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Indonesia/East Timor News Digest No 6 - February 10-16, 2002

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East Timor

Blue Book of horrors makes a diplomatic time bomb

Sydney Morning Herald - February 15, 2002

Hamish McDonald and Desmond Ball -- As an army major with access to the most highly classified intelligence flowing into Canberra, Chris Jones admits he used to feel tempted when he saw protests against the Indonesian occupation of East Timor back in the late 1970s.

"I was passing a demo about Timor in Adelaide once," he recalls. "I felt like getting in and telling them 'This is what I know' - but I never would."

Just what he knew would have rocked the Australian public in those days. Even now, it sits like a diplomatic time bomb in the top secret archives of the Defence Department in Canberra.

The material Jones saw as a desk officer in the former Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO, now called the Defence Intelligence Organisation) contained damning detail about the brutality of the East Timor occupation, in which up to a third of the population, or 200,000 people, may have died.

In 1978, Jones took over one of the JIO's most closely protected projects, the compilation of a history of the Indonesian invasion and occupation of the former Portuguese colony, based almost entirely on signals intelligence.

The project had started under the late major John "Pepe" Florint, and was handed over to Jones when Florint transferred to the newly formed Office of National Assessments in 1978.

When completed in January 1979, only two copies were made - and held in a safe close to the JIO director's office. Later that year, JIO decided to produce a further 16 copies, which were circulated among other Australian and allied intelligence services.

Confirmation of its existence has come as a by-product of the search by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Bill Blick, for material relating to the Balibo killings, reported in the Herald yesterday.

The book itself is said to contain only a passing mention of the newsmen's deaths, though it has sometimes been confused with an accompanying collection of signals intercepts on the Balibo attack that was kept in secure vaults at JIO until handed back to the Defence Signals Directorate in 1986.

Blandly titled The Indonesian Integration of East Timor, the work became known simply as "The Blue Book" among the limited circle of senior intelligence officials given access - who say it is a masterly example of what secret intelligence can produce.

The period it covers includes the harshest times for the East Timorese, when Indonesian forces shot and pillaged their way through the territory's towns and villages, displaced rural populations to starve in holding centres, and induced widespread famine to break the guerilla resistance.

Jones, now a business consultant in Western Australia, says the eight-chapter book is a harrowing record. "You'd cry if you read it," he says, adding: "The truth must come out some day."

Murder in Balibo: what our spies knew

Sydney Morning Herald - February 14, 2002

How much did the Australian Government know about plans for an attack by Indonesian forces which would result in the death of five Australian-based newsmen? Hamish McDonald and Desmond Ball analyse new evidence concerning the affair.

A question has tantalised bereaved families for more than a quarter of a century: how much did Australian spies know at the time about the killing of five Australian-based television newsmen at Balibo in East Timor.

The story so far...

  • Indonesia launched its first major military assault against the then Portuguese colony of East Timor on October 16, 1975, using special forces posing as Timorese partisans. Five Australian- based TV newsmen from Channel 9 and Channel 7 were killed that morning in the border town of Balibo. The two Australians, two Britons and one New Zealander were aged between 21 and 29.
  • The Indonesian Government later said the journalists were caught in crossfire between pro-Indonesian partisans and the Timorese independence movement Fretilin. Subsequent evidence, much of it from Timorese close to the attack, has suggested they were shot dead after surrendering.
  • Canberra has long been accused of hiding its knowledge of Indonesian culpability, and more recently of failing to act on its advance knowledge of the attack to make sure Australian citizens and residents were protected. Several inquiries by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and two official inquiries by former National Crimes Authority chief Tom Sherman, have failed to quell these doubts.
  • In 1999 Indonesia handed East Timor back to the United Nations after a vote for independence. In 2000, the DFAT archives on Timor (1974-76) were opened, revealing that Canberra was briefed by Indonesian intelligence sources about the Balibo attack three days ahead.
  • In January 2001 last year, following a seven-month investigation, UN civilian police investigators recommended the prosecution of a former Indonesian minister, General Yunus Yosfiah, and two others who had been members of the attacking force at Balibo. No action has been taken by UN prosecutors.

A new and so far secret report by the Federal Government's Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Bill Blick, tries to answer that question. It contains all the intercepted Indonesian military signals referring to the Balibo deaths that the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) has in its records. (The DSD, our biggest and most important intelligence service, is the same agency under fire this week over the intercepted messages from the Tampa after it rescued 438 refugees last August.)

The new report confirms DSD was picking up references to the dead newsmen in the days following the October 16, 1975, covert attack on Balibo in which they died.

However, Blick has found nothing to show that DSD intercepted Indonesian military radio messages referring to the five newsmen or showing intent to eliminate them before the attack, or that any intercepts seen as important, were withheld from distribution.

In our book, Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra (2000), we included information from two sources that DSD had monitored an exchange several hours before the attack, in which an Indonesian officer in Timor had raised the presence of foreign journalists at Balibo and had been told by his commander, Major-General Benny Murdani, that "we can't have any witnesses" and the reply came that "we have already taken care of that".

Because, according to former concerned officials, this intercept had not been circulated through DSD's normal distribution channels at the Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO, now called the Defence Intelligence Organisation) we concluded it had been withheld -- to prevent any attempt at rescuing the newsmen and thereby blowing DSD's secret methods.

We concluded it was this intercept which two legal officers with the 1977-78 Hope royal commission into the intelligence services, Ian Cunliffe and George Brownbill, had been shown by "a young person" during a visit to the Shoal Bay DSD station near Darwin.

In 1999-2000, the two ex-Hope commission staffers detailed this intercept -- which they believed showed an intention to eliminate the newsmen -- to the former National Crime Commission head Tom Sherman in the second of his two inquiries into the Balibo affair.

In his report, Sherman played down this intercept's significance, suggesting it was based on a mistranslation of the Indonesian- language original that would have been corrected by "more experienced" language specialists at DSD headquarters in Melbourne.

While our book was in preparation, Cunliffe was shown the draft chapter detailing our conclusions, and said he did not recommend any changes. However Cunliffe and Brownbill, in letters to the magazine Quadrant and directly to Blick, have said subsequently this was not the intercept they were shown at Shoal Bay.

What Blick has discovered is an intercepted radio exchange about the role of journalists between an Indonesian officer on the Indonesian side of the Timor border and Murdani in Jakarta over the two days before the attack.

The times of these signals are not noted, but for routine items a time lag of 24 hours in reporting was acceptable. The intercepted exchange was not reported until the Shoal Bay DSD station sent it out on a non-urgent basis mid-afternoon Eastern Australian time on Thursday, October 16, several hours after the killings.

Possibly this exchange between the Atambua commander and Murdani was given a far more sinister twist in the telling by our informants, neither of whom is now accessible. In which case, parts of the cover-up conclusions made in Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra are weakened. Possibly, however, there was an alternative version of the Atambua-Murdani messages in the files at a time closer to the events.

We cannot now check, except through hazy 26-year-old recollections of DSD and JIO personnel from the period. Blick has found that DSD destroyed its vast and irreplaceable archive of "raw" intelligence intercepts and working drafts of decryptions and translations, made since World War II, when it moved from Melbourne to Canberra over 1992-94 -- possibly in breach of the Archives Act which includes prison terms for unauthorised destruction of official records.

Even the more innocuous version found by Blick might have alerted Canberra to the impending danger to Australian citizens had it been more promptly reported by DSD.

Foreign Affairs and Defence officials in Darwin, and an Australian Army medical team in Dili, had met some of the newsmen on their way into East Timor and some had discussed their plans to travel to the border.

By October 14 there were no foreign journalists on the Indonesian side of the Timor border around Atambua. The Australian embassy in Jakarta, as released documents show, had been fully briefed on the planned covert offensive at Balibo and Maliana. Murdani's ban on coverage could only have affected foreign newsmen on the other side of the frontier -- and how was he proposing to enforce it?

As for the intercept vividly recalled by Cunliffe and (according to Sherman) in greater detail by Brownbill, we still do not know what they remember it saying, except that Blick has reported it was a message sent soon after the newsmen were killed.

However, the recollected text of this message has been written down by Brownbill in a statement to Sherman on January 15, 1999.

But neither Blick nor Sherman before him has been able to locate a record of this intercept in the intelligence archives. It is not included in the list of Balibo-related intercepts that Blick has given in his report to the defence minister.

Blick has not located the "young person" who showed the intercept to the Hope commission team. If an intercept that Brownbill has said was "on his conscience" for two decades is missing, what else has been lost from the archives?

DSD also emerges as having been far less capable in 1975 than many experts credited it. The listed intercepts are all, or mostly, derived from Indonesian high-frequency (HF) radio signals, the kind used to transmit mostly Morse-coded messages over long distances, such as between the West Timor capital, Kupang, and Jakarta. HF signals, which bounce off the ionosphere and scatter in many directions, are relatively easy to intercept.

There are relatively few intercepts if any of very high frequency (VHF) messages, as used on portable field radios by small Indonesian army units, and which normally require line-of-sight reception by intending signals intelligence monitors.

DSD did not, from what it gave to Blick, intercept any Fretilin communications referring to Balibo or the journalists. Yet Timorese partisans used by the Indonesian force to monitor Fretilin radio signals have said they picked up several references to Australian and Portuguese TV crews being with Fretilin in the area around Balibo. Murdani said in a 1995 interview that the Indonesian force knew of the Australian news teams from intercepted radio messages, which he claimed the newsmen were sending to help Balibo's Fretilin defenders.

Balibo's distance from Darwin and its location on the north of Timor's central mountain chain would, in normal atmospheric conditions, have made it difficult for DSD listeners at Shoal Bay, or at Cabarlah, near Toowoomba, to pick up VHF traffic from the Indonesians on October 16 -- which, according to various Indonesian and Timorese accounts, was certainly occurring.

However, several sources involved with the Timor crisis in 1975 believed the RAN had a destroyer or submarine near Timor to pick up VHF communications at such sensitive times. Indeed the Indonesians complained about the presence of the submarine HMAS Oxley near Timor a week later. What do the Navy's records show?

DSD may also have had access in 1975 to the data from the Rhyolite spy satellites which US agencies were then beginning to employ over South-East Asia, and which were controlled from Pine Gap. Such satellites give an effective line-of-sight perch for receiving VHF transmissions. Blick does not appear to have asked US agencies what material they might have on the Balibo attack.

A surprise in the Balibo intercepts located by Blick is that they put Canberra's knowledge of the newsmen's deaths back by a day from what several former intelligence officials recall.

It was not until Friday October 17, the day after the Balibo attack, that a stream of intercepts indicated that four or five Australians had been killed and Defence officials went to Parliament House to inform ministers in the Whitlam Government.

This upholds the denial by Gough Whitlam that he was told of the deaths on October 16 and that, knowing this, he and other government leaders went to a dinner for the visiting Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, at Government House that night. But from October 17 the Government's knowledge was withheld from bereaved families and the public on national security grounds -- and to avoid diplomatic problems with Jakarta.

Is this the end of the story? Probably not, as there are still some gaps, now narrower, to keep alive speculation that somewhere in Australian or US archives or the memory of former officials still more information lurks. And of course the Indonesians have yet to open up.

Listeners in the South

A transcript of the secret Indonesian signals intercepted by the DSD concerning the Balibo killings:

  • Tuesday October 14 (no time noted): The commander in Atambua (the main border town in West Timor) to Major-General Benny Murdani, military intelligence chief, in Jakarta: Are domestic journalists permitted to cover all our activities? I have given directions. Please reply urgently.
  • Wednesday October 15 (no time noted): Reply by Murdani to Atambua: It should be made clear that all journalists, both domestic and foreign, are prohibited from covering all our activities. Murdani said exceptions were made for journalists nominated by the operation commander, whom he listed. A report of this exchange was circulated by DSD Shoal Bay directly to various addressees mid-afternoon Canberra time on October 16, i.e., after the attack.
  • Thursday October 16, 9.14am: DSD intercepts radio message from Kupang to Jakarta: Please be informed that at 0645 [0845 Canberra time] Balibo fell to us. No Indonesian casualties reported. DSD reported this about 4pm.
  • Friday October 17, 2am: DSD intercepts report on Balibo attack listing four enemy dead. This was circulated early morning, and included in the daily "Situation Report" produced by the Office of Current Intelligence in the Joint Intelligence Organisation in Canberra, at 11am.
  • October 17, 11.40am: DSD Shoal Bay intercepts part of message saying five Australians killed. Report circulated at 1.30pm. The JIO director, Gordon Jockel, goes to Parliament House to inform the Defence Minister, Bill Morrison.
  • October 17, 3.12 pm: DSD reports another intercept (no time noted) saying Balibo had fallen at 0755 the previous day, and listed four Europeans killed.
  • October 17, mid-afternoon: DSD reports intercept of a Kupang- Jakarta signal, listing four Australians probably assisting Fretilin. Included aid workers, activists, but not Balibo Five.
  • October 17, 4.30pm: DSD circulates report of intercepted Kupang-Jakarta message (no time noted): Among the casualties at Balibo were four Australians. All traces have been removed.
  • Sunday October 19: DSD intercepts urgent message from Jakarta to field commander requesting a comprehensive report on the four Europeans killed, including identification.
  • Monday October 20, 11 am: OCI issues first report on the killings in the daily situation report. Also includes report in that morning's Kompas newspaper in Jakarta, about deaths.
  • Tuesday October 21: DSD reports intercept of signal mentioning media inquiries about Balibo Five, listing names of missing newsmen for first time.
  • Wednesday October 22: DSD intercepts Indonesian signal quoting statement issued by Fretilin military commander Rogerio Lobato on October 16: This very day Balibo fell into the hands of the Indonesians. Of the 57 Fretilin defenders only 7 escaped. Nine white men missing, including four Portuguese TV crew and five Australians.

Gusmao rejects Fretilin 'pressure' to run as independent

Lusa - February 13, 2002

Independence leader Xanana Gusmao said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether he would run for the presidency of East Timor in April 14 elections, adding that he would not bow to "pressures from anyone" to stand as an independent candidate.

"I'm not even interested in being president", Gusmao told Lusa in an interview in Dili. "My only preoccupation is to see a democratic system established here and for people to believe in it".

With 10 days left to the deadline for formalizing presidential candidacies, Gusmao reiterated that he would not run as an independent nor as a candidate of the dominant Fretilin party, which he once led.

Asked if would consider running with the backing of one or more opposition parties, the charismatic leader of East Timor's resistance to Indonesian rule said he was "studying a decision". "I'm free of preconceptions, of everything. I will make my choice but without feeling that I'm being pressured", he stressed.

Gusmao's comments followed the disclosure that Fretilin's two senior leaders had written to him, insisting that he run for the presidency either as an independent or with the backing of a supra- partisan national commission. The letter, dated February 10 and signed by Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri and Constituent Assembly Speaker Francisco Guterres, cautioned Gusmao that if his candidacy took any other form it risked creating political "frustrations" and potential divisions.

The letter, a copy of which Lusa obtained in Dili Wednesday, was also sent to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the territory's UN administrator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and East Timor's two influential Catholic bishops.

"I've already told Fretilin that I won't accept. I don't want Fretilin to owe me anything nor do I want to owe Fretilin anything ... I am free to decide", Gusmao told Lusa.

Gusmao, who abandoned Fretilin's leadership in 1987 to assume a supra-partisan resistance role, underlined past differences with the party, including its decision not to form a "government of national unity" after its overwhelming victory in last August's constituent assembly elections. Fretilin won 55 of the assembly's 88 seats.

Shell's $4.9 billion LNG plan may face government resistance

Bloomberg News - February 8, 2002

Darwin -- Less than a year after Australia rejected Royal Dutch/Shell Group's bid for Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the government may cite the same national interest argument to sink Shell's proposed $4.9 billion floating natural gas platform.

Northern Territory officials want federal support for a rival Phillips Petroleum Co. plan to bring gas onshore from the Timor Sea. They say it will pump more cash into the economy because $8.7 billion of plants would be built in Darwin, the territory's capital, not offshore.

"We don't want a floating gas proposal that sees the benefits disappear in a tanker into the horizon," said Paul Henderson, the territory's energy minister, who plans to hold talks on the issue in Canberra next week with Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane.

The problem: Rejecting Shell again on the same ill-defined national grounds may leave the government open to charges it isn't interested in foreign investment. That, in turn, may dent confidence and send the Australian dollar lower.

"Any government intervention is going to send the wrong message on foreign investment," said Stuart Baker, an analyst at Macquarie Equities Ltd. in Melbourne. Even so, "there is no doubt Phillips holds the greatest economic benefits for Australia."

Friends again

There is precedent for concern. The Australian dollar slumped two percent, its biggest descent in eight months, on the day last April that Treasurer Peter Costello blocked Shell's hostile $3.2 billion bid for Woodside. Woodside shares today closed down 5 cents, or 0.4 percent, at A$13.18.

Complicating matters this time, Shell, Woodside and even Phillips are all partners in the Greater Sunrise gas project, along with Osaka Gas Co. Shell surprised its partners in August by announcing its proposal for a floating platform to process Sunrise gas.

Shell said its proposal will be 40 percent cheaper than the Phillips plan, which includes building a 500-kilometer pipeline to Darwin from its majority controlled $1.6 billion Bayun-Undan field. The proposal would also link the Phillips field to Sunrise, ensuring it has enough gas to fulfill a $20 billion contract with El Paso Corp. of the US

Some investors say the Phillips plan is likely to win out. "The potential for Phillips is huge," said Tim Ghriskey, a money manager at Ghriskey Capital Partners LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut. "We are confident Philips will get the go-ahead for Bayu-Undan and it appears in everyone's best interest that the development of Greater Sunrise includes Phillips's onshore plans."

Deja vu

Yet Woodside is in an awkward position. The same government that saved Australia's second-biggest oil company from a takeover by Shell 10 months ago is now being asked to use the same argument to scupper a proposal that may be in the best interest of shareholders.

"It [the Shell plan] offers the most economical outcome," said James Kernaghan, a Woodside senior adviser. The Shell plan isn't without risks. "There is clearly potential for cost benefits," said Jay Wilson, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in New York. "But it has never been done before. It's a bit more risky."

Delays in deciding how to develop Sunrise and sign a tax agreement with neighboring East Timor, meantime, already led Methanex Corp., the world's biggest methanol producer, to abandon Darwin. It switched the site of its planned A$1 billion plant to Western Australia state.

Spelling it out

El Paso's initial supply agreement with Phillips for Timor Sea gas, signed after US gas prices surged fivefold in 2000, has already lapsed. Prices have since fallen.

"I'm skeptical about the financial viability of LNG sales to North America at the gas price we now see there," said Paul Ashby, an analyst at ABN Amro in Sydney. "The loss of the Methanex load will make it very difficult to justify bringing Sunrise gas into the domestic market through a Darwin-based development."

Local government officials have already made their preference clear. In December, representatives of Australia's six states and two territories signed a communique that urged the central government to apply the national interest test to big gas projects.

Federal minister Macfarlane acknowledged in an interview that Australia's best interests must be held dear. "Among the complex matrix of national interest and commercial realities, the government is looking for the best possible result for Australia," Macfarlane said.

East Timor approves draft constitution

Sydney Morning Herald - February 11, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- In another step towards nationhood, East Timor's constituent assembly has approved a draft of a constitution guaranteeing basic civil liberties and a mixed economy for the new state that will emerge on Australia's doorstep in May.

The 168-clause document establishes a semi-presidential system of government. Under it an elected president can dismiss the prime minister and veto legislation, but in a framework of strong checks and balances.

In a special parliamentary session on Saturday the constitution was hailed by the Speaker, Francisco Guterres, as a document that "honours those who died" during East Timor's 24-year struggle against Indonesian military occupation.

East Timor was a Portuguese colony for 350 years before Indonesia invaded in 1975. It has been under UN administration since 1999, when its 700,000 people voted for independence from Indonesia.

The draft constitution will be subject to public scrutiny for one month, with a final vote taking place in March. It will come into force on Independence Day, May 20.

The constitution is the product of five months of debate by the 88-member assembly elected last year, which is dominated by the nationalist Fretilin Party.

Its acceptance was not unanimous: deputies from the opposition Social Democrat, UDT and Democrat parties abstained, but said they would respect the majority will. The result was a vote of 65 for and 13 abstentions, with 10 deputies absent.

The main concern of the dissidents was Article 166, which allows the assembly -- elected principally to draft the constitution -- to turn itself into a fully fledged legislature that could stay in power for another five years. They consider that it has fulfilled its function and that a date for new elections should be set.

"I don't believe the present draft reflects the will of the people," a Social Democrat, Lucia Lobato, said. She felt the UN should clarify the situation.

The new constitution is modelled largely on that of Portugal and is word-for-word in some passages. The deputies also looked at the German and American constitutions and listened to advice from international experts.

Some deputies advocated giving sweeping powers to the president, as in the former Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola, but they did not carry the day. Instead, there are sanctions to prevent a slide into dictatorship.

The constitutional framework will be a factor in determining whether the resistance hero Xanana Gusmao stands in presidential elections on April 14. Deputies were lobbied by key sectors of Timorese society, including the Catholic church and media organisations. Many had grievances with earlier drafts, most of which appeared to have been satisfied.

Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had earlier published a series of objections to the first draft. These included Article 12, which used the phrase "separation of church and state", and Article 39, which referred to divorce.

Article 12 has since been changed to refer to "relations between the state and religious groups", while the offending passage in Article 39 was eliminated in the closing hours of the debate.

Kissinger's green light to Suharto

The Nation (US) - February 18, 2002

Christopher Hitchens -- In a few weeks, East Timor will be able to celebrate both its independence as a country and its status as a democracy. Elections will have produced a government able to seek and receive international recognition. An undetermined number of Timorese, herded by the Indonesian Army into the western part of the island during the last spasms of cruelty before Jakarta formally abandoned its claim to the territory, will not be able to celebrate. And the entire process is gruesomely overshadowed by the murder of at least a quarter of a million Timorese during the illegal Indonesian occupation. The new nation will need friends, and help of all kinds, and everybody should consider contributing something (send checks to Global Exchange/East Timor Relief, PO Box 420832, San Francisco, CA 94142).

The elections and the independence ceremony were supposed to take place twenty-seven years ago, when the Portuguese colonial power surrendered its authority. But the Indonesian military dictatorship had another idea, which was to engulf its tiny neighbor by force. General Suharto and his deputies made it fairly obvious that they wanted the territory but not the people. They came horribly close to succeeding in this foul design. Ever since, there has been an argument over the precise extent of US complicity with the 1975 aggression. It was known that President Gerald Ford and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, were in Jakarta on December 6 of that year, the day before Indonesian air, land and naval forces launched the assault. Scholars and journalists have solemnly debated whether there was a "green light" from Washington. Kissinger, who does not find room to mention East Timor even in the index of his three-volume memoir, has more than once stated that the invasion came to him as a surprise, and that he barely knew of the existence of the Timorese question. He was obviously lying. But the breathtaking extent of his mendacity has only just become fully apparent, with the declassification of a secret State Department telegram. The document, which has been made public by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, contains a verbatim record of the conversation among Suharto, Ford and Kissinger. "We want your understanding if we deem it necessary to take rapid or drastic action," Suharto opened bluntly. "We will understand and will not press you on the issue" Ford responded. "We understand the problem you have and the intentions you have." Kissinger was even more emphatic, but had an awareness of the possible "spin" problems back home. "It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly," he instructed the despot. "We would be able to influence the reaction if whatever happens, happens after we return ... If you have made plans, we will do our best to keep everyone quiet until the President returns home." Micromanaging things for Suharto, he added: "The President will be back on Monday at 2 PM Jakarta time. We understand your problem and the need to move quickly but I am only saying that it would be better if it were done after we returned." As ever, deniability supersedes accountability.

There came then the awkward question of weaponry. Indonesia's armed forces, which had never yet lost a battle against civilians, were equipped with US-supplied materiel. But the Foreign Assistance Act forbade the use of such armaments except in self-defense. "It depends on how we construe it; whether it is in self-defense or is a foreign operation," Kissinger mused. (At a later meeting back at the State Department on December 18, the minutes of which have also been declassified, he was blunt about knowingly violating the statute. For a transcript of the minutes, see Mark Hertsgaard, "The Secret Life of Henry Kissinger," October 29, 1990. http://www.etan.org/news/kissinger/secret.htm)

An even more sinister note was struck later in the conversation, when Kissinger asked Suharto if he expected "a long guerrilla war." The dictator replied that there "will probably be a small guerrilla war," while making no promise about its duration. Bear in mind that Kissinger has already urged speed and dispatch upon Suharto. Adam Malik, Indonesia's foreign minister at the time, later conceded in public that between 50,000 and 80,000 Timorese civilians were killed in the first eighteen months of the occupation. These civilians were killed with American weapons, which Kissinger contrived to supply over Congressional protests, and their murders were covered up by American diplomacy, and the rapid rate of their murder was something that had been urged in so many words by an American Secretary of State. How is one to live with the shame of this? How is one to tolerate the continued easy and profiteering existence of such a man, who had no sooner left office than he went into business partnership with the same genocidal dictatorship he -- had helped arm and encourage? Read with any care, this State Department telegram shows a knowing conspiracy-there isn't another legal term for it-to break international law, US law and (it could well be argued) the Genocide Convention. Ford may have been an abject moron, but Kissinger was a professional: He knew perfectly well that a colony of a NATO country could not be invaded and occupied except in flat defiance of every international covenant and principle. He also knew that US law explicitly forbade the use of US weapons for such a purpose.

The disclosure of the new and unarguable documents merited a few inches in the Washington Post and got me a whole minute on the BBC World Service. So there you have it. Henry Kissinger the mass murderer (and pal of Ted Koppel). Henry Kissinger the errand boy for dictatorship (and confidant of Charlie Rose). Henry Kissinger the profiteer from genocide (and orator at Kay Graham's funeral). Henry Kissinger the man who told Suharto to hurry up and get on with it (and chum of Harold Evans and Tina Brown). Henry Kissinger, the man who has hired Bill Clinton's disgraced Chief of Staff, Mack McLarty, to be a partner in the firm of Kissinger Associates. What can one say about countries and cultures so corrupt and depraved that they will give succor, and even acclaim, to those who murder without conscience?

Labour struggle

300 workers ask for severance pay

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2002

Tangerang -- Some 300 workers, who were dismissed by PT Koinus Jaya Garment last December, held a rally to protest against their dismissal and ask for severance pay at the Tangerang municipal administration office on Thursday.

The workers said that they had no money to purchase food and asked for donation from the municipality. "We will use the money to buy food and to finance our efforts to claim our rights," the workers' coordinator, Siti Nurrofiqoh told The Jakarta Post, on Thursday.

PT Koinus Jaya Garment, a garment factory on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Karawaci, dismissed the workers for reasons of efficiency. But the workers claim that they were dismissed for demanding improved benefits for employees.

"We were dismissed as negotiations between the company management and workers about severance pay were still in progress. Some of us were reported to the police and arrested," she said.

To fight for their rights, the workers staged a rally and spent every night for two weeks at the municipal manpower agency office. Since they were not given any assistance, they moved to the municipal council. As they also did not receive a solution to their complaint there they then moved to the administration office.

KAI employees threaten to hold strike

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2002

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- The labor union for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) demanded on Thursday that the company's newly appointed board of directors immediately step down or the employees would hold a general strike and halt train operations in Java and Sumatra.

Union chief Andjar Sasongko said that the new management had no credibility because four of the six new directors were recruited from within the company, and were also responsible for past mismanagement which led to dozens of deadly train collisions in 2001. The accidents prompted the previous KAI board of directors to resign en masse amid strong public criticism.

"This [new management team] does not reflect the aspirations of employees. The selection process was also not transparent," Andjar said during a meeting with the board of directors at the KAI headquarters building. He said that the "new" KAI officials were given until late on Sunday to tender their resignation.

The six directors installed on Wednesday, are Omar Berto as president, Syahrizal Siregar as technical director, Juda Sitepu as operations director, Masjrahul Hidayat as director of human resources, Imam Pamudji as director of finance and Edward Bosi Mardohat as director of business development.

The first four were recruited from within the company. Omar, for instance, was the former director of business development who resigned in December. The other three were previously in senior positions at KAI.

Andjar said that if the labor union's demand was not fulfilled by the Sunday midnight deadline, the employees would launch a general strike and halt the operation of trains in Java and Sumatra.

He said that the first target would be to stop the operation of the Babaranjang coal train in South Sumatra on Monday for 24 hours. The next day, the strike would affect the KA Parahyangan train operation, KA Argo Gede (all connecting Jakarta-Bandung), KA Mutiara (Bandung-Surabaya) and the KA Argo Willis (connecting Jakarta-Surabaya). On Wednesday, all activities of the executive-class KA Argo trains would be halted for 24 hours. On Thursday and Friday, all train operations in West Sumatra would be canceled.

Meanwhile, Omar said that the planned strike was not representative of all KAI employees, and insisted that the new management team be given a chance to prove their ability.

Dita Sari: `Why I rejected the Reebok Human Rights Award'

Green Left Weekly - February 13, 2002

Dita Sari, Jakarta -- The driving forces of globalisation are the movement and expansion of capital and technology, through multinational companies. Globalisation, some people argue, has contributed a lot to the creation of a new world, with global welfare and justice for all. But in practice, globalisation is producing neither universal welfare nor global peace.

In reality, globalisation has divided the world into two sides, which are antagonistic towards each other. There are wealthy creditors and bankrupt debtors, there are super rich countries and underdeveloped countries, super wealthy speculators and impoverished malnourished children.

Globalisation intensifies, not higher pay and a better life for workers in the Third World, but the growing gap between the rich and the poor. And this also happens in Indonesia, among Indonesian workers who work in multinational shoes companies, including Reebok.

In November last year, I was informed that I was selected as one of the awardees of the annual Reebok Human Rights Award program and ceremony. I have taken this award into a very deep consideration. We finally decide not to accept this. On the one hand, this is a kind of recognition of the struggle and the hard work that we have done for years. But on the other hand, we are very conscious of the condition of the Reebok workers from the Third World countries, such as in Indonesia, Mexico, China, Thailand, Brazil and Vietnam.

As a trade union, we strongly put a lot of pressure to achieve what every worker deserves: higher wages, better working conditions and a brighter future for their children.

In Indonesia, there are five Reebok production facilities. Eighty per cent of the workers are women. All companies are sub- contracted, often by the South Korean companies such as Dung Jo and Tong Yang. Since the workers can only get around US$1.50 a day, they have to live in a slum area, surrounded by poor and unhealthy conditions, especially for their children. At the same time, Reebok collected millions of dollars of profit every year, directly contributed by these workers.

The low pay and exploitation of the workers of Indonesia, Mexico and Vietnam are the main reasons why we will not accept this award. Some of our members in the union work in companies producing Reebok shoes.

The decision I have made is not merely based on data, reports, statistics or assumptions. In 1995, I was arrested and tortured by the police, after leading a strike of 5000 workers of Indoshoes Inti-Industry. They demanded an increase of their wages (they were paid only US$1 for working eight hours a day), and maternity leave as well. This company operated in West Java, and produced shoes for Reebok and Adidas. I have seen for myself how the company treats the workers and used the police to repress the strikers.

We believe that accepting the award is not a proper or a right thing to do. This is part of the consequences of our work to help workers improve their lives. We cannot tolerate the way multinational companies treat the workers of the Third World countries. And we surely hope that our stand can make a contribution to help changing the labour conditions in Reebok- produced companies.

[Dita Sari is the president of the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) and a leading member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD). She will be speaking in Sydney at the Second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference, March 29-April 1. The recipients of the Reebok Human Rights Award are provided with US$50,000 for the human rights organisation of their choice.]

Workers go on strike for better pay in Palu

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2002

Maxi Wolor, Palu -- More than 300 workers of the furniture manufacturing company PT Leang Yang in the Central Sulawesi capital of Pulu went on strike on Saturday, demanding higher wages and better working conditions.

The protesters threatened to continue striking until management for the factory, located in Pantoloan, agreed to pay better monthly salaries.

One striker, Maluddin, a seven-year employee, said that ever since minimum wages (UMP) were set by the government at Rupiah350,000 per month, PT Leang Yang has still not paid all of its workers, both old and new, the same amount. He said that he had received a monthly salary of Rupiah350,000, like other workers who have been employed over the past year by PT Leang Yang, which produces furnitures for export purposes.

The company does not pay his food and transport allowances, he added. "It's ridiculous. My wage should be Rupiah395,000 a month by now. Before provincial wages were set at Rupiah350,000 a month by the government, my salary was only Rupiah280,000 a month ... how can they do this to us?" Maluddin wondered aloud to reporters.

Oberman, a spokesman for the protesting workers, said that the unequal pay system has caused hostilities between the older and the newer workers. He added that the company has a total of 315 workers, 116 of whom are senior employees who have worked there for more than five years. "The company is insensitive to the needs of the older workers," Oberman said.

Also representing the workers was Rasyidy Bakri of the Palu Legal Aid Institute (LBH), who said that the company's policy on salary policies was grossly unfair, and that PT Leang was neglecting the issue of wages for worked with seniority on purpose.

PT Leang Managing Director Syafei Datupalinge said on Saturday that he understood why the workers were striking, but added that the reason the company gave workers the same wage was because of its poor financial condition.

He agreed to convey the workers' demands to the company's president commissioner Lee Yuan Jung who was in Taiwan. He added that, should Lee reject the workers' demands, the case would be forwarded to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.

Regarding demands for food allowances, Syafei PT Leang had previously provided workers with lunch, he said. But, he added, after the minimum wages were raised to Rupiah350,000 per month, the lunches became a financial "burden" in the view of the company.

Due to the strike, the company has suffered a loss of Rupiah15 million, Syafei said; the protests, he added, have also severely hurt the company's exports of furniture to Japan.

Aceh/West Papua

Aceh rebels, Indonesia ponder US peace role

Reuters - February 13, 2002

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta -- A peace negotiator from the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Wednesday welcomed US willingness to help Indonesia resolve a long-running conflict with the separatist group. An Indonesian government official said it wasn't clear what the United States had in mind.

US ambassador to Indonesia Ralph Boyce said on Tuesday in Aceh's provincial capital Banda Aceh that Washington was willing to facilitate efforts to resolve the conflict if desired. But he also said Aceh was Indonesia's domestic business and the United States acknowledged the Southeast Asian giant's territorial integrity.

GAM negotiator Teungku Ibrahim Tiba told Reuters by telephone from Aceh: "Anyone who has the interest to become a facilitator will be accepted and the US was serious in responding to that proposition."

In Jakarta, an Indonesian foreign ministry official said it was not clear what the United States was proposing. "We don't know whether it's really an offer or not. So, we will study his comments first. But we think Aceh is an internal problem between Indonesians," he told Reuters. "We do not know what kind of facilitation they meant. Over the talks itself, we will see how GAM react to it," he also said.

Aceh is just one of several flashpoints in Indonesia, plagued in recent years by violence sparked by issues ranging from separatism to communal and religious differences.

Jakarta and GAM officials held their latest round of peace talks in Switzerland mediated by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue earlier this month. But the talks, which began two years ago, have failed to halt the violence between Indonesian troops and armed rebels in which thousands of residents have been killed and thousands more forced to flee their homes in the past quarter of century.

Asked about countries saying they consider the Aceh conflict Indonesia's internal problem, Tiba said: "That's Indonesian propaganda."

A unit of US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp is located in the GAM stronghold of North Aceh and has been affected repeatedly by the violence in the area. It closed four key gas fields last year for four months after fighting intensified.

Nine more killed in restive Aceh as US envoy visits

Agence France Presse - February 12, 2002

Jakarta -- Nine more killings were reported in Indonesia's Aceh province, the scene of a decades-old separatist revolt, as US ambassador Ralph Boyce spent a second day there.

Separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels killed one soldier and wounded another in an ambush in the Julok area of East Aceh on Monday, said military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin Tuesday. A local GAM spokesman, Teungku Amri Bin Abdul Wahab, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the soldiers had been robbing traders in the area.

Two suspected rebels were shot dead in a military raid in Pidie district on Monday, Muttaqin said, adding that a handgun and scores of bullets were seized. In Pidie district, soldiers shot dead two other suspected rebels in the Ulee Gle area on Monday, said district military commander Lieutenant Colonel Supartodi. Witnesses said soldiers shot dead a civilian who refused to stop during a search for rebels in South Aceh on Monday.

Residents in the Ranto Calang area of South Aceh on Monday found an unidentified male body bearing gunshot wounds and torture marks. Humanitarian workers found the bodies of two more men in the Rantau Sialang area of South Aceh the same day.

On Monday a grenade attack blamed by police on GAM injured 12 civilians just two hours before Boyce arrived. The US ambassador is scheduled to make a speech at the state Ar-Raniri Islamic Institute before holding a press conference later on Tuesday.

Indonesian government representatives and the exiled GAM leadership met on February 2 and 3 in Switzerland and agreed to a period of confidence-building during which they will cease hostilities and move towards democratic elections in Aceh in 2004.

But in what rights activists called a setback to the peace process Jakarta on February 5 inaugurated a separate military command for Aceh, a unit which was disbanded 17 years ago. Last Friday Jakarta also renewed a presidential decree authorising military operations in Aceh against the rebels.

GAM has waged a war for independence since 1976 in the energy- rich province on the north of Sumatra island. More than 1,700 people were killed last year alone and some 200 people have already died this year.

Member of new inquiry team into Theys' death quits

Agence France Presse - February 12, 2002

Jakarta -- A member of a government-appointed team to investigate the murder of Papua separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay said Tuesday he has resigned and a report said a second resignation was likely to follow.

Both members are from Papua. Non-government organisations and church groups in Indonesia's easternmost province called Monday for the team to be disbanded in favour of an independent inquiry. Army elements are widely suspected of having had a role in the murder.

"I have written the [resignation] letter to President Megawati Sukarnoputri as she was the one to issue the decree forming the national investigation team," said Lukas Karl Degey, one of the six civilians in the 11-member team.

Degey, a legislator from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said health reasons were the main cause. But he also said he has "no experience or competence as an investigator," adding that "investigation is the territory of the police and prosecutors, not a civilian like me." Degey told AFP he has not yet received a reply to his letter.

A second legislator and team member, Simon Patrice Morin, was quoted by the Detikcom online news service as saying he also wants to quit. He could not be reached for confirmation. Morin was quoted as saying there is no role for the team. "What we need now is firmness from Megawati as president to use her power in following up the findings of the police."

The team originally comprised five government officials -- including one each from the national police and the military -- and six civilians.

Many people in Papua, including its police chief, its governor and rights activists, have said there are indications that Kopassus special forces members had a role in the murder. And army chief General Endriartono Sutarto has said witness testimony indicated the possible hand of Kopassus members. But local police admitted after questioning at least seven Kopassus members that they had hit a dead end in their investigations.

Eluay was found murdered on November 11. He had been abducted the previous evening by an unidentified group as he drove home from a celebration hosted by the Kopassus unit in the provincial capital Jayapura. A sporadic low-level armed struggle for independence began after the Dutch ceded control of the territory to Indonesia in 1963.

NGOs, church leaders want teams on Theys disbanded

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura -- Two government teams investigating the mysterious death of Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay should be disbanded, non-governmental organizations and church groups demanded on Monday.

On February 5, President Megawati Soekarnoputri approved a team that included an army general, a National Police chief detective, government officials and four Papuan figures. The 11-member National Investigation Commission (KPN) is led by Koesparmono Irsan, a retired police general and current member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). The Indonesian Military (TNI) is also investigating. Its team is led by Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri Marin, who is also a member of the KPN.

At least three Papuan-based non-government organizations -- the Institute of Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Ell-Sham), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) -- have opposed the two teams and demanded the government disband them. Opposition also came from leaders of several churches in the troubled Papua province, known also as Irian Jaya.

They called for an independent team comprising credible individuals, forensic experts, legal and human rights activists and United Nations' officials. They doubted the trustworthiness of the government teams, including the four Papuan figures.

"Apart from a lack of credibility, the establishment of the teams are not legal," Ell-Sham Executive Director Johanes Bonay, a spokesman for the protesting NGOs and church leaders, told a press conference.

He said the establishment of the teams breached Law No. 39/1999 on human rights, under which only Komnas Ham had the authority to investigate human rights cases, including Theys' murder. "It is therefore very clear that both teams have no right to conduct an investigation," Bonay added.

LBH Director of Papua branch Demianus Wakman said the teams were part of a government move to ensure that the murder of Theys was classed as a "common crime", not one against humanity. "It has been clearly seen in Presidential Decree No. 10/2002 on KPN that the death of Theys Hiyo Eluay was a common crime," he said.

Viston Sinaga of Kontras said the suspected murder involved systematic violence against Papuans.

Benny Giay, a local church leader, said experts involved in the teams were "not representative" and that the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) rejected their establishment. He said GKI Chairman Herman Saut had written to President Megawati on Friday, rejecting the involvement of Karel Theeil Erari in the KPN as a representative of the church.

Another three Papuans included in the team are Jhon Ibo, Simon Patrice Morin and Lukas Karl Degey.

Theys, a charismatic Papuan leader from the separatist Papua Presidium Council (PDP), was found dead in his car in an area bordering Papua New Guinea on Nov. 11, 2001, a day after he was reportedly kidnapped by unidentified assailants. The abduction took place only a quarter of an hour after he and his driver Aristoteles Masoka returned from attending Heroes Day celebrations at the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) compound in Hammadi.

Local religious leaders and Papuan activists said members of Kopassus may have played a role in the killing. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto have admitted the possible involvement of military personnel in the murder.

Jakarta is declaring war on the people: GAM

Agence France Presse - February 8, 2002

Jakarta -- Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province have criticized Jakarta's decision to extend military operations there as a "declaration of war" on the Acehnese people.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday announced the extension of military operations in the energy-rich province on the north of Sumatra island.

It is part of a five-point presidential decree authorising continued operations by the army -- among other measures -- that will take effect for six months after the old decree expires next Monday.

The decision is "undeniable proof that the government has once again surrendered to military [armed forces] pressure", said Sofyan Daud, the military spokesman of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), in a written statement received Friday.

"Just as the public breathes a sigh of relief following signs of decreasing violence after dialogues in Geneva, the Indonesian government has once again enforced its bloodthirsty lust."

On Thursday Yudhoyono said "armed disturbances" by GAM rebels must be "annihilated" but added that "appropriate treatment" would be given to those who surrender.

Daud said officials in Jakarta had "mistakenly calculated their adversary because of false reports from military commanders in Aceh suggesting that they are highly successful".He added: "It is ironic that while the public is hoping that violence would cease in Aceh ... the government declares war on the Acehnese people."

Indonesian government representatives and the exiled leadership of GAM met last weekend in Switzerland and "agreed to a period of confidence-building in which they will cease hostilities and then move towards democratic elections in Aceh in 2004".

But in what rights activists labelled a setback to the peace process, Jakarta on Tuesday officially inaugurated a separate military command for Aceh, a unit which was disbanded 17 years ago.

They say the revived command will only exacerbate violence in Aceh, where more than 1,700 people were killed last year alone. Almost 200 people have already died this year. Thursday's separate decree authorises continued military operations in the province, where GAM has waged a war for independence since 1976.

'War on terror'

Military urges foreign cooperation to fight terrorism

Agence France Presse - February 14, 2002

Indonesia's armed forces (TNI) need foreign military cooperation in intelligence exchanges and joint exercises to help fight terrorism, the military chief said.

On Thursday, Amed Forces Chief Admiral Widodo Adisucipto said in enhancing the capabilities of its anti-terrorism units the military would prefer "exchange of information and intelligence" with foreign countries.

"TNI will enter bilateral, multilateral and regional cooperations, to share intelligence information and conduct joint exercises to improve the capabilities of anti-terrorist units in facing international terrorism," Widodo said. But asked whether the armed forces would be eligible for aid under a US special anti-terrorism budget, he said: "I don't see any need for that yet."

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has been under pressure to take a firmer stand against Islamic extremists -- many of whom are allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Malaysian authorities have identified three Indonesian preachers as responsible for religious and militant indoctrination within the Malaysian Militant Group (KMM), believed to be linked to al- Qaeda. The KKM has been accused of planning to topple the government violently.

Malaysian police have already detained four Indonesians along with three Singaporeans and 16 Malaysians they suspect of having links to al-Qaeda and other terror networks.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a two-day military leadership meeting, Widodo said it would be Indonesia's "responsibility to ensure that our [current] anti-terror units can stand up against challenges from international terrorists."

But a one-star general told AFP on condition of anonymity that the Indonesian military "need money from foreign donors to help strengthen our military weaponry and equipment." Indonesian troops, the general said, were "capable and reliable enough to battle domestic or international terrorists -- including finding al-Qaeda sleeper cells." But he said they "definitely can use better weapons and learn advance military techniques from other countries" in figthing terrorism.

Dozens of alleged Islamic militants have been arrested in the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia but no one has yet been held in Indonesia. On February 2, US ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin called on Indonesia to follow the lead of Singapore and Malaysia in taking firmer action against suspected terrorists.

Indonesian Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi was arrested in the Philippines on January 15 on suspicion of being the bomb-maker for Jemaah Islamiah, a radical Southeast Asian Muslim organization allegedly linked to suspected terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Singapore has named an Indonesian Muslim cleric, Ustad Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, as the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah. The cleric, when questioned by Indonesian police last month, denied he was associated with al-Qaeda but hailed bin Laden as "a true Muslim fighter". He was not arrested.

Military to establish anti-terror squads in Indonesia

Straits Times - February 15, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia is to establish counter-terrorism units to deal with regional security threats, according to the chief of the nation's armed forces.

Admiral A. S. Widodo told a press conference yesterday that the miltary (TNI) itself assured the readiness of its operations. One way was by improving anti-terrorism abilities through the anti- terror units already operated by the TNI.

"There should be efforts to guarantee no use of Indonesian territory for the interest of international terrorist networks," he said. And he stressed the importance of intelligence-sharing with foreign countries.

Indonesia has been repeatedly criticised for not doing enough in a regional crackdown on suspected terrorist networks in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.

Earlier yesterday, President Megawati Sukarnoputri had spoken of the need for a strong military. She was speaking at the State Palace to mark the closing of a two-day TNI leadership meeting.

"It seems no one of us wants to have a weak armed force," she said. The TNI had to regain strength and remain defender of the state. "The image and honour of the Indonesian military means that you have the strength to enforce the law and at the same time show respect for human rights," she said.

Jakarta plays down report on terror plans

Straits Times - February 14, 2002

jakarta -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda yesterday played down a report by The Straits Times outlining an apparent aborted terrorist plan to launch bomb explosions in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.

"I just laugh every time I'm asked about that. Why do I often argue about something which does not necessarily exist?" he said, referring to allegations of terrorist cells in Indonesia. He added that it was difficult to test the veracity of the article because it cited unnamed sources.

The report, which appeared in Monday's edition of The Straits Times, said that a document entitled "Jihad Operations in Asia" had been found by Indonesian intelligence officers in the Javanese city of Solo last October.

The document outlined plans to bomb embassies in the three capitals with satchels full of C-4 explosive on December 4 last year, the report said. The plans had stemmed from a leadership meeting of the Jemaah Islamiah group on September 28, more than a week before the United States-led air strikes on Afghanistan began.

Mr Hassan said the report might have been prompted by Indonesia's perceived sluggishness in dealing with terrorism, which he said was a misconception. "Maybe some people are not content on why, after Singapore and Malaysia arrested militant groups involved in terrorism, Indonesia has not yet" arrested anyone, he said. "We do what we think we need to do," he said.

Government & politics

Megawati slams regionalism in recruitment

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Confronted with strong opposition from regents and experts on her move to revise the current autonomy law, President Megawati Soekarnoputri lashed out at regional authorities on Monday for what she termed excessive and ridiculous regionalism in recruiting civil servants.

However, she stopped short of calling for the revision of Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Administration, known also as the autonomy law, a move she has long wanted to make, but which has met strong resistance from local authorities and experts.

"Some regional authorities have refused to accept people from other provinces becoming civil servants or provincial officials," Megawati said at the opening ceremony of a three-day coordination meeting of the Office of the State Minister of Administrative Reforms here on Monday.

"Such arrogance is a setback to the nation. If a province runs out of eligible people to occupy certain positions, what would the administration do? Will you bend the qualifications for the candidates?" she asked.

She underlined that such a move would eventually muffle the performance of regional administrations and hurt the country as a whole. Many regions preferred putra asli daerah (indigenous locals) to become leaders in certain regions, Megawati said.

Megawati's criticism came after her proposal to review the existing autonomy law, No. 22/1999, had met strong opposition from regional councillors and leaders, who saw the move as part of a series of moves to recentralize the government.

"The revision must be rejected since it will merely allow the central government to reclaim power," deputy chairman of the Association of Regional Legislative Councils (Adeksi) Ali Hanafiah was quoted as saying earlier.

Megawati has insisted that the revision is needed as there were several fundamental problems with the very concept of autonomy in the current law, which took effect on January 1, 2001. The problems, she said, were related to "our statehood and nationhood."

"We want to amend those items; indeed we must do it in order to strengthen our national unity and the integrity of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia," Megawati said in late January.

In a bid to prevent the country from breaking up, the central government introduced on January 1, 2001 Law. 22/1999 on Regional Administration. The legislation, however, raised much concern that it would become another means by which regional officials could inflate their personal incomes.

"At first I thought of bestowing the Adipura Award to the best- managed region in the country, but then again I think it will be of no use if the regional autonomy only encourages excessive regionalism," Megawati said.

She reminded local administrations to concentrate on how to improve the welfare and capability of people in each region in order to support the implementation of regional autonomy.

Meanwhile, former state minister of administrative reforms Ryaas Rasyid admitted on Monday that an atavistic spirit had arisen following the downfall of former strongman Soeharto in 1998, but rejected the notion that the implementation of regional autonomy had triggered excessive regionalism.

"The central government is supposed to formulate several regulations to supervise the implementation of regional autonomy," Ryaas told The Jakarta Post on Monday. "I guess the atavistic spirit can be curbed if the central government manages to supervise local administrations through regulations banning local authorities from giving employment privileges to indigenous locals," Ryaas said, adding that any violation of the regulations would face stern sanctions from central government.

According to Ryaas, the special autonomy for two troubled provinces, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Papua, was more atavistic than Law No. 22/1999, but "no one complains about it."

Megawati flays 'trash can' bureaucracy

Straits Times - February 12, 2002

Jakarta -- In a stinging rebuke of the bureaucracy, President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday described the administration as a "trash can" and told officials to go out and check reports instead of staying desk-bound.

"I have been leading a government which I think is like a 'trash can' because bureaucrats only want to receive good news," Mrs Megawati said at the opening of a meeting of the office of the state minister for administrative reforms here.

The behaviour of her bureaucrats was not very different from that of those under the past regime. "Disappointing or negative reports must be given more attention," she added.

She noted that, whenever she toured the country, the local government's protocol officials always made sure she visited places which were performing well. "What is the point in my visiting these places if I hear only good news?", she told the 900 government officials at the meeting, and urged them to become more pro-active. "I don't want bureaucrats to just sit behind their desks."

Akbar case a pebble in Golkar's shoe ahead of elections

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2002

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- Even against a background of other political parties with noisy internal disputes, Golkar still manages to stand out in the face of the 2004 general elections, thanks to chairman Akbar Tandjung's success in obtaining unanimous support from party officials.

Golkar members concluded their three-day leadership meeting on Friday, with a pledge of allegiance from each of the party's 30 chapters throughout Indonesia for Akbar to serve until the next congress in 2004, shortly after the election.

Political observer J. Kristiadi said that the unified support for Akbar would keep the party solid until the nation's presidential election. "Despite the advantage, however, Golkar will have to pass through a long and winding road to victory, since it is struggling to restore its tarnished image," Kristiadi said.

Akbar, Kristiadi said, managed to curtail the influence of his rival, Achmad Arnold Baramuli, the founder of Golkar's broad- based, caucus comprising Eastern Indonesia, called Iramasuka. "This means that Akbar has set aside the party's potential dispute, which could hamper Golkar's election campaign," said Kristiadi, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Baramuli has, several times, called for a snap congress to demand that Akbar account for his troubled tenure.

While Golkar, which finished second in the last elections in 1999, stands firmly behind Akbar, its major competitors -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) -- are suffering from internal split.

Slamet Effendy Yusuf, the newly elected chairman of Golkar team to help the party win the 2004 election, claimed on Saturday that his party is "the most prepared" to contest the poll. He said that Golkar's return to power would rely heavily on its current campaign to recruit one million new members nationwide, which is now underway. "They will be the party's vanguards in attracting people's support," he said.

Slamet said that the party would press ahead with the drafting of bills relating to electoral system. "We are ready to discuss election system," he told The Jakarta Post. Golkar is a staunch advocate of direct presidential elections.

Slamet said that Golkar would not repeat its past mistakes by being overly dependent on the government. He said that the party was developing a "grassroots political movement," in which parties would increase public participation through things like direct local head elections.

Despite being well-prepared, however, political observers remained skeptical that Golkar could win the next election. Kristiadi said that Akbar's implication in a financial scandal could hand Golkar what he called a "dead card." Akbar has been named a suspect in a Rupiah40 billion scam.

Another political expert, Daniel Sparingga, said that Golkar's fate would hinge on whether Akbar could successfully defend himself against prosecutors. "If Akbar is found guilty, Golkar will also lose its credibility in the public eye, and vanish by the next election," he predicted.

To keep Akbar's case from affecting Golkar as an institution, Daniel suggested that the party lay low, and instead develop a new image as a moderate party. "Golkar must refrain from outright confrontation with the government. If Golkar takes a tough stance, people will perceive it as the party lusting for power," he said.

Golkar sacks 16 members, chairman denies split

Agence France Presse - February 9, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesia's second largest and former ruling party, Golkar, has dismissed 16 senior members and suspended three others, it was announced.

But chairman Akbar Tanjung -- a target of a corruption investigation by the attorney general's office -- denied, on Friday, a split in the party, saying the 16 had been sacked because they had failed to attend party meetings for months.

The other three, including Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh, were suspended because they are now holding government posts, Tanjung said, adding they could be reinstated once they no longer filled those posts.

Tanjung denied suggestions of division within the party which was maintained as a monolithic bloc under the 32-year rule of dictator Suharto who eventually resigned in May 1998 amid intense public pressure.

"We have agreed that differences in opinion among us shouldn't be a problem," Tanjung, who is also parliament speaker, was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying. "There have been diferences in opinion among party excutives, but we learn from those differences," Tanjung said.

Several senior party members have reportedly sought to oust Tanjung after he was named by the attorney general's office last month as a suspect in the apparent embezzlement of 40 billion rupiah (four million dollars) in state funds intended for the poor.

Among those who have called for a special party meeting to sack Tanjung is Arnold Baramuli, a member of Golkar's advisory board. Baramuli is not among those sacked but Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono said that possibility was "wide open."

"It is up to the participants whether they will propose a suspension or dismissal of Baramuli during the plenary meeting," Laksono told the Jakarta Post from the sidelines of a party leadership meeting on Thursday.

Tanjung is being investigated over charges that he embezzled the state funds while he was state secretary under then president B.J. Habibie in 1999. He says he channelled the money to a charitable foundation to deliver food to poor villages in Java. The attorney general's office says there is no evidence that food was ever delivered.

Suspicions have been raised that the funds were actually used to bankroll Golkar's campaign in the 1999 general election. The party could in theory be dissolved if found to have violated campaign spending limits.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Yogyakarta legislators in hot seat over bribes

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2002

Asip A. Hasani, Yogyakarta -- Dozens of activists blocked the entrance gate of Yogyakarta's provincial legislative council (DPRD) on Wednesday in a protest against two corruption scandals that they believe directly implicate local legislators.

The demonstration came as the provincial prosecutor's office plans to summon all 52 legislators for questioning over the scandals linked to a local vice-gubernatorial election/zoo scandal and a construction project.

The protesters grouped in the Yogyakarta Communication Forum for Mosque Youths (FSRMY) and the Corps of Indonesian Muslim Students (Kammi) arrived at 9 a.m. at the council compound on Jl. Malioboro. They immediately formed a barricade at the entrance gate there, forcing several legislators to park their cars on the roads outside.

"Your salary has been raised, but that doesn't stop you from stealing the people's money and even monkey food," a protester shouted, in reference to the zoo scandal. Some posters carried by the demonstrators read: "DPRD members = munyuk (Javanese for monkey)" and "Free the DPRD building from the rat epidemic". None of the DPRD members engaged in dialog with the protesters.

A similar protest was also staged on Wednesday by an independent group of lawyers from various universities and non-governmental organizations, who came to the legislature to demand a thorough investigation of the cases.

Members of the legislature have been accused of taking Rp 1 billion (US$97,088) in bribes to ensure that Paku Alam IX be elected as deputy Yogyakarta governor. The money was reportedly paid by Yogyakarta's Zoo Director Joko Tirtono, who admitted that he did so under pressure from legislators. Paku Alam, who won the election, controls a majority stake in the zoo.

The legislators are also facing accusations of involvement in another bribe case worth Rp 125 million in connection with the construction of the Yogya Expo Center (JEC) building. The money was reportedly received from state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya while it was attempting to win a bid for the Rp 42.5 billion project.

The Yogyakarta provincial administration contributed Rp 19 billion to the project. Several council members have admitted to receiving money from PT Adhi Karya. The project was supposed to be completed in time for the ASEAN Tourism Conference which was held there late last month, but the building is far from finished.

Head of the prosecutor's office Hantoro Sumaryo said on Tuesday he would summon all of the members of the legislature soon after he obtained an approval to do so from the Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno. Under the law, the questioning of provincial legislators can only be done with the approval of the home affairs minister.

Hantoro said prosecutors were gathering evidence to charge suspects in the corruption scandals. Yogyakarta Governor Hamengku Buwono X is reportedly in support of the investigation.

On Wednesday local senior prosecutor Hendar Sutarna, however, said his office had obtained sufficient evidence to back up the accusations. He refused to elaborate further, however.

Senior legislator Djuwarto, chairman of Yogyakarta's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said on Wednesday he was ready to respond to a summons by the prosecutor's office and that he supported the probe to rid the council of corrupt people. "I have instructed all PDI Perjuangan members to quickly form a team to probe the cases, so the culprits can be dragged into court, even if some of them come from our party," he said.

Djuwarto admitted he had received a Rp 5 million bribe, but said he wanted to keep it as evidence until the investigators asked him for it. But Hendar urged Djuwarto to be "proactive" by voluntarily surrendering the money to his office.

Prosecutor to quiz regional MPs for suspected bribery

Agence France Presse - February 13, 2002

Jakarta -- The chief prosecutor in the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta is planning to summons all 51 provincial MPs over suspected bribery linked to a local election and a building project, a report said Wednesday.

"I have just reported to the governor and asked for his permission to send a letter to the home ministrer for permits to question the [provincial people's representative] council members," chief prosecutor Hantoro was quoted by Koran Tempo newspaper as saying.

Hantoro, who declined comment to AFP on Wednesday, was quoted by the daily as saying the Governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, had given his oral approval. Under Indonesian law, the questioning of provincial legislators can only be done with the approval of the national home minister.

Hantoro said the lawmakers would be questioned over allegations of bribery during a recent election for the local vice governor and in connection with the building of an exhibition centre for a regional ministerial meeting on tourism. Hantoro was quoted as saying his office has enough initial evidence of bribery to seek to question the MPs.

Press reports, which have been denied by the Yogyakarta provincial parliament leadership, said some one billion rupiah (97,087 dollars) was given as in bribes to some legislature members during the election and 150 million rupiah (14,563 dollars) in bribes for the project.

Regional/communal conflicts

Explosions rock Ambon a day after peace deal signed

Straits Times - February 15, 2002

Jakarta -- A series of blasts rocked Ambon a day after a peace pact was signed by the warring Muslim and Christian camps, drawing condemnation from Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz yesterday.

"Those who did that must be found. It's an obvious attempt to foil the peace accord, but I believe if all sides have agreed to peace, such things can surely be contained," he told reporters. Mr Hamzah ordered security authorities in the Maluku islands to pull out all stops to arrest those responsible.

Two blasts occurred on Wednesday night at the border of the Batumerah and Mardika areas of Ambon city but had caused no casualties, the official Antara news agency said yesterday. The Kompas daily said there had been four blasts -- three in the Rijali area and one in Batugantung -- and all had occurred in deserted areas.

On Tuesday, Maluku's Christian and Muslim leaders signed a government-mediated agreement at Malino in South Sulawesi to end the sectarian violence that has raged for three years. More than 5,000 people have been killed and 500,000 driven from their homes. Representatives of both camps vowed "to halt all form of conflicts and disputes" and said outside forces should withdraw from the province.

Welfare Minister Yusuf Kalla, who mediated the peace talks, also deplored the blasts but expressed confidence that they would not hurt the peace momentum. "The government believes that they are only ripples that would cease on their own," he said. "Trust me, these people who want to tear up peace will not gain a place in the heart of the people, especially those who signed the agreement and are determined to halt the conflict."

Protests greet Maluku negotiators

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2002

Jupriadi and Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta/Makassar -- The peace accord for Maluku signed in Malino, Central Sulawesi on February 12, 2001 was tested once again as protesters greeted the delegates upon their return in Ambon, the Maluku provincial capital, on Thursday.

In their protest against peace, a vocal group of Muslims condemned the peace delegations as they were on their way from Pattimura airport to the Maluku governor's office in the city.

Another group apparently from the local Christian community also pelted the cars carrying Muslim delegates with stones as they passed the Navigasi seaport area en route to the governor's office. A window of a delegate's car was broken in the incident.

Antara news agency reported that the situation became very tense when hundreds of Muslims gathered at the Al-Fatah Mosque, only 200 meters away from the rock-throwing Christians, but, later, both groups were dispersed without further incident.

On Wednesday, two bombs were detonated in Mardika-Batumerah subdistrict at 11 p.m. local time but there were no casualties reported. The local police are still investigating the incident.

The Java-based paramilitary force, Laskar Jihad has come out squarely in opposition of the peace agreement which, among other things, specifically names them and requires the 3,000 or so armed militiamen to leave the province. The force's leaders, however, claim they should not have to leave because they are Indonesian, and they intend to conduct "humanitarian" operations.

In addition to clashes with security personnel, the presence of Laskar Jihad had contributed to the prolonged conflict, according to experts.

Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina, who was visiting Jakarta on Thursday, ordered the police chief and the Pattimura military command chief to investigate the bombings and rock-throwing and arrest those responsible.

Maluku Provincial Police Chief Brig. Gen. Sunarko who felt ashamed by the two incidents, said the police would investigate thoroughly and would deal harshly with those found guilty of violating the law and groups who were trying to breach the peace accord. "I will not stay calm. harsh measures will be taken against the people who are trying to ruin the peace agreement. The law shall be enforced strictly and equally," he said.

Sunarko who joined the entourage to welcome all the delegates, expressed his disappointment with the two incidents, which he considered a real test for security authorities to keep the peace and enforce the law in the province.

The 70 members of the two rival delegations flew in together aboard a military Hercules C-130 aircraft from Makassar to Ambon, symbolizing the peace among them. But they are facing a daunting task to explain the accord containing eleven important points among the people, some of whom oppose it. One of key points is point number six on disarming both sides.

Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, chief of the National Police which is in charge of security in Maluku, vowed to impose stern penalties against anyone trying to dismantle the accord, regardless of their religious or ethnic background.

The police were giving three months for the two rival factions to disseminate the points in the peace accord to their own supporters before launching their disarmament operation in the province.

"After the three-month socialization period, the police will disarm everybody to create a conducive situation for peace in the province," he said. He also said the state of civil emergency would depend much on the situation. "The emergency state will be lifted only after the situation is truly conducive in the province," he said.

Commenting on Wednesday's bombings, Da'i said an investigation was under way.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government would be tough on those who promoted violence. "If there are one or two people who disagree with the Malino peace deal, it's their right. But, should there be anyone who leads, incites or becomes part of a new conflict, the government will deal with them severely," he said.

Vice President Hamzah Haz also called on the security forces to search for weapons and disarm the people.

Separately, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the government would soon send judges to the province because of the prolonged conflict. "Judges will be sent to Ambon only after the situation is truly peaceful," he said.

The two rival groups have urged the central government to send more judges and prosecutors to Ambon since many law enforcers had quit their jobs during the conflict.

Chronology of major incidents and peace efforts in Maluku

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2002

Jan. 19, 1999: The beating of a Christian passenger by a group of bus crew members in Batu Merah in Ambon triggers a mass brawl.

March 9, 1999: A military special team meets the reconciliation team, both agreeing that building a feeling of security is an initial steps toward peace.

April 8, 1999: A humanitarian team consisting of 18 Ambonese and Jakartan descendants from southeast Maluku is sent to riot locations.

May 12, 1999: Religious leaders, community and traditional leaders, youth figures and organization leaders sign a peace declaration at the Merdeka Field in Ambon.

Dec. 3, 1999: National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi meets with 60 Ambonese community leaders living in Jakarta. The meeting agrees to form an Ambon Peace Task Force that will be sent to Ambon.

Dec. 26, 1999: The pivotal, major unrest known as "Bloody Christmas", breaks out.

Jan. 25, 2000: Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri says, during her visit to Maluku, that the government will be held responsible for all incidents in the continuing conflict.

Feb. 22, 2000: Former Dutch prime minister Ruud Lubbers leads a reconciliation meeting for Maluku at the Clingendael Institute, a research institute under the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Dutch government also donates 10 million guilders (Rp 35 billion) as emergency funds for the victims of the conflict.

April 24, 2000: At least 900 people comprising of local elite, religious and community leaders launch a reconciliation effort aboard the Indonesian Navy's KRI Arun warship.

June 23, 2000: The elite Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob), based in Tantui near Ambon, is attacked on land and sea by rioters and rogue officers. Brimob deputy chief Maj. Edi Susanto is shot dead.

June 26, 2000: President Abdurrahman Wahid imposes a state of civil emergency effective at midnight that day in neighboring Maluku and North Maluku provinces. The state of emergency, based on Presidential Decree (Kepres) No. 88/2000, can be rescinded depending on the security situation.

July 1, 2000: Armed rioters are involved in the mass attack and burning of the three neighboring villages of Poka, Rumah Tiga and Waai for three consecutive days. Waai village is eventually razed to the ground on July 6, 2001.

July 3, 2000: Rioters burn and destroy the 30-hectare Pattimura University compound, including the port, gymnasium, library, place of worship and all facilities, causing some Rp 500 billion in material losses in Ambon.

Dec. 8, 2000: Around 200 of Maluku's Muslim and Christian leaders meet in Yogyakarta to explore the possibility of reaching a reconciliation in riot-hit areas in Maluku. They agree to hold dialogs and establish peace zones (baku bae) in Ambon.

December, 2001: A series of bombings and shootings target, among other things, MV Kalifornia and a speedboat in Ambon Bay in which some 50 people are killed.

Dec. 31, 2001: Coordinating Minister for Peoples' Welfare Jusuf Kalla says he hopes that sectarian conflict can be solved soon. A team formed to help solve the dispute will start working soon.

Jan. 8, 2002: Jusuf Kalla said he is optimistic that the prolonged conflict can be solved through a Malino-like meeting for the Poso dispute. His office and the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs approach the warring parties before facilitating the meeting.

Jan. 17, 2002: Ambon Mayor Yopy Papilaya and legislative council speaker Lucky Wattimury meet House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and ask the House to urge the government to seriously solve the conflict.

Jan. 25, 2002: Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono states that North Maluku province will be returned to normal civil status.

Jan. 26, 2002: Susilo says that in previous meetings the Maluku people showed that they were eager to see the government acting to restore security and enforce the law fairly.

Jan. 30, 2002: Representatives of the warring parties attend a preliminary meeting held in Makassar. The result of this meeting will be discussed further in a grand meeting in Malino, Gowa regency, South Sulawesi to be held from Feb. 5 to Feb. 7.

Jan. 31, 2002: Dissemination of the peace effort to the two warring parties is very necessary for a far-reaching solution to the conflict. Delegations of the two parties still approach their own groups.

Feb. 10, 2002: Jusuf Kalla says the Maluku conflict must be stopped. There is no alternative but to end the dispute and let Ambon return to peace, he says. Feb. 12, 2002: Rival Maluku groups sign a peace accord that may end the three-year sectarian conflict that has claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced 70,000 others.

Pact raises hopes for Maluku peace

Sydney Morning Herald - February 14, 2002

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- Christian and Muslim leaders yesterday hailed a Government-brokered agreement as the best chance yet to end a three-year war in the Maluku islands that has killed more than 5000 people and forced about 700,000 from their homes.

But the International Crisis Group, headed by the former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, has urged Indonesia to use elite forces from outside the islands to keep peace.

The group, in a report on the conflict, also recommends that Indonesian forces ensure the safety of Muslims in the islands, especially Ambon, before disarming Laskar Jihad, the main Java- based Muslim militant group involved in fighting.

Thirty-five representatives from each side agreed late on Tuesday to end all violence, respect the rule of law, ban all armed militants and establish a national investigation team to examine the causes of the conflict. Rival leaders agreed during the talks on joint patrols to enforce the peace. Special commissions would also be set up to rebuild the region and the lives of its 2.1million people.

Diplomats said an end to the fighting would open the way for tens of millions of dollars of foreign aid to be pledged to the region.

Although the agreement, signed after two days of talks in the South Sulawesi town of Malino, rejects the presence of all militias, including Laskar Jihad, the group said yesterday its fighters would not leave the islands until law and order had been restored and separatist members of a group called the Republic of South Maluku had been arrested.

Laskar Jihad's spokesman, Ayib Syafruddin, said in Jakarta that the group's work in the Malukus centred on "humanitarian work" rather than war. "Every citizen of this country has the right to stay anywhere he wants," Mr Syafruddin said. But Laskar Jihad members wanted to go home: "We have families too, you see."

Ambon's Bishop, Monsignor Mandagi, said after the signing of the agreement he was hopeful it would lead to peace. "There is no alternative," he said.

The head of the Muslim delegation, Thamrin Ely, said: "We are all speaking with one voice here. We all want peace and we want to put this violence behind us."

In its 30-page report the International Crisis Group urges the sending of elite forces from outside Maluku because "the reality is that local forces, both military and especially the police, are highly vulnerable to contamination - partisan alignment with their own religious community".

The report says Muslims lack confidence in the security forces' ability to maintain order and fear that Laskar Jihad's withdrawal would leave them vulnerable to revenge attacks. But it says Christian leaders see Laskar Jihad's presence as the key obstacle to a more permanent peace.

Laskar Jihad refuses to leave Malukus despite peace pact

Agence France Presse - February 13, 2002

Jakarta -- A paramilitary Muslim group which had waged a "holy war" against Christians in the Malukus said it would not leave the eastern islands despite the signing of a pact to end three years of sectarian bloodshed there.

Christian and Muslim leaders from Maluku on Tuesday signed an agreement at Malino to end the violence, which has claimed some 5,000 lives. It stipulates that outside forces should withdraw.

The Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force), which is based on Java island, said its activities in Maluku centre on "humanitarian work" rather than war. "We have no business with the Malino agreement because our mission in Maluku focuses on humanitarian work and every citizen of this country has the right to stay anywhere he wants," the group's spokesman, Ayip Syarifuddin, told AFP Wednesday. In May 2000 Laskar Jihad -- with the apparent connivance of security forces -- sent thousands of fighters to the islands.

The peace deal calls for an independent inquiry into the activities of Laskar Jihad as well as into two Christian separatist groups, the Front for the Sovereignty of Maluku and the South Maluku Republic (RMS) movement, and a Christian group called Laskar Kristus.

The pact says all unauthorised armed groups should surrender their weapons or be disarmed. "For those outside parties that are sowing unrest in Maluku, they are obligated to leave Maluku." Christians accuse Laskar Jihad of worsening the bloodshed while Muslims blame the Christian separatist movements.

"If the government has a strong and plausible reason for us to leave Maluku, we will gladly do so, but so far we have not done anything illegal in Maluku," Syarifuddin said. "The presence of the RMS is right in front of us yet the authorities are not doing anything to this group," he said, adding that Laskar Jihad banned its members from carrying weapons.

Catholic priest Cornelis Bohm, of the Crisis Center of Ambon diocese, said Christians would demand "strong and decisive actions" to expel Laskar Jihad from Maluku. "Their image as killers and provocateurs of war is so deeply rooted here that no Christian in Maluku will ever believe their claim [to be] a humanitarian non-government organisation," Bohm said.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri welcomed the peace deal, the second negotiated by her ministers in two months. A December agreement ended Muslim-Christian fighting in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi.

Top welfare minister Yusuf Kalla said Jakarta would soon send judges as well as more troops and police to the Malukus. Asked about Laskar Jihad's stance, he said: "I have approached them", but did not elaborate.

Commentators said police and troops must stop taking sides if the peace deal is to work. The International Crisis Group (ICG), in a report last week, said there was little confidence among the local population that government forces would protect them from further attacks because they were seen to have taken sides. "This perception is particularly strong among Muslims, which has made it politically difficult for government officials to act against Laskar Jihad," the report said.

The ICG said continuing sporadic attacks and bombings were not necessarily linked to religious groups. "There are indications that the security forces themselves have an interest in maintaining an atmosphere in which business people and property owners feel vulnerable and are willing to pay for protection."

Asmara Nababan, secretary general of the National Commission on Human Rights, said the agreement was "concrete in terms of support from both sides" but police, troops and officials must act impartially.

The Maluku bloodshed drove more than half a million people from their homes in the former Spice Islands. More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 214 million people are Muslims but in some eastern regions Christians make up about half the population.

Christians, Muslims sign peace treaty

Associated Press - February 12, 2002

Jakarta -- Rival Christian and Muslim factions from Indonesia's Maluku province agreed Tuesday to end their three-year war that has devastated the province and killed 10,000 people, a top Cabinet minister said.

The government is hoping the accord will emulate the success of a recent truce between Christians and Muslims from Sulawesi island that succeeded in ending a similar, though smaller, sectarian conflict.

"Both sides have agreed to end all conflicts and hostilities," said Welfare Minister Yusuf Kalla, who hosted the talks in the hill town of Malino in south Sulawesi, 1,000 miles northeast of Jakarta. "There were no disagreements," he said. "They really want to end the war."

The agreement calls for the establishment of two commissions -- for security and for social and economic affairs -- to monitor the truce in the province known as the Spice Islands during Dutch colonial rule. It also provides for the disarming and banning of militias and establishment of joint security patrols, and calls for the return of refugees to their homes, the return of their property and the reconstruction of the province.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes in three years of combat in Maluku, located 1,600 miles northeast of Jakarta. The provincial capital, Ambon, was devastated by fighting and its two communities now are divided by a strip of no man's land.

Fighting escalated in mid-2000 when thousands of Muslims fighters belonging to the Laskar Jihad militia - or Holy War Troops -- arrived from Java. The paramilitaries -- who refused to attend the Malino talks -- said in a statement that the Muslim delegates at the negotiations did not represent the people of the province.

Former President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed the conflict was sparked by hardline generals opposed to civilian rule after decades of dictatorship. The violence decreased sharply after mid-2001, when then-Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who enjoys the backing of the military, replaced Wahid.

Muslims account for about 85 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people, but Muslims and Christians are split almost evenly in the Malukus.

The US government has welcomed the peace process. "These talks are an important step in Indonesia's efforts to end violence, re-establish the rule of law and provide for reconstruction in the troubled province," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday.

Human rights/law

Legislators back Military's defiance over rights inquiry

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- House of Representatives legislators turned a deaf ear on Monday to demands for military and police officers to appear for questioning at a human rights inquiry in connection with three high-profile incidents in 1998 and 1999.

In a hearing with the Indonesian Military's (TNI) top brass, members of the House Commission I for political, defense and security affairs threw their weight behind both the TNI and the National Police, which put up a fight against the summons issued this month by the Commission for Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) during the 1998 violence at Trisakti University and the Semanggi incidents in 1998 and 1999.

"The decision of the legislators concerning the incidents in Trisakti and Semanggi must be used as the basis for further legal action. The House has never proposed for more inquiries into those cases," Ibrahim Ambong said as he read the summary of the hearing, which was attended by TNI chief Adm. Widodo A.S., Army Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, Navy Chief Adm. Indroko Sastrowardoyo, and Air Force Chief Air Marshal Hanafie Asnan.

The House recommended in July last year that no human rights violations took place in the three incidents. Shortly thereafter, then president Abdurrahman Wahid issued a decree that allowed the National Commission on Human Rights to set up the inquiry team.

A number of military and police generals on duty when the incidents broke out have been summoned, but none of them have appeared.

The agreement between the TNI and the legislators on Monday came three days after Vice President Hamzah Haz suggested that the officers comply with the summons. Hamzah, however, reminded the KPP HAM that the officers' reputation was at stake. During the hearing, the head of TNI's legal affairs section Maj. Gen. Timur P. Manurung said the military headquarters had never received a summons from the inquiry commission. "As of today, there has been no summons to the military headquarters for questioning. There are only two requests from the inquiry for a hearing with the TNI commander," Manurung said.

Like the House, Manurung questioned the authority of the inquiry to investigate the three incidents. "The TNI will obey the summons if it is sent by a legitimate and authorized institution. There is no reason to follow the summons [sent by the inquiry]," he said.

Manurung said as far as he understood Law No.26/2000 on Human Rights Trials and Law No.39/1999 on the National Commission on Human Rights, there was no legal basis for any inquiry into past crimes against humanity. He also said the inquiry had presumed the officers guilt because it would file dossiers with the human rights court based on the questioning.

Separately, the newly formed Ad Hoc Tribunal Watch Coalition demanded a review to the existing laws related to human rights because they fail to cut through the veneer of impunity that military officers have had in alleged past human rights abuses.

It said the law on human rights courts opened the door for political bargaining, since the law authorizes the House, instead of law enforcers, to determine which cases should go to the rights trial.

"The law allows legislators to make compromises with the military and the national police, which will never accept responsibility for past abuses," Hendro Nurchayo of the University of Indonesia said.

Munarman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the Violence (Kontras) said the law was created to appease international pressures on the country over past human rights abuses, particularly those in East Timor. "The Law will only fulfill the international demand by sacrificing certain military officers of lower level, But it will not punish the top brass," Munarman said.

Ifdal Kasim of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said the international community was allowed to interfere if the ad hoc trial does not bring those responsible to justice.

Generals snub inquiry into killings

South China Morning Post - February 11, 2002

Vaudine England, Jakarta -- Attempts to investigate military involvement in the killing of students and civilians in Jakarta during the fall of former president Suharto have been thwarted after generals refused to appear at a special inquiry.

The refusal bodes ill for international efforts to prosecute the men over their rampage through East Timor as it chose independence from Jakarta in 1999. Both Vice-President Hamzah Haz and Defence Minister Matori Abdul Djalil have urged the accused generals to appear at a special Commission of Inquiry, established by the National Human Rights Commission. "They should come forward so that they can give their accounts," Mr Hamzah said.

But the former armed forces chief, retired General Wiranto, and former Jakarta police chief General Hamami Nata, failed to answer their second summonses.

Under investigation are the deaths of four students at Trisakti University on May 12, 1998, in a demonstration which helped topple Suharto, and the deaths of 26 students and policemen in two separate demonstrations at the Semanggi junction in central Jakarta.

The first Semanggi incident, also known as "Black Friday", occurred during the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly on November 13, 1998. A clash between students and police left 16 people dead. The second Semanggi incident, another student demonstration, took place on September 23-24, 1999, when 10 people were killed.

The impunity the armed forces and police have already enjoyed over the incidents is tragic enough, say groups set up by the victims' parents and supporters. Successive changes of government have brought them no closer to justice.

"They [the generals] are operating in a political climate that obviously allows them not to show up. That they are still able to do this is a very significant point," said Marcus Mietzner, an expert on the Indonesian military.

The House of Representatives has already decided the Semanggi incidents do not qualify as human rights violations -- raising the question of whether the National Commission on Human Rights has the legal teeth to tackle those killings.

Years of delays have also fundamentally damaged efforts to secure justice. Independent lawyers and rights experts say many of the prosecutors and judges chosen for an ad hoc court to try the East Timor crimes are incapable and corrupt.

News & issues

Many small lakes ignored, erased from city maps

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- There are about 200 small lakes that function as water catchment areas in Greater Jakarta, but most of them have been damaged and some disappeared.

Data from the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure shows that most of the lakes are located outside Jakarta, with 122 in Bogor, West Java; 45 in Tangerang, Banten; 17 in Bekasi, West Java, and 15 in Jakarta.

This information indicates that at least two lakes in Tangerang have been turned into rice fields, and that three others have given way to dry ground. Lakes in other areas, meanwhile, were declared as damaged without any further explanation.

The data in Jakarta differs from what was issued by the Jakarta Ministry for Public Works, which showed that there were 17 lakes in the capital. The ministry apparently considers some lakes as just one lake, making its number of lakes smaller.

Leo Y. Sianturi, an agency official, said that several lakes in Jakarta had disappeared. They include Situ Rawa Ulujami in Ulujami subdistrict of South Jakarta; Situ Rawa Kendal in Marunda, North Jakarta; Situ Rawa Rorotan in Cakung, East Jakarta, and Situ Mangga Bolong in Lenteng Agung, East Jakarta.

Dedi Sudharma of the Bogor Agricultural Institute underlined several reasons why the small lakes have continuously deteriorated. First, the small lakes were located in residential areas and industrial zones, and were used as dumping sites for garbage or waste which, in turn, made them shallow. According to Dedi, polluted water from houses and industries can also speed up the deterioration, as such water is a good place for various weeds, like water hyacinth, to grow.

The second factor, he said, was a lack of a sense of community on the part of people or developers around the lakes. And the third was a lack of political will on the part of the government to protect the lakes.

Dedi, who is chairman of the Water Resources Development at the IPB's Environmental Research Center, said that the government should pay better attention to Greater Jakarta's small lakes, as they could accommodate a lot of water if their condition were improved.

Chairman of the Jakarta Chapter of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) Ahmad Safrudin said that some of the housing developers also contributed to the problem. Ahmad said that, although the city's master plan stated that the lakes should be protected, government officials had a tendency to be easily swayed by the influence of money when it came to issuing license permits.

"Because of intensive lobbying by the developers, the officials have authorized them to convert the lakes" to suit other purposes, said Ahmad, who cited an example of Situ Rawa Badung in Penggilingan, East Jakarta. The government only began to improve the condition of the situ in 1994, when it established the Water Resource Conservation and Development Agency under the Ministry of Public Works.

The agency, which was changed into the Water Resource Management and Development Agency under the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure, was charged with improving the lakes that function as water catchment areas to avoid flood.

"Before the project was established, no institution was given the authority to handle the problem," Suwardi Soeryo Soekandar, head of the water resource management and development agency, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

But he also admitted that the process of the lake improvement was very sluggish, as such projects require a lot of money. Since the project began in 1994, only 27 lakes have been improved. Suwardi explained that the rehabilitation of one lake needs between Rp 300 million and Rp 3 billion, depending on their size and condition.

Suwardi added that rehabilitating lakes in Jakarta was far more difficult than rehabilitating lakes in Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi. He gave an example by saying that it was very difficult to relocate people living adjacent to the lakes.

"People in remote areas outside Jakarta will voluntarily move away from the land around the lakes when we began our rehabilitation projects," Suwardi said. He added that, unlike people in Jakarta, people in other regions would not ask for compensation when they asked to be moved.

Chinese celebrate new year but critics say bias persists

Agence France Presse - February 12, 2002

Jakarta -- Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia marked the start of the Lunar New Year amid new-found freedom to celebrate their most important festival but an activist said discrimination still exists.

Thousands of ethnic Chinese flocked to temples in the capital on Monday night to welcome the new year and pray even though several parts of Jakarta, including the Chinatown area, have been inundated following heavy rain since last month.

The government has declared the start of the Chinese new year an optional holiday and many private institutions and businesses, including the Jakarta Stock Exchange, were closed. But an ethnic Chinese expert said the move was not enough.

Wahyu Effendi of the Movement Against Discrimination in Indonesia said several government regulations discriminating against Chinese-Indonesians had yet to be replaced. "It is true that we are now free to celebrate [the Lunar New Year] but that's not something fundamental," said Effendi, who like most ethnic Chinese here uses an Indonesian-sounding name.

"For us the most important thing is equal rights as Indonesian citizens," he told AFP, adding the present freedoms are only "ceremonial and political." "We are not asking to be treated specially, we just want to be treated equally," he said.

Chinese-Indonesians must still have a certificate issued by the justice ministry declaring them Indonesian citizens in addition to the ID cards which every Indonesian must carry, he said. The certificate is required when ethnic Chinese apply for documents such as a passport, register marriages or enter school, although a 1958 law on which it is based does not state such a requirement exclusively for them. Their entry to state-run universities is also limited in a move aimed at allowing more native Indonesians to enjoy higher education.

In 2000 the government of then-president Abdurrahman Wahid allowed ethnic Chinese to openly celebrate the Lunar New Year for the first time in many years.

Chinese-Indonesians make up an estimated three percent of mainly Muslim Indonesia's 210 million people but control much of the economy. Their perceived wealth has often made them targets of social unrest.

A failed coup in 1965 was officially blamed on the powerful communist party even though some analysts believe it played no role. Suharto, who took power from founding president Sukarno in the aftermath of the coup, froze relations with China for many years and banned the communist party. Tens of thousands of alleged communists were massacred in a purge which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in 1965-66.

Suharto, despite his closeness to wealthy ethnic Chinese business figures, banned ethnic Chinese from careers in the military and public service. Public displays of Chinese culture and even written characters were prohibited.

During the violent upheaval at the height of the economic crisis in 1998 hundreds of ethnic Chinese businesses were looted and Chinese were the victims of rape and murder, prompting tens of thousands of them to flee overseas. Dozens of burnt-out buildings can still be seen in the Glodok district. The unrest led to the downfall of Suharto in May 1998.

Victims want compensastion, demand that Sutiyoso resign

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- Some 500 flood victims demonstrated on Monday to demand compensation from the Jakarta administration for its poor handling of major flooding that hit the capital since January 28.

The demonstrators rallied at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle at 6 a.m. and a 15-by-10-meter banner stating their demands. Besides compensation, the victims also demanded that Governor Sutiyoso resign before his term ends in October and called for a direct gubernatorial election.

The demands are also included in a class action lawsuit against Sutiyoso for the mismanagement of his administration. The lawsuit was drafted by dozens of non-governmental organizations.

The victims, organized by 28 NGOs and transported in 10 minibuses, came from Tegal Alur in West Jakarta; Semper Barat and Pondok Kopi in East Jakarta; and Pluit, Kapuk Muara and Pademangan in North Jakarta. These areas were inundated during the week-long flood.

Teten Masduki, chairman of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), said he was curious about the budget allocation for flood prevention. "The city administration has been depositing the budget instead of addressing floods. The priority of the city budget has been more to finance nonbudgetary activities, such as political campaigns."

Teten planned to report the mismanagement of the city emergency fund totaling Rupiah 505 billion (US$49 million) allocated for flood prevention to House of Representatives Commission II for home and legal affairs.

The administration has been showered with funds from the government totaling Rupiah 11 trillion and individual donors, state and private companies embassies. It announced it would pay Rupiah 200,000 to each family whose house was damaged in the flood.

Teten said the government performed poorly during the flood and the public would file suit against it.

H.S. Dillon of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said Sutiyoso could be charged with violating human rights. "Sutiyoso could be summoned to appear before Komnas HAM for violating the social, economic and cultural rights of the city's residents. Under this category, he could be heavily penalized."

Iyah, whose house in Tegal Alur was flooded, said in tears that she had not received any aid from the subdistrict. She mentioned that she had been assisted by several donors, but it was insufficient. She questioned the administration's sincerity in handling the victims and demanded Sutiyoso's resignation. "Sutiyoso must resign because he was incapable of preventing and handling the flood. I demand fair compensation."

At midday, the protesters marched to the House to meet officials from Commission II. Accompanied by members of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) and university students, tension erupted when they were denied entry, at which they threatened to tear down the gate.

Legislator Panda Nababan arrived at the scene and managed to calm them down. He then offered to allow 50 protesters to meet the commission. Two field coordinators, Dita Indah Sari and Wardah Hafidz, turned down the offer and insisted that all protesters be permitted to enter.

"If only some of us are allowed to enter the building, we must cancel the hearing as we all have a right to voice our concerns," Dita yelled, after which the protesters dispersed.

Jakarta administration sells lake to private developers

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- The city administration revealed on Monday that it had sold one of 22 small lakes in the Greater Jakarta area to private developers.

A hearing between officials of the City Public Works Agency and the City Council Commission D for development affairs revealed that the city administration sold Situ Rawa Badung in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta, to developers who are constructing a business center in the area.

"The lake was 'sold' to private developers and the city administration was also given shares in the business center that is being developed in the area," said an official of the agency, Andi Baso M.

According to Andi, an agreement between the city administration and several developers including PT Nusa Kirana and PT Metropolitan Kencana, the five hectares of Situ Rawa Badung, is to be reduced to just one hectare, while the rest is to be developed into a business area.

Several legislators also questioned the conversion of areas close to lakes into housing or golf courses, such as the development of a housing project in the area around Situ Rorotan in North Jakarta.

Deputy head of the Public Works Agency Fodly Misbach said that the remaining lakes in Jakarta and its satellite cities were in poor condition.

He cited Situ Rorotan, which originally covered 50 hectares, but it is now only around 5 hectares; Situ Babagan in South Jakarta, which has been reduced from 23 hectares to 17 hectares; Situ Mangga Bolong, also in South Jakarta, which is down from 15 hectares to 12 hectares.

"Many others have become open space or turned into rice fields, and some are illegally occupied by squatters," Fodly told The Jakarta Post.

Fodly said the city administration was powerless in handling the squatters, saying that squatters in the area around Situ Mangga Bolong had once demanded Rupiah 240 million in compensation when they were told to leave.

He admitted that the Greater Jakarta area only had 720 hectares of water catchment areas or around 2.8 percent of the total area of the capital. "This is far below from the ideal figure, which should be around 8 percent," he said.

City planning experts had earlier said that the disappearing lakes contributed to worsening the floods in the capital as the water, which should have been intercepted by the lakes, now flooded other areas.

Other factors that have contributed to exacerbate the floods included the conversion of greenbelts along riverbanks, swamp areas as well as protected mangrove forests, into residential and business developments. Most of them were built after the administration had reduced the green areas under the revision of the city masterplan in 1995.

Among those were Plaza Senayan shopping mall, Hotel Mulia, Pondok Indah Hospital, Sunter industrial zone, housing at Pantai Indah Kapuk and Taman Anggrek condominium and shopping center.

Government backs down on housing ban

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Jakarta -- The government backed down on Monday from its initial plan to temporarily halt new construction in greater Jakarta amid strong opposition from various opposition groups, saying it would only temporarily withhold new licenses for some housing projects.

Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, who stole the headlines in various local papers last week with his statement regarding the government's plan to temporarily ban housing development in order to keep more green areas for flood control, denied ever making such a statement.

"What I was saying was only that we would not grant any new licenses to developers for six months. The developers are allowed to continue their housing construction activities," he said at a hearing with the House of Representative's Commission IV for transportation and infrastructure.

The hearing was focused on flood prevention after the recent disaster in several parts of the country, including greater Jakarta. Many people believe unregulated housing development led to the depletion of many catchment areas over the past several years contributing to the flooding.

The hearing was also attended by executives of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI), who repeatedly opposed the government's earlier plan to ban housing development. REI has said the suspension plan had threatened REI's plan to develop about 90,000 houses in greater Jakarta this year which will absorb some 900,000 workers and provide Rupiah 3 trillion (US$294 million) in investment.

It also said the suspension plan had sparked confusion among buyers and banks. Some buyers had decided to delay buying houses and banks had become reluctant to lend. Some developers planned to sue the government should the latter press ahead with its suspension plan, he added. Several local governments also voiced opposition against the plan, saying that the suspension would only lead to increased unemployment.

The mounting pressures, along with intensive lobbying by many groups opposed to the plan, were believed to prompt the government to backtrack from its initial stance.

Soenarno said that his ministry had asked the governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java to withhold new licenses on housing projects. He noted however it was a request rather than an instruction, citing that the right to issue licenses for housing projects lies with the local governments and not the central government. "The governors have the authority to issue the licenses, and also the power to impose sanctions on developers," he said.

During the next six months, the government plans to evaluate all the existing housing projects in greater Jakarta, to ascertain whether they follow the existing regulations.

The House officially supported the government's new position. Sumaryoto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- Perjuangan), who also chairs the Commission, said it was unjustifiable for the government to bar housing development if the developers possessed licenses. Had the government moved ahead with its plan to temporarily ban housing projects, developers would face a lot of financial burdens, he said.

REI chairman Yan Mogi also welcomed the government's latest decision, saying it would bring back certainty to investors. "We support the government's plan to evaluate all of our members. But, should the government find any violations by our members, our members should be given chances to clarify," he said.

Separately, chairman of the Indonesian Environment Forum (WALHI) Emmy Hafidz said she doubted the government's seriousness in thoroughly solving the flood problems in Jakarta. She added that, to prove its seriousness, the government should stop construction in Puncak and order developers to build small flats in the Cianjur and Bogor areas so that the areas are able to absorb water efficiently.

Youth shot dead in clash with Flores Police

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Jacob Herin, Flores -- Police in East Flores regency clashed with local youths early on Monday, leaving at least one person killed and 12 others wounded.

The clash started at around 10 p.m. on Sunday and continued until early Monday in the regency's capital city of Larantuka, East Nusa Tenggara province. Ali Mustafa Atapukan, 22, was shot dead in the clash, while four other local youths -- Erik Atapukan, 33, Ibrahim, 28, Hajin K. Boli, 24, and Anis Bethan, 19, sustained gunshot wounds and are receiving intensive medical treatment at the Larantuka General Hospital.

The 12 injured people included eight police officers -- Luis Karel, Milu, Yopin, Andi Paskal, Mohamad, Roja, Josef Sari and Melki Tukan. All suffered minor wounds after being pelted with stones.

The motive behind the bloody clash remains unclear. East Flores Police chief Adj. Comr. J. Sinurat said on Monday the scuffle started when a police officer was stopped by a group of youths asking for something on his way home in Kampung Baru village, located around 100 meters from his office.

The police officer rejected the request, prompting the youths to kick him. He later returned to his office to report the case to his superior but the attackers ran after him and hurled stones at the building.

In a retaliation attack, the police fired warning shots. The shots, however, failed to stop the youths from rioting. Police eventually fired at the crowd killing Ali Mustafa and injuring four of his friends.

But eye witnesses at the scene -- Iskandar, 65, and Matheus Watu, 54, -- said the clash was provoked by a police officer who was wearing only shorts and rode a motorcycle.

He then stopped at a sidewalk kiosk and asked the owner about the whereabouts of youth gangs in Kampung Baru. As the trader was unable to answer the question, the police officer kicked his kiosk and pelted stones at nearby houses.

Local residents later appeared and approached him. Some of them tried to beat him, but some others stopped them and took him to a house for protection. A crowd of angry villagers stormed the local police station located near the site of the incident, where police personnel fired shots at them.

The witnesses called for an investigation into the clash and a firm action against all those involved, so as to prevent further such incidents from occurring.

Floodwaters trigger fear of widespread poverty crisis

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2002

Damar Harsanto and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Many flood victims have been left homeless, jobless, sick and penniless as a result of the recent floods. Some have returned home, while others are still staying in inadequate makeshift shelters.

Kuswanto, a resident of Kampung Melayu, has left the evacuation camp. A street vendor who sold mechanics' tools in front of Jatinegara railway station, Kuswanto says he lost all his goods during the disaster. "I have nothing left. I don't have a penny to reestablish my business," he told The Jakarta Post his eyes brimming with tears.

Before the flood hit his neighborhood, he had just spent Rp 200,000 to buy some goods to be sold on the street. To feed his wife and two children, Kuswanto now acts as an unofficial traffic warden who "directs" traffic for a tip. As a vendor, he got Rp 15,000 a day, now he can only earn between Rp 5,000 to 7,500.

Being out of pocket is not the only problem facing many flood victims. Hundreds of evacuees were seen on Saturday cramped in tattered tents alongside Jl. Jatinegara Barat, East Jakarta, next to a pile of garbage exposed to rain and wind. In Manggarai subdistrict, South Jakarta, the victims took shelter in schools and open shelters.

"I am suffering from diarrhea right now, while my two children have a fever," said Amran, a resident of Kalibata subdistrict in South Jakarta, adding that they had taken medicine.

Irwanto, a sociologist of the Center for Societal Development Studies at Atma Jaya University here, warned that the recent calamities could further impoverish those people who had been burdened by the country's economic crisis.

"Those who are between the lower income to middle income bracket are those who have felt the impact of the massive floods as they've lost their source of livelihood," Irwanto said.

As they are living in squalid conditions, Irwanto said, they could easily fall sick, which prevents them from working. They are in dire need of an income. Irwanto said such a difficult situation could prompt the parents to send their children out to work.

"Besides a massive number of unemployed people, there will be a huge number of jobless young people who are unable to attain a high level of education as they have quit school," he said. "That will be a trigger for protracted poverty as the chain of poverty grows longer and becomes unbreakable," Irwanto said.

Vice president blames Suharto regime for floods

Agence France Presse - February 11, 2002

Jakarta -- Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz has blamed the government of former president Suharto for nationwide flooding, saying the regime had been too corrupt to ensure good environmental planning.

"It is extremely irrational if the current government is blamed. We need to say this, not as an excuse to avoid responsibility," Haz was quoted by Monday's Jakarta Post as telling his party supporters during a rally at Cirebon in West Java on Sunday.

Haz said widespread corruption during more than three decades under Suharto had led to unplanned development, which has been partly blamed for this month's floods.

Some 150 people have been killed nationwide by floods or landslides following heavy rain.

It was the second such accusation the vice president had made, after remarks on Friday. "Corruption was everywhere so the quality of development was neglected. One of the worst effects is the current flooding," he said Friday.

On Friday Haz called on the government of West Java province to halt development of the mountainous area south of the Indonesian capital, where many of the city's rivers rise, so the area can act as a water catchment area. The mountainous area has been overbuilt with luxurious villas and resorts.

"There should be no further development of luxurious villas or other projects that could damage the Puncak-Bogor zone. I ask that these areas be restored to their original functions as catchment areas," Haz said. "The New Order had neglected this," he said, refering to the term for Suharto's rule.

In Jakarta intermittent weekend rain brought floods back to some areas, especially North Jakarta and the outskirts. Some people who had left temporary shelters to go home were now back in the shelters.

Donors distrust government officials to deliver aid

Jakarta Post - February 11, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- The recent floods in the city have strengthened the indications of public distrust in government officials, as almost all people and non-governmental organizations avoided official channels in making donations for fear of corruption or unfair distribution.

Many charitable foundations and individuals stated on Sunday that they preferred to give their donations directly to the flood victims, or at least through non-governmental organizations (NGO), whose credibility had already been proven.

Such a condition arose following many reports from the public and donors that not all of their donations had reached the flood victims when they were delivered through flood posts established by the government.

Ade Rostina of the Suara Ibu Peduli (Voice of Concerned Mothers), a non-governmental organization dealing with problems caused by poverty, cited the example of flood victims in Cawang, East Jakarta, where local people protested that many packages of donations had been piled up in the subdistrict office even though they had been presented by donors almost a week ago.

In Marunda district in North Jakarta last Friday, people also protested over the unfair distribution of aid as many had received donations several times while others had yet to receive anything from the local administration, which required that all donations should be distributed through its office.

Similar protests also occurred in Pangadegan subdistrict in South Jakarta, Semanan subdistrict in West Jakarta, and in many areas of North Jakarta, such as Rawa Buaya and Penjaringan districts.

"As the donors want to see that their aid is really reaching the flood victims, they have to avoid the official channels established by community heads and other official agencies in the subdistricts," Ade told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

A similar experience was voiced by an official of People Who Care, a charity movement which groups executive members of a consultancy firm on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta. "We prefer to cooperate with a number of NGOs like Walhi [Indonesian Forum for Environment] and Human Rights Support for Indonesia, as we have to make sure that our aid reaches the flood victims," said an official of the non-governmental organization, who requested anonymity. She said that in cooperation with the NGOs, her charity movement, which had just been established in November, could reach the victims directly.

In Karang Muara district, North Jakarta, a number of organizations also refused to channel their assistance through official posts on Sunday. The organizations, including Bandung's Parahyangan Catholic University, the Jakarta Institute of Art, and the Indonesian Red Cross, distributed their donated food, medicines, and clothes directly to the flood victims in the district.

Edi Harsono of the Elshinta We Care Program, a charity movement organized by the Elshinta private radio station, also said that aid from the listeners was delivered directly to the public. "Based on our experience since 1998, we have always delivered the aid directly to needy people," Edi said, adding that over Rupiah600 million had been collected from radio listeners since January.

Political parties take advantage of flood victims' battle

Straits Times - February 11, 2002

Jakarta -- Political parties in Indonesia have capitalised on the recent flood disaster to court support among the masses, according to Tempo weekly magazine.

It says the politicians have cleverly mixed humanitarian aid missions with campaign tactics. The next general election is in 2004 but that has not stopped the various parties from putting up banners, insignia and party flags in flood-hit areas in Jakarta. The plastic bags that contain food aid are adorned with party labels, says the magazine.

And party leaders have even stepped out of their luxury homes and into the floodwaters to hand out aid publicly. They include President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who leads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar party boss Akbar Tandjung, National Mandate Party (PAN) chief Amien Rais and National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Alwi Shihab.

At the lower level, activists, cadres and sympathisers have followed suit. In the past week, many of the command posts set up to help ease the flood disaster have been established by the political parties, though some have also been set up spontaneously by Jakarta residents.

At a National Awakening Party (PKB) post in East Jakarta, a pile of used sacks marked with the letters GD -- for Gus Dur, or Abdurrahman Wahid, the former president and the party's senior elder -- was found. About 300 m away, at the Justice Party (PK) command post, men volunteered to help load goods from residents' flooded homes. Further down the street, the PDI-P has its command post located near the local sub-district office.

While acknowledging the parties' intentions are good, residents are also under no illusion about the flood disaster's being politicised. "When I was going to take rice, I was asked which party I belonged to," said one.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit said the move was legal but if it was not right, the people would punish the parties in their own way.

Informal sector/urban poor

Vendors forced out of Cikokol market

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Tangerang -- About 250 vendors at Cikokol traditional market argued with Tangerang Public Order Agency officials on Monday after they were forced to leave the market to make way for the construction of the Cikokol cloverleaf intersection.

"We couldn't accept the officials's efforts to force us to leave the market so suddenly. We will move as long as the administration relocates us," said the vendors' coordinator Memet.

The vendors had met the municipality secretary, Achmad Sudjai, on January 26 to negotiate the relocation. Memet claimed that although no agreement had been arrived at the meeting, Achmad had promised nevertheless not to evict the vendors.

"Today, the officials, backed up by officials from the police and military, demolished our kiosks. Do they ever consider our financial losses?" Memet asked emotionally. He further said that the vendors would file a lawsuit against the officials.

The agency's chief, Sabar Situmorang, said the market would be demolished soon to make way for the construction project. "The construction work should be completed by May. Should the vendors insist on staying , the market will cause congestion along Jl. Jend. Sudirman and also hamper the construction work."

The administration has provided space for the vendors at the Tanah Tinggi market, also located on Jl. Sudirman.

Sixty officials from the public order agency -- along with 90 policemen, 30 military personnel and 80 officials from the City Sanitation Agency -- demolished the market, which mainly sells vegetables, using three bulldozers, leaving the vendors watching helplessly.

Environment

Firms accused of damaging forests

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2002

Palu, Central Sulawesi -- Environmentalists have accused some plantation and forestry companies here of damaging hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests across Banggai regency.

They said that most of the companies pretended to clear land for plantation by cutting down trees, but later logged them out, and abandoned the areas.

A survey by the Traditional Community Alliance and the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) shows that the accused firms include three concession holders -- PT Palopo Timber (PT); PT Balantak Rimba Rejeki (BRR), and PT Dahatama Adhikarya (DA).

Palopo Timber controls 40,110 hectares of land in Batui subdistrict; BRR holds 72,500 hectares in Balantak subdistrict, and DA holds 64,620 hectares of land in the Bunta subdistrict.

Other suspected companies include PT Kurnia Luwuk Sejati (KLS); PT Nyiur Inti Mas (NIM); PT Kawisan Central Asia (KCA), and PT Maliando Bangun Persada.

Pramuka bird market: Biggest black market for rare animals

Jakarta Post - February 12, 2002

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The illegal trade of protected animals continues in Indonesia despite Law No. 5/1990 on the preservation of flora and fauna. Applying the law by banning illegal trade in protected animals has so far failed to stop the trafficking.

The Gibbon Foundation director, Willie Smits, said on Monday that Jakarta was notorious as a center of illegal trade in protected animals. "Various kinds of protected animals can be easily found at the Pramuka bird market on Jl. Pramuka, East Jakarta. It is the biggest black market for protected animals around the world," he said.

The number of protected animals has continued to decrease due to the illegal trade. "It could harm the balance of nature," Smits said. Every single day, three to five orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are sold at Pramuka market from the total world population of 14,000, he claimed. "The vendors, mostly criminals, even offer their customers fake documents to deliver the protected animals to any destination outside of Jakarta," Smits said.

Raids on the market have had no effect as the vendors never see the inside of a jail. The vendors often resume business the day after a raid. Last week, the quarantine office at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport seized more than 300 turtles bought at Pramuka market to be smuggled to Hong Kong, China.

General Director of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation Suhariyanto said illegal trade in protected animals had caused Indonesia to suffer financial losses of more than that of illegal logging. However, he declined to name a figure as there is no available data.

Suhariyanto admitted that the Ministry of Forestry could not fight the illegal trade since it lacked optimum authority, including manpower and funds, to control and arrest smugglers. "We cannot act alone. We need support from the police, the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Justice," he told reporters during the inauguration of a temporary shelter for protected animals in Tegal Alur subdistrict, Kalideres, West Jakarta.

The ministry has launched a campaign to disseminate information about Law No. 5/1990 and has raided houses and markets allegedly keeping or selling protected animals.

During the inauguration, Smits called on the government to reveal its political will to combat the smuggling of protected animals.

The Gibbon Foundation funded the development of the Rupiah 775 million (US$75,243) temporary shelter. The foundation will also develop shelters in Surabaya and Malang in East Java, Yogyakarta and Medan, North Sumatra.

"All this time, the government always complains there is no shelter to keep protected animals seized in several raids. We have built a place for them. We'll see if the government reveals its political will. The ball is in their hands now," he said.

Last year, the Gibbon Foundation built a Rupiah 10 billion closure in Ragunan Zoo for gorillas, courtesy of the late animal lover Mrs. Puck Schmutzer. Four male lowlander gorillas on loan from Howlett and Lymphne Park zoo in Kent, England, were scheduled to arrive in late October, but controversy over the cost of their food caused the plan to be cancel.

The administration had requested an annual fund of Rupiah 3.2 billion from the 2002 city budget to feed the gorillas. The amount was far higher than the foundation's budget of Rupiah 200 million.

Half of Bali's famed Kuta beach suffering from erosion

Agence France Presse - February 11, 2002

Jakarta -- At least half of the famed Kuta Beach on the Indonesian resort island of Bali has been eroded by waves, an official said Monday.

"The damage has reached a critical level, covering 50 percent of the beach," said Tjok Bagus Budiana, head of the Bali Beach Restoration Project.

Budiana, quoted by the state Antara news agency, blamed the erosion of the 6.5-km beach on construction of the nearby Ngurah Rai airport, which he said changed the wave pattern. The damage was also due to the improper construction of seawalls and the destruction of coral reefs due to dynamite fishing.

The government would need the involvement of local administrations to formulate a long-term project to preserve the beach, he said. Some 15-20 percent of Bali's 430 kilometres of beaches has been damaged by erosion and illegal sand quarrying, Antara said.

Environment groups warn of forest destruction by pulp firms

Agence France Presse - February 11, 2002

Jakarta -- Large areas of natural forest in Indonesia will be destroyed by 2007 due to logging by the country's two largest pulp producers, two environmental groups warned in a report released Monday.

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said a study showed two indebted Indonesian pulp producers -- Sinar Mas Group and Raja Garuda Mas Group -- planned to clear almost 500,000 hectares of forest from Riau province by [text missing -- JB].

"Indonesia's largest pulp producers ... rely heavily on unsustainable sources of fiber, much of which is obtained through the clear-cutting of natural forests," said CIFOR policy scientist Christopher Barr in the report.

Barr said the industry's seven-fold expansion since the late 1980s had proceeded far more rapidly than efforts to secure a sustainable supply of raw materials through the development of industrial pulpwood plantations.

Of the 120 million cubic meters of wood estimated to have been consumed by the pulp industry during 1988-2000, only 10 percent was harvested from the industrial plantations, the report said.

The groups said both Sinar Mas and Raja Garuda Mas have claimed that by 2008 all of their wood will be coming from sustainably managed plantations. But the WWF-CIFOR study projects that they are likely to fall far short of this target.

A spokesman for Raja Garuda Mas refused to comment, saying he and other company staff needed to study the report. A Sinar Mas spokeswoman could not be reached. Barr said both groups plan to clear large new ares in Riau on Sumatra island despite a government moratorium on new forest conversion since

"Both producers will face significant shortages of legally and sustainably harvested wood for at least the next seven years, and quite possibly well beyond," he said in the report.

The World Bank has said Indonesian forests were reduced by an annual average of some 1.5 million hectares between 1985 and 1997. By December 1999, Indonesia had only some 20 million hectares of forests left.

All four major pulp producers have been forced to pledge much of their assets to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency to cover their huge debts. A Sinar Mas subsidiary, Asia Pulp and Paper Ltd., called a standstill in March last year on payments of interest and principal on 13.4 billion dollars of debt. The WWF- CIFOR study said IBRA is likely to use public funds to write off at least 70 percent of these debts.

"By writing off debts held by forestry conglomerates, IBRA will be giving these groups a substantial capital subsidy. This will place added pressures on Indonesia's forests by encouraging the companies to undervalue the forest resource," CIFOR director general David Kaimowitz said in the report.

Agus Purnomo, WWF Indonesia director, urged the government to "firmly uphold its moratorium on conversion of natural forests."

Indonesian rainforests pulped to extinction

The Guardian (UK) - February 11, 2002

Paul Brown -- The Indonesian pulp and paper industry is destroying rainforest at such an astonishing rate that it will run out of wood in five years, according to a report being published today.

Environmental groups are concerned that rare wildlife, such as Sumatran tigers and a sub-species of elephant, in some of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world is threatened with extinction. They also warn western investors that they may lose hundreds of millions of pounds as pulping companies run out of trees to fell.

The report, by Friends of the Earth, focuses on Asia Pacific Resource Holdings Ltd (known as April), whose pulp mill in the Sumatran province of Riau is the biggest in the world. The British construction company Amec built the mill. April, which is based in Singapore, has borrowed heavily from western banks to finance its operations.

Wood and paper companies in Indonesia are given concessions to clear timber and are supposed to replace them with plantations of fast-growing acacia trees, so that the industry will eventually be self-sustaining. Between 1988 and 2000, however, only 10% of the wood used in Indonesia was from plantations.

According to the report, trees are still not being planted fast enough to save the forests, although April says it is on track to become 90% self-sufficient by 2008.

The World Bank estimates that 2 million hectares of forest a year, an area the size of Belgium, is being wiped out -- the same rate of deforestation as the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Somewhere between 50% and 70% of Indonesia's rainforests have now been destroyed, experts estimate.

The WWF (formerly the World Wide Fund for Nature) has just completed an investigation of April's activities in the Tesso Nilo area in Sumatra, where logging is banned and which is the most biodi verse area of lowland forest in the world, containing tigers, elephants, gibbons, tapirs and a huge variety of flowering plants. A WWF investigation has tracked 110 logging trucks from this area to the April pulp mill in the past two months.

"This company is renegotiating 1.2 billion pounds bn in debts with US, European and Asian banks while facing a crisis at home of running out of wood supplies," said Ed Matthew, joint author of the Friends of the Earth report into April. "This report is a warning to banks not to invest in industries like this unless they check first that they are sustainable.

"The company claims it will eventually get its wood from plantations but the numbers do not stack up. The company will run out of timber in 2005, a full three years before it claims it will be sustainable."

The report is the second by Friends of the Earth into the destruction of forests by illegal logging in Indonesia. The first, published last year, investigated another company, Asian Pulp and Paper, and the environmental group persuaded some UK paper dealers to stop buying its products.

This time Mr Matthew is asking consumers to boycott PaperOne, the main brand of April, and the report names eight British merchants that stock it. Tony Vermot, the exclusive representative for April's products in the UK, said he could not comment. However, Roland Offrell, a Swede appointed two months ago as April's first environment director, conceded that large areas of forest were still being cut down. They would, he said, be replaced with plantations.

The company had 300,000 hectares of forest concessions from which it drew wood, he said. Some wood also came from clearing forest for agricultural land.

Mr Offrell could not guarantee, however, that wood did not come from illegal sources, but if it was detected, loggers were reported to the police. The company refused to take any more wood from the culprits, he said, and was planning an external audit of the source of its logs to prove it was not using illegal supplies.

Religion/Islam

Influential religious groups reject 'syariah' adoption

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2002

A'an Suryana, Jakarta -- All mainstream religious groups in Indonesia have suggested that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) retain Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution in its present form, on the grounds that it has done an adequate job in promoting religious harmony in the predominantly Muslim country.

Slamet Effendy Yusuf, the deputy chairman of the MPR's Ad Hoc Committee for Constitutional Amendment, said on Wednesday that the common stance was aired during a series of meetings recently between the committee and influential religious groups aimed at eliciting the latter's views on the proposed constitutional amendment.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, became the latest group to oppose changes to the article on Wednesday, although their position remains unofficial.

"The groups have agreed that Article 29 must not be amended," Slamet told participants at a meeting between committee members and NU leaders at the NU office on Jl. Kramat Raya in Central Jakarta. Slamet, who is a former chairman of the NU youth wing Anshor, was accompanied by, among others, Patrialis Akbar, I Ketut Astawa and Aris Munandar. NU was represented by Masdar Farid Mas'udi, Rozy Munir and secretary general of the NU law making body (Syuriah) Solahudin Wahid.

The committee had earlier met leaders of the country's second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI), the Representatives of the Indonesian Buddhist Community (Walubi), the Highest Council of Confucian Religion in Indonesia (Matakin) and Parisadha Hindu Dharma. All of the groups insisted that the MPR retain the article when it reassembles in August for its annual session.

The debate on whether Article 29 should be changed has resurfaced after more than fifty years -- the same controversy dogged the drafting of the current Constitution, approved in 1945. Several groups, including the Muslim Propagation Council (DDI), are calling for the adoption of Islamic law (syariah) by adding a sentence to Article 29 stating that there is an "obligation for Muslims to adhere to the Islamic faith."

The first verse of Article 29 currently dictates that the state shall be based upon belief in the One Supreme God, while the second verse says that the state shall guarantee the freedom of every citizen to adhere to his respective religion and beliefs and to perform his religious duties.

"All aspirations are accepted, and those will serve as a foundation for our work in drafting the constitutional amendments, which will be presented to the MPR Annual Session," Slamet said.

According to Slamet, the committee is also working on draft amendments to other articles, including those on MPR membership, presidential affairs and the country's economic system. The constitutional reform movement began in 1999.

Meanwhile, Masdar Farid Mas'udi of NU said that the organization would issue its formal opposition to the amendment of Article 29 after it had held a plenary meeting on the issue. However, he said that the mainstream of NU would most likely agree that the article should be retained. Masdar said this view had received support from Sahal Mahfudz, the most influential figure in NU due to his position as chairman of the organization's law making body Syuriah.

Efforts to amend Article 29 would jeopardize the sense of religious harmony in Indonesia, said Masdar, who leads NU's think tank. He said the proposed addition to Article 29 would open up opportunities for the state to rule a person's private domain, which included the freedom to practice religion according to one's own beliefs.

This would endanger democracy, in which religious freedom is recognized. "Indonesia is a plural community, and there should be no attempt to manipulate the state to enforce certain religious teachings in this plural community," he said.

Moderate Muslim scholars seek new role for women in Islam

Straits Times - February 11, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- In Muslim boarding schools across Indonesia, many young Muslims can be found poring over a book called the Couple's Contract or Uqud Al-Lujjayn.

Written by famous Indonesian Muslim scholar Syaikh Nawawi, the book is one of the most common texts used in the thousands of Muslim boarding schools and teaches the students what few preachers would argue with: Women must be subservient to men, they have no right to file for divorce, and they cannot refuse a husband's request for sex.

But a group of Muslim scholars led by former first lady Sinta Nuriyah are seeking to overturn these long-held beliefs about women's inferior status in Islam with a new book.

They hope that their book, The New Face of Husband Wife Relations, which criticises the extremely popular Couple's Contract, will change the way Muslim preachers talk about the role of women in Islam.

Ms Sinta's husband, former president Abdurrahman Wahid, used to head the 40-million-strong Nadlatul Ulema (NU), the country's largest Muslim group. The new book has been distributed to 300 ulemas and 200 pesantren, or Islamic boarding schools.

In Cirebon, central Java, Muslim preacher Kiyai Husein Muhammad, who is also one of the new book's author, has refused to teach the Couple's Contract to the hundreds of students who live or study daily at his pesantren.

Inside his Darul Tahiq pesantren, he tries to interpret Hadith, teachings attributed to the Prophet, free of gender bias. "The culture of patriarchy is found even in religion. But in a religion you can't discriminate and subordinate one group of people," said Mr Kiyai Husein.

The reaction of his students has been mixed. "The female students accept these ideas very positively but the boys are very critical. They all say that Hadith approving polygamy and advising that women can't say no to their husbands are valid," he said.

Ms Badriyah Fayyumi, 30, a lecturer at State Islamic University in Jakarta, said the teachings of the Couple's Contract had adversely affected generations of young women. She added: "We grow up thinking it is very difficult to become a wife because there are many sins we can commit. So we regret that we are born women."

Ms Atashendartini Habsjah, another of the new book's authors, said she wanted to bring Islamic teachings in Indonesia up to date with the 21st century and counter what she sees as a growing dogmatism and the abandonment of a form of Islam adjusted to Indonesian culture for a more Arab-influenced version.

However, she said that many moderate Muslim scholars are too afraid to counter such dogmatic interpretations of Islam and the teachings of the Prophet for fear of coming under attack from hardline groups.

Indonesia also bans Newsweek magazine

Straits Times - February 11, 2002

Jakarta -- A distributor here has withheld the latest issue of the US magazine Newsweek because it carries a picture of the prophet Muhammad that could anger subscribers in Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim-populated country.

Authorities in Bangladesh have already banned the February 11 issue because of concerns of a backlash among the Muslim population there. An image of the prophet or improper reference to him are taboo.

"We are afraid it will create a big problem if we circulate the copies. It is kind of a self-censorship," said PT Indoprom circulation manager Dasino Santarto.

Armed forces/Police

TNI working on reshuffle

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2002

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Adm. Widodo AS admitted on Thursday that the institution was in the midst of a major reshuffle, while adding that replacements in the level of top brass remained undecided.

"The TNI is committed to regeneration among high-ranking officers as part of our personnel development, but the changing of the guard depends greatly on the interests of our superiors," Widodo said at a press conference at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, at the end of its two-day leadership conference. He was referring to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who according to the Indonesian Constitution, is the military's supreme commander.

According to Widodo, the conference also included discussion of a reshuffle among the TNI's high-ranking officers, except for those at the level of lieutenant general and general. The TNI reshuffle regularly takes place twice a year in April and October.

There has been much speculation about a reshuffle in the TNI's top brass over the past few months after a Megawati aide said that the President was seeking a new TNI chief. The 2001 Defense Law restricts the race for TNI chief to officers with a military rank of four stars, or those who have experience as a chief of staff.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and his predecessor, Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, have been suggested as the strongest candidates to replace Widodo. Endriartono will enter his mandatory retirement age in April, but he can opt to have his service extended if he takes over the TNI top post.

Deputy Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakrie will reportedly replace Lt. Gen. Jhony Lumintang as the Ministry of Defense secretary-general. Both will soon retire.

There have been reports that several military officers allegedly held accountable in past human rights abuses in East Timor would be promoted to the strategic position. They include former Udayana Military commander Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, who reportedly will be promoted as the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad); former East Timor Military commander Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman, who is likely to take up the Jakarta Garrison chief of staff post, and Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who has been tipped to serve as the TNI spokesman, or as the Military Academy governor.

Military Police gambling ring causes riot

Jakarta Post - February 14, 2002

Tangerang -- About 200 angry gamblers attacked and destroyed Sgt. Maj. Jupri's house on Jl. Jati, Jatiuwung, Tangerang, on Tuesday night after the Military Police officer failed to pay off the winners in an illegal numbers racket that the Army personnel runs.

Jupri, who operates the informal neighborhood lottery in his spare time, failed to pay the prize money on time to the winners who bet on number 7,440 on Sunday night. Claiming to be out of cash, Jupri promised the winners he would pay them on Monday evening.

However, he did not pay on Monday as promised, so the mob of gamblers attacked and destroyed the police officer's house on Tuesday night. "The gamblers also filed complaints with the police," said the Jatiuwung subprecinct police chief Insp. Aswin Sepayung Wednesday.

Jupri was later escorted to the Military Police headquarters in South Jakarta, to get his side of the story and to protect him from the gamblers' wrath.

International relations

Australia-Indonesia ties yet to thaw

Straits Times - February 11, 2002

Brendan Pereira, Jakarta -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard came to Indonesia to melt the ice. But the reception he got here left little doubt that a thaw in ties is some way to go, with Australia still struggling to crack the Javanese mindset of its giant neighbour that has a long memory of the troubled relationship between both countries and Canberra's oft-blunt messages.

Mr Howard had to swallow a few bitter messages himself. In posters and shouted comments, student demonstrators in Jakarta described him as a "racist", a "bootlicker" and a "capitalist". Indonesia's top politicians refused to meet him officially and legislators called for his visit to be postponed.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri was all smiles before the camera when she spoke of the need to develop "realistic and rational" ties. But her diplomatic showmanship did little to hide the fact that very few of her lieutenants were enthusiastic about the Australian leader's visit.

Little trust?

It is instructive to note that only two of her Cabinet ministers made themselves available to attend his business-luncheon talk last Thursday. Mr Howard might have been praying for more political goodwill on his second fence-mending visit to Jakarta in just three months. On paper, some of his initiatives looked good.

For a start, he pledged a A$1-million donation for victims of the recent floods. He also signed a joint anti-terrorism agreement, which he described as "an important expression of cooperation about an issue which is important to the whole world and especially to our region". But there was little fanfare in Jakarta over this announcement.

Privately, some officials said it was yet another public- relations stunt by the Australian Prime Minister and a nice piece of paper aimed at addressing American and Asean concerns that Jakarta was doing little to investigate allegations that terrorist cells were operating here.

"The Australians are good at coming up with all kinds of ideas and equally good at burying them by not being sensitive to our concerns," an Indonesian Cabinet minister lamented. "There is no quick fix to this relationship because there is little trust between both sides. It blows hot and cold over any and every issue because the Australians have great difficulty understanding us."

But is Indonesia making an effort to understand Australia? To be sure, Jakarta appears to be keeping a distance at a time when Australia is trying its best to warm up to the Indonesian elite after its strategic reassessment of its role in Asia.

Why when just months ago things looked rosy? Indeed, Mr Howard became the first foreign leader to meet Ms Megawati after her rise to power. Last November, the relationship appeared to be on an even keel.

Two weeks after the visit, he threw a spanner in the works by suggesting on a radio talk show that the Norwegian ship carrying 438 Afghan refugees return to Indonesian waters. What was domestic politics to most Australians was public diplomacy for Indonesia.

Mr Howard never bothered to consult the Indonesian government. For Jakarta, this was a fatal diplomatic blunder. And as a negotiating tactic with a conservative Javanese administration, it was doomed to failure. It was hardly surprising then that Ms Megawati refused to return Mr Howard's somewhat belated phone call on the refugee issue.

It was much the same following her muted criticism of the tactics being used by the United States-led international coalition against terrorism. Her comments had only just been reported when the Australian leader went on air again to advise Indonesia not to weaken "its support of the American position". He went on to offer advice that he did not believe "the future of Indonesia lies in returning to more authoritarian ways".

This could explain why Ms Megawati declined Australia's request for a bilateral meeting between the two leaders at the Apec meeting in Shanghai.

Underlying all this, of course, is the legacy of East Timor. The generals and politicians in Indonesia are still licking their wounds. They have not forgotten how quickly Canberra jumped on the bandwagon to lead a UN peacekeeping force there when it secured independence from Jakarta in 1999.

Baggage of history

East Timor, more than anything else, continues to fester in the Indonesian conscience and underscores the bad chemistry between the two countries. An army general said: "We saw it as a betrayal, a slap in the face."

Given the bitter experience of East Timor, some Indonesians would like to think that there is an Australian hand in every separatist region in the country.

For example, there are allegations, strongly denied by Canberra, that Australia backs independence supporters in the Papua province. It could be more a case of some Indonesian politicians trying to score political points at home.

Mr Howard's visit to Indonesia comes at a time when the economic relationship is healthy and trade is picking up sharply. The baggage of history is making it difficult for both sides to find a meeting point.

For the relationship to improve, Mr Howard will need to take domestic politics out of foreign policy or move from public to private diplomacy in dealing with Indonesian leaders. He appears to be doing that but Jakarta needs to listen. Otherwise, the ice will not melt.

Howard wraps up "successful" fence-mending visit

Agence France Presse - February 8, 2002

Jakarta -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday wrapped up a fence-mending visit to Indonesia with a sightseeing tour, unfazed by a student protest in the Central Java city of Yokyakarta and an earlier snub by top legislators in Jakarta.

Between 100-200 students in the historic city clashed briefly with police near Gajah Mada university, the second stop in Howard's Friday itinerary. The students tried to break through a police cordon but were kept some 200 meters from the university, a policemen told AFP by phone. He said one officer was slightly injured and one student arrested before the crowd dispersed.

The protesters, some of them women in Islamic headscarves and veils, carried placards reading "Mr Rector, don't sell our campus to Australia" and "Go to hell with your aid" -- a Sukarno-era slogan. Embassy spokesman Geoff Leach said Howard and his party, who arrived in the country Wednesday, had not seen the protest. In Jakarta earlier, parliament leaders Amien Rais and Akbar Tanjung boycotted a planned official meeting with Howard. Rais cited Canberra's complaints last year that Indonesia was doing too little to curb people-smugglers who use the archipelago to ship Middle Eastern asylum-seekers to Australia. He also raised Australia's supposed backing for independence supporters in Papua province, a charge strongly denied by Howard.

Some Indonesians are also still angry at earlier Australian support for an East Timor independence referendum and its leadership of a peacekeeping force which ended military-backed milita bloodshed in the territory in 1999.

Howard on Thursday dismissed the snub from Rais as driven by local political considerations and said his visit to Indonesia yielded "very positive outcomes", including a pact to cooperate in fighting international terrorism.

He took pains to express understanding for Indonesia's handling of Australia-bound asylum-seekers, saying the issue could not be settled bilaterally. The two neighbours will co-host an international conference on people-smuggling in Bali on February 27-28.

Leach described the visit as a success. "Indonesia is a very important neighbour for Australia and the meeting with President Megawati (Sukarnoputri) was very cordial. There were very constructive gains from the visit."

Howard arrived in Yogyakarta Thursday afternoon as the guest of the Sultan, Hamengkubuwono X. Early Friday he toured the nearby ninth century majestic Buddhist monuments at Borobodur before visiting Gajah Mada university to meet staff and students.

Australia is the first choice for Indonesians seeking overseas education, with 18,000-19,000 studying there in any given year at schools, universities or language centres.

Leach said the Indonesian government had suggested the visit to Yogyakarta to give Howard a broader view of the country. "It was a very nice way to conclude his visits to the United States and Indonesia. I think he left in a very positive frame of mind." Howard flew home via Bali after wrapping up his university visit.

Howard urges closer US-Jakarta ties

Australian Financial Review - February 6, 2002

Peter Hartcher, Washington -- The Australian Government is backing a Bush Administration proposal to resume US military co- operation with Indonesia in a bid to help Jakarta pursue terrorists.

US Congress ceased American assistance in response to atrocities in East Timor in 1999, when Australia also drastically scaled back its ties to the Indonesian military. But the Bush Administration's Budget proposed on Tuesday a resumption of all forms of assistance to Indonesia's armed forces (TNI).

In a substantial change in policy towards the Indonesian military, Australia has been quietly encouraging the Bush Administration to do exactly this, according to officials from both countries.

But the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, last night -- on the eve of his visit to Jakarta -- received a major snub when a key Indonesian politician, Dr Amien Rais, said he would not meet him and other politicians said the visit should have been cancelled. Mr Howard later said he was disappointed but rejected claims that Australia was covertly supporting the independence movement in Irian Jaya. The restoration of US military ties with Indonesia -- and Australian support for such a move -- is an extremely sensitive issue that will provoke opposition from human rights advocates in the US and Australia. It might also generate a backlash from some political groups in Indonesia, where the military is struggling to overcome a reputation for abusing human rights in the Soeharto years.

While the TNI has long wanted a restoration of US military training and arms, it also resents any implication that it has been lax in pursuing Al Qaeda or other terror groups. Some US media have cited intelligence reports that hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives have been trained in camps in Indonesia.

And Jakarta, jealous of its sovereignty, is anxious to avoid direct US military operations in Indonesia.

The US Deputy Secretary for Defence, Mr Paul Wolfowitz, said last month that the Indonesian Government was "extremely weak" in some parts of the country and there was potential for extremists to set up there.

He said the US was willing to help and that the restrictions on American assistance "really need to be reviewed in the light of September 11". Last week the President, Mr George Bush, said in his State of the Union address: "My hope is that all nations will heed our call, and eliminate the terrorist parasites who threaten their countries and our own. Many nations are acting forcefully ... But some governments will be timid in the face of terror. And make no mistake about it, if they do not act, America will."

The Commander in Chief of US Pacific Forces, Admiral Dennis Blair, has been pressing key senators and congressmen to abolish restrictions on US military aid to Indonesia.

The US has sent a reported 650 troops into the Philippines, together with CIA advisers, to train the Filipino military in anti-terrorist tactics. And on Tuesday the Administration proposed a Budget that "strikes all language that restricts the Administration's flexibility" in advising and training and equipping the TNI, said Mr Tim Reiser, a key aide to the chairman of the Senate committee that decides foreign funding, Senator Patrick Leahy.

The Asia director of Human Rights Watch in Washington, Mr Mike Jendrzejczyk, said: "I think the Administration faces an uphill battle convincing Congress that President Megawati is serious about her commitments to military reform and accountability for human rights abuses."

A White House official said that Australia had been "consistently pushing the idea for a while now" in contacts with the US.

A spokesman for the Australian Embassy in Washington said: "Australian defence forces co-operate with Indonesian defence forces in a variety of ways and we think co-operation between the US defence forces and the Indonesian defence forces is useful." The subject was part of the Embassy's "routine dialogue" with the US, the spokesman said.

The legislative amendment that prohibits US military training for the TNI was instigated by Senator Leahy and bears his name. His aide, Mr Reiser, said that Senator Leahy would not agree to the Administration request "unless Indonesia were to demonstrate in a significant way that they were serious about reform of their military and holding people responsible for abuses of human rights.

"Senator Leahy believes it would be a mistake to undercut other key goals of our foreign policy -- support for democracy, rule of law, human rights, and military reform -- for the purpose of combating terrorism or anything else." He said the US should work to defeat terrorism in addition to other policy aims, not in place of them.

Comparing the TNI to a terrorist group, he said: "The Indonesian military engaged in acts which, for its victims, were no different from the victims of acts of terrorism." The Bush Budget proposes a total of about $US3.5 billion in new funding for economic aid, military equipment and training "for states on the front line in the war on terrorism", according to an Administration document.

Economy & investment

Jakarta's economy limps towards recovery

Straits Times - February 15, 2002

Robert Go, Jakarta -- Some recent developments suggest that Indonesia's economy is moving on the right track, but observers also warned that there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet given the severity of the problems faced by President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government.

Since January 1, foreign players have been buying into Indonesian blue-chip shares, boosting the Jakarta index by some 12 per cent. The rupiah has remained stable near the 10,200 mark against US$1 so far this year.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) met its 2001 asset-sale target of 27 trillion rupiah (S$5.1 billion), and finally seems set to sell major retail-bank Bank Central Asia after two years of delays.

Paris Club lenders seem likely to allow Indonesia to reschedule payment on debt and interests totalling US$3 billion when they meet in April. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank also praised the government for its tight macro- economic policy.

Mr Kour Nam Tiang, director of auto-giant Astra International, said: "We are cautiously optimistic. Rupiah stability is good for investments, IMF support is also key." But then he added: "Of course, the business community would love the government to do things faster. But we understand it's better to go slow than to rush and have things backfire."

Mr Jan Van Heeswijk, country director for Asian Development Bank, said: "We see positive developments, but there is little prospect the economy can regain the potential for rapid growth experienced before the crisis. The government has to do more on some key issues to see sustainable recovery."

Others remain less optimistic, pointing out some crippling problems, like a huge debt burden and high unemployment, that the government has barely begun to tackle. Government debt, at US$135.7 billion, is just under 90 per cent of the country's yearly output. This year's budget earmarks more than US$13 billion, around 40 per cent of all expenditures, for debt payments.

Professor Sri Adiningsih of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said: "That's the money that could be used for development. If Jakarta can't figure out how to reduce its debt, it will haunt us for years to come."

There are now some 40 million unemployed people in the country, and that number balloons each year, as projected growth of 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent is insufficient to cope with the number of new entrants to the labour market.

Mr Thee Kian Wie of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Lipi) said: "The economy is not growing fast enough for creating new jobs. This is yet another reason the country is not on a sustainable path towards recovery.'

The government's progress on anti-poverty, anti-corruption and legal reforms also came under fire. Mr Van Heeswijk said: "The government still needs to show more commitment to these governance issues, as they are crucial to improving economic performance."

Ms Adiningsih agreed: "There is growing dissatisfaction with the Megawati government. The people continue to see corruption at the highest levels of politics, while the real situations at ground level deteriorate. Lack of improvement on the economy will affect political stability, especially with political parties already preparing and bickering ahead of the 2004 elections."

The good news

  • The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) met its 2001 asset-sale target of 27 trillion rupiah (S$5.1 billion).
  • Rupiah stable at around 10,200 to US$1 (S$1.84).
  • Government still projects growth of 4 per cent for 2002.
  • International Monetary Fund and the World Bank back Jakarta's tight macro-economic programme.
  • Ibra's plans to sell several key banks this year, including Bank Central Asia and Bank Niaga, could boost investor confidence and the rupiah.
  • Stock market has grown by 12 per cent so far this year as foreign players buy into Indonesian blue-chip shares.

The bad news

  • Foreign debt of US$71.4 billion and domestic debt of US$64.3 billion cost 40 per cent of all government expenditures this year to service.
  • Exports fell by nearly 10 per cent to US$56.03 billion in 2001.
  • Inflation of 14.42 per cent, year on year, in January, making life more difficult for the poor.
  • Forty million jobless, over half of 210-million population vulnerable to poverty.
  • Growth of 4 per cent creates around 1.6 million new jobs, but this is not enough for the estimated three million new job seekers who enter the labour market each year.

US firms show interest in Indonesia

Straits Times - February 14, 2002

Jakarta -- American businessmen indicated an interest in investing in Indonesia at a meeting here on Tuesday.

Among the 20 members of the US-Indonesian Business Council who met the country's economic ministers were companies like ExxonMobil Indonesia, Motorola and New York Life Insurance.

They were particularly interested in four sectors: energy and power; telecommunications; transportation; and agriculture and fisheries, the Tempo news magazine reported yesterday, quoting Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahur.

He also said that the businessmen had asked the government to reduce taxes and to include pro-business elements in implementing the regional autonomy plan.

His remarks came a day before the International Monetary Fund called for a "clear strategy" from the Indonesian government to recover loans worth billions of dollars extended to save the country's banks.

IMF wants clear strategy to recover loans from banks

Agence France Presse - February 13, 2002

Jakarta -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) called Wednesday for a "clear strategy" from the Indonesian government to recover loans worth billions of dollars which were extended to save the country's banks.

It said a visiting IMF team led by Daniel Citrin, the senior Asia-Pacific adviser, had held talks with authorities on the need to improve the recovery of funds from "shareholder settlements" with the banks' former owners.

"The team looks forward to the government developing a clear strategy on this matter, recognising its importance for fiscal recoveries," the IMF said in a statement. "In this regard, strengthening compliance as well as securing legal certainty for both government and former bank owners must be integral elements of the strategy."

The fund is coordinating a five billion-dollar aid package for Indonesia in return for broad economic reforms. Bank Indonesia, the central bank, between 1998 and 1999 injected some 144.5 trillion rupiah (now 14.3 billion dollars) in emergency liquidity to banks suffering from the financial crisis that began in mid- 1997.

But a report by the state Supreme Audit Agency in August 2000 concluded more than 95 percent of the funds had been misused. Only a fraction has since been returned to state coffers and assets pledged as collateral are worth only a fraction of total loans.

The government is considering a controversial plan to extend the repayment period for debtors to 10 years from four. Most debtors have yet to make a single repayment three-and-a-half years into their agreements with the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), and the agency said it has mostly been on the losing side of litigation against large delinquent debtors.

The IMF said Indonesia's macroeconomic policy is in line with the targets set out in their lending deal and inflation should slow to single digits by year-end. It said the 2001 state budget deficit was contained within the target of 3.7 percent of gross domestic product.

The IMF said January's cut in fuel subsidies was an important step towards achieving the 2002 budget goals. The fund said progress towards structural reforms, particularly with regard to privatisations and asset sales, was also heartening.

It said it was looking forward to the sales of assets of Bank Central Asia and Bank Niaga by IBRA to enhance the investment environment and reinvigorate banking.

Government foreign debt 71.4 billion dollars at end-2001

Agence France Presse - February 11, 2002

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government's foreign debt totalled 71.4 billion dollars at the end of last year, top economics minister Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said Monday.

He said government overseas debt amounted to 58.3 billion dollars and Bank Indonesia, the central bank, had foreign debts of 13.1 billion. Kuntjoro-Jakti, speaking after a cabinet meeting, said the government's domestic debt stood at 659 trillion rupiah (64.3 billion dollars.)

"The foreign debt is loans taken out by the government to cover the deficit of more than 30 years and especially to finance the construction of infrastructure which needs large investment funds," Kuntjoro-Jakti said.

The domestic debt, he said was mostly to finance efforts to revive and recapitalise the banking sector which was crippled by the economic crisis that struck the country from mid-1997.

Kuntjoro-Jakti said the cabinet discussed management of the country's debt and policies to address it. Among priorities were the gradual lowering of the budget deficit until a balanced budget is reached in 2004, the lowering of the ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) to 60 percent by 2004, cautious new borrowing and raising of more tax and non-tax revenue.

Vice President Hamzah Haz said last week the country must pay debt interest of some 9.7 billion dollars a year. "Had this country been a company, we would have gone bankrupt," Haz said at the time. "It is more difficult to manage domestic debt than foreign debt," said Kuntjoro-Jakti, adding that interest on domestic debt accounts for about 3.5 percent of GDP.

Kuntjoro-Jakti said the government was in talks with Paris Club creditors over rescheduling the country's debts and was confident approval would be given in the forthcoming April meeting. "Based on our previous experience and preliminary talks with Paris Club creditors, the government is confident that the results of the Paris Club meeting will be in accordance with [the government's] expectation and plan," he said.

State Enterprise Minister Laksamana Sukardi said domestic debts would be repaid through the sales of assets held by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, through privatisation and -- after 2004 -- through a possible budget surplus.


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