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Indonesia News Digest Number 13 - March 22-28, 2004

Aceh

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 Aceh

Half-hearted sanctuary

Tempo Magazine - March 23-29, 2004

A barbed-wire fence and steel gate stand in the way of Fatimah Ali (not her real name) in Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

For two days, this mother of two from Bireuen, North Aceh, has been trying to make her way through to the other side. Her two boys, both under five, stumble while trying to keep up with their mother's stride. Every time the gate squeals open, this

34-year-old rapidly approaches. However, as of the last Thursday of February, she has been unsuccessful in her attempts. "I must come again tomorrow," she said while wiping the sweat from her brow.

That day, the door of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office was closed. The problem is, the office's courtyard is packed full with Acehnese. More than 100 of them gather in a special tent, eagerly waiting to be issued temporary protection letters.

With such a letter, an Acehnese refugee may set up temporary residence in Malaysia. The condition: follow the local laws and do not commit any crimes. The UNHCR issues the letter to Acehnese who are stranded in Malaysia on account of avoiding armed conflict. Over the past six months, the number of Acehnese seeking asylum in Malaysia has continued to increase.

"The number has increased drastically since last May," said Stephane Jacquemet, a UNHCR spokesperson in Kuala Lumpur, to Tempo. Up until the end of last January, said Stephane, her office has issued about 3,200 protection letters for Acehnese refugees. Even so, until last weekend, others were still lined up in the office's courtyard.

According to data from the UNHCR, since the Indonesian government declared a state of military emergency in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, last May, many Acehnese have fled to Malaysia. This neighboring country has long been known as a "transit area" for fighters from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). But now the situation is different. Most of these refugees are ordinary people who could not endure the pressure of living in a war zone. "Civilians affected by the impact of conflict have a right to our protection," said Stephane.

The number of refugees from Aceh is increasing daily. A number of human rights advocate organizations in Malaysia estimate that about 20,000 people have fled from Aceh during the military emergency period. These refugees have subsequently spread all over the Malay peninsula. "It is a rough estimate," said Lukman Age, an activist from Penang Support for Aceh, an organization that conducts research and advocacy on its "emergency guests" from Aceh.

Scattered throughout the Malaysian provinces-the majority being in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Penang-the refugees form a sort of Acehnese diaspora in Malaysia. According to Penang Support, in addition to these three main regions, the refugees are spread throughout Kedah, Malaka, Perlis, Selangor, Kelantan, and Pahang. They have arrived through a number of channels, both legal and illegal.

Interestingly enough, the "profile" of the refugees has changed. Take a look at last month's data from Penang Support, which has done research on Acehnese refugees in the region from where this organization takes its namesake.

From 1,200 Acehnese refugees in Penang, it turns out that about 64 percent are 21-30 years of age. This means that most of them are still young, and fled due to being caught in the middle of military operations. "The situation in their hometowns is quite dangerous," said Lukman Age, who is also a researcher at the Science University of Malaysia (USM). In tracking down some of the refugees in Penang, Tempo discovered some stories that were representative of the data cited.

Here is the tale of Asrul Amin (not his real name): "My parents sold livestock so that I could come here," he said. Asrul is a youth from Barat Layang, a small border town in Matang Glumpang Dua, North Aceh. He has not yet reached 21 years old. He was forced to flee because his parents were worried that a TNI (Indonesian Military) raid would arrest the town's youth. The problem is, said Asrul, "GAM even hung about my home."

His family could not evade the fact that a number of the guerillas were their relatives. So, they gave food and drink to the rebels. Asrul even escorted them to the edge of the village forest. However, after that, his parents became afraid. "They ordered me to flee to Malaysia," he said. Moreover, during military operations, all youths who had ever had contact with GAM were questioned from noon until night.

In his hometown, the TNI have caught many youths because they gave food or other assistance to GAM. Harrowing tales of torture during the interrogations began to spread. Asrul said that, after being arrested, some residents never returned home again. Those who did come home were always wounded and had bruised faces.

This is what haunts the youth there. Whereas, said Asrul, town residents only helped GAM because they were forced to. They were afraid of being accused of being spies for the TNI. "We are always in the wrong," he said. So now Asrul and thousands of other Acehnese youths suffering the same fate have gathered in Malaysia. "We are only going to stay away until the military emergency is over," he said.

Asrul had no intention of living abroad. He is also reluctant to wait in line for a letter of refugee protection from the UNHCR, because the UN office is far off in Kuala Lumpur. "I have an Indonesian passport," he said. The problem is, his official stay visa in Malaysia is only good for one month.

It seems that the refugees have their own methods when it comes to dealing with the situation. They have found a solution for the visa time limit.

"They cross the Malaysia-Thailand border to get an immigration stamp in their passports," said Lukman. With that stamp, their stay of residence is extended for another month. However, this cannot be done indefinitely. According to regulations, this can only be done for three months. After that, there is no other recourse. Even if they have a passport, they must obtain refugee status from the UNHCR.

On top of that, the Malaysian government only recognizes those who arrive with official documents, including temporary refugee status from the UNHCR.

Aside from that, without official documents, they are all considered illegal immigrants. "Without exception," said Dato' Hamidon Ali, Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia, to Tempo, on Thursday of last week. The issuing of refugee status, he said, is fully the responsibility of the UN.

Malaysia's position on the matter of Acehnese refugees has indeed been half-hearted. Despite there being protective status from the UN, Malaysia often sends home Acehnese refugees who are caught by officials there. A local lawyer, Ahmad Shabrimi bin Mohamed Sidek, calls this situation "law that does not take sides." By this he means that Malaysia did not sign the Geneva Convention of 1951 on refugees.

Therefore, refugee cases are always entwined with illegal arrivals. If the case makes it to court, for instance, the judge will make charges under the article on illegal immigrants. "We always face difficulties in court," said Ahmad Shabrimi, who diligently defends Acehnese refugees in Malaysia. In Penang, as was witnessed by Tempo, the arrest of Acehnese still continues. Although some of them show their "sacred" UN document, the police still haul them off.

A police inspector in the Barat Daya Police Region did not want to give a detailed explanation of the matter. "We have to round up illegal immigrants," he said succinctly. Misfortune is the lot of Acehnese without official documents, unless they have a letter from the UN. In this case, the inspector whispered, "The police can look the other way." What he meant was that bearers of the letter can go free if they are picked up by UN staff.

For that reason, even if they have a passport, many Acehnese prefer lining up to obtain the letter in Kuala Lumpur. It is the Indonesian government that has voiced remorse on this state of affairs. According to Marty Natalegawa, a spokesperson from the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs, the Acehnese who ask for protection are none other than those who have already long taken up residence in Malaysia. Therefore, he said, there is no strong reason for them to ask for sanctuary. "Let's hope that the UN is not being used by GAM," he said.

[Nezar Patria (Kuala Lumpur), Faisal Assegaf (Tempo News Room).]

An enclave of misery

Tempo - March 23-29, 2004

Nezar Patria, Kuala Lumpur -- A wooden boat stealthily approached a beach near Port Klang in Malaysia at the end of last February. As night descended upon the quiet coastline, the thin fog and the light drizzle seemed to be offering a reassuring sense of peace and security to Hamdun (not his real name).

Hamdun, 41, had come from a village in Bireun, North Aceh. The man with a dark complexion then slowly made his way from the stern to a deck below. Crammed into the belly of the vessel- locally known as pong-pong-were 20 men. They had been there for almost two nights.

They were Acehnese refugees. They had sailed from Tanjung Balai in North Sumatra crossing the Strait of Malacca with one destination in mind: Malaysia. "We will all die if we continue to live in our villages," Hamdun recounted his plight to Tempo. These refugees were one of the groups in the wave of refugees fleeing Aceh since martial law and a military offensive was launched to fight the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) nine months ago.

Hamdun, who used to work in a motorcycle repair shop, is not a member of GAM. He fled from his village because he had been unable to acquire the Red and White Identity Card specially issued to Acehnese residents by the martial law administrator. The reason was simple. He was away seeking his livelihood in Medan when Aceh was declared to be a military emergency area. When he returned, he was not registered as a resident of his village. "In fact, I was suspected as [a member of] GAM," Hamdun said. Also he had to report regularly to the local TNI post whenever there was a military raid or security check. So, Hamdun later decided to flee from this unpleasant ordeal.

He paid 800,000 rupiah to a tekong, a boat skipper, in Tanjung Balai for passage to Malaysia. Sailing with him in the 12-meter- long boat were 20 other Acehnese. All shared the same plight. In their respective villages they had been hunted down and suspected of being separatist rebels. Hamdun said the trip was really nerve wrecking. After sailing for one whole night they left Indonesian waters only to be trailed by a Malaysian naval patrol boat. "We hid in the belly of the boat," Hamdun said. Fortunately, they eventually landed safely at a beach in Port Klang.

His ordeal, however, did not automatically end after stepping onto Malaysian soil. Without a passport and other official papers, he had now become an illegal immigrant. Coming by "rot likot" (Acehnese for "back way"), as the refugees term their illegal entry, Hamdun had to deal with the Malaysian Police.

"I am waiting for the Surat Aceh [Aceh document]," he said. Surat Aceh is the term coined by the Acehnese refugees to describe the document issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur. The UNHCR document provides protection to the refugees granting them a temporary stay status.

At present thousands of people like Hamdun are found throughout Malaysia.

Under the UNHCR auspices, they are allowed to remain temporarily in Malaysia while Aceh remains under the emergency military status. However, the UNHCR is not able to provide for the needs of all the refugees. In order to survive they have to look for work in various fields of employment.

Many Acehnese are now involved in various professions as can be seen along Jalan Cow Kit and the Bukit Bintang business district in Kuala Lumpur. Not all of them are refugees. Some had actually settled and sought a livelihood in Malaysia. They work as managers, retailers or food stall owners. To these fortunate people usually the Acehnese refugees would turn to for support. "We help them by giving them jobs," said Razali a restaurant owner in Bukit Bintang.

But not all of the refugees could be absorbed in the business centers. Most of them work as laborers. Before they are employed, fellow refugees who already had jobs usually supported them. A strong esprit de corps prevails among these refugees. "Usually we depend on support of friends in the first month of living in Malaysia," said Syahrial, 35, who hails from Glumpang Minyeuk, Pidie.

He has been in Malaysia for eight months and works as a construction worker in the hilly area of Limau Manis, Putrajaya, some 30 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur.

With the presence of some 4,000 Acehnese workers, Limau Manis has become an area with the largest number of Acehnese workers in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Syahrial, Acehnese workers can also be found in new suburbs around Kuala Lumpur including Cyberjaya, Srimuda, Paya Jirah, Sungai Buloh, and other areas in the state of Selangor. As a construction worker, Syahrial earns between RM30 to RM40 a day.

The community of Acehnese in Limau Manis leads a modest lifestyle living in makeshift quarters. Regular living quarters provided by construction companies in the Putrajaya area are inadequate to house all the workers and the refugees.

The construction site in the semi-forested area of Limau Manis now looks more like an Acehnese hamlet. Makeshift huts have been built at the edge of the forest and Acehnese coffee and eateries have sprung up in the area. The Acehnese community here still continue to converse in Acehnese with a thick Malaysian accent. A number of elevated small roofed wooden structures used as resting places and for performing the five daily prayers-known as rangkang in Acehnese-have also been built. All these are makeshift structures using tree trunks as supporting beams and tarpaulin as roofing material. "You are not allowed to erect permanent buildings in the area," Syahrial explained.

Hasan Ali, an Acehnese worker in Limau Manis, said the Malaysian government does not allow migrant workers to erect buildings. Those seeking accommodation in homes would have to rent them from the local people living in the surrounding area. "To rent a house that can be turned into an eatery, a person would have to pay rent of RM400 a month," said Mali who hails from Idi, East Aceh and runs an eatery there. He has been in the area for more than a year.

Mali left his village in Aceh last May when the peace talks bogged down.

However, Bukit Limau cannot be said to be an entirely peaceful area. The police have continued to monitor activities going on in the area. According to Hasan Mali, security apparatus raided the area last September and arrested around 200 Acehnese who were taken into custody at a local police station.

Those who escaped the raid hid in the surrounding forests. Hasan said many refugees who never suspected there would be a raid suffered trauma from this incident. "We were rounded up just like people suffering from leprosy," Hasan remarked.

The police have become a frightening scourge to Acehnese refugees, especially to those who have no formal documents. Refugees who are rounded up are arrested and then held in custody at the Lenggeng camp in Negeri Sembilan or the Semenyih camp in Selangor. "Sometimes they can escape arrest by bribing their way through," Syahrial said. Yet this illegal practice depends a great deal on the mentality of the security personnel involved. At times, they refuse to accept money. "In such circumstances, arrested refugees can only expect hell."

Hell? Hell being the most frightful penalty: sent back to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The Acehnese refugees in Malaysia will do anything as long as they are not repatriated home to their villages in Aceh. In the current conflict situation in Aceh, arriving home with no clear identity could spell dire consequences. "TNI are suspicious of those coming home from Malaysia," said Gani Rahman, speaking under a false name. The 34-year-old Acehnese refugee from Matang Glumpang Dua has been working in Limau Manis for the past six months.

Not all the arrested Acehnese refugees are sent back home to Aceh. In this regard Gani had a unique experience. He was once arrested by the police and repatriated to Tanjung Balai. He was not repatriated to Aceh because he has a passport. He was just charged with breaking the law and immigration authorities confiscated his passport. Eventually he found himself free and after living in Medan for a short period of time he made up his mind. "I set out to look for a pong-pong and return to Malaysia" Gani said.

Fears that Aceh elections will not be democratic

Detik.com - March 27, 2004

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta -- The elections in Aceh will not be delayed, but its implementation will be dependent on the security situation. There are fears however that the elections in Aceh will not be conducted in a democratic manner.

This view was put forward by National Elections Commission (KPU) member Mulyana W. Kusumah in a discussion titled "Elections in Conflict Areas" at the Hotel Sari Pan Pacific in Central Jakarta on Tuesday March 26.

"With regard to preparations for the elections in Aceh, it is just the same as in other parts of the country. But in determining the location of polling stations [we] must work jointly with the military because it [has] to be in accordance with the security situation in each area", said Kusumah.

He added that secondary elections would not be held in Aceh except if on Day 5 there are areas which have not yet received election logistics. "If that occurs, the KPU will immediately put together a decree on a secondary election. But in formulating this decree the KPU will consult with the Constitutional Court so that no legal problems occur", he continued.

At the same occasion meanwhile, the director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), Rachland Nasidik, stated that he believes that in legal terms the elections in Aceh will be legitimate. However he is convinced that the elections will not be run democratically, bearing in mind the contradictions which exist under a state of martial law.

"At the moment in Aceh there is a situation were there is a disaccord between voter's rights to participate in the elections and their legal rights which are being restricted by the military authorities", said Rachland.

Rachland also predicted that the majority of voters in Aceh will vote for parties which are campaigning for the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia or parties which are close to the military. This is bearing in mind the pressure which the public is coming under from the military. (ani)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Law enforcement in Aceh not working

Kompas - March 27, 2004

Jakarta, Kompas -- The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) is of the view that law enforcement in Aceh since a state of martial law was declared is not working. This follows large number of cases of abductions of civilians who are believed to be members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) where there was no clear evidence but their cases were still tried by the courts.

At a press conference on Friday March 26, PBHI chairperson Hendardi said that PBHI had found 43 violations of law enforcement which had occurred in Banda Aceh, the Greater Aceh regency and the city of Lhokseumawe between May 2003 and February 2004.Z

"We found a great many [cases of] arrests which were not carried out by police officers, which were made without written arrest warrants and then during interrogation they were invariably tortured", said Hendardi.

No positive impact

According to Hendardi, the kind of law enforcement which has been applied under a state of martial law against the civilian population represented a form of mass law enforcement through political stigmatisation. Anyone he continued, who has been stigmatized as a member or sympathiser of GAM, can become a target of law enforcement operations, and are inevitably convicted even though there is no supporting evidence.

With this kind of law enforcement said Hendardi, it is extremely difficult to hope that law enforcement operations will have a positive impact on advancing peace and justice, especially for the civilian population in Aceh.

PHBI secretary general, Johnson Panjaitan, explained that although the number of law enforcement violations which are being handled by PBHI are small, only 43 cases, these cases are actually being handled directly and being checked in the field. As many of 14 out of these are being processed in the courts.

"If there are other parties who say that [there has been] hundreds of cases [of violations] of law enforcement, we cannot determine if this is valid or whether the data has been checked in the field", said Panjaitan. (SIE)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Seven GAM members killed in gun battle

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2004

East Aceh -- Seven members of the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and two Indonesian soldiers were killed on Friday after an armed clash on Tateh mountain in East Aceh regency. The two dead soldiers are First Pvt. Heroik and First Pvt. Hartono, both from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

"Another soldier was injured in the incident -- First Sgt. Solikhin," said Lt. Col. Asep Sapari, a spokesman for the Indonesian military's (TNI) Aceh operation command.

The remains of the two soldiers were removed to command headquarters in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh regency. Heroik had been shot in the chest, while Hartono had been hit in the leg. From Lhokseumawe, their remains were taken to Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, before being transported back to their respective hometowns for burial.

The incident began when a group of 20 soldiers from Kopassus patrolling on the mountain came across a group of 10 GAM members.

A gun battle immediately erupted and continued for an hour, leaving the two Kopassus soldiers and seven GAM members dead. The remaining GAM members fled the scene. The TNI says the soldiers managed to recover six rifles and 12 magazines.

The Kopassus patrol was part of the current massive military operation underway in the troubled province of Aceh, where martial law has been imposed by the government since May last year.

Acehnese indifferent to general elections

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2004

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh -- The situation in Aceh Nanggroe Darussalam at present is calmer than it has been in recent months, but it is not really very different from other days aside from the thousands of party flags fluttering in Banda Aceh during the political campaign period.

Only a handful of people have attended campaign rallies and not many parties are capable, or willing, to stage major rallies here. Representatives of several parties have opted to campaign "door-to-door", citing reasons of safety and lack of funds.

Campaigns are usually livened up by teenage boys hoping to get free T-shirts.

Around 100 or so party sympathizers were seen lazing around at a "campaign event". "No matter who gets elected, our fate will remain unchanged," Amri, a roadside vendor at the market here, bemoaned.

He admitted that he had no interest in the campaign. He carries on with his daily business until the evening, says his evening prayers at the Baiturrahman Grand mosque and returns home to Darussalam district, 12 kilometers from the market.

He still has not decided whether he will even vote this year. "But if they make me vote, I'll just follow along, rather than running into problems because of it," said the father of two.

Rosni, 24, a student at Abulyatama University in Banda Aceh, feels the same. "To be honest I haven't even paid attention to the voting procedures," she said.

She lives outside of the capital in an area considered to be a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Although she says she does not support GAM, she said none of the national parties matched her aspirations either.

"But we still have to go to the polls as we have been registered as voters. We'll just punch the ballot papers. We'll be considered GAM supporters if we don't vote," she explained.

Like Amri and Rosni, most people in Aceh generally just want to be on the safe side.

Based on data from the Provincial Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of eligible voters in Aceh is 2,476,533 people. The total population is approximately 4 million. The eligible voter figure obtained was not based on house-to-house surveys as it was in other provinces, but based on family registration cards kept on file in subdistrict offices in Aceh.

BPS officials admitted that it was too risky to conduct surveys in many areas after several of its surveyors had been physically abused by armed groups.

Many people say they do not even know whether they are eligible to vote.

As far as civic education, district heads, district police and military commanders have been directly involved in election education sessions in most villages. However, the education generally consists of simply encouraging villagers to go to the polls.

As the election nears, rumor has it that anyone found not voting will have to deal directly with Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers, and be branded a GAM sympathizer. In areas where GAM's influence is particularly strong, the impression is that people are even more "squeezed" between GAM and the TNI.

In those areas, GAM intimidation is said to be strong. For instance, in North Aceh Sawang district, mockingly dubbed "GAM's Cilangkap" (TNI's headquarters is in Cilangkap, East Jakarta), subdistrict leaders complained of intimidation after they tried to recruit residents to become election security volunteers.

"Village heads were forced to stay in district offices as they were afraid to return to their villages," said Sawang district head, Abdul Bari.

The situation ahead of the April 5 legislative election is worsened by the fact that violations by political parties seem to go undetected by the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu).

There was no action taken after there were reports of a TNI member who allegedly forced village heads in the Aceh Jaya area to support a specific party.

Then there was the case of how former refugees from Pusong Kapai village in East Aceh, who were not known to be members of any party suddenly, en masse, acquired new Golkar Party membership cards -- long before the other parties began elucidating their platforms to woo members during the campaign period, which started on March 11.

The Committee officials claimed they had not received reports on irregularities. "We'll just see on April 5 whether forceful means were used or not," Syamsul, a North Aceh Panwaslu member, told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesia cuts access to war torn region ahead of vote

Associated Press - March 25, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesia has increased restrictions on foreign journalists trying to visit war torn Aceh province ahead of April parliamentary elections, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

As part of a lengthy bureaucratic process, reporters will now have to submit six different documents, including a recommendation letter from the general electoral commission, before the military will issue a permit.

"We have to know that the reporters have a clear purpose there. This is so the military can protect them," said Marti Natalegawa, a foreign ministry spokesman.

Foreign correspondents have complained that onerous press rules have made it all but impossible for them to visit the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, where government troops are engaged in a major crackdown on separatist rebels.

Over 50,000 soldiers and police are reportedly participating in the campaign launched last May, after the government pulled out of an internationally mediated peace process and imposed martial law in the independence-minded province of 4.1 million people.

Human rights organizations have alleged that the security forces have committed numerous rights abuses, including extrajudicial murders, torture, rape and other crimes.

Journalists who do go to Aceh are barred from visiting areas held by the Free Aceh Movement and must provide a list of the towns they will visit to the security forces.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said the restrictions were originally imposed after journalists reported on widespread abuses in the early days of the offensive.

At least 1,500 people have died in the operation. Rights activists say most of them have been unarmed civilians caught up in army raids.

The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting for an independent homeland in Aceh, 1,750 kilometers northwest of Jakarta, since 1976, during which at least 12,000 people have died.

Former Aceh rebel negotiator jailed for two years

Agence France Presse - March 23, 2004

Jakarta -- A court in Indonesia's Aceh province on Tuesday jailed a former separatist rebel ceasefire negotiator for two years for subversion.

Judge Erry Mustanto said Alfi Shahril Fil bin Syafruddin, 26, was guilty of plotting to secede from Indonesia, the state Antara news agency reported.

Fil, a former member of the Joint Security Committee which oversaw a brief truce between the rebels and the government, said he would not appeal the sentence. It was one year lighter than prosecutors wanted.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting for independence since 1976. A ceasefire, monitored by both sides and by foreign military officers, went into force in December 2002 but broke down five months later.

In May 2003 the government declared martial law and launched an all-out assault to wipe out the rebels. Courts in Aceh have jailed several former GAM negotiators since then.

Troops kill two suspected rebels in Aceh province

Agence France Presse - March 22, 2004

Banda Aceh -- Government troops shot dead two suspected separatists in more clashes in restive Aceh province, the military said Monday, while accusing the rebels of killing a teenaged girl.

The suspected Free Aceh ovement (GAM) rebels were shot dead during a clash Saturday in Pasi Merapa, South Aceh district, Capt. Chandra said.

One hand gun and several bullets were found on the dead rebels, the Aceh military spokesman said. Chandra said the military also believed that GAM rebels were involved in the shooting to death of a 13-year-old girl.

Around 10 men shot the girl in her home in Darul Makmur, Nagan Raya district, late Friday, he said. The motive was unknown.

In other violence, rebels wounded a parliamentary candidate for the April elections in Lampanah, Aceh Besar district, by slashing him with a machete Sunday, police Sr. Commr. Sayed Husainy said. There was no immediate comment from GAM.

 West Papua

ICG warns of imminent ethnic conflict in Papua

Radio Australia - March 25, 2004

A leading Indonesia analyst says Jakarta has grossly mishandled the troubled province of Papua, and now seems to be stepping back to watch it disintegrate.

Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell

Speakers: Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asia director, the International Crisis Group

Dobell: Sidney Jones says the core fear of the Indonesian Government is that any concessions to Papua will encourage separatists. This means Jakarta puts all its effort into weakening any institution which could foster Papuan nationalism, rather than strengthening local government to deliver services.

Jones: Of all of the issues confronting the Indonesian governnment, there isn't a single one a the moment that is as sensitive as Papua; not Aceh, not decentralisation, certainly not terrorism and certainly not the elections. There's no area of the country that is in more need of good governance, and no part of the country that is less likely to get it. I don't think there's anywhere in Indonesia where the policies of the Megawati government have been so misguided, or criticism of them so unwelcome, particularly from non-Indonesians.

Dobell: During the previous Wahid Presidency, the province got a series of concessions -- special automony, a People's Council, and a new name, Papua rather than Irian Jaya. Sidney Jones says President Megawati has attacked special autonomy as a potential engine for the independence movement. In a Presidential instruction, issued in January, last year, Megawati divided Papua into three provinces. Even though Indonesia's new Constitutional Court is still rule on whether the decree is legal, Ms Jones says special autonomy is now dead. She says the creation of 14 lower- level district administrations across Papua has divided the people because of the struggle for potential power, budgets and contracts.

Jones: This whole process seemed to send a signal that was effectively saying to the Papuans: OK, it's all yours, we're going to sit back and we're going to watch the place disintegrate. This may not be what is happening; it's certainly what the understanding of Jakarta's intention towards the Papuans is inside Papua. Corruption and nepotism are also so bad in some of these new districts that one of the Bupatis [District chiefs] has been accused of embezzling almost the entire budget. And one of the local district Parliamentarians said to me: "It's gotten so bad we're almost beginning to think it was better when we were colonised by Javanese."

Dobell: Sidney Jones says the fragmentation of Papua at the district level raises the danger of ethnic conflict. She says the Megawati government seems oblivious to the damage it's inflicting and in Papua the level of distrust and suspicion towards Jakarta is higher than ever.

JONES: Papua is not going to become the next East Timor, nor is it going to become the next Aceh, nrt is it going to be a place that produces a massive outflow of refugees. But the divide and rule tactics are going to produce a certain level of misery for some time to come.

 Land/rural issues

Second team flies to Flores on riot probe

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2004

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang -- The National Police have sent another team to further investigate the recent shooting incident in Manggarai regency on the eastern island of Flores, which killed five people and injured 28 others.

"Today [Thursday], the three-member team from the National Police arrived in Kupang. They will gather additional data in Manggarai," East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said.

He said they will join the fact-finding team from the East Nusa Tenggara Police who were still in Ruteng, the capital of Manggarai, to probe the March 10 incident.

Aritonang, speaking after attending Thursday's swearing-in ceremony of Kupang Regent Agustinus Medah and his deputy Ruben Funay, declined to release the results of the first investigation by the National Police team into the riot.

"I'm waiting for information from the National Police chief. The team must report to him, not me," Aritonang said. However, he said that an investigation by his team showed that the Manggarai Police had complied with standard procedures in the fatal shooting. "Based on the result of our field investigation, the police fired shots to defend themselves and the families of those attacked by a mob," he added.

The violence erupted when a number of police personnel opened fire on around 400 villagers who stormed the Manggarai Police Precinct in Ruteng to demand the release of seven villagers arrested at the police detention center.

The police station was also badly damaged in the incident.

According to the preliminary investigation, the police opened fire because the villagers had run amok and had attacked police personnel who were in the backyard of the police station. The attackers were mostly coffee growers who were barred from planting coffee in a disputed protected forest.

Meanwhile, Manggarai Regent Anthonius Bagul Dagur rejected widespread demands that he be held responsible for the mayhem. "Why should I take the blame when it was other people who did that," he said. He accused certain people of provoking the villagers to occupy the land and storm the police station. Anthonius did not name the parties he suspected of being behind the villagers actions.

A number of non-governmental organizations blamed the incident on the regent because he barred locals from farming in the forest and ordered the police to arrest seven farmers, the owners of a coffee plantation in the forest. They argued that the regent was wrong in barring them from farming because the forest belonged to the local communities before it was declared a nature reserve.

Police have named at least 14 suspects, all civilians, in the incident. It was not clear why no police officers were charged in the deaths, but the district police chief in Ruteng was replaced and interrogated by the National Police team. National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar has warned that he would take strong action if any police personnel had violated procedures in handling the incident.

 'War on terrorism'

Letter: Bashir is Indonesia terror chief

Associated Press - March 26, 2004

Steven Gutkin, Jakarta -- Indonesian police have obtained a letter that allegedly identifies jailed militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir as the leader of the al Qaida-linked terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, a senior intelligence official said Friday.

The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, described the letter as sufficient evidence to bring fresh terror charges against the cleric, who is soon to be released from prison despite protests by Washington and other foreign governments.

Indonesian police, however, declined to comment. They said no decision had been made on reopening the case against Bashir, who is doing time for minor offenses after being cleared by Indonesia's court system of earlier treason and terror counts.

Speaking by phone from his Jakarta jail cell, Bashir branded the letter, which was dated four years ago, as a fake that contained "lies concocted by America." The intelligence official said the letter was found last year. It was signed by two senior Jemaah Islamiyah members, now in custody, and refers to Bashir as "emir," or leader of the Southeast Asian terror network blamed for several terror attacks, including the 2002 Bali bombings.

"Police have confiscated a very important document that proves that Abu Bakar Bashir is the true leader of Jemaah Islamiyah," the official said. "It's enough evidence to give Bashir a new trial."

Bashir is set to be released April 30 after serving 18 months for immigration violations, according to his lawyers. His three-year sentence was cut in half earlier this year on appeal. Outside governments, including Australia and the United States, claim he has no right to go free and that his release could incite further violence.

The intelligence official said he hoped that publicizing the letter would increase pressure on Indonesia to reopen Bashir's case.

However, Brig. Gen. Sunarko Danu Ardanto, deputy national police spokesman, said police have not yet decided whether to bring new charges. "We are still studying the information and compiling more evidence that can support the allegations," Sunarko said.

Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for both the October 2002 nightclub bombings on the island of Bali that killed 202 people and the August 2003 bombing of the Jakarta Marriott that killed 12.

The intelligence official said the US and Australian ambassadors met Friday with Indonesia's security minister to request that the case against Bashir be reopened to prevent his release.

Spokesmen at each embassy confirmed that the meeting took place but declined to provide details. The official said the security minister, Hari Sabarno, promised the case would be reopened if sufficient evidence could be obtained but offered no guarantee.

The intelligence official told AP the letter had been sent by two alleged militants who are currently detained in Indonesia: Mustafa, said to be a top Jemaah Islamiyah operative who had trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and his Malaysian deputy, Nasir Abbas.

He said the letter was written from a militant training camp in the southern Philippines under an organization calling itself the Islamic Military Academy. He said the document provided information on the condition of trainees at the camp. Bashir was defiant when he talked with the AP by phone from prison on Friday. "The Indonesian intelligence are all lackeys of America, who will buy off anyone with their dollars," he said. "I have never received the letter. I have never heard of the military academy in the Philippines."

Separately, Ansyaad Mbai, who heads the counterterrorism desk at Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, said Friday that terrorists in Indonesia are plotting new attacks to disrupt parliamentary elections set for April 5.

His comments follow similar warnings from top Indonesian officials after police confiscated explosive material and arrested more than two dozen people near Jakarta last weekend following a small blast at a house allegedly being used to host bomb-making classes. No one was injured.

Enough evidence to reopen case against militant cleric

Associated Press - March 26, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesian police have enough evidence to bring new charges against jailed militant cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is scheduled to be released from prison next month, a senior intelligence official said on Friday.

Police recently discovered a letter signed by two senior militants of the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asia terror network Jamaah Islamiyah that addresses Bashir as the network's "emir," or leader, the official told The Associated Press on condition that his name not be used.

"Police have confiscated a very important document that proves that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is the true leader of Jamaah Islamiyah," he said. "It's enough evidence to give Bashir a new trial." Ba'asyir is set to be released April 30 after serving his 18- month sentence for immigration violations, according to his lawyers. But foreign governments, especially Australia and the US, claim he has no right to go free, and that his release could incite further violence. Jamaah Islamiyah was blamed for both the October 2002 nightclub bombings on the island of Bali that killed 202 people and the August 2003 bombing of the Jakarta Marriott that killed 12.

The intelligence official said the US and Australianambassadors met on Friday with Indonesia's security minister to request that the case against Ba'asyir be reopened in order to prevent his release.

Spokesmen at each embassy confirmed that the meeting took place but declined to provide details.

Anti-terror urged watch after bomb-makers arrested

Agence France Presse - March 23, 2004

Jakarta's governor has urged residents to be on guard against terror attacks as Indonesia heads towards next month's elections.

The warning came as police continued to question a group of Muslim radicals arrested after they accidently caused an explosion in their house in a Jakarta suburb during a bomb-making class.

"The incident in Depok should be a warning that there are still terrorists around us and this cannot be handled by the [security] apparatus alone," Governor Sutiyoso told reporters after a meeting at city police headquarters. "There is a need to be on alert against terror actions that are done to scuttle the elections."

A blast during a bomb-making class on Sunday blew the roof off a house in Depok on the southern outskirts of Jakarta. Police detained at least nine suspects and say they plan to charge them under the country's anti-terror law.

ElShinta news radio said three more people, including a woman, have now been detained in addition to the nine. Police could not be reached for comment.

Police said one device exploded accidentally as a group of men were practising bomb-making at the back of the house while at the front, their wives were engaged in a Koranic recital.

Jakarta police chief, Inspector General Makbul Padmanegara, said the group was preparing bombs to battle enemies of Islam.

Nine metal tubes, parts of a detonator and timer, and potassium chlorate and sulphur -- the same chemicals used for the Bali bombings -- were found at the scene.

Indonesia has suffered a spate of bombings, the most recent of which have been blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), including the Bali nightclub attack which killed 202 people in October 2002 and the Marriott hotel bombing last August which killed 12 people The US State Department last Friday warned of possible further attacks linked to the April 5 general election.

Padmanegara has said police could not yet tie the nine people arrested this week to any particular group. But he said Monday that one of the suspects, Oman Rahman, had cautioned his relatives against visiting "dangerous" shopping malls in a letter confiscated by police.

Rahman also urged them not to take part in the general election which he called an "act that runs against the religion." Several newspapers criticised police for failing to detect the militant group earlier.

Padmanegara said its members in recent months conducted physical exercises and practised martial arts in fields in the area.

Local people interviewed by Tuesday's Jakarta Post said group's members, while polite, had little to do with their neighbours. They christened them "the black veil group" after the all- enveloping garments worn by the women.

Sutiyoso said isolated houses, or those with occupants who avoided their neighbours, could be used by terrorists. He said the people's participation, as the eyes and ears of the security forces, was important in fighting terrorism. "We cannot loosen our vigilance."

 Government & politics

'I'm not a patient person...': Megawati

Straits Times - March 27, 2004

The Straits Times Indonesia bureau chief Derwin Pereira spoke to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday on her administration's successes and her plans, if re-elected. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Q: What are the successes of your administration?

A: At the macro level, you can see that there is now political stability and a greater deal of security in the country. Many of the conflicts in trouble-prone areas have been resolved or are in the process of being sorted out.

Just look at what we are doing in Maluku, Kalimantan, Irian and also Aceh. Things have improved a lot in these areas. It all points to greater political stability in Indonesia.

Economically, we have also done well. The rupiah has recovered a lot of ground and stabilised, the stock exchange index does not fluctuate as badly as it did before and the disparities in income earned among our people are becoming much smaller.

Our economy has made significant progress when we compare it to previous years.

Q: If you are re-elected, what will be your programme for Indonesia and how different will it be from your current one?

A: Something that stands out for me over the last two years as President is my welfare programme for Indonesians. I am very proud of it but it is not 100 per cent complete.

I think we have now given people guarantees that we will look after their health, pension and even give protection to mothers and their children. They never had this before.

But this is a long-term goal of mine to improve the welfare of Indonesians. It will be my main target when I am in power again for the next five years. It is my priority.

I have plans to build a million houses for the poor. Government revenues have increased since I took over as President and we have funds to look after the poor.

If I am elected, my policies won't be very different from what I am pursuing now. We will continue to work on several programmes that we have already implemented. Welfare is one area. I am taking steps to improve other areas also.

For example, I set a moratorium on logging to give our forests a chance to live again. At the same time, I have also implemented programmes to help the fishing and agricultural industries.

Q: Several surveys show that you are the leading contender for the elections. Are you and your PDI-P party confident of winning the parliamentary and presidential election?

A: PDI-P is a unique party. We have planned for the elections this year since 2000.

Then, as chairman, I was selected to be the party's presidential candidate. We are not like many of the other parties which have yet to name a candidate.

Take Golkar as an example. Of course, they have a national convention. They have lined up several candidates but nothing has been decided yet. Well, maybe there is Amien Rais.

But PDI-P has been ready for this since 2000. I have been involved in politics since the end of 1985. I am ready for anything (laughs) and confident my party will do well.

Q: How well do you think the PDI-P will do in this election?

A: In the 2000 congress, several decisions were reached. Besides naming me as a presidential candidate, we also decided that we will win the 2004 election with a percentage tally that is 1 1/2 times more than what we achieved in the last elections. In 1999, we won about 34 per cent of the votes.

My confidence in the PDI-P is very high. Our structures down to the grassroots are ready for this election.

Q: There are some who say that you represent PDI-P and that without Ibu Mega, the party is nothing. Do you agree?

A: Not at all. It is not easy to establish a party. It is not dependent on any one individual. And we have to be realistic. I won't be active in the party forever. I will grow old one day (laughs). There is constant regeneration in the party to make sure that we get good cadres who are sympathetic and listen to people. There have been cases where I have been angry or acted against those who did not live up to my expectations. We have done away with some of them.

But I will tell you that many cadres we have are of good quality. They have been in the party long and can understand what people want.

Q: What do you think will be a winning coalition for you?

A: I have not decided which party to build a coalition with. Of course, there is a lot of speculation. Some say that the PDI-P will forge links with Golkar or PKB or with a group of parties. This is just political discourse. Nothing has been decided yet.

The ideal coalition for me is one between the nationalist- religious and religious-nationalist. But this is just an ideal. We need to assess and evaluate the ground realities and the results of the parliamentary election before we decide which party to work with.

Having been a politician in the field for years, let me tell you that speculation and theories sometimes never work. We have to pay attention to the realities on the ground.

Q: Some accuse you of not doing enough to fight terrorism. Have you done enough?

A: People tend to see things through a different prism if they are not holding an official position and have no working knowledge of the issue at hand. I am not entirely satisfied with how we have dealt with the terrorist problem but we are working to make sure that we are learning and improving. It is the same with all the other things my administration is dealing with. We have come a long way and achieved a lot. I am not someone who is patient. I don't like to procrastinate on dealing with a problem. I prefer to deal with it immediately if I can.

Indonesia has plenty of problems that can give us a lot of headaches. Every day, there are problems, and we need to find solutions to them. But I am not worried at all. I live by my father's advice (laughs). When I was young, he told me something that up until today I will always treasure as the best piece of advice I ever got: Just work and the solution will come.

Jakarta to pay civil servants a special bonus

Straits Times - March 26, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesia's government said yesterday it would pay its civil servants a special bonus in June but the finance minister has denied the move is linked to the presidential election the following month.

A Finance Ministry spokesman, Mr Syamsul, said the one-month bonus would help civil servants pay school fees at the start of the education year.

"It is up to the president to provide such bonuses and this one was approved by Parliament when the government proposed its draft budget for this year last year," Mr Syamsul said.

He said the last such bonus for civil servants was paid in the 1980s but could not give a more precise date and declined further comment.

Finance Minister Budiono, quoted by the Jakarta Post newspaper, said the payment had nothing to do with the presidential election on July 5. "We are paying it in June because it coincides with the beginning of the new school year," Mr Budiono said. Indonesia has some 3.5 million civil servants.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri is seeking re-election in July. On Tuesday she spoke out against 'money politics' and urged her supporters not to take bribes from rival parties.

Government plans to shift to legal software

Jakarta Post - March 23, 2004

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta -- Eight months after authorities began enforcing Law No. 19/2002 on copyrights, the government will begin using licensed software once it finishes taking inventory and negotiating prices, an official said.

A secretary to the state minister for communications and information, J.B. Kristiadi, said on Friday the government was in the process of listing unlicensed software at each of its institutions. It will take approximately one month to finish the inventory.

According to data from the office of the state minister, there are approximately 70,000 computers that need to be listed.

The decision to embark on this effort came following a government summit on the implementation of the copyright law in Bogor on March 9, 2004.

The summit was attended by State Minister for Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif, Kristiadi, who is also the Indonesian Telematics Coordination Team secretary, Association of Indonesian Software and Telematic Developers chairman Djarot Subiantoro and Business Software Alliance (BSA) country chair Choo Hua Wee.

"After the inventory process is done, then we will negotiate with software vendors. Hopefully, we can buy licensed software at lower prices," Kristiadi said.

He said that in Thailand, the price of a package of licensed software had been reduced to US$35 from $350 for the government after a similar copyright law was enacted.

In Indonesia, the prices of legal software range between US$200 and $600 per package, whereas computers cost as little as Rp 2.5 million (US$282) to Rp 5 million. The high price of licensed software in the country has led many people to opt for unlicensed software, which generally has the same quality at much lower prices.

Data from the BSA shows that the percentage of unlicensed software users increased to 89 percent last year from 88 percent in 2002. "It means that approximately nine out of 10 computers in Indonesia use pirated software," BSA country chair Choo Hua Wee told The Jakarta Post.

As a result, Wee said, Indonesia was ranked fourth last year in terms of software piracy, behind Vietnam, China and Russia.

Nonetheless, he said, the Indonesian government was taking a positive step in right direction by promoting the use of licensed software in each of its institutions. "Of course, there's still so much to do, but it's a good step and we're encouraged by the move," he said.

He said that for the time being, the BSA would continue to focus on the government sector to combat software piracy in the country. "The biggest challenge is to promote the use of legal software among corporate and private users. Thus, we are now focusing on the government first as it will set as an example for others," said Wee.

Under the amended Law No. 19/2002 on copyrights, which came into effect in June last year, those involved in software piracy are subject to a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million.

BSA is a nonprofit multinational association to promote a legal digital world. It groups big software companies such as Adobe, Apple Computer, Compaq, Dell, IBM, Intel and Microsoft.

 2004 elections

Terror issue sidelined in election race

Reuters - March 28, 2004

Dan Eaton, Jakarta -- Slumped on a couch and clutching his walking cane, Indonesian presidential hopeful Abdurrahman Wahid, one of the country's most revered Islamic figures, is clearly annoyed.

Campaign time is ticking away as April 5 legislative elections approach and he is facing a barrage of what he considers irrelevant questions from a foreign journalist.

Terrorism, he insists, is not an issue in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Neither is Islam. "You haven't asked me about the economy," complains the blind, 64-year-old cleric, who wants another shot at the presidency after being dumped for incompetence from the country's top job by parliament less than three years ago.

"Islam is the religion of the people, yes, but not more than that." Wahid's analysis may surprise many.

Since incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri came to power in mid-2001, hundreds of people have died in Indonesia as a result of bombs planted by Islamic militants and everyone -- from Jakarta's governor to the US government -- says fresh attacks may be coming, timed to coincide with the parliamentary ballot and the first ever presidential election in July.

The Bali nightclub bombings in October 2002 that killed 202 people, dozens of them foreign tourists, still rank alongside the recent train bombings in Spain as the most deadly acts of terror anywhere in the world since the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

So why in Indonesia -- a key ally in Washington's war on terror -- ways to deal with the country's murderous militant fringe not taken up as a major issue by most candidates? The reasons, say political analysts, are partly to be found in the culture of a very young democracy, and partly in an unwillingness among the 24 secular and Muslim parties competing to upset an overwhelmingly Muslim electorate.

"In the 1999 elections, Muslim-oriented parties together cornered about 44 percent of the vote," said Damien Kingsbury, an Indonesia expert at Australia's Deakin University.

"Presidential aspirants will probably need to court the leaders of some of the Islamic parties to make up a coalition to achieve the presidency. They don't want to alienate them."

Rice and jobs

While Megawati is seen as likely to keep her job, the race could be tight, especially if her Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle loses its parliamentary majority to Golkar, former autocratic president Suharto's long-time political vehicle, amid a growing perception democracy has failed to meet expectations.

With as much as 40 percent of the country's 220 million people unemployed or underemployed, for many there are far more pressing issues than terror.

A survey in December by the US-based International Republican Institute showed that by far the most important election issue for Indonesia was the economy, which in terms of growth lags behind its Asian peers. Only about two percent ranked security as the main problem facing the nation.

"Terrorism has never been a priority in Indonesia," says Sidney Jones, the International Crisis Group's Jakarta-based representative. Most Indonesians think far more about the economy than terror. "They think about the economy in terms of the prices they have to pay for rice, electricity and other basic goods."

And with anti-American sentiment running at high levels as a result of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, too much talk of the war on terror could damage a party's chances.

Personalities and patronage

Even if there was an attack similar to the Madrid train bombings ahead of the polls, it wouldn't result in a change of government, said Jones. "It couldn't happen here. You don't have an opposition with policies that are different from the government," said Jones. "The personality and patronage issues would still be the major factors driving the parties."

Next month's polls will be only the second time Indonesians have participated in a democratic vote since Suharto was ousted from 32 years in power by a popular uprising in 1998.

"In Indonesia, the parties are not ideological, the population is not sophisticated and it's just about dividing political spoils," says Wimar Witoelar, a former presidential spokesman for Wahid and now a prominent television commentator.

"Here the real decisions are taken by elites ... It's a very primitive, primordial, mass-based system and no issue has enough strength to come to the surface."

LP3ES Survey: Most support going to Golkar

Detik.com - March 26, 2004

Suwarjono, Jakarta -- The results of a survey by the Institute of Research, Education and Information of Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES), show that the Golkar Party has the largest amount of public support. Behind them are the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Justice Prosperity Party (PKS) and the Democratic Party.

This was explained to journalists by LP3ES researcher, Rahadi T. Wiratama, at the LP3ES offices in Slipi, West Jakarta on Thursday March 25. The survey, titled "Public Perceptions of the 2004 Elections", was based on research using a random methodology conducted between March 5-18 and involved 1,459 respondents.

Wiratama explained that in the survey showed that support for the Golkar Party was as high as 14 per cent. This was followed by PDIP which obtained 9 per cent and PAN who obtained 4 per cent. Meanwhile PKB, PKS and the Democratic Party obtained 2 per cent and the United Development Party (PPP) only 1 per cent.

What is interesting from the results of the survey is that although the voting for the legislative elections is only a few days away, a majority of respondents (59 per cent) have still not yet decided which party they will choose to vote for on April 5.

Furthermore Wiratama said, with regard to the new political parties which were established after the 1999 general elections, the majority of respondents could not name any one of these parties (as many as 74 per cent). The remainder were able to give one name out of the new political parties, that is they were able to name either the Democratic Party (6 per cent), the National Functional Party of Concern (3 per cent), the Pioneer Party, the Democratic Nationhood Party or the Reform Star Party (2 per cent respectively).

"This data indicates that the legislative elections will be dominated by the large political parties which currently have seats in the DPR [People's Representative Assembly]. In addition to this, the results of the survey indicate a low figure for Golongan Putih (Golput) [white movement, not to mark the ballot paper] among voters of only 2 per cent", said Wiratama.

The other interesting finding is on the question of the votes shifting to other parties. PPP and the Golkar Party have suffered a drop in support from their loyalists or supporters in 1999. In a 2003 survey, 43 per cent of PPP supporters were still loyal to the party, while in the 2004 survey this had dropped to 21 per cent. Therefore the shift in votes this year is a great as 28 per cent. Meanwhile support for PAN, PKB and PDI-P remains the same. According to LP3ES's data, the support for these three parties remains relatively stable. (zal)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Suharto is the richest corrupter so PKPB has a lot of money

Detik.com - March 26, 2004

Nurul Hidayati, Jakarta -- Arbi Sanit, a political observer from the University of Indonesia, is of the view that the a report by Transparency International (TI) which says that former President Suharto is the richest corrupter in the world, will indeed benefit the Cendana [Suharto's Central Jakarta neighborhood, the relatives of of the Suharto clan] clique's political party, the National Functional Party of Concern (PKPB).

According to Sanit, the wealth owned by Suharto is the spuring force for the party which has put forward [Suharto's eldest daughter] Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana as its presidential candidate. "This clearly shows the size of PKPB's election funds. With this capital, PKPB can win because they have a huge amount of money", said Sanit in an interview with Detik.com on Friday March 26. Put crudely, "Here, I've got heaps of dough. What'ya want?", added Sanit.

On Thursday, the London based Transparency International published the names of a number of corrupters linked to politics. Suharto was ranked first with a wealth of 15-35 billion dollars US. Second was Ferdinand Marcos from the Philippines with 5-10 billion dollars, Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire) 4 billion dollars, Sani Abacha (Nigeria) 2-5 billion dollars, Slobodon Milosevic (Yugoslavia) 1 billion dollars, J.C. Duvalier (Haiti) 300-800 million dollars, Alberto Fujimori (Peru) 600 million dollars, Pavlo Lazarenko (Ukraine) 114-200 million dollars, Arnoldo Aleman (Nicaraqua) 100 million dollars and Joseph Estrada (Philippines) 78-80 million dollars. All of this wealth is estimated to have been derived from corruption based on data on the embezzlement of public fund which has occurred.

Furthermore said Sanit, in order to win the elections, PKPB, in promoting Tutut and [party chairperson and former army chief] R. Hartono, they must obtain 75 million votes. "If one person is given just 1 million rupiah, of course they could win. Tutut could become president. It's not impossible because the Cendana's wealth is massive, [just look at] the evidence in the TI report", said Sanit.

Sanit did not think that the TI report would have a negative impact on PKPB who continually glorify Suharto. "Perhaps those who will be influenced will only be the middle and upper classes, they total only 10 per cent [of the population]. Meanwhile the other 90 per cent? They don't have access to this information", said Sanit. (nrl) [Translated by James Balowski.]

Ex-PKI members support Gus Dur and PKB

Detik.com - March 22, 2004

Muchus Budi R., Solo -- After failing to form a new political party, in the 2004 general elections ex-members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) will channel their hopes through the National Awakening Party (PKB) and support Gus Dur [former President Abdurrahman Wahid] to win the presidency. The reason, Gus Dur and the PKB are considered to have fought for the reinstatement of the political rights of ex-political prisoners.

This was related [to journalists] by Rewang, a former PKI Central Committee Politburo member in Solo (Central Java) on Monday March 22. The 76-year-old man has chosen to live out his years in Solo after returning from prison in 1991.

The choice of channeling votes to the PKB continued Rewang, was because of their disappointment in [President Megawati Sukarnoputri's] Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and their failure to establish a new political party to channel their political hopes.

In the 1999 elections explained Rewang, ex-PKI members gave their votes to the PDI-P however according to Rewang, the PDI-P and the Megawati government have failed to build a democratic climate and have forgotten their base and their supporters. "They have just forgotten their supporters, and even people outside of them. For example, the July 27 case(1) has not been touched upon, many [political] figures [from the PDI-P] have disappointed [the people]", he said.

Disappointed in the PDI-P, in the lead up to the 2004 elections they then tried to come together to establish the Indonesian Patriotic Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat Patriotik Indonesia, PDPI) led by Payung Salenda, a former People's Youth activist and "alumni" of Buru Island(2). However their enthusiasm failed after the party they formed was not able to participate in the elections because it did not pass the National Election Commission verification process.

"[Because] we now don't have any formal vehicle [we] will place our votes with the PKB. We hope that the PKB will be able to create a better democratic life. As for a presidential candidate, if later [he] is nominated as a presidential candidate, we will vote for Gus Dur. Up until now we know that Gus Dur himself has gone against the tide by defending us ex-political prisoners", he said.

With regard to how many of them there are, Rewang himself was not able to say exactly. He said only that in the 1955 general elections, the PKI obtained 8 million votes. Certainly this number has now shrunk significantly because may of them have died. "Those who are still alive are also widely scattered. There are also those who are traumatised. So it is difficult to say exactly how many comrades are now still left", he explained.

Nevertheless continued Rewang, many ex-PKI political prisoners still care about the growth of democracy in Indonesia. They have joined together in a number of groups such as the Association of Victims of the New Order (Paguyuban Korban Orde Baru, Pakorba), the Association of Mutual Friendship and Harmony (Perhimpunan Guyup Rukun), the Life Long Association (Paguyuban Panjang Umur) and so on. Rewang himself is active in the Association of Mutual Friendship and Harmony and the Life Long Association.

"Together with our friends we still often gather to discuss many different issues including the latest political and economic situation. My daily activities recently [have been to] consume a lot [of time] writing about various issues. Hopefully this can be read later by the younger generation, or at lease it can be a personal record", said Rewang. (mar)

Notes:

1. Following weeks of protests at the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in Central Jakarta by pro-Megawati PDI supporters after the Suharto regime engineered Megawati's removal as the party's democratically elected chairperson, on July 27, 1966, paid thugs backed by the military attacked and destroyed the PDI offices resulting in the death of as many as 50 people. Popular outrage at the attack sparked several days of mass rioting and violent clashes with police. Many had hoped that with Megawati's ascendancy to the presidency those responsible would be held accountable however Megawati and other leading party figures have publicly distanced themselves (refusing to attend annual commemorations) from the issue. Those who were eventually brought to trial in late 2003 have all been low ranking soldiers or civilians and have either been acquitted for lack of evidence or given light sentences. None of those believed to have organised or led the attack have been brought to trial.

2. Buru Island, near Ambon, was used as a prison camp where thousands of political prisoners were held for decades by the New Order regime of former President Suharto. Prisoners were encouraged to grow crops and take part in sports and participate in activities designed to change the way alleged dissidents thought.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Fears that New Order has set aside 5 trillion to buy votes

Detik.com - March 23, 2004

Ahmad Fikri, Bandung -- A former senior economics lecturer from the University of Indonesia, Professor Sarbini, has warned that the forces of the New Order regime [of former President Suharto] are trying as hard as possible to buy votes in the 2004 general elections. The available funds to buy these votes are estimated at 5 trillion rupiah. "And certainly the result will be that the New Order will reemerge as the political rulers", said Sarbini in Bandung on Monday March 22.

He said that from a rough calculation, if one vote is bought with 50,000 rupiah, five trillion rupiah will therefore be needed to obtain 100 million votes in the elections. "Using an estimation which is extremely simple and very rough, looking at past experience, past attitudes and the present experience (the running of the campaign -- Ed.), they will try as hard as possible to buy votes", said Sarbini.

Included in the New Order regime, Sarbini pointed to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the Golkar Party, the United Development Party and former military officers who have resurfaced [as party leaders or candidates]. "That is the New Order", he said.

He warned that this issue should not be ignored because the New Order forces were authoritarian in character, depended on cronyism and controlled of all aspects of economic, political and social life throughout Indonesian society.

Sarbini's concern is that these political fund which will be used to win the 2004 elections are linked with the entry of 40 trillion rupiah in the last two weeks of January and the month of February which were quoted in a Bank Indonesia financial report. These moneys entered Indonesia though the purchases of shares and obligations as well as deposits. "Money in this form is extremely easy to disperse", he said.

He suspects that this money did not com from foreign investors because foreign investors still do not have confidence in the Indonesian economy in the lead up to the 2004 elections. "This is definitely money [belonging to] Indonesian people", he said.

Sarbini is concerned that these funds are planned to ensure a victory for supporters of the New Order regime to win the 2004 elections. "It is very clear to see in the present atmosphere that the New Order forces are open and blatant in their self- confidence", he said. (zal)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Voters don't know candidates: Survey

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2004

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Most voters know how to properly perforate their ballot papers, but they remain so indifferent to the candidates that many of them are likely to vote for anybody, a survey reveals.

The survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Development and Democracy (Cesda) found that some 70 percent of voters knew they had to perforate both the symbol of their preferred political party and the name of one of its candidates during the polls on April 5.

Only 21 percent of respondents still did not know how to properly perforate the ballot papers.

Of the respondents who said they did know how to properly perforate the papers, 26 percent of them said they would vote for any candidate, 46 percent said they would only perforate the party symbol and 7 percent said they would not make any perforation.

"The reason is because most respondents, around 59 percent, say they do not recognize the legislative candidates," Cesda researcher Rahadi T. Wiratama told reporters on Thursday.

Due to their limited knowledge on the backgrounds and track records of the legislative candidates, some 52 percent of the respondents said they were afraid of voting for candidates who did not live up their expectations of probity.

Some 10 percent of the voters said they would not vote for candidates who had been involved in criminal activity, while 8 percent opposed candidates with a record of involvement in money politics and rights violations.

Cesda conducted the survey between March 5 and March 18. The 1,459 respondents were selected through the purposive sampling method in 69 electoral districts in Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali/Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua. More than 60 percent of the respondents lived in villages. The margin of error in the survey is approximately 3 percent.

Last year, a survey conducted by the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) revealed that more than half of the country's 145 million eligible voters did not know how to perforate the ballot papers properly.

Another survey by the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and the Polling Center in February this year disclosed that 60 percent of respondents would only perforate party symbols, while only 19 percent would perforate both the party symbols and the names of their candidates of choice as required by electoral law.

Public skepticism as to the outcome of this year's legislative and presidential elections was also found by the Cesda survey, with some 43 percent of the respondents saying the elections would not affect their lives. Only 33 percent of the respondents believed the newly elected legislators and president would lead the country to a better future.

Another Cesda researcher, Wildan Pramudya, said the skepticism was related to the fact that some 60 percent of the respondents were "dissatisfied" with the performance of the legislators elected in 1999. "Therefore, most of them have yet to decide on which political party they will vote for," he said.

Some 14 percent of the respondents said they would vote for the Golkar Party, 9 percent for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and 4 percent for the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Parties ignore public demands: Forum

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2004

Jakarta -- Most of the 24 political parties contesting the upcoming elections are not concerned with public demands, the Forum of People's Concern for the House says.

The forum said on Thursday that only four of the 24 parties -- the Freedom Bull National Party (PNBK), the Freedom Party, the Pancasila Patriots' Party, and the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI) -- completed and returned its survey about their commitment to improving the performance of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Initially, the forum said, 10 parties, including Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had picked up the survey and promised to return it.

Thirteen others, including the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), could not be contacted or were unavailable due to campaign activities, while one party could not be located.

The forum said the four respondents mostly agreed to public demands for transparency and accountability on the part of the House, among others.

Parties break rules, big money for 'supporters'

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- For many young people in Jakarta's kampongs, the 22-day official campaign period this month is manna from heaven -- free T-shirts and money.

"Today we are on the Golkar wagon. Yesterday, it was PDI Perjuangan, and tomorrow we'll be shouting for PAN," ojek (motorbike taxi) driver Sumino said. "There's no problem as long as we are paid," he said adding that he earned Rp 70,000 a day.

Dozens of Sumino's fellow ojek drivers work at the Bumi Pelita Kencana housing compound in Pondok Cabe, Pamulang, Banten. Each day now involves carnival-like processions decked out in the T- shirts of the party he is "supporting" at that particular instance. Sumino claims he now has more party T-shirts than he can count. The political parties, Sumino says, pay Rp 30,000 for every two hours of campaigning on average.

But Sumino is not apolitical. Coming from the Central Java town of Klaten, his family traditionally supports the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). He said he would definitely vote for the PDI-Perjuangan in the April 5 legislative election.

The political parties are employing different ways to woo voters, including directly paying cash and handing out food parcels to voters, even though this is totally against the law.

Parties that have engaged in such practices include those that are currently campaigning on the basis of clean governance, a war against corruption and honest legislative candidates. Activities by parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) which include selling staple food for low prices, may still raise eyebrows.

Article 77 of Law No. 12/2003 bars candidates from offering "money or other forms of material" in an attempt to secure votes. Besides the disqualification of candidates, violations of the law also carry a maximum sentence of 12 months and a maximum fine of Rp 10 million (US$1,176). But so far, not one party has been brought to book.

All have denied engaging in money politics, arguing that they are only trying to maintain their supporters' loyalty and influence the "swing vote".

Jacob Tobing, a strategist for the PDI Perjuangan, which is led by Megawati Soekarnoputri, the current president, said it was only natural to "compensate" people for attending rallies. "Of course, the voters are paid without any obligation to cast their votes for the PDI Perjuangan," he said.

The Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) has warned a number of parties, including the PDI Perjuangan and Golkar, against vote-buying.

Concerns over media interference ahead of elections

Radio Australia - March 26, 2004

As Indonesians prepare for general elections next month, there are allegations that as election fever heats up, political parties have resorted to taking over the media to control it.

Presenter/Interviewer: Adelaine Ng

Speakers: Andreas Harsono, Chairman of the PANTAU Foundation; Dr Andi Mallarangeng, founder of the Unity, Democracy and Nationhood Party (PPDK) NG: The freedom to publish or broadcast news and information without political influence was supposed to be a celebrated new liberty for Indonesia at the end of Suharto's rule.

And although the media has more independance than many of its regional neighbours, there are concerns the elections could harm this reputation as the countdown to the polls begin. There are 24 parties vying for votes, and the fight will be furious.

Andreas Harsono is Chairman of the PANTAU Foundation, which monitors the media and trains journalists in Indonesia. He says recent moves by political parties to place their people in the media are cause for concern.

Harsono: 90 per cent of Indonesian voters get their political news from TV. Meaning that controlling a TV station is very strategic in getting to the voters. RCTI, the largest TV station, commercially the most successful in the country, the news director was replaced with a new guy named Derek Mananga. Derek was reportedly placed there on the demand of the PDI-P party.

Ng: One of the byproducts of Indonesia's democracy has been the mushrooming of news outlets all across Indonesia. This, says Harsono, has resulted in a drop in journalism standards.

For example, the practice of using bylines to credit reporters with their stories has largely stopped, and there's often no distinction between editorial writing and advertisements.

Another trend he notes, is a change in the way politicians and business leaders try to influence the media.

Harsono: They've developed friendships with the editors of those news organisations. These are friendly phone calls, like "Your reporter's doing this, doing that, I'm not happy with that, it's not accurate, it is not proportional, it is not comprehensive, more like social pressure rather than direct business pressure.

Ng: Some would say that's more dangerous because it's not so obvious.

Harsono: Yes it is more dangerous because as journalists you know, we are not to seek friends, but we are not to seek enemies, but these people are using the media to express their versions of the truth.

Ng: Harsono himself has declined two offers to get into politics, believing that you can't be a journalist and a politician at the same time. So, with this scenario, how much fairness can Indonesians expect of their media as political parties step up their campaign?

Harsono: A big question. According to surveys, yes they are satisfied with media freedom, but at the same time, that the media tend to be more political; there is a decrease fo trust in the media, there are many journalists involved in politics, many journalists also running for a state or national seat.

Ng: Dr Andi Mallarangeng, a former political scientist who recently formed the Unity, Democracy and Nationhood Party or PPDK, says while the developments are worrying, smaller parties like his will not be too disadvantaged.

Mallarangeng: We are lucky that many of the independent journalists in the media, even those controlled by the big parties are giving us good coverage, and they fight within their organisation to give us good coverage, because they see us as a new hope in Indonesian politics.

Ng: Dr Mallarangeng also says there's a new way of spreading political messages in Indonesia, that could give parties like his, an edge.

Mallarangeng: SMS. Political SMS. For example when Golkar, PDI-P, buying all different ads, right now we have SMS responding, ridiculing those ads whether it's Akbar Tandjung style, those political SMS are trying to resist the domination of the big parties.

What's on TV? Indonesia's poll candidates

Straits Times - March 26, 2004

Laurel Teo -- In a country where two in three watch television almost every day, the goggle box has turned into a fierce battle- ground for Indonesian politicians.

From the biggest parties flush with funds, such as Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to newer and humbler ones such as the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party, they have all snapped up advertisement slots.

Some take the soft-sell route, such as Golkar candidate Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, whose clip runs like a slick tourism ad.

It begins with him saying: "My name is Prabowo, and I love Indonesia." The camera then pans across terraced padi fields and other scenic vistas, with the retired lieutenant-general speaking about national pride and love. His ad ends with him uttering the same simple line as in the start.

Others get their messages across more directly. National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien Rais, for instance, is seen crushed in the eager embraces of impoverished citizens, with a look of determination on his face.

And former president Suharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana has an ad featuring farmers saying that they crave a return of what is called the Suharto era of economic stability. Ms Siti's Concern for the Nation Functional Party has been campaigning on the promise of restoring Indonesia to the good times of her father's era.

A medium little used in previous elections, television has soared in popularity among the 24 parties taking part in the April 5 election, thanks to the inroads it has made into Indonesian homes, rural and urban alike.

A survey by the Asia Foundation last year showed that two in three voters here watch TV almost every day. And in a country where many citizens are poorly educated, where on average one in four never makes it past primary school, television is their main source of information. Three in four in that same survey said watching TV was how they found out what was going on in the country.

Analysts said in a Reuters report on Sunday that most voters are not savvy about issues either, and tend to decide on the basis of the personality of party leaders, their simplistic messages and the party's number on the ballot sheet.

Politicians know to zoom in on this. Most of their ads are simple and feature prominently their party's number on the ballot paper.

In her ads, President Megawati Sukarnoputri dishes out a very plain instruction that has become the catchphrase of the year. "Punch the white snout!" she declares in clips for PDI-P, which feature her in a bright red dress, the number 18, and the party logo of a black bull with fiery red eyes and a white nose. On Election Day, voters need to punch a hole in the party logo, which is assigned a number on the ballot paper.

According to Reuters, about 230 political party ads run on the country's 11 channels on any given day.

The red-and-black ads of PDI-P dominate the airwaves, taking up more than 40 per cent of the aired spots so far, an Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information survey showed. A spokesman for leading TV station Indosiar told The Straits Times that a 30-second slot costs between 2 million rupiah (about S$390) and 20 million rupiah.

As to the effectiveness of the ads, marketing expert Hermawan Kertajata thinks novelty is on their side. "It's still new, so people are interested to see. They're also much safer. No physical violence will break out on TV," quipped the president of the World Marketing Association.

The candidate: Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana of the PKPB

The pitch: Former president Suharto's daughter has an ad featuring farmers saying that they crave the return of what is called the Suharto era of economic stability.

The candidate: Amien Rais of PAN

The pitch: In his ads, the leader of the National Mandate Party is shown crushed in the eager embraces of impoverished citizens, with a look of determination on his face.

The candidate: Megawati Sukarnoputri of the PDI-P

The pitch: 'Punch the white snout!' she declares in the ads, which show her standing in front of a black bull with a white nose. On Election Day, voters need to punch a hole in the party logo.

The candidate: Akbar Tandjung of Golkar

The pitch: His ad parades a multi-ethnic line-up of ordinary folk who are representative of the party's nationalist image, after which Mr Akbar comes on to pitch for Golkar.

Golkar making its presence felt

Strait Times - March 26, 2004

Devi Asmarani, Makassar -- Indonesia's most consummate politician, Mr Akbar Tandjung, was clearly in his element.

Standing before more than 10,000 yellow-clad party supporters in the town square of Takalar, a 1 1/2-hour drive from Makassar, the Golkar chairman showed a side normally obscured by his soft voice and composure.

With his wife Krisnina Maharani by his side, he addressed party supporters with a fiery pep talk, harping on the merits of voting for Golkar, showing no sign of weariness despite the constant travelling.

"Golkar has 30 years" experience in governing,' he shouted above the din of the cheering crowd. "This is an asset for the country -- our political experience, since the 1971 election, is needed to build a government that is strong, effective and authoritative." The spectators lapped it up.

The cheering did not come from the rent-a-crowd enthusiasts who are lured to party rallies by lunch money, free T-shirts and dangdut (folk music) shows. Many were Golkar diehards who had travelled 50km or more to be there. Some in the crowd were second-generation supporters.

Said one of them, Mrs Mardiana: "We have stuck with Golkar since during the reforms movement the last time, because it has been around for a long time."

Such loyalty is leading many political pundits to keep tabs on the party's fortunes. Five years ago, a three-decade association to the Suharto's New Order regime was Golkar's biggest liability.

But these days, although party campaigners gloss over its links to the disgraced former president, the "time-tested" factor is, indeed, Golkar's biggest sell.

Surveys have shown that Golkar could emerge as this year's favourite by defeating the 1999 winner, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

With voters increasingly concerned about issues such as employment, health care and education, Golkar is promising economic and political stability -- of the kind that Indonesians enjoyed in the country's heyday.

Without doubt some of the credit for the turnaround goes to Mr Akbar and his band of party workers, who are among the most seasoned politicians in the country.

His conviction for graft -- before the Supreme Court exonerated him -- had not dented his popularity. Mr Akbar had also survived several attempts by backstabbing party executives to unseat him, and moved swiftly to consolidate the party.

As part of its strategy to expand its grassroots support, Golkar has recruited hundreds of thousands of cadres over the years to revive the party with new and younger blood.

Its legislators have also been in the front line, playing crucial roles in constitutional amendments and debating electoral laws. Many a time, the party's presentation surpassed those of other established parties in terms of substance and delivery.

Golkar is also the first party in the country to apply a convention system, similar to that in the United States, to pick its presidential candidate for the election in July. Six contenders will fight for the chairmanship -- with Mr Akbar a front runner -- in the convention due to take place after the April 5 legislative election.

Irrespective of the outcome, this is sending out a crucial message that Golkar is a transformed party. That apart, the convention has also turned out to be an ingenious idea for pooling money and resources from the contenders -- who are mostly party outsiders.

Golkar expects to win 30 per cent of the total votes cast this year, up from 22 per cent in 1999 when it finished second, after the PDI-P.

Like in the last polls, its biggest support bases are likely to come from islands outside of Java, like Sulawesi and Kalimantan, where it relied on the network of informal leaders and power infrastructure in the regions.

Suharto's daughter wages high-profile campaign

Agence France Presse - March 25, 2004

The smiling daughter of Indonesia's former dictator Suharto is waging a high-profile electoral campaign -- less than six years after her father was forced to resign amid massive civil unrest.

Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, known as Tutut, is campaigning for a party led by a retired general who proudly calls himself a Suharto lackey.

She has given food handouts to the poor and tried to exploit feelings, often expressed by Indonesians, that the country was more secure and economically prosperous during the repressive 32-year rule of her father.

"Mr. Harto [Suharto] wishes that all Indonesian people can have a house, can send their children to school and can practise their religion peacefully," Tutut told one campaign rally.

Her political rivals doubt she can do much except divert votes from Golkar, the leading challenger to President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

But prominent political scientist Arbi Sanit says her campaign has the potential to help cleanse her family's image. If not at this election, perhaps in 2009 it could bring Cendana -- as the Suharto family is known -- closer to a return to power, he says.

"This is an increasingly complex situation for Indonesia," Sanit said. Suharto stepped down in May 1998 amid a crippling economic crisis, massive civil unrest and hopes for reform which many Indonesians now say have not been realized.

Indonesia's April 5 legislative general elections will be followed on July 5 by the country's first-ever direct presidential vote.

Tutut has been put forward as a candidate by the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) chaired by Raden Hartono, a former Suharto army commander and ex-official of Golkar, the party which backed his regime.

"With an extraordinary boldness I want to affirm that I am a Suharto lackey," Hartono told party followers during a campaign rally. He was quoted by the Koran Tempo daily.

Indonesia experienced sustained economic growth and a dramatic reduction in poverty during Suharto's reign, but much of the country's vast wealth was skimmed off by a tiny elite linked to Suharto's military-backed regime.

The general began his rise to power amid a mass slaughter of alleged communists which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in 1965/66. No one has ever been named as ordering the massacres.

Thousands were killed in Aceh province and East Timor during his rule. Hundreds died in various efforts to stamp out political dissent.

Staff at PKPB's central Jakarta headquarters wear olive-green T- shirts and jackets. Party television and radio advertisements feature a man shouting like a military drill instructor to remind voters they should choose PKPB.

A 1999 investigation by Time magazine found that Suharto and his six children had cash and other assets conservatively estimated at 15 billion dollars. Tutut was worth an estimated 700 million dollars, the magazine said.

Sanit expressed concern that Tutut's share of the family fortune could be used to buy votes -- a common practice among other parties, too.

Roy Janis, executive board chairman of Megawati's PDI-P, said Tutut and her party are an obstacle for Golkar as it tries to regain power. "Maybe Tutut and Hartono will be a bit of a bother because the votes will divide in the legislative elections," Janis said.

Golkar predicts it will increase its percentage of the vote from 22 to 30 percent while Janis says PDI-P will be lucky to hold on to the 34 percent it won in the 1999 election.

Fahmi Idris, a Golkar deputy chairman, said "we know Miss Tutut spends quite a lot of money" and is reasonably popular -- but not enough to be elected president.

Wiranto lawyer says prosecutors sabotaging presidential bid

Agence France Presse - March 24, 2004

Jakarta -- A lawyer for former Indonesian military chief Wiranto accused East Timor prosecutors on Wednesday of trying to sabotage the general's bid for the Indonesian presidency by seeking his arrest.

The United Nations-funded prosecutors are urging an East Timor court to issue an arrest warrant for Wiranto, saying he failed to curb militia atrocities in the territory in 1999.

The lawyer, Muladi, said the allegations amount to "character assassination."

"The issue has been deliberately blown up because his [Wiranto's] position is getting stronger in the race for the presidency. Maybe there are concerns abroad or at home," the lawyer said.

Wiranto is seeking the Golkar party's nomination for the presidential election in July and has already started a high- profile campaign.

The Washington Post reported in January that the United States has put Wiranto and others accused of war crimes in East Timor on a visa watch list that could bar them from entering the country,

Muladi said the bid for an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity violates international law.

He told a press conference that Indonesian authorities, involving the national human rights commission, had investigated Wiranto and decided not to charge him over the abuses in East Timor.

Muladi, who was justice minister when the East Timor atrocities took place, said Jakarta had set up a human rights court over the 1999 violence.

He alleged that during the trials there was no evidence that the violence had been orchestrated by the military.

Muladi said that "based on the complementary principle of international law," it was inadmissable to seek to try someone overseas if a case had been investigated.

Pro-Jakarta militias, aided by Indonesian soldiers, waged a bloody campaign against independence supporters before and after East Timorese voted in August 1999 to break away from Indonesian rule.

The UN says up to 1,500 civilians were killed and some 70 percent of the country's buildings were destroyed.

Wiranto has said he did his best to prevent the violence. But East Timor prosecutors cite "overwhelming" evidence that he failed to prevent atrocities or to punish them.

"The evidence shows that (Indonesian) armed forces assisted in the formation, funding, training and arming of the militias and that they often assisted in the militia violence or stood by and let it happen," says a prosecution brief.

Jakarta's rights court has been described by human rights groups as largely a sham.

Anti-graft Islamic party poised to win more votes

Straits Times - March 23, 2004

Mafoot Simon -- The indoor stadium turned into a sea of white. Some 10,000 supporters of the Islamic-based Justice Party (PKS) crowded into an area no longer than six basketball courts. Outside, many more jostled to get in to hear party leader Hidayat Nurwahid deliver a broadside against corruption in Indonesia.

Waving white flags embellished with the PKS logo of a Kaaba, they punctuated the fiery sermons with shouts of Allahu Akbar as Mr Hidayat warned them against voting for parties doling out money to buy votes.

Riding on the anti-corruption platform, the PKS is one of very few Islamic parties that could see a significant increase in votes in the April 5 parliamentary election.

Established five years ago, it may well buck the trend of nationalist-secular resurgence across Indonesia. In 1999, the PKS secured 1.4 per cent of the national vote. This year, it could cross the electoral threshold of 3 per cent and get as much as 5 per cent, political observers say. Party leaders are confident of getting much more -- perhaps 10 per cent.

Mr Achmad Agus Subagio, a divisional leader of the party in Tasikmalaya in West Java, told The Straits Times: "We will do well. We have been preparing for this election five years ago." The party now has 300,000 cadres all over Indonesia and 13 overseas branches in countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia and Germany.

It has also been making its mark through relief programmes in areas affected by natural calamities such as the earthquake in Nabire, Papua, that killed 35 people in February.

In its media campaign, the party is also portraying itself as one that belongs to all strata of society. One TV commercial features a cross-section of Indonesians -- from artistes to housewives, trishaw riders and even Chinese -- giving their testimonies about the party. On radio, the PKS is marketed as a party for everyone.

Unlike other Islamic parties, it does not promote syariah laws to win votes.

While some view the party as a radical group for its frequent demonstrations on global Islamic issues involving Muslims in Afghanistan and Palestine, others consider it moderate because the protests have been peaceful.

Analysts to whom The Straits Times spoke did not disagree that the party could get more votes than in 1999, but they did not think its support would exceed 5 per cent. Political analyst Muhammad Qodari of Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) noted that the PKS promoted itself as a clean party that wanted to fight corruption.

But a survey by LSI late last year showed that 68 per cent of the respondents considered the economy a major problem confronting the country while only 5 per cent thought that corruption was the issue. "Even if PKS manages to win every single vote from this group, it will only get 5 per cent of the votes," Mr Qodari argued, referring to the percentage of those who consider corruption a major problem.

New Order revival?

Jakarta Post - March 23, 2004

Just nine days remain to the 22-day campaign period, after which there is a three-day cooling-off period before people cast their votes for legislative candidates on April 5. It will be the first of two direct elections the people of this country have ever participated, the second being the presidential election in July.

Campaigning by political parties last week, though generally peaceful, was far less exciting than the 1999 campaign when the nation had just freed itself from the yoke of a repressive government. Then, euphoria engulfed the whole nation, one year after Soeharto, the autocrat Army general, quit his 32-year iron-fisted rule.

The bland atmosphere notwithstanding, the usual way of campaigning is back: dangdut (a blend of Indian, Arabic and local flavor) performances and free T-shirts for supporters. However, it quickly became clear that the public had little interest in listening to campaigners' speeches. Gone are the days when political parties could mobilize people to follow the campaign trail during most of the Soeharto years.

Not to be outdone, political parties have come up with all sorts of schemes, no matter that they may violate election rules, to lure supporters. They give free basic food stuff, door prizes, scholarships and even money to the detriment of the quality of political education.

The only consolation is the intellectual agility shown by some candidates for the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), who have introduced door-to-door campaigning. Foremost among them are former minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and former legislator Bambang Warih Koesoema who talked with members of the grass roots.

Although it appears that all the fanfare of last week has not mended the dashed hopes of a better Indonesia. Indeed, the week also saw the rise of remnants of the New Order government. They appeared under no guise, as though the public has forgotten all the blunders committed by the old regime.

A retired Army general and the daughter of the autocrat Soeharto went on stage, glorifying the "good old days". General R. Hartono called upon members of his audience in Yogyakarta to become Soeharto minions like himself.

But his plea was irrelevant because Soeharto needs no help. He remains free despite allegations that while in power he accumulated huge personal wealth. This is clear proof that his lackeys are alive and kicking. They never failed to jump to his defense each time it appeared he was to be brought to trial. Although, lackeys are lackeys. They behave so, first of all, to save their own skins. The Soeharto family businesses remain mostly untouched. That the reform movement stalled was, in large part, due to the resistance of his lackeys. They may have swelled with the inclusion of former reformist elements who floundered under the lure of power and money.

The general made a pledge that he would bring the good old days back to the country if Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana were to be elected president as the candidate for his Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB). Hartono may have forgotten that during Soeharto's rule, around US$10 billion, about a third of the country's foreign debt, mysteriously disappeared. Today, every Indonesian citizen has a personal debt of Rp 10 million ($1,200), thanks to the culture of corruption selfishly nurtured during Soeharto's rule. Statistics sound like a litany of grief, with half of the population of 210 million people living in abject poverty on less than $2 a day and unemployment reaching a boggling 40 million.

All this, plus the devastation of intangible assets like failed institution building, the absence of free speech, the mafia-like judiciary, the aesthetics of banality. Many of these fiascoes persist. The "good old days" Hartono and Tutut were referring to was simply a house of cards that collapsed under the pressure of the 1997 financial crisis.

The general and daughter duo do not likely pose any serious challenge to other politicians, but they are smart enough to exploit the absence of demands to bring Soeharto before the court, demands that dominated the 1999 elections. Their resurgence merely demonstrates the New Order remnants' heightened level of confidence.

As political parties make the most of the remaining campaign days, it is imperative that the battered, scattered and weakened reformist forces join hands. It is time to embark on a long journey to heal the wounds left by a 32-year dictatorship. The resurrection of New Order forces must be halted by reminding the people of its past mistakes. The people have to be able to pick the right candidates in the elections.

Insightful political observer Mochtar Pabottingi put it succinctly when he said that people should not vote for Yellow Golkar (Soeharto's political machine for three decades and which remains intact to this day), Red Golkar (Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, PDI-P) or the True Golkar (the PKPB). Yogyakarta Governor/Sultan Hamengkubuwono X made an exemplary gesture when he categorically rejected Hartono's appeal. Too many things would be at stake should the New Order remnants manage a comeback. Our people must not be cheated a second time.

Big parties aim to deliver more oomph

Jakarta Post - March 23, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Major political parties are fine- tuning their campaign strategies in order to bounce back from disastrous early indoor campaigning, party sources say. President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is working to improve its television spots.

"We are now working with our PR partner to promote a better campaign in the second half of the election campaign," PDI-P chief strategist Pataniari Siahaan told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Unlike the 1999 elections, this year's campaign, which began on March 11 and will end on April 1, is taking place mostly indoors. Outdoor rallies begin only on March 26. One reason for the change was the number of clashes between party supporters during outdoor rallies ahead of the 1999 election.

One of the PDI-P's new TV spots shows a bull charging toward the Presidential Palace. The bull is the party's symbol.

Pataniari said there would be some changes in the party's ads in the electronic and print media, although the changes would not be substantial.

Agnita Singadikane, another strategist of PDI Perjuangan, said the format of the party ads would be changed to make them more effective. "The language of our political TV ads will be made simpler and more communicative because the majority of the 147 million voters are at the grassroots level," she said.

Most the indoor campaign stops across the country have been poorly attended by party supporters unused to such dialog-driven campaigning.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) conceded it was unsatisfied with its campaign so far. "Our indoor campaigning on university campuses and halls across the regions failed to reach our target," Iman Anshari Saleh, secretary of the party's election team, said.

The PKB plans to step up its door-to-door campaigning and preaching activities with local chapters of the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) in order to hold onto its traditional core of voters. The NU, the country's largest Muslim organization, has always been the party's main base of support. "The PKB will also put more ads in the local media, especially newspapers, tabloids and on radios stations," Iman said.

The Golkar Party, which counts among its strongholds parts of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, plans to emphasize the importance of ethics in the second half of the campaign.

Golkar chief strategist Bomer Pasaribu said party campaigners had been told to emphasize the transformation of the party from the days of the New Order, when it was the political arm of authoritarian president Soeharto.

"During the campaign, our campaigners will not speak badly about other parties and their candidates, and we will concede that Golkar made some mistakes in the past but will fight against corruption if it wins the elections. This is a fundamental change in Golkar's campaign strategy to attract voters," Bomer said.

The Crescent Star Party (PBB) said it would stay the course with its campaign strategy. "We will continue our strategy of consolidation among party members," Sahar L. Hassan, the party's campaign manager, said.

He said the party had decided to focus on strengthening the loyalty of members rather than trying to attract new voters. "We currently have six million members, meaning that they have our party membership cards. We hope they will ask their family members and friends to vote for our party," Sahar said.

Pataniari of the PDI-P and Golkar's Bomer both denied charges by the Indonesian Corruption Watchdog that their parties were involved in money politics.

According to the watchdog, the PDI-P has allocated Rp 100 billion (US$11.6 million) to finance its campaign. Of that amount, Rp 1.89 billion has been spent on political ads. Golkar is said to have spent Rp 640 million on political ads. Of the 24 parties contending the legislative election, 11 have no funds for ads.

 Corruption/collusion/nepotism

Akbar bought 'inside information'

Straits Times - March 27, 2004

Robert Go, Jakarta -- A former government prosecutor has accused presidential candidate Akbar Tandjung of reneging on promises to make under-the-table payments in exchange for inside information about the Golkar leader's graft trial.

Mr Kito Irkhamni, a former aide of Attorney-General M.A. Rachman, is suing Mr Akbar for six billion rupiah (S$1.14 million). He said Mr Akbar had hired him in July 2002 to snoop on court discussions on the politician's graft trial and report back sensitive information.

Mr Akbar was initially convicted of graft, but was set free by the Supreme Court last month. Although he has allegedly made two payments totalling 325 million rupiah to Mr Kito, the former prosecutor claimed he was still owed another one billion rupiah.

In addition to that amount, Mr Kito is also claiming an additional five billion rupiah for moral and material damages.

On Thursday, the plaintiff told reporters: "I was the first person asked by Akbar Tandjung to become his informant and to monitor the progress of his graft trial. My information to him was always 100 per cent correct. But after his case was finished, the money was never fully paid."

Mr Kito added that he had once tried to get the arrangement in writing, but Mr Akbar allegedly refused and said the two parties "both know what's going on and should trust one another".

This latest legal trouble for Mr Akbar comes just 10 days ahead of Indonesia's biggest general election, which his Golkar party is expected to contest strongly.

Political analysts and Golkar officials said that there was a good possibility this lawsuit had been filed to discredit publicly the party of former strongman Suharto, as well as to hurt Mr Akbar's chances of winning Golkar's nomination for the presidency.

Such scandals, regardless of their outcomes, only reinforce the idea that corruption is widespread in Indonesia, which is ranked consistently near the top of international watchdog groups' lists of the world's most corrupt countries.

Yesterday, Golkar deputy secretary-general Syamsul Muarif told reporters: "This is clearly politics. Why is this case being put forward just now?" Mr Syamsul, who is also Cabinet minister for communications and information, said those who had pushed for the lawsuit wanted the public to perceive Golkar as a corrupt party.

Mr Yusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare and also a top official of Golkar, said the real focus was damaging Mr Akbar's chances for the presidency, and not the party itself. "I think this will have an impact more on Akbar. This won't become a Golkar issue," he said.

Indonesia's courts are notorious for being bribery prone and inconsistent in their decisions. Legal experts said it was not uncommon for officials in the judiciary, like Mr Kito, to sell "side services" to plaintiffs or defendants.

Observers, however, added that such practices were illegal and the authorities could choose to prosecute such cases.

It remains unclear why Mr Kito has made such a public accusation against Mr Akbar if in essence the same charge incriminates him at the time of the Golkar leader's graft trial.

New list ranks world leaders in corruption

The Guardian (UK) - March 27, 2004

Charlotte Denny -- Mohammed Soeharto, Ferdinand Marcos and Mobutu Sese Seko ripped off up to $US50 billion from the people of Indonesia, the Philippines and Zaire, equivalent to the West's entire annual aid budget, anti-bribery campaigners say.

Releasing a list of the top 10 most corrupt politicians of the past two decades, headed by the former Indonesian dictator, Transparency International warned that the scale of political corruption was undermining hopes for prosperity in the developing world and damaging the global economy.

No country was immune from corruption, Transparency said, citing lax controls over political financing in Greece, the close connection between companies and the US's Bush Administration and the unchallenged power of Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, over his country's media. But the most egregious examples of wholesale looting had occurred in the developing world.

"The abuse of political power for private gain deprives the most needy of vital public services, creating a level of despair that breeds conflict and violence," said TI chairman Peter Eigen.

Most of the names on the list were protected by Western governments, which turned a blind eye in exchange for support during the Cold War.

Soeharto, regarded as a bulwark against communism in Asia, stole as much as $35 billion from his impoverished country during his three decades in power. He was charged with looting up to $500 million, but found to be too ill to stand trial.

Marcos, whose wife's 3000-piece shoe collection became a byword for the corrupt excesses of his regime, was backed by successive US administrations. He embezzled an estimated $10 billion during his 20 years in power.

Mobutu used the threat of an invasion from the then Marxist government of Angola to quiet concerns in the West about his looting from one of Africa's most resource-rich countries.

By the time he was overthrown in 1997, Mobutu had stolen almost half of the $12 billion in aid money that Zaire -- now the Democratic Republic of Congo -- received from the International Monetary Fund during his 32-year reign. Western multinationals must take responsibility for allowing corruption to flourish, TI said.

Bribery of local officials by Western businesses is still widespread, despite global initiatives to stamp it out. Companies from Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Canada topped TI's list of bribe-payers last year. Oil, a curse more often than a blessing for poor countries, is a significant factor in corruption.

"The flow of oil money is so vast it can distort decision-making in poor producer countries and the rich world alike," the report said.

Akbar faces fresh, 1 billion rupiah court case

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2004

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung is facing a fresh court case after a self-confessed middleman filed a lawsuit against the speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday.

Kito Irkhani, a former aide to Attorney General M.A. Rachman, claimed that Akbar, one of Golkar's presidential aspirants, had promised to pay him Rp 1 billion (US$114,000) in order to closely monitor his corruption case, "convince" judges that Akbar was innocent and facilitate meetings between the judges and Akbar.

According to Kito's lawyer, Suhardi Somomoeljono, the agreement was reached on July 30, 2002. "Although the Supreme Court has acquitted Akbar of corruption charges, he [Akbar] has not fulfilled his promise to our client," Kito's lawyer Suhardi Somomoeljono said. "We are asking the court to order Akbar to pay the promised Rp 1 billion and another Rp 5 billion in material damages," he said.

It was not immediately clear if meetings between Akbar and the judges handling his case had ever taken place. According to Suhardi, the verbal deal was reached some time in 2002 when the Golkar chairman was accused of misappropriating Rp 40 billion in State Logistics Agency (Bulog) money.

"Akbar asked my client to monitor the legal process thoroughly, beginning with the first hearing in the Central Jakarta District Court right up to the appeal," Suhardi told reporters. "He [Akbar] also asked my client to persuade the judges handling the case that Akbar was clean," Suhardi said. Based on the deal, Akbar handed over to Kito two checks each worth Rp 325 million for "operational expenses," he said.

Akbar was declared guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court in 2002. The verdict was upheld by the Jakarta High Court in 2003, but was overturned by the Supreme Court in mid-February.

It remains to be seen, however, if this latest development will be treated as new evidence, and so lead to a reopening of Akbar's corruption case. Neither Akbar nor his lawyers could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

 Local & community issues

Kampar administration, schools return to normal

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2004

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, Pekanbaru -- Work at the Kampar district administration in Riau returned to normal on Friday after three days of paralysis caused by protests against its much-derided regent.

Civil servants, teachers and students, who had spearheaded weeks of demonstrations to press for the dismissal of regent Jefri Noer, resumed working after their demand was heeded by the central government.

Ilyas Harun, head of the Kampar Regional State Personnel Agency (BAKD), confirmed the return of all civil servants to work after Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno issued a decree suspending Jefri. However, he said local officials could not take strategic policies until after Riau Governor Rusli Zainal gave directives.

The governor was appointed by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sarbano to temporarily take over the district administration and name a caretaker to take charge of it.

Ilyas said his office had suspended activities for more than a month -- since the Kampar legislative council voted to oust Jefri. The dismissal was officially effective only after it was approved by Hari.

Idris, a senior official at the local education and sports office, said schools in the province had restarted a day after local people greeted Jefri's suspension with joyful celebrations.

To overcome the study time lost by students who joined the demonstrations, teachers had agreed to allocate additional hours for teaching, so their charges would be prepared to face upcoming exams, Idris said.

With the additional teaching hours effective for two weeks, students would have classes until late afternoon, he said.

Meanwhile, local people planned to hold a week-long party to celebrating the ousting of Jefri and his deputy A. Zakir slaughtering buffaloes to mark the occasion.

The "People's Party", to he held at the Mahligai Bungsu Building from March 27 to April 4, would feature traditional dances and modern music. The building was the spot where thousands of protesters gathered on Tuesday, two of whom were shot by police.

"So far, we have received nine buffaloes in donations from local people for the party," local resident Putra said. He said the people would also paint and clean up the building that became dirty after being used by the demonstrators.

A day after his suspension was approved by the central government, Jefri could not still be reached for comment on Friday. He was reportedly in Jakarta along with Governor Rusli to meet regional autonomy director-general Oentarto Sindung Mawardi at the home affairs ministry.

Jefri had been under fire since February when he reportedly ordered a principal to leave a meeting after the principal questioned him about the district's low budget for education. The expulsion was seen an insult to the teaching profession, and local teachers and principals launched major protests against the regent.

Euphoria in Kampar as regent axed

Jakarta Post - March 26, 2004

Haidir Anwar Tanjung and Tiarma Siboro, Pekanbaru/Jakarta -- Joyful celebrations erupted in Kampar regency, Riau province, on Thursday, shortly after Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno finally bowed to the people's adamant demand to dismiss the district chief and his deputy.

The decision to suspend Kampar Regent Jefri Noer and his deputy A. Zakir followed weeks of protests that shut most of the region down, and culminated in the shooting of two students by police on Tuesday.

Under the suspension decree, the home minister appointed Riau Governor Rusli Zainal to temporarily take over the Kampar administration.

Speaking in Jakarta, Hari said the suspension was aimed at preventing further problems ahead of the April 5 legislative election.

"I signed the decree after learning that such an uncertainty [mass protests] could increase ahead of the election should we fail to settle the case immediately," he said.

The decree was issued as hundreds of people from Kampar gathered at Hari's office in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning. The minister had earlier said he would settle the Kampar case after the April 5 election.

The suspension decree also obliges the Riau governor to appoint a caretaker to take charge of the Kampar district.

The news of Jefri's suspension reached Kampar at around 11:30 a.m. Literally seconds later, at least one sport utility vehicle equipped with a microphone was seen parading around the Kampar capital of Bangkinang, some 60 kilometers from Pekanbaru announcing the news.

Within minutes, thousands of people on motorcycles, in pedicabs, trucks and other vehicles began parading around town jubilantly and noisily.

The parade of vehicles was greeted enthusiastically by thousands of people lining the streets and waving at everyone who drove by. Traffic on the main highway that goes through the town from Pekanbaru to Padang, West Sumatra, came to a halt for about one hour.

The paraders later gathered at the Mahligai Bungsu Building, the spot where Tuesday's shooting took place, and everyone began shaking hands and hugging each other to express their rapturous joy.

Bangkinang had for the past two days been deserted of teachers, students and most civil servants, who had gone on strike to press for the ouster of Jefri.

"Thank God, the central government has finally sided with the people. We hope there will never again be a leader in Kampar like Jefri Noer. Therefore, the Kampar legislative council should be careful in electing a new regent," said local resident Abdul Kadir, 50.

The council had voted earlier to dismiss Jefri from his post following days of huge protests against him. But the decision could not become official until after the home minister approved it.

Similarly, local junior high school teacher Imanuddin, 45, also could not hide his pleasure upon hearing the news of Jefri's suspension.

"We are glad about the dismissal of Jefri Noer. It shows that our struggle was not in vain," he said. Imanuddin said he and his fellow teachers would return to school on Friday.

Jefri had been under fire since February when he reportedly expelled a teacher from a meeting after the victim questioned the regent about the district's low budget for education.

The order was seen as an insult to the teaching profession and was followed by the series of demonstrations.

The dismissed regent was also accused of corruption and using a fake diploma to be eligible for the regency's election two years ago.

Jefri was not the first district head in the country to see himself toppled under a major decentralization program that begun in 2001.

 Human rights/law

Komnas HAM asked to work seriously to free tapols

Detik.com - March 25, 2004

Suwarjono, Jakarta -- On Thursday March 25, scores of activists from the People's Lawyers Union (Serikat Pengacara Rakyat, SPR) and the Popular Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Kerakyatan, GPK) went to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) offices in Central Jakarta. They asked the institution to pay more attention to and take serious action to ensure the release of all political prisoners.

The activists arrived at around 11am and were received by Komnas HAM member, Taheri Noor. During the meeting, Komnas HAM promised to discuss SPR's and GPK's request at its plenary meeting. According to SPR's and GPK's records, there are five political prisoners who are currently in detention.

The five are Edward Noya, an activist from the University of Indonesia, who was arrested by Jakarta police last Friday following the burning of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, United Development Party and Golkar Party flags.

The others are Yoyo and Mahendra, who set fire to a photograph of President Megawati Sukarnoputri in Yogyakarta, Central Java, on April 28, 2003, and Iwan Irama Putra and Herlina, who were arrested in Banda Aceh after being accused of being involved with the Free Aceh Movement. (zal)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Jakarta judges lash out at army's crimes

Weekend Australian - March 27, 2004

Sian Powell, Jakarta -- Two Supreme Court judges have risked high-level political opprobrium by criticising Indonesian armed forces' crimes in East Timor in 1999.

In only the court's third dissenting opinion, the two judges ruled against Indonesia's ad hoc tribunal on East Timor, finding five senior army and police officers guilty of gross human rights abuses.

Supreme Court judge Artidjo Alkostar told The Weekend Australian that in terms of human rights law, the five officers were guilty of acts of omission. He said that although they were aware of militia attacks on independence supporters sheltering in a church in the East Timorese town of Suai in September, 1999, they failed to protect the victims. "They knew there was killing in the church," he said. "They were outside the church."

Military abuses in East Timor have been a politically sensitive issue for decades, and international condemnation accelerated after the carnage in 1999, when East Timor chose independence from Indonesia.

As expected, the other three Supreme Court judges on the case found the officers innocent in a decision released on March 3, allowing the men to avoid penalty. The judges upheld the rulings of Indonesia's East Timor tribunal, which has been condemned as a whitewash. It has acquitted most of the 18 officers and civil servants it called for trial, and handed down extremely light sentences for the rest.

The four senior Indonesian soldiers and a senior police officer implicated in the Suai church massacre -- and found guilty by Judge Alkostar and his colleague, Sumaryo Suryokusumo -- earlier were acquitted by the tribunal. Armed militias killed at least 27 people in the Suai slaughter, including three Catholic priests. In his judgment, Judge Alkostar ruled that all five officers -- two army colonels, two army majors and an adjutant police commissioner -- deserved jail terms of between 10 years and 10 1/2 years.

"What happened in the Suai church on September 6 1999 was a crime against humanity," Judge Alkostar wrote. "The attack on 27 civilians was part of the broadly based and systematic attack which happened in East Timor."

The question of Indonesian military abuses in East Timor surfaced this week when UN-funded Serious Crimes Unit prosecutors released a damning summary of evidence and legal argument in the case against Wiranto, the Indonesian armed forces commander during 1999. The summary declared Wiranto guilty of chain-of-command responsibility. "Militias were formed, funded, armed and controlled by the Indonesian army with the knowledge of the accused," the summary said.

However, Indonesia's East Timor tribunal failed to even call Wiranto. Judge Alkostar said his judgment did not relate to chain-of-command, but direct responsibility. He did not rule out acts of commission by soldiers, as well as acts of omission.

"The explanations of the witnesses declared that besides those from the groups of Laksaur and Mahidi (militias), there were also members of the Indonesian army from Kodim 1635 and the police force involved in the attack on refugees in the church complex," the judge wrote.

The Supreme Court cleared Golkar party leader Akbar Tandjung last month of embezzlement, provoking a hailstorm of criticism. One dissenting judge in that case said the parliament speaker was guilty of diverting 40 billion rupiah ($8 million at the time) intended for the poor.

The court also this month unanimously halved the sentence of the terrorist-linked Islamic preacher Abu Bakar Bashir to 18 months. He is now scheduled to be released from prison on April 30.

 Health & education

Poverty blamed for spread tuberculosis

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2004

Suherdjoko and Rusman, Semarang/Samarinda -- The number of tuberculosis sufferers increased to 36,820, with 12,000 fatalities, in Central Java province this year and that number is expected to go higher due partly to poverty, a local health official said on Friday.

Central Java health office head Krishnajaya said that the sufferers were among about 583,000 people, who have contracted TB throughout the country with some 140,000 fatalities each year. He added that only 28.3 percent had access to medication.

"From 10 sufferers, 75 percent of them are in their productive years and 60 percent are poor people," Krishnajaya said on the sidelines of a World Tuberculosis Day event.

He said the increase in the number of TB sufferers was because of the fact that people were ashamed of admitting that they had it. Besides, the sufferers were mostly low-income people, unable to afford treatment.

"TB and poverty are apparently part of a vicious circle that makes the situation worse. To overcome this, efforts must be made to break the cycle of the spread on one hand and eradicate poverty on the other," Krishnajya said.

He said that since 1993, special preventive measures to fight TB had been successfully implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared TB a Global Emergency.

Part of an effective strategy was promoting a program called DOTS (Direct Observed Treatment Shortcourse), he said, adding that it had significantly increased recovery rates.

Krishnajaya said TB patients could be cured by regularly taking medication for between six and eight months. He called on the sufferers to get examined by their condition at local health community centers (Puskesmas) free of charge.

Meanwhile in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the number of TB sufferers hit at least 3,134 but only 806 of them were detected with a cure rate reaching 73 percent.

Sogiyanto, duty manager at the East Kalimantan Health office, blamed on Friday filthy living conditions and low awareness on the part of sufferers for the spread of TB in the province.

Apart from that, inadequate facilities, poor human resources and lack of funds were also part of the problems hampering efforts to fight TB, he added. He said poverty also contributed to the increase in the number of TB patients.

However, he said it seemed ironic that with the annual budget of Rp 3 trillion (US$353 million) for East Kalimantan, the spread of TB should have been able to be curbed.

"Therefore, to minimize the spread of the disease, regencies and municipalities have set up an Indonesian Tuberculosis Eradication Association (PPTI)," Sogiyanto added. PPTI's tasks include educating people on TB eradication and providing training sessions.

Bird flu outbreak shows signs of slowing

Reuters - March 25, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesia's bird flu outbreak, which has killed up to 6.2 million chickens across the archipelago, is showing signs of abating, a top agriculture ministry official said on Thursday.

Bachtiar Moerad, director of veterinary health, said that although new bird flu cases were still being recorded on Java and Bali islands, the overall numbers had fallen in recent months compared to the peak period late last year.

"Across the board, bird flu cases have abated. Therefore, we are taking the next steps, such as restricting the traffic of day-old-chics," Moerad said without elaborating.

"We hope in the short term to declare Indonesia free [from the disease]," he said, without giving a specific time frame.

Last week, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation urged affected nations not to restock poultry farms too quickly to prevent the disease from flaring up again.

Many Indonesian farmers have been busy restocking. "If we don't restock quickly, it affects the people's lives, unlike in the United States and other countries that have larger-scale poultry farms," said Moerad.

Bird flu spread across much of Asia from late last year, killing more than 20 people, and forcing authorities to slaughter tens of millions of fowl to halt the advance of the epidemic.

Poor patients still forced to pay medical bills

Jakarta Post - March 23, 2004

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta -- Despite the nationwide policy of providing free medical treatment to poor dengue fever patients, some hospitals continue to charge poor patients, according to an investigation by the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC).

The non-governmental organization, working with the Jakarta Pedicab Association and the Jakarta Poor Residents Network, found the hospitals were charging poor dengue patients for stays in third-class wards, in violation of the announced government policy.

In a statement on Saturday, the Urban Poor Consortium said its investigation from March 8 to March 16 found that at the state- owned Harapan Kita Hospital in West Jakarta, the parents of a two-year-old dengue patient had to pay Rp 680,000 (US$80) for three days of treatment in the third-class ward.

Another patient at the same hospital was reportedly charged Rp 800,000 for a three-day stay in the third-class ward. When the family of the patient showed hospital administrators a letter issued by the local administration to impoverished families, which should have entitled them to free treatment, the patient's family was required to pay half the original cost.

At Suliyanti Saroso Hospital for Infectious Diseases in North Jakarta, parents of a 14-month-old dengue patient had to pay Rp 70,000 for needles.

However, after negotiations with hospital staff, the parents were allowed to pay Rp 30,000 but without a receipt from the hospital.

The UPC said there were 13 similar cases where poor dengue fever patients had to pay for treatment.

Jakarta Health Agency spokeswoman Evy Zelfino said the agency had not received any complaints regarding poor dengue patients being required to pay for treatment.

"If there is a case where a dengue fever patient has to pay for a stay in the third-class ward, the patient should report this to us, along with all the necessary information like hospital receipts and their identity cards," Evy told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

She said if the agency received any such reports, it would check the complaint directly with the accused hospital.

Evy could not say what kind of action the agency would take against hospitals found to be charging dengue patients for treatment in the third-class wards.

"It is impossible for us to check up on all of the hospitals every day ... we have to rely on the reputations of the hospitals. They should provide great service for poor families in order to maintain their good names," Evy said.

 Islam/religion

Muslims slam Israel, US for Yassin's death

Jakarta Post - March 27, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesian Muslims reacted angrily to the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin by Israel, with rallies held in several major cities on Java island on Friday in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. Most of the rallies turned into verbal attacks on the United States, Israel's long- standing ally.

At least 3,000 people held a demonstration at the Gladag traffic circle in the Central Java town of Surakarta, demanding that the United Nations declare Israel and its allies as terrorist states.

They also urged the government to step up support for the Palestinians through diplomacy, including by seeking a halt to Israel's military actions.

Among the protesters were the students of the Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school, which is run by cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is serving a jail term for immigration offenses. The US has accused Ba'asyir of deep involvement in terrorist activities.

Al Mukmin's director Wahyuddin called for solidarity among Muslims against Israel. "We must fight Israel as well as all of its allies across the world, such as the United States," he said in a speech.

Separately, Bisma, the spokesman for the protesters, said the rally was part of a series of actions to support Palestine. He said the protesters had set up the Center for Middle East Studies, which would hold dialogs and campaign against Israel and the US, as well as collect donations for the "Islamic struggle".

A similar rally took place in Yogyakarta, with more than 500 students and youths taking part. The protesters were members of the Indonesian Muslim Students United Action (KAMMI) organization, the Yogyakarta Mosque Youth Forum, the Yogyakarta Islamic Student Network, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, an organization led by Ba'asyir.

Unfurling a banner reading, "Sheikh Yassin could be killed but Islam will never been killed", the students staged their protest in front of the Yogyakarta city council. Apparently swept away by emotion, the protesters demanded the expulsion of Israeli diplomats from Indonesia, despite the fact that the two countries have no diplomatic ties.

In Surabaya, dozens of members of the Association of Muslim Students (HMI) held a rally outside the US Consulate General on Jl. Dr. Soetomo. They branded both the US and Israel as the "real terrorists". The protesters accused the US of involvement in the murder of Yassin.

"The US is nothing more than a guard for terrorist countries such as Israel," shouted the protesters, who demanded the government get actively involved in what they termed "conflict resolution" in Palestine.

About 50 protesters also staged a rally in the Central Java capital of Semarang to express their anger over the murder of Yassin. Calling Israel a colonizer, the protesters also criticized the governments of Muslim countries, particularly those in the Middle East, which they said failed to act to protect the Palestinians.

In Jakarta, the government expressed its deep regret over the failure of the UN to condemn the murder of Yassin following a veto from Washington. "We deeply regret the inability of the Security Council of the United Nations to adopt a resolution on the murder of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin.

"The failure ... shows the Security Council is unable to shoulder the responsibility that it has to maintain international peace and security," said foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa.

Preaching Islam, Britney style

Asia Times - March 24, 2004

Tony Sitathan, Jakarta -- A new Islamic fad is sweeping across Indonesia. But this time the divine message is reinforced by an amplifier and a speaker box chanting Islamic musical notes taken from the Koran, Islam's holy book, and sprinkled with modern-day pop culture that appeals even to the MTV generation in Indonesia.

Some call it the dawning of a new era in "Islamization", where pop-star Islamic preachers use the mass media as their vehicle to entertain and enthrall young audiences. And it doesn't stop there. Their pop-star appeal and poster-boy good looks seem to appeal to a wide cross section of the population, including the young and old, as well as the different genders. Women especially seem to adore this new breed of singing preacher, who appear to have a cult-like appeal similar to that first shown by audiences responding to pop groups like Abba or the Beatles.

"The music is especially appealing, and the musical beats are similar to that of a fusion of world music that has a distinct tempo to it. But it's not hypnotic nor seen as something subliminal, if that is what you are thinking about," said Eddy Sugianto, a music critic and playwright who has written several local thematic plays in Indonesia.

One of the more charismatic and better recognized Islamic preachers, Abdullah Gymnastiar, 42, has earned kudos from the media as "the poster boy of moderate Islam". He also is known as brother Gym or Aa Gym and currently runs MQCorp, a holding company that runs a network marketing franchise for consumer products ranging from cosmetics and perfume to toiletries, food and beverages, fashion accessories and clothing, including its own range of cola beverages known as MQ Cola. Last year, his business grossed Rp27 billion (US$3.2 million). Not bad for a Muslim cleric who was labeled by Time magazine as the "Britney Spears of Islam".

Even then, Aa Gym is better known as an entertainer and a stage performer who woes his audiences with informal and entertaining tales using references to the Koran and motivational anecdotes peppered with humor. His message centers on love, tolerance and making the most of this worldly life. He maintains that being a professional, a businessman or a good student is all part of worship. And in keeping with his business line, Aa Gym's songs of worship are commonly sold in record stalls -- a collector's series, which includes a video compact disc and a thin biography on Aa Gym can be bought for less than Rp240,000.

When Aa Gym was invited to meet US President George W Bush during his visit to Bali last year, he preferred to take a neutral stance instead of siding with the anti-terrorism rhetoric being played up by Bush. Thus, Aa Gym declined the invitation and performed a small haj pilgrimage to Mecca. Although Aa Gym has appeared apolitical so far, there are rumors that he is being courted by several of the political parties preparing for Indonesia's general elections next month.

According to Iwan Sadikin, a public relations campaign manager for the Golkar Party in East Jakarta, charismatic public speakers like Aa Gym could be seen as an asset for the party in canvassing support from the masses in Indonesia. "A good election campaign needs good public supporters that are seen as a credible front for Golkar. Golkar has by far one of the best manifestoes in among all the other parties, and we have to deliver the message as being a people's party and having the interests of every Indonesian, and what better person to relay this message than someone like Aa Gym," he said.

Although Aa Gym has not indicated any interest in being part of the campaign trail for Golkar, Islamic preachers like Arifin Ilham, 35, are more vocal about their political leanings. Although Arifin has championed the cause of the Sharia (Islamic Law) being imposed in Indonesia and prefers calling Indonesia an Islamic state instead of a secular state, he also cautioned against Islam being used by extremists and terrorists as a front to propagate terror. He once said that the Sharia should be the absolute law of the country, "but the struggle to impose it should be through the display of faith and virtue, not terrorism", he said.

Arifin is a well-known performer of zikir -- the art of leading audiences in mass prayers or divine remembrance, considered a type of meditation where sacred words from the Koran are repeated over and over again. It is similar to reciting the Hail Mary verses in Catholic tradition, only this type of prayer its charged with public sentiment and community spirit. It is believed that performing zikir helps a Muslim become more devout and leads them away from sin. Arifin has recently been approached by the Islamic party PPP (People's United Party) and scholars from ICMI or the Association of Islamic Intellectuals, a splinter group that was founded by former president B J Habibie and is currently supportive of Golkar and its grassroots policies.

Yet another religious preacher, hailing from Yogyakarta, is Wijayanto, 36. He is an anthropology professor at Gajah Mada University and has been favored as a bridge between balancing radical Islam with secular Islam. He also prefers to engage in dialogue sessions with his congregation when possible, making them more like informal classroom sessions.

Wijayanto has been highly outspoken and has been prominently featured in radio and television talk shows. His universal embrace of Islam has many followers, including former president Abdurrahman Wahid along with his Muslim grassroots organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and his political party PKB or the National Awakening Party. Aside from attracting those in political circles, Wijayanto is a savvy businessman as well, running 19 companies, including travel agencies, multimedia companies, advertising agencies, restaurants and a Muslim fashion line. His business ventures are valued slightly less than Aa Gym's at Rp12 billion.

The fact that Islam is propagating into a savvy religion and is seen to appeal to the masses is something that many consider rejuvenation. A director of the Center of Islamic and Society Studies said these young preachers offer simple and easily digestible messages that make them distinct from their seniors. More important, they make going to mosques or religious gatherings enjoyable.

It also goes to show that modern-day Islam in the right doses can be seen as an open religion that is forward-looking. Islam is also a religion that can inspire businesses and franchises to flourish, similar to the times of the Ottoman Empire, considered the golden age of Islam during the days when the Silk Road extended across Greater Asia. Perhaps the only danger lies with the political parties that are constantly flirting with the messengers of modern-day Islam. Curbing their hidden political agendas and territorial instincts instead of fanning them, would perhaps do more good than bad for these celebrity mullahs in Indonesia.

Islamic parties in Jakarta unfazed by PAS defeat

Straits Times - March 25, 2004

Jakarta -- The leaders of Indonesia's Islamic parties have reluctantly accepted the defeat of political Islam by Malaysia's dominant secular political grouping in the recent elections, but said it was far from being final.

Responding to the trouncing of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), they said it did not necessarily reflect a weakening in support for Islamic parties.

They claimed that PAS' defeat to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's secular Barisan Nasional coalition was only incidental to the Indonesian situation, and that Islamic parties in Indonesia would be able to address any challenges they faced.

"What happened to PAS in Malaysia is not final. It is connected with the party's internal problems and domestic politics in that country," Mr Hamdan Zoelva, an influential leader of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), said on Tuesday.

Mr Mutammimul Ula of the Islam-oriented Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said the Islamic parties would continue to push their manifestoes to strengthen political Islam in Indonesia. "We are working hard to win the hearts of the people," he said.

Mr Djoko Susilo, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN) led by Dr Amien Rais, said he was concerned that Islamic parties here would face a similar fate in the legislative elections on April 5. But he noted that PAN was a moderate Islamic party. "We need a religion, but moderation is also necessary," he said.

Analyst Saiful Mujani from the Freedom Institute argued that Islamic parties were losing popularity in Indonesia, partly due to their inability to accommodate modernity. As the Indonesian political culture changed, Islam in the form that is being promoted by some of the parties is increasingly losing its allure among the electorate.

He said: "Muslim voters can easily distinguish Islam as a religion from the Islamic parties fighting for political influence. Most voters support those parties with secular platforms due to the changing culture. This was borne out by the 1999 elections."

Meanwhile, President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday urged supporters not to accept money to vote for rival parties. "On April 5, be alert to those people spreading money around," she told about 10,000 supporters at a soccer field just outside Jakarta.

The previous 1999 elections were marred by vote-buying, and analysts say most major parties, including Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, will likely resort to the practice this time around.

Ms Megawati's party is expected to lose votes at the polls. It garnered a third of the vote in the first free elections in 1999, following the fall of dictator Suharto.

But some surveys show it could emerge behind Golkar Party, the one-time political vehicle of Suharto, as many critics accuse Ms Megawati of not caring about millions of Indonesia's poor who voted for her in droves five years ago.

Why Indonesian parties shy from syariah

Straits Times - March 23, 2004

Devi Asmarani, Makassar -- For them to graduate, primary school students in Bulukumba regency, about a three-hour drive from here, must take proficiency tests in Quran reading.

Alcoholic beverages are banned in several towns, and in one regency, women public officials must cover their hair with headscarves at work.

It may be a long shot for Jakarta to approve South Sulawesi's proposal to adopt Islamic laws. But thanks to regional autonomy, predominantly Muslim regions in the province have been able to introduce their own spin of the syariah laws.

Local politicians feel it is politically correct to support the cause even if it is not in agreement with their party lines. In fact, one such adviser is a Cabinet minister and presidential aspirant from the secular Golkar party, Mr Jusuf Kalla.

Several regions in provinces like West Java have also exercised their autonomous rights in similar fashion.

But surveys and reports have shown that to most Indonesians, syariah laws are an alien idea more suited to the Middle East, analysts said. Indonesians are wary of punishments such as hand chopping for thieves or stoning to death for adulterers that are so often associated with syariah laws.

Because of this, more parties have shied away from formally supporting the adoption of such laws which was a staple issue for many Muslim-based parties in 1999.

The Crescent Star Party (PBB) is the only major party openly saying it is fighting for the imposition of those laws. Party chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra, in his capacity as Minister of Justice, last year incorporated Islamic doctrines in the draft of the new criminal code, especially in matters surrounding sexual behaviour.

But with its rigid and exclusive platform, the PBB has a slim chance of improving its poll results this year from barely 3 per cent of the votes in 1999.

The two other groups championing the same cause -- the Star Reforms Party and the Nahdlatul Ummah United Party -- are so small they are unlikely to make a splash in the April 5 parliamentary election.

The larger, Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) has been trying to shed its sectarian image to woo more voters. With its chairman Hamzah Haz serving as deputy to President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the party, which opposed a woman for president in 1999, declares that it is now a "religious but nationalist" party.

Despite Mr Hamzah's flirtations with Muslim hardliners like cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the PPP's stands on religious issues are often fuzzy. On syariah laws, the PPP says it supports these "as a principle" but feels no urgency to implement them.

Similarly, although the Prosperous Justice Party has a strong Islamic ideology with a longer-term agenda, it glosses over the syariah issue to avoid projecting a hardline image.

The apparent shift is caused by the disappointing results in 1999, when the more than 10 Islamic parties combined won just 16 per cent of the votes nationwide. Recent polls by the Indonesian Survey Institute found that Muslim voters tend to favour moderate, pluralistic and democratic parties rather than those fighting for Islamic law or an Islamic state.

Muslim scholars agree it is nearly impossible to adopt syariah laws because of the diversity of the Islamic communities and schools of thoughts in Indonesia. As State Islamic University's Bachtiar Effendy said: "Syariah is meant for homogenous countries like Saudi Arabia."

 Armed forces/police

TNI cannot submit to civil authority: Sutrisno

Kompas - March 28, 2004

Surabaya -- The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) cannot be placed under the authority of the civilian government. The TNI must be involved in politics because the TNI is not a tool of the government.

This issue was taken up by retired General Try Sutrisno when presenting a public lecture at the Surabaya Juang Building in East Java on Saturday March 27.

He said that the TNI is not the same as the military in other countries because the TNI is a people's military. "The TNI was born out of the people. Therefore the TNI must be involved in politics together with the people", said the former vice- president.

According to the former armed forces chief, the TNI must be involved in politics in order to prevent the breakup of Indonesia. "Almost all of the generals have such a view. So, the TNI is not involved in politics for the sake of a [particular] group, but for the unity of Indonesia", he said.

He said that one of the TNI's political goals is to prevent the sabotage of the general elections. The elections must be a success, especially since recent elections in other countries have run smoothly. "We have to discard the culture where success [is defined in terms] of overthrowing the president. It is time for us to apply [a definition] of democratic success though elections", he said.

Sutrisno said that he would not be nominating himself as a presidential candidate because there are already many other candidates who are ready to be nominated. "The population of Indonesia is 210 million, so a presidential candidate is just one of them", he said.

He rejected the view that he is using the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) as a tool for his nomination. According to Sutrisno, it is too naove to establish or support a political party if you just want to become president. "We should support a party because [we are] convinced of that party's ideology", he said.

Opposed to direct elections

He also opposed the direct election of the president. According to Sutrisno, this format lacks democratic control. "The people are not ready yet. We blame a system which is good just because those who use it are wrong", he said.

According to Sutrisno, in accordance with the principles of the democratic state of Indonesia, democracy is consultative democracy. "That is the mandate of [the state ideology of] Pancasila, so this is violated by applying direct democracy", he said.

He said that all of this began with amendments to the 1945 Constitution which resulted in the Constitution loosing its original values. "The amendments were carried out without reference to the original values of the 1945 Constitution", he said. (S08)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

 Business & investment

Managing Indonesia's state assets

Asia Times - March 27, 2004

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- Though now defunct, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) remains prominent in the current two-month changeover period to a new way of managing debt restructuring and asset sales.

A new Assets Management Company (AMC) took over the function of IBRA when the latter closed shop at the end of last month. It is tasked with managing and restructuring IBRA's remaining assets, worth some Rp40 trillion (US$4.6 billion).

It needs money to get on with the job. Though the new company will get Rp300 billion ($35 million) in operational funds from the Ministry of Finance, already agreed by the House Commission IX for financial affairs, disbursement still needs majority approval from the full House of Representatives, which is currently in recess until after the April 5 legislative elections.

Help was on hand, though, from IBRA. The agency this week transferred a total of Rp150 billion ($17.5 million) to its successor in the form of a loan.

"The sum can hopefully be used by AMC to start its operations," IBRA chairman Syafruddin A Temenggung said on Tuesday, adding that IBRA would eventually return the repayment to the Ministry of Finance as part of IBRA's additional revenue to the state.

Temenggung, who took over at IBRA in April 2002, heads a team of some 100 former IBRA employees given until April 30 to hand over to the new company.

He said IBRA still controlled funds of about Rp3 trillion to Rp4 trillion, which would be transferred to the Ministry of Finance in April. This is apart from the Rp5 trillion IBRA generated from sales of assets under its control and delivered to the government to support last year's state budget.

AMC is under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, unlike IBRA, which was controlled by the Ministry of State Enterprises. Also unlike IBRA, it will have no fiscal targets to meet. However, it has plenty of work ahead to sort out the unsold assets IBRA handed back to the ministry. These are in the form of shares in banks, non-performing loans and property and shares in a number of companies.

IBRA transferred assets with an estimated market value around Rp15 trillion ($1.75 billion). The new Assets Management Company, which has a five-year tenure and is led by a senior ex-IBRA official, will manage assets with a total market value estimated at Rp10.8 trillion. These are assets deemed "free and clear" in terms of legality, though their book value is some Rp108.5 trillion.

A special top-level clearance team will manage the remainder before being submitted to the Assets Management Company. The team will be chaired by Finance Minister Boediono, with State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi as vice chairman, and National Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar, Attorney General M A Rachman and Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra as members.

The new arrangements are all covered by presidential decrees. Six years after a Suharto presidential decree set up IBRA in February 1998, a presidential decree from Megawati Sukarnoputri officially closed the agency this February 27. Another decree established the "clearance team" for six months, and a third authorized the continuation of the bank blanket-guarantee program.

The presidential decree allowed for six months for the clearance team to settle IBRA's affairs. If at the end of the period the team has not finished its tasks, the government will approve an extension for as long as necessary.

Boediono wants the state budget funds, which will be returned before the end of the year, from part of the proceeds raised from the sale of the assets, as quickly as possible. This is to maintain and manage the assets to prevent their value from declining and to protect them from being "looted", as the minister put it.

The government has asked the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to audit the assets transferred from IBRA, but Boediono told legislators that the Assets Management Company would start selling them straight away to avoid a further decline in the value of their assets, though he promised there would be no fire sale. Some former bank owners have been cleared of criminal charges, despite their violation of banking regulations and their alleged misappropriation of the bailout funds.

The government injected Rp144.5 trillion (some $17 billion at today's value) in emergency liquidity funds to banks to bail them out in the wake of the late 1990s financial crisis.

Some 35 bank owners have been charged with violating banking regulations, mainly by channeling depositors' money to affiliated business groups, which hastened the collapse of the banks and forced the government to bail them out.

As IBRA struggled to get to grips with the scale of it all, credit assets were bought back by previous owners with hardly any capital.

IBRA had already awarded debt free status to nine ex-bank owners, including Anthony Salim, the former owner of Bank BCA and the largest debtor. Last week four more were given a clean bill of health by the still powerful Financial Sector Policy Committee (FSPC) established by a presidential decree in 1999.

To repay their debts, bank owners surrendered cash and assets to IBRA, but most assets were found to have much less market value than claimed. In the Salim case, for example, IBRA collected around Rp20 trillion from the sale of shares in 108 companies surrendered by Salim to pay off his Rp52.7 trillion debt to the state.

This frees the ex-bank owners from any legal action for possible banking crimes committed in the past.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has deployed no fewer than 30 auditors to examine the performance of IBRA. The auditors have been investigating IBRA's performance for 14 months so far and will eventually follow this with an audit of the agency's final balance sheet.

Boediono admits the results are eagerly awaited. If these audits uncover any improprieties, then a further transparent audit investigation is to be carried out. Because of the corrupt legal system the agency preferred to seek out-of-court settlements, and there are still 1,361 unsolved legal cases, the majority of which center on asset disputes. The cases are worth a total of Rp25 trillion and involve 447 debtors.

Other unfinished business includes the liquidation of closed down banks, resolution of the Shareholders' Liability Settlements (PKPS) of banks that were closed down by the government as well as the settlement of ongoing business transactions.

To provide some assurance for bankers and their customers, IBRA's role in the government's bank deposit guarantee program will be taken over by a new institution under the Ministry of Finance.

This is a temporary measure, pending the planned establishment of a full-blown deposit-guarantee agency.

As for IBRA, more than 70 percent of its 2,500 employees have been absorbed into the new asset-management body and top officials have been snapped up by other companies. Temenggung is now a member of the Pertamina board of commissioners and his deputy, Sumantri Slamet, has landed on his feet with a vice president commissioner post at Bank Internasional Indonesia.

 Opinion & analysis

Restoring Trust in Papua

Jakarta Post Editorial - March 26, 2004

The Constitutional Court, established on the basis of the decision of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), is currently engaged in reviewing the legal contradictions that are affecting the province of Papua. Some prominent figures of that westernmost Indonesian province have submitted what they consider to be an inconsistency resulting from the issuance of Presidential Decree No.1 in January 2003. That decree, which refers to Law No.45/1999 signed by President BJ Habibie, among other things, mandates the division of the province of Irian Jaya into three new provinces, namely West, Central and East Irian Jaya.

In the meantime, however, a new law was signed on Nov. 21, 2001 by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, namely Law No.21/2001, under the designation of the Special Autonomy Law for the Province of Papua. The conceptual thinking behind that law was initiated and developed during the administration of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, and embodies the open attitude and reformist views of Gus Dur. Of course, Papuan intellectual and societal leaders contributed their thoughts and opinions, which to a large degree were adopted by a special working committee of the House of Representatives (DPR), chaired by Sabam Sirait of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). The progressive character of that law is demonstrated in Chapter 4 on the establishment of a Papua People's Council. Article 76 stipulates that the creation of new provinces in Papua must have the approval of the Papua People's Council and the Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD I). However, the formation of the People's Council has been repeatedly postponed because the governmental decree required for the implementation of Law no.21/2001 is not yet forthcoming.

In the meantime, Presidential Decree No.1/2003 was issued and the province of Irian Jaya West was created. The birth of the new province of Central Irian Jaya was postponed because of the fierce protests that erupted in Mimika regency. As might have been expected, the educated sector, as well as informal traditional leaders were dismayed by the issuance of Presidential Decree No.1/2003.

The moderates among the province's societal leaders, who had been pinning their hopes on Special Autonomy Law No.21/2001 -- as a judicious instrument for accommodating the aspirations of the local population while still remaining within the framework of the Republic of Indonesia -- found that they were cornered. Nevertheless, they stayed within the law, and spearheaded by a member of the Papua Provincial Legislative Council, John Ibo, submitted the case to the Constitutional Court.

The point that should be emphasized in this case, however, concerns more than the legal contradictions that are currently affecting Papua, and have caused much administrative confusion in that province. More important, is the element of trust that has been lost, as was pointed out by Jayapura Bishop Leo Labalajar. In his testimony before an open session of the Constitutional Court presided over by president Jimly Asshidiqie, the bishop, who has served the Jayapura diocese for more than a decade, said that the people of Papua expected the central government to trust them to manage their own lives and culture.

He was of the opinion that there would be less conflict in Papua if the central government implemented the special autonomy law in their province, especially by the formation of the Papua People's Council.

However, Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno had at one time said that the formation of such a council would be tantamount to the establishment of a state within a state. He apparently conveniently ignored the clear stipulation in Chapter 4, Article 23, of the special autonomy law, which clearly states that it is the task of the Papua People's Council to maintain the Papua Province within the domain of the Republic of Indonesia. Since the resignation of Gen.(ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Hari has been assigned as acting Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs. If it is true that Hari -- as has been reported -- has presented the President with a draft governmental decree that would alter the structure and the authority of the Papua People's Council, then an odd situation would be created whereby a legal product of lesser weight would amend a law that had been approved by the House. We are also concerned about the possibility of Hari annulling his predecessor's decision and proceeding with the establishment of the Central Irian Jaya Province.

With the legislative election scheduled for April 5, we are of the opinion that President Megawati's government should restrain itself in introducing new decisions on Papua. It would be better to resolve all matters concerning Papua Province on the basis of Law No.21/2001, and to entrust the implementation of solutions to the newly elected House and the incoming government, after it is installed in October. In the meantime, it would be prudent for the Constitutional Court to decree an interim adjudication stipulating that the present government should maintain the present legal status quo in Papua Province, lest newly enforced decisions stir up more social disturbances in that westernmost province.


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