News & issues

Migrant workers abuse on the rise

Jakarta Post - September 28, 2005

Fadli, Batam -- Lured by promises of a high salary and better working conditions, Oneng left her hometown in the West Java town of Cianjur to work as a maid in Malaysia with high hopes.

But these hopes were soon dashed. After working in Johor Bahru for just a month, the 35-year-old ended up in the Batam City's welfare office on Tuesday, lying helplessly in a worn-out bed, injured and poor.

She was sent back home by the Consulate General's office in Johor Bahru along with five other Indonesian migrant workers after her employer callously abandoned her on the road. Oneng suffered pelvic injuries after she fell to the ground from the second- floor apartment where she worked.

"After learning that I fell and could not walk normally, my employer left me at an intersection in Johor Bahru. I could only cry there until a person took me to the Consulate General's office in Johor," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Oneng was originally sent to Johor Bahru from Batam through a manpower agent to work as a maid with a set salary of RM 450 per month. But she never got paid.

"I had just arrived and started work in Malaysia but then I suffered this misfortune. I have no money to bring back home while my stomach is in great pain... I just want to go home," Oneng said in tears. Doctors say the woman has injuries to her rib that will take weeks to heal.

Of the five other workers sent back to Batam by the Consulate General with Oneng, all complained being unpaid and abused by their employees.

Hasana, a 27-year-old native of East Java town of Jember, claimed she left Malaysia after being prohibited from praying. "My prayer clothes were thrown away by my employer who did not allow me to pray. I couldn't take it, so I went to a police station. The police then took me to the Consulate General," she said.

Batam City Social Services Office social insurance and assistance division head Zulfikar Idham said an increasing number of Indonesian migrant workers in difficulty were using the help of the service to return to Batam.

Last year, the office received 175 Indonesian migrant workers, while until September this year it had already accommodated 222 workers, mostly women, Zulfikar said.

"The number of troubled workers who are being sent back by the Consulate General keeps on increasing in number, while the city administration only sets aside a limited budget to deal with the problem. We need the central government's attention to help deal with this matter," he said.

The city's budget was only enough assist about 100 workers a year, with each person receiving a maximum of Rp 400,000 in aid.

"We accommodate them for three to four days, then we send them back to their home cities. If there are those who are mentally ill, we'll send them to a mental hospital in Pekanbaru. So far we've sent two mentally ill workers there. But the budget is very limited, forcing our superior to allocate more funds from other areas to help deal with the workers' problems," Zulfikar said.

Even if the office can help send the maids home, it can do little to pursue legal recourse in Malaysia to get justice for people like Oneng. Malaysian law gives little protection to overseas migrant workers.

Some 100,000 Indonesian maids reportedly work in Malaysia, receiving a salary of around US$100 a month and many are forced to work long hours with little protection from labor laws.

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch warned earlier this year that foreign maids in Malaysia were prey to physical, psychological and sexual abuse because of flawed government policies. The New York-based group called on the Malaysian government to give the country's 240,000 domestic workers -- more than 90 percent of them from Indonesia -- the same legal protections as other employees.

It said Indonesian maids typically work grueling 16 to 18 hour days, without even a day off.

Left-leaning publications struggle to survive

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta -- Over four decades ago, an American political scientist predicted that in the near future, after the triumph of democratic politics and capitalism, ideology would be reduced to insignificance. Hence, the end of ideology. Today, such a prognosis sounds resoundingly true, with market capitalism and Western democracy taking hold, at least formally, in regions unthinkable as democracies just a decade ago -- Iraq and Afghanistan being the most fitting examples.

In Indonesia, the reign of the open market and of democracy has become a foregone conclusion: What remains to be discussed are nitty-gritty issues on the consequences of its adherence to the market mechanism such as the phasing out of ballooning subsidies and the sale of state assets to boost their effectiveness.

However, there are groups in society that have declined to adopt the conventional wisdom and have engaged in a campaign to disseminate alternative views -- leftist political thinking.

Although falling short of securing an influential mouthpiece like Britain's New Left Review and its book publisher Verso, or The Monthly Review in the US, leftist groups here take part in a dialog with those from opposing camps.

More than a decade after the downfall of communism, the groups still promote the ideas of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Fidel Castro, Ernesto "Che" Guevara and one of this country's most celebrated leftist thinkers, Tan Malaka.

The group, already abandoning the totalitarian tendency of Marxist thinking, now uses leftist ideas to make sense of, if not criticize, the prevailing order. The primary example of a left- leaning publication is Hasta Mitra publisher, owned by ex- political prisoner Joesoef Isak.

Run from a room in the back of Isak's house in South Jakarta, the publishing company recently saturated the book market with the Indonesian version of Marx's Das Kapital.

Hasta Mitra's struggle to survive, however, reflects much about the conditions of most leftist publications in the country.

If Hasta Mitra considered itself lucky to release 10 books a year, some leftist publications have had to scramble for resources to enable their products see the light of day at all.

Lack of funding an ever-present problem Kritik, a good-quality leftist publication that promotes democratic socialism, was forced to close down before it celebrated its second birthday in 2002.

"Funding has been a perennial problem for leftist publications like us, as we don't strive for commercial gain, so we are forced to close down due to lack of funds," former member of Kritik's editorial team Coen Hussain Pontoh told The Jakarta Post.

Pontoh said the money for Kritik was collected from magazine sales, a method also adopted by another left-leaning magazine, Media Kerjabudaya (Media for Cultural Work).

A serious quarterly on culture, with a circulation of 2,000, Media Kerjabudaya also depends on cash contributions made by members of its editorial staff.

After 11 editions, publication of Media Kerjabudaya has been suspended, probably until early next year. "We need to find younger staff to re-energize this newspaper," Media Kerjabudaya chief editor Razif told the Post.

Razif, also a lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ), said that apart from financial problems, his newspaper was also short of editorial staff.

The last edition of Media Kerjabudaya, before its hiatus and published in late 2003, carries an article written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who mused that Bahasa Indonesia was the language of revolution.

The inside of the front cover of the magazine also carries an excerpt from Marx's Das Kapital, which says: "... and this history, the plunder upon their lives has been inscribed with blood and fire in the book on the journey of the human race."

Despite financial woes, there is, however, one active leftist publication: Pembebasan (Liberation), a monthly newspaper published by the People's Democratic Party (PRD), which has striven to cater for the needs of its readers.

With a circulation of 5,000, Pembebasan was distributed mostly to party members, PRD chairwoman Dita Indah Sari told the Post.

Dita said that the general public did not seem to be interested in her newspaper simply because it was considered "heavy" as it ran in-depth coverage on certain topics.

"The public should read us more so that they would understand better the underlying foundation of our political position, and would not view us as just a naysayer," she said.

Among the greatest problems that currently bedevil Pembebasan is the lack of writers from the opposing camp who are willing to contribute to the newspaper. "We want to have a dialog but most people from the opposing camp simply don't want their names to appear in our paper," Dita said.

The most pressing problem for Pembebasan, however, as for any other leftist publication, is lack of funds.

"We are in need of money to continue publishing, but there is now way that we would accept ads from multinational corporations like Coca Cola," she said.

Fishermen skip Indramayu election

Jakarta Post - September 27, 2005

Indramayu -- An estimated 80,000 fishermen did not vote in the Indramayu regency election on Sept. 22, said Bachtiar of the Indramayu General Elections Commission on Monday.

The fishermen were among the 379,992 eligible voters who chose not to cast their ballots in the election, said Bachtiar. A total of 1,224,122 people were eligible to vote in the election.

A number of fishermen said they chose to skip the election because they did not trust any of the candidates. They said past experience had taught them that politicians did not fight for the interests of the people, so voting was a waste of time.

The election was won by the candidates from the Golkar Party, M.S. Syaifuddin and his running mate Herry Sudjati, who received 570,037 votes.

Fuel price hikes

Fuel price demonstrations turn violent

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Makassar/Yogyakarta/Cirebon/Bandung -- Despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's appeal earlier for peaceful rallies, protests against the upcoming fuel price hikes turned violent in several cities on Thursday, resulting in the arrest of several demonstrators.

Dozens of students demonstrating in Makassar, South Sulawesi, became involved in a minor clash with police officers guarding the private residence of Vice President Jusuf Kalla, after the protesters attempted to seal off the building.

The police had surrounded the house and installed a barbed-wire cordon 20 meters away from the building, preventing the students from getting through.

Furious, the students attempted to break through the barricade and threw stones at the police. After negotiations, the police later allowed several student representatives to read out their demands for the cancellation of the price hikes in front of Kalla's residence.

Elsewhere, a group of protesting students burnt used tires on the streets in Makassar, while hundreds of others broke a number of windows in the city's finance office with stones after they were prevented from entering the building. The violence was contained, however, and the protesters later dispersed.

Another clash broke out in Palu, Central Sulawesi, as hundreds of students tried to occupy a gas station on Jl. Pramuka, Antara reported.

After police prevented their entry to the filling station, the demonstrators started to hurl stones, injuring at least one police officer. Several students were also injured after the police chased the protesters and beat a number of them, before the crowd dispersed. Usman, an engineering student at Palu's Tadulako University, was briefly detained for his part in the protest.

Protesters were also arrested by police in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. Two students were taken into custody for distributing pamphlets calling for people to join their protests against the fuel price increases, which are to come into effect on Saturday.

Kupang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Nugroho said that Yohanis Brino Tolo and Johanis Ndeo were detained for their "provocative" writings, which criticized the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The arrests, Agus argued, were intended to prevent public unrest.

Both Yohanis and Johanis had previously participated in a student rally against the planned fuel price hikes, where demonstrators took over the local branch office of state radio RRI to air their demands. The students plan to stage further protests at various local government offices in the coming days.

In Cirebon, West Java, around 500 university students blocked the busy north coast highway connecting Jakarta and cities in East and Central Java. The blockade caused tailbacks of up to five kilometers in length, which lasted for around four hours. The police took no action to disperse the crowd. Traffic returned to normal at around 1 p.m.

A similar demonstration was staged in Bandung, involving more than 1,000 students and workers, who rallied outside the Sate Building on Jl. Diponegoro, which houses the offices of the West Java governor and the provincial legislative council. The protesters blocked the road for around two hours.

They said that the government's decision to increase fuel prices would make the people suffer further as they would lead to increases in the prices of other commodities. The students vowed to press ahead with more demonstrations until the government canceled the plan.

"We demand that corrupters be tried and their ill-gotten gains be confiscated before the government raises fuel prices," shouted one protester carrying a banner reading, "Fuel prices increase, corrupters walk free". The demonstrators failed in their attempt to break into the Sate Building, with the main entrance being guarded by around 700 police officers, including 200 women.

Susilo 'betrays election promises'

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Jakarta -- Thousands of students, workers, activists and farmers took to the streets across the country on Thursday to protest the plan to raise fuel prices by up to 80 percent, while motorists queued up at gas stations before the new prices take effect.

Carrying banners denouncing the fuel price hike, thousands of protesters from several student and worker organizations marched from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta to the front gate of the Presidential Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara.

"The plan to raise fuel prices shows that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla do not side with the people as they promised before they were elected," said Achmad of the Alliance of People's Demand (ARM), which claimed to field some 1,000 workers.

ARM arrived at the Presidential Palace at around 12 noon and were later joined by thousands of members of the Indonesian Youth Association, the Students Alliance, Youth for Reform and several other worker's groups.

Around 100 people wearing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) attributes also joined the rally, which proceeded peacefully.

Nevertheless, 5,000 police officers were in attendance at the protest. They also isolated the protesters by closing several accesses into and out of the Presidential Palace, causing traffic congestion along Jl. Veteran and Jl. Pecenongan in Central Jakarta.

"We have pulled our officers in Semanggi and the House of Representatives to three points along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin as protesters concentrate along that line," City police Chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said.

At 2:30 p.m., the protesters began to leave the Presidential Palace and by around 3 p.m. the situation had returned to normal.

Traffic jams, however, were spotted around gasoline stations across the city as motorists raced against time to fill their tanks before the government announced the price hike.

Lines of vehicles up to a kilometer in length formed at fuel stations in Kramat, Pejompongan and Senen in Central Jakarta, Jl. Lap. Ros in South Jakarta, triggering traffic jams in those areas. A gas station in Senen and another in Petamburan closed their premises on Thursday, putting up notices saying they had run out of Premium fuel.

Police said they were investigating whether the gas stations deliberately closed their pumps in order to stockpile fuel for higher profits after the price increases were announced. Anti- price hike protests and long queues at gasoline stations also took place in Surabaya, East Java, Medan in North Sumatra and Makassar in South Sulawesi.

Despite the protests, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Thursday that fuel prices would rise on Oct. 1 as any delay would cause the state to suffer an additional burden of Rp 11.67 trillion (US$1.13 billion) every month.

The amount, he was quoted as saying by presidential spokesman Andi Alfian Malarangeng, was equal to the cost needed to build some 1,000 new school buildings and provide free medication at third-class wards in state hospitals.

"President Susilo has said that there is no going back for this plan. Despite the widespread protests, the government has no other choice than to cut the fuel subsidy by raising fuel prices," he said.

Andi also said that there were indications that the protests were backed up by certain political parties out to overthrow the current government.

"Politicians should be fair and act like statesmen. The protests are obvious and we are allowing them. But, there are several politicians who want to take advantage of the situation for their personal gain," he said.

SBY warns against fueling violence

Jakarta Post - September 29, 2005

Jakarta -- While protests are mounting ahead of the government's announcement of the new fuel prices, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned the public against turning violent.

"Go ahead if you want to express yourselves by protesting, but don't burn or destroy things. (Peaceful expression) is what democracy is all about," Susilo said during a meeting with university rectors at the State Palace on Wednesday.

Susilo added that he could understand why people were challenging the government's policy to increase the gasoline, diesel and premium prices starting Saturday, and he respected the differences of opinion.

Any government policy, he said, had the potential to spark controversy among those that oppose something, but he asked protesters to provide adequate grounds for their opposition.

"Please, explain to the public why you oppose the plan. That's how good political education works," Susilo asserted.

He reiterated that the government's decision to raise fuel prices was made after consulting with the House of Representatives. In this time of hardship, Susilo added, the fuel subsidy cannot be retracted, but instead has to be reduced with the consequence of increasing fuel prices.

"But surely, our hearts go to the people. I'm deeply sad and my eyes are swollen for thinking day and night to find the way, so that the subsidy can reach people and not be embezzled." The rectors had met with the President to express their opposition to the fuel policy.

Protests against increases, meanwhile, continued nationwide, although they appeared to lose a bit of steam after the House approved the government's policy.

In Bandung, at least 20 students from the local Muslim college students union (KAMMI) burned a banner placed in front of the office of state oil and gas company Pertamina. The banner read: "The state budget is not just for a fuel subsidy: Save the fuel and energy." "Pertamina doesn't have the right to tell us to save energy, as many of its employees are corrupt," exclaimed KAMMI chairman Didi RSN.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, hundreds of students from various universities rallied at the University of Tanjungpura and the provincial legislature building.

They held coffins containing effigies of President Susilo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The students demanded a meeting with the council speaker Zulfadhli, but the he was said to be in Jakarta.

Another group of university students staged a peaceful protest at a number of gas stations they went to in Gorontalo, asking the central government to review the fuel policy.

They also demanded that the police investigate and imprison people who were hoarding fuel, which had resulted in the acute fuel scarcity at present.

"Fuel smuggling is not just because the price of fuel is too cheap compared to other countries, but mostly due to a lack of control from the government," one of the students argued.

In Pekanbaru, Riau, dozens of university students conducted "spot checks" on official cars bearing red plate numbers. The move caused severe traffic jams.

They held the car passengers hostage if they could not explain the purpose of using the vehicles, although later they were released.

Around 100 members of ultra right-wing Muslim organization Hizbut Tahrir in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan marched through the thoroughfares to protest the fuel policy. They said there must be other ways to reduce the subsidy rather than increasing the fuel prices.

The Hizbut Tahrir in Palembang, South Sumatra, also took to streets to condemn the price increases and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whom they claimed were real the impetus behind the government's controversial policy decision.

Indonesians protest ahead of fuel price rises

Reuters - September 29, 2005

Dean Yates, Jakarta -- Thousands of Indonesians staged noisy protests across the country on Thursday, some throwing rocks and burning tyres as they demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono drop a plan to raise fuel prices sharply.

But protest numbers fell far short of organizers' hopes and there was little violence, helping Jakarta stocks end 2 percent higher and reversing an early dip in the rupiah currency.

Tens of thousands of Indonesians queued at petrol stations in numerous cities to fill their tanks and plastic jerry cans before the sensitive hikes take effect on Saturday. The lines snarled traffic and many pumps were emptied.

Up to 2,000 protesters marched in Jakarta to the presidential palace, watched by hundreds of police.

"Fight it now! Fight the hikes!," "People have been fooled by SBY for too long!," students chanted as they marched, referring to the president by his initials. By late afternoon the protesters, a mix of students, workers and farmers, had disbursed.

Protests hit at least 11 cities besides Jakarta, local media said. In the eastern city of Makassar, students threw rocks at police. Protesters in several cities also burned tyres.

Yudhoyono has said he planned to raise fuel prices to help cut crippling energy subsidies and take pressure off the rupiah.

The chief economics minister said the size of the rise would be announced at 10.00 p.m. on Friday. The planning minister has said the hikes could average at least 50 percent.

One flashpoint could be midday Muslim prayers on Friday, often an occasion for groups to organize protests.

No one expects the protests to bring down the former general, who still commands wide popularity among the nation's 220 million people. When he raised fuel prices by 29 percent last March, nationwide demonstrations fizzled after a few days.

The rises will likely be bigger this time, come sooner than many expected and have an immediate knock-on effect on inflation. A big rise in fuel prices in May 1998 triggered rioting that was a factor in toppling former autocrat Suharto.

The rupiah hit a four-week low earlier on Thursday as investors feared protests could snowball into wider political unrest, although the currency later regained all its ground. By 0930 GMT, it was quoted at about 10,300 per dollar.

Huge queues

El Shinta news radio said queues at some petrol stations stretched for up to a kilometer in outlying areas of Indonesia. At one pump station in Jakarta, five police stood guard and made sure a queue reaching back 500 meters remained orderly.

"Last night I waited for one-and-a-half hours to buy petrol, and this morning I've been here more than an hour and am still here," said Zainal Arifin, 30, a public transport driver. State oil firm Pertamina said it would only add fuel stocks to the market in an emergency.

"If we supply all of it, it will be swallowed up. There will be a risk to our stock. What we will do is add supplies when it is really needed," Achmad Faisal, head of Pertamina's marketing division, told Reuters. He said Indonesia had enough oil products for about 21 days, near normal safe levels.

Yudhoyono has little choice but to gradually wean impoverished Indonesians off Asia's cheapest gasoline, at about 20 US cents a liter, and heavily subsidized kerosene used for cooking in the wake of the rupiah's near meltdown late last month.

Sky-high world oil prices have ratcheted up Indonesia's fuel subsidies, which will eat up nearly a fifth of this year's budget. While Indonesia produces oil, declining output has forced it to sell rupiah for dollars to pay for oil imports, hitting the currency and hurting the economy.

(Reporting by Telly Nathalia, Ade Rina, Achmad Sukarsono, Muklis Ali and Yoga Rusmana)

Fuel scarcity affects nation

Jakarta Post - September 29, 2005

Jakarta -- As the country braces for more street protests and panic buying ahead of the fuel price increase on Oct. 1, the fuel scarcity has created long lines on Wednesday at filling stations and kerosene distributors nationwide.

In Bandarlampung, the increased price of kerosene from Rp 800 to Rp 2,000 per liter made the three-day wait for the fuel -- which the nation's poorest people use for cooking -- all the more frustrating. Moreover, a purchase of five liters was the most a family could hope for. Several small-scale industries have reportedly switched from using kerosene to diesel fuel.

In some areas, like Way Kanan regency, the price of kerosene had surpassed that of Premium gasoline at Rp 3,000 per liter.

Ruslan, a kerosene agent in Bandarlampung, said he let customers deposit their empty containers with him out of pity.

He said he usually received 5,000 liters of kerosene every three days but, over the last month, he received it once a week. "Now we only get the supply once a week, on Saturdays, so it's not enough for all residents," said Ruslan.

In Harapanjaya subdistrict, a 200-liter supply of kerosene was quickly sold. "Once the kerosene supply arrives, customers storm in and it's gone within an hour," said Husin, the trader.

In Lempasing, South Lampung, residents pitted against fishermen who are now powering their boats with kerosene, while in Kotakarang subdistrict in Bandarlampung, kerosene was hard to come by as retailers preferred to sell it to fishermen at higher prices.

Head of state oil company Pertamina in Lampung, Amilin Ali, blamed the kerosene scarcity on panic buying ahead of the imminent fuel price increases.

Currently, he said, the company had a three-day supply of 2,700 kiloliters of Premium gasoline, 4,400 kiloliters of kerosene for six days and 17,400 kiloliters of diesel oil for 11 days. "Although the supply is counted on a daily basis, two tankers provide a fresh fuel supply everyday," Amilin said.

Long queues were observed at gas stations across the country, including in Semarang, Surakarta and its surrounding cities like Salatiga and Magelang, as many motorists had to wait for hours to get gasoline.

At Tanjung Emas harbor in Semarang, tanker MT Sinar Yogya unloaded on Tuesday 24,000 kiloliters of Premium gasoline.

"We hope the arrival can help with the fuel shortages at several gas stations in Semarang," Pertamina's spokesperson in Semarang, Heppy Wulansari, said on Wednesday.

Several gas stations, including in the North Sulawesi town of Manado, had run out of gas on Wednesday, while in the East Java town of Kediri, several stations had set a five-liter limit on sales to prevent stockpiling ahead of the fuel price increases.

"We support the move (to set a five-liter limit) as it makes it easier to control," Kediri Police chief Adj. Comr. Suyono, told Antara.

In Yogyakarta, the scarcity has pushed the price of Premium gasoline up to Rp 7,500 per liter at retailers.

Although the government is yet to officially announce the new fuel prices, the prices of some basic goods have started to rise.

In Jambi, garlic was priced at Rp 8,000 a kg, from the previous Rp 7,000, while chilies were Rp 10,000 from the earlier Rp 7,000 a kg.

A trader, Umar, said on Wednesday he had to increase prices since his merchandise came from outside Jambi, such as West Sumatra, meaning high transportation costs due to fuel consumption. "We have to raise prices in order not to lose money," Umar said.

TNI and Polri vehicles prepared to face mass strikes

Tempo Interactive - September 29, 2005

Jakarta -- The Jakarta government is to mobilize government-owned vehicles as well as those belonging to the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) in case there are mass strikes protesting over the planned fuel price increases.

According to Jakarta governor Sutiyoso, the vehicles will be borrowed in order to serve members of the general public who are affected by any strikes.

"There might be hundreds of vehicles used," said Sutiyoso when signing of an agreement between Busway and Telkom at the Monas busway stop on Wednesday (28/09). The governor added that crises such as these have been dealt with very often.

He guaranteed that the Jakarta government had already anticipates the worst possibilities that could happen.

Sutiyoso confirmed that a high-alert status has now been implemented in Jakarta and acknowledged that he has already coordinated with local officials.

Despite all this, the Jakarta governor expressed his doubts over mass strikes on September 29.

Sutiyoso requested that anyone carrying out protests did not resort to anarchy. "There is no need for that," he insisted.

It is claimed that as many as 15,000 people will attend protests against the fuel price increases on Thursday (29/09). It is also claimed that the protests will be followed by mass strikes in order to put pressure on the government so that it cancels the fuel price increases. (Harun Mahbub-Tempo News Room)

Government plays down fuel protests

Jakarta Post - September 28, 2005

Jakarta -- The government played down on Tuesday demonstrations against looming fuel price increases, despite the fact that the protests were growing in frequency and gathering pace of late.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is on an overseas trip to South Africa, said the government was not worried about the demonstrations.

"Such protests or demonstrations are common in a democratic country. The government is prepared to face all risks and impacts of the fuel price hike policy," he said as quoted by Antara.

The government plans to raise gasoline and diesel prices by Oct. 1, 2005, but has not revealed how much. The plan has triggered daily protests across Indonesia. The increase will be second time this year, after the March 1 hike.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto also stated that the ongoing protests and rallies were still within the "normal and tolerable" levels.

"As long as the rallies abide by the rules and laws, they're just part of democracy. Such reactions are normal and we handle them," he said at his office in Jakarta.

The government is prepared to prevent some chaos and violence as Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police were fully prepared for that possibility.

As protests continued to escalate nationwide, so did the lines at filling stations in a number of cites across Java island as motorists rushed to get full tanks of gasoline or diesel.

In Yogyakarta, several stations reported shortages of gasoline and diesel, while hundreds of cars continued to wait at the few outlets with some fuel still for sale.

Thousands of students, meanwhile, took to the streets in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, carrying banners and burning tires in protest of the government's policy.

In Jakarta, dozens of people rallied outside the presidential palace.

Based on intelligence data, Jakarta military chief Maj. Gen. Agustadi SP said on Tuesday that massive demonstrations were expected to hit cities on Thursday.

"We've made available a company of soldiers to assist police in securing the capital. But we'll be ready to deploy more," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

As the government steels itself against the demonstrations, some figures have remained nearly silent, saying almost nothing could stop the government from implementing the price hike.

Regional Representative Council (DPD) deputy chairman La Ode Ida said demonstrations against the policy would only produce a significant effect if they were done by either besieging the state palace or the legislative complex, or any other action that might that bring the economy to a halt.

In attempt to allay public concern, the government is distributing money from an assistance fund to poor families to offset the fuel increase, because that hike would likely push up the prices of other daily basic necessities.

After completing the poverty registration, the government has promised to give each of the 15 million low-income families monthly payments of Rp 100,000 (approximately US$10) beginning next month to help ease their economic burden from the price rises.

The government has been forced to further cut trillions of rupiah worth of oil subsidy expenses due to the ballooning global oil prices. It has yet to announce the size of the fuel price hikes, but some officials have hinted that it could be a 50 percent to 70 percent increase.

Increasing the fuel price is a sensitive issue in this country, the world's fourth most populous. Mass riots sparked by a price rise in 1998 hastened the ouster of former dictator Soeharto. Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri was also forced to scale back an increase early in 2002 due to escalating protests nationwide.

Indonesia clears way for unpopular fuel price rise

Agence France Presse - September 28, 2005

Jakarta -- Indonesian legislators have cleared the way for a controversial rise in fuel prices this weekend, slashing petrol subsidies despite growing public anger over the move.

Police said they were bracing for anything from street protests to fuel-truck thefts before the price rise, which has been imposed to battle a budget shortfall, comes into force on Saturday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government has not yet announced how much it would raise the price of petrol, currently heavily subsidised by the state to keep the street price at around 2,400 rupiah (23 US cents) per litre.

Lawmakers voted more than three-to-one late Tuesday to back the plan and restrict subsidies this year to 89.2 trillion rupiah (8.7 billion dollars), much less than would have been paid due to soaring global oil prices.

"Frankly speaking, the figure of 89.2 trillion rupiah is still too large for Indonesia," said Emir Moeis, chairman of the House of Representatives budget commission. "The government could use the money for public infrastructure developments," he said.

Officials have said some 16 million households will get short- term compensation but anger has been mounting across this archipelago nation of 220 million people.

Student protests kept Yudhoyono from attending a university ceremony on Tuesday while relatively low-key demonstrations have been held in many parts of the country, mostly by students and transport drivers.

In the capital Jakarta, police chief Firman Gani said around 5,500 personnel were deployed to guard 14 strategic locations around the city, including the presidential palace, the parliament and a major fuel depot in north Jakarta.

Police were also guarding petrol stations to anticipate potential security threats, including the hijacking of fuel trucks and station takeovers, Gani said.

The coming price increase, the second this year, has also sparked long queues and shortages and dealers said it helped push the rupiah lower in Wednesday's trading.

Although the move is unpopular, particularly among the poor who rely on public transport and kerosene for cooking, many analysts say a cut in subsidies is an economic necessity.

High global oil prices have dealt government finances a double blow. The government has had to snap up dollars to buy more expensive fuel, putting the rupiah under pressure, but also has to support increased subsidies to keep domestic fuel prices artificially low.

Limiting the fuel subsidy spending to 89.2 trillion rupiah for 2005 will keep the budget deficit at 0.9 percent of gross domestic product, analysts say.

Premium, the most commonly used automotive fuel here, currently sells at an official price of 2,400 rupiah per litre but local media reported that roadside sellers outside Jakarta were selling it at about three times that.

Top security minister Widodo Adi Sucipto said Tuesday the government would study the fuel shortage reports to see "whether they are really caused by a high demand or because of hoarding." Bank Mandiri currency analyst Doddy Arifianto warned that a price increase of above 50 percent could trigger social unrest.

Uncertainty about the size of the increase was among the reasons for the pressure on the rupiah, which at noon was at 10,315/10,325 to the dollar, down from Tuesday's 10,270/10,280.

Cards for poor families distributed

Jakarta Post - September 28, 2005

Bandung/Makassar/Medan -- State postal company PT Pos Indonesia, which has been given the task of printing special cards for those entitled to government assistance funds, has printed and distributed 3.6 million cards in 15 towns across the country.

This accounts for 23 percent of the cards that will be distributed to 15,648,425 low-income families which will receive Rp 300,000 (nearly US$30) in assistance funds over three months. The aid is intended to ease the impact of the fuel price hike scheduled to come into effect on Oct. 1.

The company's president director, Hana Suryana, expected all the cards to be printed by Oct. 11. In the coming three days, the company would print 2.4 million entitlement cards.

The government has identified the families which will be entitled to receive the cash handouts based on a survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). Only families with a gross monthly income of Rp 700,000 or less are eligible to receive the assistance. The money will be paid out in three stages, starting on Saturday.

The overall number of those entitled looks set to increase, however, as the BPS has yet to conduct surveys in the tsunami- struck regencies of South Nias and North Nias on Nias island.

An official with the provincial office of the BPS, Panusunan Siregar, told The Jakarta Post that his office was cooperating with donor countries to update population data in the two regencies, including the number of poor families. It was hoped that the survey would be completed next Monday in order not to slow the distribution of the assistance.

"We don't yet know how many people are left after the tsunami, let alone the number of people entitled to the aid," Panusunan said.

The latest survey in 2002 revealed that the island was inhabited by some 670,000 people. The Dec. 26 tsunami and another major earthquake in March left hundreds of people dead and missing in the two regencies.

Meanwhile. poor families in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar are facing the possibility of delays in receiving their payments as the provincial office of the BPS had yet to receive recipient entitlement cards as of Tuesday. It also had to verify the latest data received from Jakarta on the number of poor people in the province.

Makassar is among the first 14 towns where the government is scheduled to distribute the cash on Oct. 1.

Local BPS official Diah Utami said the process of verifying the data on entitled aid recipients provided by the Jakarta office could take two or three days to complete.

"We will have to receive the cards on Wednesday at the latest to ensure that the aid payments go ahead as planned. Poor families in Makassar may not get the assistance on time," Diah said.

According to the BPS, there are 452,468 poor families across South Sulawesi, 63,811 of them living in Makassar.

PT Pos and BRI have been appointed to distribute the assistance funds. PT Pos spokesman Arief Setyanto said that to avoid forgery, each PT Pos or BRI office would scan recipient entitlement cards using ultra violet rays to ensure their validity. Each card also had a bar code which would need computer verification.

"There are altogether seven items on each card to prevent forgery," Arief said, but refused to go into the details. Cashiers are also required to verify the cards manually.

Police identify infiltrators in fuel price demos

Media Indonesia - September 27, 2005

Shanties, Jakarta - Indonesian police have identified the presence of infiltrators in social groups who will demonstrate against fuel price increases on October 1. It is suspected the infiltrators will provoke the pubic during demonstrations and incite them into anarchistic acts.

"It is because of this, police are appealing to group coordinators who will demonstrate to be careful during demonstrations and be on guard so their group isn't infiltrated", said the deputy head of the public relations, Brigadier General Sunarko, at police headquarters on Tuesday September 27.

Sunarko also warned the public who are demonstrating not be anarchistic and violate the law. "Because the police and its officers will act firmly and in accordance with the prevailing laws against those who violate the law", asserted Sunarko.

Police also appealed to the public who wish to demonstrate to provide written notification to police in accordance with prevailing laws. "So that we can escort demonstrators so that there are not infiltrated by infiltrators who will incite riots for the sake of personal benefit", said Sunarko.

Sunarko explained that in order to guard against undesirable incidents, the national police chief has instructed local police chiefs to maintain security and prevent the possibly of anarchistic acts occurring. On the question of the number of police officers that will be deployed, Sunarko said that it would be in accordance with the situation and the respective regional characteristics.

"If necessary and there are insufficient offers, police will deploy five SSK [company level units] or around 500 officers to provide backup for problem regions", said Sunarko. (San/OL-06)

[Abridged translation by James Balowski. The second part of the report dealt with the issue of fuel smuggling and hoarding.]

Political parties will exploit fuel price demos: BIN

Media Indonesia - September 27, 2005

Henri Salomo Siagian, Jakarta -- Although political parties are expected to exploit demonstrations against fuel price hikes, as a whole the atmosphere in the lead up to the price increases is conducive.

"It is certain there will be those who will exploit [the situation]. They say that this will create difficulties for the people, all kinds of things, of course the political parties in the framework of supposedly defending the people [do so] for [their] future interests", National Intelligence Agency (BIN) director Syamsir Siregar told reporters on Monday September 26 following a closed meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

The meeting which began at around 5pm and continued until around 6.30pm was attended by the coordinating minister for political, legal and human rights affairs (sic) Widodo AS, coordinating economic minister Aburizal Bakrie, Indonesian police chief General Sutanto and Siregar. "Yeah, we will look at the situation as it develops later when the increases are announced", said Siregar.

When asked which political party will exploit the actions, Siregar said "You and I [can] make a guess, it could be anyone. Yeah [but] it's certain the political parties which turn up [are the one's] wanting to be in power".

Siregar said that the government has not prepared any special measures in relation to the demonstrations. "Why, what kind of measures. That's democracy okay [you are] allowed to demonstrate, as long as it's in accordance with the law go ahead. But if they stir things up and are identified, yeah they can be punished. Certainly yeah, if they mobilise definitely there are those that will fund it", he asserted.

According to Siregar, on the whole, the demonstrations will not disrupt the situation in the lead up to the fuel price increases. "Yeah, [as] I said before there will certainly be a reaction. The situation is secure. Yeah, there will definitely be demonstrations in response [to the price increases]", he said.

When asked about the scale of the actions, Siregar said "Perhaps small, if they continue perhaps large. But so far they are not dangerous", he said. (Hnr/OL-06)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Fuel scarcity worsens as scheduled price hike nears

Jakarta Post - September 27, 2005

Semarang/Makassar/Samarinda/Batam -- Gasoline and diesel shortages worsened across the archipelago on Monday as the government's scheduled price increase on Oct. 1 draws near.

Filling stations were packed with very long lines of vehicles, while police officers desperately tried to track down and nab people thought to be hoarding fuel until the price goes up. In order to prevent widespread social unrest on Oct. 1, regional police chiefs vowed to beef up security near vital installations and gas stations.

In Semarang, scarcities even hit remote areas in the regency with many gas stations putting up posters claiming they had run out of gasoline and diesel fuel. A station on Jl. Diponegoro in the city was already out of premium gasoline by 10 a.m.

Parman, 34, an employee at the station said they had been waiting for their regular supply from Pertamina in Yogyakarta. Parman quickly added that he had no idea why the supply had often been late in arriving in recent days.

While delivery delays were blamed in Semarang, in Jambi, people were panicking ahead of the price increase has depleted supplies at many gas stations in the province.

Driven by panic, the residents flocked to gas stations across the province in search of the lower-priced gasoline before it becomes unaffordable next week. "I had to wait for two days to fill up with diesel," said Panjaitan, a truck driver.

Some station employees blamed Pertamina for reducing their amounts distributed, which led to the long lines. In order to end the gasoline crisis, Jambi Mayor Turimin has demanded that state oil and gas company PT Pertamina speed up the distribution of gasoline and diesel across the city.

Meanwhile, police officers across the nation geared up to prepare for the worst after the price increases.

Bantul regency police in Yogyakarta will deploy 400 officers, or half of its force, to ensure security around the regency's 12 filling stations.

South Sulawesi provincial police plan to impose a high-alert status on Oct. 1 and deploy two-thirds of its force to secure gas stations, main boulevards, the governor's office and other places that might be targets for protesters.

Chief of South Sulawesi provincial police Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf said that the police welcomed all legal protests, but any violations of the law would be dealt with sternly.

Besides securing protest-prone areas, they also assured the public that they were looking for and arresting fuel hoarders.

The police recently named 38 people suspects for fuel hoarding and smuggling, and the case files of 24 of them had been handed over to South Sulawesi prosecutor's office for further processing. Officers had seized thousands liters of fuel from the suspects, said Saleh Saaf.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the government plan to raise fuel prices has already begun to affect the prices of other goods, such as sugar. In the past few days, the price of sugar has climbed to Rp 4,500 per kilogram, much more expensive from the average price of Rp 3,000.

In the Riau Islands, police personnel discovered some 6,000 liters of diesel fuel kept in fuel drums on Perigi Papan island near Batam island. The officers did not make an arrest as the island was empty when the police discovered the fuel. Police suspect that it was about to be smuggled out of the country.

In Manado, Bitung regency police arrested a person identified only as J.R. on Monday for hoarding 1.6 tons of diesel at his home.

As its response to the fuel scarcities across the archipelago, Pertamina said it had begun to provide more fuel. In Pekanbaru, local Pertamina officers vowed to increase the fuel supply by 12 percent. The additional supply would be delivered to gas stations in the city by Oct. 1, said Pertamina official Gandhi Sri Widodo. On average, each station in the province gets a fuel quota of 1,500 kiloliters of diesel per day.

Poor residents differ over fuel cash aid

Jakarta Post - September 27, 2005

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Holding her family card in both hands, Niah, 57, a resident of Petojo Selatan subdistrict, Gambir in Central Jakarta, was figuring out how to spend the Rp 300,000 (US$29) she was about to receive as "compensation" for the upcoming fuel price increase.

"I will buy food and other basic commodities for the fasting month of Ramadhan," Niah said on the sidelines of a ceremony that marked the beginning of the distribution of Fuel Compensation Cards (KKB) to poor residents in the capital.

During the ceremony Governor Sutiyoso handed out the cards to dozens of poor residents from the Petojo Selatan subdistrict. With a daily income of no more than Rp 20,000 from selling cakes at Petojo traditional market, Niah appeared very happy with the money.

Unlike Niah, Muhamadsyah, 43, a father of four, was not so happy with the cash, which he said was a paltry sum. "Rp 100,000 per month? What can we by with such a meager amount? Not much," said Muhamadsyah, who makes a living by offering his services to neighbors to transport goods using his pushcart. He said he spent Rp 20,000 a day on food alone, not to mention other expenses including electricity charges of Rp 30,000 per month.

The funds are part of a government program to ease the burden on people in the low-income bracket as the prices of basic commodities go up as a result of the imminent fuel price increase. Fuel prices could be raised by as much as 80 percent on Oct. 1.

The government said earlier that each low-income family would get financial assistance of Rp 100,000 per month, regardless of the size of the family. Three hundred thousand will be handed out every three months. The cash distributed on Monday was for the months of October, November and December.

There are at least 101,219 low-income households or 444,527 people in the capital who will benefit from the assistance program.

Sutiyoso said the central government and the Jakarta administration provided other forms of assistance, aside from financial, for low earners.

"Please, bear in mind that we have allocated 20 percent of the city budget for education, mostly for children from low-income families in state schools. We are also looking into the possibility of raising the budget for health services for the poor to Rp 200 billion next year from this year's Rp 100 billion," he said.

The 2005 Jakarta budget stands at Rp 14.01 trillion. The administration has proposed an increase of nearly 22 percent to Rp 16.98 trillion next year.

"I have just discussed with Minister of Home Affairs (Muh. Ma'aruf) the fate of non-Jakartan residents. And, he said that those unregistered (low-income) residents would also enjoy the assistance funds," he added.

Head of the Central Jakarta Statistics Agency Nyoto Widodo said that households receiving the fund were those grouped in the "very poor" and "poor" categories.

The "very poor" category is for households where each member's caloric intake is less than 1,900 a day, equal to Rp 120,000 per month, while in the "poor" group, the caloric intake of an individual is between 1,900 and 2,100 per day, equal to Rp 150,000 per month. "We give priority to residents grouped in those categories, although residents who come close to being classified as poor may also be eligible, depending on the government's ability to include them in the program," he said.

The "nearly poor" group is households where the caloric intake of members is between 2,100 and 2,300 per day, equal to Rp 175,000 per month.

Thousands protests planned fuel hikes

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2005

Jakarta -- Thousands of people took to the streets to protest the government's plan to raise fuel prices on Oct. 1 to ease the state's burden of paying for a mushrooming fuel subsidy due to higher global oil prices.

The plan, announced on Friday, fell short of specifying the amount that fuel prices would be raised, but it was emphasized that it would be implemented simultaneously with a low-income assistance program designed to ease the impact on the country's millions of impoverished citizens.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla met former vice president Try Sutrisno in a closed-door meeting on Saturday in which they reportedly discussed the government's fuel policies, as well as the recent peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement.

"The most important thing is that we as a large nation should keep everyone informed about what is going on. Criticizing is fine, the government should be open to criticism and constructive advice. We shouldn't make unnecessary moves that will obstruct the nation's journey," Try was quoted by Antara as saying after the meeting.

On Thursday, several ex-leaders, including Try, former presidents Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, urged the government to drop its plan to increase fuel prices.

In Jakarta on Sunday, thousands of people from the Islamic Hizbut Tahrir group, the Alliance of Independent Labor Unions and several women's groups protested the plan, urging the government to take other steps to pay for the subsidies without increasing fuel prices and making poor people suffer more.

A representative of Hizbut Tahrir, Ismail Yusanto, told AFP that the government should confiscate the assets of corrupt officials to help pay for the fuel subsidy.

In the East Nusa Tenggara capital of Kupang, protesting students on Saturday were joined by hundreds of residents, who were standing in long lines to buy kerosene.

Even though the students were being closely monitored by security personnel, they managed to seize control of the state radio station RRI and read their three-page demands live on air for 15 minutes. The students called on the government to cancel the fuel plan, as they claimed it would directly affect food prices.

"The demands are for the sake of the people, so RRI in Kupang felt obligated to air them live," said the station chief, Pieter Amalo.

Long lines of vehicles waiting for rationed gasoline were spotted in many cities, with the worst lines reaching up to five kilometers long into two gas stations in the Padang Luar area in the West Sumatra town of Bukittinggi on Saturday.

The fuel shortage also severely hampered public transportation vehicles from Pekanbaru to Padang on Saturday, after at least 10 filling stations along the 300-kilometer route had begun running low on gasoline.

Fuel shortages at dozens of gas stations in Pekanbaru prompted upset residents to urge the government to immediately raise fuel prices to prevent retailers from hoarding fuel in seek of much more profits from selling gasoline at higher prices next week.

"The government should not wait any longer to raise the fuel prices, because the uncertain situation only makes the poor suffer more," a driver, Apeng, told Antara on Sunday.

He said it was no use to keep the current prices if the supply was not available. "It's better for the government to raise the prices and ensure the availability of the supply," he said.

Aceh

Military chief denies armed militias in Aceh

Deutsche Presse Agentur - September 30, 2005

Jakarta -- The Indonesian military's top commander denied reports that armed militias continued to exist in Aceh, threatening the province's fragile path towards peace, local media reports said Friday.

Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) commander-in-chief Endriartono Sutarto denied allegations about militias that have come from both rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and independent sources.

"I have neither seen nor set up any militia in Aceh," Endriartono was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Antara after attending a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and retired military and policemen.

Endriartono said the military would continue lobbying all parties to support the ongoing peace process, which was kick-started after the December 26 tsunami left some 170,000 people dead or missing.

After months of negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, a peace accord was signed on August 15, and rebels began disarming on September 15. The military has also begun pulling troops out of the province.

The Indonesian government has withdrawn thousands of soldiers and police from the province, while GAM rebels have surrendered over 200 weapons, according to members of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM).

The disarmament and withdrawal has gone smoothly so far, with international observers saying the process of disarming rebels and withdrawing troops could be accelerated, and the second round could begin ahead of schedule on October 15.

The August 15 agreement prohibits any "illegal organizations" and Endriartono said any violators of the agreement would be punished.

Trust needed for implementation of Aceh agreement

Jakarta Post - September 29, 2005

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta -- The Aceh peace agreement has been signed and non-local Indonesian Military (TNI) troops and police officers have begun to return to their home bases. All of the jailed activists and sympathizers of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which for 30 years fought the TNI and the police in an attempt to gain independence for the province, have been released in compliance with the Aug. 15 agreement.

As part of the peace agreement, members of the armed wing of GAM have begun to surrender their weapons and have expressed their commitment to working with all Acehnese to rebuild the gas and oil-rich province after the devastating tsunami last December and the end of the armed struggle.

With the troop withdrawal being one of the key points of the agreement, some 250 European Union and Southeast Asian monitors, grouped in the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), are overseeing the departure of some 25,000 TNI soldiers and 5,000 police officers from Aceh. The withdrawal of the troops will take place in four stages, with the whole process to be completed by the end of this year.

In addition, the AMM will oversee the disarmament of members of GAM, as well as further steps to create a lasting peace in the province, where some 15,000 people died during the three decades of armed conflict.

Yet, over a month since the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and GAM, the contents of the agreement have been extensively debated and discussed by the public and legislators at the House of Representatives, who claim that Indonesia has given up much more than GAM.

A political researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Syamsuddin Harris, expressed doubt about GAM's "sincerity" regarding the agreement. He was referring to a statement by GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah on the group's official website, www.asnlf.com, that the autonomy given to Aceh in the agreement did not "delete the dream of promoting Aceh independence".

A legislator on House Commission I for political and military affairs, Yuddy Chrisnandi, demanded honesty from GAM while quoting a point in the agreement stipulating that the group will surrender 840 weapons as part of the peace deal. "We doubt that the real figure is only 840...," the legislator said at a recent hearing.

Expressions of doubt over the other side's seriousness regarding the implementation of the peace deal are not the monopoly of the Indonesian camp, and GAM has also questioned Indonesia's commitment to complying with the points in the agreement.

Malik Mahmud, the self-styled prime minister of the exiled GAM leadership in Sweden, expressed wariness over the disarmament process while addressing the signing of the peace deal on Aug. 15 in Helsinki, Finland.

"According to reports that we have from Aceh, militia members have recently been saying that after GAM is disarmed, they will kill GAM members," Malik said, referring to militia groups allegedly linked to the Indonesian Military.

A similar concern was expressed by Bakhtiar Abdullah, who expressed doubt over the police's ability to disarm all of the militias allegedly linked to the military.

"The Indonesian police cannot be relied upon to decommission these militias and their weapons." In addition to these existing doubts on both sides, which will make implementing the peace agreement more difficult, a recent incident could also threaten the peace deal. A minor skirmish broke out on Sept. 3, when a group of GAM members reportedly fired on Indonesian soldiers in North Aceh regency, injuring two people.

Great expectations have been placed on the Aug. 15 peace agreement. Allowing doubts and confrontational actions to continue to occur, however, will make this agreement just the third failed attempt to bring peace to Aceh. If this were to occur it would be a great loss for Indonesia, which has yet to recover from numerous political and economic crises.

Do not allow suspicion to block the peace in Aceh. Building trust must be the starting point for a lasting peace in the province.

[The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.]

Volunteers burying tsunami victims

Associated Press - September 28, 2005

Febry Orida, Leupung -- Every morning Yahya leaves home with a hoe in hand. But he is not tending his coffee crops as he did before the tsunami slammed into Aceh's coastlines, killing 131,000 people: He is digging for bodies.

In the days after the killer waves, thousands of corpses were hastily buried across the province by survivors and volunteers. Nine months later, some at least are being given a more permanent resting place.

Yahya is one of 15 volunteers looking for badly decomposed remains that are scattered in shallow graves around Leupung, which was destroyed by the tsunami and lost some 90 percent of its 14,000 people.

A few bodies were claimed by surviving relatives and buried privately. But the majority are unidentifiable and buried in a mass grave on the outskirts of the village some 10 miles west of the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

As Indonesia is largely a Muslim country, Yahya and the team give the bodies full Islamic funeral rites, something they fear most victims were not afforded in the chaos following the tsunami.

They say they hope the mass grave will provide a focal point for survivors to pray for their lost loved ones, and that their work will help villagers move on, allowing farmers to start planting again and villagers to dig wells.

"I feel like this is my responsibility as a human being," said Yahya, 23, one of the lucky ones who lost no family in the powerful Dec. 26 earthquake or tsunami that followed. "Everyone is doing whatever they can to help... So am I." The initial rush to bury the dead was followed by a long lull due in part to a shortage of supplies, but also to the reality that people were busy rebuilding their lives, said Abdul Halim, the volunteers' team leader.

But the job picked up again two weeks ago. So far, the volunteers have dug up 295 victims -- many of them found in shallow graves that have been ravaged by wild animals. The remains, usually a few bones or piece of rotted flesh, are placed in yellow body bags and taken later to the mass grave near the main road to the village. Theirs is a slow, painstaking and gruesome task.

Skies were overcast when Yahya left his temporary home, a shelter set up by a local aid group, with one other volunteer earlier this week. They worked all day, hindered but not stopped by the occasional shower, digging then walking for several miles, then digging again in places identified by villagers as makeshift burial sites.

Despite their efforts, the pair only found the remains of four people, a quarter of the number they find when the weather is good. No one gets paid for his work, said Halim, 55. But villagers occasionally give them a small donation, a meal or a cigarette. "They only hope for a reward from God," he said.

Victims of rights abuses seek justice

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2005

Nani Afrida, Tamiang -- Tears flowed down the cheeks of Nuraida, 35, a resident of Bendahara district, Tamiang regency, Aceh. She murmured prayers while her fingers brushed away the dried leaves from the three graves in front of her.

The graves contained the remains of her husband and two children, who were killed during the period of martial law in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam between 2003 and 2004. Nuraida's husband was a member of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and was shot and killed in Tamiang in 2003. Not long afterward, her two sons, aged 13 and 14, were taken by security personnel from their home.

"Both my sons were found the next morning, dead with gunshot wounds to their heads," Nuraida told The Jakarta Post.

Her three loved ones had been taken from her, and she cannot understand why her sons had to die. "They were still in school, still kids. I will never forgive because they were killed for nothing," she says.

Nuraida said she could understand her husband's death because of his involvement in the separatist group, but not the deaths of her sons, who had nothing to do with the conflict in Aceh. "I demand justice, especially not that peace has arrived, so that my sons can have peace in the next world," she said in a hoarse voice.

Nuraida's case is just one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of civilians being victimized by the conflict that began more than a quarter of a century ago. The bloody conflict at least temporarily came to an end when a peace deal was signed on Aug. 15 by the Indonesian government and GAM. The peace deal was given a boost when the former rebel group surrendered some of its weapons and in return the Indonesian Military pulled out troops from Aceh. The disarmament process is slated to be completed by the end of the year.

Although the fighting has ended for now, the question remains of whether the victims of military and GAM atrocities during the conflict will receive justice. This matter deserves attention because it concerns many people. According to data from an international non-governmental organization, the Coalition of Human Rights Groups, between March 2004 and Aug. 15 this year, 328 civilians suffered abuses.

Sixty-four people were killed, 26 illegally detained, 69 people were abducted or went missing and 169 people were tortured.

The true scale of these numbers can only be appreciated by remembering that this conflict went on for more than 30 years.

According to a human rights activist in Aceh, Rufriadi, there is a clause in the peace agreement on a human rights tribunal, but it is still unclear whether the tribunal will act on a retroactive basis. If not, human rights abuses committed by state institutions prior to the signing of the peace deal cannot be prosecuted, he said.

"Everyone has agreed on peace, but they also demand justice. In my opinion, this can only be achieved with a human rights tribunal," Rufriadi said.

AMM's role could be a contentious issue

Jakarta Post - September 27, 2005

Aleksius Jemadu, Bandung -- The success of a monitoring mission involving foreign parties in resolving an intra-state conflict can be achieved as long as the implementation of the peace agreement satisfies the expectations of the conflicting parties.

What are the expectations of the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as regards the implementation of the peace agreement in Aceh? Both the Indonesian government and GAM acknowledge that the peace agreement is the best result that can be hoped for from a long process of negotiation. It is a kind of win-win solution for both sides.

However, the implementation of the peace agreement may eventually flounder on incompatible expectations. It is quite clear that for the Indonesian government the most important thing is that GAM abandons its claim for an independent state and disarms itself at a time when international donors are closely watching the post- tsunami reconstruction of Aceh. While on the Indonesian side debates about the content of the peace agreement are still going on, GAM appears to be more solid and united in welcoming the peace process. There are various reasons why GAM leaders should feel happier today than they did when the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) was signed in 2002.

First, the current peace agreement has opened the way for GAM to continue its struggle by transforming itself into a local political party. The martial law that was imposed by the Indonesian government in May 2003 had a devastating impact on GAM's military structure. Thus, there is no reason for GAM to stick with the military struggle.

Second, the peace agreement clearly stipulates that Aceh's future legislature will be a powerful body. According to the agreement, the Indonesian government needs the consent of the Aceh legislature whenever it makes strategic decisions related to the interests of Aceh. GAM has calculated that as a local political party it will have a good chance of dominating local elections.

Why? Most of the Acehnese people still feel let down by Jakarta. Years of abuse of human rights abuses, unfair exploitation of Aceh's natural resources, and a series of corruption scandals have occupied the collective mind of the Acehnese to such an extent that they will reject any kind of politics that represents a return of Jakarta's dominance. Thus, other local political parties will have a hard time challenging the highly motivated young members of GAM. Assuming that the local elections will produce an overwhelming majority for GAM, doesn't it sound like a referendum by any other name?

The third reason for GAM's enthusiasm is the wide authority given to the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM). The agreement sets out a list of the AMM's duties. Of particular importance is the fact that the AMM is authorized to monitor changes in the legislation and launch investigations if such changes deviate from the principles of the agreement.

On top of that, it is also clearly stipulated that the head of the AMM is authorized to rule on any dispute and that his ruling is binding on all sides. It even says that if eventually the two parties cannot agree on the ruling by the AMM head, "the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Crisis Management Initiative will make a ruling which will be binding on the parties".

There are signs that the Indonesian government is beginning to develop a different perception of the role of the AMM. When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono briefed the military top brass recently on the substance of the peace agreement, he convinced them that they should not worry about the role of the AMM as the body was not authorized to rule on any dispute between the two sides. He said that such authority belonged to the central government. This statement by the President appears to contradict the substance of the peace agreement.

The first month of implementation of the peace agreement seems to have passed off smoothly. The biggest test for the survival of the agreement will arise when it becomes time to change the legislation and whether the Indonesian government will abide by the AMM rulings if there are legitimate complaints from GAM regarding incompatibility between the proposed new legislation and the principles contained in the peace agreement. It is very likely that the Indonesian side will face difficulties in fulfilling its obligations in accordance with those principles.

All sides should be happy with the fact that today the Acehnese people can enjoy peace. We must not let politicking among the Jakarta elite to disrupt that enjoyment, given that the Acehnese people have been longing for peace for decades.

[The writer is head of the Department of International Relations, Parahyangan University, Bandung.]

First phase of Aceh pact completed

International Herald Tribune - September 26, 2005

Peter Gelling -- The Indonesian military on Sunday withdrew the last of a promised 6,000 troops from Aceh Province, completing the first phase of the peace accord signed by the government and a separatist rebel group last month.

About 200 soldiers left the town of Lhokseumawe by ship, leaving more than 20,000 Indonesian soldiers still to be withdrawn by the end of the year.

By Sunday, the rebels had turned in 25 percent of their weapons, fulfilling their obligation for the first of four phases of the peace accord signed in Helsinki, said Faye Belnis, a spokeswoman for the Aceh Monitoring Mission.

The minister of defense, Juwono Sudarsono, said the schedule for the departure of Indonesian forces with parallel disarmament of the rebels of the Free Aceh Movement was proceeding smoothly.

The reintegration of the rebels into everyday life in the tsunami-devastated province was also going well, he said. "We were expecting tension, but so far so good," Sudarsono said in a telephone interview. "Based on reports, the surprising thing is that the reintegration is being very well received by the people."

Nearly 15,000 Indonesian troops will remain permanently stationed in Aceh after Dec. 31, according to the terms of the accord.

Beneath the public good will, some senior officers in the Indonesian military have complained about the peace accord, saying it was far too generous to the rebels. Implicit in the criticisms by the officers is unhappiness with the policies of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general, who pushed hard for the signing of the agreement and its prompt implementation.

General Ryamizard Ryacudu, the army chief who was recently passed over by Yudhoyono for the top position as head of the armed forces, said recently that the Aceh accord represented a first step toward the disintegration of Indonesia.

Two former presidents of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri, and Abdurrahman Wahid, have also expressed opposition to the peace agreement. "There's a lot of deep distrust with the accord in the military," said Sidney Jones, the director of the regional office of the International Crisis Group in Jakarta. "The army believes that too much has been given away," he said.

Under the terms of the accord, the rebels dropped their goal of independence for Aceh. In return, the government agreed to grant the province some political autonomy. The Indonesian government also agreed to grant amnesty for political prisoners.

A group of 226 monitors from the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is supervising the disarmament of the rebels and troop withdrawal.

Scattered through the province at 11 district offices, the civilian monitors have been accepting weapons from rebels who are then eligible to apply for two hectares, or five acres, of farmland or fishing supplies from a rehabilitation fund established by the peace agreement.

In the interview, Sudarsono said that the tsunami had proven to be a "blessing in disguise" because it forced both sides to be serious about a solution to the war. More than 9,000 people were killed in the fighting that began in 1976.

Ordinary civilians in Aceh say the evidence of peace can be felt in many ways. They now meet in coffee shops until late at night undisturbed by the threat of violence.

FPDRA calls on DPR and military to respect peace deal

Fpdra.org - September 24, 2005

Miswar, Banda Aceh -- The chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), Thamrin Ananda, is calling on all parties not behave in a counter-productive manner and threaten the ideals of the peace process in Aceh.

Ananda conveyed this in response to the vigorous objections by members of the House of Representatives (DPR) to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement.

Ananda also added that the position being taken by certain groups in the DPR is far different from the wishes of the Acehnese people themselves. This can be seen from the absence of opposition from the Acehnese people to the peace process and the continuing efforts by the elite in Jakarta to oppose the MoU who are not in fact Acehnese people.

Efforts to thwart the peace process in Aceh have also begun to be carried out by retired military officers who are consolidating to oppose the outcome of the Helsinki peace negotiations. "And this is something we very much regret when the Acehnese people are [now] starting to enjoy a sense of peace and [on the other hand] there are parties who want to destroy these hopes for peace", explained Ananda.

Furthermore, the chairperson of FPDRA hopes that all parties can restrain themselves for the sake of peace in Aceh. In particular Ananda is asking the DPR and the military -- both retired and active officers -- to stop provocations that could result in bankrupting the peace process in Aceh as occurred during the earlier period of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Acehnese call on Monitoring Mission to disband militia

Fpdra.org - September 24, 2005

Riswan, Banda Aceh -- The Acehnese people are calling on the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) to disarm the militia in Aceh during the period of demilitarisation. If they are not disarmed and their organisations disbanded it could threaten the peace process in Aceh.

This was conveyed by the chairperson of Student Solidarity for the People (SMUR), Mahmudal, in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Friday September 23.

Mahmudal explained that the greatest threat to the peace process comes from two components, the Jakarta elite and the militia in Aceh such as the Anti-Separatist Front (FAS), the People's Fortress to Fight Aceh Separatists (Berantas) and so on. If these threats are not dealt with during the period of demilitarisation it could have serious consequences for the continuation of the peace process in Aceh.

Several days ago, an academic from the Al-Muslim Campus in Bireun also expressed a similar view. The academic -- who wished to remain anonymous -- told Fpdra.org that the militias that exist in Aceh represent a real threat to peace. If they are not handled correctly concerns about the failure of the Memorandum of Understanding will become a reality. "We must all hope that the AMM will not close its eyes to this problem", said the academic.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

West Papua

Defense minister denies new troop deployment in Papua

ABC News - September 29, 2005

Indonesia's defence minister, Juwono Sudarsono, has denied media reports that Indonesia's National Defence Forces have deployed a large number of military personnel to Papua province.

Mr Juwono says it is simply a routine rotation of troops in the troubled province. Addressing a hearing of the House of Representatives commission on defence and foreign affairs, he said there had been many untrue reports on the matter from local and foreign media.

Antara News reports Mr Juwono was responding to a question from a commission member about reports that troop withdrawals from Aceh had been followed by secret deployment of more forces to Papua.

Shidki Wahab said deployment of troops to a region with a different culture held out the risk of human right abuses as had happened in Aceh in the past. "Such a situation should not happen in Papua," he said.

Military ties

Australia, Indonesia defence relationship 'good'

ABC News - September 27, 2005

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) chief says Australia's defence relationship with Indonesia is as good as it has ever been.

Relations between the two neighbours suffered a major setback when Australian troops were sent into East Timor in 1999. They were sent there to stem the violence after East Timor's vote for independence from Indonesia.

In his first public speech since becoming ADF chief, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has said relations have recovered since then, partly because Australia was quick to help Indonesia with the tsunami relief effort.

He says defence cooperation is returning to the era before 1999. "I have seen General Sutarto twice from the time it was announced I was going to be the chief of the Defence Force," he said.

"I met with him twice. Once in Singapore, once in Australia. Of course General Cosgrove was hosting him, just before he departed the job. "In terms of the single service chiefs, the relationship has I think never been better."

Australia defence chief urges close military ties

Radio Australia - September 27, 2005

Australia's new Defence Force Chief has made it clear he wants Australia to have strong defence ties with Indonesia. It hasn't impressed human rights groups in Indonesia who say abuses by the military are continuing and Australia should be placing more conditions on cooperation between the defence forces of the two countries.

Donald: Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has made his first public speech since taking over defence's top job. The softly spoken new Chief was quizzed about how long 450 Australian troops will remain in Southern Iraq -- guarding a Japanese engineering contingent in Al Muthanna province.

Houston: I would anticipate we will be out of Al Muthanna by May next year, but having said that it's not my decision, it's a decision for government. And I would anticipate that we will have a close look at the conditions and the circumstances further downstream.

Donald: He was also asked about Australia's defence ties with Indonesia. Last week the US Commander in Pacific said he'd like America to resume its defence relationship with Indonesia, arguing the Indonesian military has improved its record on human rights. For his part Angus Houston says Australia's co-operation with its neighbour is already well back on track.

Houston: I think the tsunami created circumstances where we were able to respond very quickly to the requirements that they had of neighbours and friends and we were very quick to go in there, and as a consequence of that the relationship between the senior people in our organisation, the single service chiefs, myself and General Sutarto is probably as good as it's ever been.

Donald: The Australian Defence Chief says he's already met Indonesia's General Sutarto twice -- and wants the closeness to continue:

Houston: In terms of the sort of cooperation we seem to be returning to the sorts of activities that were typical of the era before 1999 and activities like Albatross Osindo,0 the naval exercise Kakadu, the Indonesians have been very much before there and they've also been very active in engaging us in the counter- terrorist field as well. So it's been very positive and there are no problems in any part of the relationship at this time.

Donald: But the response from human rights groups in Indonesia is, hold it right there. Rafendi Djamin is the co-ordinator of Indonesia's Human Rights Working Group -- a coalition of non- government organisations. He says human rights abuses against the East Timorese have largely gone unpunished -- and the Indonesian military is still involved in abuses in areas including the province of Papua.

Djamin: There has been a lot of victims, some of them have died, some of them are victim of torture and I would say that the worry is that this violation which is perpetrated by military forces can still go on.

Donald: He argues Australia should be demanding more from Indonesia on human rights before the defence relationship gets back into full swing.

Djamin: At least in the term of reference or in the Memorandum of Understanding of this cooperation that there is a kind of a concrete plan of action from the Indonesian Government or Indonesian military side that the initial reform, within the military, within the security sect which actually started in 2000 it has to be really implemented. Without doing this, without looking at this, then it will really become very counter productive for the whole stability in Indonesia and democracy in Indonesia.

Human rights/law

Pilot 'not scheduled to fly to Singapore'

Jakarta Post - September 28, 2005

Jakarta -- Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was not scheduled to be on the Sept. 6, 2004 flight bound for Amsterdam via Singapore, according to Eddy Santoso, Garuda's crew scheduling manager.

Speaking as a witness in the trial of Pollycarpus, who is the prime suspect in the murder of top human rights campaigner Munir, Eddy said the pilot initially was scheduled to fly to Beijing on Sept. 5-8, but then canceled the plan and requested off-duty status because he wanted to attend a pilot association meeting on Sept. 7.

"I didn't know why the defendant was later assigned to Singapore," he told the court on Tuesday.

Munir was found dead on board the Sept. 6 flight a day later. A Dutch autopsy revealed that he had been poisoned by arsenic.

According to previous testimonies, Pollycarpus was assigned to the Singapore flight by then president of Garuda Indra Setiawan as a "corporate security officer". Prosecutors have also charged Pollycarpus of forging documents to allow him to fly to Singapore.

DPR to OK civil rights covenant

Jakarta Post - September 27, 2005

Jakarta -- The House of Representatives has agreed to ratify the international covenant on civil and political rights with an adjustment that will ensure its enactment will not justify any separatist movements.

At the same hearing with acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra on Monday, House Commission I on international affairs also expressed support for ratification of the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights.

The government has proposed an amendment to Article 1 of the covenant on civil and political rights, which recognizes people's right to self-determination.

The amendment says the self-determination right does not apply to the people within an independent and sovereign country and shall not render justification for acts to undermine territorial integrity of a sovereign country.

Indonesia has signed a peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to end three decades of secessionism in the province. The country is still plagued by lower levels of separatist activity in Papua. Both provinces are rich in natural resources but have suffered from injustice and human rights abuses.

State Secretary Yusril, representing foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda who is on a visit to South Africa with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, said over 50 countries had ratified the covenant on civil and political rights with a condition regarding Article 1.

In response to the government's proposal, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction suggested that the article on self- determination right be declared inapplicable for fear that it might spark more separatist movements.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) faction said the ratification of the two covenants should be followed up by revision of legislation and regulations that go against the international treaties, particularly the controversial presidential decree on land acquisition for public infrastructure that was issued by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono early this year.

PKB spokesman Muhammad A.S. Hikam also suggested that the covenant on civil and political rights justified the elimination of the death penalty in the country, saying it violates human rights.

Four convicts have been executed over the last year, and two more are likely to face a firing squad in Padang, West Sumatra after they exhaust all their legal avenues.

Reforms to laws, implementation may be delayed

Jakarta Post - September 27, 2005

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- The much-awaited tax reform is unlikely to be implemented soon as lawmakers will not be able to finish deliberating on the revised draft of tax laws on schedule.

The House of Representatives' Commission XI for financial affairs chairman Paskah Suzetta pointed to various complicated issues in the draft laws and the tight schedule for the deliberation as the reasons.

"I am pessimistic that the draft laws can be approved this year. We need more time to seek advice from various parties to ensure that the laws are not contrary to the public good," said Paskah, who chaired a special team to deliberate on the revisions.

With the lawmakers set to go into recess from Oct. 1 to Oct. 23, they will have less than two months to finalize the three draft tax laws arranged by the Ministry of Finance's Directorate General of Taxation before having another recess by the end of the year.

Based on the initial government schedule, the revision -- the third since 1983 -- should be put into effect on Jan. 1, 2006.

The three draft laws discussed by the House are Law No. 16/2000 on general taxation arrangements and procedures, Law No. 17/2000 on income tax and Law No. 18/2000 on VAT on goods and services and luxury sales tax.

Included in the laws are ways to address taxpayers' concerns over uncertainties in collection and rebates, an introduction to a time limit for tax procedures and tax amnesty facilities, as well as selective audits of taxpayers.

Responding to the possible delay, Director General of Taxation Hadi Purnomo said lawmakers had no reason to delay the deliberation of the revised draft of tax laws.

"The draft laws are already established in terms of legal language and points. I don't understand the problems faced by the lawmakers in passing the revised drafts. It should think it would be an easy job," he asserted.

The draft laws, acknowledged by the business community as fairly business friendly, were created jointly by the government and a special team from the country's powerful business lobby group, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Sources at the Directorate General of Taxation have argued that the proposed draft laws have accommodated some 95 percent of requests from Kadin, meaning that the government is seeking reform in the tax regime.

Elsewhere, Hadi said as of Sept. 15, the tax directorate had collected Rp 195 trillion (US$19.11 billion) in tax revenues from a full-year target of Rp 302 trillion.

The revenue includes Rp 95 trillion from non-oil and gas income tax, Rp 21 trillion from oil and gas income tax, Rp 67.4 trillion from value-added tax, Rp 9.8 trillion from land and property tax and Rp 1.8 trillion from other taxes.

AGO faulted over recovery of graft funds

Jakarta Post - September 24, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Legislators and activists lashed out at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for not being serious in its efforts to recover over Rp 6.66 trillion (some US$660 million) in fines and restitution monies from those convicted of corruption.

A report by the State Audit Agency (BPK) earlier revealed that the prosecution service had failed to recover Rp 6.66 trillion in fines and restitution that the courts had ordered convicted corruptors to pay.

The annual report was presented to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

In response, the Attorney General's Office argued that its failure was due to difficulties in tracing the assets of convicted persons, or their heirs, in cases where they had already been transferred to third parties.

Other problems included the fact that some of those convicted corruptors were still at large, while others claimed to be unable to pay the money by producing "lack of adequate means" certificates, the prosecution service said.

The AGO, however, vowed to work harder to enforce the court orders against all those concerned.

Legislator Azlaini Agus from House's law and human rights commission said the AGO was not resolute enough in seizing the assets of convicted persons.

"From the very beginning of a corruption trial, the prosecutors know all about the assets of a defendant. These should be frozen immediately so that it will not be transferred somewhere else or assigned to someone else," she said.

Azlaini said she found it difficult to believe that some of the corruptors could not pay the fines and restitution orders imposed on them by the courts.

"That's nonsense. It's impossible that they spent billions of rupiah in embezzled funds. They must have invested in many business endeavors, which the AGO must trace and freeze," said the National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker.

Fellow commission member, Gayus Lumbuun, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the AGO should write to the Supreme Court, asking it to automatically increase the prison terms of convicted persons who failed to return their ill-gotten gains to the state.

"In each case, there's a clause that if a corruptor cannot pay restitution as the court orders, his or her prison term will be increased by a few months or years," he argued.

Gayus said he was suspicious that the AGO was keeping the money for itself. "If what they say is really the case, the AGO must come clean with the BPK, and attach certificates from the Supreme Court stating that it cannot get the money owed in these cases, for example, so that we know AGO is not faking anything," said Gayus.

Echoing the legislators' criticism, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy chief Luki Djani said the prosecution service should cooperate more effectively with other relevant institutions, such as the Financial Transaction Analysis Center and the National Land Agency, in its attempts to trace assets.

"The AGO must then act strictly and resolutely in freezing these assets. In other countries, prosecutors would just throw the person out of his house and seized it," he said.

Kidnapped activists were killed: Team

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2005

Jakarta -- A team set up by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to probe into the abductions of prodemocracy activists during the regime of former dictator Soeharto has come to conclusion that all the victims had died.

The team has also identified a number of suspects involved in the kidnapping of the 12 activists -- mostly students -- during the 1997-1998 period.

"We have determined that the cases can be categorized as a gross human rights abuse. Also, we have identified the suspects, including the masterminds," team member Martono said on Sunday.

However, he refused to disclose the number or names of the suspects. Earlier, the team was told by witnesses that the abduction victims had all been seen at military facilities.

Martono, also a legal expert from the East Java-based Surabaya University, said the team finalized the investigation with the help of a suspected "field operator" who testified about the kidnapping operation.

Martono declined to name the informant. "We don't know the reasons why this man (the informant) came and testified before us about the operation. The most important thing is that his information has helped us find out that none of the 12 activists survived," he said. The whereabouts of the activists' bodies were still a mystery.

The informant also told the team that the 12 activists were mostly affiliated to the Democratic People's Party (PRD), a political group of youths that staunchly campaigned against Soeharto's New Order regime, and others who supported his then- political opponent Megawati Soekarnoputri who then led the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

However, based on a report by the group of families and relatives of the missing persons (IKOHI), there were at least 14 people, not 12, who disappeared during the same period, including Yani Afri and Sonny, both drivers involved in pro-Megawati campaigns against the Soeharto rule.

The remaining 12 were Deddy Hamdun, Noval Alkatiri and Ismail -- all loyalists of the United Development Party (PPP), Suyat, Herman Hendrawan, Petrus Bima Anugerah, M. Yusuf, Ucok Munandar Siahaan, Yadin Muhidin, Hendra Hambali and street singer and poet Widji Thukul -- all PRD activists, as well as Abdun Nasser, a contractor who went missing during the riots of May 1998.

The team presented its report during a plenary session of Komnas HAM in August, and was awaiting a hearing with lawmakers before filing it to prosecutors.

"I think our team and lawmakers will be engaged in a rigorous debate as to whether the case should legally proceed. But no matter what the political decision is, I believe that the dark side of the country's history can not be hidden for much longer," Martono was quoted by Antara as saying.

Law No. 26/2000 stipulates that the establishment of a human rights tribunal to try such a case requires the political approval of the House of Representatives.

Other cases of human rights abuses, including the Trisakti incident on May 12, 1998, and the Semanggi I and Semanggi II incidents on Oct. 13,1998 and on Sept. 24, 1998, have never gone to court as the House earlier declared those three incidents could not be categorized as gross human rights abuses.

Martono said the modus operandi of the abduction cases showed similarities with the Trisakti shootings and May riots, with the only differences "the role of the field operators".

"The point is that these incidents had strong correlations: The masterminds were those who insisted on keeping their political hold on the country; the same people the reform movement had disgraced," he said.

Reconciliation & justice

Suharto coup victims seek recognition

Financial Times - September 30, 2005

Shawn Donnan -- Under the Suharto regime, Toga Tambunan spent 13 years detained without trial in an assortment of jails and prison camps. He was beaten for reasons such as planting flowers that unexpectedly bloomed a communist red. When he was finally released in 1978 he was shunned by a father-in-law ashamed of his past as a political prisoner.

So, more than seven years after Suharto's 1998 fall, the former poet and journalist believes he has a right to be compensated for his suffering. Or at least to have it formally recognised in the hope that future generations of Indonesians might avoid the same fate.

"I have already forgiven the people who tortured me and who beat me. Even Suharto I have forgiven," he says. "But I want to make sure the system will be changed so they can't do the same thing again." It has been 40 years since the September 30 1965 coup that led to Suharto's 32-year rule, and Indonesia these days does a commendable job of asserting its place as the world's third largest democracy.

For victims of Indonesia's bloody crackdown on alleged communists and their sympathisers, however, justice has been slow. Historians and leading Indonesians say this is just one of the legacies of history.

From small villages in Borneo, Java and Sumatra to the holiday island of Bali, between 500,000 and 2m people were killed in the military-led crackdown that followed the coup. Historians estimate 1m more were thrown in jail, many for more than a decade.

But what happened in 1965 is discussed in public only rarely in Indonesia. Left mostly unchallenged is the official version of events, as endorsed by Suharto that the Indonesian Communist party, or PKI, was behind the attempted coup and the future strongman heroically helped save south-east Asia's largest economy from the ravages of Marxism.

"It is the biggest and saddest tragedy that we have ever had," says Taufik Abdullah, a historian at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. "But in Indonesia many people prefer to forget." That is aided by a decidedly murky history. In 2003, Mr Abdullah was asked to lead a team to draft a definitive history of the September 30 coup. Two years on he and his team have managed, he says, to narrow it down to half-a-dozen possible scenarios and given up narrowing it any further.

Even that exercise has proved controversial. Under pressure from radical Islamic groups, the government earlier this year abandoned a plan to amend the official high school history curriculum to reflect alternative versions of who might have been behind the 1965 coup. (Among the favourites: that Suharto himself plotted the coup in a convoluted effort to seize power or that the CIA backed it to bring about the demise of an increasingly influential PKI.) Indonesia's parliament last year called for a truth and reconciliation commission modelled on South Africa's to resolve Suharto-era atrocities.

But this remains only an idea debated at symposiums for now. Who would sit on the commission is unclear, as is the history it would be allowed to explore.

Part of the issue, say historians and activists, is that many in Indonesia's political elite owe their stations to the 84-year-old Suharto, who has repeatedly avoided trial in spite of allegations that he and his family stole as much as $35bn during his rule.

Though he is considered a reformist figure by many, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a former Suharto-era general. Mr Yudhoyono's father-in-law, Sarwo Edhy, was the general who led the 1965 crackdown on suspected communists.

Indonesia's constitutional court last year restored the right of former political prisoners and their families to run for elected office. Recent governments have eliminated the special identity cards they were once required to carry.

Bans on relatives of accused communists being hired as civil servants are also supposed to have been lifted, though it remains unclear if this is carried out in practice.

But efforts to secure compensation for former political prisoners and other victims have gone nowhere.

A Jakarta court earlier this month dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by a group of 1965 victims against Suharto, Mr Yudhoyono and three other presidents. Lawyers for the victims have filed an appeal.

[Additional reporting by Taufan Hidayat.]

Aging ex-'Gerwani' members fight for justice

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Emmy Fitri, Jakarta -- Cecilia and Felia get out of a sedan and carefully walk in their stylish sandals on the wet cobbled stone floor on the side of the house.

It has been raining since morning and nearly all the floor outside -- and parts of the inside of the dilapidated house -- are wet.

To the three elderly women sitting on an old grey sofa on the terrace, the two women in their early 30s introduced themselves as churchgoers from North Jakarta, intending to give a donation to the residents of the old folk's home.

"What can we donate? And by the way ma'am, what is the status of this home? Is it state-run or run by a foundation?" she asked while searching for a pen inside her pink clutch bag.

One of the elderly ladies, Lestari, explained that a foundation ran the nursing home and there were eight people living in the house. "All of us are victims of the 1965 violence," she said ending her brief overview. "1965? What violence? What happened then?" Cecilia asked.

Lestari, now also joined by Sudjinah who sat next to her, responded with what people normally knew about the Sept. 30, 1965 coup, attributed to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The house was home to former political prisoners who were associated with the party and the women were mostly members of Gerwani -- Gerakan Wanita Indonesia or the Indonesian Women's Movement.

"Oh, I see. Now I remember, there is a film, Pemberontakan G30S PKI (G30S PKI rebellion) that we had to watch every year before reformasi (the reform era). The Gerwani members gouged the eyes of the generals and slashed their faces with a razor blade. I remember that," Cecilia said naively.

Nothing changed in the facial expression of Lestari, Sudjinah and Rukinah. There was no hostility at all as they smiled while they talked in their soft and clear voices.

Obviously Cecilia was excited. "Cool -- I'm meeting you here. I only know (about the rebellion) from history books and the film. It's really cool." As their guests left the terrace, Sudjinah muttered,"Young people know nothing about the past. Too bad."

Smear campaign

Under Soeharto's three-decade regime, young Indonesians were raised with the knowledge that the culprits in the 1965 coup were the Communist party and its related organizations. The image of people linked to the Communist party, Gerwani and other "banned" organizations was that they were largely atheist, violent and manipulative.

The decades-long systematic anti-Communist campaign proved to be the most successful way to kill an ideology. People with links to the Communist party were virtually cut off from social, political and economy access. The disenfranchisement, including the social labelling, applied even to the children of people affiliated to the Communist party.

When Soeharto resigned, things did not improve for some former political prisoners as they had already been robbed of a normal existence.

Sixteen people, victims of stigmatization after being made political prisoners, filed a class action lawsuit last year against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his predecessors Megawati Soekarnoputri, Abdurrahman Wahid, B.J. Habibie and Soeharto. The people include Rukinah, who is better known as Ibu Noto, Lestari, Sudjinah and prolific author Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

The sixteen people claimed to represent 20 million ex-political prisoners. The people, mostly over 70 years old, demanded the government apologize and formally rehabilitate them. They also sought between Rp 1 million and Rp 10 billion in damages for the stigma they bore after imprisonment.

"I don't know the exact number of ex-political prisoners but in Jakarta alone, there are several organizations where people like us get together," said Ibu Noto.

Statistics however, are no longer the issue because one person's experience is already a tragedy, with his or her own heartbreaking story. "Most of us are already over 70, yet many of us have not been given a KTP (ID card) because we are ex- political prisoners," Ibu Noto said.

The mother of four children was apprehended in Papua (then Irian Jaya) for she was part of the Sukarno-founded National Front. The Yogyakarta native, whose husband perished in the 1945 independence war, served 14 years in Bukit Duri prison. She was never tried.

"My children and relatives are fine. They know I did not do anything nasty," she said. She was released in 1976 and eked out a living by selling anything from food to herbal remedies.

Though not living in the nursing house, Ibu Noto frequents the house to meet her friends.

Grande dames

Strong is probably the right word to describe Ibu Noto and her friends although physically they are stooped and looking frail. "If we ponder over what we've been through it is truely sad. No living person deserves the torture and the stigma that we have borne. But we must not give up the challenge to survive," she said.

"Our daily meal was 17 kernels of boiled corn, the guards really counted it and they stole every three grains of our portion." "They (the military) wanted us to starve to death." While Ibu Noto and her friends could endure the prison torture and harassment, they admitted that the saddest part of the jail term was the perpetual grief of being separated from their loved ones.

"I met my youngest daughter for the first time after 36 years," Lestari said, sharing her story.

"I left my children with a relative in the village when I was arrested. Maybe, because my relative was scared, she separated the children and gave them to other relatives. My youngest daughter was left in a cemetery. She was only two months old back then," she said.

The infant was found by a soldier who was part of the anti- Communist Trisula Sakti operation. "Not all military personnel are bad. They were just doing their job. Many of them are just humans with a heart. In prison some guards often said that the women prisoners reminded them of their mothers and sisters."

Lestari was released in December 1979 after serving 11 years in prison. The mother of five said she was jailed without trial because she was a Gerwani member.

"Gerwani was not linked with PKI formally. We were an independent organization which, at that time, was the most vocal group in empowering women. We worked against polygamy, we eradicated illiteracy, and we set up kindergartens throughout rural areas in the country," she said firmly.

Robert Cribb's The Indonesian Killings of 1965-1966 explains that Gerwani was never affiliated to the PKI but was to all intents and purposes the party's women's organization, claiming nine million members in 1961.

Saskia Wieringa also mentions in her report Feminism aborted: Gerwani and the coup that after the coup Gerwani was the target of hostility, because it was seen as having promoted promiscuity and as having encouraged women to neglect their family duties.

For 78-year-old Sudjinah, formerly a journalist with Harian Rakjat, the organization was her life, for she was widowed without children. Her husband died in the pre-independence guerrila struggle.

"I got caught in 1967 after living like a chameleon to evade arrest. I worked with three other friends to print leaflets supporting Sukarno," said Sudjinah who lost her front teeth in a torture session while in jail.

Her testimony elucidated in the book, Terhempas Gelombang Pasang (Hit by the Tide) was published five years ago.

The three "grande dames" are just part of a bigger picture; of how their hard past could fuel their fighting spirit. And how they could swallow the bitterness without hatred and revenge for they believe what they know: They are innocent.

"Who doesn't want to die with a clear name and to be remembered as a good person? Our fight is not over until we achieve that," Ibu Noto said.

Former political prisoners still haunted by past

Jakarta Post - September 29, 2005

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- Forty years after the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was accused of masterminding the bloody attempted coup on Sept. 30, 1965, political prisoners associated with the movement still bear scars of incarceration and persecution.

In Medan, former political prisoner Edi Sartimin has lived a lonely life for 27 years after his wife and only child left him because they could not stand living in the shadow of his past. But the 69-year-old man has kept busy, throwing himself into work with non-governmental organizations as a photographer.

Modestly, Edi said he was not skilled at photography but had taken up the job for something to do. "I was formerly a soldier with no skills as a photographer but because I am now on my own, I learned to become (one)," said Edi, who lives at the North Sumatra Community Legal Aid office in Medan.

The former chief corporal said he joined the Indonesian Military in 1957 in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra. He was arrested in September 1967 and accused of being a rebel who planned to escape and join fighters in North Kalimantan, a movement allegedly affiliated with the PKI. For the next 11 years, he was rotated around different prisons in Medan.

When he was finally released in 1978, he had to swallow another bitter pill, his wife, Misnem, and his only daughter, Susiana, had left the house, and him. "They were ashamed having a husband and father like me, who was sent to prison because I was accused of being involved with the PKI. That's why they left me," Edi said.

Another ex-prisoner, M. Farid Hisyam, was also left by his wife and two children after spending only two years inside of a 12- year sentence. The 69-year-old was jailed for being the head of North Sumatra's Indonesian Students Association affiliated to the PKI. "I feel fine that my wife and children left me. Let people know me as I am," Hisyam said defiantly.

The PKI was accused of being responsible for the coup, which resulted in the killings of six military generals. Former president Soeharto rose to power after the coup attempt. After banning the PKI, his government sent thousands of PKI members and their relatives to prison without trial. Those later released from prison were denied government jobs. Hundreds of thousands more people suspected of being linked to the PKI were slaughtered by their neighbors.

In the years following Soeharto's fall, conditions have become less hostile to suspected PKI members and their families. Early last year, the Constitutional Court restored the political rights of those linked with the communist party by allowing them to vote and contest in the legislative elections.

However, jobs for released PKI members are hard to find and family members still face persecution. Dalan Lingga, who led the PKI subsection committee in Dairi regency, can only work as a farmer in his village in Tiga Linggga.

The 70-year-old was joined by his son, a university graduate from North Sumatra University, whose nomination as a village head three years ago was turned down by the regental administration because his family was associated with the PKI.

Another ex-prisoner, Aston Tumanggor, 75, said his son was recently rejected when he applied as a civil servant once it was known that he came from a family associated with the PKI.

"None of my children can work in government offices. This is not fair. What makes us so different with the Free Aceh Movement rebels who are granted freedom and given money, while we can't even work in a government office," the father of eight said.

Government/civil service

Committee finds enough evidence of House graft

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- The House of Representatives' disciplinary committee said it has found prima facie evidence of a conspiracy among lawmakers to "sell" budget allocations.

The committee said it would question a number of third parties, believed to be brokers who acted as intermediaries between lawmakers and local officials to speed up disbursements or boost allocations in return for bribes paid to the legislators, mostly members of the House budget committee.

"There are one or two members who seem to be strongly implicated in these practices. We need to question their accomplices to confirm the submissions we have received," disciplinary committee chairman Slamet Effendi Yusuf said on Thursday.

He said the committee had obtained incriminating documents from a lawmaker who had been questioned previously. "There are two cases here, in January and in August. The bribes involved amount to some Rp 1.4 billion, paid by two businessmen to ensure they got contracts," said Slamet. The two reportedly paid Rp 800 million and Rp 600 million respectively to secure the contracts.

The January case involved the disbursement of leftover funds from the 2004 budget, while the August case involved the relief funds allocated in 2005 for disaster-struck regions. "We have data on the locations where meetings were held, hotels, the rooms, the name cards of the House members and the middlemen," said Slamet.

Therefore, he said, the members of the disciplinary committee would continue their visits to the regions to meet with local officials as part of its investigations during the House recess, which starts next week. "The team will now verify the findings to date," said Slamet.

Committee members visited a number of regions several weeks ago, but came away empty handed as local officials refused to talk.

Also on Thursday, the committee questioned budget committee member Totok Daryanto, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), about an alleged request he made for a 15 percent kickback to help augment a budget allocation.

"We checked the information we received that Totok had asked for a 15 percent fee to increase the budget allocation for a department working with Commission X (on education and sport) in the House. Totok claimed he was only joking at the time," said Slamet.

The request for the bribe, he said, was made by Totok using the cell phone of another lawmaker, who will also be questioned. Totok denied ever holding meetings with local government officials to talk about budget payments or making any kickback demands.

Free access to info 'key to clean government'

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- The government has been accused of stalling the deliberation of a bill on free access to information, casting doubt over its commitment to clean and good governance.

Sabam Leo Batubara, a member of the National Press Council, said many sides were disappointed with the government when Minister for Information and Communications Sofyan Djalil asked the House of Representatives to delay the debate on the bill, which he said was less urgent.

"The strange thing is that while suspending the bill, the House has given priority to controversial bills on state intelligence, national defense and the amended criminal code, which will lead to the return of an authoritarian regime," Leo told a seminar.

The free access to information bill was proposed in 2001 along with the press bill by the National Commission on Human Rights and a coalition of non-governmental organizations in a bid to build a civil society and a clean and good governance. The House has proposed it as an initiative bill.

To start a bill's deliberation, the President needs to appoint minister(s) who will represent the government.

The bill on free access to information requires state institutions and officials to provide the public with all the necessary information that affects them.

Leo questioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to clean and good governance and corruption eradication since he had not been transparent enough in running his administration.

"Indonesia will remain fertile ground for corruption and the government's performance will remain poor if state institutions and officials continue to keep their budgetary spending from the public," he said.

Efforts to curb corruption in the bureaucracy and state companies will work if the government opens up access to information concerning budgetary spending, policymaking and law enforcement to the press, according to Leo.

"If the bill takes effect, the finance ministry is required to publish the total taxes it has collected, state companies such as Pertamina and PT PLN must offer all their procurement and development projects through public tenders and law enforcers have to be transparent in handling corruption cases, gambling, drug abuse, illegal logging and other high-profile crimes," he said.

Hasto Atmodjo, commissioner of civil and political rights at the National Commission on Human Rights, called for public pressure to make the government go to the House to debate the bill.

"The government is obliged to enforce the bill as soon as possible because access to information is a fundamental human right and part of democracy. Those who resist the bill are afraid of being brought to justice," he said.

Made Subamia, a senior official at the Directorate General for Human Rights Protection at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said many state institutions and public officials had avoided the press due to frequent inaccuracy and one-sided coverage.

"Many public officials and figures have sued mass media in court, instead of using the press law in case of reports deemed libelous, mostly because journalists ignore the presumption of innocence principle," he said.

Leo said only 6 percent of around 700 print media in the country were deemed professional. More publications will close through 'natural selection', since they cannot meet the market's demands for accurate, up-to-date and educative information, Leo added.

House factions battle for top posts

Jakarta Post - September 28, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Factions in the House of Representatives are drawing up strategies to snatch top positions in strategic commissions or auxiliary bodies, following the introduction of new guidelines on House leadership positions.

The guidelines, officially approved on Tuesday, pave the way for changes in the composition of leadership of a House commission, giving factions a proportional quota for top posts based on the number of acquired seats.

At present, the composition for a commission and/or auxiliary body is one chairperson and three deputies, most of which are occupied by legislators from major party factions that initially acted as opposition to the current government.

This composition, which was reached late last year after the House members were installed, caused ugly disputes between party factions. Compromises were made, with factions agreeing to a scheduled review.

Leading a commission is seen crucial for factions, as the chairperson has relatively more control to publicize and encourage debate on issues being deliberated during a hearing.

Leaders of a commission also allegedly get more "compensation" from "working partners," particularly commissions on mining (commission VII), public works/disadvantaged regions (V), finance (XI) and the now-infamous budgetary commission.

Under the new guidelines, there will be a single chairperson and four deputies in each commission or body.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the second- largest faction, has plans for chairpersons and deputies in all House 16 commissions and auxiliary bodies.

"We're targeting Commission III (legal), IV (forestry), V, X (education) and the budgetary committee," PDI-P faction secretary Jacobus Mayong Padang said on Tuesday.

PDI-P now chairs these commissions, as well as the House inter- parliamentary body (BKSAP) -- members of which frequently holds sessions with foreign parliaments and go abroad.

But the party is in for a rough battle from the Golkar Party, the largest party in the House and the support of the current government, which also will get to sit chairpersons in four commissions and deputies in all commissions and auxiliary bodies.

"We expect to have at least one chairperson in commissions on politics, economics, development and public welfare issues," Golkar chairman Andi Mattalatta said. Golkar now chairs seven commissions and the House disciplinary body. Golkar is also seeking the BKSAP chair.

Third-largest faction the United Development Party (PPP) meanwhile is set to vie for chairmanships in Commission I (defense/foreign), II (home affairs), V and VI (industry/trade).

The PPP currently has no chair positions in commissions and auxiliary bodies, but will get to install two chairpersons and six deputies, said PPP faction secretary Endin A.J. Soefihara.

Commission V is in the media spotlight following allegations its members were allegedly involved in the embezzling the state budget for disaster relief funds disbursed to the public works ministry.

Another major party, the National Awakening Party (PKB), was also keen on chair positions in either Commission VI or X, faction chairman Ali Masykur Musa said. Currently chairing two commissions and the legislative body, the PKB will now only get one chairperson and six deputies posts.

Starting next week, party factions are likely to fill their three-week recess with lobbying and negotiations. The new composition is scheduled to take effect in 30 days from Tuesday.

House reluctant to give 'privileges'

Jakarta Post - September 25, 2005

Tiarma Siboro and Hera Diani, Jakarta -- The House of Representatives has set up a special commission to draft a revision of Law No. 62/1958 on citizenship, but few people expect a quick revision after some legislators warned of the negative implications of giving "privileges" to mixed marriage couples.

A member of the commission, Lukman Hakim Sjaifuddin from the United Development Party (PPP), promised that legislators would craft a law that respected the basic rights of the people who lived in the country. Yet, he said, the legislators could not just remove all of the articles considered unfair to expatriates married to Indonesians.

"Some of my fellow legislators are worried about the possible negative implications on politics, culture and security if we grant 'legal privileges' to expatriates," Lukman said.

"There is an idea of adopting a system that enables children who are born in a family where the mothers or fathers are foreigners to have dual citizenship, but I predict there will be a rigorous debate over the issue," Lukman told The Jakarta Post.

To try and bridge the different views among legislators, Lukman said he suggested several conditions for dual citizenship, including the principle of reciprocity.

That means that only children of mothers or fathers from those countries that offer dual citizenship to Indonesians would be eligible.

"However, incorporating such a policy into the new law will not be easy as many of my fellow legislators have questioned whether people with dual citizenship would be as loyal to the country as those with only Indonesian nationality," Lukman said.

Indonesia adopts the principle of ius sanguinis, which means that children automatically receive the nationality of their father. Other countries, including the United States, adopt the ius soli principle, which grants nationality to people based on where they were born.

The ius sanguinis principle creates problems for children of Indonesian women who marry foreigners. In the worse case scenario, children born to Indonesian women who are married to foreigners from countries that employ the ius soli principle can become stateless.

Legislator and women's activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said the laws on citizenship and immigration (Law No. 9/1998) discriminated against women, children and Chinese-Indonesians. She wants the government and the House to deliberate the two laws simultaneously.

"I have told the commission that dual citizenship will enable children to live in this country without any discrimination and protect them from legal abuses that they usually face for not being 'pure Indonesians'.

"I also asked the commission to consider another new policy that would help mixed marriage couples obtain permanent residence if they really wanted to stay here," she said, citing the rigid bureaucracy that mixed marriage couples must deal with each time they want to obtain a permit to live or work in the country.

The couples face similar problems in seeking permits for their children to live in Indonesia.

Lukman expects the new citizenship law will require all state officials to ease the process of obtaining permits to prevent couples from being exploited by corrupt officials.

"Well, you know, immigration procedures can be tiring, so we want to simplify them. Principally, no legal procedures should be allowed to violate people's basic rights," Lukman said.

Lawmakers responsible for Rp 419m in state losses: Audit

Jakarta Post - September 24, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- A Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report on the House of Representatives has revealed that legislators left hundreds of millions of rupiah worth of unpaid electric and telephone bills, and it has forced the House to use re-allocated budget money to pay them off.

The report, presented to the House on Tuesday, also contains a statement that former legislators took away state property from their official residence after not getting re-elected, causing a state losses of at least Rp 419 million (about US$41,900).

The audit also shows that the state could lose as much as Rp 839.16 million if it fails to collect the debts from the legislators dwelling in the House's Kalibata housing complex in South Jakarta in the years 2004 and 2005.

The total arrears consist of Rp 474.94 million in electricity bills for 2004, Rp 136.01 million in telephone bills just for December 2004, Rp 89.95 million and Rp 138.26 million in electricity and telephone bills, respectively, for January to June of this year.

The report says the arrears for use in 2004, however, have been cleared after the House secretary-general took out unspent funds from another area of the 2004 budget to cover the debts.

Legislators in the 1999-2004 period each received Rp 1.75 million for utility bill allowances every month. Legislators in the current period receive Rp 2 million for their utilities. The current members of the House have, however, proposed a raise of up to Rp 5.5 million for utility bill allowances in the 2006 budget.

The House secretary-general Faisal Djamal confirmed that a portion of the budget from unspent allocations had been spent to pay the debts.

"The arrears were caused by legislators delaying the payment even after we reminded them. They kept on delaying, but we arranged with PT Telkom and PT PLN not to cut off the connections, because it would've been inconvenient for legislators to have such disconnections," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Telkom is the state-controlled telecommunications firm, while PLN is the state power firm.

In some cases, Faisal said, the arrears had also been caused by use of utilities connections during a transition period between the old and new legislators using the houses.

However, one legislator questioned the arrears and called them suspicious. "I suspect there has been a conspiracy between the secretariat general, PLN and Telkom to fake the arrears, and then split the payment money between them," he alleged.

Based on his experience so far this year, he said it was difficult to confirm the truth of the bills due to the odd, massive figures appearing in the bills.

Suryama M. Sastra from the House Ways and Means committee said he was proposing that such electricity and telephone allowances be treated as reimbursements.

"So, the House pays based exactly on the amount of the bills, so that legislators don't instead use the monthly allowance on other expenses," said the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator.

On housing inventories, the BPK report asserts that many of appliances and pieces of furniture remained unaccounted for after the five-yearly auction in the transition period in late 2004. It was caused by an unorganized system of recording the inventories, the report concluded.

Armed forces/defense

General calls for defense doctrine

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Indonesia urgently needs a doctrine on state defense to identify all internal and external threats to its territorial integrity and to manage its defense forces, a retired general says.

Sudrajat, a retired Army major-general and a former director general of defense strategy at the Ministry of Defense, said Indonesia could no longer rely on the current defense policy and deterrence system amid the changing threats and strategic environment.

"We do need a (new) defense doctrine and a review of the deterrence system in line with the changing threats... The defense doctrine will have to present a new concept on how the defense system will be managed well, effectively and efficiently," he told a seminar on defense organized by the Centre for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday.

Sudrajat, who will soon assume the post of Indonesian ambassador to China, said that following the end of Cold War, traditional threats have shifted to those related to domestic problems such as secessionist movements, communal and sectarian conflicts.

"In countering the separatist movements in Aceh and Papua and communal conflicts in other regions, security authorities can no longer deploy expensive jet fighters and tanks," said, predicting that Indonesia would not face any military attack by other countries within the next 10 to 15 years.

He added that Indonesia also needed to improve the professionalism of its defense forces and enhance its bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other countries in the Southeast Asian region in countering transnational crimes, such as human trafficking, smuggling, piracy, illegal fishing and many other external threats.

During the current reform era, Sudrajat said, Indonesia had enacted two new laws -- one on state defense and another on the Indonesia Military (TNI) -- and a white book on defense, but none detailed how a deterrence system should be managed well, what kinds of arsenals were needed at present and how the military could be deployed effectively and efficiently.

He said the defense system should be designed by the President as the TNI supreme commander, the National Defense Board and the House of Representatives.

It should regulate what kinds of arms were needed, how they should be procured and how the military was deployed in accordance with its deterrent, rehabilitative and enforcement functions, he said.

"So far, there has been no policy on arsenal procurement. We have purchased jet fighters from US, Britain and Russia with high prices and paid high maintenance costs, while they are no longer relevant to current threats. It's not only the military but also the House of Representatives, which should be the only institutions granted the political authority for the military buildup," he said.

Andi Widjayanto, a military analyst from the University of Indonesia, concurred, saying Indonesia's existing deterrence system was ineffective and inefficient because of the presence of 137 often incompatible or incomplete weapons systems.

"The arsenals are not effective because they do not match with the changing strategic environment in the defense field, and they are not efficient because we have recruited and trained a numerous number of personnel to operate them and spent much money to maintain them," he said.

Military ordered to divest business interests

Radio Australia - September 29, 2005

The Indonesian military has begun selling off some of its business ventures as part of government reforms. The defence minister has given the green light to the sale of some assets a month before they're due to be taken over by the state.

MacGregor: As part of reforms promised by the president, hundreds of businesses owned or part-owned by the military will be taken over or closed down by the state over the next five years.

With legislation due to come into effect in the next few weeks time, the military has already begun selling some of its assets. That's angered some members of parliament, who say the businesses should not be transferred until the law is enacted. Indonesian military expert Professor Salim Said agrees the process is still unclear.

Said: I mean it's still being decided what the government's going to do with that business and also where the government can get the money to compensate the military.

MacGregor: In the past, the Indonesian government has provided less than half of the military budget. And while some say the business ventures could be worth as much as 2 billion dollars, Salim Said believes there won't be enough to fund the shortfall.

Said: The amount of the money generated from the business of the military is not enough to cover the budget of the military. So the government, in order to professionalise the military -- in the sense of equip them, pay them properly, stop them doing business -- they need to have enough money for that.

MacGregor: Well, how much are the defence force being paid now? Are they being paid enough?

Said: I think they are very much underpaid, just like the bureaucracy. The Indonesian bureaucracy, Indonesian military are very much underpaid.

MacGregor: What would it cost to fund an effective and professional defence force?

Said: Well, I really don't know exactly how much money do we need. But what I heard is that up until now, only around 50 percent of the budget requested by the military can be provided by the state, by the government. So we still need a lot of money to professionalise our armed forces.

MacGregor: Will the defence force in future be a much smaller and leaner organisation?

Said: There are many people talking in Indonesia that such a big country with such a big population, we need more military to protect the country. So there is a debate going on on this, whether to have a smaller armed forces or even larger armed forces than what we have now.

I think we have to review the whole setup. For instance, do we need such a big army, with a small air force, small navy? Probably we need more navy and more air force, and probably we have enough army now.

MacGregor: While the government tries to answer these questions, Salim Said says the military is continuing to influence political debate.

Said: This discussion, the discussion on this is not politically free.

MacGregor: Are elements of the military resisting this asset sale?

Said: Well, I don't think they have resistance on that. But the government's ability is very limited. And also because the political condition is not yet horrible enough to push the reformation of the military and to talk about what kind, how big the military we should have in this country.

Military allowed to sell assets from business ventures

Jakarta Post - September 29, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- The "clearance sale" of assets and properties belonging to Indonesian Military (TNI) foundations and business ventures could last for a month, the Minister of Defense says.

Juwono Sudarsono said on Wednesday the TNI would be allowed to sell certain assets in business ventures before the government officially took over other businesses under the new law.

"Before a presidential regulation is issued, changes of ownership are not a problem as long as the procedures are in line with the law, and the sales are approved by the Ministry of Finance," Juwono told a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission I here.

The presidential regulation will come into effect in early November at the latest. The TNI is still collecting data on its business ventures, although the defense ministry had set a Sept. 26 deadline for the military to complete the job.

Law No. 34/2004 on the Indonesian Military stipulates that the government will acquire all the TNI businesses within five years to create a more professional military that stays away from business.

The legislation has prompted the quick sales of the TNI's assets in some companies, although some believe that those assets belong to the state and should not be sold privately.

The Navy has reportedly released its ownership of several "unprofitable" companies, while the Army's Kartika Eka Pakci Foundation has also sold its 11 percent stake in PT Artha Graha to companies belonging to businessman Tomy Winata, who controls the holding company.

Army-controlled Mandala Airlines is also now on offer, with its sale allowed as long as it followed the law, Juwono said.

Mandala president commissioner Lt. Gen. Hadi Waluyo has hinted he may offer the company to investors because it had suffered losses in the last two years. The plan surfaced after a Mandala plane crashed into a crowded residential area in Medan early this month, killing 149 people.

Juwono could not, however, explain where the money acquired from the sales of military assets would go. "We will review the regulations in order to boost accountability," he said.

Defense ministry secretary general Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin said every process that did not follow legal procedures would be a serious violation, but would not detail any sales he believed were illegal.

Several House lawmakers urged the TNI on Wednesday not to sell or transfer its assets to any other parties before the enactment of the new military law.

"While not explicitly, the law suggests that the assets should not be transferred until the regulation on which ventures will be taken over by the government is issued. Such sales are against the law," said Commission I deputy Effendi Choirie said.

Another commission member Ade Daud Nasution also criticized the quick sales of businesses by military generals.

The defense ministry is working with the Office of State Minister of State Enterprises, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and Ministry of Finance to set criteria on military businesses -- either enterprises, foundations or cooperatives -- which will then be handed to the government.

The TNI has earlier said it wanted to keep the foundations and cooperatives under its control to help improve soldiers' welfare, arguing the government provided less than a half of its military budget.

Military hands in inadequate report on wealth: BPK

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2005

Tony Hotland and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- Over Rp 38.8 billion (US$3.85 million) worth of profits from assets of the Indonesian Military (TNI), which were used by third parties, have not been accounted for, according to a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report on the central government.

Presented to the House of Representatives last week, the 2004 report also reveals that the Ministry of Defense did not pay any taxes on more than 167,000 hectares of TNI land. The uncertified land is mostly under control of the Air Force, the defense ministry and the TNI headquarters.

Profits from the use of the TNI assets, the report states, have instead been spent internally by the military without making maximum contributions to the state's finances.

The unreported funds included compensation and profits reaped by the Navy's main cooperatives (Inkopal), the Navy's primary cooperatives (Primkopal), the Navy's central cooperatives (Puskopal) and hospitals run by all the Navy, the Army and the Air Force.

A total of Rp 1.53 billion in profit made by Inkopal was not reported, in addition to Rp 255 million for doctors' housing near one of the Navy's hospitals and Rp 441.9 million in the form of annual fees for administrative and operational costs from PT Trisaha Eka Pradana.

According to Inkopal, by the end of 2004, a total of Rp 28 billion in unreported compensation from the use of state assets by third parties was attributed to the Navy headquarters.

The figure included Rp 20 billion from PT PGE for a five-hectare plot of land for a supermarket project in North Jakarta and Rp 5 billion from PT Trisaha Eka Pradana for a 1.5-hectare site for an automotive center in North Jakarta.

Furthermore, the BPK report reveals unreported profits made by hospitals run by the TNI's three forces in 2004, totaling at least Rp 7.7 billion.

Responding to the report, the Ministry of Defense argued that the funds had not been reported due to technical problems, citing the absence of guidelines on the obligation of deposited profits from the use of TNI assets.

The TNI's dubious reports of their assets have often become problems, while on the other hand, the military has long been complaining about the lack of an adequate defense budget as its main reason for its poor performance.

Now with Law No. 34/2004 on military reforms that allows the government to take over all of TNI's businesses within five years, many hope that more accountable financial management would be introduced into the powerful military.

Ministry of Defense secretary-general Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has said that Sept. 27 was set as the deadline for all military units to submit reports over their respective assets.

In cooperation with four relevant ministries, including the State Ministry of State Enterprises, the defense ministry planned to evaluate all of TNI's business units before giving suggestions to the President on how to handle them.

Sjafrie said his office could not make any moves until the military units sold their assets to certain private companies prior to the Sept. 27 deadline.

The Navy has reportedly released its ownership of several companies, which it claims were unprofitable. Also, the Army's Kartika Eka Pakci Foundation has reportedly sold its 20 percent stake in PT Artha Graha, a private company owned by businessman Tomy Winata.

Sjafrie said that in general, the military enterprises were no longer profitable, especially after the reform movement, which bans servicemen from involvement in businesses.

Opinion & analysis

Forty years on, events of 1965 remain a mystery

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Hera Diani, Jakarta -- Noted Muslim cleric Yusuf Hasyim held up a number of large mug-shots -- people whom he said were victims of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) scheme to take over the country four decades ago.

Yusuf, who was a young Muslim leader at the time, revealed the details of the assassinations during a book launch on Thursday. He argued that the PKI indeed masterminded two abortive coup attempts in 1948 and the Sept. 30, 1965, and was responsible for the killing of its opposition.

"There are two versions of the history. But by overlooking the involvement of PKI in the coup, we tend to whitewash a black part of our history," said the Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) cleric and an uncle of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Known by Indonesian acronym as G-30S/PKI, the 1965 incident revolved around the killing of six Army generals. Another general was injured, while his daughter was shot and killed by the attackers.

With only a few key eyewitnesses of the incident left alive today, the 1965 coup attempt, which led to the widespread massacre of communists and the establishment of New Order authoritarian regime, has remained one of the most controversial events in the country's history.

Historians are still debating the role of PKI in the event, with some saying the party was only a scapegoat. Other versions say Gen. Soeharto, who assumed power following the incident, conflicting factions in the Army, or the CIA were the culprits of the murders.

During 32-year of Soeharto's rule, thousands of people linked to the party were jailed without trial, while their families and offspring were robbed of their civil, economic and political rights.

Several historians have written revisionist histories, saying that old government line blaming the PKI was heavily biased. Meanwhile, the latest school history textbooks have left out completely the coup attempt and the 1965 bloodbath. These textbooks were later were pulled by the Ministry of National Education after numerous complaints from the public.

Earlier this month, the Central Jakarta District Court overturned a class action from a number of former PKI political prisoners who demanded the government apologize and restore their rights. The judge's unusual decision left the case to the administrative court, although that court could not hear the prisoner's suit because their arrests occurred outside of its time frame, a lawyer for the former prisoners said.

Historian Aminuddin Kasdi from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University said while he was not against the rehabilitation of former political prisoners, it didn't mean that the PKI was not culpable in the coup.

"Rehabilitation does not necessary means they (PKI members) are innocent. Facts and witnesses show that PKI was indeed the mastermind of the abortive coup. We cannot deny that," he said during the launch of his book titled G30S PKI/1965, Bedah Caesar Dewan Revolusi Indonesia (the Caesarean Section of the Indonesian Revolutionary Council).

In an interesting turn of events, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono plans to preside over a commemoration of the military crackdown on people behind the coup on Oct. 1. Such a ritual has been absent since Soeharto stepped down in 1998.

Historian Anhar Gonggong told The Jakarta Post recently that controversy over certain historical facts was inevitable, as happened with the holocaust in Europe or regarding Japanese abuses during World War II.

The education ministry, he said, needed to take a firm stance as to which version or which facts it would choose, to avoid confusion.

"It's up to people to criticize," he said, adding that history (lessons) were aimed at imparting knowledge. Meanwhile, noted cleric and human rights activist Solahuddin Wahid said that if historians could bridge the differences, they should agree to disagree.

"It seems that our historians are unable to shed the mystery of the 1965 event. Then give people both versions, as long as it is backed by strong evidence (each way). Let people decide which (story) is true."

Can a religious nation be proud of butchering its own?

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2005

Harry Bhaskara and Kornelius Purba -- If ever they have the opportunity to read it, The New York Times' correspondent C.L. Sulzberger's report from Jakarta on April 13, 1966, might help three young girls understand why, on every Sept. 30, their father locks himself away.

How well they know the grief that overcomes him as he shuffles to his room to shut himself in on the last day of every September. If they had the chance to read C.L. Sulzberger's report they would probably understand the source of his sorrow.

In the report titled When a nation runs amok, Sulzberger said the Sept. 30 massacre was comparable to the world's worst killings, like Hitler's Jewish genocide. The article was written just seven months after the so-termed G30S tragedy.

"The twentieth century grimly remembers many monstrous slaughters: Turkey's Armenian massacres; Stalin's starvation of the Kulaks; Hitler's Jewish genocide; the Moslem-Hindu killings following India's partition, the enormous purges after China's communization. Indonesia's bloody persecution of its Communist rivals these terrible events in both scale and savagery," Sulzberger wrote from Jakarta.

Today, the girls' father will likely repeat his annual ritual. He has never told his daughters that his father was a victim of the Sept. 30 tragedy. Neither are they aware that their father finished his studies at the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) under a name that was not his own. The children suffer from a stigma: They are the children of an Indonesian Communist (PKI) member. The children inherited the "sins" of their father.

"For 33 years until 1998 (Soeharto's fall), I and my other siblings had to hide our real identities. I don't want my daughters to suffer from the same 'disease' although the situation is rather different now," said the man who has a small construction company.

The daughters do not know much about the massacre as, while they watched the same film every Sept. 30 until 1998, they were too young to understand it. It is hard for them to fathom why their father is reluctant to talk about his childhood in Medan, North Sumatra.

Millions of innocent children lost their parents and have never been informed of their whereabouts. The state treated them like pariahs and gave them no protection, though it was their right to receive it. In the scenario that their parents were indeed PKI members and committed crimes, why does the state demand of children that they pay for the sins of their parents? September was the month when it was compulsory, under the New Order government, to view a film depicting the murders of seven generals in 1965. This was its view of the events that preceded a year-long program that claimed thousands, perhaps, millions of lives.

The film -- graphic scenes of the cruelness of the communists in the eyes of the New Order -- has not been screened since Soeharto fell from power in 1998. For more than two decades, millions of Indonesians watched it, without being able to question the historical accuracy of it under a dictatorship.

What really happened on Sept. 30, 1965, remains a matter of controversy. Teachers are at a loss to explain the course of events to their students. History books were withdrawn and revised editions published. Only a few facts, however, are revealed in the revised histories, which has left many dissatisfied.

Along with the film's presentation, there was an annual ceremony to remind the people of the murders of the generals and the dangers of communism. It was held at the Lubang Buaya (Crocodile Hole), presumably the site of these horrendous killings. This ceremony has been sporadically held in recent years. Former presidents Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid skipped it, but not Megawati Soekarnoputri -- although many people hope she will be able to clear her father's name in the alleged coup attempt.

Soeharto brainwashed Indonesians so thoroughly that, until now, many Indonesians believe that the PKI and communists are despised by God. Even as communism has lost its popularity in China, many Indonesians still believe that there is nothing worse in this world than communism.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to preside over the ceremony at Lubang Buaya on Saturday, the day that has been called Pancasila Sanctity Day. He has promised the ceremony will reflect more willingness to reveal the historical facts. However as his own father-in-law, the legendary Lt. Gen. (ret) Sarwo Eddie, played a decisive role in the rise of Soeharto to power, it is difficult to imagine he can distance himself from the official version of history.

We proudly call ourselves a religious nation. And apparently, as a nation, we are also proud to have killed hundreds of thousands if not millions of people, whom we regarded as the enemies of God.

Do the cop shop bop?

Jakarta Post - September 25, 2005

Simon Pitchforth -- Indonesian policemen, noble upholders of the law, with their voluminous peaked caps and their epaulets the size of telephone directories. Love them or loathe them, you are bound to run into the medium-length arm of Indonesian law enforcement sooner or later.

By far the most common encounters between the hapless bule and the Indonesian cop occur on the bustling public highways of Jakarta. The boys in blue (brown actually) can often be found, of an evening, trying to supplement their meager incomes by stopping cars, taxis and motorcycles and asking for an ID. If you don't have any on you (and contrary to what they may tell you, a photocopy is sufficient) Rp 50,000 worth of palm grease should see you safely on your way again. It's highway robbery, basically, although I guess you're less likely to be knifed in the kidneys than you are during a real holdup. Should you be on a motorcycle, you might be tempted to try and burn past the officer who is attempting to pull you over. However, there will undoubtedly be another cop stationed 50 meters down the road and you will really be in trouble when he finally gets hold of you.

Strangely, for the Western motorist, these highway (patrol) men are usually utterly indifferent to how much you have had to drink. You won't have to blow into any bags, you won't have to slur incoherently "But I haven't had a c??t all night drinkstable!!" They will only want to see your documents. You could be swigging a bottle of Scotch and projectile vomiting onto the dashboard for all they care. An Australian friend of mine was once pulled over while drunk as lord behind the wheel of his Kijang. He didn't have any ID on him or any cash whatsoever after a night on the booze. His Polri cop nemesis simply refused to believe that he didn't have any bribe money on him, however, and after about half an hour of being pestered for a "present" my colleague disembarked from his car in an alcoholic rage and proceeded to strip off all his clothes in the street in order to prove the lack of funds about his person. His inebriated state was never an issue though, and he was eventually allowed to continue driving home.

Should you have the misfortune to be taken into police custody in Indonesia, you might find yourself incarcerated in somewhat less than Alcatraz-like conditions. On the two occasions that I've been hauled into the Cop shop, I was allowed to amble freely around the station doing exactly as I pleased. One time, some friends and I were driven to a police station near the port of Merak after being stopped at a police roadblock (well, we won't open that can of worms now). We slept the night on the office floor after an interrogation which involved us being made to play guitars, answer questions about our love lives and have matey photos taken with the on duty officers. The next day, our spirits flagging, the nice chaps down at the station even let a couple of us out to go out to McDonald's and buy some burgers for the other two in our group. Now that's what I call policing.

I guess an incident such as this highlights the other side of the police force here. Indonesians are generally a friendly lot and if the police are not just looking at you, at any given moment, as a walking ATM machine, then they can be some of the most acquiescent cops on the planet and will try to genuinely help you if they can. We all saw the TV pictures of Bali bomber Amrozi laughing and joking with the officers who were interrogating him. This footage caused great offense to watching Australians. Westerners, I guess, are used to their policemen putting a certain amount of moral distance between themselves and the suspects in their charge. This doesn't seem to happen in Indonesia, however. The cops here will laugh and joke with the crooks they haul in. They will also beat the living crap out of them as well, of course. Other countries like to sweep incidents of police brutality under the carpet whereas here they are broadcast on TV every morning on reality crime shows.

If you should meet a policeman on your travels through the archipelago just remember the golden rule: keep smiling, difficult as this may be sometimes.

The 9/30 tragedy

Jakarta Post Editorial - September 30, 2005

Something horrible happened 40 years ago that changed the course of Indonesia's history, unfortunately for the worse. But while the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of six Army generals on the night of Sept. 30, 1965, remain shrouded in mystery, the effects of this tragic event are unequivocal: it was a case of one tragedy leading to another, and another, and another.

Whoever was responsible for the kidnappings and killings, and whatever their motives -- both questions remain contentious to this day among historians -- the events of that night, which lasted until the early hours of Oct. 1, unleashed a killing spree that went on for months, with the main targets, though by far not the only targets, being suspected members and supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was blamed for the murder of the generals.

If that was not enough of a tragedy, the nation saw the young Army general Soeharto seize the presidency the following year, ushering in an era of repression, brutality and corruption that would last for the next three decades.

Soeharto was easily one of the most ruthless rulers of the 20th century, and his human rights record matches those of other dictators of his era: the jailing of tens of thousands of people without trial, the invasion of East Timor and the ensuing brutal rule of the territory, the silencing of politicians, clerics and students who disagreed with his policies, his brutal policies in Aceh and Papua, to name but a few. Last week, more than seven years after his removal from office, the National Commission on Human Rights announced that 14 government critics who went missing during Soeharto's rule had been murdered.

Soeharto's legacy goes beyond the atrocities he and his regime committed. The militaristic and often brutal nature of our political culture today, from the intolerance to the use of violence to settle differences, is deeply rooted in Soeharto's New Order, and it will likely require one or two generations to undo this unfortunate legacy as the nation struggles to transform itself into a democracy.

But the biggest tragedy for the nation is our own denial that 9/30 was a tragedy of horrific proportions. Soeharto used the event to sanctify Pancasila, effectively turning the state ideology into an instrument he could wield to justify his brutal policies.

Officially, at least during the Soeharto years, the event was marked on Oct. 1, thus confining the tragedy solely to the killing of the six generals and, at least according to military historians, to the abortive coup by the PKI. What happened afterward was justified as a necessary evil, even a historical necessity, although the killing spree was not openly recognized.

There was no mention in the military-dictated official history books of the ensuing bloodshed, which according to international human rights organizations left at least half a million people dead. The precise figure will never be known precisely because we as a nation pretend it never happened.

C. L. Sulzberger, writing in The New York Times from Jakarta on April 13, 1966, compared the Indonesian killings with other slaughters of the 20th century, including the Armenian massacres, Stalin's starvation of the Kulaks, Hitler's Jewish genocide, the Muslim-Hindu killings following India's partition and the purges following China's turn to communism. "Indonesia's bloody persecution of its communist rivals these terrible events in both scale and savagery," Sulzberger wrote.

Four decades later the nation has not fully come to terms with the reality of these events. We barely know the truth. We only have the truth Soeharto's military wanted us to have. The worst part is that most of us do not seem to want to know what happened. We would rather bury this ugly past and forget it entirely.

But here is the bad news: We can never bury the past. This dark page in our history will continue to haunt us for as long as we fail to get to the truth. As they say, only the truth shall set us free.

More than seven years since Soeharto left the political stage, surely the time has come for the nation to rewrite the history of what happened on the night of Sept. 30, 1965. History is always written from the perspective of the victors. Soeharto was the winner of the power struggle in the mid-1960s, thus he had his day.

But as his legacy shows, there are no real winners here. The entire nation suffered, and continues to suffer to this day. There are only losers.

The implications of the citizenship law on mixed marriages

Jakarta Post - September 25, 2005

For children of mixed marriages: Children automatically take the fathers' citizenship. However, based on the 1984 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which has been ratified by Indonesia, the distinction between father and mother to determine children's citizenship should be eliminated.

An Indonesian mother must get special permits issued by related ministries to receive custody of underage children. Once issued, the permits must be picked up at an Indonesian Embassy in another country.

Stay permits for the children of Indonesian mothers are only valid for one year, and the children have to report to the police and administration offices at every level. The children also need a re-entry visa anytime they go abroad.

Children of expatriate fathers can only go to international schools, where the tuition is relatively expensive. And once they finish school, even if they want to stay in the country, they cannot work unless they have a work permit (expensive) from the manpower ministry and company sponsorship (unlikely as that usually requires work experience).

It is not clear whether expatriate mothers can become the guardians for their underage children if the fathers die. It is not clear whether expatriate mothers married to civil servants are eligible to receive husbands' retirement money for their children's needs if the father dies.

For Indonesian women marrying expatriate men: The Indonesian wife cannot sponsor her husband or grown up children for visas to stay in the country.

The Indonesian wife cannot bequeath her wealth to her children. Many Indonesian wives have to leave their jobs and career if the husband loses his job in the country and has to leave.

For expatriate men married to Indonesian women: Non-Indonesian men cannot become Indonesian citizens without giving up the citizenship of their country of origin.

For those who want to retire in Indonesia, the process is not easy and there are many complex requirements.

For expatriate women married to Indonesian men: Expatriate women must be sponsored by their husbands to be able to stay in the country, with stay permits having to be renewed every year.

Re-entry visa is needed anytime they go abroad, and must be applied for with their husbands acting as sponsors.

To work in the country, expatriate women must be sponsored by a company.

Expatriate women do not have the right to inherit husband's property. The property must be sold within a year of the death of the husband.

[Source: Inter-Nations Rainbow Alliance (APAB).]