lured villagers to their deaths by using a helicopter disguised to look like a Red Cross transport.

The ICRC believes the deaths occurred while Indonesian military forces were making "perfidious use" of their mediating role in storming a village where West Papuan rebels held foreign and Indonesian hostages in 1996.

An independent investigation commissioned by the ICRC backs some of the main findings of a documentary on the ABC's Four Corners program last year, titled Blood on the Cross. It concluded Britain's Special Air Service may have been involved in the rescue mission during which eight civilians died.

The ICRC's director-general, Mr Paul Grossrieder, told journalists in Jakarta yesterday that the organisation's investigation had concluded Indonesian soldiers used a white helicopter in the operation that was probably seen by local villagers as an ICRC helicopter. Misuse of the ICRC's emblem is regarded by the organisation as a serious violation of international law.

The ICRC's investigation confirmed accounts that Westerners were on the helicopter and said that only a "serious and transparent investigation" by government authorities would establish who they were. The operation was led by former army lieutenant-general Prabowo Subianto, son-in-law of former president Soeharto, who was forced to resign from the armed forces after widespread bloodshed in Jakarta in mid-1998.

The ICRC had frequently flown its own helicopter to the southern highlands of Irian Jaya, now being renamed Papua, in the early months of 1996 to try to negotiate the release of a team of seven European biologists and Indonesian researchers held hostage by Free Papua Organisation (OPM) guerillas.

Officially, eight OPM rebels were killed by Indonesian Kopassus or special forces troops in a battle that reached its climax after two of the Indonesian captives had been killed by the guerillas. But Mr Daniel Start, one of the captives, told the ABC that civilians had been lured to their deaths by a Red Cross flag and gunned down by four or five white people and Indonesians behind them.

The ICRC's investigation concluded that the Westerners were either members of the SAS, mercenaries from the British-based company Sandline, or Indonesians of European extraction. "It is nevertheless certain that Western advisers ... helped the Indonesian forces prepare the operation," the investigation report said. "What is certain ... is that a white helicopter appeared ... on the afternoon in question and that it could have been perceived by the local population only as an ICRC helicopter, whether displaying the red cross emblem or not. Deceiving the local population in this manner could have had only one effect in military terms: total surprise."

Mr Grossrieder said he had asked Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Mr Alwi Shihab, to launch an official inquiry into the possible misuse of the ICRC's emblem. "There can be no doubt that the military forces ... made perfidious use of the ICRC's role in the affair ... for example the white helicopter," the investigation report said. "They may also have misused the emblem, though this has not been definitely proved."

The report denied that any ICRC member was involved in the military operation but criticised the Geneva-based organisation for not properly dealing with its staff and the media after the rescue mission.

West Papuans demand independence vote

Mark Abberton -- Five hundred people participated in a four-day congress beginning February 23 in Sentani, in Indonesian- controlled West Papua, to discuss efforts to build a unified leadership for independence. About 1000 security personnel stood outside but did not intervene.

The congress endorsed a statement that rejected the rigged 1969 United Nations-recognised "Act of Free Choice" referendum which legalised Indonesia's 1963 annexation of West Papua. "Only 0.8% of the 80,000 eligible voters took part in the so-called popular consultation [in 1969]", the statement noted. Participants called on the UN to oversee an independence referendum similar to the UN-sponsored ballot in East Timor.

The congress also condemned the 1962 UN-Netherlands-Indonesia agreement to transfer control over West Papua from the Netherlands to a UN transitional administration and finally to Indonesia in May, 1963. This agreement was made without consultation with the West Papuan people.

Representatives of tribal groups, youth and students, women's groups and academics, and delegates living outside West Papua, were elected onto a Papuan Presidium Council. Its main task is to organise a larger congress, possibly in April.

A report in the March 4 Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad has supported claims that the 1969 "Act of Free Choice" was a farce. The article contained excerpts from secret instructions given by Sumarto, the Indonesian commander in Merauke, West Papua, to the regent of the area.

The instructions stated that participants in the deliberating popular meetings (which decided West Papua's relationship with Indonesia) must be selected according to their loyalty to Indonesia. Sumarto said that "one has to have the courage to use improper methods to remove" delegates who were not loyal.

NRC Handelsblad also quoted Sumarto describing the role of Ortiz Sanz, head of the UN observer mission for the 1969 referendum: "One has to use the criterion that he is an adviser and assistant of the Indonesian government and not a mediating institution. For this reason he has to keep to the rules of this place."

In recent weeks, West Papuans have continued to protest against past human rights violations, against Indonesia's current "far- reaching autonomy" proposals and against the exploitation of West Papuan resources, particularly its gold and copper reserves. At least four people have been killed and another 13 injured during protest actions since February 28. One of those killed was Willem Manimwarba, who lead a 2000-strong protest on March 2 and was an eyewitness to shootings on February 28. He was reported to have been shot in a drive-by shooting by Brimob (the Indonesian police mobile brigade) and army troops.

Indonesian Aceh crackdown

Diarmid O'Sullivan, Lhokseumawe -- A brutal crackdown by the Indonesian security forces in the province of Aceh is smothering the separatist movement, local people and observers say. They believe it could compel the Acehnese to accept a compromise peace with Jakarta.

An upsurge of pro-independence activity in Aceh, following East Timor's independence vote last August, fuelled fears that Indonesia could be torn apart by regional rebellions and, in turn, destabilise the region. But the crackdown, which began in January and has claimed between 200 and 300 lives at least, has driven both Aceh's guerrillas and its non-violent activists into retreat.

The conflict is less of a war than a murder spree. Actual battles are few. People vanish and turn up dead in isolated spots with marks of torture on their bodies. The army blames the guerrillas, who are not universally liked in Aceh, but it seems likely that most were killed by the military.

Fear of the army has emptied the village of Simpang Kramat near the northern coast, where the creation of a new military post 10 days ago led local people to flee en masse. Indonesian flags flutter outside boarded-up shops and farm animals wander on the main street. Nurdin, one of hundreds of villagers now camping out in a local college, said: "If the army really protected the people, we wouldn't be here."

Only three months ago, it was hard to find an Acehnese who did not insist that independence was the only solution to decades of misrule by Jakarta. Now, constant fear and uncertainty make some say they only want peace. A veteran activist in the oil town of Lhokseumawe, whose adopted brother went missing near a police post last November, said he had not considered himself Indonesian since 1978.

But he added: "I think most people would accept political autonomy [within Indonesia]." Some Acehnese are now realising that the rest of the world regards their province as an integral part of Indonesia and will not force Jakarta to grant a ballot on independence like that in East Timor.

The government of reformist President Abdurrahman Wahid has effectively given the army a free hand in Aceh, but knows that the grievances of the province cannot be solved by repression.

Mr Wahid's efforts at winning over the Acehnese are moving slowly forward. The first, long-delayed legal trial of soldiers for past atrocities is set for next month. A forthcoming autonomy law would give Aceh control of the bulk of its domestic revenues.

If Mr Wahid can deliver what he promises and the military now stops acting like an army of occupation, then a lasting peace could become possible. If not, the cycle of uprising and repression in Aceh will go on.

Civilian killed in Aceh rebel ambush of troops

Banda Aceh -- Separatist rebels ambushed an Indonesian military truck in the troubled province of Aceh, leaving a civilian killed by a stray bullet and a soldier wounded, police said Sunday.

The armed separatists attacked the truck on Saturday on a road in the hilly Tangga Besi area of South Aceh, sparking a firefight between troops and the rebels, local police chief Lieutenant Colonel Teuku Keumala said.

Shots fired by the rebels hit a passing vehicle, killing the driver and wounding one of the passengers, Keumala said. A soldier was also wounded in the neck in the attack, he added.

Meanwhile on Sunday, two bodies were found in the Langkat Tamiang area of East Aceh, human rights activist Husni Husin told AFP. Husin, of the Aceh branch of the Commission for Violence and Missing Persons (Kontras), said the two victims were among nine people arrested by security forces on Thursday.

Husin also charged that human rights activists monitoring the violence in the oil-rich province have been "terrorized and intimidated" by the Indonesian military. "It's very difficult for us to investigate cases of violence because of continuing terror and intimidation by the TNI (military) apparatus," he said.

He accused the military of making arbitrary arrests during sweeps to find alleged members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), who have waged a guerilla war against Jakarta rule since 1976 for a free Islamic state in the region on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

On Saturday, a man's body was found in the Padanglila are of Pidie, local police chief Lieutenant Colonel Endang Bagus said. The body bore gunshot wounds to the head, he said.

A women identified as Habiman Abdul Rahman, 48, was shot dead by unidentified attackers in the village of Meunasah Mee, North Aceh, on Friday night, police chief Lieutenant Colonel Syafei Aksal said. The motive for the killing remained unknown, he said.

Daily clashes between Indonesian troops and the separatists as well as reprisals from both sides have left more than 250 people dead so far this year. In the past ten months, more than 1,340 people have been killed as a result of security forces' attempts to quell the separatist movement, Aceh police chief Brigadier General Bachrumsyah Kasman said on Wednesday. Of the total, 653 were civilians, 538 police and military personnel and 153 separatist rebels, Kasman said, adding they died between May 1999 and February.

A decade of harsh military operations against GAM rebels, that ended in 1998, and the syphoning off of the province's resources have fuelled popular resentment against Jakarta.

Army drives rich region into rebels' arms

John Aglionby, Kembang Tanjung -- When Mohammed Assegaf and his two friends finished describing how Indonesian soldiers had killed some people and terrorised dozens of others in their part of Aceh province during the past two months, they slipped out of the cafe's back door, across the paddy fields, and away.

Outside the front door were three heavily armed plainclothes policemen demanding to know what was going on. People active in criticising the authorities or promoting the idea that Aceh -- and its natural wealth -- should break away from Indonesia risk arrest, or worse. Such intimidation is commonplace now in this resource-rich province at the north-western tip of Sumatra.

According to independence supporters and human rights workers, troops have killed more than 200 civilians and burned hundreds of homes since January in what army commanders describe as their latest operation to defeat the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a guerrilla group that has been waging an armed independence struggle since 1976.

The GAM is contributing to the latest violence, but human rights activists say the army's aim is much broader than the defeat of a rebel group. They suspect the aim is to crush the apparent desire of the majority of Aceh's 4m people for an East Timor-style referendum on the province's status.

This became manifest at the end of last year in rallies across the province. "The government became very scared when it saw how much momentum the referendum campaign was developing," said Mohammed Nazar, the coordinator of the campaign for a ballot on independence from Jakarta. "It responded in the only way it knows."

Not only are civilians being killed, he and others say, but human rights workers, students and journalists are being prevented from reaching affected areas. "We no longer dare man posts where people can report atrocities to us," said Muliadi, a student in the town of Lhokseumawe. "Too many people have been beaten up, arrested or detained without reason."

"Five death threats a day is nothing out of the ordinary now," according to Hamdani Rukiah, the bureau chief in the Aceh town of Lhokseumawe for the main daily newspaper in the province, Serambi Indonesia.

There are dozens of checkpoints and roadblocks on the main roads through the province. A lecturer at a university in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, said he was on a bus journey recently where all the men were ordered off in three different towns and strip searched. He called this "pure terror tactics".

Independence activists also say people are losing out financially. The February coffee crop in the central highlands was 40% down on last year's, according to them, because people were too scared to be in the fields in the crucial weeks before the harvest.

Such local informants say the repression is worse than in the 1990s, when several thousand people were killed in nine years of similar operations, and it worries them that this seems to be condoned internationally.

When Tony Blair met President Abdurrahman Wahid in February, he pledged British support for Indonesia's territorial integrity. Other foreign leaders, including Bill Clinton, have done likewise.

The GAM is far from blameless in the current violence. Many village heads have reported repeated intimidation by its members. "They regularly extort money, demand the use of cars and motorbikes and steal food," said Suraiya Kamaruzzaman, the executive director of Flower Aceh, a group seeking to promote women's rights in rural Aceh. "Anyone who refuses to help is at great risk of being attacked."

Exacerbating the situation is the presence of other armed groups. They are among the elements becoming bolder in Indonesia now that Jakarta's dictatorship is gone. In the past few months in Aceh young men, known as "atoms", who lost their fathers in the early 1990s terror have started a chaotic revenge campaign.

"They get hold of guns and then attack police and military posts without thinking about the consequences," said one analyst who asked not to be named.

Mafias from Medan, the city just south of Aceh, have also begun operating this year. "They mainly steal cars, motorbikes and electronic goods," said the analyst. "But they are creating massive fear and panic among the people."

Human rights workers believe that -- caught between such groups, the GAM and the military -- most of Aceh's people would probably be satisfied to stick with the federal government, if Jakarta would only offer as much carrot as it is doling out stick.

"People still want a referendum because they have lost all confidence in the central government," said Maimul Fidar, the head of a group called Coalition for Human Rights. "If the government treated the people with respect then it would probably win a vote." This is borne out by people in villages who see independence as "peace", "an end to the violence", "no more terror" and "withdrawing all the soldiers".

But while the central government, which took more than 99% of Aceh's resource revenue until last year, has started investing more in the province, the perception is still widespread that Jakarta does not care.

"All we see is the pain of being part of Indonesia and none of the benefits," said Mr Nazar. "The government is not being serious with us." He points to the constant delay of the first trial of military human rights violators as a case in point. It was due to begin last month but is unlikely to get under way until April at the earliest; the government's latest excuse is that it cannot find the money needed to stage it.

Moderates in Aceh believe the best way forward is for President Wahid to offer a referendum in several years, halt the repression and work hard to win the people's hearts and minds. "Such tactics have a great chance of success," said Muhammad Yus, the speaker of the provincial legislature. "We would then have a firm bargaining position with GAM, and once peace is established most people will be happy.

"The government has to take the first step but it seems incapable of doing so. It does not seem to realise that it cannot win over the Acehnese through force."
 

Labour struggle

IWD marchers demand working women's rights

May Sari, Jakarta -- Three hundred women and men marched from the Kapuk industrial area to Indonesia's parliament building on International Women's Day, March 8. IWD was not celebrated in Indonesia before 1999.

The organisations of militant workers and students -- the National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) and the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) -- were prominent in the march. FNPBI affiliates organised IWD actions at factories and local parliaments in other parts of Indonesia also.

The FNPBI and LMND realise that women's political and social problems cannot be separated from the problems of Indonesian society in general and both organisations are fighting for women's liberation as part of the fight against the oppression of all workers and others. They want IWD to become a tradition in Indonesia and a symbol of the struggles of all oppressed people.

The marchers' demands included: end all discrimination against women, especially women workers; a 100% increase in workers' wages; an end to the government's cuts to price subsidies on fuel, electricity and education; and an end to military intervention in labour disputes.

Romawaty Sinaga, FNPBI's head of international relations, told the marchers when they arrived at parliament that Indonesia's women and poor people voted for vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri not only because she was a woman, but also because she promised to do her best for poor people.

"What has she done? Nothing!", Sinaga said. "That's why we should not narrow our demands to supporting her. Together with Gus Dur [President Abdurrahman Wahid], Megawati continues to allow her sisters to be oppressed. Indonesia's women workers -- together with students, the urban poor and others -- are oppressed because of the government's economic policies that allow maximum exploitation. Women, workers and students should unite and flex our muscles."

Sinaga pointed out that the government recently raised senior politicians' pay by almost 80% while workers' pay barely covers 50% of their minimum daily needs. Megawati's pay jumped more than 100%. Perhaps Megawati, "the symbol of women's emancipation", could have argued that this money should instead be used to improve the lives of women workers, Sinaga said.

The marchers entered the parliament to present their demands to MPs. The protesters were disappointed with the MPs' responses in the discussions that followed, saying that many simply echoed the views of the government, the military and big business. Some of the MPs' ignorant answers were met with laughter from the marchers.

Meanwhile, other workers' protests were taking place outside the parliament. Workers from PT Kong Tai Indonesia were demanding the payment of outstanding entitlements following the closure of their factory. Workers from PT Texmaco were protesting against the sacking of 37 of their comrades.

Another 1500 workers from the water supply utility, PT Pam Jaya, were there to oppose the utility's privatisation, which will result in many sackings and higher clean water costs. The government has been selling state enterprises to meet International Monetary Fund loan conditions.

A protest organised by Indonesian Women's Solidarity at the embassy of the United Arab Emirates demanded that the Indonesian government bring home Kartini, an Indonesian woman worker who has been jailed pending her execution for becoming pregnant while unmarried. "Bring Kartini home!" was also a main demand of the FNPBI-organised IWD protests around the country.

Angry terminal vendors break bus windows

Jakarta -- About 500 fruit, candy and cigarettes vendors pelted and broke the windows of six intercity buses at the Pulogadung bus terminal, East Jakarta, in a protest against City Public Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) officials' rough actions for the past week.

Terminal chief Nadias Syam said, "DLLAJ officers arrived here at 9am to throw the vendors out of the terminal, as vendors had been given several warnings earlier to vacate the terminal." The vendors, Nadias said, were in violation of city bylaw No. 11/1998 on City terminal management.

"When the DLLAJ officials were about to throw the vendors out, the vendors got angry and started protesting. It got out of control and they started pelting moving buses, breaking windows." Nadias said the affected buses were two Dedy Jaya buses, three Sinar Jaya buses and a Handoyo bus. All are intercity buses.

A soft drink vendor in the area, Dody, said DLLAJ officials have conducted rough raids almost daily for the past week. "They are rough and very strict with us. They have done this to us every day for the past week," Dody told The Jakarta Post.

Frustrated, the vendors at the terminal finally contacted their vendor friends in Bekasi, Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and Tangerang, to organize a peaceful protest on Saturday against the DLLAJ officials. "The protest was going along smoothly, until someone threw a stone at the vendors," Dody said.

"It could have been one of the ticket scalpers in the area. The vendors got very angry and started breaking windows of buses and the terminal's public facilities. They caused such a traffic jam," she said. The crowd also broke windows of a ticket counter, a food kiosk and a musholla (small mosque).

A terminal security officer, who requested anonymity, said security officers could only secure the area at about 1pm and five vendors later held talks with Nadias. They were identified as Syamsudin, Edi, Junaidi, Jamal and Ucok Jarot.

Syamsudin said the vendors were in a dilemma about whether to sell outside or inside the terminal. "If we sell inside, we deal with DLLAJ officials. If we sell outside, it causes traffic jams. What are we supposed to do? I'm telling you now, we can't go anywhere else," Syamsudin said.

"We vendors have been in this terminal for years now. This is our selling place. Please don't kick us out of here." A driver of a bus plying the Pulogadung-Senen route said the terminal was closed to buses for at least an hour in the morning, while the protest was happening.

"When the protest got wild, buses could only stop at Grogol in West Jakarta and passengers were forced to get down, whether they liked it or not. Some buses dared to go as far as a factory near the terminal but never dared to venture further and turned back." Vendor representatives later signed an agreement with Nadias that both parties would allow the vendors to operate in the area, as long as they could maintain order and control the number of vendors operating in the area. Vendors were also urged to use identification cards and arrange daily three-shift schedules.
 

Human rights/law

Human rights abuses in Indonesia still rife

James Balowski -- Indonesia has moved toward a more pluralistic democracy but human rights abuses remained rife in 1999, according to a US State Department report released on February 25.

In June, Indonesia held its first free elections since Suharto seized power in 1965 and President Abdurrahman Wahid has pledged to reform pivotal sectors of the nation, the report said. But human rights abuses, which culminated in the murderous action of militias in East Timor and Aceh, were still rampant and much remained to be done. Moreover, the country's severe economic crisis that began in July 1997 had exacerbated the uneven distribution of money and power, the report said.

While stating that "security forces continued to commit extra- judicial killings" under Wahid, it was the abuses under the previous government of B.J. Habibie that received the sharpest criticism.

Wide-ranging violations "Elements of the security forces and pro-integration militias, armed and largely supported by the military, were responsible for numerous extra-judicial killings in East Timor in the early months of the year [1999]", the report said.

Human rights violations in East Timor included "summary executions, massacres, massive deportation, attacks on women and children, houses and buildings besieged and destroyed ... and an attack on the only functioning medical clinic in Dili".

In Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh, where there is widespread support for independence, "military forces and national police committed numerous extra-judicial killings and used excessive force to quell separatist movements", the report said.

Security forces "also were responsible for numerous instances of indiscriminate shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention" in various regions of the country. The report did note that at least one military officer had received a jail sentence for human rights abuses and that the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission was examining other violations.

Although the government has ratified the International Labor Organisation convention, enforcement of labour standards was weak. "Forced and bonded child labour remained a problem", the report said, citing the case of several thousand children who are forced to work on fishing platforms where they're held as virtual prisoners, living in isolation and working 12 to 20 hours a day in often dangerous conditions.

Indonesia was also "a source, transit point, and destination for trafficked women and children for the purpose of prostitution and sometimes for forced labour", the document stated.

While the constitution protects freedom of expression and requires judicial warrants for searches -- except in cases of suspected subversion, economic crimes and corruption -- the report noted that government security officials monitored the movements and activities of former Communist Party members.

`A few omissions'

On February 29, the US-based solidarity organisation ETAN (East Timor Action Network) released a statement cautiously welcoming the report. Calling it "generally accurate", ETAN pointed out, however, "Progress has come at a tremendous price. Not only have the people of East Timor and Indonesia survived decades of brutal repression and mass slaughter, but their 1999 passage toward freedom was accompanied by widespread killings and many other human rights violations. Although East Timor is now under interim United Nations administration and can look forward to peaceful democracy, many parts of Indonesia continue to suffer at the hands of Indonesia's military."

ETAN also cited "a few omissions". The report fails to convey the extent to which the Indonesian military and its militias attempted to subvert the UN referendum process, ETAN stated. Although some militia crimes preceding the May 5 accord (which agreed that Indonesia would be responsible for security) are described, as is the devastation after the results were announced on September 4, the deliberate terror and mayhem operation conducted by the militias during the referendum process is largely omitted.

There is no mention, for example, of the systematic attacks on offices of the CNRT (National Council for Timorese Resistance) during the August campaign period, which squelched public advocacy by the pro-independence side.

ETAN was also critical of the report's inadequacy when discussing human rights abuses committed before 1999, especially those in which no progress towards justice has been made.

Although a few such cases are mentioned (such as the 1991 Dili massacre), the Indonesian military committed hundreds of thousands of human rights violations during their 24-year occupation of East Timor. A major deficiency of current Indonesian and international investigations is that they fail to consider violations before 1999.

The report also does not describe the scale or the systematic nature of the destruction. In less than two weeks, the military, police and militias drove 650,000 of the 850,000 East Timorese from their homes -- they either fled into the mountains or were forced, often at gunpoint, onto trucks or ships and taken to West Timor or other parts of Indonesia.

Simultaneously, Indonesian forces deliberately destroyed 70% of all buildings and nearly all of East Timor's infrastructure. The legacy of this devastation will severely hamper efforts to rebuild the independent East Timor.

US responsibility

The report, ETAN notes, fails to mention the responsibility of other countries, including the United States. The UN Security Council approved the May 5 agreements which, for the first time since 1975, legalised the Indonesian military presence in East Timor.

Australia also played a key role in ensuring that Indonesia would be responsible for security, even though both Australia and the US had detailed information about the military's campaign of terror and its plans to wipe out the independence movement.

The report also makes no mention of a fraudulent Indonesian military-brokered "cease-fire" on April 21, which was used by the US and the UN to justify their acceptance of the flawed May 5 accords.

Appropriately, the report devotes more space to Indonesian violations than to those by the East Timorese resistance, since nearly all violations were committed by the government and its militia proxies.

However, by failing to quantify the violations on both sides, it conceals how rarely the resistance resorted to violence -- and ignores their right to self-defence or to oppose an illegal occupation. During the entire consultation process and post- ballot violence, the independence guerrillas of Falintil refrained from responding to military and militia provocations.

Although the report frequently includes specific names, dates and places when describing abuses by Indonesia, allegations of abuses by independence forces are frequently cited without any details. The report claims, for instance, "In East Timor, there were numerous reports of abductions and murders of police and TNI [military] personnel, allegedly at the hands of separatists".

Progress toward democratic rule is often overstated. Although the June elections in Indonesia were mostly free and fair, the October selection of Wahid as president was not democratic. When the candidate preferred by only one-eighth of the voters is chosen through secret political deals, this can hardly be considered an "open, transparent, democratic process".

US resumes military training

On February 18, the Washington Post reported that the US defence department has "quietly" resumed training Indonesian military officers in the United States. Training was suspended in the aftermath of the Indonesian violence in East Timor.

US officials claim that it was restarted "without fanfare" to avoid criticism from human rights groups. They also claimed that the program will be discontinued if the Indonesian military does not improve its record.

Washington said it was pleased with many of the reforms being implemented in Indonesia -- particularly Wahid's decision to suspend defence minister General Wiranto, who has been implicated in the pro-Jakarta militia violence -- and is hoping resumption of training will serve as an incentive to follow through with other reforms.

Quite aside from the fact that the resumption of military training flies in the face of the State Department report, it is also a violation of a Congressional ban on military ties with Indonesia.

In November, Congress set six conditions which must be met before Indonesia can receive US military assistance. These include ensuring the safe return of East Timorese refugees trapped in militia-controlled camps in West Timor and prosecuting those responsible for atrocities committed in East Timor. The conditions also require Indonesia to prevent militia incursions into East Timor.

None of these conditions have so far been met and Wahid has said that if Wiranto is convicted, he will be pardoned.

Like the Australian Labor and Coalition governments, the US has persisted with the argument that such training will promote a greater awareness of human rights within the Indonesian military and facilitate cooperation between the US and Indonesian military.

Decades of training have failed to produce any such result. Last year's violence in East Timor and the continued atrocities in Aceh and West Papua are testimony to the utter bankruptcy of such a policy.

Human rights organisations such as ETAN have pointed out that it sends "false signals to an Indonesian military still far from civilian control ... The best way to support Indonesian democracy is to follow a policy that makes clear to the Indonesian military that normal military relations are impossible until rights abuses end and the military fully withdraws from politics".

Rights group protests draft rights bill

Jakarta -- A group of human rights lawyers on Monday protested as unecessary and flawed a draft bill being prepared by the government to pave the way for the creation of a human rights court in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Association of Legal Counsels on Law and Human Rightssaid in a statement that it "rejected" the draft bill on a special court for human rights cases. "The term and existence of a human rights court is unknown in the practice of human rights enforcement in the world," APHI said.

It also said that such a court would be ineffective because under the draft law, it could only judge cases that had taken place after it was set up. "What is needed now is the formulation of a draft bill for the convening of special courts which would be ad hoc in nature, so that they can retro-actively judge specific cases of human rights violations," APHI said.

The group also said that any draft bill should include several international legal instruments that would guarantee a process of law that would be in line with international practices.

APHI said it had already prepared draft bills for three ad hoc courts, each of which would specifically address human rights violations in Aceh, East Timor and Tanjung Priok. The three bills will be handed over to the House of Representatives later on Monday, said APHI chairman Hotma Timbul Hutapea.

The Aceh case involves violations in anti-rebel operations since 1989, Timor with human rights violations during the post-ballot violence in September and the Tanjung Priok case refers to the shooting of Muslim protestors in the port area of Jakarta in 1984. Law and Legislation Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the draft bill currently before parliament on a special human rights court was expected to be completed within three months.

"Then we can set up a human rights tribunal. It is impossible to form a human rights tribunal without the law," Mahendra said, according to the Detik.com online news service.

Indonesia is under international pressure to bring those involved in the human rights abuses in East Timor last year to justice. An Indonesian inquiry into the Timor violence has named 33 military and civilian officials, including former Indonesian armed forces chief General Wiranto, as responsible for the September violence carried out by army-backed militia. Wiranto has denied any wrongdoing.

The UN Human Rights Commission has made its own inquiry into the violence in East Timor and recommended convening an international war crimes tribunal to prosecute suspects. However, it said it is waiting to see if the Indonesian process brings the guilty to justice.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, who last month dropped Wiranto from his cabinet until the legal process over the East Timor violence is completed, has said he would pardon him if he was found guilty.

But the government has said it would not be bound by any UN move to initiate prosecution proceedings through an international court. Officials have said that if the matter goes to the Security Council, they feel confident of a veto from China.

The Indonesian team set up by the attorney general's office to investigate the inquiry's report is expected to hand over preliminary findings to Attorney General Marzuki Darusman later on Monday.

"The team is going to hand over its assessment of KPP-HAM's [the inquiry's] report ... on Monday," Darusman was quoted by the Jakarta Post daily as saying over the weekend. But he said no suspects would be named, and that the 35-member team would "only recommend what further steps should be taken" in the probe of the violence that left hundreds dead and whole towns burned to the ground.
 

News & issues

Plan to reopen 1965 coup case draws controversy

Jakarta -- President Abdurrahman Wahid's approval of attempts to reopen the case of the 1965 abortive coup and its bloody aftermath has caused some controversy.

The Air Force, whose role in the events of 1965 have often been questioned due to its close ties with then president Sukarno, welcomed on Wednesday the President's statement, calling on all those with information about the attempted coup to come forward.

But noted military observer Lt. Gen. (ret) Hasnan Habib opposed on Thursday any plans to reopen the country's old wounds, which he said would benefit no one. He suggested the public accept the bloody event as part of history.

Commodore Bachrum Rasir, the spokesman for the Air Force, said those witnesses who remained alive bore a moral responsibility to testify, in order to clarify the event for the younger generation and to make any necessary corrections to the country's historical record.

He listed Col. (ret) Latief and Air Rear Marshal (ret) Sri Herlambang as two such witnesses. "Besides these figures, many other witnesses who are still alive could reveal the truth about this historical event without having to fear any pressure," he said.

The Air Force released last year its own version of the aborted coup, denying any involvement in the coup attempt blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

In the coup's aftermath, Sukarno stepped down and thousands of people are believed to have been killed for their alleged links to PKI. Then Army chief Lt. Gen. Soeharto succeeded Sukarno as president.

Reliable sources in the military told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday the present government, in cooperation with certain interested groups, would press Soeharto to tell the true story surrounding the 1965 upheaval. "Besides the living witnesses, Soeharto, who is known as the key figure behind the event, should be asked to speak out, not for investigative purposes, but for historical ones," one source said.

Hasnan said reopening the case was unnecessary for the nation because of the darkness and mystery blanketing the event. "What will we get if we dig into something that happened 35 years ago, which is dark and full of mystery. I don't know what we will profit by it," Hasnan, a former ambassador to the US, said.

"I know the families and relatives of those who were suspected to be members of PKI still hold grudges about it, but there are too many versions and too much controversy surrounding the coup. It will be very difficult to determine the most correct version." Hasnan, who was a colonel when the coup attempt took place, added that many people who were directly involved or witnessed the events had passed away, so it would be unlikely that new evidence could be collected.

"Who will conduct the investigation if the case is reopened. Some witnesses may still be alive, but prominent figures have long since passed away. So it is impossible to discover the grand design behind the coup attempt," he said.

He said that despite his criticism of the TNI, he supported any measures to contain communism. "I think all Army officers are of the same opinion of rejecting communism," he said.

Rice farmers protest low prices

Simon Montlake, Jakarta -- The Indonesian government is under pressure to consider increasing protection for domestic rice producers, after protests by farmers over low prices paid for unhusked rice, local newspapers said Tuesday.

President Abdurrahman Wahid said Monday his cabinet would discuss Wednesday the problems faced by rice producers, but didn't comment on Agriculture Minister M. Prakosa's demand for an increase in rice import tariffs.

Prakosa last week urged the government to increase the import tax on rice to between 45% and 50%. The current tariff level on milled rice, imposed January 1, is 30%, or 430 rupiah ($1=IDR7,430) a kilogram. However, Trade Minister Yusuf Kalla said it was too early to assess the impact of the rice tariff and therefore it would be premature to propose such an increase.

Indonesia is also bound by the letter of credit it signed in January with the International Monetary Fund which stated the rice tariff wasn't permanent and should be reviewed after six months. The World Bank and the IMF have clashed with Indonesia over the level of the tariff, preferring a lower barrier, and are likely to resist any increase.

Hundreds of farmers in South Sulawesi and East Java staged separate demonstrations Monday against low rice prices and competition from imported rice, Media Indonesia reported. A local government official in South Sulawesi said imported rice would be banned in the province, the Jakarta Post said.

Farmers say prices for unhusked rice have fallen to as low as IDR60/kg, compared with the official farmgate price of IDR1,020/kg which the National Logistics Agency, or Bulog, pays for rice. Trade sources said rice farmers are selling their rice to local traders at rockbottom prices as local Bulog agencies have been slow to buy. "They are forced to let go at whatever price they can get," said a Jakarta-based trader.

Bulog has so far budgeted IDR500 billion for buying unhusked rice in 2000 and has already begun buying in the key growing areas of East and Central Java, a Bulog spokesman said Monday. The agency intervenes to stabilize prices and is also tasked with maintaining stocks and distributing rice to civil servants, the military and poor consumers.

Indonesian unhusked rice production in 2000 is forecast by Bulog at 49.8 million metric tons, compared with 51 million tons forecast by the US Department of Agriculture.

Complete works of banned writer to be published

Jakarta -- The complete works of Indonesia's best known author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, banned in his own country for four decades, are to be published in their entirety for the first time. "Starting next month we will republish everything," the author told AFP.

Since the fall of the Suharto regime in May of 1998, a ban slapped on the distribution and possession of Pramoedya's books has been lifted, although not the law under which they were barred.

Systematically destroyed or kept off the bookshelves for 40 years, the books -- the possession of which is still technically an offense -- remain difficult to find and are often expensive.

Pram, as he is commonly known, was first nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986 and his name has regularly been mentioned since then.

The 74-year-old author has written more than 30 books, several of which have never been published. A number of his manuscripts have been lost forever, destroyed by police or jailers.

It is paradoxically easier to find his books in English overseas than here in Indonesia, notably those he wrote in the Buru island forced labor camp (The Glass House and This Earth of Mankind). The novels trace the emergence and growth of Indonesian nationalism at the beginning of the century.

A number of major publishing houses had expressed an interest in the rights to the complete works. Pramoedya however has decided to entrust the task to the small company, Hasta Mitra, which supported him during his difficult years.

His literary manager, Jusuf Isak, himself a former political prisoner, friend and longtime confidant of Pramoedya, told AFP that the publication of the complete works had been made possible by financial aid from a large American foundation.

Pramoedya who has spent the past years as a semi-recluse in his residence in East Jakarta, did not gain full freedom of movement until 1998. He was finally allowed to leave Indonesia for the first time in 1999. He has never renounced his communist beliefs and is a scathing critic of the government of president Abdurrahman Wahid.

Indonesian parliament building hit again

Jakarta -- A glass window in a hallway in Indonesia's parliament building was pierced yesterday by what seemed to be a bullet, just minutes after former president Suharto's youngest son passed it on his way to give testimony, witnesses said.

But police said it was unclear whether the object was a bullet. "We cannot make any conclusion. We are still making investigations," Jakarta police detective Alex Bambang Riatmodjo told reporters.

The incident came five minutes after Mr Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra arrived to be questioned on suspicion that he had embezzled millions of dollars through his clove marketing agency.

Cloves are a major ingredient in a popular type of Indonesian cigarette called kretek. Witnesses said the object pierced the first-floor window and left a hole and cracks in the glass near the room where Mr Hutomo was being questioned but failed to shatter it.

Journalists who covered the session said they did not hear any gunfire. But a city policeman who inspected the scene said the window appeared to have been hit by a 32-calibre bullet fired from an air gun.

The incident was the second of its kind at the parliament building this year. Last month, the glass window in the office of a United Development Party legislator was hit by a bullet in what many believe was part of a "terror" campaign against vocal legislators.

The latest incident also follows a stabbing attack on Mr Matori Abdul Djalil who is the head of the party set up by President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Parliament speaker Akbar Tandjung urged greater protection after yesterday's incident. "We ask the police to protect the parliamentarians in implementing their duties, whether it is inside the parliament building or outside," the Antara national news agency quoted him as saying.

State universities brace for big monetary cutbacks

Jakarta -- Here's a riddle: A plane carrying 20 professors suddenly develops engine trouble. The passengers discuss among themselves ways out of their dilemma. Does anyone know the answer? Answer: If 20 professors don't have the answer, what chance do the rest of us have? That essentially caps the problem facing dozens of state universities across the country.

Starting this year, the government will phase out the subsidies traditionally enjoyed by these universities. In keeping with the move to give greater autonomy to the regions, these universities will eventually have to be self-sufficient.

Although the government warned the universities about the planned spending cuts some time ago, none of them are wholly prepared for the huge cuts to be effected this year.

Not even all the professors and other talent the universities can muster have an answer, at least so far. Some warn that they may be forced to pass the buck to students. They said the cuts could mean thousands more students dropping out this year.

One or two have come up with some contingency plans to help students. For the period between April 1 and December 31, only Rp 200 billion of the Rp 11.7 trillion education budget will go to the 70 state universities. Part of this money will be used to finance their operations, part for students' scholarships and the rest will go toward financing development projects.

Comparison with the previous year's budget is difficult because the government is changing the start of the fiscal year from April 1 to January 1 starting in 2001.

But most universities say this year's nine-month budget represents a significant cut in government spending. Most universities interviewed appear to have few or no answers on how to cope with the cuts.

The University of Indonesia in Jakarta is resigned to the cutbacks, which will particularly affect its operational funds and scholarships for underprivileged students.

The Rp 3.6 billion operational fund will be eliminated. The university will still need Rp 8.68 billion to support needy undergraduate students. "This will burden the university," Umar Mansur, the assistant rector for student affairs, said.

The university charges two different tuition fees: Rp 750,000 a year for social sciences and Rp 1 million for exact sciences. Students from low-income families pay less, and sometimes are exempt from fees, Umar said, adding that of the 2,600 students enrolled in 1999, 18 percent came from poor families.

Soedirman University in Purwokerto, Central Java, said its development fund would be cut by more than 45 percent. "The cuts will hurt universities, especially the small ones," Rubiyanto Misman said.

Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, said half of its 6,740 students were on government scholarships, supplemented by grants from companies such as PT Conoco, PT Santa Fe, Barito Pacific, PT Pos Indonesia, Toyota Astra, Provincial Development Bank (BPD) and the Asia Development Bank (ADB).

"The ADB assistance will end this month. And if the government aid is also cut, almost 3,500 students will drop out because they come from poor families," rector Frans Wospakrik said.

The Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), with 12,000 students, will be affected by the cutbacks, but rector Aman Wirakartakusumah declined to go into detail at this stage.

Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, said the spending cuts were a setback and noted that many other countries were raising their budgets for higher education. "Higher education must be dealt with through concrete and responsible steps," rector Eko Budihardjo said.

Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said it would receive Rp 4 billion in operational funds from the government this year, about a third of what it received in 1999. "It is an extreme drop," rector Ichlasul Amal said.

Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, said it had not received details on how much it would receive from the government this year. "If the government assistance is cut, we will have to make some adjustments. Raising tuition will be a last resort," Effendie, assistant rector for administrative and financial affairs, said.

I Ketut Sukardika, rector of Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali, said the cuts meant halting all physical projects. The completion of the new campus in Bukit Jimbaran, 25 kilometers south of Denpasar, will be delayed. "I don't understand why the government keeps bailing out troubled banks but cuts education spending," Sukardika said.

"Hiking tuition means depriving bright students from poor families of their studies. Almost 70 percent of our 12,600 students come from poor families," he said. Gadjah Mada University appears to be better placed to cope with the cuts because it has a Rp 10 billion endowment fund.

"The interest from this fund is used to pay for scholarships for 2,000 students. Each one gets Rp 100,000 per semester," rector Ichlasul said. The endowment fund is mostly from joint projects Gadjah Mada runs with private companies, including oil giants Pertamina and Caltex. These projects will continue. "Once the endowment fund reaches Rp 20 billion, all our operational costs will be covered," Amal said.

The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in the West Java capital runs a cross-subsidy scheme by which its 4,000 post- graduate students pay higher fees, while some 10,000 undergraduate students pay less. Regular postgraduate students pay between Rp 6 million and Rp 8 million a year, while the more advanced students pay between Rp 15 million and Rp 20 million per annum.

ITB cooperates with private businesses and through this it has built an endowment fund to finance its operations. "We urge the government to contribute between Rp 1 trillion and Rp 3 trillion toward the fund. This would be a better investment than recapitalizing unsound banks," Djoko Santoso, assistant rector for administrative and financial affairs, said. ITB last year collected Rp 75 billion from the public, but it needs at least Rp 150 billion a year to finance its operations.

North Sumatra University, which has 20,000 students, is hopeful that the cuts will not be as bad as portrayed in the media. "It's still only a plan. We believe that when the time comes, the government will fork out enough money for the universities," rector Chairuddin P. Lubis said. The university has some Rp 3 billion in an endowment fund. "The amount is far too small," Chairuddin said.

"Rp 100 trillion in an endowment fund would be realistic. This would mean we could collect Rp 1 trillion in monthly interest which would cover our activities," he said.
 

Environment/health

Wanted: A single agency to enforce the law

Marianne Kearney -- One of the major problems in the haze crisis is the weak enforcement of flawed, existing laws. Companies flout the law because there is no one agency that monitors whether they abide by it.

In the past, good proposals to deter companies and farmers from starting the fires were made. Years later, they still exist -- as drafts.

This time, a specialist investigation team, headed by the Environment Ministry, has been set up to look into who is starting the fires. If this team becomes a permanent force, able to investigate rapidly the hundreds of fires detected every dry season, then it could be come a formidable deterrent.

Environment Minister Sonny Keraf also admits that a major problem is the lack of co-ordination on the ground to monitor and fight fires. He agrees that there is poor co-ordination among the local mayors and the Department of Forestry.

"The Department of Forestry is not active in fighting fires, especially to go out to fires on company sites," he lamented. Mr Keraf said this could be due to corruption in these departments but environmental commentators say it is because there is not enough political heat on the departments to be responsible for the fires.

Mr Nabil Makarim, a former head of Bapadal, the environment monitoring agency, says that many of the governors are not interested in pressuring their local mayors and forestry departments until they are made responsible. "The governors have no sense of urgency and don't realise the serious long term effects of the fires. They are too pre-occupied with day-to-day problems," he says.

Another reason for the slow response is that until the fires are declared a national emergency and the natural disaster team takes over, a co-ordinated, well planned response to the fires is a pipe dream. There is no one authority or person who is charge of fire-fighters and fire-fighting equipment and to monitor the fires.

The best equipment is owned and controlled by plantation companies but local mayors do not know or care whether these companies are using it to fight the fires.

Students demand closure of Indorayon

Jakarta -- Hundreds of students the North Sumatra legislative assembly yesterday to demand the final closure of a factory operated by pulp and rayon fiber producer PT Inti Indorayon Utama.

The protest came as regional parliamentarians in Medan, northwest of Jakarta, were discussing whether to close down the company's main mill, which has been blamed for causing environmental damage to nearby Lake Toba. The picturesque lake is a major tourist attraction.

Indorayon's operations were suspended last year pending a decision on whether it should be allowed to continue operations after a series of protests, some of them violent.

About 500 students, chanting "close down Indorayon", stormed the North Sumatra parliament building and occupied the room where legislators were meeting. There were no security forces in sight and most of the parliamentarians fled the meeting room.

Environment Minister Soni Keraf has recommended the closure of Indorayon's plant, located in the town of Porsea. "There is no other way but to close down the mill as recommended by the environment minister," said Effendy Panjaitan, an environmental activist. "If the government forces the opening of the mill then there will be a revolution," he said.

The mill was unable to operate from July to November 1998, and was shut down again in late January 1999, following protests. The company has been resisting moves to close the plant.
 

Economy & investment

Jakarta 'must act on reform or growth will slow'

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- Indonesia's economic growth will exceed previous conservative estimates of between 3 and 4 percent, but the International Monetary Fund's new representative here, Mr John Dodsworth, has warned that the growth will slow down if the government does not quickly restructure the banking, corporate and legal systems.

He predicted yesterday that Indonesia's growth could be 2 percent more than what was forecast for the coming year on the back of higher consumer spending. But he expressed reservations about the new government's ability to attract foreign capital necessary for sustained economic growth.

"Corporate restructuring is absolutely essential for attracting foreign investment. If Indonesia does not restructure debt, then it will lose creditors and it basically cannot go very far," he warned.

He said one of the major problems with the pace of corporate restructuring was that although the government had committed itself to pursuing bad debtors, the courts were still too weak to do so. He added that the IMF was waiting for Indonesia to clean up its legal system.

He said signs that Indonesia was speeding up its corporate debt restructuring were crucial in attracting foreign capital and warned that Indonesian growth could not be sustained by domestic demand only.

Foreign investors fled Indonesia in the wake of the 1997 economic crisis and have only just started trickling back. In the wake of political uncertainty, foreign investment plunged 22 percent or US$10.6 billion last year, according to Indonesia's investment board.

Mr Dodsworth also expressed concern that moves to clean up the legal system and introduce a new system to investigate spurious cases of bankruptcy were not being implemented speedily.

He said one way to return investor confidence would be for the Attorney-General's Office, rather than the creditor, to bring some cases of bankruptcy before cleaner courts signalling that judicial corruption was being tackled.

He added that the IMF and international investors would watch closely negotiations between the Indonesian government and international power suppliers, such as American-Japanese consortium Pt Paiton. He said he was "hopeful the negotiation would be successful".

President Abdurrahman Wahid's announcement yesterday that he would honour all contracts made with foreign companies under the Suharto government was praised by Mr Dodsworth.

The previous Habibie government sought to cancel its contracts with international power suppliers arguing they were void because the contracts were negotiated by the corrupt Suharto government which they said set an artificially high price for electricity.

IMF advises caution on lifting fuel subsidies

Simon Montlake, Jakarta -- Indonesia must tread cautiously in cutting fuel subsidies and should seek to lessen the impact on kerosene prices as this directly hits poorer households, International Monetary Fund representative to Indonesia, John Dodsworth said Tuesday.

Despite its image as a free-market advocate, the IMF had cautioned against rapid cuts in fuel subsidies in the budget for financial year 2000, he said. "Kerosene is a difficult one because in rural areas it's used for lighting and cooking and that will go up a lot in April," he told a press luncheon.

Fuel prices will rise by an average 12% when some subsidies are lifted April 1, including kerosene. However, the government has pledged to maintain prices for public transportation and plans to allow poorer households to buy kerosene at subsidized prices.

Dodsworth said he wasn't convinced of the efficiency of giving out coupons for poor households to buy cheap kerosene, as the coupons don't always reach the right people.

Raising domestic fuel prices was one of the most contentious matters in the 2000 state budget debate between the government and parliament. The government had proposed an average 20% rise in fuel prices, but lawmakers sought to limit subsidy cuts.

A sharp rise in fuel prices in 1998 helped spark riots that toppled former President Suharto and remains a highly sensitive topic in Indonesia.

Security problems said causing big business losses

Jakarta -- The National Business Development Council has urged the government to immediately deal with security disturbances against the business sector, saying that in 1999 alone, the business sector suffered losses of around Rp5 trillion [US$714 million].

"The plantation sector lost Rp3 trillion, not counting the loss in confidence to Indonesia's export products," the Council's vice president Aburizal Bakrie told reporters in the presence of the Council's president Sofyan Wanandi after having reported the matter to President Abdurrahman Wahid last Friday.

"Disturbances like looting are often carried out in the name of the people," Aburizal said who is also chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

A recent murder attempt against People's Assembly deputy speaker Matori Abudul Djalil had created adverse effects, making Indonesia no longer safe to for investment, including for foreign investors, he said.

Sofyan said theft and looting included that against the crude palm oil industry, which occurred in almost all plantations in Sumatera, Central and East Java and also against coffee plantations and logs.

Also cited were disturbances to LNG exploration suffered by Mobil oil company in Aceh as a result of the security conditions, claims for a pay rise by exployees of Caltex Pacific in Riau province, and a decision of North Sulawesi District Court against Newmont, a gold mining company,. All this ha d resulted in a growing feeling of concern among business circles that frequent security disturbances were occurring in the production process.

Jakarta set to crack down on debtors

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta -- Indonesia's government is getting ready to crack the whip on recalcitrant debtors by giving the Attorney-General's Office powers to sue companies that fail to pay their debts -- a development that can have significant implications for the country's economic growth.

Sources here said that a presidential decree would be passed soon to add weight to efforts to restructure Indonesia's massive corporate debt, which is estimated at US$40 billion (S$68 billion).

"Jakarta has for the last year adopted a 'carrot approach' to recovering money owed by bankrupt companies," said a Washington- based source. "That has had very little impact on resolving the problem. The government now wants to use a legal framework to sue companies that owe money. The thinking now is that in order to sustain economic recovery, many firms need to restructure their debts."

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) last year published a list of 200 of the biggest debtors. But little has been done in practice to take them to task.

The "carrot approach" meant the government used bodies like Ibra and the Jakarta Initiative Task Force to bring firms together, on a voluntary basis, to restructure corporate debt. But firms were insulated from further foreign-exchange risk as they could pay their debt obligations in the local rupiah currency.

The source said that many collapsed businesses were not inclined to pay at the time, given the rupiah's massive devaluation at the height of the economic and political crisis in 1998.

But the situation was different now, given that the economy was picking up, albeit slowly, and there was a sense among the political elite that Jakarta could not rely on foreign help forever.

Ibra, which will work in concert with the A-G's Office, will be instrumental in identifying debtors and providing information to the A-G to bring them to court. An Ibra official said the presidential decree would help elevate and give stronger bite to the agency's role. It could also have a positive impact on the market given some concerns over the slow response so far to economic problems and getting tough on debtors.

Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman told The Straits Times the decree would improve coordination between the different government agencies. "It will provide a legal and administrative framework to expedite cases against firms and meet the government's concern of recovering as much money as possible," he said.