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Indonesia News Digest No 21 - May 24-31, 2005

News & issues

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 News & issues

Senior officer convicted in Udin murder case

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta -- A senior police officer was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday for destroying evidence in the murder case of journalist Muhammad Syarifudin, but justice still has not been done as the main perpetrators in the case have still not been identified.

During a hearing at a Yogyakarta military court, the panel of judges said that Asst. First. Insp. Edy Wuryanto, in his capacity as an investigator in the murder case, was guilty of perverting the course of justice by destroying a note pad that had been considered important evidence.

The sentence was only two months longer than recommended earlier by prosecutors in the case. Responding to the sentence, the senior police officer said that he would appeal. He was still adamant that he was not guilty. "I don't understand which note pad the prosecutors are referring to. I never lost any evidence," said Edy.

Muhammad Syarifudin alias Udin, a journalist with Bernas daily newspaper, was murdered in 1996. The case drew public attention as there were alleged irregularities in the investigation. The public and the media had pointed the finger at the then Bantul Regent SRS as the main perpetrator behind the case, but he was never prosecuted due to a lack of evidence. SRS had come under suspicion as Udin had often written articles that criticized the regent's policies.

The only suspect brought to court was defendant Edy, who is certainly not the mastermind behind the case.

 Aceh

Army, rebels add to woes of tsunami survivors

Reuters - May 31, 2005

Jerry Norton, Samahani -- Standing ankle-deep in the muddy rice paddy he is working with a wooden-handled hoe, Abdullah, 56, said after three decades of fighting between the Indonesian government and Acehnese rebels, he had had enough.

"I hope it will work and the people also hope it will work. What we want is peace," he said, referring to a peace agreement the two sides have been trying to hammer out in Helsinki.

They finished their latest round of talks on Tuesday, and will return to the table next month in the effort to end 30 years of conflict between the Indonesian military (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Some 12,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the battle for Aceh on Sumatra's northern tip.

"Some people are afraid of the GAM and some others afraid of the TNI. The lower division of the TNI only know how to shoot people," and the same is true of GAM, Abdullah said.

Independent groups have charged both sides with human rights violations ranging from deliberate killings of civilians to kidnapping and extortion, with the Indonesian military getting the heaviest criticism.

Former US President Bill Clinton, the UN's envoy for tsunami relief, said this week an end to the conflict is critical if the province is to fully recover from the December 26 earthquake and the giant wave it triggered. The disaster left 160,000 dead and missing in Aceh and destroyed the homes of another 500,000.

Army and rebels a problem

Near Abdullah's rice paddy and next to the village of Samahani, a half-hour drive from the provincial capital Banda Aceh, is a camp for some of those the tsunami displaced.

On the porch of one of its tin-roofed barrack-like buildings, a 40-year-old mother of five said she -- like many in Aceh -- is unsure of details of the negotiations but hopes they succeed because in her home area "we were in a conflict situation, it was hard to do our jobs, difficult."

On top of that, said the sarong-clad woman who declined to be named: "My younger brother was in GAM and was caught and taken away. He knew how to make guns. He joined the GAM and the TNI caught him," she added as tears streamed down her face. She hoped peace will bring him home. "I really want my brother to be released."

Another camp resident, a school teacher, said she did not know about the talks. "I don't listen to any news. I still have trauma problems" from the tsunami. But she expected to go back to her home district eventually, "an unsafe area" in the conflict, and hoped for peace.

Like many Acehnese she has sometimes been caught in the middle by the civil war. "Basically there are always problems for a government official," a category that for GAM can include teachers.

On the other hand, she said, "my husband was a food seller and the army checked at the store to see whether there were GAM shopping there." The military wanted to make sure no food was sold to the rebels.

The presence of one side or the other in an area can mean problems for residents.

Zakiar, 46, said there were sometimes problems with GAM and TNI where he lives in the makeshift camp of tsunami survivors nestled among trees in the Krueng Raya area some 50 km northeast of Banda Aceh. He cited two deadly shooting incidents since the tsunami.

Another camp resident, a woman who declined to be named, said: "last Friday, GAM, they come here, asking us the conditions about TNI because everyday the marines or army TNI they come here. It is a problem for us."

"I'm very, very afraid to see GAM," she said, but praised their bravery. While she said she did not know the details of the deal being worked out in Helsinki, she questioned whether GAM would stick to it. "They never lost, they never lost their spirit. Someday they will win the war maybe."

GAM has fought for independence for devout Muslim Aceh, which is rich in oil, gas and metals, since 1976. But the two sides are not discussing independence at the peace talks.

Indonesia government, rebels discuss amnesty

Associated Press - May 29, 2005

Matti Huuhtanen -- Indonesian government and rebel negotiators discussed proposals for amnesty and self-government Sunday in the fourth day of talks in Finland aimed at ending the decades-old separatist conflict in Aceh province, the Finnish mediator's office said.

The talks were upbeat and progress was reported between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement, said Maria- Elena Cowell, a spokeswoman for former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. A peace process that failed in 2003 was revived under the Ahtisaari's mediation after last year's Asian tsunami brought the two sides together.

"The talks are constructive. They are advancing," Cowell said. The current round of talks ends Tuesday.

Sunday's topics included proposals by the Free Aceh Movement for amnesty to rebels and self-government. Previously, the rebels had demanded full independence, but have agreed to opt for a form of self-government at the Finland brokered-talks, mediators said.

"Exactly what is meant by self-government is one of the central issues, and who is considered to be eligible for amnesty is another," said Meeri-Maria Jaarva, a member of Ahtisaari's mediation team. Jaarva said individual issues would not be decided separately. "Nothing will be agreed individually unless everything is agreed," she said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said Jakarta will not allow the oil- and gas-rich province to separate from the rest of the country, but would allow it a greater say in running its affairs. The Indonesian government has some 35,000 troops in the province of 4.1 million, where more than 12,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Both parties are hoping to reach an agreement by July or August, Jaarva said. Jaarva said they hoped to agree on a political role for rebel leaders -- many of whom have been exiled in Sweden for decades.

Aceh rebels see progress as EU due to join peace talks

Agence France Presse - May 30, 2005

The pro-independence movement in the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh expressed optimism on peace moves, a day before an EU delegation was to add weight to negotiations in Finland.

"We are still making progress, gaining ground" in tackling the issues, Bakhtiar Abdullah, a spokesman for the exiled leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), told AFP after talks wound up for the day on Sunday.

However the Indonesian government delegation was not available for comment as the talks, which opened last Thursday, continued.

The European Union delegation, which will attend the talks on Monday, is due to discuss plans for the future monitoring of any peace deal. Over 12,000 people have died in the war between Indonesian government forces and the rebels, which began in 1976.

While welcoming the possible EU role in monitoring an agreement, the GAM spokesman called for the international community to bring more pressure to bear for a successful outcome.

"We have had some common understanding that we need some regional monitoring and this has been agreed and we are going to meet them on Monday," Abdullah said earlier. "They will be hearing what we have to say, and most likely discussions will go on around the situation in the field." "It is positive that the international community wants to see a solution but it should try to have some more pressure to make these negotiations a success," he said.

"Of course the situation in the field is very bad... We need a sustainable and peaceful solution, not just an agreement for the sake of an agreement."

Sunday's topics under discussion were self-government, the definition of a possible amnesty, economic arrangements and integration of the members of the GAM into the Acehnese society.

The delegations focused on security issues on Saturday, when GAM said it was demanding a ceasefire as part of any security agreement, something the Jakarta government has so far refused.

Martti Ahtisaari, who is the chief mediator in the meeting which is being hosted by the Crisis Management Initiative, or CMI, will host a press conference after the talks on Tuesday.

CMI, which has made a proposal on the thorny security issue, hopes that it will be able to announce progress in that area by then.

The EU experts due to attend on Monday will be two European Commission experts and two experts from the EU's decision-making Council of Ministers. "There is no commitment" between the EU and negotiating parties "but there are some discussions about possibilities", Maria-Elena Cowell, from CMI.

Aceh has been a battleground for government and armed rebels since 1976 when GAM launched its campaign for independence, angered by what it said was Jakarta's exploitation of the province's oil and gas resources. Over 12,000 people have died in the fighting to date.

The latest series of talks, which began in January, came after the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunamis wreaked havoc in the region, killing an estimated 128,000 people in Aceh alone. The current round of talks is the fourth since then.

Acehnese worry about future if peace talks break down

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2005

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- While many take peace for granted, for the Acehnese it is a treasured, yet elusive goal, reflected in the mixed reactions to the ongoing dialog between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, Finland.

Some wish the best for the two parties in the conviction that the current peace talks will put an end to the long-standing conflict in the resource-rich province.

Others, however, are apparently no longer pinning any hopes on the dialog after the previous rounds of talks brought nothing but misery for the people here.

Ilias, 34, is of the first category. While he rarely voices his optimism, he knows deep down that the patience will bear sweet fruit. "As a human being, we have to be optimistic. I truly hope that the current dialog between the government and the GAM will eventually bring peace for us here," he said.

Ilias did acknowledge that the previous talks between the two sides had not produced satisfactory results, but said that an agreement between the two parties was imperative now. "Especially after the tsunami and all the tragedies we've gone through. If there's no peace, there's no development. Thus, it is the people who will continue to suffer," lamented Ilias.

Forty-five-year-old Ridwan shares a similar hope. He believes that there will be peace for the Acehnese people. "When there's peace, we can work. We can prosper in this time of difficulty, business-wise," said Ridwan, a street vendor.

Abdullah, 66, from the Lhoksukon district has one important suggestion for the parties in dialog to ponder. "Take a step back, yield if necessary. Think of us here. We've had enough of all manner of suffering," he said.

Not everyone is confident nor upbeat, though. Burdened with thoughts about how to survive after the tsunami, many have not given any attention to news of the Helsinki talks.

Many others are fearful of what will happen if the current talks break down. "If this one fails, the only direction we the Acehnese will head for is down. No one will ever buy the promise of peace, no matter who sells it," said an Acehnese public figure who wished to remain anonymous. "History has taught us not to put trust in peace talks," he added.

The peace talks between the Indonesian government and the GAM resumed on Thursday; the fourth round of talks facilitated by the Helsinki-based Crisis Management Initiative (CMI).

The first three did not bring about any impressive developments that could hint at a possible end to the conflict between the two parties.

GAM has been seeking independence for the province since 1976, leading to a decades-long bloody conflict that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people.

Similar talks were held in Tokyo in 2003 during the administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri, which failed to reach any conclusive decisions. The outcome was a year-long imposition of martial law.

Just two weeks ago however, the government lifted the state of emergency, but decided to continue military operations to crush GAM rebels.

GAM seeks ceasefire at talks with Indonesia

Agence France Presse - May 28, 2005

Separatists from the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh said they will push for a ceasefire in their almost 30-year-old conflict with the Indonesian authorities, at peace talks in Finland.

Bakhtiar Abdullah, a spokesman for the exiled leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who are taking part in the talks in Helsinki, told AFP that a ceasefire should be part of a security agreement which was to be discussed with the government delegation. "We have had only negative answers so far, but we will pursue [the issue]," he said. "It will be part of a security package."

Members of the Indonesian government delegation at the talks were not immediately available for comment. The Jakarta government has to date refused any ceasefire during the talks, saying that the GAM rebels constitute a permanent security threat.

Jakarta has also signalled that it is losing patience with the peace process, and that it sees the current talks as the last chance to reach a deal, according to media reports.

However the GAM spokesman dismissed such reports as "typical Indonesian propaganda." "The process is still going on," he told AFP.

On general progress in the latest round of talks, which opened on Thursday, the rebel spokesman said: "As far as the GAM is concerned, we think these talks are constructive." "But of course it takes time to get a very concrete sustainable settlement after 30 years." "We remain cautiously optimistic," Bakhtiar Abdullah said.

Aceh has been a battleground for government and armed rebels since 1976 when GAM launched its campaign for independence, angered by what it said was Jakarta's exploitation of the province's oil and gas resources. Over 12,000 people have died in the fighting to date.

The latest series of talks, which began in January, came after the December 26 Asian tsunami wreaked havoc in the region, killing an estimated 128,000 people in Aceh alone. The round of talks which began on Thursday is the fourth since then.

The talks are being mediated and organized by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which said on Friday that the latest round was taking place in a good atmosphere, with some progress.

The first day on Thursday focused on amnesty, integration in society and economic issues, while Friday's meeting centred on self-government and economic issues. On Saturday, the issue of security guarantees was on the agenda.

Despite the peace efforts, clashes between the rebels and the armed forces in Aceh continue on an almost daily basis. On Friday, Indonesian soldiers shot dead three separatist rebels during a raid in North Aceh district, a rebel stronghold, soldiers who took part in the skirmish told reporters.

Just over a week ago, Indonesia decided to lift a one-year-old state of civil emergency in the province.

End of civil emergency brings little change in Aceh

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- A week after the government lifted the state of civil emergency in Aceh, residents remain unsure exactly what, if anything, has changed.

"It is still like living under the state of emergency. Soldiers are still roaming around," Ayi, a Lhokseumawe resident, told The Jakarta Post. One thing that has changed, he added, is the soldiers' firearms. "Now the firearms are in their holsters, [not out] like during the state of emergency," he said.

The number of Indonesian Military and police personnel in Aceh is about 56,000, the same as under the state of emergency. And the lifting of the state of emergency has not stopped soldiers or police officers and rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) exchanging fire.

The government also holds regular operations aimed at maintaining security. The military continues to maintain posts in remote villages such as Lhok Nga in Aceh Besar regency.

In Lamlhom district, Lhok Nga, Aceh Besar, a joint intelligence unit post set up four months has not been dismantled. "They [the unit's personnel] are not moving even though the province is no longer under a state of emergency," said 30-year-old Muhammad, a resident of Lamlhom, a reported rebel stronghold.

Routine patrols are conducted by security personnel in areas of the province seen as more at risk for rebel activity.

In another sign that little has changed in the province, most residents of remote areas affected by the tsunami still do not have identity cards, and are trying to obtain special red-and- white IDs.

Since the imposition of martial law, followed by the state of emergency, from 2003 to 2005, Acehnese have been required to carry special red-and-white ID cards, singling them out from other Indonesian citizens who carry yellow ID cards. The red-and-white cards were supposed to be phased out after the lifting of the state of emergency.

The size of the red-and-white IDs is twice the size of regular yellow ID cards. They are also signed by the local district chief, the district military commander and the district police chief. The idea behind the cards is that they are supposed to make it easier for security personnel to distinguish between civilians and GAM members.

"Emergency or not we are still trying to get the red-and-white identity cards," said Azmi, a 29-year-old resident of Lampuuk in Lhok Nga, which was destroyed in the tsunami. Azmi and the other residents of the village are using letters issued by the subdistrict head as their "identity cards". The residents hope to get new red-and-white IDs soon.

After lifting the emergency status, the government announced it planned to replace the red-and-white identity cards with the normal yellow ones. "If we wait for the yellow identity cards, it might take a long time. What will happen if [we are checked] by military personnel during a raid," Azmi said.

The police, however, are determined to ensure security in Aceh, including arresting rebel sympathizers. "We have seen several activists who support the rebels returning to Aceh," said Insp. Gen. Bahrumsyah Kasman.

The activists, he said, have been placed on the police's wanted list and will be arrested if they get involved in political activities. "If they want to perform humanitarian work such as assisting tsunami victims, that is fine. But if they become involved in other activities, we will arrest them," Bahrumsyah said.

Aceh's forgotten victims

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Brad Adams, New York -- On Dec. 25, 2004, eighteen people were reported killed in Aceh during clashes between the Indonesian military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). This brought the official number of fatalities since martial law and full scale military operations were declared in the province in May 2003 to 2,300.

In that same period, between 125,000-150,000 had become internally displaced persons (IDPs), living in deplorable conditions beyond the reach of international aid workers, as access to Aceh for international humanitarian and human rights workers had been forbidden by government authorities, who wanted to prosecute their war in the dark.

Twenty-four hours later the eighteen killings, the huge number of "conflict IDPs," and the conflict itself had been almost completely forgotten. It is time to wake up to the full reality of Aceh.

The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami and the massive human loss and physical devastation it has wrought on Aceh has rightly been at the forefront of Indonesian and, indeed, world concern. Over 127,000 people were killed in the space of minutes, with another 37,000 still missing, presumed dead. Over 500,000 people were displaced by the disaster, many of whom continue to rely on help from outside the province (and the country) for basic necessities.

Subsequent earthquakes and aftershocks, including the March 28 quake on Nias island which killed at least 905 people and displaced almost 107,000 people, continue to affect and traumatize the people of Aceh and North Sumatra. It will take years for Aceh to recover from the physical, emotional, and human toll of the earthquake and tsunami.

However, while international sympathy and attention have focused sharply on aid and reconstruction for tsunami and earthquake victims, collective amnesia and indifference characterize the reaction to civilian suffering from the three-decades-old conflict that continues to devastate much of Aceh. While the government and GAM are scheduled to have their fourth round of peace talks in Helsinki in late May, in Aceh the killings continue.

Since the tsunami struck at least 260 more people have been killed in ongoing fighting between Indonesian security forces and GAM. This is hardly reported or commented on. Human Rights Watch and others have extensively documented the abuses perpetrated in the conflict for many years, including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, extortion, and forced displacement.

Both the Indonesian military and GAM have targeted civilians, who have always borne the brunt of the violence. The end last week of the civilian state of emergency is welcome, but only if it leads to improved behavior by the Indonesian military. Otherwise, it will be seen by Acehnese as just another cosmetic gesture that fails to deal with the main problem: The brutal behavior of Indonesian soldiers and their lack of accountability for abuses.

While the Indonesian government has been congratulated for allowing largely unfettered access to tsunami hit areas of Aceh, since it resumed military operations in May 2003 access to conflict areas for humanitarian workers, journalists, and human rights monitors has been almost completely cut off. The large majority of the province remains closed to humanitarian workers and human rights monitoring.

And it is in these parts of the province that the conflict continues, largely hidden from view, and without scrutiny. The handful of foreign journalists who ventured into Aceh's hinterland in January and February to cover conflict related stories were met with resistance, obstruction, and, in some cases, detention and interrogation from Indonesian security forces.

Prior to the tsunami, conflict IDPs had taken up residence in government camps, mosques, and spontaneous shelters inside Aceh and North Sumatra. During this period the international aid community, including the UN, had been persistently trying to gain access to the province to provide the same kind of assistance it is now offering to tsunami victims. The Indonesian government refused.

Now largely forgotten, these IDPs remain in urgent need of assistance and support. Yet they are off the radar and agenda of the Indonesian government and the thousands of humanitarian workers in Aceh now delivering assistance to tsunami survivors.

The tsunami has presented the international community with an unprecedented opportunity to make a real difference for all of Aceh. It is almost entirely foreign money that will reconstruct and rehabilitate Aceh. Donors should condition assistance on full access to the whole province and the ability to assist conflict IDPs -- who are longer suffering and no less deserving of assistance.

It is critical that donors fully understand that the Indonesian military is a party to a vicious war in Aceh. While the military performed commendably in the weeks after the tsunami, providing urgently needed logistical support to the aid effort at the same time its soldiers had to deal with the loss of many of their colleagues from the tsunami, its brutal human rights record -- and the lack of serious reform by the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- means that most Acehnese do not see it as a neutral or benevolent institution.

Indonesian aid workers are also concerned that the military will try to use its financial and political influence to control reconstruction contracts in the province. The military has already inserted itself into several areas of the relief effort in Aceh, responsible in some areas for the distribution of government aid and engaged in management of some of the spontaneous IDP camps, set up by an estimated 400,000 IDPs throughout Aceh. In some towns they are the main coordinating body for both international and domestic aid.

The military should no longer play a major role in post-tsunami reconstruction. The aid community, with a long record of successfully dealing with tragedies around the world, can now meet virtually all logistical needs. Given the well-documented record of massive corruption in the Indonesian military, donors should insist that there be no further military participation in the reconstruction of Aceh -- including through military-linked businesses or the provision of security services.

They should set up a process to pro-actively vet companies for military ties before assigning contracts. If the international community now acquiesces to the efforts by the Indonesian military to control aid and restrict access again in Aceh, it will set back efforts to strengthen the capacity of civilian institutions in Aceh, both government and civil society.

UN and World Bank aid officials readily acknowledge that real development in Aceh cannot take place in the middle of war. But so long as war rages, the Indonesian government and donors need to demonstrate the political will necessary to meet the humanitarian needs of all Acehnese. Without this the coast may start to recover, but much of the rest of Aceh will remain in crisis, forgotten, and ravaged by war.

[The writer is Asia director for the New York-based Human Rights Watch.]

Tsunami reconstruction plan leaves Acehnese no wiser

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Aguswandi, London -- Post-tsunami reconstruction in Aceh is difficult work. It is not made any easier by the public being rendered illiterate by the process. Many local activists and local people I have spoken with say that many international groups and even the government seem to be more accountable to their donors and international bodies than to the Acehnese.

On May 13, the newly established reconstruction authority (BRR), set up to oversee the post-tsunami reconstruction process, held its first meeting with local NGOs and international NGOs working in Aceh. It was a meeting to communicate their presence and their mandate in Aceh. This was a positive initiative in order to share their plans as widely as possible.

The introduction to the meeting was made in English by Kuntoro Mangkusubrata, the chairman of BRR. A friend who attended the meeting assumed that English would only be used for the introduction. However, in the following sessions, during which the participants divided into small groups for discussion, English was still being used as the language of communication.

The friend, an NGO activist, who has good English, started to speak in Bahasa Indonesia, to encourage the other participants to speak in their own language. Yet, the many foreign workers attending the workshop continued to converse in English. This left many Acehnese participants only able to grasp the "yes and no" of the discussions.

This week I attended the House of Representatives Civic Information Fair in Senayan. The fair was supposed to provide information and discussions about work being carried out in Aceh. Not only did visitors get very little information, but many of them were disappointed to see that most of the representatives standing by their organizations' stalls were too junior or too lacking in in-depth knowledge to explain what their organizations were doing in Aceh.

This was especially true of UN agencies and some international NGOs. Among the international agencies, only OXFAM saw fit to send senior staff to stand at their stall and share information about their work in Aceh.

This picture of international agencies at the fair contrasted sharply with many of the local NGOs, who appeared more serious in providing information on their work in Aceh. Save Emergency for Aceh (SEFA) and the Joint Committee for Aceh (KBKA), two main local NGOs, made sure that their directors represented the organizations at the fair.

Then I visited the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) desk. Out of all the organizations at the fair, it was OCHA that had the most comprehensive information. A young woman standing at the stall showed visitors their wonderful electronic information, ranging from a blueprint to assessments that had been provided. She said very enthusiastically that the public could also access this information on the OCHA website. I walked away noting the good range of information that they had, but wondering how local people without access to a computer, let alone the Internet, were going to access this information, which of course was all written in English.

These experiences have been confirmed by a tsunami survivor, Tengku Malkun. Like many Acehnese affected by the tsunami, he is living in a camp for displaced persons. When I told him the government has prepared a blueprint and that it had all sorts of plans for the reconstruction of Aceh, Malkun said he did not know anything about these plans.

Not a single group had gone to explain to him and the many other people in the camp anything about the reconstruction process and how they could be a part of these plans that would affect their future. This is the case with many other Acehnese. They are not being informed enough about what is going on, nor are any groups coming to explain in simple language the practical meanings of the bold blueprint produced last month.

The establishment of the BRR is good move. It has a direct reporting line to the President and can avoid the all too common complex bureaucracy of other institutions. We also hope the BRR will counteract the overlapping power structures in Aceh, which are the result of the endless impositions of military operations in the region.

Locals also hope that the establishment of the agency will transform the way Jakarta is represented in Aceh. The appointment of a clean bureaucrat for the region is welcomed. However, the challenge for the BRR is to provide the public with full and accurate information.

International groups should also be more proactive in explaining their work to the Acehnese in an accessible manner, and to engage more with ordinary people. Many groups have come to meet Acehnese, endless interviews and assessments have been carried out and too many consultants have been hired at very high salaries to identify the needs of the Acehnese. Not many of these groups have come back to explain in an understandable manner what plans they have developed.

The lack of information for locals contravenes accepted international standards, including the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards Response. The Humanitarian Charter 2004 clearly states that women and men of all ages affected by disasters, including vulnerable groups, must receive information about assistance programs, and be given the opportunity to speak with assistance agencies at all stages of the project cycle. So far this seems not to be the case in Aceh.

[The writer is an Acehnese human rights advocate working for TAPOL London.]

Aceh: Civil emergency ends but troops remain

Green Left Weekly - May 25, 2005.

James Balowski, Jakarta -- At midnight on May 18, the Indonesian government declared an end to its two-year civil emergency in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh. But calls by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and human rights groups for the troops to be withdrawn have been ignored. Some reports even suggest that the government is planning to increase its troop numbers in Aceh.

Coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs Widodo AS said returning Aceh to a "normal status" was aimed at assisting reconstruction following last December's earthquake and tsunami. But he added that the security operations would continue.

Indonesia's parliament supports the continued presence of some 40,000 troops and paramilitary police in Aceh. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated that the huge troop numbers in Aceh must be retained, arguing that otherwise the Acehnese will not feel "secure" and the post-tsunami reconstruction wouldn't be implemented.

Yudhoyono also said his government would continue to talk with GAM, but that the proposed special autonomy status for Aceh and the constitution were non-negotiable. He said that a deadline would be placed on the negotiations.

Aceh was placed under martial law on May 19, 2003, after Jakarta sabotaged an earlier series of talks with GAM. This was reduced by the former president Megawati Sukarnoputri to a civil emergency on May 18, 2004, but more troops were sent there to launch a failed bid to persuade the Acehnese against seeking independence, and to try and destroy GAM.

Human rights organisations say that most of the 2300 or more people who have been killed, and the hundreds of others disappeared or imprisoned over this period, were civilians. Reports of torture, abductions and rape are widespread and the province is notorious for being the most corrupt in the country.

The organisations also say that the TNI's (armed forces) handling of relief operations -- restricting the movement of foreign aid workers, hoarding and reselling humanitarian aid and harassing local groups -- indicates it is hindering the humanitarian effort. The TNI claims GAM is attacking aid workers or stealing relief supplies, but almost every complaint reported by aid groups has been aimed at the TNI, not GAM.

NGOs attacked

Also of concern are moves by Jakarta to control which foreign aid groups can remain in Aceh. On April 27, for example, Tempo Interactive quoted the coordinating minister for people's welfare, Alwi Shihab, arguing for regulations on foreign NGOs to ensure they don't "interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs". The regulation will also prohibit them from "working in the interests of separatists and particular ideologies".

Shihab said the NGOs must prove they are "really working for reconstruction and rehabilitation and must provide a signed commitment [to this effect]" before they can stay.

In May the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) said that some foreign aid groups are "harming the security situation". BIN chief Syamsir Siregar was quoted in the May 5 Jakarta Post accusing "one or two" of threatening Indonesia's unity and trying to do "other things aside from their humanitarian work" in Aceh.

Cautious response

Acehnese and human-rights organisations responded positively to the change in Aceh's status, saying it represents an opportunity to involve broader layers of society in the peace process.

Human Rights Working Group coordinator Rafendi Djamin said that the talks had to involve democratic organisations in Aceh and Indonesia. "Aceh's future cannot solely be appointed to GAM representatives", he told the May 17 Jakarta daily Kompas. "The process should also involve civil society. Listen to [Acehnese] society, women's groups, Islamic religious leaders and so forth." He urged the government to now restore full civil rights, saying, "People can no longer be detained in the name of emergency laws, even in the context of the military operation".

Rafendi also called for the troop numbers to be halved as a sign that the TNI supports the peace process. "Unfortunately, the TNI's commitment to be subordinate to the civilian government is still limited to statements by TNI chief General Endriartono Sutarto", he said, adding that officers in the field justify the TNI's presence because GAM's forces remain strong in the districts.

In fact, while Sutarto has toed the government line on Aceh's status, he has staunchly opposed ending military operations there. On May 12, he argued that the civil emergency should be extended, saying that GAM's forces have grown post-tsunami and that many GAM prisoners had escaped from tsunami damaged jails and had taken weapons from police barracks.

Rafendi also criticised the "reconstruction" plan outlined by Aceh military commander Major-General Supiadin AS to build TNI- controlled Vietnam-style "strategic hamlets" in Aceh.

The Aceh Working Group (AWG) also welcomed the government's decision, saying that the emergency had limited democratic space and the movement of humanitarian aid. AWG also called for a reduction in the numbers of troops in Aceh, and criticised the deployment of 900 more troops from the East Java 512 Malang Battalion.

Acehnese groups in Jakarta also welcomed the move, but warned that little would change for the Acehnese unless the TNI was withdrawn. The Solidarity Movement with the People of Aceh (SEGERA) and the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) described the decision as "positive", claiming that it would assist reconstruction. They warned, however, that like the period of civil emergency, unless troops are withdrawn human rights abuses would continue and reconstruction efforts would be disrupted.

FPDRA chairperson Thamrin Ananda told Green Left Weekly that he is not too optimistic because while the government is discussing peace with GAM, it is encouraging the TNI to continue its war in Aceh. "This is just another example of the government's dualistic policy. If it is not followed by the withdrawal of troops it will just be another of the government's lip-service policies." According to a May 18 Jakarta Post report, a meeting between a group of Acehnese civilians and GAM had been arranged by the Sweden-based Olof Palme International Center in Stockholm. Damien Kingsbury, a political advisor to GAM and lecturer at Deakin University in Victoria, told the Jakarta Post he was hopeful that such talks were important to concluding any peace agreement. "The views of Aceh civil society should be included in any possible peace agreement. Their voice is very important", Kingsbury said.

GAM's response to the government's lifting of the emergency was to describe it as a "cruel joke". The next round of talks between GAM and the Indonesian government are scheduled to begin on May 26.

Indonesia, Aceh rebels to hold next talks under cloud

Reuters - May 25, 2005

Dean Yates, Jakarta -- Indonesian negotiators and Acehnese rebels Will begin a fourth round of peace talks in Helsinki on Thursday, with the atmosphere badly strained by the government's rejection of a key separatist demand.

Indonesian Information Minister Sofyan Djalil told Reuters last week that Jakarta had decided the rebels would not be allowed to contest elections as a local party under any deal aimed at ending one of Asia's longest running separatist wars.

At the last round in April, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) proposed changes to electoral laws that stipulate parties must be nationally based, with branch representation in more than half of Indonesia's provinces and their headquarters in Jakarta.

Jakarta's refusal could ultimately scuttle the talks because it does not give GAM any face-saving way to take part in Aceh's political process and essentially means it would need to dissolve, said Edward Aspinall, a Southeast Asian studies lecturer at Sydney University and an expert on Aceh province.

"I think the chances are fairly high that the talks could simply fail," Aspinall told Reuters on Wednesday. "If it's a choice between continuing the armed struggle and dissolving itself, then I think at least a significant portion of the leadership will continue with the armed struggle."

The fourth round, to run from May 26-31, is expected to be the most important since the two sides revived peace talks under Finnish mediation after a giant earthquake and tsunami smashed into Aceh on Dec. 26, killing up to 160,000 people.

Previous rounds have seen agreements on economic matters, but little headway on key political and security issues apart from GAM's significant concession to drop its demands for independence in exchange for "self-government" for the province. This incorporated the issue of locally based political parties.

Last month, GAM said it would table a document on security arrangements at the fourth round. However, Jakarta has rejected demands that Indonesia's 30,000-40,000 troops be withdrawn.

Putting pressure on the government, Indonesia's parliament, where nationalism runs deep, warned this week that endless rounds of talks might give GAM time to regroup after a two-year military offensive cut into the rebels' strength on the ground. The war has killed around 12,000 people since 1976.

Parliamentary anxiety

Hajriyanto Thohari, deputy chairman of parliament's defence and foreign affairs commission, said parliament wanted the government to carefully review progress after the fourth round.

"There is huge anxiety in parliament and the predominant current is that most want the talks to be halted," Thohari, a member of Golkar, parliament's biggest party, said on Wednesday.

Damien Kingsbury, an Australian academic advising GAM, has said the Acehnese should have the right to form their own political parties. His comments coincided with threats from rebels in Aceh that their forces were still strong.

Despite his apparent tough stance, Djalil, one of the government's negotiators, said if progress was made only one more round would be needed and a pact could be signed by August.

He argued that allowing local parties would open the door to parties based on language, ethnicity and possibly extreme religious beliefs, which analysts say reflects the anxiety among Indonesia's political elite about keeping the diverse and sprawling archipelago united.

While expressing pessimism about a peace deal, Aspinall said there was a possibility GAM could make major concessions on the political party issue, but which would lead to a poorly defined agreement that would probably falter on implementation.

He said it was unlikely the Indonesian military would ever withdraw large numbers of troops from Aceh.

The government has said a cloud over its chief negotiator, Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin, would not affect the talks.

Indonesia's president this week gave investigators permission to question Awaluddin as part of a probe into a 2004 kickback scandal at the election commission. Awaluddin was a senior figure in the commission at the time.

[With additional reporting by Achmad Sukarsono]

House commission hawkish over ongoing Aceh peace talks

Jakarta Post - May 25, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Legislators and the government have agreed not to open the door for more talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should the next round fail to strike a deal to put an end to the armed conflict in the province.

Members of the House of Representatives defense commission criticized the ongoing talks for failing to bring about a final agreement even after three rounds of dialog.

Monday's hearing, which ended after midnight, concluded that an evaluation and a deadline for the peace talks would be put in place if the government failed to "make the rebels agree" to the special autonomy package for Aceh under Law No. 18/2001, and a permanent end to the conflict.

A delegation of government officials left for Helsinki on Tuesday for a fourth round of informal talks. The series of meetings have been underway since February, facilitated by the Helsinki-based Crisis Management Institute (CMI).

Legislator Effendi Simbolon from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the first three rounds of talks seemed to have been fruitless and more talks would only give the separatists more time to consolidate.

Effendi's view was shared by legislator Muhammad A.S. Hikam of the National Awakening Party (PKB), who said the informal talks were not accountable and there seemed to be no meeting of minds over Aceh's administrative status.

One of the major stumbling blocks in the negotiations is the government's refusal to countenance a demand by GAM, which has been fighting for Acehnese independence since the 1970s, for self-government for the resource-rich province, with inherent powers.

The government's chief negotiator, Hamid Awaluddin, ruled out this demand, but was upbeat that the government side could convince the rebels to agree to special autonomy status.

"We managed to reduce GAM's demands since the first talks from independence to self government. One point that worries the GAM people is that we'll repeal Law No. 18/2001 after they agree to special autonomy. Therefore, they want to have special autonomy enshrined in the Constitution.

But that's very difficult. We'll try to convince them that the basic rules of special autonomy are already integrated into the Constitution," said Hamid, who is also minister of justice and human rights.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto said no deal outside the government's offer of special autonomy would be offered.

A breakdown in the talks between the government and GAM in May, 2003, in Tokyo, during which GAM refused special autonomy status, led to the imposition of a year-long period of martial law in Aceh.

Legislators also questioned the bringing of more foreign advisors to the talks, claiming that it had been agreed that the talks would not be internationalized.

Defense commission chairman Theo L. Sambuaga said the government should not allow itself to become dependent on the CMI, which is facilitating the talks, and keep the involvement of third parties to a minimum.

Relief aid still stranded in sea port

Jakarta Post - May 25, 2005

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- Hundreds of containers of humanitarian relief aid are still stranded in Belawan port in North Sumatra despite central government instructions that all of them be taken immediately to tsunami and earthquake victims in Aceh and Nias island.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla who heads the national coordination body in charge of dealing with the disasters, last week instructed Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie to provide financial assistance to transport the aid so that it could be distributed without having to wait for permits from the Ministry of Trade.

However, a week after the minister's visit, only 100 of the 1,458 containers of relief aid comprising food, clothes and medical supplies had been sent to Aceh and Nias.

Head of the investigation and preventive section at the Belawan port customs office, Cerah Bangun, said on Saturday the distribution was still facing transportation and permit problems.

He said that most of the remaining containers, apart from 400, had already been cleared of permit problems.

"We wonder why the distribution of the relief aid is so slow even though the government has provided a big budget for transportation. Moreover, we're also questioning the seriousness of the Ministry of Trade for not issuing import permits for this relief aid, which goes against the central government's policy," Cerah told The Jakarta Post in Belawan.

During his visit to Belawan, Aburizal said the Vice President had provided Rp 2 billion to the North Sumatra governor to ensure speedy distribution of the containers that were piling up at the port.

He was given an assurance that the relief aid, which could not be distributed due to the absence of permits from the Ministry of Trade, could be shipped out without having to wait for permits, with the exception of vehicles.

Cerah said that of the 117 vehicles sent as humanitarian relief aid from abroad, several units had already been sent to Aceh after Aburizal's visit. "Some vehicles were sent to Aceh without waiting for Ministry of Trade permits because they're very badly needed," he said, adding that among the vehicles were 15 ambulances, garbage trucks and bulldozers.

Head of the Ministry of Trade's office in North Sumatra, T. Azwar Aziz, denied the permit problems, saying that all of the relief aid, excluding vehicles, could now be shipped out of the port.

"There was a joint agreement made that was approved by the Ministry of Trade when Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie gave an instruction to ship the relief aid to disaster areas," Aziz told the Post.

DPR calls on government to end negotiations with GAM

Media Indonesia - May 24, 2005

Astrini D Anindita, Jakarta -- The People's Representative Assembly (DPR) is calling on the government to end negotiations with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders in Helsinki because they believe that it does not benefit the Indonesian government.

This was revealed by members of the DPR's Commission I in a meeting to hear the views of government officials from the political, legal and security ministries at the DPR's Nusantara I Building in Jakarta on the night of Monday May 24.

The meeting was attended by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Widodo AS, the Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, the Minister for Legal and Human Rights Affairs Hamid Awaluddin, the Minister for Communication and Information Sofyan Djalil, the Minister for Home Affairs M Maruf, the Minister for Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah, the Chief of the Armed Forces Endriartono Sutarto and the Chief of Police Da'i Bachtiar.

The meeting whose agenda is a discussion on the evaluation if the civil emergency in Aceh and the Helsinki negotiations took take place between 7.15pm and 12.20am.

In his report, Widodo stated that the evaluation of the civil emergency in Aceh concluded that it had gone well. He also said that the Helsinki negotiations are being conducted in the framework of five points, that is that the Aceh question is a domestic issue, there will be no internationalisation of the issue, the substance of the negotiations are of an exploratory nature, the results of the discussions will be the subject of a report and that the discussions are restricted to the negotiators only.

Responding to this a Commission I member from the Democratic Party fraction, Boy Saul, asked the government to immediately end the negotiations with GAM in Helsinki because it will never be of any benefit to the government. "I ask the heads of this meeting and the government not to continue the negotiations because there are no benefits, the [negotiating] team doesn't have the capacity to resolve the problem, just end them", he said.

Arief Mudatsir Mandan from the United Development Party fraction and Permadi from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle asked that the government set a deadline on the negotiations. "If by the fourth round no agreement is reached it would be better just stop them", said Permadi.

A member of the National Awakening Party fraction, Effendi Choirie, said he regretted that the government had sent ministers to negotiate with ordinary people overseas. "Is it then that the ministers have put themselves on par with members of a separatist [group] who are citizens of other countries, as if they are being placed in a higher position", he complained. He also believes that providing special autonomy to Aceh already exceeds normal limits because it brings Islamic law into force in a state based on the ideology of Pancasila.

His college, AS Hikam, said that the assumptions used by the government in the Helsinki negotiations are unfounded and even conflict with reality. "Firstly, there is no link between GAM's leaders [in exile] and the people of Aceh because they are foreign citizens who have never returned home and do not therefore represent [the Acehnese people's wishes]. Secondly, it is leading towards the issue being internationalised because of interference by foreign mediators and negotiators", he said.

Slamet Effendy Yusuf from the Golkar Party fraction questioned whether the government sees any clear sign that the negotiations will reach and agreement. Another Golkar Party fraction member said he was concerned that if self-government is given to Aceh it will turn into self-determination that further negates the authority of the Indonesian government.

Responding to these questions, Widodo assured them that the negotiations are being conducted in the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and Pancasila. He also said that during the negotiations GAM had never spoken about the possibility of independence. "The talks are therefore being conducted in an informal manner so they are neither binding or at the same level as [negotiations] between states. Aside from this, the self-government which we are offering also doesn't deviate from the framework of special autonomy", he said. He also said that the Helsinki negotiations are not the only thing being worked on, but are more a reflection of a real concern to carry out a diplomatic endeavour in the framework of NKRI.

The meeting came to the conclusion the government must set a clear time limit on the Helsinki negotiations and that the government must be careful about the possibility of there being a hidden agenda on the part of foreign governments or citizens who are involved in the negotiations. (OL-1)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

 West Papua

Papuan separatist leaders receive up to 10 years in prison

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- A Papua district court sentenced Papuan separatist leaders Philep Karma and Yusak Pakage to 15 and 10 years in jail respectively on Thursday for "treason against the state".

The judicial panel said in Jayapura that Philep and Yusak had been found guilty of holding a separatist meeting in Cenderawasih University last year that discussed preparations to celebrate the self-proclaimed Papua Independence Day on Dec. 1.

The two had not only organized the meeting, but also organized the Papua independence celebrations on Dec. 1 last year at the Trikora field, Abepura. The event ended in clashes between independence supporters and the police, which led to the arrest of Philep and Yusak.

Besides giving Philep 15 years in jail, the court also declared that Philep was no longer fit to work as a civil servant and ordered that he be dismissed.

"The defendant should have protected and supported the Unitary Republic of Indonesia but instead committed treason against the state," said the court in its verdict.

In response, Philep, who always wears an Indonesian-style civil service uniform but with the banned Bintang Kejora independence emblem in the right lapel, merely smiled. "If you are not fully satisfied with the verdict, then feel free to impose a longer jail term," said Philep.

The verdict was much heavier than the five years earlier sought by the prosecutors for each defendant. This was because the two had been persistently hostile during the trial, the court said in its verdict.

Thursday's session was heavily guarded by police officers, who feared possible violence following a protest that ended in violence between the police and independence supporters on May 10 outside the Jayapura District Court. The clash happened shortly after a hearing involving Philep and Yusak had been recessed. Dozens of people, including 10 police officers, were injured.

The clash apparently angered the top brass in Jakarta, and there were many reports that the police had committed human rights violations. Images of the police brutally beating up protesters and committing random acts of violence against civilians were captured by TV cameras and beamed across the nation.

Several senior police personnel were replaced following the clash after being held responsible for badly managing the protest.

The independence supporters clashed with the police after Philep was prevented from addressing the crowd.

Vanuatu PM blames flag incident on foreign elements

Radio New Zealand - May 25, 2005

Len Garae, Port Vila -- Vanuatu's Prime Minister has blamed "foreign elements" for an incident last week where the Indonesian flag on the vehicle of Jakarta's ambassador to Port Vila was replaced with the Papuan independence flag.

Ambassador Imron Cotan has used his visit to Vanuatu to suggest Indonesia become a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Mr Cotan says that with 12 million Melanesians in Indonesia, it's only logical for his country to be included in the MSG.

But the suggestion may be unpopular in a country which has long supported the struggle for independence by their Melanesian cousins in Indonesia's Papua province.

However, our correspondent, Len Garae, says Vanuatu prime minister Ham Lini has come out very clearly as saying foreign elements instigated last Thursday's incident.

The protestors of the Vanuatu Free West Papua Movement accosted the Indonesian ambassador's car, removed the Indonesian flag from the car, gave it back to the ambassador and told him they do not want the Indonesia flag but the West Papua flag, and went as far as covering the Indonesian ambassador's car with the flag.

 Military ties

Clinton OK on easing Indonesia arms ban

Associated Press - May 30, 2005

Michael Casey -- Former President Clinton said Monday he favored easing restrictions on sales of military equipment to Indonesia, maintaining that America should do all it can to help it rebuild after the tsunami.

The United States disclosed Thursday it would lift a ban on the sale of certain military equipment to Indonesia, drawing criticism from human rights groups who say the country hasn't done enough to curb alleged abuses by the military in insurgency-wracked areas.

Clinton said lifting the ban would help relations with Indonesia, which the United States considers an important ally in its war on terrorism.

"I support the decision made by President Bush, not because I know all the facts, but because I think we always need to be making a new beginning," he said. "We have a huge stake in building a positive relationship" with Indonesia, he said.

The US severed most military ties to Indonesia in 1999 when Indonesian soldiers were blamed for widespread killings and destruction in East Timor, after residents there voted to break away from Jakarta's rule in a UN-sponsored referendum.

Earlier this year, the US decided to renew training of Indonesian military officers and to allow direct commercial sales of some defense items and services. The decision allowed Jakarta to buy spare parts for C-130 aircraft transporting supplies to tsunami victims.

Clinton, who was recently named the UN special envoy for tsunami recovery, was in Banda Aceh to review efforts to rebuild coastal areas where 128,000 people were killed and another half million left homeless by the Dec. 26 disaster. Banda Aceh is the capital of Aceh province, which bore the brunt of the earthquake and the giant waves it spawned.

On Tuesday, after Clinton had left, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Aceh -- one of many in the region since the tremor that produced the tsunami. There were no reports of damage or injuries, but the quake caused frightened residents to flee their homes and other buildings.

Many of the homeless said Monday they were still waiting for help from the government and international aid agencies. "Please help Aceh to rebuild roads, houses, buildings," said Dadang Dipraja, 40, a resident of Deah Geulumpang, a town on the outskirts of provincial capital Banda Aceh, as he sat fishing in a river surrounded by destroyed buildings. "But please don't give money to the government, because it will be lost to corruption."

However, Clinton praised government efforts to stop corruption, including the appointment of international accounting firms to ensure all donated aid is received. He urged survivors to be patient.

"I know there are many people in the camps we visited today and across the area hit by the tsunami who feel a great deal of frustration and who are eager to be able to move out of the tents and into their own homes," Clinton said after his tour.

But, he added, "a lot of good things are happening now. You have no starving or epidemics of disease among children... those who need counseling are getting counseling, and more and more training for valuable skills is getting done." He also welcomed ongoing talks in Finland between separatist Aceh rebels and the Indonesian government, saying peace was crucial to reconstruction.

The Dec. 26 tsunami killed more than 176,000 people in 11 countries, and left about 50,000 missing and hundreds of thousands homeless.

Clinton is on a four-day trip to countries worst hit to ensure that aid is being distributed fairly and efficiently, and to try keeping the world's attention on tsunami recovery. He also visited the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka.

Clinton also said bad weather -- not his health -- was behind the decision to call off a planned visit to Funadhoo island in the Maldives -- where the tsunami tore away a seawall and turned the island's settlement into a ghost town -- and a trip to meet survivors who had moved to a neighboring island.

Some officials said Clinton, who had heart bypass surgery in September, scrapped the visit late Saturday because he was exhausted. But Clinton said Monday bad weather was to blame. "I feel great," he said. "I'm fine. I'm in great shape."

US further eases arms embargo on Indonesia

Agence France Presse - May 27, 2005

The United States has lifted a ban on the government sale of non-lethal defense equipment to Indonesia as part of a step-by- step process to restore full military ties frozen due to human rights abuses, the State Department announced.

It said the decision was made Wednesday, when Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with US leader George W. Bush at the White House and reaffirmed his commitment to reforms in the military, accused in the past of gross rights abuses.

"We decided to renew government-to-government transfers of non- lethal defense articles and services to the government of Indonesia," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters. "That means we can do foreign military sales in excess defense articles," he said.

Boucher described the move as the "third step" in a process that began early this year, aimed at easing the military embargo on Indonesia following reformist Yudhoyono's win in the world's most populous Muslim nation's first direct presidential elections.

Direct US commercial sales of non-lethal defense articles and services were allowed in January. The sales involved, in particular, providing spare parts to Indonesian C-130 aircraft used in relief operations after the December 26 tsunami that ravaged Aceh province and left 128,000 people dead. Washington then decided to restore a military education and training program for Indonesia.

The United States had made clear that full normalization of military ties was contingent on Jakarta's efforts to solve the killing of two American teachers in 2002 and its dealing with atrocities since 1991 in East Timor, before the former Indonesian island province was granted independence.

The United Nations alleged that at least 1,400 people were murdered in military-backed violence in the largely Roman Catholic territory. Entire towns were razed.

Boucher said full normalization of defense ties "will depend upon continued counterterrorism cooperation, prosecution and punishment of members of the armed forces who've been credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, accountability for human rights abuses committed in East Timor and elsewhere, and transparency of military financing.

"So this is a step along the road that we hope to be able to go down as Indonesia makes these further changes in reforming the military," he said.

Boucher added that non-lethal items from Defense Department excess stocks or those sold with services, such as training and maintenance, could "enhance democratic military reform and help achieve key security objectives, such as humanitarian relief, counterterrorism and maritime security."

Indonesia is seeking military hardware and training assistance from the United States to revitalise its overstretched and poorly-equipped armed forces guarding a vast archipelago.

Yudhoyono told American business leaders at a US Chamber of Commerce meeting Thursday that the Indonesian military establishment was out of politics and getting out of business. "We will only have professional soldiers," he said.

He added that efforts were also being intensified to weed out graft, a perennial problem in his country. "In Indonesia, the days of impunity among the crooked are over."

The Indonesian leader used the occasion of the five-month anniversary of the tsunami to thank American business leaders and the government for contributing about one billion dollars in aid to victims of the disaster. In conjunction with his visit, the US and Indonesian chambers of commerce signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday to strengthen business ties and promote trade, and Boeing signed a nearly four billion dollar prospective deal with Indonesia's biggest budget carrier Lion Air for sale of 60 new generation 737 planes.

Bush backs continuing military ties with Indonesia

Washington Post - May 26, 2005

Michael A. Fletcher -- President Bush said yesterday that it makes sense for the United States to maintain close military ties with Indonesia, despite the objections of human rights activists who say such coordination should be withheld until Indonesia does more to address human rights abuses by its military.

"We want young officers from Indonesia coming to the United States. We want there to be exchanges between our military corps -- that will help lead to better understandings," Bush said after a White House meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Bush added that Yudhoyono "told me he's in the process of reforming the military, and I believe him."

The United States restricted military aid to Indonesia in the early 1990s because of human rights abuses. Congress cut it off altogether in 1999 to protest the Indonesian army's role in orchestrating militia violence in East Timor. But the Bush administration has been eager to restore military ties with the country by resuming some "military-to-military cooperation" and providing money for military and anti-terrorism training.

In the days before the meeting, religious and peace groups called on Bush to "refrain from promotion of military assistance to Indonesia's still brutal armed forces." "We find troubling ongoing human rights violations by Indonesia's security forces, especially in conflict areas, widespread impunity for crimes against humanity and other serious violations," the activist groups said in a letter to Bush published by the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network.

The activists said military abuses continued in Aceh and West Papua, provinces in which separatists are fighting the government. They said the government has not punished officers who committed atrocities in East Timor when it voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Three years ago, two US schoolteachers in the province of West Papua were shot to death. An FBI investigation led a US grand jury to indict a pro-independence guerrilla, but he has not been captured.

Although US officials have pressed Indonesia about the human rights abuses, they are eager to have that nation's full cooperation in their efforts to combat Islamic extremists. Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nation, is composed of more than 17,000 islands with populations whose hundreds of ethnicities and many religions sometimes clash violently -- providing ample opportunity for terrorist groups such as al Qaeda to take root.

The nation has been the site of several horrific terrorist attacks in recent years, including the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed more than 200 people. The United States, citing a security threat, yesterday closed all of its diplomatic missions in Indonesia until further notice.

In the meeting, Bush also promised Indonesia continued help in recovering from December's tsunami, which killed at least 125,000 Indonesians and left more than 37,000 missing and a half-million homeless. The United States has provided more than $850 million in direct aid, and private efforts have raised many millions more.

"I'm proud of the response of the United States government and her people. Our United States military was on the scene with an aircraft carrier," Bush said later, at a White House reception in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. "And we had sailors and Marines working around the clock to show the people of your part of the world that our hearts are big, that we care about people from all walks of life, that the compassion of America runs deep and strong."

Yudhoyono, who was elected president in October, said his nation deeply appreciates the help from the United States. Speaking at the reception, Yudhoyono said: "America has every reason to be proud for what your government, your heroism and your volunteers have done for the tsunami victims."

 Human rights/law

Ex-Bin chief lobbies House over Munir probe

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2005

Tony Hotland and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono has further displayed his aversion to a fact-finding team set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to probe the death of human rights activist Munir, and equivocated as to whether he would fulfill a summons from the team.

One day after he reported two members of the team, Rachland Nashidik and Usman Hamid, to the police for alleged defamation, Hendropriyono on Monday lobbied members of the separate case monitoring team formed by the House of Representatives.

Hendropriyono said he respected both the House and the police, and would definitely appear before the two institutions if they ever summoned him for questioning. "But if [the President's fact-finding team] summons me, we'll have to see about that," he said.

The fact-finding team has linked both BIN and Hendropriyono to the death of Munir, who died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda flight to Amsterdam on Sept. 7 last year. Police have named three Garuda crew members as suspects, including pilot/aviation security officer Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who the team found had been recruited by BIN.

The team was established on the basis of Presidential Regulation No. 111/2004 signed on Dec. 23 last year, enabling the team to question people thought to be connected with the case, to monitor the police probe, and to recommend suspects.

Hendropriyono was evasive when asked whether he would appear before the fact-finding team, saying that he had yet to receive a summons. "Where's the summons letter? Send it to me. I don't answer hypothetical questions, such as [would I attend] if I received a summons," he said.

Hendropriyono said his visit to the House was to convey to legislators that statements made by two fact-finding team members were "completely biased and irrelevant." "They said that I had flown to the United States to seek protection. They also wanted to seek help from the [Indonesian] foreign ministry to trace me. I've been here all along. "As a person who has nothing to do with the death of Munir, I'm really perturbed by their statements," he said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Hendropriyono's lawyer Syamsu Djalal, who is a former military police chief. "And I'm sorry to say this, but who's this Munir anyway that a presidential regulation had to be issued? A lot of people die, but no regulations are ever made [for them]," he said.

Chairman of the House's monitoring team Taufikurahman Saleh said they planned to hold a hearing with Hendropriyono some time this week to seek clarification about his position in the murder case.

Separately, Rachland said the fact-finding team would send a summons to Hendropriyono on Tuesday at the latest for questioning scheduled for Monday next week. "We will summon Hendropriyono as an individual and hope to hear his clarifications about the case," Rachland, an executive of human rights watchdog Imparsial, said on Monday.

The team also plans to seek clarifications from other BIN officials who were active at the time of Munir's murder. "Instead of filing a report against us with the police, it would be better for Hendropriyono just to clarify the matter with the team. And to avoid suspicion, he should fulfill our summons," said Rachland.

The team would not stop their investigations into Munir's death despite the complaint to the police, Usman added.

TPF trying to politicise Munir case: Hendropriyono

Tempo Interactive - May 30, 2005

Yuliawati, Jakarta -- The former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), A.M. Hendropriyono has lodged a complaint against the Fact Finding Team (TPF) in the Munir case with the People's Representative Assembly (DPR). He is questioning the work of the TPF which was formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We suggest that if this is the direction of the Fact Finding Team's work it is unclear", Hendropriyono told the press at the DPR building in Jakarta on Monday May 30. Hendropriyono admitted that he came on his on initiative and not at the invitation of the DPR.

Hendropriyono believes that the TPF has been ineffective in solving the Munir case. He said that in fact the team is only trying to sway public's opinion. He is asking the DPR to form a team that is able to work more effectively and efficiently in accordance with the presidential decree which determined the TPF's formation.

Hendropriyono's lawyer, Syamsu Djalal, who was also present stated that what is being done by the TPF is an effort to politicise BIN's role in the case. "This is truly confusing", said the former commander of the national military police.

He said that this could create the perception that there is a particular group behind the TPF. "Perhaps there are particular parties who wish to sow discord in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia with BIN being the target", he said.

Earlier, Hendropriyono also lodged a complaint with the police against two members of the TPF, Rachlan Nasidik and Usman Hamid. The former Jakarta military commander believes the pair's statements are "pushing a view which links him with Munir's death".

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Fact Finding Team regrets Hendropriyono's attitude

Tempo Interactive - May 30, 2005

Sunariah, Jakarta -- Two members of the Fact Finding Team (TPF), Rachland Nasidik and Usman Hamid say they regret the actions of the former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Hendropriyono, who has lodged a complaint against the team with the police on the grounds that they have besmirched his good name.

"The erroneous issue of [his] place of residency, in the United States, actually could have been resolved directly by explaining it to the chairperson of the TPF, [he] could have used the phone [and told us] that he is in Jakarta, not by measures which demonstrate a kind of excessive fear", said Nasidik who was accompanied by Hamid at a press conference today, Monday May 30, at the Jakarta offices of Human Rights Watch (Imparsial).

According to Nasidik, if Hendropriyono is worried about the reporting in the media which gave the imprecision he is avoiding the TPF's summonses, the most effective way to get rid of this impression is to respond to the TPF's summonses in the future. "I think that it will immediately get rid of the impression which Mr. Hendro believes is damaging", said Nasidik.

Nasidik reminded reporters that so far the TPF has not formally summoned Hendropriyono but plan to do so next week. "Monday or Tuesday, today's letter will be sent by the TPF's chairperson", said Hamid. Hamid revealed that Hendropriyono's summons is linked with his duties as the chief on BIN when Munir was murdered. "It is difficult for the TPF not to request information from Mr. Hendropriyono to assist in solving the case of Munir's murder because at the time he held the post of BIN chief", said Hamid.

According to Nasidik, after having lodged a complaint with police Hendropriyono has no grounds for failing to answer the TPF's summons. "If Hendro's complaint goes ahead, it will only damage Hendro himself, because the public will think the aim of the complain is to avoid or delay the investigation being conducted by the TPF which will finish its job on June 23", said Nasidik.

Nasidik said that the TPF is not in the slightest bit disturbed by Hendropriyono's complaint. "Whatever happens after the complaint, the TPF's [work] will not be disrupted. I myself don't really know exactly where the besmirched of his name occurred", said Nasidik. But he continued, it is important for all parties to respond to the TPF's summonses although the TPF will not forces them to provide information during questioning.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

BIN shouldn't panic over developments in Munir case

Detik.com - May 30, 2005

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta -- The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) doesn't need to get into a panic over recent developments in the investigation into Munir's death because it is still uncertain whether BIN is involved in the death of the human rights activist.

This was the reason given by a member of the Fact Finding Team (TPF) into Munir's death, Usman Hamid, when contacted in Jakarta by Detik.com on Monday May 30. "It could be that from the facts which we find on the ground, that they indeed show that BIN is involved in it", said Hamid who is also the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

Hamid believes that the information implicating BIN that has been obtained by the TPF is not being used to discredit BIN either as an institution or its members individually. "We are still in the middle of seeking confirmation on the possibly of the institution's involvement or [the involvement of] rouge members of BIN in the case. This must be emphasised", Hamid explained excitedly.

He said that the TPF has yet to determine the involvement of anyone in Munir's death, especially the involvement of rouge members of BIN. According to Hamid, the process of uncovering the mystery is still proceeding. "This must be understood, don't get all worked up", he said.

In relation to the revelation that there was a phone conversation between a member of BIN and the prime suspect in the case, Pollycarpus, the findings are limited to the fact that there was a conversation. "With regard to what is the nature of and relationship (of the conversation between BIN and Pollycarpus), the party with the authority to determine this are the police investigators", explained Hamid. (ism)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Ex-BIN chief sues fact finding team

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2005

Jakarta -- The former chief of State Intelligence Body (BIN) Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono has reported two members of a fact- finding team probing the murder of human rights activist Munir to police for defamation.

Hendropriyono, accompanied by his lawyer Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsu Djalal, a former military police chief, said Rachland Nashidik and Usman Hamid had tarnished his reputation by repeatedly connecting him with the death of Munir, allegations reported by several major newspapers.

Hendropriyono said Rachland and Nashidik had told the media that he was in the United States and was difficult to track down for questioning in connection with the case. However, Hendropriyono said he had been in Indonesia since April.

Along with the report, Hendropriyono submitted five articles from five different media publications to the National Police as evidence.

Responding to the allegations, Usman said the fact-finding team's work would continue despite Hendropriyono's legal action.

On the inside life's not that bad, if you have money

Sydney Morning Herald - May 28, 2005

Matthew Moore -- A banana, some pawpaw, five slices of white bread and half bowl of vegetables is the daily ration that is supposed to sustain about 20 Westerners like Schapelle Corby serving time in Bali's Kerobokan jail.

Despite the occasional egg, no prisoner, Westerner or Indonesian, can stay healthy for years on a diet so lacking in protein. Corby, like everyone else in the jail, will depend on those on the outside in the months and years ahead.

As she has done for more than seven months, she will need devoted friends and family to bring her food, supplies and money for as long as she is locked up. The jail provides almost nothing to its more than 600 inmates: no drinking water, coffee or tea, bedding, toiletries, clothes, medicine, amenities or work.

For those without money, this lack of basic necessities can be fatal. But for those with cash, and friends, the jail can be a forgiving place to serve a long sentence. Prisoners can eat and drink whatever friends bring them, can furnish their cells, and have a mobile phone and full-contact visits five days a week.

Life is easier for men than for women because they have the run of the jail, while Corby will be largely restricted to the women's block with 60 other prisoners.

The single-storey jail is built around a large open area that includes a tennis court, but prisoners spend months and years wandering aimlessly.

Although there is nothing to do, the atmosphere is more relaxed than many jails and, with discretion, there is cold beer for less than $A2 a can.

Corby, like the other prisoners, will take her visitors to a small grassed courtyard where someone will appear, spread a straw mat for all to sit on, and offer cold cola, lemonade or sweet tea.

This area is small and can be cramped when it is busy, but no one minds if you have a picnic and a glass of wine, provided you make a small donation to the guards who depend on visitors to make their living.

Nights are the hardest. The women are locked in from 5pm to 9am. Corby's cell is so small the bodies of the seven women can touch as they rest. With no beds, they sleep on mats, and with no fan, they sweat. Each woman gets a bucket of water a day to keep clean.

Now that she is sentenced, she might move cells and have a chance to make some improvements, get a cell with a bathroom, and add furnishings. Her mother, Rosleigh Rose, said Corby has had no power so far, but inmates say most cells have electricity at night so you can have a TV, charge the mobile phone, and run a fan.

Phones, TVs, alcohol and other luxuries are illegal, but prisoners with money have no trouble keeping them.

Bali's biggest jail has a reputation as a hellish place, but those inside say having money makes life tolerable.

The Herald asked 10, mainly foreign, prisoners serving sentences for drug offences to fill in questionnaires describing their lives and the best and worst aspects of the prison.

All complained of boredom, corruption, and especially of the large bribes they are forced to pay to wind back sentences hugely disproportionate to the offence.

Most agree the prison is not violent, although punishment for the occasional outburst can be a long stretch in an isolation cell the size of a single bed.

Robert Fraser, a 45-year-old from Scotland, nearing the end of a four-year stretch for possession of hashish, says it is ridiculous to compare Kerobokan with the notorious Bangkok "Hilton" jail or Turkish jails made famous in the book Midnight Express.

"It's no hellhole here," he said. "If you are going to be in prison in Asia, this is the place to be." The sign in the visiting area says visits last for only 15 minutes. But the reality is friends and family can stay for nearly three hours in the morning and two in the afternoon, provided they pay about 80 cents a time.

For those who want something stronger than tea and soft drinks, you can buy bottles of arrak. Hashish is readily available for about $16 a gram, the same price as on the streets of Denpasar.

Fraser said the cost of a day out was about $120, a price confirmed by a former Indonesian prisoner who went out for medical treatment twice, but asked his name not be used. It is only available once prisoners have done some time, got to know the staff and the pace of the place.

Fraser said he needed a minimum of about $130 a month to survive in jail and anything over that made life tolerable. Friends bought him materials that allowed him to build model boats in the prison workshop, which gave him an activity most prisoners didn't have.

Corby is the only Western woman in the prison, although some of her fellow inmates speak English, including Teresa, a 28-year-old Indonesian woman doing 15 years for a narcotics offence. She appreciated the "spiritual aspects" of the jail, such as its little church, but warned new prisoners to be aware of how the courts listened only to money.

"Don't believe your lawyer 100 per cent and be careful with the court; remember there is money talking and it's the same with the police." Every current and former prisoner you speak to complains about spending tens of thousands of dollars just to get a sentence cut to something manageable.

As Corby heads into the appeal process she will have to decide whether she is going to do what most inmates say they do.

One European prisoner said he had paid $35,000 to get his sentence brought down from 12 years to five. A further cut to just 18 months was on offer when he appealed to the Supreme Court, but could not raise the extra $25,000 asking price.

Corby's financial backer, Ron Bakir, alleged on radio in April the chief prosecutor in Corby's case, Ida Bagus Wiswantanu, had already sought a bribe as part of the defence.

Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Imron Cotan, responded by issuing a statement that Bakir had breached Indonesian law, hinting be could be arrested if he returned to Bali. After weeks of negotiations with the embassy, Bakir this week issued an apology, retracting his allegations.

Yet Kerobokan's inmates all tell stories of how the bribery system works. You can pay early, before the prosecutor makes his request for sentence, or you can wait and try to organise payment during the appeal process that Corby is now heading for, when there are no hearings and less public scrutiny.

French woman Helene le Touzey moved to Bali five years ago to support her son Michael Blanc after he was caught at the airport importing 3.8 kgs of hashish into Denpasar.

A French Government representative told her it would cost between $200,000 and $250,000 in bribes to have a chance of securing a sentence of about 15 years. No money was paid and her son got life.

They appealed twice. Both times the prosecutor renewed his demand for the death penalty. The High Court in Bali let the original sentence stand but the Indonesian Supreme Court added a fine of $70,000.

Appeal courts in Indonesia often adjust sentences and think nothing of increasing the punishment imposed by a lower court, which is something Corby must risk if she appeals.

One way prisoners can reduce their sentences is through remissions granted by the Government each year.

Remissions are usually granted for good behaviour and are for one or two months. The more of your sentence you serve, the bigger the remissions can be, increasing to four months a year, and even more.

As one former prisoner explained, "You can get remissions of up to six months, but only for very, very good behaviour and a very, very good supply of money."

BIN plays for time, slows probe into Munir's murder

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2005

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF) tasked with assisting police in probing the murder of human rights campaigner Munir is complaining that the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) remains uncooperative in the inquiry.

It said that despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's repeated order for BIN to give a full access to the team, the agency still refused to provide it with documents on its former agents allegedly implicated in the killing.

Rachland Nashidik, a TPF member and also director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, said BIN secretary general Suparto said his institution would not allow outsiders to see any of its documents, even in the interests of the investigation. This shows that BIN are defying the President's order, he added.

At a meeting between Susilo and BIN chief Maj. Gen. (ret.) Syamsir Siregar earlier this week, the President reiterated his order to the intelligence agency.

"It remains unclear whether BIN as an institution was involved in Munir's death, or whether certain BIN officials abused their power, or perhaps, they are trying to halt the investigation into the case," Rachland told reporters on Friday.

The TPF has accused several BIN agents of involvement in the poisoning death of Munir aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004. An autopsy by Dutch authorities found excessive amounts of arsenic in his body.

National Police have detained Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto as a suspect in the murder case. There are suspicions that he is a BIN operative. Pollycarpus reportedly persuaded Munir to change seats and move into business class on the Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Singapore.

"We need BIN's documents that show whether Pollycarpus was recruited by BIN in 2002 as he has repeatedly claimed. We also need to clarify whether his recruitment was in line with BIN's antiterrorism policy," Rachland said.

Former BIN secretary general Nurhadi Djazuli has testified to the TPF that the recruitment of Pollycarpus was endorsed by former BIN chief A.M. Hendropriyono.

Pollycarpus has meanwhile named two other former high-ranking members of BIN, who were suspected of knowing about the crime. They are former BIN deputy chief overseeing the antiterrorism desk, Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi PR, and another former BIN agent Col. (ret) Bambang Irawan.

A source has said Bambang was the passenger who was seated in the same flight's business class and was believed to "have given a glass of drink mixed with poison to Munir".

A report obtained from state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom shows that Pollycarpus "received direct calls from Muchdi's extension number at his BIN office" before and after the death of Munir.

"Questioning of the three men concerned and checking all related BIN documents are necessary to clarify all of Pollycarpus' statements," Rachland said.

"We have prepared summonses for the three and are expecting to question them by mid-June. But I'm worried that they are just trying to buy time," he said, pointing out that the TPF will end its six-month term on June 23.

'Police, intelligence agency are ignoring the President'

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

It has been nine months since the murder of rights activist Munir in September and the government appointed fact-finding team is scheduled to end its investigation next month.

The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to Munir's widow Suciwati, as she prepares to go abroad next month to speak about her husband's case. Below are excerpts of the interview:

Question: How do you feel as end of the fact-finding team's investigation draw to an end?

Answer: There is no use in extending its term as requested by the House of Representatives -- as we expected the members have faced stumbling blocks along the way. A prolonged investigation might lead people to think that if the team fails (to uncover the truth behind Munir's murder) then it was its fault; that the government has done enough by showing its political will in forming the team, while it should actually be the police who do the real investigative work. If not, then the team would only be a tool for the government to wash its hands of the case.

The President should be going after the investigators who are barely moving; (to push them to discover) who is the next suspect after the lower-level one (pilot Pollycarpus B. Priyanto) was named. The President should know that the National Police and the state intelligence body (BIN) are ignoring him -- although they agreed in front of him to help the fact-finding team and share any requested information, they have made the job of the team difficult.

This is my question: Why, despite the green light from the President assuring their cooperation, are things getting slower. The fact-finding team has made several recommendations on what the police should investigate (like the several telephone calls between Pollycarpus and a senior BIN official).

Is (the lack of further investigation) because the police must face their own seniors in BIN? Could you share your plans with us about what you will do when you go to the United States?

I've been invited by the Carter Center (in Atlanta) to talk about human rights defenders, and Munir was one of them who we believe was eliminated because of his thoughts and actions. It is very important to share the Munir case, to show that something like this can still happen amid the country's efforts to democratize; the direct elections and a directly elected president. The case should be resolved; otherwise, what's the point of the President meeting all his subordinates to urge their cooperation, is it just for show? In Austria I've been invited to the annual meeting of recipients of the Right Livelihood Award (Munir was one of them), where I will urge each attendant to raise the case with their respective governments, which in turn would also ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono about the progress of the case, in which indications pointing at the BIN's implication are becoming clear.

Several other cases remain unresolved over the years from the deaths of dissenters in Lampung, to the May 1998 riots. How could we expect Munir's case to be any different?

From the murder (in 1993) of (labor rights activist) Marsinah to the May riots, Munir was at the center of investigations into all these (cases). If his case in all its complexity can be revealed there could be some light shed on the others. The family of (former justice) Baharuddin Lopa (who died in suspicious circumstances when disembarking from a plane in Saudi Arabia in 2001) said they would request an autopsy of Lopa if Munir's case was resolved.

Don't you fear for your own safety in pursuing this case? You said you were recently terrorized through a letter threatening that you would be killed.

Where in Indonesia can anyone be safe? We can be hurt anywhere and by any means without the state protecting us at all (the country still lacks a witness protection program among other safeguards). This is the crucial momentum to pursue Munir's case; staying silent is tantamount to accepting and even condoning such actions.

But the layman may want the government to focus on the economy so he can feed his family and get a decent job rather than prioritizing past human rights violations. Your comment?

As a victim I hope the government continues to prioritize human rights. If you forcibly took the land of a farmer, that would also be against his right to livelihood. Human rights isn't something from the West, it is attached to every individual. I can't express much about these things but surely a nation which wants to progress should be one which respects the rights of its citizens.

What are your plans for the future?

To have this case thoroughly resolved and to seek justice for our family, so that the mastermind (behind the murder) is revealed and punished. I don't ask for much. Meanwhile, I'm trying to rebuild a life with the children (son Alif, 6, and daughter Difa, 3). Alif understands that he will not see his father again. He read the messages of condolence on all the wreaths that came to our house. But Difa sometimes asks, "where is Abah (father)?", like when we went out recently with Munir's colleagues. I was taken aback, I just said he was working.

 Reconciliation & justice

President Susilo should bring Soeharto to court

Jakarta Post - May 25, 2005

It has been seven years since Soeharto stepped down as president on May 21, 1998, after 32 years in office. The former president remains "untouchable" despite allegations of human rights abuses and corruption during his reign.

The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland interviewed political scientist Mochtar Pabottingi about Soeharto. The following is an excerpt of that interview:

Question: What do you think of the recent proposal by several public figures to grant former president Soeharto amnesty?

Answer: Even now we still have not seen the full damage and effect of the New Order regime. We still continue to feel and suffer from the damage, the torture and the ruin of dozens of years under the leadership of Soeharto. I always say that it amounts to the betrayal of the ideals of the Republic, where the five principles of the state ideology were stomped on throughout the New Order.

Could you elaborate?

One principle is a fair and civilized society. Did such a thing really exist? With the massacre of thousands of our brothers in 1965, without any proper trials but only on accusations (that they were members of the Indonesian Communist Party), and at the urging of the United States. The New Order stood for so long with the support of the US. Another principle, a united Indonesia. Really? One of the New Order's pillars was the military, controlled by Soeharto. The military always says it helped unite the people, but the facts show that over the past two decades it has been the military that has been breaking the nation apart.

Wasn't the military positioned to oversee development projects?

And by development projects, they meant projects belonging to Soeharto and his cronies, pushed forward without consulting the People's Consultative Assembly, let alone the public. The military shot and killed people who tried to fight for themselves, kidnapped them, made them disappear... in the process becoming the root of the disintegration of the nation.

Need one more example? Social justice. History shows that the economic disparity between the haves and the have-nots grew wider and wider under the New Order.

All five principles were betrayed by Soeharto's New Order. Now we want to forgive him? Is that a good lesson for the Republic? We are not only talking about Soeharto as a person, but also the Republic... about us and what he did to the Republic. I cannot figure out what those people were thinking of (suggesting an amnesty for Soeharto), and I am really upset. Are we trying to avoid the truth?

What should the current government do regarding Soeharto and the legal process surrounding him?

The best thing is to put him back to trial. I think it is a complete lie that he cannot stand trial. It is a lie that the doctors who examined him found he was unable to stand trial. How many times has Soeharto traveled to Nusa Kambangan to see his favorite son, who is a criminal? How many times have we seen him walking around? Bring him to court, let him talk... force him to talk.

I do not understand why these public figures are saying we should forget everything. We are talking about what Soeharto did to the Republic. Did they consider that? It never occurred to them because they are Soeharto's men. They do not think about the nation.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono refused to comment when asked about the possibility of trying Soeharto.

I would suggest to him, with such little chance for a trial, that the wisest and most realistic thing he could say is that it is imperative to put Soeharto to trial and find the truth. But maybe not during the current administration. We may have to wait a while, the consequence being that Soeharto could pass away first. But really, that is the least Susilo could say, as a statesman. But of course, he needs to mean it.

The Attorney General's Office seems to be powerless to take action because Soeharto's doctors say the former president is too ill to stand trial.

I tell you, what we have today is far from anything that could be called a reform era, because today is just an extension of the New Order. And the institution where you can feel the spirit of the New Order the strongest is the judiciary. It has never been an institution for justice, but rather is an institution for sustaining injustice.

All of the authorities, the branches of the government, simply do not want to try Soeharto, and that is a big mistake. This is not something that we can just forget. This is the very foundation of our nation that Soeharto trampled on, violated and betrayed.

So you see absolutely no room for amnesty?

You know, even if he should be granted amnesty, he should first pay compensation to all of the victims of his New Order regime. Select the victims, pay them and their offspring adequate compensation, give them a good education, clear their names and give them back their bruised dignity. The victims of the Tanjung Priok incident, the Lampung incident... the victims in Aceh, Papua, you name it. Countless.

In fact, he could have saved the country in 1998 by staying in power. If he had wanted to save the country, he could have gathered together all his corrupt cronies and bailed out Indonesia from its mounting debts. He and his cronies were capable of doing that, but it just never occurred to Soeharto's mind because he was so selfish and ungiving.

If there is an amnesty, it is (first president) Sukarno's name that should be rehabilitated. His accomplishments were greater than those of Soeharto. He founded the state ideology, he is the father of our nation, whose name was tarnished by the New Order through fabricated history.

I must say that the prospects of Soeharto being put on trial are small. So I suppose we can all forget about giving him amnesty. They can grant him amnesty after doing everything I just said.

You have given all the basic reasons for denying Soeharto an amnesty. Do you have any more political reasons?

In a very concrete sense, the impunity that continues to ravage our nation comes with the fact that we are still feeling the extended arms of the New Order. Over the years, this has become the pattern by which all cases of gross corruption and human rights violations are conducted in this wretched and perpetually betrayed nation, whose symbols and banners continue to be shamelessly used and exploited.

The well-kept and guarded policy of impunity in the post-Soeharto era is the very knot at which all cases of gross corruption and human rights violations have been firmly stuck.

 Labour issues

Workers producing top US brands protest labor practices

AFX News - May 25, 2005

Jakarta -- More than 2,000 Indonesian workers have staged a strike in a garment factory that produces famous US designer brands to protest ill-treatment and unpaid overtime fees, a labor activist said.

At least 2,500 workers of Katexindo Citra Mandiri, have been on strike since May 14, said Dita Indah Sari of the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle group.

Katexindo is an Indonesian-owned garment factory licensed to produce clothing for several famous US designer brands, including Gap, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Sari said the factory had forced the workers, mostly women and members of her labor group, to work for more than eight hours a day. The factory had also 'forcefully' made the workers increase output from 65 items per hour each to 85 while rejecting overtime demands, she alleged.

However, an official at Katexindo said that the strike has been resolved today and that production had resumed at the factory, which pays workers a government-regulated minimum wage of 711,000 rupiah (75 usd) per month.

'They are being used as milking cows. Apart from not getting their rights and having to work longer hours, the factory also denies the workers their standard meal,' Sari said.

Sari told Agence France-Presse that her group had complained to Gap's headquarters in the US about the situation but received no response. 'They will not return to work until their demands for their rights are fully met,' Sari said.

An Katexindo official who gave her name only as Ellis said 'all personnel had gone back to work.' 'We are fully running and work is already back to normal,' she said.

 Politics/political parties

NU clerics declare Semarang congress illegitimate

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2005

Jakarta -- The National Awakening Party (PKB) is veering away from internal reconciliation as a group of Muslim clerics who helped found the party demanded on Sunday a new congress to elect legitimate leaders.

Concluding their two-day gathering, the senior ulemas officially rejected the results of PKB congress in Semarang last April, which elected Muhaimin Iskandar and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid as chairman and chief patron respectively.

PKB legislator Muhammad A.S. Hikam said the clerics assigned Alwi Shihab, who was dismissed as PKB chief last year, to coordinate efforts to settle the ongoing dispute within the party. "The upcoming congress will also mean a reconciliation," Hikam said.

The meeting also asked all party executives in regional chapters and affiliated organizations to support the policy and take disciplinary action against dissenting members.

One of the clerics, Idris Marzuki, said people had been confused by the dispute, which has split the party into a camp under Alwi and another led by Muhaimin. The two sides are fighting in court over their rights to lead the party.

PKB dismissed Alwi and Siafullah Yusuf as PKB leader and secretary general respectively after they joined the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The party bans its executives from holding government posts to avoid conflicts of interest.

The clerics who attended the meeting, he said, do not belong to any of the camp, but to Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization. "We are the NU camp of PKB," Idris said.

Idris urged all PKB supporters to stick together no matter what the court rules, and asked NU clerics and party executives to disseminate the results of the ulema's meeting to the party's grassroots constituents.

Backed by a group of influential ulemas who cofounded the party in 1999, Alwi challenged the legitimacy of the Semarang congress for failing to involve him and Saifullah.

The two ministers have sued the party's central board over the dismissal, which they said violated the party's statutes.

Alwi said on Sunday that the clerics were not on his side, but "the truth and people who are mandated to defend the truth".

"Let's hold this mandate. This has to be the last time the ulemas interfere, as they have more important jobs of guiding students and followers," Alwi said.

While the ulema's meeting was underway, two unidentified men pelted the East Java secretariat of PKB-linked youth group Garda Bangsa (Nation's Guardian) with stones, shattering the building's windows.

Garda Bangsa's East Java executive Ridwan M. Nur said the group's members were busy preparing administration papers to show their support for the PKB congress last April, when the incident took place.

"Perhaps it's an act of terror. But we're not afraid at all. We stick to our support for the congress in Semarang," he said, quoted by Antara. Local police are investigating the attack.

 Regional elections

Smita on the fledgling democracy

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Smita Notosusanto may be petite physically, but it seems she has not lost the energy to articulate the need for reform of the country's electoral system.

Maybe that is a reason why she has been branded a crusader for reform of the electoral system in Indonesia.

"I feel tired sometimes, but if I slow down I'm worried that the door to democracy that has opened in this country will be closed. If you look carefully, you can see the indications," she told The Jakarta Post during an interview recently.

Most Indonesians assume that the country has moved on from authoritarianism following the downfall of the New Order government in 1998. The fact that the country had managed to hold direct legislative and presidential elections -- the latter being the first in Indonesia's history -- strengthened the premise.

But Smita warned Indonesians not to be blinded by this assumption. Some 80 percent of countries that are in transition from authoritarianism to democracy failed to adopt genuine democracy and instead reverted to authoritarianism, she argued.

"Look at Thailand. I very much worry that Indonesia will take a step back into authoritarianism," said the former lecturer, who was born in London in 1961.

One indication is the government and House of Representatives' decision -- enshrined in Law No. 32/2004 on regional administrations -- to mandate the Department of Home Affairs to handle direct regional elections, Smita said.

"No democratic countries ever allow their governments to hold elections. They strongly ban government and political party involvement in elections. Authoritarianism may return through undemocratic regional elections," said Smita, who has the full support of her husband and teenage son.

Unfortunately, Smita and a number of other parties' attempts to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court met with disappointment as it refused to annul articles involving these issues.

"Only three judges understood our arguments. The others do not understand that there must be a consistent standard for elections, be they legislative, presidential or regional. A democratic election must be conducted by an independent institution," she said.

The failure, however, did not deter Smita from going ahead with her mission for total reform of the country's election system.

"We'll try to ask the House to amend the law. Actually, we sought one law on elections, so there would not be separate legislation for different types of election. "It's important for consistency, which plays a major part in the quality of elections," she said.

Therefore, Smita decided to resign as director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) and instead chose to be a senior researcher for the institution. She has started to carry out comprehensive research into the impact of the law on direct regional elections in several conflict-prone areas such as East Java and Central Java.

"I have not focused on Poso, Aceh or Papua for my research because the conflict there was generated by external causes. I want to seek proof that bad legislation for regional elections will play a major part in election-related conflicts," Smita said.

The proof was necessary to convince legislators to amend the election-related law, she said. Smita is confident that such evidence would be able to convince legislators.

"We, activists, must be the active partners of legislators. They need correct information on which to produce legislation. I often follow them from one hotel to another when they are drafting a law. They must know that we are watching them," said Smita, who enjoys debating with legislators.

Born of a well-off family -- her father is former education minister Nugroho Notosusanto -- Smita's involvement with the movement for reform of the electoral system started with her activities as a women's activist.

"I long for an election system that is easy for female voters," said Smita, who was inspired to become a women's activist following her work for a female US Congress member in 1991. To date, Smita, who calls herself a feminist, is still involved with the drafting of a series of laws to protect women.

Despite her activities in election system reform and women's issues, Smita is a founder of acehkita.com, an online website focusing on news about Aceh. Acehkita is now available in magazine format.

"There is no democracy in Aceh. You cannot get information as freely as here in Jakarta. I am not confident for the results of the elections there," she said, adding that her interest in Aceh arose following the government's decision to impose martial law in the province, followed by the state of civil emergency.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been fighting for independence for over 30 years, has branded Acehkita as being pro-TNI, while the TNI has accused it of siding with GAM. "We don't care. It's an inevitable consequence if you want to uphold democracy," said Smita, who considered it another indication that could return Indonesia to authoritarianism.

She also saw the recent TNI decision to set up regional commands (Kodam) in a number of provinces, including Papua, as an indication that the door to democracy has started to close.

"We must do our best to hold the door ajar. I'll fight any attempt that could damage the establishment of genuine democracy here," she said.

East Java candidates receive terror threats

Jakarta Post - May 27, 2005

Iman Dwianto Nugroho, Surabaya -- A loud ring breaks the silence, and in a rush Budi S. quickly picks up his phone. As he reads the incoming short message, he quickly becomes worried.

One of the members of the campaign team for a candidate running in the upcoming elections of regional heads in Surabaya had just received what he claimed was veiled threat.

"How much are you getting paid to be an accomplice? Do NOT mess with me!" the message read. For some time, Budi was stiff with fear. "I don't know why these kinds of threats are still around," he told The Jakarta Post.

Another message came in. Budi appeared to be relieved to see that it was from his colleague, asking whether Budi received the threatening message.

"Did you get that message? I tried to call the sender back but the phone it came from had already been switched off," his colleague wrote, saying that he was so upset and would not mind a fight if he knew the sender.

Such terror is not only experienced by campaign managers, but also the candidates.

AH Thony, a candidate running for a deputy mayor position in the election alongside Erlangga Satriagung, received a package consisting with dead chicken -- its throat cut -- along with a threatening letter.

The letter said, "you'll experience the same thing as this chicken", recalled Thony, a campaigner for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

The upcoming regional elections in Surabaya on June 27 have definitely been raising the political temperature in the country's second largest city.

So far, four candidates, and their running mates -- Alisjahban (the National Awakening Party); Bambang Dwi Haryono (Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle); Erlangga Satriagung (National Mandate Party); and Gatot Sudjito (Golkar Party) -- have been announced by the Surabaya Elections Committee as eligible to run.

Thony took the threats in stride, knowing that they are the consequences of working on political campaigns here. Since he started his political career 12 years ago, such terror tactics have become part of his daily routine.

"Such threats are part of a politician's life, as they are so common here," he said, adding that he had prepared himself for many more and harsher threats when he decided to run in these direct elections.

He believes that the election committee, with the assistance of the police, would be able to deal with problems experienced by candidates.

"We have to put our trust in the police personnel. That's why I don't take the terror too seriously," he said. He added that if he took the threats seriously, those responsible for sending the threats would think that their terror tactics actually work.

Chairman of the Elections Supervising Committee in Surabaya, Mahmud Suhermono, said the committee had acknowledged the emergence of threats towards candidates running for the elections as well as campaign managers. He said the committee, with police assistance, provided security for each candidate. "Every candidate is guarded by two police officers," Mahmud told the Post.

The police, he said, were taking very stern measures indeed to guarantee the candidates' safety. "The police guards have been assigned to maintain their safety, if [the threat] is related to the election, serious action will be taken," he claimed.

 Government/civil service

Regional autonomy simply absurd, experts say

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2005

Hera Diani, Jakarta -- In order to ensure regional autonomy, the government has been urged to amend the law on regional administrations, which still places governors, mayors and regents as subordinates of the central government.

Researcher Sjamsuddin Haris from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that regional autonomy empowerment must be preceded by the amendment of Law No. 32/2004 on regional autonomy. "The spirit of the law is still (a) centralistic (government)," he told a seminar attended by very few participants on Thursday.

Sjamsuddin said that the law, for instance, stipulates that the central government conduct monitoring and training of local administrations, thus obligating these administrations to always consult with the central government. The law also states that local legislative councils, whose members are directly elected, are an element of local administrations, he added.

He said that without good regulation, the upcoming direct regional elections would just be a procedural achievement instead of substantial, as they would not contribute to the quality improvement of democratization and regional autonomy in the country.

LIPI researcher Siti Zuhro similarly said that the law on regional autonomy only supported the political interests of major parties and lawmakers. "Slowly but surely, regional autonomy will be eliminated. There will be no legal certainty that we will receive good service from local government. The autonomy is only for the elite," she said.

Legal revisions through the Constitutional Court were still partial and did not satisfy those wanting to amend the law, Siti said. "The law must be amended to avoid controversy." A similar view was expressed by another researcher Syarif Hidayat who said Law No. 32/2004 was a fait accompli as it was passed without going through a public debate.

"A democratic governmental system cannot be pursued merely through local direct elections. It must be inherent within the democratic behavior after the elections. Since the process of the regional elections is not yet democratic, and filled with collusive practices, the post-election (administration) will be no different," he said.

The process of direct regional elections, Syarif added, was full of conspiracies between politics and business, and it would be no surprise that local executive chiefs would be more loyal to their political and business patrons than to their constituents.

"What will emerge after the elections is a 'shadow state' or 'shadow government', which is defeated by other powers outside governmental structure; and 'informal economy' or collusion between government and business sectors," Syarif said.

Instead of regional autonomy, he added, what will appear is a hidden autonomy where local elites manipulate formal policies to gain personal profits. "Therefore, clear regulations are very much needed," Syarif said.

He said direct regional elections are still needed to pursue good local governance, but political campaigns for people need to be boosted. "Money politics is unavoidable, with many justifying it as a 'political cost'. To reduce the practice of money politics, monitoring has to be improved," Syarif said.

Sjamsuddin added that local consensus has to be established to minimize problems caused by the direct regional elections. "It's not guaranteed that regulations can protect local people. Therefore, local initiatives or regulations are needed," he said.

 Corruption/collusion/nepotism

President: Immunity for corruptors over

Tempo Interactive -- May 31, 2005

Washington DC -- The eradication of acts of corruption in Indonesia continued to be the main topic on the agenda during the visit by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the USA.

On the third day of his visit, the President restated his commitment to eradicate acts of corruption acts during a forum held by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Thursday morning (26/05) local time.

"Starting from today, the legal immunity enjoyed by Indonesian corruptors is already over," Yudhoyono said. "I invite all of you to come to Indonesia and witness for yourself the reform measures that we have already carried out," said the President.

US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue responded positively to the president's commitment. "Mr. President, I hope you will be able to stick on your commitment. We will come to Indonesia with our money," said Donohue as he closed the forum session..

According to Donohue, the President and US businessmen discussed three points regarding the business climate in Indonesia. These three are: equality in business opportunities, eradication of corruption practices and protection of intellectual property rights.

"I think we will soon see interesting business expansion and investment in this area. Mr. President (Yudhoyono, ed.) is a good salesman," joked Donohue.

That evening, during a meeting with 200 Indonesian citizens at the Indonesian Embassy complex in Tilden, the President once again revealed his commitment to eradicate acts of corruption. "The war against corruption shall be a priority of the government," Yudhoyono said, to the applause of those present.

The targets are existing corruption cases, big fish corruption cases and Indonesian corruptors running away overseas. "We will search until we find them," said the President.

Yudhoyono went on to explain that 16 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and five government ministries were being intensively investigated. "Out of these five ministries, it is almost certain that four are involved in acts of corruption."

The President also said he hoped that later (SOEs) could grow well. "We don't want them to be PT Rugi Abadi (Eternal Loss) or PT Sukar Maju (Difficult to Grow)," joked Yudhoyono.

The government has also handed over 19 case dossiers to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Around 45 officials are being questioned intensively. "They include governors and mayors as well as members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD)," said Yudhoyono.

When asked about the United Nations Anti-corruption Convention that is yet to be ratified by Indonesia, the President said that the government fully supports this convention. "Now, the decision is in the hand of DPR Commission I. I am convinced that the DPR will take measures to immediately ratify the Convention," stated Yudhoyono. (Karaniya Dharmasaputra, Washington)

World Bank exposes corruption in grant to Indonesia

Agence France Presse - May 25, 2005

The World Bank exposed corruption in the implementation of a 203,000 dollar poverty-busting grant in Indonesia, saying it has blacklisted five individuals and two firms in the scandal.

"The Bank found evidence of misrepresentation of bona fides, bid collusion and kickbacks," it said in a statement.

The exposure came as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is on a visit to Washington, pledged to wipe out graft in the administration following talks with US leader George W. Bush.

The Indonesian government has refunded the full amount of the World Bank project funds linked to the scandal, the Washington- based bank said.

The blacklisted firms and individuals will be ineligible to receive any new World Bank-financed contracts for up to three years.

World Bank Country Director Andrew Steer said, "As we have said before, the World Bank's funds must go to help alleviate poverty for the people of Indonesia.

"As this case shows again, we will be vigilant with regard to the use of Bank funds. When we find instances of fraud and corruption, we will report them openly to the Government and work with them to see that action is taken," he said.

The grant was made in 2001 under the World Bank-administered Asia Europe Meeting-European Union (ASEM-EU) Asian Financial Crisis Response Trust Fund.

It was provided for the purpose of strengthening and monitoring social safety net programs in Indonesia, and implemented by the National Development Planning Agency.

 Regional/communal conflicts

Criticism grows of Indonesia security after blasts

Reuters - May 31, 2005

Dean Yates -- Indonesia's intelligence and police services came under criticism on Tuesday after twin bomb attacks in a Christian town over the weekend, with some calls for the sacking of the police chief.

Police said they were still questioning witnesses over the blasts, which killed 22 people in the town of Tentena on eastern Sulawesi island. Authorities have blamed the bombings on Islamic militants, but denied speculation a suicide bomber was involved.

Indonesian police have arrested two men in the Tentena area who were carrying weapons but have not directly linked them to the Saturday morning attacks on a busy market, seen as an attempt to re-ignite violence in the region.

Tentena, 1,500 km northeast of Jakarta, is part of an area where three years of Muslim-Christian fighting killed 2,000 people until a peace deal was agreed in late 2001. The bombings were the worst in Indonesia since the 2002 Bali blasts.

Suripto, from the Prosperous Justice Party and a member of the parliamentary commission on defense and foreign affairs, told Reuters that Indonesia needed to revamp its intelligence agencies to combat the type of threats facing the country.

"Is this bombing going to be the last one? I'd say no unless our intelligence (agencies) are capable of identifying the intellectual actors and financial backers," Suripto said.

The speaker of parliament, Agung Laksono, said the attacks showed the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had not lived up to its 2004 election promises to improve security, the Jakarta Post newspaper reported. Long-serving police chief, General Da'i Bachtiar, should be replaced, Laksono added.

The national intelligence agency, BIN, has said anti-terrorism laws introduced after the Bali bombings that killed 202 people were too weak to allow security agencies to catch suspects before they carry out atrocities.

Police have complained the laws do not give them enough power or political cover to detain suspects while avoiding criticism from Muslim organizations and human rights groups who are often suspicious of such investigations in light of Indonesia's authoritarian past.

Not a suicide bomber National police spokesman Aryanto Boedihardjo told a news conference that police were convinced the Tentena attacks were carried out by Islamic militants. The bombs were in cylinders and filled with nails and detonated with timers, he said. "There are a few groups using the same bomb materials but we don't know which group yet," he said without elaborating.

Asked about speculation a suicide bomber could have been involved, he said: "For the time being, my opinion says this was not a suicide bomb because it was not attached to a body." Indonesia has said the blasts bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiah, a group linked to al Qaeda and blamed for a series of attacks on Western targets in Indonesia. Security experts have said homegrown Islamic radicals were more likely responsible.

About 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. But in some eastern parts, Christian and Muslim populations are about equal.

The Jakarta Post said public frustration was growing. "The twin blasts in Tentena are evidence that our police, intelligence and military forces are not winning the war against terrorists," it said in an editorial.

"It is bewildering how anyone can insist on staying on as the national police chief, for example, after having failed to protect innocent citizens from a series of major terrorist attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives."

On Tuesday, the United States opened all its four diplomatic missions in Indonesia after they were closed last Thursday because of an unspecified security threat.

[Additional reporting by Tomi Soetjipto and Telly Nathalia.]

Police identify suspects in deadly Sulawesi bombing

Agence France Presse - May 31, 2005

Indonesian police say they suspect a gang of agitators behind a string of attacks across sectarian violence-hit eastern islands may be responsible for a weekend bombing that killed 21 people.

The police chief of Indonesia's Maluku island chain, the scene of frequent unrest between Christians and Muslims, said Saturday's blasts in the Sulawesi island town of Tentena appeared to match a pattern of attacks in his region.

"We indicate the possibility that they are part of the same group," Aditya Warman told reporters.

Warman refused to say whether the gang of three was linked to Islamic militants blamed for terrorist attacks in Indonesia including the Bali bombings, but added that at one incident they left a Koran and a flag bearing the word "mujahedin".

Detectives earlier said the Tentena attack bore hallmarks of Azahari Husin, a Malaysian fugitive wanted for alleged roles in the Bali strike and deadly explosions at a Jakarta hotel and the city's Australian embassy.

Warman said the three agitators were wanted in connection with six attacks between November 2004 and May 2004, including a "carefully planned" raid on an elite police unit on the Maluku island of West Seram.

They were also believed to have been involved in incidents including the abduction and murder of a Christian cleric and an attack on two Christian villages.

Like the Malukus, much of Sulawesi has been plagued by warring between Christians and Muslims. A year of open conflict claimed more than 1,000 lives in Sulawesi before a peace deal in 2001, but sporadic violence has continued.

Indonesian officials have said Saturday's attack could be an attempt by Islamic extremists to stir up fresh trouble. Others have said the attack was politically motivated to justify a stronger military presence in the region.

Warman said the latest information came from a purported member of the gang who was already in custody. The captive was from the Java island town of Solo, seen as the seat of Islamic extremism in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, detectives in Poso, close to Tentena, have been quizzing two convicts from the town's jail who, according to witnesses, were seen ahead of the explosions in the marketplace targeted by the bombers.

The head of Poso's prison was also being investigated after he was picked up in a car alongside the two armed convicts.

National police spokesman Aryanto Budiharjo said police were "conducting an intensive questioning of two people whose status are convicts".

Budiharjo said he doubted claims that Saturday's attack was a suicide bombing, although one of the victims was a man from outside the region whose name seemed to indicate he was a Muslim. "At the moment, I'm of the opinion that it was not a suicide bombing," he said.

Poso bombing related to corruption of aid: NGOs

Media Indonesia - May 31, 2005

Jakarta -- A number of non-government organisations (NGOs) are asking police to investigate the relationship between the recent bombing in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and indications of corruption of humanitarian aid for Poso refugees.

Four NGOs -- the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Palu Free Land Foundation (YTM), the Poso Foundation for the Strengthening of Civil Society (LPMS), the Tentena Panorama Foundation for Natural Conservation (YPAL) and the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) -- issued a joint press statement to this effect at the YLBHI offices in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The suspicion is that there is a relationship between the bombing and the corruption of humanitarian aid for refugees was conveyed the director of LPMS Poso, Iskandar Lamuka, who said that after the Malino(1) declaration was signed violence has again broken out in Poso.

"There have been widespread efforts to uncover corruption of Poso refugees' humanitarian aid over the last five months, so a series of [acts of] terror and violence flared up again", said Lamuka.

According to Lamuka, death threats and violence against social and NGO activists who have been involved in uncovering corruption of refugee humanitarian aid has started to appear all over the place, for example the bombing of the offices of LPMS Poso the Poso Center for Reconciliation of Conflicts on April 28.

It is also believed that the bomb that exploded in Tentena on May 28 is linked with an attempt to "divert" efforts to uncover corruption of humanitarian aid. "The bombings and chaos are only [an attempt] to shift attention from efforts to uncover cases of corruption which are currently being conducted", said Lamuka.

The coalition of NGOs have recorded corruption of as much as 12 billion rupiah by the Central Sulawesi Social Health Agency which came from deductions to social support funds for refugees including living allowances and aid supplies.

In addition to this, another method is through making false payments to refugees with the recording of fake refugee names or the appearance of thousands of strange names in the list of refugee repatriation funds which is suspected to have cost the state as much as 8 billion rupiah.

The inflation of refugee numbers is one of the charges which was also presented in the joint press statement which said that refugee numbers had been inflated by as much as 15,895 families based on the official data from the Central Sulawesi government of 31,325 families. The inflation of the number of families indicates that corruption to the value of 39.7 billion rupiah.

The coalition of NGOs also urged the Corruption Eradication Commission to prioritise the handling of the corruption of Poso refugees' humanitarian aid. "Leaving aside these corruption cases which aside from valuing tens of billions of rupiah, [they] are using terror and violence as their method", said Lamuka. (Ant/OL-1)

Notes:

1. A peace deal was signed in the South Sulawesi town of Malino in December 2001 and February 2002 marking an end to the conflict.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Bombing a blow to peace between Muslims and Christians

Agence France Presse - May 30, 2005

Whether the work of shadowy Islamic extremists from outside the region or local agitants, a deadly bombing on Indonesia's Sulawesi will unravel months of painstaking effort to reconcile warring Christians and Muslims on the island, community leaders say.

Two bombs exploded minutes apart in a busy market place in the predominantly Christian town of Tentena, early Saturday killing 20 people and leaving more than 50 injured.

Although officials say the attack could be the work of Islamic militants blamed for other major atrocities in Indonesia, it has threatened to reignite sectarian tensions that have previously resulted in widespread bloodshed.

Efforts to reign in conflict in the region, where more than 1,000 died in a year of fighting before a 2001 peace deal, have had patchy success, with sporadic violence continuing to claim lives.

But senior negotiators say the latest incident, the worst single attack in the region, has dealt a crippling blow to the fragile peace effort.

"With this incident we will have to start from scratch again," said Reynaldi Damaniq, who as the head of the Central Sulawesi Christian church, has been at the forefront of the peace efforts.

Damaniq in January this year set up with his Muslim counterpart Adnan Nazar the Humanitarian Alliance, a group of 40 representatives from both religions working to mend fences between the two communities.

"We have now to convince the people that this is not a matter of religion but of certain individuals, regardless of their faith, who do not want to see peace in this world," Damaniq told AFP.

Decades of violence in Sulawesi culminating in the brutal conflict of 2000 have seen thousands of people from both religions flee their homes and seek refuge from persecution and harassment.

While more than 85 percent of Indonesia's 214 million people are Muslims practicing a moderate and tolerant brand of the religion, Sulawesi's population is equally divided between Christianity and Islam.

Tensions between the two groups began emerging in the 1960s under a controversial transmigration policy which encouraged Muslims from the densely-populated main island of Java to fan out across the archipelago.

Many indigenous and Christian communities in Sulawesi and other parts of the country, including the troubled eastern Maluku island chain, felt their interests were being sidelined by Jakarta in its effort to reshape the nation. Tensions reached boiling point during the downfall of dictator Suharto in 1998, when the effects of the Asian financial crisis in Indonesia saw violence break out, much of it targeting ethnic Chinese and Christian communities.

In Sulawesi, open conflict broke out in 2000 and resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people before a tentative peace deal was struck.

Until Saturday, the Christian enclave of Tentena had been one of the few places in Sulawesi's Poso district where Muslims could live in peace with their Christian neighbours.

On May 23, Christians and Muslims both took part in a ceremony to mark the Islamic prophet Mohammed's birthday at the town's main mosque. "But now, things have certainly changed. The old animosity is back," Damaniq said.

Anger at the blast has stoked resentment towards the government and security forces, widely perceived as doing little to prevent the violence. Police reinforcements at the scene of the blast were greeted with jeers on Sunday.

"We are dissatisfied with the government and the police because whenever the victims are Christians, they are not serious in investigating the cases," said an emotional resident, housewife Rosalino Tamanyo, a 41-year-old homemaker. "What is happening is an outburst of accumulated disappointment among the population," Tamanyo said.

Damaniq said the priority of community leaders was primarily to ensure the perpetrators of the bombing were brought to justice, unhindered by sectarian differences. "Confidence building can only be tackled at a later stage," he said.

Both sides have been swift in their attempts to limit the damage. A delegation of Muslim leaders arrived from Poso on Sunday to meet their Christian counterparts to discuss how to lessen tensions. The Muslims have also sent ambulances, doctors, and medicines.

"It will not be an easy challenge to face but we are ready to take the chance, peace is imperative, we have been living in violence for too long," Damaniq added.

Police scour bombed Indonesian town

Australian Associated Press - May 29, 2005

Police forensic experts picked through the debris after two bombs ripped through a market in the Christian dominated town of Tentena, killing at least 20 people and leaving dismembered bodies laying amid piles of onions and tropical fruit.

Church leaders called for calm in the aftermath of the blasts, which were blamed on Islamic extremists. They were the deadliest terrorist attack in the world's most populous Muslim nation since the 2002 nightclub bombings on Bali island. At Tentana's only hospital, nuns lead special prayers and sang hymns in wards crowded with the wounded. Doctors who had been working through the night complained of a shortage of medicines and surgeons.

Tentena is on Sulawesi Island, where fighting between Muslims and Christians claimed at least 1,000 lives in 2000-2002 and attracted Islamic militants from around Indonesia, some of whom went on to join the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist group blamed for the Bali attack, security officials say.

"The bodies were lying everywhere. Some lost their legs or their arms," said Eman Longkar, who witnessed the blasts on Saturday and retrieved the corpse of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl from beneath the wreckage.

Witnesses said many of the victims had come to help those wounded in the first explosion, only to be killed by a larger explosion about 15 minutes later that left a one-metre-deep crater and damaged part of the market.

Church and hospital officials in Tentena said 20 people had died, but Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said that 22 people had perished. It was unclear who was correct.

Nineteen of the dead were Christians, the hospital said. One identified and unclaimed corpse lay in the hospital's morgue covered by a bloody sheet.

Police experts from Jakarta took traces of explosives from the crater and took photos of the debris. Bloody sandals and clothing remained amid fruit, vegetables and dried fish.

In the hospital, worried relatives sat close to their loved ones saying prayers.

"I hope the perpetrators will be arrested soon," said Gefri Galombe, a 32-year-old student with shrapnel wounds on his leg. "God will avenge the perpetrators of this attack, not us." Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is on a state visit to Vietnam, said he had ordered police to arrest the perpetrators, but declined to speculate on the identity of the attackers.

"I don't want to be too hasty in saying who did this, but what is clear is that I have instructed all the relevant parties to arrest the perpetrators," he was quoted as saying Sunday by state news agency Antara. "Just wait and see." Muslims account for 90 per cent and Christians about eight per cent of people in Indonesia. But central Sulawesi and other outlying areas have roughly equal Muslim and Christian populations.

Most of the country's Muslims practice a moderate version of the faith. But attacks against Christians have increased since ex- dictator Suharto's downfall in 1998, and amid a global rise in Islamic radicalism. Suharto enforced secularism as part of national security policies.

Rinaldy Damanik, a Christian clergyman and leader of the Synod Churches of Central Sulawesi, called on Christians in the region not to retaliate for the blasts. "That is what the terrorists want us to do," he said. "Still, there is a limit to the patience of the people." Others were also careful not to fan already deep tensions.

"The Christian people here do not want revenge," said police Sergeant Sumondak.

The blasts came just two days after warnings of unspecified attacks prompted the United States to close its embassy and other diplomatic offices in Indonesia until further notice.

Police said they did not know of any specific threats against Americans, but that they have intelligence indicating that Malaysian terrorist suspects Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top might be planning more attacks. Their targets are typically Western-related.

National police spokesman Major General Anang Budihardjo, said he could not rule out the possibility that Azahari had played a role in the latest Poso bombing.

Three die in fresh clash in Maluku

Jakarta Post - May 25, 2005

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon -- Fresh clashes have erupted in West Maluku Tenggara regency, Maluku on Friday, killing three people and injuring 51 others, police said on Monday.

According to chief of West Maluku Tenggara police, Comr. Pol. Rudi Heru Susanto, the clash between residents in Arma and Watmuri villages in Nirunmas district broke out on Friday, apparently triggered by conflict over the villages' sea border.

"The two villages have long had problems over their sea border. They are fighting over rights to collect sea cucumber in the conflict area," Rudi told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Friday's clash was the latest after a recent clash between the villagers in Dian Pulau and Dian Darat against Danar villagers in Maluku Tenggara regency, which killed one and injured 21 others.

The two villages, whose residents clashed on Friday, are separated by five-meter wide road and have a clear sea border. The villages are a six-hour journey from the town of Saumlaki, the capital of West Maluku Tenggara regency.

Rudi said the clash started during a clean-up drive at a community health center in Arma village on Wednesday. A minor incident upset some Watmuri villagers, and tension quickly escalated.

The clash erupted on Friday at 6 p.m. local time when Watmuri residents attacked Arma residents.

During the clash, an Arma villager died and 30 others were injured, while from Watmuri village two people died and 21 were injured.

"They were hit by blades, arrows and spears. Some are lightly injured but there are also some who were seriously injured in the incident. The victims are now being treated at a community health center in Nirunmas district," Rudi explained.

A medical team from West Maluku Tenggara regency would go to the villages on Tuesday to help treat the injured victims, he added.

In order to maintain security in the two villages, West Maluku Tenggara police has deployed 17 police officers and five Mobile Brigade personnel to the area.

Nirunmas district police have also deployed five officers to the border between two villages.

"Latest reports say that the situation in the two villages is under control. In the meantime, we'll investigate the case to find out who was responsible for the attack," he said.

As of Monday, he said, no villagers involved in the clash had been arrested. Police, he added, were still focusing on dealing with the security situation.

 Focus on Jakarta

Council spots failures in Sutiyoso report

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2005

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Factions in the City Council Monday have given a thumbs-down to Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech, saying that his administration had failed to reach its 2004 targets and that it was trying to cover up its failures.

The Prosperous Justice Party faction, the largest faction with 18 representatives in the 75-member City Council, suggested that Sutiyoso's growth claim in his speech was misleading.

Sutiyoso claimed in his speech delivered on May 18 that junior high school participation levels went up from 91.81 percent in 2003 to 92.63 percent in 2004.

"The growth is far below the 2004 target of 94.10 percent," said councillor Muhayar, who read out the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)'s response to Sutiyoso's accountability speech on Monday.

Sutiyoso also said in his report that senior high participation grew from 68.26 percent in 2003 to 70.36 percent in 2004. However, the achievement was still lower than the 2004 target of 71.20 percent.

"Please explain whether or not the speech is designed to cover up the administration's failures to attain its 2004 targets set in 2003," said Muhayar.

Gandhi Sulhani of the Golkar Party faction also highlighted the administration's failure to collect money from taxes imposed on entertainment centers, with the administration only managing to secure Rp 107.78 billion in revenue representing 98 percent of the targeted Rp 110 billion.

The tax imposed on entertainment centers, like massage parlors and discotheques, was the only tax item which failed to reach the target out of the total 12 kinds of taxes. Others successfully exceeded the targets.

Gandhi recommended that the administration consider adopting an online tax collection system in order to cut red-tape and thus make the tax system more transparent to the public.

"It is urgent for the administration to adopt such an online system as it is targeting to collect city revenues up to Rp 20 trillion in 2007," Gandhi said.

The administration managed to garner Rp 11.54 trillion last year, or 104.85 percent of its targeted Rp 11.01 trillion.

Mohammad Rusly of the United Development Party faction put the spotlight on the administration's civil servants, whom he said where simply not performing.

"Based on our faction's observations, many civil servants spent their working day chatting or reading newspapers. We often see them hanging around in canteens and other places outside their offices during office hours," Rusly said.

Rusly added that many officers were assigned to positions that were not in accordance with their competence or background.

"Worse still, poor supervision by the City Audit Agency (Bawasda) also failed to deter undisciplined officials from repeating their wrongdoings," he asserted.

Bawasda received 178 reports from the public over irregularities implicating city officials, of which 71 were proven valid. It has also imposed sanctions on 113 civil servants, but only two were eventually brought to court.

Meanwhile, Syamsidar Siregar of the National Mandate Party faction criticized Sutiyoso for failing to make his accountability report "detailed, clear and comprehensive." "We ask the administration to elaborate on how budget allocations have tangible outputs and impact for residents," Syamsidar said.

Jakartans suffer from 'discriminating' public service

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2005

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta -- Economic, religious and racial discrimination and cronyism are widespread in Jakarta's public service at the subdistrict level, a new survey says.

A report from the Indonesian Institute for Civil Society (INCIS) also shows that residents here doubt if Governor Sutiyoso has the ability to stop corruption at the local level.

"The result of the survey indicate that officials discriminate when they carry out their public service duties," INCIS director Ace Hasan Syadzily said during the weekend.

The survey, made in cooperation with the European Union and the international Partnership Foundation, was carried out in March through direct interviews of 480 respondents in 80 subdistricts, and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

Questions addressed to respondents covered 14 items of public service provision, including the issuing of public documents such as certificates of birth, death, marriage, land and divorce as well as the KTP identity cards.

At least 57.6 percent of respondents said that officials would promptly attend to their needs only if they were offered extra money, while 36.5 percent said they received a quick response due to a friendship or family relationships with officials. About 5.9 percent believed they were treated differently because of their religion, ethnic background or political party affiliations.

In a response to another question, the survey showed that 51.5 percent of respondents said that public officials did not pay attention to poor residents, including 11.3 percent who said that government officials completely ignored them.

"Ideally, each citizen receives equal rights and receives equal treatment regardless their economic standing, friendship, religion, race and political affiliations," Ace said.

The respondents considered the long process to apply for documents as the most serious problem in the public service. A total of 21.9 percent of respondents complained about the long process; 20.2 percent cited corruption in the form of bribery as the biggest problem, while 14.2 percent pointed to the lack of a service mentality in officials, with 12.2 percent saying the procedures were too complicated.

The study also shows that 54.4 percent of respondents expected that it should take from one to seven days to process and issue documents. The Jakarta administration does not set standard lengths of time for all services.

Chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) Azas Tigor stressed that demands for bribes were still rampant in the public service, not only in subdistricts, but at all levels of the bureaucracy.

Tigor said without bribes, officials were reluctant to serve residents. "I think the administration needs to give serious attention to these problems... and [the survey] is more evidence that poor residents do not receive equal treatment from the administration," he said at a recent seminar.

Respondents also gave the thumbs-down to a question about whether Governor Sutiyoso had the ability to eradicate corruption at the subdistrict level.

Sutiyoso, however, was credited with an ability to make officials more disciplined, with 66.9 percent of respondents saying they believed he could improve their behavior. "Jakarta people believe that Sutiyoso will be able to discipline his officials because he is a former military officer," Ace said.

 Gender issues

Specific rape legislation demanded

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2005

Hera Diani, Jakarta -- After seven years, the reported rapes of more than 60 women, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, during the riots in May 1998 remain unresolved.

Many other cases of rape and sexual assault only end up in embarrassment and further trauma for the victims if they dare to report the attacks, as even law enforcers often accuse them of having "aroused" or "encouraged" the rapists by dressing "provocatively" or walking alone at night.

Last March in Bengkulu, a woman was arrested for wounding a man, while all she did, according to her, was defend herself against a rape attempt.

Given the country's poor record of handling rape cases and rape victims, legal expert and women's activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said it was high time for the government to enact specific rape legislation.

The existing Criminal Code is not comprehensive and specific enough with regard to rape, she argued. Court hearings based on the code have always associated rape with morality crimes, and thus the articles on rape are aimed at protecting moral values instead of protecting women.

"It's not a crime against morality, but a crime against integrity. The international community has even declared it to be a crime against humanity," Nursyahbani, also a National Awakening Party (PKB) legislator, told a discussion recently.

Rape is worse than murder, she said, yet the victims here continue to be traumatized after the crime, during questioning by police and prosecutors, and during court trials.

"Gender insensitivity at all levels -- in the family, society, state and among law enforcers -- has turned rape into an unpunished crime," Nursyahbani said.

The excessively general provision Nursyahbani was referring to is Article 285 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that any person who, with the use of violence or threat of violence, forces a woman to have sex with them out of wedlock, can face up to 12 years in prison.

Aside from emphasizing morality, another weakness of the article, according to Nursyahbani, was the narrow definition of rape. The Criminal Code, she said, ignores marital rape, fails to provide for compensation and minimum sentences, and failed to provide protection for women.

The Criminal Law Procedures Code also contained some weaknesses regarding evidence (covering witness testimony, and statements by experts and suspects), the obligation to report to the police first for physical evidence purposes instead of seeking medical help, the absence of special procedures to protect victims and a lack of monetary assistance for victims.

The draft revised criminal code also narrows the definition of rape to sexual intercourse. Sexual harassment or assault on children under 18 years old and employees will not be categorized as rape.

Under the draft, victims can also be discriminated based on their sexual behavior and social status, as provided for in Article 496, which categorizes women as married/not married or well behaved/not well behaved, Nursyahbani said.

She suggested that the definition of rape be extended so as not to be limited to penetration alone, but also include any contact between the male genitalia or any foreign object and the female genitalia without her consent. "The definition must also cover people of the same sex and transvestites," she said.

Victims must also have the right to receive counseling and legal aid, to seek damages and to be informed about the legal status of their case. Examinations by psychologists and psychiatrists, Nursyahbani added, should be accepted as evidence instead of just medical examinations.

"In short, the rape legislation must incorporate principles that are holistic and woman friendly."

 Health & education

Indonesian polio outbreak cripples kids

Associated Press - May 24, 2005

Margie Mason -- Big tears stream down Siti Fauziah's cheeks as she snuggles her doll and buries her face into her mother's shoulder. She's lost her balance and fallen again, as the 4 1/2- year-old learns what it means to live with polio.

Siti is one of 14 children in Indonesia now struggling to walk because of paralysis, victims of the country's first polio outbreak in a decade. She and the others from a few poor mountain villages in West Java may never fully recover, leaving their parents stunned and asking why.

As Siti walks across the concrete floor of her crude cement home, her right leg drags behind after her left, forcing her to limp. "I want to go ride my bicycle," she cries.

But when she climbs onto the tiny plastic bike with training wheels, her leg is too weak to turn the pedal. Her older sister helps push, but it doesn't stop Siti's tears.

"She just sits on the bike and the other kids pull her around," said Siti's mom, Sumarnah, speaking her native language, Bahasa Indonesia. "When she grows up, I cannot imagine what she can do with this."

Siti lives in Giri Jaya village, high in the mountains off a crumbled road just wide enough for a small car. It's only about 62 miles south of Jakarta, but the remote village might as well be thousands of miles from the capital for those who live there.

Emerald rice fields dot the landscape along with cassava and banana trees. The only major traffic comes from trucks at nearby bottled water companies, which have set up purification plants to tap the fresh mountain spring water.

Ironically, it's the untreated water below that carries polio. Small ponds and reservoirs of brown water are everywhere along the road, often filled with children bathing and splashing or women washing clothes or dishes. Many villagers have no running water or bathrooms, allowing sewage to seep into water flowing into the crude, outdoor wash areas.

Polio is spread through feces, contaminating water which infects people who have not been vaccinated. It usually attacks young children, targeting the nervous system, causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death. The disease has been eradicated in much of the world, but remains endemic in Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt.

Polio hadn't been seen in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, since 1995. Officials say it most likely was imported from Saudi Arabia after a migrant worker or religious pilgrim returned home. More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people have been vaccinated against polio, health officials say, but pockets without coverage remain.

Siti's 33-year-old mother knows nothing of this. She initially thought her daughter simply broke her leg and was shocked to learn that the water flowing into a small pond used for bathing below her house was likely to blame. She had never taken any of her four children to get vaccinations because they had always been healthy and she had heard immunizations could cause fever or diarrhea.

Her only income comes from her husband, a tailor who works five hours away, bringing home about $21 each month when he comes to visit. The family has no phone, or running water and is lucky to eat meat twice a year. Siti's father found out about his daughter's polio after he saw her on a TV news report at work and rushed home to be with her.

Just a few houses over, Yayat Nurhayati sits cradling 20-month old Fikri, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. The toddler's big brown eyes are lively and he giggles while watching a group of children nearby. But when he squirms and tries to get down, his mom pulls him back onto her lap.

Until last month, Fikri was running through the dirt yard among chickens and playing ball with the other kids. Now, when Yayat tries to stand him up, his chubby right leg buckles under the weight and hangs limp.

His left arm was also affected and while he can still move it, he's unable to raise it over his head.

"When he sees his friends playing around here, he wants to go but he cannot move," said Yayat, 30. "I'm afraid that he cannot walk again. I'm afraid that he cannot do anything."

She said she had never heard the word "polio" before Fikri became the first child in the outbreak. He came down with a high fever that left him sweaty and unable to move his legs. And even after learning that his condition could have been prevented with a couple drops of oral vaccine, Yayat still remained skeptical -- Fikri's older brother died about three years ago, a couple of weeks after getting a shot.

"I really regret that this happened to my son," she said. "I would have liked to have had Fikri vaccinated, but I'm still afraid."

Both Fikri and Siti have been vaccinated since being diagnosed with polio, and about 6,000 other children in the surrounding villages have also been immunized, the World Health Organization says. Indonesia plans to vaccinate 5.2 million children under age 5 by July.

It's unknown whether the two children will ever have full use of their legs again, but there is still hope the paralysis will lessen, said Arun Thapa, WHO's regional adviser for polio in Southeast Asia, who investigated the Indonesian outbreak.

Both children have shown improvement -- when they first got sick, they were unable to move their legs at all. But they still cry out in pain at night. Exercise and therapy are essential to keep the muscles active, and the parents have been given vitamins to help supplement what's missing from their diets. But the mothers worry that their children -- who were running and playing just last month -- will spend the rest of their lives serving as reminders of a disease everyone thought was gone.

"In this day and age, it's very tragic when kids in a polio-free country have to be paralyzed because of polio," Thapa said. "It's terrible."

 Police/law enforcement

Policemen arrested at drug party

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2005

Bandar Lampung -- Ten police officers were apprehended by Lampung Police's crime and security team in a raid on a drug party at a cafe in Tulusrejo village, Pekalongan district in East Lampung on Monday.

From the cafe, allegedly owned by a member of the East Lampung Police's internal affairs unit, the arrested officers were immediately taken to Lampung Police Headquarters for urine tests. Seven of the 10 officers, who were between 19 and 25 years old, tested positive for drugs.

"The tests indicate that only seven took drugs. Their urine samples have since been sent to the Palembang Police forensics lab," said Lampung Police narcotics chief Comr. Edi Swasono.

The seven officers were taken into custody, while the three who tested negative could still face sanctions for unbecoming behavior. Edi added that the cafe's owner would be treated as a witness.

Lampung Police have fired 30 officers involved in drug cases and other crimes in the past year.

 Business & investment

Pertamina runs out of gas in unleaded fuel campaign

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2005

Jakarta -- The government campaign for the use of unleaded gasoline nationwide is facing a major obstacle as state oil and gas company Pertamina says the program targets are currently beyond its capacity.

Pertamina marketing director Ari Soemarno admitted on Monday that the company would be unable to provide unleaded gasoline nationwide by the end of this year due to operational, procurement and funding constraints.

"It will be difficult to accomplish, although we are ready if the government agrees and is committed to helping us," Soemarno told The Jakarta Post.

He said that to meet the target, an additional US$4 trillion to $5 trillion in government subsidies would be needed given the current oil price of between $58 and $59 per barrel on the world market.

The program was initiated by the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2003. However, the company experienced problems in modifying its oil refineries in Balongan, West Java, and Cilacap, Central Java, to increase the production of unleaded gas. As a result, the fuel is currently only available in Greater Jakarta, Cirebon, Bali and Batam Island, accounting for about 25 percent of the country's gasoline demand.

State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar announced on Sunday a plan to revive the program to ensure the use of unleaded gasoline across the nation by the end of this year and called for all the stakeholders, particularly Pertamina, to get involved. Separately, Pertamina spokesman Muhammad Harun said the company would only be able to supply unleaded gasoline throughout Java by August or September, given the company's existing capacity.

He said that the additional demand would be met by the Balongan refinery. "We can assure you that Pertamina will be able to supply unleaded gasoline to all of Java by the end of this year. We will probably even be able to accomplish this by August or September," he said.

He said that Pertamina had been providing unleaded gasoline to Greater Jakarta and Cirebon in West Java, while the demand for unleaded gasoline in Bali and Papua had already been met.

Harun said that the company had so far been trying to gradually decrease the lead content in its gasoline. "The lead component has now been decreased to 0.07 cc/us gallon for Premium and will eventually be reduced to O cc/us gallon," he said.

According to Pertamina, national consumption per day of Premium gasoline amounts to 42,000 kiloliters (kl), whereas consumption in Java amounts to 25,000 kl a day.

"In Jakarta, consumption reaches 9,000 kl per day, or about 20 percent of national consumption," he said, adding that if Pertamina could meet the demand for unleaded gasoline in Java alone, that would mean that more than 50 percent of the country would already be lead free.

Indonesia's investment hurdles

Asia Times - May 26, 2005

Bill Guerin, Jakarta -- A former aide to Indonesia's pro-business President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono took over the reins of Indonesia's powerful Investment Coordination Board (BKPM) last week, at a time when it was officially confirmed that investment approvals in Southeast Asia's largest economy had almost doubled in the first four months of this year. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that in January to April, US$4.94 billion of investment was approved compared with $2.59 billion in the first four months of last year.

Muhammad Luthfi, a former chairman of the Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI), replaces Theo F Toemion, who resigned after allegations that he had gone on a violent rampage at the Jakarta International School on April 18 made international headlines.

Doing business in Indonesia

The Indonesian cabinet includes several former businessmen, and high on the wish list of the business community has been that coordinated leadership in the new, pro-business government will lead to firm action, not just mere pledges. The most pressing task for Luthfi will be to help finalize the long-awaited draft investment bill, which is expected to expedite coordination among relevant ministries and should slash the time needed to start up businesses.

According to the World Bank's survey, "Doing Business in 2005", Indonesia is one of the slowest places in Asia to start a new enterprise, enforce a contract or go through the process of insolvency. The survey shows that it takes an average of about five months to start up a business in Indonesia. Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie has reportedly set a target of cutting the time needed to start up businesses to only 30 days.

"We expect the new BKPM head to immediately finalize the investment bill under the coordination of the trade minister, as domestic and foreign investors have long been waiting for the new legislation," Bakrie said during the official ceremony to install Luthfi. "There is no point in having numerous new investment approvals if none of them materialize."

Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar and State Minister for Planning and Development Sri Mulyani have both promised to improve legal certainty. Mulyani has said her office and other ministries are working hard to complete infrastructure-related regulations. Of the 11 regulations planned, only three have been completed so far -- those on energy, toll roads and water. She also said the new investment law, when enacted, would give better protection to foreign investments by treating them equally and abolishing the current requirement for divestment to Indonesian-owned enterprises after a specified period of time.

Promotion needed

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) says in its recent study titled "Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Review" that it is important for a potential host country to undertake investment-promotion policies to "fill in information or correct perception gaps that may hinder foreign direct investment inflows".

Japan has invested more than $283 billion in Indonesia since 1967 and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is scheduled to sign an investment agreement with Yudhoyono in Tokyo later this month. Singapore and Indonesia plan a joint investment mission to Japan before the end of the year. Singapore is one of the top five investors in Indonesia, and the two countries signed an investment guarantee pact in February. The UK is the second- biggest investor in Indonesia after Japan, with last year's total $1.32 billion up slightly from 2003's $993.2 million. The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and the British Committee of Industry (KIKI) plan a road show in the UK in June to promote business opportunities in Indonesia.

So far, however, there has been no mention of any planned go-it- alone investment promotion on the part of the government. The UN body also said that developing countries should undertake investment-promotion policies, increase budgets for investment promotions to attract more foreign equity, and establish one-stop investment promotion agencies that could facilitate foreign inflows by lowering administrative delays and costs.

In Indonesia, BKPM had previously acted as such a one-stop shop and was authorized to process all investment permits and many other licenses related to businesses. However, hand in hand with the reshuffle at the top, the government has now reduced the status of the BKPM, stripped it of its licensing authority, and put it under the Ministry of Trade.

No details have been announced on any new plans to facilitate licensing applications for businesses, though some reports suggest that in the future public notaries will be authorized to do the entire running around between the various ministries and departments to help speed up the process and obtain all necessary permits, thus saving investors the trouble of doing the footwork.

Billions expected

Indonesia's need for foreign investment is particularly acute. The country will need some $150 billion for infrastructure development projects over the next five years. The government is only ready to finance less than 20% of these, with local and international investors expected to put up the rest. Some 91 projects worth $22 billion were offered at the so-called Infrastructure Summit in Jakarta in January and several more, worth around $57.5 billion, are expected to be offered in November.

Bakrie has said that these projects should return around 15% on investments, a view at variance with that of at least one major building contractor. Australian Ray Hodgson, president of PT Leighton Contractors Indonesia, though conceding that investment opportunities in Indonesia are abundant, particularly in infrastructure, said the risks are still high and returns need to be more attractive. "Risk is the key in determining a project's viability and the government tends to underestimate the multitude of risks involved," he told delegates at the Indonesia-Australia Business Conference in Bali last month. Indonesia, he noted, has quite a high investment risk. So investors demand returns in the range of 20-30% a year.

Minister of Transport Hatta Rajasa raised a few eyebrows last week when stating that although five investors had expressed interest in buying a large stake in state-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati), he was not willing to allow foreign airlines to dominate the country's airline sector. "I am against selling up to 49% of a state company, especially an airline, to foreign investors," Rajasa was quoted as saying.

Whether this remark could be taken as evidence of likely parliamentary resistance to the sale of government assets -- not an unusual sentiment in Indonesia's corridors of power for even debt-ridden units like the ailing Merpati -- is arguable. But the government will need the full support of legislators to run with its plans to help restore investor confidence. It's not so much a lack of policies that discourage investors -- it's more the inconsistency in implementing existing policies. The same goes for the legal system. It's a consistent and transparent implementation of existing laws that is lacking and has led in the past to such a high-profile negative image of Indonesia as a place to make large investments.

Yet Vice President Jusuf Kalla told investors at a Singapore business forum last week that the government hoped to make policy changes. "We hope that within two years, we will be making a lot of changes," he said, assuring them that the government would follow through with its pro-business policy. Such a new momentum could all turn out to be very good news on the investment front, if the planned measures are all properly coordinated but, unfortunately, there is a sting in the tail. Any required reforms and legislation that may be needed to make good on pledges and promises made by the government could easily get bogged down in parliament.

Trade Minister Mari E Pangestu said the government was pushing for the new investment bill to be deliberated this year, as it has not yet been listed on the schedule of bills to be debated by the House. The bill will provide guarantees against nationalization and expropriation, and guarantee the right to repatriate profits. "Considering that improving the investment climate is one of the cabinet's priorities, we are seeking ways to put the bill on the legislators' schedule for deliberation this year." The hardest task may be getting legislators to even turn up to debate the bill.

The 550 legislators in the House of Representatives (DPR) are broadly split into two groups -- those who support the president and the government, and those who do not. But they have been so busy arguing that they have not passed any laws since taking office last October. Very few bills have been drafted and a plenary session was adjourned this month as fewer than 100 lawmakers were present.

[Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has worked in Indonesia for 19 years as a journalist. He has been published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in business/economic and political analysis in Indonesia.]

Government points to progress, chronic problems remain

Jakarta Post - May 25, 2005

Jakarta -- A persistently high unemployment rate and the problem of chronic graft in the bureaucracy leading to a high cost economy are overshadowing the current administration's successes in maintaining macroeconomic stability, a government report shows.

The recent soaring of global oil prices and interest rates, meanwhile, could also loom as potential risks that could derail Indonesia's economy, which is projected to produce growth of as much as 6.2 percent this year.

Presenting a report on the country's economic progress during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first six months in office, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie admitted that unemployment was still high despite economic growth of over 6 percent in the past two quarters, and that the government had not yet been able to address it.

"The rate at which the economy has been growing so far is still insufficient to create enough jobs for the country's unemployed," he said. "We still need growth of 6.6 percent to be able to halve the unemployment and poverty rates over the next five years."

Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.13 percent last year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported, creating only some 2 million new jobs. The country's unemployment figure currently stands at 10.3 million people, or some 10 percent of the total workforce.

During his presidential campaign, Susilo promised to create 15 million new jobs during his five-year term -- or three million jobs annually -- on an average economic growth rate of 6.6 percent per year.

A recent report from the manpower ministry said 22,647 workers in the formal sector had lost their jobs in the first quarter of this year as companies shut down or downsized.

Accordingly, Aburizal said that the government would therefore push the economy to grow further than its earlier estimate of 5.5 percent for this year, focusing on labor-intense investments in the agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors.

And the government was upbeat about this, Aburizal said, as the BPS reported earlier this month that Indonesia's economy managed to grow by 6.35 percent during this year's first quarter, following last year's final quarter growth of 6.65 percent -- both on the back of improving foreign direct investment (FDI).

"Investment is picking up, and we expect the trend to continue until the end of the year," he said. "With this, we're quite sure that the economy will be able to grow between 5.8 percent and 6.2 percent this year."

The government, however, still faces a daunting task in improving the country's investment climate, particularly in eradicating rampant corruption and graft throughout the country. Citing the example of illegal fees at the country's ports, Aburizal said the government would conduct a thorough review of the legal fees charged by ports.

"From there, we will conduct regular, on-site enforcement programs to prevent illegal fees from creeping in again," he said, adding that the government would also review the relevant investment laws to cut the time needed to set up a business from 158 days to 30 days.

 Opinion & analysis

Several basic questions for Indonesian economists

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2005

Dita Indah Sari, Jakarta -- The debate over the pros and cons of the fuel price increase has begun to become dreary. Even though in many regions voices of opposition can still be heard, the peak of the debate has already passed.

Unlike previous plans to increase the price of fuel, this time the polemic between economists in the mass media was both extensive and open. The opinion pages of many newspapers were filled with articles criticizing each respective position. This is a positive development, not just for the academic community but also for the general public, because the people were exposed to and able to consider alternative thinking.

However, separate from this, the debate that emerged in the mass media and at seminars failed to touch upon a fundamental solution for our economy. It is true that the neo-liberal economic policies of the government have been subject to open criticism by many economists. The criticism of the continued dependency upon the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for example, pressured the government to formally end its cooperation with the IMF at the end of 2003.

There has also been no shortage of critics of other policies that are neo-liberal in orientation, such as the reduction of import tariffs, the removal of minimum taxes, privatization, the basic cost of unhulled paddy, the reduction of fertilizer subsidies, etc. However, once again, the solutions being offered are partial and do not yet constitute an alternative packet that is both structurally and operationally different from what has been carried out up until now.

One fundamental question that is often put forward is how to transform agrarian production in this country into a modern agriculture industry. Changing the mode of traditional agriculture with its low productivity will only be possible if it is accompanied by growth in basic industry, which must be capable of producing engines, fertilizer and seeds that can be accessed by farmers at the lowest possible cost.

The restructuring of national industry needs to be prioritized in order to fulfill the needs of the rural sector, because it is this sector that has the highest rates of unemployment.

Our economists have yet to put forward a clear plan of action in relation to this. There was fierce protest over the removal of fertilizer subsidies. However, the concept of national industrialization focused on the rural sector has not yet become a strong enough platform from which to challenge government policy (and that of their economists), which prefers to surrender the future of Indonesian farmers to the "wisdom" of the market.

There has not been a concrete proposal as to how to maximize existing resources and potential in order to develop basic industry.

The abandonment of two fertilizer factories in Aceh is a clear example of how the development of national industry has not been a priority for the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla.

What are the solutions being offered by economists to resolve these problems? There also has not yet been a debate regarding how to overcome the problem of dependency upon imports, which constitutes the main structural problem of our nation's economy. Even though this dependence has long been known as the cause of the high cost of production, there has yet to emerge a clear alternative that clearly articulates the steps that must be prioritized in order to overcome this dependence.

Successfully developing basic industry is the first step toward reducing our dependence upon imports. Material and technological capital that we can produce ourselves is not only capable of reducing production costs to the point that they are competitive, but in the longer term can also create a stronger and more stable economic structure. Moreover, Indonesia is such a rich country, filled with natural resources. Why have economists not objected to this export orientation on raw goods? Particularly considering that raw good exports are followed by the import of consumer goods from overseas countries, which, ironically, get their raw materials from Indonesia.

Is it necessary to limit the export of raw goods and agricultural produce, so that these goods can be used to revive national industry? Is it necessary to limit natural gas exports to Japan and South Korea in order not to disturb the national fertilizer industry? If human capital is crucial for economic productivity, is it necessary to prohibit completely the privatization of the pharmaceutical industry, health care and education? Why is the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) only concerned about distributing and stabilizing the price of rice? What about the other agricultural and manufacturing products? Who is responsible for protecting their markets and prices? Should labor flexibility and the work contract system be maintained when there is no social safety net for those who are fired or made redundant?

There are many questions that have yet to be answered by our economists. Alternative ideas that oppose mainstream economics, however, do not receive attention in the mass media. This is the reality. However small the space for discourse may now be, it is time to clearly differentiate between the different concepts and types of economic thinking.

The battle between economists is the consequence of a constantly changing political situation, which forces people to make a choice. The people, in making a choice in accordance with their own interests, need something to guide them. Without alternative ideas, conveyed in their entirety, the people will have a difficult time imagining what this "better Indonesia" will look like.

[The writer is chairwoman of the Democratic People's Party (PRD). She can be reached at ditadanburuh@yahoo.com.]


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