Aceh

The mystery of the phantom budgets

Tempo Magazine - August 24-30, 2004

If only the Indonesian Museum of Records would put on record the busiest man selling a government project to the public, Mahmun Yunan would make a good choice. The head of the Aceh provincial infrastructure office has been selling Ladia Galaska for months, making a presentation of the controversial road project before, at last count, no fewer than 59 non-governmental organizations and community groups. "The latest one was last week before community leaders from 11 districts in the province," Yunan said with a laugh.

More presentations are being planned. Little wonder for Ladia Galaska, a road that will cut across the Leuser forests, has been sowing controversy since it began two years ago.

Environmental groups have charged the project would destroy the ecosystem and make it easier for illegal loggers to enter the protected forests and accelerate the rate of deforestation in the area. The government, on the other hand, looks at the project as an important step toward improving the economy of the local population by breaking the isolation of the hinterland with a road that will link areas in the eastern coast facing the Indian Ocean and the western coast on the Malacca Straits.

The conflict of interests between the need to preserve the environment and the need to promote economic growth is only one aspect of the debate. NGOs charge the project is rife with corruption.

Planned for completion in 2006, the 470-kilometer road is being built at a cost of Rp950 billion with funds provided by the central government under the national budget and work on the construction of the project under the coordination of the Department of Settlement & Regional Infrastructure.

Of the total cost, Rp250 billion has been disbursed over the past two years. "Rp100 billion of the funds disbursed was used in 2003 to upgrade the status of the provincial road into a state road," Governor Puteh told Tempo.

Siswoko, Inspector General at the Department of Settlement & Regional Infrastructure, says an audit has been made of the money spent in 2003. "No irregularities are found," he adds. An audit is yet to be made on expenditures in 2004.

But it's not the expenditures made in 2003 and 2004 that's being questioned by NGOs, but those in 2002. "We found as much as Rp26.9 billion of public funds had been misappropriated in 2002," says Bambang Antariksa, Executive Director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in Aceh.

Although officially launched only in 2003, after approval by the legislature, construction of some sections of the road began as early as 2001 with funds provided under the "List of Projects for the Province of Aceh for 2002." The funds were allocated for a special project called "Road and Bridge Development Projects for the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam." Altogether 19 road and bridge development projects are covered under the List of Projects (DIP), four of them on the construction of sections of Ladia Galaska, between Jeuram-(Lhok Seumot) and Beutong Ateuh; Beutong Ateuh and Takengon; Blangkejeren and Lokop; and Lokop and Peureulak.

NGOs charge inconsistencies have been found in the reports on funds allocated under the National Budget (APBN) and those under the Regional Budget (APBD).

Some expenditures were found to have not been stated in Governor Puteh's 2002 Year-End Report to the local legislature in August 2003.

Although both NGOs and TEMPO found irregularities in the project, investigation by this magazine produced different figures in amount misappropriated-lower than those reported by the NGOs. Apparently, the NGOs based their calculations on eight sections being funded by the APBN, while only four were actually so funded. Unlike TEMPO, the NGOs also based their calculations on the original DIP published January 1, 2002, not on the revised DIP published October 28, 2002 as TEMPO did. This magazine found about Rp2.2 billion of a total Rp9.4 billion disbursed under APBN in 2002 was not clearly accounted for.

While funds allocated under APBN for four sections of the road matched with those stated in Puteh's report, the governor strangely reported the money

allocated for the Lokop-Peureulak in the amount of Rp8.3 billion derived from APBD, not from APBN. Under the revised DIP this section of the road was allocated Rp8.5 billion in funding under APBN. Where then did the money from the central government go?

"Funds from APBN and APBD were spent on the same section, but for different purposes, such as for the construction of culverts. The remaining Rp4.9 billion of the total was used on sections outside Ladia Galaska," says Yunan.

Irregularities were also found on the Beutong Ateuh-Takengon section. Puteh reported Rp2.8 billion was spent on the section in accordance with the revised DIP. But under an agreement signed with CV Tripa Jayua on May 6, 2002, the contract was valued at only Rp1 billion. Where did the remaining Rp1.8 billion go? Yunan says the money went to another project. "The money was spent on a section outside Ladia Galaska, between Takengon and Pameuh."

Of a total budget of Rp2 billion allocated for the Blangkejeren- Lokop section, only Rp477 million was reported to have been spent. Under the revised DIP the money was supposed to be spent on the Rikit Gaib-Blangkejeren section, not on Blangkejeren- Lokop. No proof of a contract was given on Rp400 million in funds transferred to another section. According to Yunan, "the funds were transferred to another section, between Blangkejeren and Trangon."

Yunan's explanation that that funds were used on another project might be true. But transferring them to another project was wrong. Bambang Brojonegoro, an economist at the University of Indonesia, says any transfer of allocation to another project should be started in the revised DIP.

Deddy Supriady Bratakusumah, an expert on regional economy, agreed, saying it was a wrong thing to do if the transfer was not called for in the revised DIP. Moreover, he adds, "No one could guarantee that the transfer really took place."

So who should then be responsible? Both Bambang and Deddy were of the opinion that every expenditure under APBN for the project should be accounted for by the local infrastructure office to the Department of Settlements & Regional Infrastructure. "They are the people most responsible for the change and transfer of the allocation," says Bambang.

Settlement & Regional Infrastructure Minister Soenarno says he knew nothing of the expenditures made in 2002. "I did not know anything about APBN funds disbursed before 2003." Siswoko, his inspector general responsible for auditing, said he could not examine the records for 2002. "They [the auditors] were threatened with violence if they went down and audited the records."

As a result, irregularities in the project, which still have to run through 2006, remain a mystery. The way things are going, Muhyan Yunan will find himself busier than ever explaining Ladia Galaska to the public in the days ahead.

Rebels to continue fight for independent Aceh

Associated Press - August 23, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesia's 15-month military offensive against separatists in Aceh province has failed to crush the insurgency and left Indonesian forces in a quagmire from which they cannot escape, a senior rebel commander said Monday.

Tjut Kafrawi, commander of rebel forces in eastern Aceh, also pledged that the insurgents would press on with their struggle for independence regardless of the outcome of Indonesia's upcoming presidential elections.

"We are still a strong force," Kafrawi told The Associated Press in a rare phone interview from a jungle base in eastern Aceh. "We will continue our fight."

Indonesia's security forces claim that they have killed about 2,000 fighters of the Free Aceh Movement and captured thousands of others since May 2004, when the government ended a six-month truce, pulled out of internationally brokered peace talks and arrested rebel negotiators.

Fighting in Aceh, a province of four million people, has been going on intermittently since 1870, when Dutch colonial troops occupied the independent sultanate on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

The latest round of fighting began in 1976, and the rebels are now demanding a UN-supervised independence referendum akin to the one which ended Indonesian rule in East Timor in 1999.

Although the rebellion poses a serious threat to Indonesia's unity, the conflict has been dubbed "the Forgotten War" because it has never captured much international attention.

"We have significantly reduced the rebels' strength. Security is improving in Aceh," military spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki said Monday. "We have not been able to get the leaders. But it's only a matter of time."

However, foreign analysts say the military offensive -- in which the government has engaged about 55,000 soldiers, marines and paramilitary policemen -- has barely made a dent in the insurgency. The guerrilla force is estimated to number about 5,000 men and women.

The military recently vowed to increase the pace of operations, and has promised that rebel strength will be reduced by 75% by the end of the year. Last week, 34 people were killed in combat- related activities.

But Indonesian and international human rights organizations say most of the victims in Aceh are innocent villagers caught up in army sweeps through the countryside. They have also warned that the killings by the military are fostering resentment against Jakarta and generating greater support for secession.

Kafrawi rejected the military claim that it is winning the war, saying: "Only a fifth of the casualties are our fighters, while the rest are civilians. Indonesian forces have yet to breach our strongholds. They can't get our leaders," he added.

Foreign negotiators have said they don't expect the two sides to return to the negotiating table if President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- who is backed by a cabal of hardline army generals -- is re-elected on September 20 for a five-year term.

But they have predicted that talks may reopen if challenger Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Megawati's former security minister, wins the runoff vote as now seems likely. Yudhoyono was instrumental in arranging the truce with the Free Aceh Movement in December 2003.

Kafrawi said the rebels were prepared to talk, but that Indonesia's negotiating position was now much weaker than a year ago because its armed forces had demonstrated their inability to win the war. "We may agree to peace talks if there is a new president. But, we don't expect much to change," he said.

"The intensity of operations and the number of troops [in Aceh] will still be the same," Kafrawi said. "In reality we will still be here for a long time. The military cannot get rid of us."

Soldier kills four colleagues in Aceh

Associated Press - August 24, 2004

Banda Aceh -- An Indonesian soldier serving in war-torn Aceh province opened fire on other troops at an army barracks, killing four and wounding one, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

The soldier, whose name wasn't released, has been arrested and is undergoing psychological tests, said Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki.

"He started shooting in all directions," said Basuki. "We suspect he was depressed as a result of the environment." The four victims were killed instantly in the shootings at the army base in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, he said. The condition of the injured man wasn't immediately known.

There are currently more than 50,000 soldiers and police stationed in Aceh, where they are fighting insurgents belonging to the Free Aceh Movement.

The rebels have been fighting since 1976 for an independent homeland in the oil- and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. At least 13,000 people have died in the conflict.

Police deny allegations on Aceh projects markups

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta -- The police denied on Friday charges leveled by a joint monitory team that they embezzled billions of rupiah from material procurement and construction projects in Aceh while the province was under martial law.

"We found no markups in the projects. We have submitted the results of our investigation to the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs and the KPK," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said in reply to questions on Friday.

He said it was now up to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to determine whether markups did occur in the projects.

The joint monitoring team, known by its Indonesian acronym TMP, is investigating how Rp 10 trillion (US$10 million) in government funds was spent during one year of martial law in Aceh. The martial law was downgraded in May to a state of civil emergency.

The funds were channeled through various parties, including the police (Rp 508.8 billion), the military (Rp 1.9 trillion) and the education and transportation agencies.

Da'i said his office carried out a preliminary investigation after being notified by the monitoring team last month of the alleged markups.

He said a team chaired by former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad found differences between the prices of materials stated in the budget and the actual prices of the materials bought. However, after checking the quality of the materials the team decided the prices were appropriate. Following the end of martial law in May, the province was led by a civil emergency administration under Governor Abdullah Puteh.

Since then the province has been dogged by corruption allegations involving both local government and legislative members. Puteh was named a suspect by the KPK last month over a suspected markup in the Rp 4 billion purchase of a helicopter, and is being investigated by the police over a Rp 30 billion generator purchase.

A number of councillors from the regency and provincial levels have also been named suspects by the police or local prosecutors over the misuse of state funds.

KPK chairman Taufiequrrachman Ruki said on Tuesday a total of Rp 2.7 trillion had been embezzled from 68 projects run by various government agencies. The monitoring team was formed by the martial law administrator.

KPK member Erry Riyana Harjapamekas said the KPK was now investigating the cases.

"We are yet to determine the state losses in the projects of each individual agency. We have not yet found any indications of markups in police projects. They have submitted the results of their internal investigation and we are now studying the report," Erry told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Security has improved in Aceh but little has been done to resettle refugees, try human rights abusers or improve the people's welfare. Analysts have blamed rampant corruption as the reason for these failures.

Aceh council accepts governor's report

Jakarta Post - August 23, 2004

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- Defying public protest, 54 of the total 55 councillors of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam council accepted on Saturday the accountability report of the expenditure of Aceh's 2003 budget.

The acceptance paves the way for embattled Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, who is a graft suspect, to continue as governor until 2005, when his term comes to an end.

Four factions of the council fully accepted the accountability report during a plenary meeting held at the Aceh council. They were the Reform Alliance faction, Golkar faction, United Development Party faction and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction.

Only two factions accepted the report with conditions, namely the Indonesian Military/police faction and the National Mandate Party faction (PAN).

Bustami Puteh from the PAN faction, for example, accepted the report, but suggested the governor investigate some development projects and investments that could be riddled with corruption, including the construction of the Deudap Island ship and the spending of general election funds.

The only dissenting opinion came from M. Nasir Djamil, a member of the Reform Alliance faction. Djamil, a councillor from the Prosperous Justice Party, said the Aceh governor had failed to improve the welfare of Aceh people during his term, so that his accountability report had to be rejected. The number of poor and unemployed people, for example, had not reduced between 2002 and 2003, but had been on the rise, he said, citing a figure released recently by a non-governmental organization (NGO).

Earlier, Akhirudin from the NGO Anticorruption Solidarity urged councilors to reject the accountability report. Last year, Aceh's poor comprised 40.39 percent of the population, up from 33.84 percent in 2002, he said. The population of Aceh is four million. Similarly, the number of unemployed people skyrocketed to 417,930 last year, from 363,398 a year earlier. The discouraging figures came amid increases to Aceh's budget, he said. Last year's provincial budget amounted to Rp 1.42 trillion (US$151 million), slightly higher than the budget in 2002, which was Rp 1.38 trillion.

Akhirudin also lashed out at the government for allocating education funds ineffectively. He said the government had used Rp 12 billion allocated for education to finance Aceh Cultural Week IV, which started on August 19.

"The government should have allocated the money to finance the restoration of many schools in Aceh, which were damaged when they were set on fire, following the imposition of martial law in the province. The schools are far more important than the cultural fiesta," said Akhirudin. Abdullah Puteh ignored the accusations, saying that those views did not represent the majority of Aceh people.

Abdullah is accused of playing a central role in an alleged markup in the purchase of a helicopter by the Aceh administration in 2002, which reportedly cost the state Rp 4 billion (US$5.4 million) in losses.

He is currently facing questioning by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

74 GAM inmates sent to West Java

Jakarta Post - August 27, 2004

Nani Afrida and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Banda Aceh/Bandung -- Seventy- four convicted Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists arrived on Thursday afternoon in Bandung amid tight security.

The 74-inmates, including four former GAM negotiators, were flown from Banda Aceh in the morning aboard an Army Hercules aircraft and reached Husein Sastranegara Air Force Base in Bandung at 1 p.m. When the plane landed, hundreds of heavily armed police officers surrounded the aircraft with long rifle at the ready.

West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Edi Darnadi, Husein Sastranegara Air Force Base chief Col. Zamhari and the speaker of the West Java provincial council, Eka Santosa, were among the top West Java officials present as the inmates were led off the plane. Five buses were waiting to transport the inmates to prisons in five regencies in West Java province.

The Indonesian Military and officials from the five prisons in West Java signed a memorandum of understanding at the air base, paving the way for the prisons to receive and house the inmates.

Escorted by police officers, 17 of the inmates were loaded onto a bus and transferred to Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung regency. Seventeen others were sent to Cirebon Prison, 13 to Indramayu Prison, 14 to Majalengka Prison and the remaining 13 inmates were transferred to Kuningan Prison. The 74 inmates are all serving prison sentences of between three and 20 years for treason.

Three of the four former GAM negotiators will occupy special cells at Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung. They are Tengku Kamaruzzaman and Muhammad Usman, who are serving 13 year sentences, and Amni Achmad Marzuki, who was sentenced to 12 years in jail. The fourth former negotiator, Nashirudin bin Achmed, who is serving a 13 year jail term, was transferred to Cirebon Prison.

Sofyan Ibrahim, the former top GAM negotiator, was originally to have been included among the GAM inmates transferred to West Java, but was excluded because of illness.

Commenting on the transfer of the GAM inmates, Sukotjo, the head of the prison division at the West Java office of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said the 74 inmates would undergo a month-long orientation before they were released into the general populations.

They will be taught useful skills for when they complete their jail terms, such as sewing, he said, adding that the inmates will also undergo nationalist training.

The 74 inmates are among 415 GAM inmates who have been transferred from Aceh prisons to prisons in Java. The first transfer took place in January this year.

The Indonesian Military says the transfers are aimed at solving the problem of overcrowding in Aceh prisons. They are also aimed at cutting ties between the GAM inmates and other Acehnese inmates and the Acehnese community as a whole.

Labour issues

90% of women workers experience sexual harassment

Detik.com - August 24, 2004

Niken Widya Yunita, Jakarta -- Are you a woman? A worker? Have you experienced sexual harassment in the work place? If the answer is yes you are not alone. It is estimated that 90 per cent of women workers have been victims of sexual harassment in the work place.

This data was revealed by Nurlini from Ministry of Women's Empowerment during a tripartite workshop on Sexual Harassment in the Work Place at the Indonesian Workers Foundation (YTKI) building on Jalan Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta on Tuesday August 24. The event was jointly organised by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo). However the relevant ministers who had been invited to attend only sent representatives.

"Research indicates that 90 per cent of women workers and 25 per cent of male workers have been sexually harassed during their working life. In as many as three quarters of cases sexual harassment involves women which is related to the low level of their wages and employment status", explained Nurlini.

Sexual harassment is regulated under the Criminal Code (KUHP) but the sanctions do not represent much of a deterrent. The head of the legal bureau of the Department of Labour and Transmigration (Depnakertrans), Mira Hanartani, said that sexual harassment is regulated by KUHP Article 335 and carries a maximum punishment of one year's jail or a maximum fine of 300,000 rupiah.

ILO as the sponsor of the event, explained that sexual harassment includes sexual behaviour which is unexpected and unwanted. Both men and women can be victims although women tend to be more susceptible.

The specific group of women who are at the greatest risk of becoming victims of sexual harassment include the children of women, young women, house keepers, migrant women workers, women who work in environments which are dominated by male workers and women who have no bargaining position. "Silence or no complaints being made does not mean that sexual harassment is not happening", said Naomi Cassier from ILO.

Cassier says sexual harassment is a basic violation of a worker's rights. "This issue is related to the issues of safety and health, workplace discrimination, poor working conditions and forms of violence, particularly against women", added Cassier.

Forms of sexual harassment include repeatedly touching the shoulder or neck and putting one arms around a college's waist; touching a college's chest; looking at parts of the body; and demanding a physical relationship.

As a result of sexual harassment, victim suffers psychologically and physically. Psychologically, they suffer from embarrassment, feelings of betrayal, depression and low self-esteem. Physically it can cause headaches, high blood pressure, sleep disorders, suicide and gastrointestinal illness. Other injuries include the loss of motivation and work satisfaction, the loss of training and promotion opportunities, resignations and dismissals.

The suggested way to overcome sexual harassment is though two approaches, firstly a legal approach, both at the national level by the formulation of legislation and at the organisational level by the formulation of company regulations. Secondly, an individual approach by the resident psychologist to overcome the impact of sexual harassment.

Cassier says that employers have a responsibility to take action against violations of the rights of their workers except where the employer can find a means to prevent these violations from continuing. (nrl)

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski.]

New labor law causes workers more distress

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- A labor union has cried out against the nationwide trend of outsourcing, labor layoffs and dismissals that have helped employers raise efficiency levels amid the prolonged economic hardship, but have worsened workers' situation.

Muda Alexander Sinaga, chairman of the Pharmaceuticals, Health and Services Trade Union, a member of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation, said following the March 2003 enforcement of the controversial Labor Law No. 13/2003, outsourcing had become a nationwide trend for companies to cut down labor costs.

"Thousands of workers return home jobless almost every week because their contract was not extended after two or three years on the job, or many companies lay off a great number of their workers and then dismiss them," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Sinaga also cited another trend, that many private and state companies had cut labor costs by changing the status of their permanent workers to contract workers.

"Many companies have 'forced' workers, who have been working for a company for over 10 years, to resign of their own will, and then rehire them as contract workers to raise efficiency," he said, adding that employers made the move after procuring approval from the Central Committee for the Settlement of Labor Disputes (P4P).

Unlike the previous law, Labor Law No. 13/2003 has sparked strong opposition from numerous labor unions, as it allows employers to lock out their companies, lay off workers and even dismiss workers for reasons of efficiency or bankruptcy.

The government recently gave approval to the management of state-owned aircraft manufacturing company PT Dirgantara Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, to lay off around 6,000 of its 9,350 workers for efficiency purposes. Dirgantara then dismissed them after it decided to close down several divisions in the holding company.

The P4P and Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, who has veto power, have permitted dozens of companies to lay off workers and dismiss them for similar reasons.

On Wednesday, thousands of workers took to the streets in Semarang, capital of Central Java, to protest the increasing labor layoffs and dismissals in the province. The following day, thousands of workers went on a similar strike in Medan, provincial capital of North Sumatra.

In a separate case, over 150 of the 1,600 laid-off workers of publicly listed PT Sarasa Nugraha in Tangerang, Banten, spent eight nights at the manpower ministry, demanding the government enforce the P4P's ruling that the management pay workers their salaries for the last seven months and maximum severance pay as stipulated in Article 150 of the Labor Law. The P4P had also approved on July 7 the management's dismissing the workers.

Alboin Sidabutar, chairman of the Textile, Garment and Leather Trade Union, said the prevalent outsourcing and dismissals of workers were inevitable, since Indonesia could not compete in the era of free trade and globalization.

"Many labor-intensive companies in the textile and leather industries have closed down operations and dismissed their workers, because their products cannot compete with similar products from other countries such as China, Thailand and Malaysia," he said.

Gandhy, director of industrial relations at the manpower ministry, confirmed that labor disputes had generally been on the rise, mainly because of misinterpretations of the new labor law.

The ministry's director general of industrial relations, Muzni Tambusai, concurred recently and said the ministry was in the midst of preparing a decree to regulate outsourcing and the use of contract-based workers.

"The decree will declare that companies are allowed to subcontract certain jobs not included in their core business to other companies, but the outsourced company is required to recruit and employ permanent workers in accordance with the law," he said.

Mass axing faces Texmaco

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- More than 60,000 workers of the Texmaco Group may lose their jobs following the government's refusal to reschedule its huge debts.

The Central Committee for the Settlement of Labor Disputes (P4P) revealed on Friday that about 4,000 workers of three companies under the group had demanded that the P4P order the Texmaco management to dismiss them and provide severance pay and other compensation according to labor regulations.

Texmaco, however, claimed to have no funds to meet the demand. "In our plenary session last week, all committee members were of the opinion that the Texmaco management needed to dismiss the 4,000 workers, but Texmaco president director Marimutu Sinivasan said the company faced financial problems complying with the standard dismissal requirements," P4P chairman Muda Alexander Sinaga told The Jakarta Post.

The workers concerned are employed by PT Texmaco Perkasa Engineering and PT Bridge Geboard Perkasa Engineering, both in Krawang, West Java, and a West Sumatra Texmaco company.

Sinivasan told the P4P hearing that Texmaco could not afford to pay severance since the company's funds in Bank Central Asia (BCA) had been frozen by the government, Sinaga said.

Sinivasan also said the mass dismissal of Texmaco Group's remaining 54,000 workers would be inevitable, since all companies belonging to the group were in a critical condition because of the holding company's financial problems.

Sinivasan was not available for comment, while Texmaco spokesman Yani Rahmadi declined to provide detailed information on the dismissal.

Meanwhile, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea asserted that Sinivasan and Texmaco Group had to provide severance payment for all dismissed workers and that the government had no obligation to help the ailing holding company.

"Sinivasan should be responsible for severance pay if P4P orders Texmaco to dismiss all its workers. He must comply with the Labor Law and respect the workers' rights, regardless of how he obtains the funds," he told the Post.

Nuwa Wea said he had been monitoring Texmaco's labor and financial problems closely, and that Texmaco had Rp 26 trillion in defaulted loans to a number of local banks and US$1.8 billion in foreign debt.

He also said the government had offered Texmaco assets to local and foreign investors several times, but none were interested in acquiring them.

"We have decided not to help Texmaco, because it has extremely large debts. Texmaco's BCA account has been frozen as collateral for its debts, because its assets are not saleable and, according to the government's assessment, they value far below the company's debts," Nuwa Wea said.

Sinaga expressed concerns about the workers' uncertain future and potential social problems, as the government had no will to help Texmaco. Indonesia's unemployment stands at 9.6 million and 40 million are underemployed.

"The future of Texmaco workers will be the first labor issue the next government will have to address," Sinaga said.

Reformasi

NGOs fail to absorb basic issues at grass roots

Jakarta Post - August 24, 2004

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Representatives of more than 200 non- governmental organizations (NGOs) began a three-day national conference here on Monday to discuss their roles in society and address concerns that NGOs have failed to adapt to changes during the reform era.

A panelist at the meeting, Asmara Nababan from Demos, an organization dealing with democracy and human rights, said NGOs had failed to absorb the basic issues at the grassroots level during the democratization era.

He also said NGO activists had failed to educate people about civil rights, including political rights, leaving politicians to take charge of the issue. He said the result of this was to turn the reform era into a "pseudodemocracy".

Activists regard themselves as "charismatic figures", and are not concerned whether their actions represent the best interests and wishes of the people, Asmara said.

"None of us can claim that the reform era has created a pure democracy that puts people's sovereignty above all else. What we are facing now is the abuse of democracy itself by the political elite," Asmara said.

He was referring to various government bodies that were formed by post-New Order administrations, such as the anticorruption commission that replaced the KPKPN last year, which was authorized to examine state officials' wealth, and the National Law Commission.

None of these commissions have benefited the people due to their lack of effective roles, Asmara said. He added that many NGO activists did not understand their main role of educating the public about crucial sociopolitical issues.

During the New Order regime of Soeharto, who ruled the country for 32 years until his downfall in 1998, NGOs played an effective role in campaigning for freedom of expression and other basic rights for the nation.

During the New Order, antimilitarism and human rights, as well as democracy, became salable and prominent issues for Indonesian NGOs. Following Soeharto's resignation, such issues were no longer as relevant for non-governmental organizations due to the emergence of democracy in the country.

Monday's meeting was attended by more than 200 NGOs from 28 provinces. The organizations are concerned with a variety of issues, including democracy, human rights, press freedom, the environment and law enforcement.

Among the organizations attending the meeting are the Commission for Victims of Violence and Missing Persons, the Legal Aid Foundation, Impartial, leading environmental group Walhi and the Alliance of Independent Journalists.

During the conference, participants will share their views and experiences before concluding the gathering on Wednesday with recommendations on new strategies and platforms of action.

Another speaker on Monday, sociologist Thamrin Amal Tamagola of the University of Indonesia, said NGO activists should not be reluctant to become involved in practical politics to promote better administrations at the local and national levels.

"The ongoing presidential election provides the nation with only two candidates, who cannot be separated from the old regimes," he said.

Incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who last week won the support of three major parties, two of which were linked to the New Order regime -- the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) -- is contesting the September runoff against Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has a military background.

"Looking at the two candidates, where will we go with our democracy?" Thamrin asked.

'War on terrorism'

Militant gets 10 years for hotel attack

Agence France Presse - August 24, 2004

An Indonesian court jailed an alleged member of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group for 10 years for his role in the deadly bombing of a Jakarta hotel but cleared him of involvement in the Bali blasts.

Judges said Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, was guilty of taking part "in an evil plot" to attack the Marriott hotel in August 2003, killing 12 people, but could not be convicted over the Bali bombings due to a legal technicality.

Delivering her verdict in South Jakarta's district court, Judge Asnahwati said Idris, 31, was guilty of "assisting a crime of terrorism" for possessing explosives and attempting to deliver them for use in the Marriott attack.

But she said a Constitutional Court ruling in July that threw out the retroactive use of an anti-terror law introduced after the October 2002 Bali blasts meant charges that he played a key role in the Bali attack were not viable.

Prosecutors had said Idris helped detonate one of three bombs on Bali which killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists. The device he allegedly detonated blew up near the US consulate on the resort island, causing no casualties.

Asnahwati also said Idris was not guilty of "direct or indirect" planning or execution of the Marriott attack, but had transported 130 kilograms of explosives later used in the blast.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, to which police say Idris belongs, is accused of staging both the Bali and Marriott blasts to avenge perceived Western oppression of Muslims worldwide.

Idris told journalists before his trial that "according to the law I am clearly guilty" and asked to be punished. Speaking from his holding cell, he also sought forgiveness from "those to whom I have been cruel".

The judge's decision to throw out the charges relating to the Bali attack will fuel disquiet over the legality of previous convictions which have seen 33 people placed behind bars. Three face the death penalty.

The Constitutional Court has said the convictions were not affected by the invalidation of the retroactive anti-terror law as the ruling could not be backdated.

But a lawyer for militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, accused of leading Jemaah Islamiyah and in detention ahead of his own terror trial, said Tuesday's sentence made a mockery of the earlier Bali bombing convictions.

"Today's ruling has a very major effect on people currently detained for Bali bombing cases, namely ustadz (teacher) Bashir, who I think should be released immediately," Ahmad Khalid said.

Although police have dropped Bali-related charges against Bashir, he still faces conviction and a possible death sentence over the Marriott attack.

Relatives of victims of the Bali attack also expressed dissatisfaction that Idris would not be tried for his alleged involvement in the resort island blasts.

"I'm not happy with the sentence because he has made our lives miserable. He deserves death," said Ketut Jontri, whose taxi driver husband was killed.

In a separate trial meanwhile Tuesday, prosecutors demanded a 12-year jail sentence for another suspect in the Marriott bombing, Ismail, alias Ihsan.

They charged he had transported chemicals used in the blast, surveyed the site of the attack and helped assemble the bomb, and was guilty of possessing explosives and plotting terror acts.Agence France Presse - August 24, 2004

An Indonesian court jailed an alleged member of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group for 10 years for his role in the deadly bombing of a Jakarta hotel but cleared him of involvement in the Bali blasts.

Judges said Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, was guilty of taking part "in an evil plot" to attack the Marriott hotel in August 2003, killing 12 people, but could not be convicted over the Bali bombings due to a legal technicality.

Delivering her verdict in South Jakarta's district court, Judge Asnahwati said Idris, 31, was guilty of "assisting a crime of terrorism" for possessing explosives and attempting to deliver them for use in the Marriott attack.

But she said a Constitutional Court ruling in July that threw out the retroactive use of an anti-terror law introduced after the October 2002 Bali blasts meant charges that he played a key role in the Bali attack were not viable.

Prosecutors had said Idris helped detonate one of three bombs on Bali which killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists. The device he allegedly detonated blew up near the US consulate on the resort island, causing no casualties.

Asnahwati also said Idris was not guilty of "direct or indirect" planning or execution of the Marriott attack, but had transported 130 kilograms of explosives later used in the blast.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, to which police say Idris belongs, is accused of staging both the Bali and Marriott blasts to avenge perceived Western oppression of Muslims worldwide.

Idris told journalists before his trial that "according to the law I am clearly guilty" and asked to be punished. Speaking from his holding cell, he also sought forgiveness from "those to whom I have been cruel".

The judge's decision to throw out the charges relating to the Bali attack will fuel disquiet over the legality of previous convictions which have seen 33 people placed behind bars. Three face the death penalty.

The Constitutional Court has said the convictions were not affected by the invalidation of the retroactive anti-terror law as the ruling could not be backdated.

But a lawyer for militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, accused of leading Jemaah Islamiyah and in detention ahead of his own terror trial, said Tuesday's sentence made a mockery of the earlier Bali bombing convictions.

"Today's ruling has a very major effect on people currently detained for Bali bombing cases, namely ustadz (teacher) Bashir, who I think should be released immediately," Ahmad Khalid said.

Although police have dropped Bali-related charges against Bashir, he still faces conviction and a possible death sentence over the Marriott attack.

Relatives of victims of the Bali attack also expressed dissatisfaction that Idris would not be tried for his alleged involvement in the resort island blasts.

"I'm not happy with the sentence because he has made our lives miserable. He deserves death," said Ketut Jontri, whose taxi driver husband was killed.

In a separate trial meanwhile Tuesday, prosecutors demanded a 12-year jail sentence for another suspect in the Marriott bombing, Ismail, alias Ihsan.

They charged he had transported chemicals used in the blast, surveyed the site of the attack and helped assemble the bomb, and was guilty of possessing explosives and plotting terror acts.

Bashir charged with Jakarta hotel bombing

Agennce France Presse - August 25, 2004

Militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was charged under tough anti-terror laws for a deadly attack on a Jakarta hotel, but despite mounting international pressure Indonesian prosecutors say he will not be tried over the Bali bombings.

Bashir was also charged with heading the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, blamed for both the August 2003 Jakarta Marriott hotel blast which left 12 dead and the October 2002 Bali bomb strikes in which 202 were killed.

"He has been charged with terrorism," prosecutor Haryono told reporters, shortly after the elderly preacher was transferred from police detention to a state prison in Jakarta. He faces a maximum death penalty.

The move to charge Bashir, 65, follows weeks of fraught legal wrangling which have seen police and prosecutors rush to build a case after a ruling by Indonesia's top court robbed them of the right to convict Bashir over Bali.

Last month the Constitutional Court said anti-terror legislation rushed into law in the wake of the Bali blasts could not be applied retrospectively to cover that attack -- although it can be used to try suspects in the subsequent Marriott strike.

The court said existing Bali-related convictions will stand, but a judge's decision on Tuesday which dismissed charges against a key suspect in the resort island attacks has fuelled fears that many key bombers will escape justice.

Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, was jailed for 10 years for his role in the Marriott blast, but judges said despite his admission he took part in the Bali strike, he would not be tried for that attack.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Wednesday said he would exert maximum "legitimate pressure" on Jakarta to ensure the Bali bombers face justice.

"I can promise the families of the victims that no stone will be left unturned by my government to see that these people remain behind bars," Howard told ABC radio.

An appeal court last year cleared Bashir of terror links but upheld a lesser jail sentence for immigration-related offences. He was released in April, but immediately rearrested, prompting violent protests from his supporters.

Although Indonesian prosecutors can no longer charge Bashir directly for the Bali attack, they insist they have now built a watertight case against the cleric and say he will face heavy punishment over the Marriott incident and his Jemaah Islamiyah involvement.

"We have a strong case, otherwise we would not have approved the police dossier," attorney general's office spokesman Kiemas Yahya Rachman told AFP.

The indictment against Bashir accuses him of forging Jemaah Islamiyah out of a militant Islamic group created in 1993. He is also accused of attending a terrorist graduation ceremony at a camp in the southern Philippines which trained the Marriott and Bali bombers.

A calm-looking Bashir, dressed in a traditional Muslim cap and clothes, was paraded briefly in front of journalists after he was charged Wednesday, before being whisked under heavy security to a Jakarta jail, where he can be held for a maximum of 60 days. "I do not accept the arrest," he said, denouncing the move as part of a US-masterminded plot against Islamic interests.

Lawyers representing Bashir also condemned the charges. They said the cleric could not have been involved in the Marriott attack as he was behind bars at the time and accused authorities of using him as a scapegoat. "Is our detention system so chaotic that someone who was being detained and was on trial could stage a terror attack? This is a fabricated trial. It has something to do with international politics," said lawyer Luthfi Hakim.

Bali convictions under threat

Melbourne Age - August 28, 2004

Matthew Moore -- The South Jakarta District Court is best known as a place where judges give decisions to the highest bidder, but its ruling this week to set aside the Bali bombing charges against confessed terrorist Idris was one any decent court might have made.

Although he had confessed to a major role in the Bali bombings, the judges could hardly have convicted Idris for these crimes when the law used to charge him had already been overturned.

"The court had absolutely no choice," said Tim Lindsey, director of the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne and an Indonesian law expert who has followed the Bali cases from the outset. "The law no longer exists . . . so it (this decision) had to happen eventually." A month after Indonesia's Constitutional Court overturned the terror law used to jail 33 Bali bombers, the impact of that case is beginning to percolate through the country's evolving legal system.

Tuesday's decision sentencing Idris to 10 years for moving explosives used in the Jakarta's Marriott Hotel bombing, but to drop the Bali charges altogether, is the first judgement acknowledging the higher court ruling.

It has surprised and naturally infuriated many Australians and marks the start of what's shaping to be a lengthy and complex series of legal cases and appeals to clarify the fate of all the Bali bombers. On the day last year when Amrozi became the first of the Bali bombers to be convicted, Dr Lindsey warned that that judgement and others in the pipeline could be overturned if a Constitutional Court was created and one of the bombers appealed on the grounds that the terrorism law was unconstitutional because it was retrospective.

Back then, when the Constitutional Court was little more than a distant Government plan, few people were listening, least of all the prosecutors who were busy convicting the suspects police had arrested.

Instead of the more demanding task of charging the Bali bombers with crimes such as murder, arson and explosives offences, they used the retrospective anti-terror law 16/2003 to prosecute the bombers and get easy convictions.

What's not yet clear is what will happen to the 33 bombers already convicted, including the three ringleaders on death row.

With no regulations or established procedure on how a Constitution Court decision would be implemented, it may take scores or even hundreds of court hearings to resolve this.

The Idris case was the first of these. Two upcoming cases are likely to provide a critical insight into the future of justice for the Bali bombers.

The first involves Masykur Abdul Kadir, the Bali bomber serving 15 years even though he was the successful appellant in the retrospectivity test case in the Constitutional Court. His lawyer, Wirawan Adnan, is expected to soon lodge on his behalf an application for a judicial review to the Supreme Court. Mr Adnan will argue the Constitutional Court decision as a "novum" -- new evidence which, had it been known at the time, might have led to an acquittal or reduced sentence.

A loss by Kadir would almost certainly see his lawyers seek another appeal, perhaps back in the Constitutional Court, as they sought to have its original decision implemented. And a win would open the way for a flood of other Bali bombers to launch appeals using Kadir's argument.

The second case Dr Lindsey says is vital to Indonesia's pursuit of terrorists is expected to begin in weeks when Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the group blamed for the Bali and Marriott bombings, appears in the same South Jakarta court as Idris.

With law 16/2003 gone, prosecutors can't charge Bashir for terrorism offences over Bali. But a spokesman for the Attorney- General's Department, Kemas Yahya, said they will charge him over the Bali bombings by using offences in the criminal code.

As well, they will charge him for terrorism offences related to the Marriott bombing and a stockpile of explosives found in Semarang, offences that took place after the terrorism laws were passed.

But Bashir had been in prison more than nine months before the Marriott bombing, which could make it tough for police to prove any role in the attack.

Mr Yahya said they will also charge Bashir with being head of JI, a charge that seems certain to see his lawyers raise a protest over double jeopardy, the legal principle that says you can't be charged for the same thing twice. Prosecutors failed last year to prove Bashir was the head of JI. If Dr Lindsey's forecast is right, and all the convictions under law 16/2003 are eventually overturned, prosecutors will have to try the Bali bombers for murder and other criminal offences that seem certain to involve the double jeopardy principles.

The Idris case has no direct bearing on the other convictions but it has left no doubt about the significance of the Constitution Court ruling. When that decision was handed down, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer dismissed it as just "an advisory opinion" and a "technicality".

This week, he acknowledged that no-one knows just how the bombers will be kept in jail. "We are breaking new ground here . . . whether they can bring new charges, for example, for murder, remains to be seen," he told ABC radio.

With the distress the Idris decision caused in Australia, Prime Minister John Howard promised to put "all the legitimate pressure we can on the Indonesian Government to make certain that these people remain in jail, remain punished and remain fully accountable before the law".

But pressure is not what's lacking. Domestic and international outrage have already seen Justice Minister Yusril Mahendra dive into legal quicksand by expressing his support for the executions of three Bali bombers -- even though they were convicted under a law since ruled unconstitutional.

[With Karuni Rompies.]

2004 elections

PRD condemns PKS - calls for withdrawal of support for SBY

Java Post - August 25, 2004

Jakarta -- The Justice and Prosperity Party's (PKS) support for presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has clearly attracted a great deal of opposition. Aside from the PKS's own cadre opposition has also come from the People's Democratic Party (PRD).

The party, which is not participating in the elections, believes that PKS's actions are the same as a betrayal of the people's struggle against militarism and neoliberal imperialism. Two issues which have to date have been identified with SBY.

Despite this it doesn't mean that the PRD supports incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri, because from the very start, the party which was born under the repression of the New Order regime of former President Suharto has said that it will golput(1). They also oppose Megawati.

"The political contract made by PKS with the duet SBY-[Jusuf] Kalla is frail and has absolutely no basis. It has already been rejected by the fact that both of them have been involved in problematic issues", said PRD general secretary Zely Ariane during a press conference in Jakarta yesterday.

According to Ariane, the problem with Kalla's, a figure who originates from South Sulawesi, derives from when he was dismissed from former President Gus Dur's cabinet(2). "That was because he was suspected of corruption", she said. Similarly, SBY is considered to be the one most responsible for the implementation of a state of martial law in Aceh(3).

Therefore, before it is too late and PKS commits a political blunder, the PRD is calling on the PKS to withdraw its support for SBY. They are also calling on the PKS to join the pro- democratic movements and form a people's united front.

Zely also took the opportunity to call on all of the people's movements to build a untied government of the people. What does she mean?

"Yeah, a movement which can give rise to an alternative leader. A leadership of cooperation prior to forming a more democratic leadership", she said. (naz).

Notes:

1. Golongan Putih, White Movement, championed by people such as the outspoken academic Arif Budiman, the term first emerged as a campaign by students in the 1971 elections and derives its name from marking the white section of the ballot paper rather than a party symbol or candidate's picture thereby making the vote invalid. In recent years the term has broadened to include not just intentionally casting an invalid vote but also vote abstention. Under new electoral laws introduced in 2003, golput, defacing a ballot paper or simply not voting is no longer an electoral offence although publicly encouraging others to do so remains punishable under law.

2. In April 2000, former President Abdurrahman Wahid dismissed then Trade Minister Jusuf Kalla for alleged involvement in corruption.

3. SBY was the coordinating minister for politics and security when President Megawati declared a state of martial law in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh on May 19, 2003.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

200 NGOs and social organisations decide not to vote

Detik.com - August 26, 2004

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta -- A national meeting of civil society involving around 200 non-government and social organisations has taken a decision not to vote in the second-round of the presidential elections on September 20 because they have no faith in the two presidential candidates who are contesting the election.

"We have no faith in the two presidential candidates [who are contesting the election] at this time and we will therefore not be voting", said July Eko Nugroho from the Yogyakarta National Secretariat of Civil Society at a press conference at the Hotel Milenium on Jalan Fahrudin in Central Jakarta on Thursday August 26. Also present at the press conference was Asmara Nababan and Otto Iskandar from Indonesia Human Rights Watch (Imparsial).

The meeting also produced an agreement to organise civil society in an institution to be called the National Secretariat of Civil Society. Nuranini Hilir was nominated to head the organisation in the position of facilitator.

During the press conference Hilir added that the decision not to vote was taken because they believe that the second-round of the presidential elections will not bring any benefits to civil society. "It is a waste of time to support these presidential candidates because for us one of the candidates is [a former] military [officer] who has committed human rights violations. The other is from a government which to date has failed [in its mandate]", said Nuraini.

The national meeting of civil society which is being held at the Hotel Milenium began on August 22 and will end on August 26. The meeting aims to formulate a joint platform for the civil society movement to be able to respond to the latest political and economic challenges and included a number of sessions on how to determine this platform. Speakers at the event included Asmara Nababan, Thamrin Amal, Munir, Kusnanto Anggoro, Faisal Basri and Dita Indah Sari.

As well as taking a decision not to vote, the meeting also produced platforms on various issues such as militarism, urging the TNI (armed forces) and national police to submit to state authority in carrying out their national duties and calling for a division of authority between the TNI and police. Other platforms include building local movements to oppose neoliberalism which will emphasise collectivity in achieving outcomes in accordance with the needs of society. (iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Draft law on TNI a tool for Mega to win military support

Detik.com - August 26, 2004

Adhi Pratomo, Jakarta -- Activists from the Student and People's Alliances Against RUU TNI (Aliansi Mahasiswa dan Rakyat Tolak RUU TNI) believe that the RUU TNI (Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentara Nasional Indonesia, draft law on the armed forces) represents an endeavor by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to jack-up her votes in the second-round presidential elections by giving political concessions to the military in order to get the political support of the military and their families.

The issue was taken up by the alliance which represents a coalition of activists from the National Student League for Democracy (LMND), the Muslim Students Association for Reform (HMI-MPO) and the victims of human rights violations in the Tanjung Priok case(1) at a press conference at the offices of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation on Jalan Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on Wednesday August 25.

During the press conference they also called for an investigation into the case of a People's Democratic Party (PRD) activist who died recently in the Pekalongan jail, condemned the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta for clearing generals who perpetrated human rights violations in the Tanjung Priok case and opposed the enactment of the draft law which is ridden with political interests.

LMND national executive member, Maeda Yoppy, said that basically these three issues have a common link, that is the question of militarism and the shackling of democratic freedoms. They oppose the enactment of the law because they believe it is a vital instrument for rebuilding the power of militaristic forces in Indonesia.

The RUU TNI was inspired by the desire to maintain the special economic rights of the military as reflected in Article 3 and reinforced in Article 63. These special rights are reflected through the strengthening of the role of military officer's being assigned to civilian posts as reflected in Articles 43, 45, 50 and 52.

The TNI's special rights are also being broadened in legal terms as reflected in Articles 62 and 25. "In procedural terms the RUU TNI is also flawed and is ridden with the political interests [of certain parties] in the lead up to the second-round of the presidential elections", explained Yoppy. (nrl)

Notes:

1. On 12 September 1984, dozens of people were killed and injured when troops fired on Muslim demonstrators in the port district of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

NGOs vow to unravel corruption in KPU

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Jakarta -- A coalition of non-governmental organizations said on Friday it would press ahead with its drive to unravel the corruption allegations plaguing the General Elections Commission (KPU), despite a threat from the commission to file a defamation lawsuit against the group.

The coalition, comprising the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring, the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Indonesia Procurement Watch and the Indonesian Forum for Parliamentary Concern, said it would not back down.

The group added that it was confident data it submitted to the Corruption Eradication Commission on the KPU was correct.

"If the KPU wants to file a report with the police, go ahead," coalition member Sebastian Salang said, adding that House of Representatives Commission II on home affairs had thrown its weight behind the coalition's efforts.

Media, mystics overshadow titans ahead of elections

Agence France Presse - August 22, 2004

Heavyweight political parties have long held sway in Indonesia, but the emergence of a new breed of voter more likely to listen to media or even mystics for guidance has robbed them of their former dominance, analysts say.

Despite this shift from the days when parties extended influence into the lowest echelons of society, President Megawati Sukarnoputri has gambled her credibility to win the backing of political titans ahead of September presidential polls.

"Victory will be in our hands," she declared after sealing a deal last Thursday with three parties, including Golkar, the political tool of former dictator Suharto during the three decades before he stood down in 1998.

Her own Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle is now joined by Golkar -- which swept to victory in April legislative elections -- and the smaller United Development Party and Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party.

Once upon a time in Indonesia such a bloc -- representing control over 307 of 550 seats in Indonesia's House of Representatives -- could have guaranteed through fair means or foul the placement of its anointed leader as president.

Now, as Indonesia stages its first full democratic presidential elections, voters have broken the party stranglehold to emerge as an unpredictable force which analysts say could entirely negate Megawati's power-building exercise.

One of the driving factors behind this, they say, is the liberation of the Southeast Asian nation's media from the methods by which the Suharto leadership gagged domestic press and restricted foreign reporters.

"Voters are now more informed, partly due to information provided by international and national media and, unlike in the past, they can now carry out new political experiments," political analyst Azyumardi Azra of the state Jakarta Islamic University told AFP.

Scores of unfettered newspapers, television channels and radio stations have sprung up in the years since Suharto, cutting their teeth on some of the world's biggest news stories, culminating in the October 2002 Bali bombings.

According to Azra, many media outlets are prone to editorialising their election coverage, urging readers behind either Megawati or her challenger, Susilio Bambang Yudhoyono.

But says Endi Bayuni, chief editor of the English language Jakarta Post, such is the diversity of Indonesia's press and the new-found sophistication of readers, that voters are capable of making their own choices.

"We are able to publicise stories about parties and candidates and disclose their weaknesses and strengths. This would have never happened if the press was constrained like in the 1990s," Bayuni told AFP.

"On balloting day, they will make a rational decision on who they think should be the president. It is healthy for Indonesia that the media are not trying to influence voters, let the voters decide for themselves," he says.

It is this new found maturity says Dewi Fortuna Anwar of Jakarta's Habibie Centre think tank, which could cost Megawati support as voters express doubts over her reputation as a reformer by trading cabinet seats for the support of the retrogressive Golkar.

"Our voters are a floating mass and they are now more educated. No one party in Indonesia, even Golkar which by far is the most organised party, has a well-established grip in the grassroots," she said.

In what is perhaps a shrewd recognition of this, Yudhoyono has yet to involve his own Democratic Party in a coalition, stressing the need to heed the electorate. "What I say also is, don't fail to listen to the voice of the people," he said after Megawati's inked her four-party pact.

Recent opinion polls also suggest that voters are more likely to base their vote on candidates' policy instead of their politics, a wake-up call for the media shy Megawati.

But, warn observers, even suave Yudhoyono's down-to-earth approach could flounder due to his lack of a mystical manifesto. No matter how excellent or independent the coverage of the media, says political analyst M.T. Arifin, many Indonesian voters still prefer to consult their "dukun" spiritual advisors.

"The belief in advice from 'dukun' -- whether false or true -- in the grassroots is still quite strong, and this also applies to educated middle-class people. The media must be able to provide more educated and mature information to these people," says Arifin, a lecturer at the Sebelas Maret state university in Central Java.

Jusuf comments spook Chinese minority

Straits Times - August 26, 2004

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is on shaky ground with ethnic Chinese after comments by his running mate Jusuf Kalla were taken as discriminatory.

Mr Jusuf had backed Malaysian-style affirmative action favouring indigenous Indonesians, a stance feared by the Chinese community.

The Bambang camp has downplayed his comments which, it said, had been taken out of context. Such policies would not be introduced if its candidates assumed power, it added.

"Our platform clearly stipulates that we respect pluralism and in no way support discriminative policies. Mr Jusuf has a way of expressing his thoughts that are often misperceived by people," a senior member of the team told The Straits Times.

The Bambang camp said the impact of the issue was mostly felt in the first round of the election and that it had contained the fallout. The Straits Times understands Mr Jusuf has since been told to tone down comments to avoid controversy.

He and Mr Bambang have been making the rounds to ease jitters and woo back the Chinese vote for the September 20 face-off. But the damage may have been done already. Some believe many Chinese who initially backed the Bambang camp have shifted their support and funding to incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Businessman Kurniawan Halim said: "The remarks only confirm that people like Mr Jusuf never consider the ethnic Chinese minority as part of Indonesia. We are convenient scapegoats and our successes are seen as part of the cause of the country's problems."

Ethnic Chinese form some 3 per cent of the population but are believed to control about 75 per cent of the economy, and own nine of the country's top 10 business groups. Bitterness over this skewed distribution of wealth culminated in the May 1998 riots which led to president Suharto's resignation. Many Chinese homes were burned and their businesses looted during the violence.

Mr Jusuf, who is from one of the most successful indigenous Indonesian business families, advocated policies to benefit small and medium entrepreneurs when he was Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare in the Megawati Cabinet. He called on Chinese businessmen to limit the size of their conglomerates and form partnerships with indigenous Indonesians to bridge the income gap.

In a recent interview with the magazine Tokoh Indonesia, he praised Malaysia's New Economic Policy for giving indigenous Malaysians a head start. He said Indonesia's economic policies in the 1950s and mid-1970s, which strongly favoured indigenous Indonesian businesses, had helped businesses like his family's Kalla Group to flourish.

These policies, which were briefly implemented, led to the exodus of 130,000 Chinese Indonesians. Favouritism for indigenous Indonesians must be cultivated and maintained firmly, he told the magazine.

But some Chinese, who met him to clarify his stance, are sticking with him. Said businessman Ben Subrata: "I don't think that Mr Bambang and Mr Jusuf would implement something as harmful as an economic policy that discriminates against the Chinese. There are many Chinese businesses that fall into the category of small and medium enterprises, and I think an affirmative action catering to these entrepreneurs regardless of their ethnicity or religion would be the best solution to fix the unbalanced distribution of wealth."

The race still open for all candidates: IFES

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- Although Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still being touted as the favorite to assume the country's top job, the race remains open for the incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputri to outshine him in the September 20 runoff, a survey revealed.

In its latest survey, the Washington-based pollster International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) found that 63.1 percent of respondents believed that Susilo would make the best president, beating Megawati who was chosen by 28.5 percent of respondents.

IFES said the survey underscored the inability of the parties' political machinery to determine their supporters' preference.

Megawati made a slight improvement according to the latest IFES survey as 28.5 percent of voters favored her, compared to 24.4 percent in the previous poll. "However, this finding must be treated with caution, and is likely to change between now and September 20 for a number of reasons," IFES said.

In its latest tracking survey, the pollster interviewed 1,250 people in all provinces from August 7 to August 14. The margin for error is 2.8 percent. It said that among many factors at play that could sway the support of voters were the fact that support that Susilo obtained from voters from different political parties in the first stage of the presidential election in July may mean that he was the initial, but not necessarily the final, choice of those who did not vote for Megawati.

In the first round of the election, Susilo enjoyed broad support from supporters of political parties who had nominated their own candidates, including Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

The survey discovered, among other things, that 33.8 percent of respondents who voted for the Golkar Party in the April 5 legislative election, chose Susilo in the first round of election against 49.1 percent who voted for the party's candidate Wiranto. It also found that 38.4 percent of respondents who voted for the United Development Party, chose Susilo, while only 15.4 percent of them voted for the party's presidential candidate Hamzah Haz.

IFES said that results of its surveys conducted before the July 5 election had overstated the support for Susilo. "With one month to go until the runoff, the relative standings may change significantly," it said.

Scores of pollsters, including IFES, had predicted prior to the July 5 elections, that Susilo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla would garner more than 40 percent of the vote. In fact, the pair collected 33.6 percent, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU) manual vote-counting.

IFES senior advisor Hank Valentino said that Megawati could still do much to challenge Susilo in the runoff by capitalizing on her status as the incumbent. "As the incumbent, Megawati has a greater opportunity to ensure her message is being seen more during this time period," Valentino said.

Megawati received a boost to her morale from political groups who declared last week a grand coalition involving four parties to support her bid for a full five-year mandate.

Sukarno's daughters to bury hatchet ahead of runoff

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- Three daughters of founding president Sukarno look set to bury their hatchets for a family reunion ahead of the election runoff, which will see the eldest among the siblings, Megawati Soekarnoputri, square off against her former aide Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The youngest of the three, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, who leads the Marhaenisme Indonesian National Party (PNI Marhaenisme), said on Friday she and her two sisters -- Rachmawati Soekarnoputri and Megawati -- would meet sometime next week.

"Hopefully, Mbak Rachma will join forces with us in supporting Mbak Mega, and it could happen in the near future," Sukmawati said, after a meeting of leaders of parties that have formed the so-termed national coalition to support Megawati's bid, at the latter's residence on Jl. Teuku Umar in Central Jakarta.

Contacted separately, Rachmawati's husband Benny Soemarno said Megawati had expressed her intention of visiting Rahmawati, but no date was mentioned.

"They are siblings, so there is nothing special about them visiting one another. It is nothing to do with [Rachmawati's] political support [for Megawati]," Benny told The Jakarta Post.

Rachmawati chairs the Pioneer Party, which has declared its neutrality in the election runoff. She has been known for her staunch criticism of her elder sister, who assumed power in July 2001, replacing Abdurrahman Wahid.

Rachmawati has also claimed to represent the genuine ideology of nationalism inherited from Sukarno. Benny underlined that the Pioneer Party is likely to remain neutral in the runoff.

In the April 5 legislative election, the three sisters competed against each other, with Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) garnering the second largest number of votes.

The parties of Sukmawati and Rachmawati failed to meet the electoral threshold of at least 3 percent of the vote, barring them from the 2009 elections.

In the first round of the presidential election, Rachmawati's party supported the National Mandate Party's (PAN) candidate Amien Rais, while Sukmawati opted to be neutral.

Sukmawati has a better relationship with Megawati, which is evident in her decision to support her eldest sister's presidential bid.

"There is a possibility of Mbak Mega visiting Mbak Rachma next week, depending on Mbak Rachma's health," Sukmawati said.

She said the meeting would hopefully lead to another form of cooperation, particularly in politics. "In terms of platforms, our parties share similar views, but, for now, we will focus on a personal approach," Sukmawati said.

KPU gets tough over fake diploma

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- Numerous newly elected councillors across Indonesia could lose their seats after the General Elections Commission (KPU) ordered local commissions to take swift action against councillors who used false school diplomas.

According to data from the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), there were at least 405 councillors implicated in false diploma cases across Indonesia. They come mostly from East Java, where 53 cases have arisen, followed by North Sumatra with 33 and Central Java with 21.

The KPU issued a circular on Friday ordering local elections commissions (KPUDs) to take swift measures to deal with new council members accused of forging their school diplomas.

The circular said that should a local district court decline to hear a diploma forgery case involving a councillor, the KPUDs would need only a recommendation from the local education office to make a decision on the status of the legislator in question.

"If the local education office decides that the diploma is fake, the KPUDs can immediately remove name of the candidate from the list of elected legislators," KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin said.

Several district courts have reportedly dismissed diploma forgery cases against councillors, saying the charges had expired. According to the Election Law, the process of prosecuting false diploma cases must not exceed 30 days before reaching the court.

Nazaruddin said a final decision on the authenticity of diplomas could also be obtained from local religious affairs offices, which oversee religious schools.

The circular also says that if legislators are found to have used false diplomas after they have already been sworn in, their respective political parties must replace them.

In an earlier circular issued in May, the KPU ruled that only a final guilty verdict handed down by the Supreme Court on diploma forgery cases could prevent legislators from taking office.

The KPU's latest decision was issued only after a large number of the over 12,000 newly elected legislators nationwide had been installed in their new positions.

There is no guarantee local elections commissions will abide by this new circular because the ruling carries no clear penalties for violators. The public has also expressed concern about the effectiveness of the circular, saying KPUDs could easily be bribed by legislators eager to hold onto their seats.

Panwaslu hailed the KPU's "belated" decision, saying the circular was in line to its demands.

However, it cautioned that the circular would not be implemented as expected by the KPU. "KPUD members could have different interpretations of the circular, and we are worried that it will fail to stop fraudulent legislators from taking their seats," Panwaslu member Topo Santoso said in Jakarta.

He said local Panwaslu offices throughout the country would start their own probes to find evidence against "problematic" councillors in order to prosecute them.

Topo also said the KPU was to blame for the rampant use of fake diplomas. He said the commission should have carried out more thorough examinations of the required paperwork filed by legislative candidates in the early stages of registration.

Coalition to go all out to support Mega

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- Leaders of the so-termed national coalition of four major parties held their first plenary meeting on Friday, to consolidate their rank and file and draw up a strategy to help the Megawati Soekarnoputri- Hasyim Muzadi ticket win the runoff.

Hosted by the incumbent, President Megawati, at her official residence, the meeting decided to intensify efforts to mobilize support among constituents of the four parties and build the image of Mega and Hasyim.

"We will counter the public perception that the pair doesn't represent reform nor commits to corruption eradication," leader of the coalition and of the Golkar Party Akbar Tandjung said.

He said all chapters and branches of the four parties would be involved in the campaign.

"All members of the coalition will share the burden of financing activities," Akbar said. Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) -- of which Megawati is the leader -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) declared the coalition on August 19. Later, the Marhaenisme Indonesian National Party (PNI Marhaenisme) and the Reform Star Party (PBR) joined forces.

Also attending the meeting were PPP leader Hamzah Haz, PDS leader Ruyandi Hutasoit, PNI Marhaenisme leader Sukmawati Soekarnoputri and top executives of the PBR.

Saying the results of the first-round set a precedent, analysts have expressed doubt the coalition will influence people in the grass roots. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Jusuf Kalla garnered the highest number of votes on July 5, despite the fact that they contested under the banner of the Democratic Party, which received the fifth highest number of votes in the general election.

Observers also say the coalition seeks to preserve the status quo, and resists the reform spirit that put to an end three decades of authoritarian rule in 1998.

"Those who boast of reform know nothing of change. Our [presidential] candidate has made changes in her three-year tenure as President, and it will continue should she be elected," said Akbar, whose party, Golkar, was the political machine of the New Order.

He said the coalition would convince the public that under Megawati the country would be politically stable and free of corruption, and pluralism would be maintained.

Akbar has been touring Java to brief Golkar's branches. He is slated to travel to Sumatra next week. In Lampung on Saturday, the first stop in Sumatra, he will attend a mass gathering with Hasyim.

Later in the day, Megawati held talks with National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien Rais, before the latter led the party's executive meeting to determine which candidate they will back.

Separately, Golkar secretary-general Budi Harsono said the party had reprimanded eight executives who opposed the party's policy of supporting Megawati and Hasyim. Budi refused to identify them, but said: "They often appeared in the media (supporting Susilo and Kalla)." Golkar executives Priyo Budi Santoso and Idrus Markham recently criticized the party's line ahead of the runoff.

Amien, Wiranto vow neutrality, abstention in runoff

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Two former presidential candidates have elected not to support either Megawati Soekarnoputri or Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the September 20 election runoff, but did encourage supporters to vote in the upcoming poll.

Wiranto and Amien Rais, who finished third and fourth respectively in the first round of the presidential election on July 5, also pledged to respect and support whoever was elected president.

"We give our party leaders and sympathizers the freedom to vote for either candidate in the upcoming election," Amien said after a meeting attended by 27 central executive board members and 32 regional leaders of his National Mandate Party (PAN) on Friday evening. Incumbent President Megawati and her former security minister Susilo will contest the September 20 runoff.

Another former presidential candidate, Hamzah Haz, who is also Megawati's Vice President, has announced his support for his boss. "We urge all of our supporters to exercise their right to vote based on their conscience, while taking into account the reform agenda," Amien said.

Amien, who is the leader of PAN, acknowledged that about 55 percent of the central executive board members and regional party leaders backed Susilo and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla, in the runoff, while the remainder preferred to remain neutral or supported Megawati and running mate Hasyim Muzadi.

Prior to the meeting, Amien, who is also speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, met with Megawati at her residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta. However, he refused to reveal what the pair discussed.

Amien said he also met with Susilo and Kalla on Thursday night to talk about how to promote honesty and fairness in the runoff. "My visit to Ibu Megawati's home, as well as with Pak Susilo and Pak Kalla last night [Thursday], were exchange visits because they separately visited me at my residence," Amien said.

Earlier in the day, Wiranto and his running mate, Solahuddin Wahid, who were nominated by the Golkar Party, announced they would not endorse either presidential candidate in the runoff.

Wiranto, who received the Golkar candidacy after edging out party leader Akbar Tandjung at Golkar's presidential convention in May, said he had decided not to back either candidate. Golkar, which received the most votes in the April 5 legislative election, has formed a loose coalition with the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), the Christian-oriented Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to support Megawati in the runoff. The four parties control a total of 307 seats in the 550-member House of Representatives.

Megawati, who is seeking a full five-year term, is also supported by the Muslim-based Reform Star Party (PBR). "We are not party members. We have no obligation to follow the political line of Golkar," Wiranto said.

Susilo, who was nominated by the Democratic Party, the Crescent Star Party and the Indonesia Unity and Justice Party (PKPI), has won the endorsement of the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party, which received 8.3 million votes in the legislative election thanks in large part to its anticorruption platform.

NU/PKB support essential for runoff win: Lecturer

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Political coalitions with several parties, including the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP), may not be enough for presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Hasyim Muzadi to win the September 20 election. An intensified approach toward the largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and its political offshoot, the National Awakening Party (PKB), is also needed. The Jakarta Post's Surabaya correspondent Indra Harsaputra interviewed Muhammad Asfar, a lecturer at Airlangga University and director of the Center of Democracy and Human Rights at the university. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Question: How do you see Megawati's coalition efforts?

Answer: In general, coalitions can be significant in securing more votes for the Megawati-Hasyim pairing.

In a poll before the Golkar convention in April this year, Gen. (ret) Wiranto was projected to get only 4 percent of the vote if he became a presidential candidate, but after he won the convention and picked Solahuddin Wahid (from PKB) as his running mate, Wiranto got a very impressive percentage of votes (just over 22 percent) in the first round of the presidential election in July.

The significant increase indicated the success of the coalition between Golkar and PKB.

The strength of the coalition was also shown in the research conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), which found that 58 percent of voters in Indonesia voted for figures recommended by their parties.

The LSI survey also indicated that 17 percent of the voters preferred to be independent, and the rest chose not to divulge how they voted to LSI.

So would the Megawati-Hasyim pair find it easier to win against Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Jusuf Kalla?

I would say the coalitions are really useful, but that will not be sufficient for the Megawati-Hasyim team to win the election. If Golkar can utilize its political machinery to maximum, the coalition could probably contribute 50 percent of vote for Megawati-Hasyim. But, it is not that easy to reach the figure given many of the Golkar votes outside of Java went to the Susilo-Kalla ticket in the first round.

For Susilo and Kalla, 40 percent of the votes from ordinary people or independent groups (voters from non-political organizations) will be enough. According to a recent survey conducted by the Institute of Research, Education and Information of Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES), Megawati must be able to get the NU members' votes to beat Susilo.

All of the candidates in July's election tried to woo the NU, and if Megawati and Hasyim are able to get NU support, it will ensure victory in the September 20 runoff. The Megawati-Hasyim campaign team should be smart enough to embrace the NU. It is time for Hasyim Muzadi, who is an inactive NU chairman, to seriously approach the prominent NU figures. Unfortunately, Hasyim has been decreasing his overtures to NU figures.

The top NU leaders may fully support Megawati-Hasyim, but do you think the grassroots members of NU, who are still very loyal to Abdurrahman Wahid, will vote for them?

In the July ballot, the NU grassroots contributed millions of votes to the Wiranto-Solahuddin pairing thanks to Abdurrahman Wahid's maneuvers. But PKB's failure to help Wiranto and Solahuddin win means that the PKB/NU voters now have no more candidates from within the organization. The PKB will likely stay neutral, despite the fact that several PKB officials, including chairman Alwi Shihab and Mahfud MD, will probably vote for Susilo. While Abdurrahman declared that he would abstain, Megawati should use her "golden momentum" to approach Abdurrahman Wahid to get the NU/PKB bloc to vote for her. She should also establish a kind of "people's coalition", in which she could unite NU votes, which were divided between Hasyim, Solahuddin and PPP during the first round. A coalition with PPP has been set up, it's now time to get the backing of the NU leadership and with it the PKB.

Pursuing the support of the clerics (kyai) from NU and PKB seems to be somewhat difficult for Megawati and Hasyim following the anti-Megawati fatwa (edict) issued by several clerics at the Raudlatul Ulum boarding school in Pasuruan. What is your comment on this?

The edict was issued when Hasyim and Solahuddin were still at "war". But, since Solahuddin failed to progress past the first round, things have changed. At the grassroots level, there is a wish that either the president or vice president be from NU, and Hasyim is the only person. Now the ball is in Hasyim's court. He should approach the NU through its kyai, if he wants to win the heart of NU through structural and cultural moves.

According to my research during the first round of presidential election, Hasyim attracted 18 percent of the votes from NU/PKB members. I expect that support for Hasyim will be greater in the second round.

What about Susilo's chance to get NU/PKB votes?

NU's policy has never changed since the legislative election. NU members, known for their obedience to their various local kyai, are easily guided about who to vote for. In East Java, the political map will not change much. In the town of Situbondo for example, Fawaid As'ad is very influential within PPP, so it is no wonder that PPP had a majority of votes there. What I mean is, if a kyai living in a certain town supports a candidate, NU members in the town will almost certainly vote for that candidate. Therefore, both Megawati and Susilo must be wise in reading the situation of the NU members at the grassroots level.

Indonesia's search for simplicity

Asia Times - August 25, 2004

Phar Kim Beng -- Indonesia is a country renowned for its far- flung geography and cultural complexities. With 13,000 islands to its name, it cannot claim anything less. Equally complex is the elaborate nature of the country's electoral system, which is only gradually being simplified.

In Indonesia's first nod toward free elections in 1999, a process that had been stillborn since 1955, more than 300 political parties registered for the first parliamentary election in the post-Suharto order. However, the General Elections Commission (KPU), on the basis of various criteria, had to reduce the number of parties to 48.

But while the democratization process in Indonesia has been confusing, it is nevertheless something that Indonesians have taken in stride. Now, as voters gear up for the final round of Indonesia's first direct presidential election next month, many are showing they are capable of making their own choice on who should be president.

The September 20 runoff has been reduced to a two-way contest between incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her former security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The election process has come a long way since the April 5 parliamentary elections, which saw the number of political parties cut in half from the 48 that ran in 1999. This year only 24 political parties were eligible to compete for the 550 parliamentary seats, of which Golkar received 128 seats and Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) won 109 seats. Although four other parties were able to receive at least 5% of the total votes, allowing them to name their respective candidates to the presidential election in July, they have since been taken out of the race.

But if Indonesia's national election appears to be a prolonged process of attrition, where parties and candidates are progressively winnowed by the electoral forces at play, it is amazing that Susilo and his party have even come this far. That's because it's not easy to set up a new political party in the first place. Article 3 of the Law Concerning Political Parties sets stiff conditions for new parties, for instance.

John Roberts, an independent Indonesian specialist, said, "While a party is only required to have 50 citizens as members, the article stipulates that the party must have an executive board in at least half of the nation's 30 provinces, in at least 50% of the regions [kabupaten] in each province, and in at least 25% of the local areas [kecamatan] within each region."

This provision clearly favors the existing parties, which had their party machines established during the Suharto period, or ruling-class factions that have the funding needed to meet these conditions.

Still, buoyed by his reputation as a clean and competent minister of security, one invariably tough on Jemaah Islamiya, the group that perpetrated the Bali bombings on October 12, 2002, Susilo was able to garner more than 36 million votes in the first round of the presidential election in July, claiming roughly 33.56% of the total votes, but still failing to get the additional 17% needed to be declared an outright winner.

In turn, President Megawati received 29 million votes, or 26.24% of the total ballots. Wiranto, who was Golkar's candidate, came in third with nearly 24 million votes.

While the prospect of Susilo upstaging Megawati is real, due not least to a tidal wave of support for his promise to make Indonesia a country free from corruption, the latter has gained the endorsement of Golkar to stem the tide. In exchange, Megawati has agreed to appoint up to eight ministers from Golkar into a cabinet of 30 in the event of her successful re-election.

This gambit by Megawati, however, by no means ensures her return to office for another five-year term. Research has shown that up to 86% of Golkar supporters will likely vote for Susilo anyway in the impending second round run-off, compared with only 9% for Megawati -- a sign that voters are thinking independently.

Opinion polls also suggest that voters are more likely to base their vote on candidates' policies rather than their politics, with a majority of Indonesians concerned with high-level corruption first, followed by territorial integrity, economic growth and employment. A marriage of Golkar and PDI-P may not articulate the concerns of the average Indonesian voter.

It is even doubtful whether card-carrying members of Golkar wanted the alliance in the fist place. Akbar Tanjung, Golkar's chairman, conceded as much when he explained that the coalition with PDI-P was formed "due to the preference of party leaders in the regions and provinces".

Another reason for Golkar's electoral tie-up with Megawati was the continued refusal by Susilo and his vice-presidential candidate, Jusuf Kalla, a Muslim businessman from Sulawesi, to engage in any political horse-trading.

Thus, the endorsement on August 15 of Megawati by Golkar, while ideal on paper, may not amount to much, as the 24 million voters who supported Wiranto in the first round may not necessarily accept Megawati as their preferred choice in the second one, despite her repeated attempts to project herself as the "Mother of Indonesia."

If anything, Megawati is fast losing her credibility as a reformist president. Rather than define her reformist platforms, the alliance with Golkar has defiled her. This is because Golkar served as Suharto's political machine during his 32-year reign and is still associated with abuses of that era.

Susilo, together with Jusuf, who is also known for his no- nonsense, action-oriented approach to politics, have both welcomed Megawati's move to reach out to Golkar because it could clearly set them apart as Indonesia's "true" reformist candidates.

Yet even if Susilo claims presidential victory, he will still have a long way to go before he can weed out corruption, or deal immediately with some pressing issues.

Golkar and PDI-P together now control 237 seats in the parliament. So regardless of who wins, Megawati and Akbar Tanjung would remain the "king-maker" in parliament. A coalition of PDI-P and Golkar already creates a formidable force, even without the presidency.

Susilo is aware of the political dynamics in Indonesia and has said he is open to compromise after September 20. In choosing Jusuf, a former Golkar party leader, as his running mate, Susilo is clearly sending a signal that he is neither totally against Golkar's interest nor that of other Muslim quarters in areas other than Java.

As such, while Megawati and Susilo seem on the surface to be poles apart, with the former eager to cut a deal with Golkar while the latter is almost indifferent, there is no denying that future Indonesian reforms could only be carried out by all sides with more political coalition-building rather than less. That's because key parties and individuals remain too weak to reign alone.

Parties such as PDI-P are almost desperate for coalitions because of their fast-waning support. During the April election, for instance, PDI-P votes drastically dropped from 34% in 1999 to a mere 19%. Whether or not this marks the secular decline of PDI-P depends largely on the ability of Megawati to exercise effective leadership, either as a president or future parliamentary canvasser.

On the other hand, although Golkar is now the leading party in parliament, its total popular votes in Java, traditionally the heartland of Indonesian politics, declined from 22% to 21%. Since Java comprises 60% of Indonesia's total population of 215 million, the decline does not augur well for Golkar's future.

Although attempts to corral bloc votes, both within parliament and without, will always be a perpetual temptation for party leaders to create various coalitions, the electorate will not necessarily be impressed with such gestures.

Research by Paige Johnson Tan, an Indonesian specialist at the University of North Carolina, for instance, has shown that there is a "general aversion" to the present party system among Indonesians. Instead, Indonesians prefer a strong, capable and clean leader, qualities Susilo claims to have.

Yet the Indonesian political system is unable to produce a "strong" president at this stage because the country's political system is a hybrid between a presidential and a parliamentary system. Although the president can rule by decree, the legislature can also nullify these decrees in the next session of the parliament. The gridlock, though intentional, is likely to make Indonesians become less patient with the process of democratization, even as they seek to elect a strong president to guide it.

Corruption/collusion/nepotism

No suspects in 'fraud' case

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Evi Mariani, Jakarta -- Police now have no suspects in a bizarre case involving a former Jakarta city council chairman, a businesswoman and an alleged "fraud" worth Rp 1 billion (US$112,359).

Former Jakarta City Council chairman Agung Imam Sumanto failed to show up for questioning at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Friday in connection with the allegations of fraud, despite police saying he was now only a witness, not a suspect, in the case.

"There are still the second and the third summons [to come], so probably I will come to the city police headquarters on the next summons," Agung said when he was contacted through his cell phone. Agung did not give a reason for his absence. The day before, he had said he would be ready at any time for questioning in the case.

The case was brought to police attention by businesswoman Etty Mustam. She said she along with three associates had paid Agung more than Rp 1 billion installments in 2003 to help obtain licenses for her business' 200 public minivans. She said some of the payments had been paid through Agung's ex-wife. She filed a fraud case against Agung after her licenses failed to materialize when Agung's term as council chairman ended.

Etty's allegations are effectively an admission she and her associates had participated in an attempt to bribe Agung.

Under Indonesian law, however, police cannot lay charges against Etty unless someone has filed a complaint against her. As yet, police have not laid charges against Etty or her colleagues.

Agung on Thursday at a campaign team meeting at the police headquarters admitted accepting the money but said that it was meant for "the presidential election campaign".

A member of the success team of presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri, Agung said one of the four businesspeople who gave him the money was also a PDI-P member and knew what the money was being used for.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani confirmed on Friday the police would now only question Agung as a witness in connection with the case.

Firman said police would investigate the case further before they charged anyone over the affair. "We will not declare someone as a suspect before we question him or her. We should work on a 'cover both sides' principle," he said. Firman did not elaborate the reason behind the changing of Agung's status.

Earlier city police chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said that Agung had been named a suspect as of Thursday. He had said the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) councillor in 1999 could be charged under Article 378 of the Criminal Code on fraud. The article carries a maximum sentence of four years' jail term.

Before summoning Agung, the police had questioned five witnesses, including Etty and her business partners and Agung's second wife.

Protest marks swearing-in of councillors

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- The swearing-in ceremony of 75 city councillors on Wednesday was marred by a rally, involving some 1,000 people, in front of the City Council on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

The protesters demanded the new councillors act to prevent collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN) practices in the council.

Head of the Jakarta High Court Arifin A Tumpal, presided over the ceremony, which was tightly guarded by police officers and security guards. Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso read the speech of Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, who was absent from the occasion.

About 80 percent of the councillors are new faces. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) are assuming the majority of seats, with 18, 16 and 11 seats respectively.

Councillor Dani Anwar of the PKS was appointed as acting chairman. He will lead a meeting on August 29 to discuss internal regulations for new councillors.

Protesters from non-governmental organizations and party- affiliated groups called for clean governance. In a symbolic gesture, they even handed the councillors a dustpan and broom. "New councillors must not be involved in collusion, corruption and nepotism practices," yelled Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC).

Most new councillors vowed to avoid those practices. "We will make significant changes, including to get rid of red tape. Hopefully, these new faces will bring about a change for the better," said Ahmad Alaydrus of the Democratic Party.

The call for clean governance has grown stronger with alleged violations that involve several councillors and former councilors.

Mustaman and Sumiati Soekarno of the PDI-P, and Abdullah Prawiradirja of the United Development Party (PPP) were reported to the police for document forgery and vote-buying respectively. The three still held their positions when the Jakarta Police ceased to investigate their cases, citing insufficient evidence as the reason.

"We discontinued the investigation as we are certain there has been no crime. However, those who object can file for a pre-trial lawsuit," said Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani. Firman said that, so far, the police had not received any formal objections to the acquittals.

The police have also been investigating a fraud accusation against former City Council chairman Agung Imam Sumanto. A businesswoman, identified only as Et, had earlier reported Agung to the police. She claimed he had promised to arrange operational permits for public buses that she manages, but had not held up his side of the bargain. Et and her three business partners had submitted a total of Rp 1 billion (US$108,695) to Agung.

"We have questioned some witnesses and we are evaluating the results of that questioning. But, we will summon him (Agung) soon," Firman said. Agung denied the allegation. "That's a lie. That's not true," he said after the swearing-in ceremony.

Regional/communal conflicts

300,000 people living in camps

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Jakarta -- Approximately 300,000 people are living in refugee camps across the country, a senior minister says, adding that the government hopes to repatriate all of them by October.

Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah said on Friday the majority of the refugees were in Maluku and North Maluku.

"The refugees will be given three options -- return to their home villages, stay in the refugee camps or transmigrate to another island," Bachtiar said, adding that those who chose to return to their homes would receive Rp 8.7 million per family, while those who decided to stay in the camps would get working capital.

Acting coordinating minister for people's welfare A. Malik Fadjar said the government repatriated some 1.3 million refugees from 2001 to 2004.

Human rights/law

More calls for draft law on the TNI to be withdrawn

Detik.com - August 23, 2004

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta -- The draft law on the armed forces (Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentara Nasional Indonesia, RUU TNI) is not considered to be in accordance with the TNI's new paradigm, has the potential to bring the dual social and political function of the TNI back to life and contravenes People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree Number VII/2003. The draft law must therefore be withdrawn.

Such was the position put to the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) Commission I at the national parliament on Jalan Gatot Subroto in Jakarta by the Joint Secretariat, the Petition of 50 Working Group, the Committee to Guard against the New Order (KWOB) the Marhen People's Movement (GRM) and the Muslim Students Association for Reform (HMI-MPO) on Monday August 23.

"The perpetuation of the [TNI's] territorial command structure(1) in this draft law also has the potential to encourage military interference in the political life [of society just] like the New Order [regime of former President Suharto]", said GRM chairperson Syamsul Hilal.

"In fact added Hilal, the territorial commands which exist at the moment represent a waste of state funds because they are not an institution which needs to provide ongoing services. According to Hilal, the territorial commands should become and institution who's application is determined solely by situational necessity.

"We therefore ask the DPR to return the draft law to the government for further improvements. The improvements to the draft law must [be carried out] with the broad and open involvement of the public at every single stage", said Hilal.

Despite all the complaints they are determined to continue down this path [lit: the dogs bark but the traders continue on their way]. This saying seems to represent the position of the commission. Following the meeting Commission I chairperson Ibrahim Ambong said that the commission will continue to deliberate the draft law. "We will continue to discuss the draft law", Ambong responded curtly. (djo)

Notes:

1. The TNI's territorial command structure mandates the deployment of military command posts and detachments at all levels of the civil administration: provincial, district, sub- district and village. This structure provides the organisational framework for the TNI to act as a political security force at all levels of society.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

More opposition against the draft law on the TNI

Kompas - August 28, 2004

Jakarta -- On Friday August 27, the Women's Alliance Against RUU TNI (Aliansi Perempuan Tolak RUU TN) held a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta. As well as opposing [deliberations by the People's Representative Assembly (DPR)] on the RUU TNI (Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentara Nasional Indonesia, draft law on the armed forces) they also called for the abolition of the military's territorial command structure(1) which in their assessment is a source of conflict, acts of terror and intimidation which invariably sacrifices the interests of the public, particularly ordinary people.

The RUU TNI is currently being deliberated jointly by the DPR's Commission I and the government. The government hopes that the draft law can be completed by the DPR before the next parliamentary term starts in September 2004. The articles which have attracted public attention are those on the issue of the territorial commands, military officer's assignment to civilian posts and the doctrine of the people's army.

The demonstrators, the majority of which were housewives or families who have fallen victim to military violence demonstrated enthusiastically. The harsh rays of the sun reflecting of the roundabout's pool did not seem to wear them out. Activist Yeny Rosa Damayanti gave a fiery speech explaining the reasons why the RUU TNI must be opposed. Another activist, Dita Indah Sari, was busy answering questions from journalists.

The demonstrators also chanted songs of struggle and played tambourines.. Several brought long red-and-white banners reading "Oppose RUU TNI, abolish Kodam, Korem, Koramil, Babinsa(2)" in blue letters.

Threat

In a written statement the alliance said that the RUU TNI represents a significant threat to the ongoing process of democratisation because the TNI's social and political function or dwifungsi, its territorial commands and the assignment of officers to civilian posts will become permanent and be legalised though the law.

In reality is however, that in practice the role of the territorial commands established in the name of assisting territorial development or other duties has often resulted in acts of violence being committed by TNI officers against workers, students, farmers and fisherpeople. (win)

Notes:

1. The TNI's territorial command structure mandates the deployment of military command posts and detachments at all levels of the civil administration: provincial, district, sub- district and village. This structure provides the organisational framework for the TNI to act as a political security force at all levels of society.

2. The five respective commands are: Kodam - Komando Daerah Militer, Regional Military Command; Korem - Komando Resort Militer, Military Command at a level below the residency; Kodim - Komando Distrik Militer, District Military Command; Koramil - Komando Rayon Militer, Sub-District Military Command (Kecamatan) level and; Babinsa - Bintara Pembina Desa, Noncommissioned military officer posted in villages and wards and affiliated with the civilian administration.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Disputed Bill seeks to define role of military

Straits Times - August 28, 2004

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Parliament is debating a controversial Bill to safeguard the military's profile and let it continue its regional commands.

But analysts, fearing a throwback to the Suharto era, say the military's territorial functions could pave the way for a revival of its political role. The debate is likely to dominate deliberations on the Indonesian Military (TNI) Bill which kicked off on Thursday.

According to the Bill, among the TNI's underlying jobs are conducting territorial missions to help the government improve the state's defences, organising military training for civilians and upholding the doctrine of unity between the military and the people.

One of its hotly debated provisions will allow military officials concurrently to hold certain civilian posts.

The military was one of the main organisations that helped keep former president Suharto in office for more than three decades until he was forced to step down in 1998.

In a major reform measure that followed in 2001, the police force was carved out from the TNI and placed directly under the President.

Some factions in the House of Representatives -- the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) -- oppose the presence of military institutions down to the district level.

The largest faction, which is President Megawati Sukarnoputri's party Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has stepped clear of demanding the liquidation of regional military commands as suggested by some parliamentary factions as well as activists.

What it suggested was that the military focus its territorial operations in border areas.

The Golkar party, the second-largest faction, was undecided but talked tough about the 'obsolete' doctrine of unity.

Human-rights activists and military experts have suggested the military fall under the supervision of the Defence Ministry in order to build a more professional force.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno has insisted the regional military commands would be maintained for defence purposes only.

Activist's jail death protested

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Suherdjoko, Semarang -- Some 25 activists from the Front for Poor People's Struggle (FPRM) staged a protest in front of a government office here on Friday, questioning the government on the recent death of prodemocracy activist Churzaini, alias Saddam Hussein, in his prison cell recently.

Churzaini, a former member of People's Democratic Party (PRD), was found dead in his cell on Saturday, August 21, in Pekalongan Prison, Pekalongan, allegedly due to complications associated with tuberculosis, from which he had suffered for some time. He was convicted in 2002 of slander, after he had distributed pamphlets in the street accusing government officials of involvement in an alleged markup in the construction of Pekalongan bus terminal. He was sentenced to five years in jail.

On Friday, protesters assembled in the vicinity of Langgar market, Semarang, in the morning. They then marched to the West Java office of the Ministry of Human Rights on Jl. DR. Cipto. There, they staged performance art and demanded the ministry dismiss Pekalongan Prison warden Tunggak Dharmono for the death of Churzaini. They also demanded the government thoroughly investigate Churzaini's death.

Nur Badrianto, the protest coordinator, claimed that other non- governmental organizations in Central Java had also staged protests in Pekalongan, Kudus, Solo and Magelang.

Separately, an official at the ministry, Wahyu Triono, said that the activists demands would be conveyed to the head of the Central Java office of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights for follow-up. Meanwhile, Tunggak was not available for comment on Friday. The Jakarta Post contacted Pekalongan Prison, but to no avail.

Military court to fall under Supreme Court

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The administration and supervision of the military court is to be transferred to the Supreme Court on September 1 in accordance with Law No. 4/2004 on judicial power, which reinstates a one-roof judicial system.

However, it remains unclear whether the move will enable a criminal court to try military personnel.

The transfer should have taken place by June 30 of this year according to the law, but has been delayed pending the issuance of the relevant presidential decree, which was signed only on July 9.

According to Presidential Decree No. 56/2004, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post, the Supreme Court will oversee the organization, administration and financial affairs of the military court, which was formerly the jurisdiction of Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters.

Stephanus Elgin, head of the Supreme Court's military division, said the supervision of judges for the court would remain under the jurisdiction of TNI headquarters.

The decree stipulates that TNI headquarters propose justice candidates to the Supreme Court, which will approve or reject them.

The military court will be the last to be transferred under the Supreme Court, following the state administrative court and the religious court.

Debate has been rife for decades over military personnel who commit crimes and are not tried at a civilian court. Critics have accused the military court of protecting its soldiers, prompted by the lack of public access to the court.

Law No. 26/1997 on military discipline and Law No. 31/1997 on military court stipulate that all military personnel are subject to trial at the military court for crimes and violations of the Military Law.

In a case involving a presidential guard -- who all hail from the military -- shooting two Jakarta street vendors, the Jakarta Police recently handed over the investigation to the guard's commander, as the two laws remain effective. No clear follow-up has been conducted on the case by the military court.

In a separate case in June 2000, the son of former Army chief Gen. (ret) Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, Second Lt. Agus Isrok, was court-martialled for illegal possession of drugs. He was sentenced to four years in jail for the crime, which carries a maximum 10 year sentence under Law No. 22/1997 on narcotics. Six months later, however, the Jakarta Military High Court reduced his sentence on appeal and reinstated him to active duty.

In the few cases when crimes were committed by both military personnel and civilians, a joint military-civilian tribunal was set up. Law observers have suggested military personnel be prosecuted in a civilian court if they committed crimes that victimized civilians.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is currently deliberating a bill on an amended Law No. 31/1997, which stipulates that military personnel are not subject to only the military court.

Zain Badjeber, who chairs the House legislation body, has said that military personnel could be prosecuted by a district court if they violated the Criminal Code.

However, former Military Police chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Sulaiman A.B. said in June that Military Police -- in the Army, the Navy or the Air Force -- would remain in charge of investigations for the next five years into military personnel alleged to have violated the Criminal Code for the next five years, citing the unreadiness of the police.

Another Komnas team sent to Manggarai

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Kupang -- The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is sending another team to Manggarai to continue its investigation into shootings in which five villagers in the area were killed by police, an official said on Friday.

The first team was sent in April to investigate the incident in Colol subdistrict. Police opened fire after villagers, angry their coffee plantations had been shut down by the Manggarai regional government, attacked a police station. The plantations were in a protected forest.

The second team, led by Komnas HAM member MN Billah, will start another round of investigations on Aug. 31, provincial government spokesman Umbu Saga Anakaka said.

Focus on Jakarta

Few motorists turn to busway

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- Seven months after its launch on Jan. 15, the busway has only managed to attract around 5,600 private car owners, or 14 percent of the busway's 40,000 daily commuters.

The figure was revealed recently in a study held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in March. The study shows that around 79 percent of the busway passengers are former bus passengers, the routes of which had to be closed following the operation of the busway. From the 79 percent, or around 31,600 people, some 11,060 are former passengers of non air-conditioned buses, followed by around 10,110 former passengers of air- conditioned buses and 1,890 former motorcyclists. Another 1,580 formerly used taxis and 316 passengers transferred from bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) and commuter trains.

TransJakarta Busway Management infrastructure division head Taufik Adiwianto said that having only one corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, was not enough to serve the public and therefore could not significantly reduce the number of private cars.

In the end, those factors only increase congestion as the busway, with a fleet of only 56 buses, occupies one of the fast lanes. "The number of private car users switching to the busway is insignificant as of now as we only have one corridor," he said recently.

Taufik hoped the operation of the new busway corridor from Pulogadung, East Jakarta, to Kalideres, West Jakarta, via the National Monument (Monas) starting next year would encourage more private car owners to use the busway.

Prior to the busway launch earlier this year, Governor Sutiyoso had repeatedly urged private vehicle owners to leave their cars at home and use the busway as an effort to minimize traffic congestion, particularly on major thoroughfares.

The study also asked respondents to comment on the busway service, fares, frequency of using the buses and the reasons why they use the busway. From its 400 respondents, some 66 percent said that the busway fare was reasonable, 25 percent said it was cheap and 7 percent said it was expensive.

Taufik said the ongoing research conducted by the University of Indonesia Center for Transport Studies would give more information about the performance of the Blok M-Kota busway corridor.

Environment

Jakarta says haze could worsen

Associated Press - August 23, 2004

Jakarta -- Haze from forest fires that is fouling skies over Indonesia and Malaysia may worsen in coming months as farmers continue to torch land to make way for crops, the government was quoted as saying on Monday.

Bush fires have sent smoke billowing over large parts of Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan islands in recent months. The haze has also spread to neighbouring Malaysia.

Air quality in both countries has dropped, and flights have been delayed in Indonesia. Malaysian officials have warned that the problem -- which has occurred sporadically since 1997 -- is hurting regional tourism.

'The condition could worsen because people keep on burning the forests for farming,' The Jakarta Post quoted Mr Sudariyono, deputy minister for ecosystem maintenance, as saying. 'In addition, there is no indication that rainfall will start soon.' He said the central government could do little to stop the haze apart from instructing regional administrators to crack down on the problem.

In 1997-98, wildfires in Sumatra and Kalimantan provinces burned out of control for weeks, ravaging 10 million hectares of scrub land and blanketing nearby Singapore and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia with thick smoke.

Economic losses from those fires topped US$9.3 billion and prompted a 2002 agreement among six of the 10 Asean members to fight fire pollution. Indonesia has yet to ratify the deal.

Forest fires in East Kalimantan spread to coal deposits

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

Rusman, Samarinda -- East Kalimantan forestry office firefighters are on high alert as forest and cropland fires spread to coal deposits. As the situation becomes worse by the day, the provincial administration has increased fire watch patrols and field monitoring, and moved in more fire-fighting equipment to fire-prone locations.

"Starting this week, our teams have been observing the situation around the clock and carrying out fire fighting activities at every hotspot," said the head of the Forest Fire Management Unit at the East Kalimantan Forestry Office, Kusnadi Katam.

"Weather conditions in East Kalimantan are hot and windy right now. If this kind of weather persists, the forest fires could intensify into as big a disaster as in 2001," he told The Jakarta Post.

He added that the danger of the fires spreading rapidly was exacerbated when the fires met with coal deposits, as had occurred recently in the Bukit Soeharto Community Forest located along the main highway between Balikpapan and Samarinda, as well as in Malinau regency.

Forest fires have also broken out in conservation areas in the Kutai National Park in East Kutai and the Talisayan protected forest in Berau regency.

"Most of the forest fires have occurred along the main highways between the regencies," Kusnadi said. The area destroyed by fire thus far this season is estimated at 32 hectares.

Kusnadi said that there had been no reports of fires being deliberately set in forest concessions. Rather, they were caused by people engaging in land clearance. The fires had spread rapidly in areas with coal deposits.

Based on 12 satellite photographs taken by the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) on August 23, 11 hotspots were detected in four regencies in East Kalimantan; one in Berau, four in Kutai Kertanegara, five in East Kutai and 1 in Pasir.

The highest number of hotspots in August was recorded on August 19, with 103 hotspots. No hotspots were found on August 20. Twelve hotspots were detected on August 21 and 62 hotspots on August 22.

The satellite also located a number of hotspots in Kalimantan. On August 21, 115 hotspots were found in West Kalimantan province, 35 in South Kalimantan province and 141 in Central Kalimantan province. Meanwhile on August 22, 35 hotspots were detected in Central Kalimantan and 15 in South Kalimantan. None were detected in West Kalimantan.

According to Kusnadi, the big variation in the number of hotspots detected from day to day was due to a lack of maximum satellite coverage. For that reason, his office had requested regental and municipal administrations to monitor and report on the situation on the ground.

So far, the haze from the forest fires has covered Samarinda, Balikpapan, Kutai Kertanegara and East Kutai, but the East Kalimantan provincial administration has yet to pronounce the situation hazardous, and has not warned the public to use masks. "The haze has yet to affect visibility or human health. The situation is within the normal range," he said.

The haze has also not affected flights to and from Temindung Airport in Samarinda. An official from the local air traffic control, Ucok, said that pilots had been informed about the haze covering the province, but that flights had not been affected thus far. Flight visibility was 8 kilometers as of Tuesday.

"Flights could be disrupted if visibility was to be reduced to between 1 and 5 kilometers. It also depends on each pilot. Conditions are still normal at the moment," said Ucok.

Water shortages spread

Antara - August 26, 2004

Millions of people nationwide are beginning to feel the effects of the dry season this year, which has led to water shortages and forest fires in many parts in the country.

Tens of thousands of residents in the densely populated Bojonegoro regency in East Java province and Sragen regency in Central Java province have been suffering from a lack of water for the last few weeks, and are now desperately waiting for the government to act. "The government has been very slow to start distributing clean water to the people," Suhartati, a resident of Kapas district, Bojonegoro regency, was quoted as saying by Antara on Wednesday.

Muchid, the director of the Family Planning and Social Welfare Office in the Bojonegoro regency administration, acknowledged that three districts in the regency had submitted proposals to the government for the distribution of clean water to people in those districts.

However, the proposals could not be immediately acted upon due to bureaucratic reasons. "We admit that the distribution of water to these districts has not happened yet. The district officials have filed their proposal, and we will discuss the matter soon with the local water utility, PT PDAM," said Muchid, adding that the first water deliveries would likely be carried out next week.

Separately, the director of PT PDAM's Bojonegoro office, Achmad Dharmawan, said that his company was ready to distribute water to the three districts, provided that the local government submitted a request to the company. "We have allocated four trucks with a capacity of four thousand liters of water per truck," he said.

Normally, water is distributed free to those areas suffering from water shortages during the dry season. Separately in Sragen, the local regency government has been distributing free potable water to people living in 25 subdistricts in the regency. Totok Sutrisno, a spokesman for the administration, said that the local government had dispatched 12 trucks on Wednesday to help alleviate water shortages in 25 subdistricts here.

The government had earlier constructed artesian wells in several subdistricts here, including Cangklong subdistrict, and this had helped prevent water shortages in these areas.

In West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, NTB Governor Lalu Serinata conceded that parts of NTB had been suffering from water shortages over the last few weeks. He blamed illegal logging for the dry season water shortages. "The illegal logging has led to deforestation, meaning that it has also reduced the extent of water catchment areas," said Serinata. Besides water shortages, forest fires have also become a cause for concern around the country since the onset of the dry season in June.

Hidayat, the head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG)'s Palangka Raya office, called on local people on Wednesday to avoid doing anything that could lead to forest fires in Central Kalimantan province. "A small fire can lead to a forest fire during the dry season," he said.

Forest fires were dangerous for residents residing near forests, and could also result in a haze problem in the province, said Hidayat in Palangka Raya, the capital of Central Kalimantan.

He forecast that the rains would start to fall on the province again in October this year. Similarly, the governor of West Kalimantan, Usman Ja'afar, also warned local residents not to clear land using the slash-and-burn method for fear of sparking large-scale forest fires in the province.

In the South Sumatra capital of Palembang, a senior official warned on Wednesday that local residents should avoid leaving their homes in daylight.

"August is the peak of the dry season this year and the weather can reach 34 Celsius at noon. If people are exposed to the sun for long periods, they could be burnt or get headaches," said Suyatim, the head of the BMG's South Sumatra office in Palembang.

Javan gibbons face extinction, illegal loggers blamed

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Theresia Sufa, Sukabumi -- Five groups of the endangered Javan silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), or Owa Jawa, have disappeared from the 100-hectare (ha) Kabandungan Forest, a lush corridor that connects Mount Salak and Mount Halimun in Sukabumi, West Java, a park official said.

"Illegal loggers have nearly cut down the entire corridor ... the small area of remaining forest is now isolated from the Kabandungan ecosystem," Mount Halimun National Park official Nur Faizin told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

In 1998, Faizin said, five families of four to five Javan silvery gibbons lived in the forest corridor. "Maybe they died from the extreme change in their habitat, were killed by hunters, or migrated to another location," he said.

Another Halimun park official, Ika Kristiana, feared the extinction of many flora and fauna, especially those as yet undiscovered in the forest, due to the disappearance of the forest corridor.

"The Kabandungan corridor is vital to the preservation of the montane ecosystems of Salak and Halimun, which are home to different animals and vegetation.

"We believe the forest corridor linked the two ecosystems and enabled their endemic species to interact and expand their gene pools for better survival. Without this, species endemic to the mountains would disappear one by one," Ika told the Post.

The Ministry of Forestry placed Salak and Halimun under a single management last year, expanding the national park from 40,000 ha to 113,357 ha across Sukabumi and Bogor regencies of West Java and Lebak regency of Banten. The Kabandungan forest corridor is located in Lebak. Over the next five years, Faizin said, the national park, together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), would begin rehabilitating the diminishing forest corridor.

The park management and JICA are currently surveying the economic base of villagers living around the forest, establishing the park's border and involving locals in conservation programs.

In addition, they are encouraging villagers to switch to farming to reduce locals' dependence on forests as their main source of income. "We are also receiving assistance from other [environmental groups] to rehabilitate the forest," Ika said.

These include the Indonesian Biodiversity Conservation (BCI), which focuses on conserving panthers, the Mata Elang -- or Eagles' Eye -- that works to protect and conserve raptors, particularly the highly endangered Javan eagle (Spizaetus bartelsi), and Bogor Institute of Agriculture students, who monitor and study the Javan silvery gibbon.

The three protected species are endemic to the montane ecosystems of Salak and Halimun.

Faizin said the BCI and national park officials were monitoring panthers and their movement each month. "We have found 40 panthers in the national park, each of which has a territory of 1,000 hectares," he said.

The twin ecosystem is also home to 16 different species of eagles, including the 18 Javan eagles spotted there, and eight remaining Javan silvery gibbon families that forage across 40,000 ha of the park.

Ladia Galaska revisited

Tempo Magazine - August 24-30, 2004

Governor Abdullah Puteh was on the front pages of newspapers for weeks in recent months, linking him to corruption in the scandalous purchase of a helicopter and a power generator for the Aceh provincial administration. The Corruption Eradication Commission has named him a suspect in the case.

Now the governor is back in the news with reports of his involvement in the Ladia Galaska project-the controversial construction of a road that cuts across the Leuser Ecosystem Zone in Central Aceh. The project has spent Rp250 billion of the total Rp950 billion allocated under the National Budget. Non- governmental organizations charge Rp26.9 billion of the expenditure has not been properly accounted for. TEMPO traces the ins and outs of the controversy and the impact of the project on the environment.

The door to the examination room of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) finally opened at 8:30pm. A man in an elegant dark suit appeared from behind the door smiling sheepishly. Reporters who had been waiting for hours outside rushed toward the man, Governor of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Abdullah Puteh, only to be blocked by bodyguards who accompanied the provincial chief all the way to his waiting car. With the governor safely seated inside, the car sped away from the KPK office on Jalan Veteran No. 3 in Central Jakarta.

The scene, which took place on a Wednesday in mid-July, was part of a grilling Puteh was subjected to by the KPK over his alleged involvement in a corruption case. The commission has named him a suspect-since June 29, 2004-in the scandalous purchase of a Russian-made Mi-2 PLC Rostov helicopter for the purpose of the provincial government. According to the KPK, the price of the helicopter had been marked up to Rp12.5 billion-Rp4 billion higher than the actual cost [see TEMPO July 26 edition].

Governor of Aceh since 2000, Puteh-a native Acehnese born in Meunasah in the district of Arun on July 19, 1948-began his term at a time when the province was in a state of emergency with the Indonesian Military (TNI) set to launch an offensive against the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Puteh was sworn into office at the end of November at Bandara Blang Bintang airport, which has since been renamed Iskandar Muda. He was only a month in office when a bomb exploded outside his official residence in Banda Aceh. Four years on, he is now embroiled not only in two cases of corruption connected with the purchase of the Russian helicopter and of a power generator, but also over the controversial construction of the Ladia Galaska highway in Central Aceh.

Four non-government organizations, associated in an anti- corruption group called the Working Group for a Peaceful Corruption-Free Aceh-Walhi Aceh, Sorak, Forum LSM Aceh, and JKMA Aceh-have charged that Ladia Galaska, which cuts across the Leuser Ecosystem Zone is being built at a cost higher by Rp26.97 billion than originally estimated. The figure, they said, was found in the difference

between the calculations in the project budget and those stated in Puteh's annual report to the Aceh legislature for 2002.

Ladia Galaska has been a subject of quarrel between the local NGOs and the governor ever since the project was launched in 2002. On July 4, 2004, the Banda Aceh District Court ruled in favor of Puteh over the dispute. A coalition of 24 NGOs had asked the court to stop the project, charging it would, if carried out, destroy the ecosystem in the Leuser tropical forests. The government has by Presidential Decree No. 33/1998 declared 1.8 million hectares of land within the Leuser Ecosystem Zone a conservation area.

Puteh, against the opposition of NGOs, ordered Ladia Galaska to go ahead, saying it was a project supported by the central government and the legislature.

The project is funded by money drawn from the National Budget (APBN).

Reaffirming support for the project, Settlements and Regional Infrastructure Minister Soenarno says: "If you want to drop the project, that should be by decision of the legislature." In an article titled Ladia Galaska and Environmental Destruction, (see TEMPO January 29, 2004 edition) former Environment Minister Emil Salim notes that Ladia Galaska (with a budget of Rp950 billion allocated under the APBN) was rejected by both the Forestry and Environment Departments and the National Development Planning Board. Emil writes that the project was insupportable as it didn't pass through centers of economic activities in the area.

Puteh refuted Emil's view. In a recent conversation with TEMPO, he said the purpose of Ladia Galaska was precisely to "link centers of economic activities in the west coast (Indian Ocean) and those in the east coast (Malacca Straits)." Puteh's assertion was supported by the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission VI which wanted the project to continue. "What's being done is in the interest of the people," says Indra Prayitno, commission member representing the Indonesian National Unity faction. "Why should there be people who still think only of the interest of the monkeys in the forests?" he asks.

Tempo's report on Ladia Galaska showed that not only the interests of the people are being ignored-contrary to Prayitno's claim-those of the monkeys are too. In a recent visit to Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah, a 16-kilometer section of Ladia Galaska, TEMPO found the big trees on both sides of the road were gone, depriving the beruk (short-tailed macaque) and siamang (gibbon) of their natural habitat.

In the interests of the people? TEMPO didn't see what happened on other parts of the road. But at the 16-kilometer stretch between Blangkejeren and Dusun Gajah traveled by TEMPO in more than three hours, no signs of economic activities were seen, no cars passing by, the only activities the siamang jabbering high up in the trees deep in the forests and two slash-and-burn farmers at the entrance to the road. Most of the villagers chose to travel by the old road down the hill which had been in existence long before Ladia Galaska.

Angsar, the village head of Dusun Gajah, charged Ladia Galaska had only robbed the forest of its trees. "They came here only to cut the trees down to the last one." Angsar said he saw with his own eyes how the men cut down the trees and carried them away in trucks out of the forests to make way for Ladia Galaska.

Could it that the Blangkejeren-Gajah section isn't part of the road to be turned into a beehive of economic activities by Ladia Galaska? Governor Puteh told TEMPO with confidence that the project would break the isolation of the villages and open a new economic route between the west and the east coast.

Puteh illustrated the isolation of the villages with a bit of humor. He said fish caught by fishermen from waters in the Indian Ocean would come to life on arrival for sale in Takengon in Central Aceh. "It's not that the fish are coming to, but the maggots squirming in the bodies of the fish which decomposed after so long a journey," he said with a laugh. Ladia Galaska, he said, was designed to facilitate communication between the west and east costs of Aceh across 470 kilometers of land. Funds for the Rp950 billion project, carried out under a multi-year contract from 2003 to 2006, derive from the central government. Although not yet politically inaugurated, Ladia Galaska was begun in 2002, initially jointly funded with money from the national and provincial budgets. Puteh told TEMPO that in the past two years a total of Rp250 billion, including Rp100 billion in 2003, had been spent with funds from the central government to upgrade the road from the status of a provincial to a state road. "For the year 2004, a total of Rp150 billion is being allocated," he said.

Karimun Usman, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction and chairman of the DPR Commission on Settlements and Regional Infrastructure, fully supported the project. "The project will break the isolation of six districts in the hinterland to link with the coastal areas," said Usman who strongly disagreed with the NGOs that Ladia Galaska would do great damage to the environment. "I tell you that it's precisely the European Community for Leuser that's damaging the environment. Write it down," he told TEMPO heatedly.

So it was that with the support of the legislators the bulldozers continue to cause destruction to the forests to the dismay of environmental activists.

Protest demonstrations were organized to stop Ladia Galaska. In its annual report the Leuser Management Unit (UML) said it spent Rp29 million in public campaign against Ladia Galaska from November 2002 to November 2003.

Usman was offended by the action of UML. "It's this kind of thing that has aroused the Acehnese to anger," he said. Hasjrul Djunaid, of LSM Skephi, responded by saying it was the natural thing to do by UML. "It's only natural that UML is funding the campaign because it wants Leuser preserved."

Environmental activists were also angered by the lack of a proper environmental impact analysis (Amdal) before the start of the project.

"The Amdal generalizes all sections of the road and that's a wrong thing to do," Hariadi Kartodihardjo, of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, told TEMPO.

Bambang Antariksa, of Walhi Aceh, totally dismissed the Amdal by saying "the project was unacceptable from the very beginning."

What's more galling to the environmentalist was that Ladia Galaska began even before the Amdal was approved by the Environment Department. Nabiel Makarim, the Environment Minister, warned at a cabinet meeting in June that the project, if carried through, would alienate the Acehnese in their own land.

When the court ruled in favor of Puteh in the dispute over the legality of Ladia Galaska, the NGOs turned to another charge against the governor: involvement in a Rp26.97 billion fraud in the project. They charged Puteh with failure to account for certain expenditures in his annual report to the Aceh legislative council in August 2003. The governor responded by saying that the Rp26.97 billion corruption charge had been made by people "who don't understand the mechanism of developing funding." He called his detractors people "who only shout from outside, but never want to sit down and discuss the issue together with us."

In its investigation of the charge TEMPO also found many irregularities in the implementation of the project. However, while the NGOs put eight sections of the road to be financed by APBN, this magazine found only four to be so funded. Also the NGOs seemed to have ignored the revision that had been made to the provincial list of projects (DIP), basing their charge on the original DIP which was published on January 1, 2002, not on the revised version published on October 28, 2002 (see infographic).

In Tempo's calculations there was an expenditure of about Rp9.4 billion in Puteh's report which was yet to be cleared up and Rp2.2 billion yet to be accounted for by the governor.

Although funding is a vital issue, it's only one of the aspects of the controversy surrounding the Ladia Galaska project. It's intangible losses-losses that cannot be measured in terms of money-that matter most.

According to the Department of the Environment, the project is likely to cause serious damage to the environment, including destruction of the forests, landslides, and the isolation of one area under development from another. The department also questions the economic benefits of the project.

Ladia Galaska is not a new project. Sections of the road were in operation a decade ago. Originally the project was called Program Jaring Laba-Laba (the Spider's Web Program) in the early 1990s. It was renamed Proyek 16 Ruas Jalan Tembus (the 16-Section Thruway Project) when Syamsudin Mahmud was governor in the late 1990s. In 2000 Governor Puteh continued the project with Ladia Galaska further extending the road from the west to the east coast of Aceh.

Ladia Galaska is an acronym for Lautan Hindia, Gayo Alas and Selat Malaka-a project that has drawn widespread criticisms as it threatened to destroy the ecosystem in the Leuser area of Central Aceh.

Antariksa, of Walhi Aceh, says the government should be thankful to the NGOs for reminding it of the potential damage the project would on the environment with the construction of a road that cuts across the Leuser Ecosystem Zone.

Muhyan Yunan, head of the Aceh Regional Infrastructure Office, strongly denied Ladia Galaska was trespassing on Leuser. "On the contrary, it's the Leuser Ecosystem Zone that's trespassing on Ladia Galaska because the road has been in existence long before the area was declared an ecosystem zone," he said fierily.

Still, he said, a decision has been made to defer construction of feeder roads in and out of the main highway. Therefore, only 470 kilometers of the road would be built through 2006. The original plan called for the construction of a 1,587-kilometer road.

Apparently Ladia Galaska is not only a matter of "breaking economic isolation." Muhyan said: "The road is being built based on social and political considerations." It's being built, he added, at the request of the people of Aceh to the central government in Jakarta-for a road that will break the isolation of areas in Central Aceh. Plans are for the TNI to build new bases on locations in the south and southeastern parts of the province.

During an interview with TEMPO at the Mandarin Hotel early last month, Governor Puteh drew a sketch of Ladia Galaska on a white board, saying the project, if completed, would cut travel time from the west to the east coast from 12 to just four hours.

At the western edge of the 16-kilometer Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section, village head Angsar and his wife said they won't go by the new road.

"We'll buy ourselves a horse." No public transport operates in the area-except for people with an adventurous spirit like Anwar who took TEMPO in his Toyota jeep on the road from Blangkejeren to Dusun Gajah.

Like most people in the area, Angsar and Salabiah chose to go by the old road. The new road, located up the hill at a steep height, denies them easy access to their farms and the river water below.

Driving on Monkey Road

Tempo Magazine - August 24-30, 2004

Tempo recently journeyed over the 16-kilometer Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section of Ladia Galaska to look at the impact of the controversial road project on the environment and the local population.

The old jeep was leaving Blangkejeren, a small town on Lembah Leuser, when the ground was still wet with morning dew. Aswan, the driver and owner of the Toyota, deftly negotiated the long, winding road. The car he bought in Medan three years ago roared on into Dusun Gajah through the Simpang Badak intersection on a part of the Ladia Galaska road that rises steeply up skirting the ridges of the Leuser mountain.

Now and then the jeep crossed paths with another car. Aswan would brake if the driver of the other car was an old friend. After a few words of greeting and pleasantries, he would continue with his Toyota, unconcerned with the tires that might blow up at any time under the heavy load and on the rough terrain.

Aswan is well familiar with this part of the forest, many times transporting soldiers, researchers and journalists safely across to their destinations.

Tempo was traveling over the Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section to revisit Ladia Galaska, the road project that has attracted public attention over charges of corruption and serious damage to the environment in its implementation.

Residents say only a handful of drivers like Aswan dare travel the tortuous road. Other drivers would think twice. "The road is very steep and dangerous," they would say. Aswan negotiated his way up and down the steep hills and ravines without changing gear. For three minutes his Toyota stalled, its engine growling with anger, before it broke free and continued on.

Aswan spent 10 liters more gasoline on the Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section than he would normally do on the old road further down the mountain close to the villages. Project workers say the incline in this part of the forests is more than 60 percent. In other words, it's not an ideal part to build a road on.

In the past pine trees grew profusely spreading naturally on the sides of the mountain. Further up the hills huge tropical trees, including meranti, dominated the scene. A person flying in a helicopter over the area would have a magnificent view of trees covering the forests like a giant canopy. But that was in the past. Today, as TEMPO found during a visit to the area last June, nothing was left of the huge tropical trees. Three-fourths of the way up the mountain, most of the forest had been opened to farming.

The area along the road is a tropical forest with thin, sandy topsoil. No houses. No lush vegetation growing up to the ridges of the mountain.

The road is deserted most of the time, the still of the forest now and then broken by the sound of cars like Aswan's breathing heavily up the mountain, and the cries of siamang swaying from tree to tree deep in the jungle.

The area is rich with wildlife, especially primates like beruk (short-tailed macaque), siamang (gibbon), mawasan (orangutan), and kera. Some 89 protected animal species and 3,500 plant species are found in Leuser.

Construction of the road is bound to wreak havoc on the ecosystem and wildlife in the area. Six years ago the government declared 1.8 million hectares of the forest as a conservation area known as Leuser Ecosystem Zone.

The road down the mountain is steeper, in many parts strewn with landslides. Some bridges are on the verge of collapse blighted by rainwater. It took more than one hour for Aswan's Toyota to cover the 16-kilometer stretch between Blangkejeren and Dusun Gajah-not a great distance to cover without much difficulty if not for the severe terrain.

Most trees on both sides of the road were gone, except for those left beyond the river or on the hills. A pathway led to the ridges of the mountain where more trees were being cut down. Muhyan Yunan, head of the local infrastructure office, says the Blangkejeren-Gajah section is not a new roadway. It used to be a dirt road widely used by the villagers before it was upgraded, widened and asphalted by Ladia Galaska at an incline the villagers consider precarious.

Settlements & Regional Infrastructure Minister Soenarno says, however, that local residents were actually used to such conditions.

What's the use then of upgrading, widening and asphalting a footpath into a road that villagers avoid, preferring instead to go by the dirt road that they have used for generations. And what's the use upgrading and building a road if no cars are going to use it?

Tempo waited for an hour at the end of the road in Dusun Gajah. No cars, no bicycles, no transports of any kind were to be seen- except for the cries of siamang high up in the trees. "The road is built at the request of the people to break the isolation of the hinterland," says Yunan. Governor Puteh adds that Ladia Galaska is being built to link economic activities in the west coast (Indian Ocean) and those in the east coast (Malacca Straits).

Or maybe the section is not part of the "economic links"? Where are the villagers said to benefit from the "economic links"? As TEMPO saw it along the 16-kilometer Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section of the road, only a few geucik (hamlets) occupied by several families dotted the area, smaller ones like Geucik Gajah and Geucik Uring, and the bigger ones Lokop and Pinding.

Angsar, head of Geucik Gajah, told TEMPO he was not aware of the government plan to build the road up on the hill. "Suddenly the bulldozers came and the mountain split," he said. Salabiah, his wife, added she would not go by the new road as it was located far from the family farms and the river. Local residents, said Salabiah, had hoped the government would asphalt the road at the hillside leading to their farms.

"But the government asphalted the dirt road on the hill and ignored the one down the hill," said Salabiah. "We'll buy a horse for our daily transportation needs," she mused. Months before, the couple said, they saw with their own eyes dozens of trucks loaded with logs descending the mountain toward Blangkejeren. "They built the road only to cut down the trees," Angsar said bitterly.

Two weeks later back in Jakarta, Tempo visited Governor Puteh at the Mandarin Hotel, with a report on what Tempo found at the Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section of the road. After a serious look at the report, Puteh said Ladia Galaska was a big project extending out to more than 470 kilometers. "If there's a

section that's not built at the right place, we can always relocate it to another site," he said.

Health & education

Schol textbooks, problems of price but also poor quality

Jakarta Post Oped - August 28, 2004

Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta -- Nobody would question the importance and great value of books to the processes and tasks of learning and "becoming an educated person". Undoubtedly one of the most difficult and unfortunate of challenges for many people in Indonesia is the cost of books and, in many instances, the availability of good quality books. In this context it may, then, seem rather ironic and contrary to suggest that the demand for and provision of textbooks in schools can be creating difficulties; but it is possible to see this as being the case.

Costs of such books alone can prove problematic to many parents for whom the high price of textbooks can be burdensome and even painful financially. But quite often too the cost of such books itself is not the only financial consequence resulting from demands for textbooks to accompany school life. The cost of such books is quite consistently compounded by the "turnover" in use of such books. Parents have been known to claim that the "shelf" or "useful" life of textbooks is too limited. In other words they consistently face the challenge of having to replace textbooks on a yearly basis. The textbook that was required for the last school year is deemed to be unacceptable and so no longer required for the new school year. Instead a new textbook is required.

Alongside of this kind of concern is the fear that these predetermined and requisite textbooks are to be supplied by specific suppliers who effectively enjoy a monopolistic control of the book supply process. In short a captive market is obliged to purchase these books whether or not they really can determine their educational value. School students are obliged to have the prescribed texts and any failure to be in possession of the prescribed texts is liable to be deemed, effectively, as leading to failure in school.

All of this revolves around the problem and concern that school life and study is to be premeditated around textbook ownership and study. This is, it is probably reasonable to cite, a rather old-fashioned notion and basis for school study. Certainly textbooks can and often will be a reasonable guide and source of learning but there is a danger that very prescriptive usage of textbooks can be preclusive of real learning and limiting in opening a student's mind to the world of learning.

Consistently the use of textbooks can and will fall into the category of merely leading students to the relatively limited knowledge that they need to "pass the test" at the end of the school year.

This condition extends to the role of the teacher in the classroom too. The teacher's own thinking and creativity can be limited by the use of a textbook. Quite often teachers may fall into the habit of using a textbook as the beginning, middle and end of their lesson planning. In essence the textbook becomes a manual (and a chore) that they may plod through in an uninspiring and extremely monotonous way.

The classroom that revolves around a teacher simply saying something like "Ok students, turn to page 33 and we will continue with the next exercise from the book" is hardly a classroom at all. If the classroom activity merely centers on the students going through the book, there is very little evidence to support classroom attendance as opposed to staying home, reading the book, doing any exercises and sending the efforts in for someone to score or assess.

Teachers can become so obsessed and dependent on their prescribed textbook that it becomes the entire basis of their teaching.

This kind of attitude creates a condition in which teachers are basically going through the motions of following the book out of a sense of being obliged to robotically expose the students to the contents of the book; in a real sense doing everything "by the book". This does create the predicament of teachers doing something that is widely recognized as being at best undesirable but most likely quite unwanted -- namely of "teaching the book and not teaching the students".

Textbooks, clearly, can lay out guidance and assistance to teachers and students alike but they should not be seen as the sole and ultimate prescription and description of knowledge in a given area of study. Learning should be expansive and exploratory and this requires that a variety of sources and resources for learning be utilized.

This kind of approach to learning and education was recognized by an American historian by the name of John Hope Franklin who proposed that "we must get beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and as yet unexplored depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey." This highlights that textbooks have a part to play but they are indeed just a "part" of the learning process.

Books are an invaluable tool and asset to learning but within the context of a school they ought to be seen as one of a number of resources for learning and sources of exploration and discovery. The simple fact that students are attending a school setting based around classrooms with peers in attendance too has to highlight the potential for a large proportion of learning to take place through interactions.

Interactions may occur between classmates and between the students and the teacher but interaction can also occur with the environment generally and the immediate learning environment of the classroom. Children and small children in particular, have a propensity to copy what they see and interact with and respond to what they see. Even a simple poster can provide stimuli for developing learning.

If the only interaction that is occurring in the classroom is between the student and a textbook, then a very passive learning environment is dominating school life. Everybody, whether adult or child, has only a limited ability to concentrate for much more than twenty to thirty minutes and so inevitably endless concentration on textbooks is not likely to prove either productive or fulfilling.

The costs to parents of textbooks for schools, obviously, have to be carefully considered but we also must consider the costs of creating too great a degree of dependency on textbooks. Learning and understanding can come to us in a variety of ways and preclusive imposition of textbooks can impinge upon variety and stifle vitality in learning. The writer is Executive Principal of the High/Scope Indonesia School. The views expressed above are personal.

Armed forces/police

Marines dismissed over deadly raid

Jakarta Post - August 28, 2004

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung -- Lt. Col. Bambang Sutrisno, who had just been installed on Tuesday as the Piabung Marine Corps commander in Lampung province, was dismissed from his post on Friday following a raid by marines on a village concert that killed one and injured at least six others.

Six marines -- First Sgt. Sudiarto, First Pvt. Adi Rohano, First Pvt. Ujang Supriyatna, Chief Sgt. Eko Suroyo, Second Pvt. Jeremy Purba and Second Pvt. Sunaryo -- were also dishonorably discharged from the corps for their alleged involvement in Wednesday's incident, in which one villager was killed in Gebang, Padangcermin district, South Lampung.

Further, the six are to face a military tribunal over the attack, along with the remaining 36 marines. The 42 suspects are in detention at the Lampung Military Police headquarters in Bandarlampung for further interrogation.

Marine Corps Commander Kaj. Gen. Achmad Rifai, who presided over a special ceremony at the Piabung marine base to dismiss Bambang and his six subordinates, said the 36 other marines would also be punished.

"All the attackers will receive sanctions, ranging from discharge to demotion. They are being investigated and will be prosecuted under the Criminal Code," he said, adding that any marine who made a "fatal mistake and hurt people's hearts" would not be tolerated. During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Prasojo Sunarto was installed to replace Bambang.

Rifai apologized to the victims' families and provided them with financial assistance, and paid a visit to residents living near Piabung marine base, saying he hoped the incident would be the last involving marines and civilians.

Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Deddy Susanto said the decision to discharge the marines was made after a marathon investigation into the 42 marines.

Asked why Bambang was being dismissed as the local marine commander, Deddy said it was a consequence of his position: "A commander is responsible for any deeds committed by his corps." Deddy did not elaborate on whether Bambang was aware of, ordered or failed to prevent the attack.

The marine spokesman declined to speculate on a possible motive behind the incident. "It's being investigated. I will tell you if any findings emerge," he said. South Lampung Regent Zulkifli Anwar has promised to cover the funeral costs of Mugi, 26, and the victims' medical treatment.

The attack took place on Wednesday at around 9 p.m., when dozens of marines arrived by truck in full uniform and launched a raid on a electronic keyboard concert being held to celebrate Independence Day, killing Mugi and injuring six others.

Eyewitness Suwito said it was a savage attack: "Children were kicked, women beaten and other innocent villagers were attacked with sickles, bayonets and canes." He said the raid followed a minor incident during a similar concert on Tuesday at neighboring Ketapang village, when a car carrying marines hit a villager. Local police seized the car as evidence, which angered the marines, said Suwito.

Another witness said the incident followed a scuffle between youths and men in military uniform during Tuesday's concert. The youths later fled, and the show was stopped. On Thursday, hundreds of residents of Padangcermin district staged a rally at the Lampung administration and council to protest the attack and oppose the presence of marines.

On Friday, two days after the attack, the streets of Gebang village were deserted except for dozens of police officers on guard.

The Piabung marine battalion, comprising 552 personnel, are tasked with securing the Strait of Malacca and the territorial waters of Banten, Jakarta and Aceh.

Religious leaders tell TNI to set aside own interests

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Religious leaders have asked the Indonesian Military (TNI) to sacrifice its interests -- at least for the next five years -- for the sake of the country's democratic development.

Representatives of Muslim organizations Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, as well as those of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI), the Indonesian Confucianism Community (Matakin), the Buddhist Conference of the Mighty Sangha Indonesia (KASI) and the Prajaniti Hindu Indonesia, said on Wednesday the TNI's commitment to democracy would be put to a test in the upcoming election runoff and the controversy over the military bill.

Speaking after a meeting with TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto at his office in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif told the press: "In the meeting we challenged the TNI chief whether he could maintain security and political stability by staying neutral in the election runoff." Endriartono, Syafii said, promised to keep the military impartial and to punish any soldier who violated the order.

Also present at the meeting were: NU acting chairman Masdar F. Mas'udi, PGI chairman Natan Setiabudi, PGI secretary-general Sigit Pramuji, Matakin chairman Budi S. Tanuwibowo, KASI secretary-general Prajnavira Mahathera and Prajaniti Hindu Indonesia chairman I.B. Made Jayamartha.

"The Al-Zaytun incident has cast doubt among the public over the military's neutrality in the presidential election," Syafii said, referring to the illegal use of 21 military vehicles on July 5 to carry thousands of civilians to a polling station at Al-Zaytun Islamic boarding school in Indramayu, West Java.

The incident caused a furor, as the "voters" had been mobilized with instructions to cast a ballot for Gen. (ret) Wiranto, who was running under the Golkar Party flag. Wiranto was eliminated in the first round, finishing third after front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The religious leaders also called on the TNI to exercise restraint in responding to public outcry against the military bill for its controversial articles, which are thought to be an attempt to revive the military's political role. Military leaders, including Endriartono, have defended the contents of the bill.

The House of Representatives and the government are scheduled to begin the deliberation of the bill on Thursday, although Megawati and House speaker Akbar Tandjung have hinted at preventing a rush deliberation and allowing the new House to finish the job.

"I believe the current lawmakers do not have to endorse the bill, pending the inauguration of new legislators and the president," Syafii said.

Earlier, the House commission overseeing the bill's deliberation had pledged to pass it into law before their term ended on September 30.

The meeting with Endriartono was part of the religious leaders' campaign, Baseline Framework for National Unity, or KKM. The religious leaders have also held a KKM dialog with Susilo and Megawati.

The KKM campaign spells out a program to eradicate all forms of corruption and discrimination, eliminate poverty and uphold national unity and security toward the development of a democratic Indonesia.

House, governent spar over TNI regional role

Jakarta Post - August 27, 2004

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The debate over the military's territorial role looks to dominate the deliberation of the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill, which commenced on Thursday.

The United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) factions in the House of Representatives oppose the presence of military institutions down to the district level, citing the trauma of the New Order regime.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest faction in the House, did not specifically demand the liquidation of regional military commands. It did suggest, however, the military focus its territorial operations in border areas.

The Golkar Party, the second largest faction in the House, was undecided but talked tough about the bill, which keeps what it called the obsolete doctrine of unity between the military and the people intact.

According to the bill, among the TNI's underlying jobs are conducting territorial missions to help the government improve the state's defenses; organizing military training for civilians; and upholding the doctrine of unity between the military and the people. The bill requires the military to maintain a presence in society, including through its regional military commands.

During the New Order, the military was one of the main organizations that helped keep former president Soeharto in office for over three decades. Soeharto was forced to step down in 1998 in the wake of the reform movement.

Human rights activists and military experts consulted by the House underscored the controversial contents of the bill, including the military's territorial duties, which they said could pave the way for a revival of a military presence in sociopolitical affairs. They also suggested the military fall under the supervision of the defense ministry in order to build a more professional armed forces.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno, who represented the government in the deliberation on Thursday, insisted the regional military commands would be maintained for defense purposes only. Regional military commands fall under the Army, which maintains over 200,000 troops.

"I just told the TNI chief that should the regional military commands be dissolved, we might need to deploy a battalion of troops to each regency," Hari said.

The minister, however, said the government was ready to discuss possible changes to the duties of the military commands. "We are ready to discuss it in future deliberations. The most important thing is that the commands are still needed to deal with defense affairs," he said.

Also present at the opening hearing on Thursday were the secretary-general of the Ministry of Defense, Vice Marshal Suprihadi, and TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto. Imam Addaruqutni of the Reform faction and Yasril Ananta Baharuddin of Golkar questioned the presence of Endriartono at the hearing.

Imam said the TNI chief could not represent the government in the law-making process. "The TNI commander is not part of the government, so his presence here is unconstitutional," he said.

International relations

Cruise missile plan raising tensions with Jakarta

Agence France Presse - August 26, 2004

Australia announced a cruise missile programme to give it the region's "most lethal" air combat capacity, a move that further strained awkward relations with Indonesia.

Defence Minister Robert Hill said Thursday the air-to-surface missiles acquired under the 350 million to 450 million dollar (248-317 million US) programme could destroy targets up to 400 kilometres away.

The missiles will enter service between 2007 and 2009, when they will be used on F/A-18 Hornet fighters and AP-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft. "Combined with the new air-to-air missiles and upgraded precision-guided bombs, Australia's fighter jets will be the region's most lethal capacity for air combat and strike operations," Hill said.

Indonesia expressed concern about the plan, questioning why Australia was beefing up its offensive capacity. "We are talking here of an offensive capability, no longer defensive capability, and we have to ask ourselves against whom is this long-range cruise missile being directed," said foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia's regional neighbours had been kept informed of the plan and further briefings were being organised in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

"We're not threatening our northern neighbors," he said. "We are at peace and have a happy relationship with all of our northern neighbors." However, the Labor opposition said it hampered the fight against terrorism.

"What has it done to explain this to the countries in the region with whom we must be associated in the struggle with fundamentalist terror?" opposition defence spokesman Kim Beazley said.

"As far as I can see, the government has made absolutely no effort. In normal circumstances that would be bad, but in circumstances where we need to be alongside them, it's very foolish indeed." Hill denied it would trigger an arms race. "In the same way as Indonesia and all our regional neighbours continue to build their capabilities, they expect Australia to do so," he said.

A recent poll found the Australian public see Indonesia as the country's greatest external threat. Prime Minister John Howard said defence decisions were based on Australia's defence interests.

The missiles are intended to substitute partly for the ageing F- 111 strike bombers, due to be phased out by 2010. A leading military analyst said with the new missiles the F/A-18s would have at best 75 percent of the F-111s' range.

Aldo Borgu, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Australia must carefuly explain the programme to its neighbours if it wanted to avoid upsetting them.

Borgu pointed out that Australia's neighbours were also modernising. "I would not say there's an arms race. There's certainly a military modernisation going on. We don't necessarily live in a benign environment in our region." The three missile options being considered by Canberra are Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile, German company Taurus Systems' KEPD 350 precision-attack cruise missile and Boeing's Stand-off Land Attack Missile -- Expanded Response. A decision will be made next year.

Military ties

Debate reignites over US aid to Indonesia

Christian Science Monitor - August 25, 2004

Eric Unmacht, Jakarta -- Two competing perspectives have long dominated Washington when talk turns to military aid for Indonesia. On one side there are those in Congress who call the country's military brutal abusers of human rights. They want US aid to remain suspended until Indonesia's military is reformed.

On the other side is the Pentagon and some White House officials who say the US, once Indonesia's largest source of military aid, should resume funding because of the country's importance to the war on terrorism.

That debate has been reignited since the last four Indonesian officials accused of atrocities in East Timor five years ago were exonerated earlier this month.

"The Pentagon argues from a terrorism point of view, and senators respond that the Indonesian military are terrorists," says Jeffrey Winters, a professor and expert on Indonesia at Northwestern University in Chicago.

East Timor has often found itself at the center of the debate since the Indonesian invasion of the island in 1975. Indonesia felt the pinch of severe restrictions when hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to their security forces were cut off after a 1991 massacre by the military in Dili, the capital of East Timor. The noose on US aid further tightened following the violence that rocked East Timor around its vote for independence in 1999, in which more than 1,000 people were killed -- including a Dutch journalist working for the Monitor.

Now just as warming signs were reemerging, an Indonesian appeals court announced that it was throwing out the convictions of a general and three other military officers for abuses in East Timor in 1999. More than a dozen military and government officials who were charged in the rampage have been acquitted. The only two whose convictions still stand are ethnic Timorese.

The decision drew a sharp response from rights groups and governments around the world, including the US. "We think that the overall process was seriously flawed and lacked credibility," says Adam Ereli, a spokesman for the State Department.

The impact was compounded by Indonesia's rejection of calls for a human rights tribunal or an independent review of the court's work. "This clearly shows that the reasons military aid was suspended have not disappeared," says Mr. Winters. "The outcome of the trials will strengthen the resolve of those in the [US] Senate who said they will block any attempt at close ties."

The perception of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, as a potential hotbed for terrorists -- fueled by the devastating 2002 bombings in Bali and an attack the following year on the J.W. Marriott Hotel -- is a primary reason cited by Pentagon officials seeking to renew military ties.

Members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a group with reported ties to Al Qaeda, have been arrested in connection with the bombings. As well, with world crude prices above $45 a barrel, the Southeast Asian country's oil and gas wealth is part of the calculus.

Despite the controversial court ruling, Washington's efforts to bolster ties with Indonesia have found an unlikely ally. East Timor, which for years bore the brunt of US weapons and training in Indonesia, is eagerly trying to repair relations with its former ruler as it continues to struggle to pull itself out of dire poverty.

"I would like to see the US normalize [military] ties with Indonesia and [have] IMET restored," said East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta by telephone from Australia, referring to the US International Military Education and Training program. "The US has military cooperation with countries that have far worse records than Indonesia. Indonesia is far more open and democratic than many others.

"While I regret, and many others regret, the court didn't deliver justice as promised, we have to acknowledge Indonesia's enormous progress in other areas, such as their lively democracy and free media," Mr. Ramos-Horta says.

While East Timor's calls for leniency and tolerance may complicate the debate in Washington, human rights groups in Indonesia and elsewhere are steadfast in their demand that aid be halted until the Indonesian military is held accountable. Otherwise, they say, security forces will use the impunity as a green light in campaigns against activists and insurgencies simmering in other provinces, such as Aceh and Papua.

"The military will become more confident," says Mufti Makarim, Secretary General of Kontras, a coalition working on rights abuses in East Timor, Aceh, and Papua. "They will think that they can go against the laws because if they are brought to court, there won't be a fair trial and they can influence the courts. This sets a very bad precedent. These verdicts will make [the military] more powerful than before."

Business & investment

Debate heats up over fuel subsidy

Jakarta Post - August 26, 2004

Dadan Wijaksana and Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Renewed debate on whether to retain the hugely costly national fuel subsidy remerged on Wednesday, following a proposal by the government to set aside a whopping Rp 63 trillion (some US$7 billion) for the subsidy this year.

The immense cost of the subsidy, which has skyrocketed along with international oil prices during recent months, and the opportunity cost of not spending the money in more productive areas, left a bad taste in the mouth, legislators and businessmen said.

"The Rp 63 trillion subsidy spending is an awful lot of money. I can't even imagine how many schools, bridges and roads we could build [using the fund]," a lawmaker from the House of Representatives Budget Commission Soekardjo said.

Legislators and government officials have avoided talking about the increasingly untenable cost of the fuel subsidy recently, as they feared cutting the subsidy during election year would create serious social and political unrest.

A government that cuts the subsidy in an election year is also highly likely to lose. A lawmaker from the reform faction, Hakam Naja, said he understood why the government had kept the subsidy, "that had 'multiple domino effects' on the lives of many Indonesians." "Still, we must find a formula to allow the subsidy to go only to the intended target, the poor -- something that is not the case at the moment," he said.

The government on Tuesday revised upward its fuel subsidy spending for this year to Rp 63 trillion from the initial plan of Rp 14.5 trillion because of soaring oil prices.

But, critics say most of the subsidy has been enjoyed by motor vehicle owners who represent the upper income bracket in the country, while other unscrupulous entrepreneurs profit by smuggling the subsidized fuel products abroad.

Chairman of the National Economic Recovery Committee (KPEN) Sofjan Wanandi said the next government should dare to increase the domestic fuel prices (by cutting the subsidy), except for kerosene, which is largely consumed by poor people.

"The government must review whether the subsidy has really touched the ordinary people or whether it has mostly benefited certain people, such as those who smuggle oil abroad.

"I'm just afraid that one day, we won't have money left to maintain existing development projects, let alone increase them," he asserted.

Top businessman and former chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Aburizal Bakrie said it was timely for the government to find a way to ensure only the poor enjoyed the fuel subsidy.

Aburizal said it was an urgent priority for the next government to create an domestic energy policy that made use of the country's abundant gas and coal reserves.

"It's about time we start using gas as an alternative. We can still export the oil, and we can use gas for domestic consumption," Aburizal said.

Opinion & analysis

Commercializing fear

Jakarta Post Editorial - August 28, 2004

Flick through the channels on any given night and chances are you will come up against reality -- reality TV that is. The most prominent and popular subgenre of these shows is reality-horror, which feature volunteers, often scared to the point of frenzy, or unconsciousness.

On shows like Gentayangan (The Wandering) and Dunia Lain (Another World), for example, volunteers are dared to stay at "haunted" venues and test their mettle against the supposed occupants: ghosts and spirits. Sometimes, nothing happens. Other times, the subject exerts their will to bring these "supernatural beings" under control. Or, loses out to possession. Then, come the convulsions -- the fit is uncontrolled as the subject verges on hysteria, and finally, passes out.

Reprieve does come, but only after the performance of some kind of exorcism by a shaman. And, those who can survive the allotted time, usually until dawn, receive cash prizes that can reach Rp 1.5 million.

Another version of reality-horror is the show that gives audiences the privilege of knowing what the subject doesn't. The subject's friends are pitted against him, as he is unwittingly abandoned at a location -- the only one left unawares of the joke.

"Specters" appear, one after the other. A ghoulish fantasy that perturbs the subject, until he cries and screams out. Again, hysteria, but -- just before the final bow out -- the hoax is revealed. The show's name is Paranoid.

Reality shows, or "unscripted TV" to be precise, are all the rage. They are inexpensive to produce and rate highly. Furthermore, almost any contrived situation can be made into a reality show. Cable viewers here are even relayed a US-based channel called Reality TV.

The most basic explanation for the popularity of these shows is that they play on people's deeply conceited satisfaction in seeing others embarrassed.

Indonesia, with its strong culture of mysticism and belief in the unknown, has created its own niche of reality-horror. Unpalatable though it may seem, millions of viewers here, almost every other night, delight in seeing others recoil in psychological torture.

Our personal dislike for such shows may be rebutted by an argument of aesthetical perception. But, the fact that people are subject -- albeit willingly -- to psychological duress is something that should be of public concern.

Producers of such shows put unprepared people under severe mental stress, which could be viewed as assault. Are they unaware that psychological wounds can take a lifetime to heal? Observing the suffering of others has become a celebrated form of entertainment. At a recent taping of one such show, locals flocked to watch a giant screen, and VIP seats were taken up by local dignitaries. Like spectators at a soccer match, they were thrilled by the sight of their neighbor in moments of terror.

Shows concerning mysticism, ghosts and ghouls are common. But, unlike previous shows, these are aimed more at "tormenting" their subjects. They do not encourage audiences to seek a higher moral purpose or question their beliefs. Neither are they educational or enlightening, art or culture. No, these shows simply encourage us to fear the unknown.

We believe these shows have no social redeeming value. They breed fear and disseminate paranoia in a society that is all too ready to believe the irrational, rather than intelligent analysis.

F.D. Roosevelt said "there is nothing to fear but fear itself". Oh, but people like to be frightened. Horror is a tried-and-true box-office formula. Some of cinema's classics became so by scaring moviegoers out of their seats.

Reality-horror is an entirely different case. From the outset we are aware that horror movies are just fiction. "Reality" shows, however, begin with the premise that they are just that, reality! We do not advocate the censorship of such programs. Freedom of expression is an artery for human creativity. And, "garbage" is sometimes the necessary bi-product of creativity.

We do not stand on the pretext of high moral ground in expressing distaste for such shows. For us, torture is torture, whether physical or psychological. The popularity of such shows is a sign of our deprecating society, and it should be a point of worry and concern.

Indonesia's generals take a back seat

Sydney Morning Herald Editorial - August 23, 2004

Indonesia's outgoing parliament is preparing for an historic send-off. Democratic reforms which began with the overthrow of the authoritarian former President Soeharto in 1998 set a timetable for the gradual abolition of reserved parliamentary seats for the armed forces.

On October 1 a new elected legislature is due to be sworn in. For the first time in more than four decades there won't be a military uniform in sight.

The process of sending Indonesia's soldiers back to the barracks -- and formally subjugating the armed forces to the authority of a democratically elected civilian government -- will finally be complete. This is an important milestone for Indonesia's young democracy.

Australia and other Western nations have long been troubled by the politicisation of Indonesia's military and the abusive way power has too often been wielded.

The transition suggests a welcome easing of bilateral tensions. However, a series of recent judgements in Indonesia's courts has shifted attention to another aspect of the military's power: its ability to pull strings through less formal channels.

This month an appeals court overturned the convictions of all remaining officers charged over human rights abuses during the Indonesian military occupation of East Timor. Another tribunal cleared the commander of the notorious special forces, Kopassus, over a massacre of protesters more than 20 years ago. Not a single member of Indonesia's security forces has been jailed for crimes against humanity, despite the well-documented atrocities of the Soeharto era and new abuses since.

The failure to secure even a symbolic human rights conviction sends a troubling signal; that the military can operate with impunity. A recent ruling by the Constitutional Court established a legal impediment to retrospective justice.

However, the human rights prosecutions against senior Indonesian officers did not fail on this legal technicality. They failed because of the wavering resolve of civilian politicians. In the lead up to September's presidential run-off, political alliances are fluid, and deal making rife. There is no doubt the armed forces still represent a formidable national network and, as such, retain much leverage behind the scenes.

The Indonesian military is engaged in two protracted security operations against separatist groups. Jakarta considered the loss of East Timor in 1999 an international humiliation. It is now determined to crush independence movements in Aceh and Papua and, in doing so, to retain control of the provinces' considerable natural resources. This increasing militarisation mirrors the costly, but ultimately unsuccessful, Soeharto-era strategy of employing overwhelming force. Indonesia's own human rights commission last week concluded troops had recently committed gross abuses in several Papuan towns.

Australia assisted East Timor's transition to independence, but Canberra does not support independence movements elsewhere. This should not mean Canberra cannot press Jakarta on human rights or the underlying economic inequities which will only continue to stoke the conflicts in Aceh and Papua.

Successful national elections earlier this year consolidated Indonesia's democratic reforms. Respect for human rights and the rule of law, however, are equally important pillars of any credible democracy.

Indonesia is now on trial

The Australian Editorial - August 26, 2004

The inadequate 10-year sentence handed down to self-confessed Bali bomber Idris, after the charges relating to Bali were dropped, is a slap in the face to victims and their families and a setback in the war against terror.

Until now, the orderly trial and conviction of the 33 fanatics convicted in the attacks that blew apart Paddy's bar and the Sari Club on October 12, 2002, was a testament to the courage and independence of the Indonesian judicial system in the face of constant threat and intimidation. In addition, Bali concentrated the mind of the political class and made Indonesia an excellent neighbour to Australia in the fight against terror in the region.

When Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled last month that anti-terror laws could not be applied retrospectively, it sent a shudder through the Bali survivors, victims' families and all Australians who can never forget the horror they woke to on that Sunday nearly two years ago. However, when we were assured the Constitutional Court's ruling itself was not retrospective, we breathed a sigh of relief: the full weight of the law would still apply to the monsters who murdered 202 innocent people, including 88 Australians, in the name of religious fascism. While we are prepared to be reassured this remains the case, the dropping of all Bali-related charges against Idris suggests everything could unravel. Both John Howard and Mark Latham are right to express dismay at the verdict, and to declare Australia will do whatever it can, diplomatically, to see that a man who has confessed to killing hundreds of people receives the life sentence that is his due.

While no imputation can be made against the judges in Idris's case, the question does arise of whether intimidation is finally having its desired effect, or -- what would be almost as bad -- whether we are seeing a subtle undermining of judicial will by Indonesian public opinion which, while it does not support or condone terror, consistently underrates the scale of the problem. If the legal wrangling results in the early release of radical cleric and alleged Jemaah Islamiah mastermind Abu Bakar Bashir -- in whose fundamentalist college many of the bombers, including Idris, trained -- the worst will be confirmed. With around 1000 trained JI activists operating in Indonesia, it will look like nothing less than a green light.

But the greatest cost will be to Indonesia itself. In parliamentary elections in April, voters turned their backs on the fundamentalists; and in the first round of the direct presidential elections last month, former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, seen as the toughest of the candidates on terror, emerged clearly in front. Those are the signals Indonesia needs to be sending out to the world, not confessed terrorists being let off.

While Indonesia's democratic adventure must be judged an overall success, a failure of will in the face of corruption and shoddy governance has stymied the economic gains that usually accompany political freedom. What Indonesia needs if it is to join the Asian tiger economies, but conspicuously lacks, is foreign investment: foreigners are simply not prepared to pay the bribery tax that accompanies every stage of a business or financial transaction.

Indeed, the office of Indonesia's Attorney-General estimates corruption costs the economy nearly $1.5 billion annually. It is possible that victory by Mr Yudhoyono in the run-off election next month will usher in the economic and legal reforms Indonesia urgently needs to become a successful open society -- which would be a huge setback for terror. For that to happen, judicial integrity and independence must be maintained.

Editorial: Local Responsibility

Far Eastern Economic Review - August 26, 2004

Megawati Sukarnoputri was right. In a pre-independence day address, the Indonesian president rejected intervening in a series of court decisions that have resulted in the acquittal of four security officials in trials related to violence in East Timor in 1999, as well as that of a military officer charged over an incident in 1984 in Indonesia that resulted in 23 deaths.

Miss Megawati correctly noted that politicians shouldn't interfere with the judiciary. While the West long has urged judicial independence in the developing world, it needs to accept it when courts there don't rule the way it might wish. Still, it must be acknowledged that the decisions leave unfinished business; but here Miss Megawati offers a prudent option.

After the East Timor decisions from an appeals court emerged, the New York-based Human Rights Watch called for the United Nations to create an international tribunal. Miss Megawati, instead, backed establishing a truth-and-reconciliation commission, such as did post-apartheid South Africa. There are two reasons why the tribunal should be opposed and why Miss Megawati's offer makes sense.

The first relates to the fact that, though we admit that criticisms of the recent acquittals have resonance, Indonesia ultimately must take responsibility for the actions of its own people. After all, unlike Rwanda, for example, Indonesia has a judicial system that can be roused to function, and, importantly, is reforming itself. Even if some found the acquittals disappointing, interfering there would be counterproductive to establishing norms of independence and would upset ongoing reforms elsewhere in the legal system. And just as bad would be for Indonesia to roll over for the UN, implicitly admitting that it sees no hope for its own courts.

In the absence of legal closure over the East Timor violence, the truth commission Miss Megawati backs would allow Indonesians an avenue to confront that episode and decide what to do. It is another way for Indonesians to take responsibility.

The second reason to oppose a UN tribunal and support a truth commission is, quite simply, because East Timor thinks so. In an interview with the Reuters news agency on August 9, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said: "The government of East Timor does not contemplate lobbying for an international tribunal to try the crimes of 1999 because we know this would undermine the existing relations" between Dili and Jakarta. Instead, Mr. Ramos supports the idea of a truth and reconciliation commission of some form. When there is such a degree of agreement between the two directly involved parties to move on, it doesn't reflect well on the international community to try to stand in the way.

Book/film reviews

A reporter calls on his peers to tell Aceh's story

Jakarta Post - August 29, 2004

[Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh. John Martinkus. Random House Australia, 2004 326 pp.]

Emmy Fitri, Jakarta -- Using the word "secret" as a book title is bound to be a magnet for curious readers, the tease to draw them in to find out more about its promise of providing more information.

It's what we expect from John Martinkus, an acclaimed Australian journalist who wrote the tremendous accounts of the strife in East Timor, A Dirty Little War, and Paradise Betrayed: West Papua's Struggle for Independence.

His revealing account of his journey through the province fills in the gaps for Indonesia's long ambivalent press, as well as the increasing lack of attention paid by the international community to what is going on in Aceh.

The area's story is a long, violent and tragic one, marked by pitiful accounts of orphaned children, widows and traumatized villagers in remote corners of the province.

It includes the elderly whose sons and daughters take up arms for war and who are tortured and jailed for their parental connection. It is also the story of the mysterious mass graves found in the province.

Who has the most blood on their hands, the so-called rebels or the Indonesian Military (TNI)? In Martinckus' view from his travels and data, it is the latter in the effort to stamp out the independence movement.

Indonesia first made Aceh a designated area of military operation (DOM) from 1988-98, keeping the province under virtual martial law, sealing it off from the rest of the country and leaving the military to its own devices. President Megawati Soekarnoputri imposed martial law last year.

The Indonesian media, although championed as "free" in the reform era following Soeharto's fall in 1998, has not shown that boldness in its reports (or lack thereof) about Aceh. Martinkus' own "journalistic trip" can be an eye opener for the public and especially fellow journalists in reporting on the situation.

In one of his bus trips, Martinkus talks to one of the passengers, who boldly said: "Eighty, no, 90 percent of the people here support GAM." His source was not a prominent figure nor a vocal student activist, but the proverbial man in the street, experiencing the trauma for himself on a daily basis.

While the world's media is occupied by "hot" news stories, from Baghdad to Kabul, and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Indonesian media devotes a shamefully meager amount of space to the drama going on in its own backyard.

It would have been quite understandable during the repressive Soeharto era, but it appears incongruous today in the "anything goes" climate of journalism.

Perhaps, the lack of understanding about what is really going leaves media vulnerable to accepting and parroting the one-way directives and strong appeals made by the Indonesian government and its apparatus to revisit and redefine the word "nationalism and patriotism" in their daily reports.

What Martinkus writes are, in fact, the same type of field reports that Indonesian journalists also collect. He mentions numerous meetings with Indonesian journalists, but it's ironic that he presents such honest and clear reports, most of which never make it to the front pages of Jakarta's dailies.

Early in his narrative, Martinkus begins his descriptive stories about the ongoing armed conflicts between the armed wing of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the TNI along with the National Police.

Martinkus writes that one must first be familiar with the history of Aceh, and its long history of conflicts, from resistance to the Dutch in the 19th century to the Darul Islam rebellion of the 1950s, to understand its present situation.

He makes it clear how the GAM liberation movement in their struggle to reclaim their identity as a free, independent nation. It rejects the long-standing contention of the Indonesian administration that the movement was fueled by injustice and the imbalance in revenue sharing between the local and central governments.

GAM fighters have shown, in Martinkus' view, a high resilience and growing tactical skills -- itself a legacy of the fighters against the Dutch colonists.

The TNI, shadowed by economic and political interests, is more concerned in beefing up its numbers.

No one knows what will happen next in Aceh but Martinkus astutely devotes his final two chapters to the independent East Timor and Papua, with its own burgeoning separatist movement.

Although opinions may be split about the value of the book according to the reader's own perspective of Aceh, with some pointing to the "partisan" view of an "outsider", Martinkus has definitely given a voice to thousands of Acehnese whose stories have been denied by the Indonesian media.

His parting hope is that there will be those brave enough to stand up and be counted, reporting on the reality of the situation in the province.

In his words, the international community has put Aceh on the back burner of priorities long enough. For this moment in history -- with a tragedy going on far from the eyes of the world -- may not seem very long to us, but is an eternity to those caught in the crossfire.