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Indonesia News Digest 31 – August 17-24, 2008

News & issues

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 News & issues

Attack forces Indonesian Christians off campus

Associated Press - August 22, 2008

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – Hundreds of Christian theology students have been living in tents since a mob of angry Muslim neighbors stormed their campus last month wielding bamboo spears and hurling Molotov cocktails.

The incident comes amid growing concern that Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance is under threat from Islamic hard-liners.

In talks since the attack, the Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology has reluctantly agreed to shut its 20-year-old campus in east Jakarta, accepting an offer this week to move to a small office building on the other side of the Indonesian capital.

"Why should we be forced from our house while our attackers can walk freely?" asked the Rev. Matheus Mangentang, chairman of the 1,400-student school.

The government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which relies on the support of Islamic parties in Parliament, is struggling to balance deep Islamic traditions and a secular constitution. With elections coming next April, the government seems unwilling to defend religious minorities, lest it be portrayed as anti-Islamic in what is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

The July 25 attack, which injured 18 students, was the culmination of years of simmering tensions between the school and residents of the Kampung Pulo neighborhood. Senny Manave, a spokesman for the Christian school, said complaints were received from neighbors about prayers and the singing of hymns, which they considered disturbing evangelical activity.

Several neighbors refused to comment, saying they feared that could further strain relations. A prominent banner, signed by scores of people, has been hung over an entrance to the neighborhood. "We the community of Kampung Pulo demand the campus be closed and dissolved," it says.

The assault began around midnight, when students woke to the crash of stones falling on their dormitory roof as a voice over a loudspeaker at a nearby mosque cried "Allah Akbar," or "God is great" in Arabic.

The unidentified speaker urged residents to rise up against their "unwanted neighbors," said Sairin, the head of campus security, who goes by a single name.

The attack followed a claim that a student had broken into a resident's house, but police dismissed the charge.

Uneasy relations date to 2003, when neighbors began to protest the school's presence. Last year, residents set fire to shelters for construction workers to try to stop the campus from expanding deeper into the neighborhood. Some also questioned the legality of the school's permit.

Christian lawmaker Karol Daniel Kadang accused property speculators of provoking last month's incident to clear the land for more profitable use, after the school refused to sell out.

He also blamed the government for failing to build interfaith relations, which he and others believe are beginning to fray. "People are still tolerant, but there is a growing suspicion among Muslims of others," said Prof. Franz Magnis-Suseno, a Jesuit priest who has lived in Indonesia for half a century.

He added that the police have failed to prevent both attacks on minorities and the forced closure of Christian churches and nontraditional mosques by mobs incited by radical Muslims.

"The state has some responsibility for this growing intolerance, namely by not upholding the law," he said.

A mob stormed a church service last Sunday in another east Jakarta neighborhood, forcing dozens of Christian worshippers to flee, said Jakarta Police Chief Col. Carlo Tewu. No arrests have been made.

Since being driven from campus, nearly 600 female students have been sleeping under suspended tarps at a nearby scout camp, where they had to dig trenches to keep water out during downpours. Classes are held with megaphones in the sweltering summer heat, under trees or the tarps. A similar number of male students live in a guesthouse. The remainder have returned to their families.

Food, water and school supplies are donated by church groups and community charities.

"We feel like refugees in our own country," said Dessy Nope, 19, a second-year student majoring in education. "How can you study here? I only followed 20 percent of my last lesson. It's difficult to concentrate."

Christians have not been the only targets for Muslim hard-liners, who this year set fire to mosques of a Muslim sect, Ahmadiyah, that they consider heretical.

In June, the government ordered members of the sect to return to mainstream Islam, sparking concern among activists who fear the state is interfering in matters of faith and caving in to the demands of radicals.

"We're living in a country where there are many religions, but the government cannot prevent the actions of fundamentalist groups," said Manave, the school spokesman. "The government cannot protect minorities."

Foreign groups behind protest of battalions: TNI official

Jakarta Post - August 22, 2008

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Commander of the Wirasakti Military Command in Kupang Col. Winston Pardamean Simanjuntak concluded Thursday that public protests against the planned construction of two battalion command posts in West Timor, East Nusa Tenggara, involved foreign interests opposed to their presence.

Simanjuntak blamed foreign interests for financing the activities of protesters.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has planned to set up an infantry battalion and a combat battalion in North Central Timor and Belu regencies, both bordering Timor Leste, in 2009.

TNI data shows the number of military district commands throughout the country has reached 11, while the number of battalion command posts are now 96.

Simanjuntak acknowledged his command had met Atambua Bishop Dominikus Saku and other religious figures to discuss this.

"The Atambua bishop is aware of the importance of defense and security for the nation and its people. No one would be disadvantaged by the presence of these command posts, be it the provincial administration, the community, other agencies or non- governmental groups.

"We should realize that in the global era, defense must be strengthened," said Simanjuntak on the sidelines of the transfer of command between East Sumba and Manggarai military district commanders at the Wirasakti Military Command in Kupang on Thursday.

He added the country's defense system was based on popular support so that it could be available when needed.

He speculated that the protests against the planned construction of the battalion command posts involved interests that did not wish for an army presence to keep the peace, thus resulting in protests.

"We will continue to observe the local situation and to carry out public awareness activity," he added.

Simanjuntak said the TNI was open to discussions to explain to the community the importance of the role of these battalions in maintaining security and defense.

He added his command was already aware of the interest that funded the protests.

"The most important thing is to strengthen our resilience, because good or bad we depend on ourselves and not upon others," he said.

Simanjuntak considered that such protests were appropriate so long as they were followed up by clear explanations (on why the bases were needed).

"I think it's normal because people are not yet informed," he said.

He acknowledged the initial approaches carried out by the TNI had not been effective enough and had sparked opposition from local people, reflecting insufficient dialogue with local communities.

"I have asked the Atambua bishop and all elements of society in every village to discuss the matter," he said.

Simanjuntak said construction work on the command posts in Belu and North Central Timor would be carried out in stages until 2014, taking into account the country's economic conditions.

Inquiry starts on irregularities in oil, gas proceeds

Jakarta Post - August 22, 2008

Alfian, Jakarta – A lawmaker inquiry over the country's oil and gas management kicked off Thursday with the BPK disclosing a letter it sent to police on indications of graft in the distribution of subsidized fuel.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) sent the letter to the National Police on July 28 after making an audit on the distribution of subsidized fuel early this year.

The audit followed a growing demand for the agency to unravel mismanagement in the oil and gas sector, which has been riddled with corruption.

A copy of the letter received by The Jakarta Post after the inquiry session revealed several items the police could feasibly investigate, including the missing revenue from 4.59 million liters of fuel that exceeded the subsidized fuel quota in 2007.

The letter also included the finding of 325 kiloliters of subsidized fuels illegally shipped to Christmas Island aboard the KM Caraka Jaya Niaga III-6 and the KM Caraka Jaya Niaga III-12, both vessels rented by state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina.

BPK member Udju Djuhaeri, who was responsible for the oil and gas audit, said the reported findings were just the tip of the iceberg on corruption in the sector.

"We have audited subsidized fuels management for 2007 and I promise the results will surprise you all. Today we actually have an appointment to discuss this matter with the National Police crimes division," Udju told lawmakers.

In its letter to the police, BPK chairman Anwar Nasution said the suspected graft was caused by weak supervision and protracted corruption and nepotism.

"We hope the police can take proper action to respond to these apparent violations," Anwar said in the letter.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said he had no knowledge over whether the letter had been received by the police.

The House of Representatives has formed a special inquiry committee to question the government's policy in raising fuel prices, following strong public protests and allegations that billions of dollars in revenue from the oil and gas sector were lost through inefficiency and corruption.

Pertamina is the sole supplier and distributor of subsidized fuel. Pertamina spokesperson Wisnuntoro, however, denied the company's involvement in any wrongdoing suggested by the BPK.

"I think it is just like other fuel smuggling cases alleged by law enforcers. Some people accumulate subsidized fuels and then smuggle them abroad. Pertamina has nothing to do with this," he said.

Lawmaker Rama Pratama, who is also a member of the inquiry committee, said the BPK's findings were still very general. "We expect the KPK not only to investigate the alleged irregularity at the corporate level, but also at the policymaking level," he said.

The inquiry team is scheduled to convene again on Aug. 27 with energy experts.

Politicians blamed for heating conflicts

Jakarta Post - August 19, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Sixty-three years after independence and 10 years after reform, political elite groups have come to regard ethnic and religious differences as problems, subsequently manipulating them for their own agenda, lawmakers and human rights activists said.

Activists allege that certain politicians have been exacerbating the country's most recent religious- and ethnic-related conflicts for the sake of their political agenda. Such violence, they insist, is not rooted in Indonesian society.

Pointing to recent attacks on minority groups and small religious sects as well as the destruction of churches, Golkar's senior politician Theo Sambuaga said sectarian conflicts have been on the rise in recent years.

"The state is allowing certain groups to take the law into their own hands and attack others or burn buildings at will. These attacks have become more frequent in the past few years," he said.

"Even worse, some politicians support the use of violence to strengthen their popularity while the government appears to do little to prevent the attacks."

Theo was referring to an attack by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) on religious freedom activists at Monas in June and by residents of Kampung Makassar on the Arastamar Theological College (Setia) in East Jakarta early this month.

Rights activists are suspicious the hard-line groups feel free to launch attacks because they are backed by politicians, officials and security officers.

"These radical groups will not dare to attack others if they have no support from some members of the government. Therefore, it is the political elite that spark and provoke the conflicts," said Hendardi, chairman of Setara Institute, an NGO which promotes pluralism.

In the Setia school attack, East Jakarta Mayor Djoko Ramadan had bowed to pressure from residents who had demanded evacuation of the school's 580 students despite the fact the school had existed peacefully for over 12 years.

Police have been slow in investigating the case, while House politicians failed to support the students during their recently held meeting.

Theo asserted pluralism was the foundation of the Indonesian nation, which though comprised of various ethnic groups speaking different languages, united together to claim independence.

As if to criticize his own party for doing little to promote pluralism among its constituents, Theo said politicians and officials have neglected citizens just because they were different, including the implementation of sharia in some regions. He said sharia-based ordinances were a threat to the country's integration.

Over a dozen regions, notably Tangerang whose mayor is a Golkar member, have enacted sharia bylaws despite warnings that the laws would deprive women and non-Muslims of their civil rights.

These include requiring Koran literacy for students and brides, enforcing Islamic dress code on all women and biased anti- prostitution laws which punish women and not men.

Critics have said many of the ordinances were drafted by unqualified people without transparency or public participation and aimed only at wooing Muslim voters.

 Actions, demos, protests...

Papuans demand investigation into shooting, democratic space

Detik.com - August 22, 2008

Didi Syafirdi, Jakarta – Around 20 West Papuans from the United West Papua Popular Struggle Front (Pepera) held an action at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on Friday August 22.

They were demanding that the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla hold a full and complete investigation into the shooting of Opinus Tabuni during a commemoration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People in Wamena, West Papua, on August 9.

The protesters arrived at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout at 11am in a Metro Mini bus. As soon as they arrived, they began giving speeches and unfurled to banners reading "Open up democratic space for the West Papuan people", "Uphold the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples" and "Fully investigate the August 9 2008 incident in Wamena West Papua". A poster reading "Withdraw the military from the West Papua region" was also displayed.

"Fully investigate the shooting of the civilian in Wamena, West Papua immediately. We are urging the parties concerned to open up democratic space for the Papuan people", said action coordinator Viktor Kogoya.

According to Kogoya, to this day Papuans have still not been given guarantees of the freedom of expression and to convey their views as regulated under the 1945 Constitution. Papuans are still deemed as separatists and violent methods are still used frequently by the government against the Papuan people. "We call for the military to leave Papua immediately", they demanded.

The action was quite brief with protesters disbanding after half-an-hour of giving speeches. The action caused no disruption whatsoever to traffic in the vicinity of the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, although scores of police could be seen on guard during the action. (sho/nrl)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

'Bajaj' owners demand missing vehicles, money

Jakarta Post - August 20, 2008

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Bajaj (three-wheeled taxi) owners and the People's Information Group (LIRA) held a demonstration at City Hall on Tuesday to demand transparency in the program to replace gas-powered bajaj.

The owners are members of the Indonesian Bajaj Society, the Bajaj Sehati Cooperative and the Surya Kencana Cooperative.

M. Jusuf Rizal of LIRA urged the city administration to hold an investigative audit of the 2006 procurement license given to PT Abdi Rahardja. They said the company was supposed to have procured some 5,000 new bajaj that use compressed natural gas (CNG) but had obtained only 253 so far.

"The city administration issued another license in 2007 to the same company that allowed it to procure 4,750 bajaj over a six- month period. However, it procured only 250 units," Jusuf said.

He said the governor should order the company to either settle or return the money bajaj owners had paid to procure the CNG-based vehicles. He said they paid Rp 1.5 million per bajaj as a down payment, with some having made the deposit eighteen months ago.

Jusuf said the owners had yet to receive the new bajaj even though they had submitted their vehicles documents to the company.

"We estimate the company has received at least Rp 3 billion from owners, but so far the realization remains low," he said. "Even though the company breached the contract, the city administration has not done anything," he added.

To reduce air pollution caused by some 14,000 smoke-belching bajaj, the city administration had targeted upgrading 5,000 old bajaj to CNG-powered ones by the end of 2007.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said he would check the cause of the late procurement.

"It depends on the agreement. If the company broke the deal, it is possible we would end the agreement. We support the CNG bajaj because this conversion program is good for the environment," Prijanto said after attending a plenary session.

Tarmidi Edy Suwarno, a councilor on the City Council's Commission B, said the city council would soon contact the company, the transportation agency and the industry and trade agency to hear explanations for the delayed procurement.

"We must not hear only from one side. We'll ask them about the bajaj procurement procedure and the import license," said Tarmidi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

According to Tarmidi, the commission would question the high taxation involved in acquiring bajaj, which included a 45 percent customs office tax and a 10 percent luxury tax.

He said the city council did not know a lot about the bajaj business because it was the first time bajaj cooperatives had come to the city council.

 Aceh

Finally, Aceh local parties to take part in general election

Jakarta Post - August 18, 2008

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – After hard and painful events, ranging from political and military conflict to the tsunami disaster, the people of Aceh can now enjoy more political freedoms and special rights. Six eligible local parties will soon compete for legislative seats in the 2009 legislative election.

The establishment of these local parties is based on the Aceh Administration Law which says that Acehnese can have and be represented by local political parties, to help channel their political aspirations.

The law is part of the implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the now dissolved separatist Free- Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government, in Helsinki in 2005.

It was not easy for Acehnese to start initiating local parties. They had to move step-by-step towards their goal. Many people, especially ultranationalists, still consider local parties as a backdoor way out for Acehnese to separate the region from the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia.

Further, sharp criticisms were made of parties set up by former GAM fighters.

"It seems that ultranationalist people in Jakarta want to constrain the establishment of local parties in Aceh," said Ibrahim KBS, spokesperson of Aceh Transitional Committee (KPA), an organization of ex-GAM members that had been granted amnesty by the RI government.

Therefore, they had to change the organization's name several times to avoid problems.

"Since the Helsinki agreement, we had put aside our dream to separate from Indonesia and become independent. Therefore, we consider Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution as principles in establishing the party," Ibrahim told The Jakarta Post recently.

The Aceh regional office of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry faced problems in verifying local parties, as many issues on party names and symbols had not yet been solved.

After lobbying, at last GAM and the government agreed to name one party of former GAM fighters as the Partai Aceh or Aceh Party.

The ministry's regional office verified 12 local parties which should then be verified further by the Aceh-based General Election Independence Commission (KIP).

Based on KIP's verification, there are now only six of these parties remaining as eligible to take part in the 2009 general election.

The 5 other eligible parties, along with the Aceh Party, are the Partai Suara Independen Rakyat Aceh or the Aceh People's Independent Voice Party (SIRA), the Partai Rakyat Aceh or the Aceh People's Party (PRA), the Partai Aceh Aman Seujahtera or the Aceh Safe and Prosperous Party (PAAS), the Partai Bersatu Atjeh or United Aceh Party (PBA) and Partai Daulat Atjeh or the Aceh Sovereign Party (PDA).

Political disputes in Aceh have not ended with these six parties being verified to compete for seats at the regional and provincial legislature councils.

There were controversial articles in the Aceh provincial bylaws on Local Parties, requiring all candidates for national and local seats to be proficient in reading the Koran.

Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto annulled this requirement for those competing for national seats.

Another problem is the absence of the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), said KIP deputy chairman Ilham Syahputra.

"We have conducted many steps to prepare the election but the Panwaslu has yet to be formed," he said.

Ilham urged the provincial administration to push the involved institutions to form Panwaslu soon in order to avoid problems in the future.

"Local parties only exist in Aceh. Therefore, the General Election Commission can make this a pilot project for the success of elections involving local parties," he said.

"The involvement of local parties in the coming election will prove Indonesia is a democratic nation."

 West Papua

Forum urged to consider West Papuan rights

Fiji Daily - August 22, 2008

The Pacific Island Forum (PIF) has been urged to raise the human rights situation in West Papua with Indonesia.

Joe Collins of the Sydney-based Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) told the Fiji Daily Post yesterday that the human rights situation in the Indonesian-ruled territory should be raised with Indonesia at the Post- Forum Dialogue.

"Indonesia is a Post- Forum Dialogue partner and here is a chance for the pacific island countries to express their concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua with Indonesia," Collins said.

Reports of human rights abuses committed by Indonesian security forces in West Papua have been on the increase since the Forum 2007 meeting.

Acts like the raising of the national flag, the Morning Star by West Papua independence lobbyists is illegal and Indonesian authorities normally clamped down hard on those involved.

"The West Papuan people are a Pacific people and it should be the leaders of the pacific countries who are leading the way in showing concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua," said Collins.

"The intimidation by the security forces of the West Papuan people is all pervasive and creates a climate of fear in the people of West Papua. The overwhelming military presence ensures that the security forces can act with total impunity," he added.

Collins said it was time for the independent countries of the Pacific to show their concern for all Pacific peoples who are still struggling for their right to self – determination.

WPA has also written to all the PIF leaders with their please which includes a call for West Papuan political prisoners to be released.

AWPA also called on the PIF to send a fact-finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human rights situation in the territory.

NGO welcomes Indonesian military commander's removal from Papua

Radio New Zealand International - August 21, 2008

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, or ETAN, has welcomed the removal of Colonel Burhanuddin Siagian from his command in Papua.

A leading Indonesian military officer, Siagian faces two indictments in East Timor for crimes against humanity committed in 1999. The Colonel has been the target of an international campaign urging his removal from Papua and calling for his trial.

Last year, as regional military commander in Papua, he issued death threats against anyone daring to demonstrate their support for Papuan independence.

It is yet be confirmed whether Siagian will be transferred to another Indonesian province.

However ETAN's John Miller says that while his removal from Papua is a welcome move, Jakarta should take the next steps and suspend him from any command and then hand him over for trial for the crimes he committed in East Timor.

Papuan tribe questions government over issued mining licenses

Jakarta Post - August 18, 2008

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A traditional tribal community in Waigeo, Raja Ampat regency, in Papua, has questioned the government's decision to authorize nine mining companies to operate in their region.

Members of Maya, a traditional community of the Kawei tribe, said the central government had neglected their rights as traditional people as stipulated under the law on regional autonomy by failing to notify them of the issued mining licenses.

"Their (the companies) presence is not benefiting the traditional community," Christine Ayello of Maya Kawei's women's group told journalists in Jayapura on Saturday.

Christine said companies operating on Manoram Island, for example, were only obliged to pay Rp 1,000 (10 US cents) for every ton of mined produce they transported from the island.

"This is completely unfair," she said. "Papua has been given a special autonomy, so why are our rights as a traditional community ignored? Who benefits from this special autonomy?"

Christine said her community was able to benefit from the riches of the land without resorting to industrial mining. "Just from fishing, we can earn Rp 60,000 to Rp 100,000 a day. Our sea is very rich in fish," Christine said.

The community feels that as they live in harmony with their land, neither depleting its natural resources or damaging the environment, that mining companies should have no right to operate in the area.

"So far no company has dared enter Kawei Island as we take very good care of it," said Kawei Maya traditional community leader Korinus Ayello.

Mining companies reportedly entered the traditional region of Waigeo after acquiring licenses issued in 2003 by then Raja Ampat caretaker regent Marcus Wanna.

However, Korinus urged the local administration to review all mining licenses.

He also called on the administration to involve the traditional community in issuing mining licenses, citing that the body was obliged by law to take into account the rights of traditional people.

He said it would be more prudent for the government to develop Raja Ampat regency as a marine industry rather than as a mining site, citing that a fishing industry would benefit from the region's abundance of fish and would not damage the local tourism industry.

Chairman of Conservation International Indonesia for Sorong region Albert Nebora said a marine-based development concept could preserve the environment and create more jobs in environmentally-friendly industries.

"With a mining-based concept, on the other hand, the regency could be rich within 20 years. But after that, we would only be devastated by environmental damages," he said.

Raja Ampat is famous for its natural beauty, and especially its coral reefs, Albert said. "Seventy-five percent of the world's coral reefs are located in Papua, including in Raja Ampat," he said.

"Just come to Waigeo if you want to enjoy the most complete collections of the world's coral reefs."

That is why, he said, his organization had been providing the local administration with support and input to promote environmentally-friendly developments. "We do so for the sake of the preservation of nature," he said.

New violence in Indonesia over Papuan independence

New America Media (California, USA) - August 17, 2008

Bramantyo Prijosusilo, Jakarta – Opinus Tabuni, 35, was shot dead during a peaceful rally in the city of Wamena in the picturesque Baliem valley in the Indonesian province of Papua on August 9th.

Yeremiah Pigay,19, an anthropology student, was amongst the participants of the rally. He said over the phone that thousands of tribes' people, many armed with traditional bows and arrows and spears, had gathered in Baliem to mark the UN's Indigenous Peoples Day.

The rally began at around 11 A.M and ended in chaos at about 2.30 P.M when the police began to fire and some in the crowd responded by throwing stones. A bullet hit and killed Mr. Tabuni, who was an organizer of the rally. One soldier was reportedly injured.

Mr. Pigay said that the police fired single shots for approximately 15 minutes to disperse the crowd after the organizers of the rally raised the Papuan Morning Star flag. The Morning Star was raised alongside the Indonesian national flag, a UN flag, and a white flag serving as a S.O.S signal.

The situation in Wamena is now tense and non Papuan Indonesians are reportedly seeking protection in the city because of rumors of possible attacks by angry mobs of indigenous people.

Not all Indonesians agree with the ban on the Morning Star.

During the presidency of the blind cleric Abdurrahman Wahid (1999-2001) the people of Papua were allowed to express their political aspirations peacefully. Late last year Mr. Wahid, who is known for his liberal and democratic views, declared that the Morning Star flag is a cultural icon and the government is stupid to ban it. However, Papuans continue to receive harsh consequences for raising the Morning Star.

Indonesian Papua has seen a low-key military and political struggle for independence for several decades. During the repressive rule of the late General Suharto (1966-1998) the Indonesian government's only response to independence aspirations was to send in the guns.

Since democracy began to take root after the fall of Suharto the government has awarded autonomy to Papua, and divided the province in to two, Papua and West Papua, but the aspirations for independence have not abated. The land is rich in minerals and other natural resources but the majority of the indigenous tribes, some who have been living in Stone Age cultures for millennia, have yet to enjoy a share of the wealth of their land.

The US mining company Freeport Indonesia/Rio Tinto exploits the Grasberg mine, which contains the planet's largest single copper and gold reserve. In the past, Freeport has been in conflict with the local population over several issues, namely the desecration of sacred areas, the exclusion of the local work force and massive environmental destruction.

The Indonesian military has reportedly received large sums from Freeport to guarantee security of the mining operations that dumps over 220 thousand tones of tailings into the Ajkwa River every day, polluting massive areas of forest and waterways and ultimately sea.

The shooting in Wamena coincides with the receipt of a letter from 40 USA members of Congress, requesting the Indonesian government to release two Papuan independence activists who are in prison.

Former government civil servant Filep Karma and student Yusak Pakage are currently serving 15 and 10 years in prison respectively for expressing hostility and hatred towards the state. The "hostility and hatred" relates to their participation in a ceremony in December 2004, when the Morning Star flag was raised.

Amnesty International considers Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage to be prisoners of conscience detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and has been calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

In Jakarta, several members of parliament, including speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid, military figures, and the anti-democratic Islamist party Hizb ut Tahrir, seized the news of the letter from the US members of Congress, as an opportunity to condemn what they described as "US intervention in Indonesian domestic affairs."

On Sunday (August 10, 2008) Hizb ut Tahrir attempted to stage a massive demonstration in down-town Jakarta rejecting US intervention in West Papua, but only managed to gather several score of supporters.

In a separate development, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said that several Papuans who had sought asylum in Australia want to return home. Mr. Wirayuda was speaking in an exclusive interview with Melbourne's The Age's reporter in Jakarta ahead of talks with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

In 2006, 43 Papuan independence supporters fled to Australia by canoe and were granted asylum. Mr. Wirayuda said that the situation in Papua had improved and that the new Lombok Treaty, scheduled to come into force this year, committed Australia not to allow its territory to be used "as a staging point for separatist movements from Indonesia".

There is also the risk of religious conflict in Indonesian Papua, fueled partly by the rise of both Christian and Islamist fundamentalism and migration. As Indonesia continues to wield a heavy hand in West Papua, the independence movement will increase in strength. If this trend continues, more blood will flow, and ultimately, the non-Papuan, Muslim Indonesians there will suffer the most.

[Bramantyo Prijosusilo is a contributing writer for NAM based in Indonesia.]

Indonesia linked to teacher deaths in West Papua

Melbourne Age - August 17, 2008

Tom Hyland – New evidence has emerged linking the Indonesian military to the 2002 murder of two American teachers and an Indonesian colleague in a remote region of Papua, according to research by a US academic and an Indonesian investigative journalist.

"Credible sources link Indonesian intelligence agents to the planning of this attack," said Eben Kirksey, an anthropologist at the University of California, who co-wrote a new report on the killing with journalist Andreas Harsono.

Teachers Ricky Spier, Ted Burgon and Bambang Riwanto were shot dead and five others wounded in an ambush near the giant Freeport gold and copper mine on August 31, 2002.

Pro-independence guerillas were blamed, but human rights groups have long accused the Indonesian military of involvement in the attack.

The new allegations will be published in a report in a British academic journal tomorrow, drawing on what the authors say are more than 2000 pages of Indonesian court documents, recently declassified US State Department cables, and more than 50 interviews.

Dr Kirksey said senior US officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had helped cover up evidence of military involvement, while the FBI had failed to bring the case to a definitive resolution.

The US was keen to have the case resolved so it could resume defence co-operation with the Indonesian armed forces as part of the war on terrorism.

A possible motive for military involvement in the attack was to convince the Freeport mine's owners of the need to continue to pay for security. Seven men were sentenced over the killings, including alleged ringleader Antonius Wamang, a guerilla fighter in Papua's independence movement, who received a life term.

Military involvement was not seriously considered at the trial, which was a sham, said Mr Harsono, the journalist.

The researchers quote "reliable sources" saying Agus Anggaibak, a 27-year old member of the regional parliament, helped plan the ambush and facilitated contacts between the shooters and military agents.

In an interview with the authors, Mr Anggaibak admitted to links with Indonesia's intelligence agency, BIN, but denied any involvement in the attack. He also admitted to meeting Mr Wamang.

[The report will appear in the journal South East Asia Research.]

 Human rights/law

TNI embraces human rights

Jakarta Post - August 23, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In an effort to shed its tarnished image as a violent and abusive institution, the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Friday began a three-day training program for senior officers on human rights and the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court is helping the military provide some 200 of its middle- and high-ranking officers with training on the amended Constitution, the Constitutional Court's function and the principles of human rights.

TNI chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said an understanding of the Constitution, law and human rights by TNI officers was crucial in establishing a professional military institution within a democratic country.

"Success in a military operation is no longer determined merely by military and technical factors, but also by upholding the law and human rights in the process of achieving the objectives," he said at the opening ceremony of the training program.

The TNI has been accused of widespread violence across the country, including alleged gross human rights violations during its military operations in East Timor, Papua, Aceh and other areas, even during the current reform era.

A report released by the Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) found TNI and police personnel, as well as civilian authorities, consistently and systematically cooperated with and provided significant support to pro-Indonesia militias, thus contributing to unbridled violence in East Timor in 1999.

The CTF said those responsible included former Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, former transmigration minister Gen. (ret) Hendropriyono, former Udayana military commander Maj. Gen. (ret) Adam Damiri and his former deputy Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon.

The National Commission on Human Rights said it uncovered numerous human rights violation cases in Papua by the military between 1963 and 2002. The rights body has vowed to launch investigations into the cases.

Past military operations in Aceh gave rise to reports of mass arrests, detentions, torture, disappearances and murders of local residents, amid an atmosphere of repression. Today, conditions in the province are vastly improved, following the signing of a peace deal in 2005 by the government and the Free Aceh Movement.

The TNI has also been accused of playing roles in several other incidents in which hundreds of people were brutally killed, including the Talang Sari massacre, the Tanjung Priok mass killings and May 1998 riots.

However, no TNI general has yet been convicted of any of these gross rights violations, despite reports of overwhelming evidence against them.

Constitutional Court chief Moh. Mahfud M.D. expressed hope the training would raise TNI officers' awareness of the military's position within the Constitution, adding human rights principles were now part of the amended Constitution.

"So the TNI can now understand violating human rights principles means violating the Constitution," he said in his keynote address at the event.

Muchdi's motive revenge, court hears

Jakarta Post - August 22, 2008

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwopranjono premeditated the 2004 murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib out of ill will and revenge, a court heard Thursday.

Prosecutors said in their indictment that former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi sought revenge against Munir, who was deemed responsible for the defendant's ouster as the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) chief only 52 days after his inauguration in 1998.

"The dismissal was a slap in the face of Muchdi because it put his military career to an end and hurt him personally, causing him to seek revenge," prosecutor Cirus Sinaga told the packed South Jakarta District Court.

Munir had led an investigation by the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) rights group into the involvement of Kopassus soldiers in the abduction of 13 activists critical of the government between 1997 and 1998. The elite force members, grouped under the Rose Team, were eventually found guilty by the military court.

Some 180 police officers were deployed to secure the court hearing. Dozens of Muchdi's supporters from the Indonesian Red and White Brigade rallied outside the courtroom, saying Muchdi was a victim of foreign intervention.

Prosecutors said Muchdi's posting to the BIN position in 2003 had allowed him to plan measures to stop Munir's activities in criticizing the government and investigating human rights abuses.

As a high-ranking official at the BIN, Muchdi misused his power when he recruited former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto to carry out the plan, prosecutors said.

Muchdi placed Pollycarpus as an aviation security member on a Garuda flight so he could travel with Munir. Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the murder.

Prosecutors quoted the testimony of a BIN agent, Budi Santoso, who said he was told by Pollycarpus that the latter had been ordered by Muchdi to kill Munir.

Muchdi, prosecutors said, had paid Pollycarpus Rp 10 million on June 14, 2004, at his office at the BIN headquarters. Later, he also paid Rp 4 million and another Rp 3 million. They also said Muchdi had given facilities to Pollycarpus, including in the making of a classified letter asking him to be assigned as a security crew member for Munir's flight to Amsterdam on Sept. 6, 2004.

The next day, Munir was found dead from arsenic poisoning administered during a stopover at Singapore's Changi Airport. The assignment letter had been reported missing, but the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has said it now has it in hand.

In his testimony, Budi said that after the murder, Pollycarpus phoned him, saying "(I) got a 'big fish' in Singapore." When Budi asked whether Pollycarpus had told Muchdi, Pollycarpus said he had, the indictment says.

Prosecutors charged Muchdi with Article 55 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death. But they prepared two classifications on Muchdi's role in the murder, charging the former spy with either suggesting others commit a murder or premeditating the assassination himself.

Muchdi's wife and daughter were present in the courtroom. They shook their heads several times as prosecutors read Muchdi's motives over the murder.

Upon arriving at the district court, Muchdi was taken to a prosecutor's room, instead of a detention room, at the request of one of his lawyers. The court will hear Muchdi's rebuttal on Aug. 2.

Indonesian spy could face death over activist's murder

Agence France Presse - August 21, 2008

Jakarta – A former top Indonesian spy could face the death penalty after he was charged Thursday with orchestrating the poisoning murder of a celebrated rights activist who had exposed military abuses.

Muchdi Purwopranjono, 59, an ex-deputy chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), was charged with plotting Munir's murder by arsenic poisoning as he flew from Jakarta to Amsterdam in 2004.

Prosecutors said the killing was an act of "revenge" after Munir uncovered the kidnappings of 13 activists by special forces under ex-general Muchdi's command in the late 1990s.

Muchdi later used his new posting as a BIN deputy to order Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto to poison Munir as he travelled on the national carrier, they said.

The case is the first time a high-ranking figure in the military establishment has faced justice over the murder, which rights activists have long suspected was the work of the secret intelligence services. Pollycarpus was jailed for 20 years earlier this year over the murder, while Garuda's ex-boss Indra Setiawan was also jailed for one year as an accomplice.

Prosecutors allege Pollycarpus telephoned BIN agent Budi Santoso after returning to Jakarta from Singapore, where he had poisoned Munir during a stopover.

The indictment quotes Pollycarpus as telling agent Santoso: "I got a big fish in Singapore." Asked by Santoso if he had reported this to Muchdi, Pollycarpus said yes.

The Garuda pilot had earlier told Santoso that he had been ordered by Muchdi to "exterminate Munir," according to the charge sheet.

Activists have hailed the prosecution of the former senior spy as a step forward for the country's reform movement, but say the conspiracy to murder Munir goes higher than just Muchdi.

"There are still people there that ordered this. There are definitely superiors involved," Munir's widow, Suciwati, was quoted as saying after the trial by news website Detikcom.

Defence lawyers have said they are afraid their client will not receive a fair trial.

"My client isn't afraid of anything but a biased and unfair trial due to pressures from many parties, including from the international community," lawyer Achmad Cholid was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Post.

About 50 nationalists calling themselves the "Red and White Brigade" after the colours of the Indonesian flag rallied in support of Muchdi outside the court. They accused Munir of trying to destroy the country and denounced his supporters as agents of the United States.

Munir, who died aged 38, was the leader of independent rights watchdog Kontras and a vocal campaigner for victims of military abuses under the 1966-1998 Suharto dictatorship.

Muchdi, a former military general, has been in custody since he turned himself in to police on June 19 in Jakarta. He has denied the allegations.

Children of the PKI claim their own independence

Jakarta Post - August 19, 2008

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Bimo B. Basworo, 12, never met his grandfather, Nyoto, once a leader of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Two years ago, when he came across an article about his grandfather, he gave it to his history teacher. The story of the PKI in the article, Bimo said, was rather different to the one he had read in his history textbooks.

Nyoto was the second deputy of the PKI and a state minister under Sukarno during the 1960s. He helped rejuvenate the PKI two years after its first rebellion in the East Java town of Madiun in 1948. Bimo said he had read a lot about the PKI in his school textbooks, but none of it was positive.

"I wanted my teacher to read this different (view of PKI) history and was hoping he would say something," Bimo told The Jakarta Post recently. But although Bimo never received a response from his teacher, the boy found he had gained something that his mother, Nyoto's daughter, had lost for more than 40 years: The freedom to reveal one's identity as a family member of someone in the PKI.

Bimo's elder brother Aji Baskoro said he was not ashamed of being the grandchild of a PKI leader. "Why should I be? History doesn't have one version only," 17-year-old Aji said.

Fiera Chandisa, 15, whose grandfather was a former PKI prisoner, agreed, saying many parts of history remained untold. "We all know history belongs to the winner, in this case the power elite," Fiera said.

Like Aji, Bimo and Fiera, other relatives of PKI members have escaped from the shackles of political discrimination, thanks to the reform that began to sweep Indonesia in 1998.

Ribka Tjiptaning Proletariyati, the daughter of a former PKI prisoner, is among those who relish this new freedom. In winning back her civil and political rights, Ribka wrote two books, A Daughter of the Indonesian Communist Party, or PKI Enters Parliament and Aku Bangga Jadi Anak PKI (I'm proud to be a PKI daughter).

Ribka joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and now chairs the House of Representatives' Commission IX overseeing citizenship, labor and health.

In the past few years, those who have links to former PKI members have emerged from the shadows and made themselves heard. They have held public discussions to clarify the role of the PKI in the 1965 coup attempt, in which six Army generals and an officer were killed. The incident, known as the Sept. 30 Movement, triggered the slaughter of tens of thousands of PKI supporters nationwide and thrust Army general Soeharto into power.

In 2004, the Constitutional Court made an historic ruling, annulling an article in the 2003 election law that barred former political prisoners from running for legislative elections, on the grounds the law contradicted democracy and human rights provisions enshrined in the Constitution.

The ruling was followed by the publication of a flood of new books written by ex-PKI members and their families, all telling the other side of the PKI history.

"We feel it's important to have all of our stories documented, especially in the form of books, to balance the history of the PKI created by the New Order regime," said Utji Kowati Fauzia, the daughter of a former PKI prisoner.

She said the most difficult challenge she and her friends had faced was finding a good way to explain their PKI background to their children. Bimo's mother Svetlana shared similar concerns.

"What I did was to take my little children to attend discussions and exhibitions on the PKI. In 1999, I took my sons to meet Xanana Gusmao (now prime minister of Timor Leste) in prison to see for themselves what being a political prisoner was all about," said Svetlana, who spent part of her childhood behind bars, with her mother and siblings.

She said these kinds of activities stimulated her sons, and boosted their interest in finding out the truth about history.

That the government has stopped airing Soeharto's propaganda film Pemberontakan G30S PKI (the Sept. 30th PKI Rebellion) on TV is a relief, Nyoto's wife, Sutarni, said. But the 80-year-old found there had been plenty of attempts to remove the newfound freedom from the bookshelves.

The Education Ministry rewrote the school history books in 2004, mentioning the PKI as only one of several instigators of the 1965 upheaval. However, in 2006 the ministry restored the old version, on the grounds that positioning the PKI as the main perpetrator of the events was the most acceptable version for Indonesians. The ministry also admitted there was widespread public resistance to the earlier 2004 version.

"Our efforts are now directed to pushing the government to grant rehabilitation to former PKI prisoners and their families. The government must officially clarify the role of the PKI in the 1965 event," said Utji, a member of the Human Rights Victims Research Foundation.

She also urged the establishment of a commission of reconciliation to unite the descendants of the victims of the 1965 events, including the PKI and military or religious groups.

Not all PKI family members enjoy the new freedom, she said. In some villages in the Central Java towns of Cilacap and Tegal, a number of former PKI prisoners still have their ID cards marked with the ET (Eks Tapol or former political prisoners) code, while others cannot obtain lifetime ID cards.

Without such initiatives, Utji said, discrimination against PKI- linked individuals would be revived and national reconciliation would fail.

Villagers say sentences handed down by military court too lenient

Tempo Interactive - August 18, 2008

Abdi Purmono, Pasuruan – The sentences handed down by the III-12 Surabaya Military Court against 13 marines who were charged over the shooting of Alastlogo village residents in the Lekok sub- district of Pasuruan, East Java, has deeply disappointed local people.

According to Mahmud, a youth figure from the Sumberanyar village, the punishment does not reflect justice, particularly for the people of Alastlogo.

"We join in feeling the sadness of the Alastlogo villagers. We, and other villagers will continue to struggle to defend our land from control by the navy", said Mahmud when speaking with Tempo in Monday August 18.

According to Mahmud, the defendants should have been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in jail, even life imprisonment if necessary. Moreover, the defendants should have been taken before the Human Rights Court because their actions can be categorised as a gross human rights violation because the shooting was carried out in a systematic manner.

It is appropriate that the defendants receive the heaviest possible sentence because they have a better understanding of law enforcement than villagers, the majority of whom are unable to read or write.

"They are the ones who understand the law. They are the ones who should protect the people, but instead they shot ordinary people will bullets bought with the people's money. Why not just sentence them to the same thing", said Mahmud.

Speaking in the same vein, Sumberanyar village chief Purwo Eko said that the judges should have handed down the heaviest possible sentence because they were state officials.

"The sentence wasn't heavy enough and not in line with their actions against local people. The defendants should have been given heavier sentences and dismissed. So, [all of them] not just three be dismissed and even this is a lenient sentence", said Eko.

Alastlogo village chief Imam Supnadi also said he was dissatisfied. Like Mahmud and Eko, he is also of the view that the lenient sentence was influenced by the weak indictment. "It also depends on the sentence demanded by the prosecutor, right", said Supnadi.

Alastlogo residents are asking the prosecutor to submit an appeal with heavier charges so that the judges can sentence them to more than five years in jail and dismiss all of the defendants from the navy.

The bloody Alastlogo incident erupted on May 30, 2007 when 13 marines from the Navy's Combat Training Centre, which has its headquarters on the Grati regency, clashed with local residents.

The clash began with a protest by residents over the seizure of disputed land by a contractor using a marine guard escort. As a result, four people were shot dead and around eight others wounded.

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski. Alastlogo is also known as Alas Tlogo village.]

 Labour issues

Tangerang shoe workers strike for holiday bonus

Jakarta Post - August 22, 2008

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Some 7,000 workers from PT Hardaya Aneka Shoe Industry (HASI), a former Nike supplier, began striking Thursday in Tangerang to protest company policy on Idul Fitri allowances (THR).

"The management has announced this year all workers will receive less money for THR," Agus Widodo, the chair of HASI's workers union (SPN), told The Jakarta Post.

He said workers received 241 percent of their monthly salary for THR last year but this year they were told to expect just 100 percent.

The strike paralyzed production when HASI's 7,000 workers sat down inside the factory compound in Jatiuwung district, Tangerang municipality.

The sit-down turned violent after factory security banned TV reporters from covering the strike. "Security banned journalists from covering our action. They are our friends, our defenders," one worker shouted in a speech.

The workers then mobbed and attacked some 25 security officers at the factory. Police officers arrived later and managed to de- escalate the situation. Police immediately evacuated the security officers, already black and blue from the crowd's beating.

Company representatives Agus Widodo, Sugeng and Fredy said the company had earlier asserted management would not change its THR policy.

The strike was likely triggered by possible massive lay-offs due to an expected September termination of Nike's order contract.

Nike Corporation, an American athletic apparel company, had sent a termination letter July 6, 2007, to Siti Hartati Murdaya, president director of PT Central Cipta Murdaya, HASI's holding company, the workers said.

The letter said Nike intended to end cooperation with them and PT Naga Sakti Parama Shoes Industry (NASA).

The termination letter then led to 13,000 workers from NASA and HASI, which manufacture shoes exclusively for Nike in Tangerang, to rally at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building on July 16 last year to demand Nike restore contracts with the companies.

Agus said the massive lay-off might not take place because the company had secured new contracts with buyers such as Hitech of Taiwan and Armor and Columbia from the United States.

Indonesian labor market faces challenges: ILO

Jakarta Post - August 21, 2008

Jakarta – The government needs to place decent and productive employment at the center of its socio-economic policies to ensure a link between economic growth and job creation, the International Labor Organization said in its latest report.

In the report, titled "Labor and Social Trends in Indonesia 2008: Progress and Pathways to Job-rich Development", ILO's Indonesia office noted between 2000 and 2007 Indonesia's economy – southeast Asia's largest – showed healthy enhancement, but labor market outcomes had not improved dramatically.

The ILO found the employment rate fell to 9.1 percent in 2007, from 11.2 percent in 2005, but this was not accompanied by a rise in the number of involuntary underemployed. The number of those fully employed in 2007 was actually less than the 2002 level. Looking ahead, the report predicted underemployment would drop to 7 percent by 2009.

"This report presents socio-economic and labor market trends in Indonesia, with the aim of drawing attention to key policy challenges and informing the development of Indonesia's next Medium-term Development Plan (2010-2024). It also seeks to assist in building the capacities of national partners to identify key challenges and design appropriate policies," ILO country director Alan Boulton said at the launch of the report on Wednesday.

The report also noted poverty remained largely a problem of the employed. It estimated about one in two employed persons were classified as poor under the US$2-a-day poverty criteria.

"These working people do not suffer from a lack of economic activity, but rather the unproductive nature of that activity," the report said.

Indonesia's labor productivity, the report added, grew at a healthy annual average of 4.3 percent between 2000 and 2007. But the report warned the gains from productivity growth needed to accrue to firms for both added investment and innovation, and also to workers in the form of higher real wages, improved working conditions and continuous on-the-job learning in order to ensure sustainability.

The report also warned while unemployment was an informative indicator, it did not provide an adequate measure of labor market performance.

"It's critical to assess other indicators, including those used to measure progress on a new Millennium Development Goal target of full and productive employment and decent work for all," said ILO economist and report author Kee Beom Kim.

The report stressed the importance of the age and gender aspects of labor market indicators. Women represent only 21 percent of Indonesia's labor force, but account for 57 percent of the country's jobless population.

With women being offered more employment opportunities in recent years, the report warned much of this work was in the informal economy, characterized by low quality, unproductive and poorly remunerated jobs, not to mention the absence of workplace and representation rights.

 Environment/natural disasters

Greenpeace calls for new energy

Jakarta Post - August 23, 2008

Triwik Kurniasari, Jakarta – International environmental activist group Greenpeace has called on the government to immediately develop renewable energy sources to end the need for rotating blackouts resulting from the country's energy deficit.

"It is important to save energy from fossil fuels and to use it more wisely, but we can run out of such energy in the future. It is better if the government can tap renewable energy sources, like geothermal, solar, water and wind," said Sonki Prasetya, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

"Applying rotating blackouts is not the best solution. The government should start to plug into renewable energy now."

He said Indonesia could produce more than 60 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050, which would make the country less dependent on imported fossil fuels and allow for cheaper electricity.

"The government actually has a plan to use renewable energy. It also has set up a regulation on it, but the implementation is still lacking," he said after the group had held a peaceful rally in front of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in Central Jakarta.

The rally featured dozens of Greenpeace activists clad in costumes representing renewable energy sources, including wind, solar energy, water and geothermal energy.

Greenpeace's report – Energy Revolution: A Sustainable Indonesia Energy Outlook – describes a combination of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures as clean, cost- effective and climate-friendly.

According to Greenpeace, Indonesia has the world's largest geothermal energy potential, with an estimated capacity of up to 27,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, or equal to around 40 percent of the world's geothermal reserves.

The government has said geothermal power can contribute 30 percent to its 10,000 MW electricity program.

The government currently implements a rotating blackout program in some cities around the country to compensate for the country's power deficit.

According to state electricity company PT, some parts of Jakarta and Tangerang will continue to suffer blackouts until the end of the year.

Electricity demand in Jakarta can reach between 4,500 MW and 5,000 MW during peak hours, usually between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Lobo Balia of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said the government had started to use alternative energy, including geothermal energy.

"We really want to develop renewable energy, but it is hard to do it because the government is still subsidizing electricity from fossil fuels. If we erase the subsidy, people might protest the policy," said Lobo.

Sonki said it would be better if the government removed the subsidy on fossil fuels and instead allocated the funds for other sectors, including education and transportation.

More talk won't root out the rainforest butchers

New Zealand Herald - August 20, 2008

Brian Rudman – We ban trawling off wide stretches of the coast to save rare dolphins. We ban the trade in ivory, whale meat and tiger penises to try to protect various endangered beasts.

So why are we pussy-footing around when it comes to kwila imports, most of which, apparently, are illegally stripped from the ancient rain forests of West Papua.

After months of rain forest-like precipitation, replacing the sodden, rickety furniture in my backyard has hardly been top of my priority list.

But not so the Greens, Greenpeace and the Indonesian Human Rights Committee, whose badgering of major furniture retailers about kwila imports has started to pay off.

Harvey Norman, Big Save, Briscoes, Farmers and The Warehouse have all now pledged not to "source" any more kwila furniture and to sell all old stock by March next year.

Unfortunately this leaves the $150 million a year trade in furniture and timber decking field open to other retailers – including those outlet shops that suddenly open up in old warehouses at the beginning of spring with their instant sales.

World Bank reports say 70 to 80 per cent of the Papuan (both east and west) kwila is illegally logged, so the Government's continuing determination to stop this trade by educating the public of its evils, and by international discussion, does seems rather wimpish.

A unilateral ban in the trade by New Zealand is not going to stop it internationally. But our ban on nuclear powered ships didn't eliminate them either. And a ban on kwila won't either. But it would show us putting our money where our mouth was. We could also be aiding our own sustainable forest industry.

The campaign against illegally logged timber imports is not only a cause of the greenies. Alongside them are organisations representing various forestry owner and wood processing groups.

Forest Owners Association chief executive David Rhodes says "illegal logging and the destruction of rain forests have unfairly sullied the reputation of all wood and forest products – even those derived from sustainably managed plantation forests – especially among affluent Northern Hemisphere consumers".

An independent report from Crown research institute Scion, for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, dated July 2007, cites the economic impact cheap illegal timber has on world timber prices. If the trade could be stamped out, the price of New Zealand export logs would increase, within a few years by 14.2 per cent, adding $362.4 million per year in increased income.

In other words, for those with a flinty, "what's in it for us" approach, there is much more than just a "save the rain forest" fuzzy glow to seeing this trade stamped out.

This economic benefit is outlined in papers submitted to the Cabinet on May 27 this year. One noted that "illegally harvested wood depresses global timber prices by between 7 and 16 per cent causing significant loss of revenue for the forest industry.

For New Zealand's forestry industry, which operates to some of the world's highest environmental standards, forest companies that bypass the costs of legal compliance represent unfair competition".

Not only does illegal logging have "serious negative environmental, social and economic impacts" worldwide, it is also "often associated with corruption, organised crime and sometimes violent conflict".

But instead of using this evidence to draw an anti-nuclear style line in the sand, the Government went along with the paper's recommendation that "international (and preferably consensus- based multilateral) action is required for there to be any meaningful change to international trade in illegal wood products".

It said that because the New Zealand wood products market was small, domestic measures on the sale of such products in New Zealand would not have a significant direct effect on illegal logging in other countries.

Forestry Minister Jim Anderton emerged from a Cabinet meeting to announce a "suite of international and domestic actions" planned as "part of a wider push for New Zealand to take a global leadership position in sustainable forest management".

It boiled down to more talk. Mr Anderton said "imposing a ban on illegal timber would be impractical and ineffective if it was not backed up by reliable traceability and verification systems involved exporting countries". He said bilateral discussions with the exporting countries was the way to go.

But these countries have been unable to stop – or worse, are not interested, for whatever reasons, in stopping – the devastation of the Papuan rain forests, so bilateral discussions with them seems unlikely to stop a metre of illegal decking or suite of outdoor furniture reaching these shores for a long time.

Perhaps, sometime in the future, multi-lateral talking will stop the illegal logging before New Guinea ends up as denuded of its indigenous vegetation as our North Island, but in the meantime, why not be the mouse that roared once more, and say enough. Unless an importer can prove its wood is sustainably harvested, it's banned.

Indonesia, from where much of it comes from, could hardly complain. It sends inspectors here to ensure our beef exports are halal killed. Let's keep just as close an eye on its kwila.

 Health & education

New mothers 'illegally' lured by formula milk companies

Jakarta Post - August 21, 2008

Jakarta Post – Wilson just had his first birthday last weekend and his mother was busy not only preparing for his party but also entertaining formula milk marketers.

"I got some phone calls from two milk companies and was sent a sample package of formula milk from another one. I think it's because it's time for Wilson to change his formula milk," said Wilson's mother, Melvin.

"I had a Caesarean section. After he was born, the nurse brought him to me... and we tried to give him breast milk but none came out. So the nurse asked me if I would like to give him formula milk," she said.

She accepted the suggestion even though she could have chosen to insist on breast-feeding.

"I was told breast milk is better but I have not been producing enough. I don't think there is any problem with formula milk. He has been healthy so far," she said.

Reni Ningsih, a mother of a three-year-old and now six months' pregnant, recalled a similar experience.

Neither was aware that the formula milk companies had violated international regulations in marketing their products to them, or that the medical practitioners should have encouraged them to give their children breast milk as stated in a 2004 ministerial decree on breast-feeding.

Formula milk companies are not allowed to contact mothers, and nurses are required to promote breast-feeding as stipulated in a 1981 World Health Assembly regulation on the marketing of breast milk substitutes.

The regulation says no promotional materials of any breast milk substitutes can be displayed at hospitals and in public spaces. Also, no events involving babies should display the sponsorship of any brands.

"Violations have continued for years. It has not changed much since we published a pamphlet on their violations in 2006," Sri Sukotjo, a nutrition specialist of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said.

She said many hospitals still display or use promotional products in the form of posters, tissue boxes, clocks, scales and baby name tags.

Some companies distribute pamphlets at children's events, while many events are often organized or sponsored by these companies. The head of health and nutrition at Unicef Indonesia, Anne H. Vincent, last month said the marketing of formula milk was very aggressive and could shift mothers from breast-feeding to using bottled milk.

Nationally the rate of breast-feeding dropped 32.4 percent in 2007 from 42.4 percent 10 years ago, government data shows. The rate of bottle feeding rose to 27.9 percent from 21.1 percent during the same period.

The government has also tried to limit companies' marketing through a 1997 ministerial decree on formula milk marketing. But the latest legislative draft on breast milk substitutes has been in limbo for three years without clear status, Anne added.

Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni said the government, which poses no penalties for not following regulations, was still distributing information on breast-feeding.

"There has been a reduction. We have circulated letters urging a reduction in exposure, especially in hospitals," she said.

"The campaign for breast-feeding is actually very intense, just like the anti-smoking campaign. But people are still smoking even though the cigarette companies have stated that smoking is harmful," Sylviana said.

Not only mothers are bombarded by advertising, but also some hospitals considered nonsupportive of breast-feeding despite the push from the government.

Mia Sutanto, chairwoman of the Indonesian Association of Breast- Feeding Mothers (AIMI), said her medical practitioner insisted on giving her baby (now four years old) formula milk and threatened the baby would lose weight if she did not.

"But newborns can actually survive without liquid for 48 hours and losing weight is normal for them," she said.

She said mothers must do their homework to pursue breast-feeding and find supportive hospitals.

"The standard practices at many hospitals are not supportive of breast-feeding. Some doctors are reluctant. Without enough support from their doctors, hospitals and family, some mothers may find it hard to breast-feed," she said.

Roesli Utami of the Indonesian Lactation Center said the campaign for breast-feeding was directed at the failings of healthcare providers, not the mothers.

"Mothers who do not breast-feed should not feel guilty, because that would make it even harder to breast-feed," she said.

"The father plays an important role in this. In this era, breast-feeding is not only between mother and child but also the father," she said. (mri)

Poor sanitation costs Indonesia $6 billion a year: World Bank

Jakarta Post - August 20, 2008

Jakarta – Poor hygiene and sanitation cost Indonesia's economy more than US$6 billion per year, supporting the need for greater investment in water and sanitation infrastructure, a World Bank report has revealed.

The report, The Economic Impact of Sanitation in Indonesia, was released Tuesday.

"The lack of access to sanitation poses heavy financial and economic costs to the Indonesian economy, not only to individuals but also to the public and commercial sectors," it said.

In 2006 alone, costs stemming from poor hygiene and sanitation reached $6.3 billion, accounting for 2.3 percent of GDP.

The greatest contributors to overall economic losses were health and water resources. The costs took the form of financial losses for those who had to pay for health services, who paid more for access to clean water, or who might have lost income from being absent from work due to poor health.

Poor sanitation also creates at least 120 million incidents of disease and 50,000 premature deaths annually.

The study gave the per capita cost of poor sanitation and hygiene in urban areas as Rp 275,000 ($31.10), higher than that in rural areas, calculated as Rp 224,000.

"However, significantly more people still do not have access to improved sanitation in rural areas," it said.

The World Bank report made an example of the fact that in 2004, sanitation coverage in Indonesia reached 55 percent, below the average of 67 percent for Southeast Asian countries.

Bloomberg, citing the WHO and Unicef, reported that more than a quarter of the Indonesian population defecates in the open, fostering the spread of diseases such as cholera and hepatitis.

As part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the global community aims to halve the proportion of people without access to adequate sanitation by 2015.

Indonesia has made progress toward that target, "but at current trends, the country will fall short by 10 percent, or 25 million people," said Guy Hutton, a senior economist for the program and author of the report.

The study was organized by the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program, which aims to alleviate poverty by helping poor people gain sustained access to improved water and sanitation services.

"Basic water and sanitation services are vital to human life, and in this day and age, no one should be without such basic dignities," said World Bank water sector manager Abel Mejia.

"This report attests to the fact that although there has been progress, much remains to be done to stop these preventable deaths and spread of disease."

House members warn public about 'tricky' leap in education budget

Jakarta Post - August 18, 2008

Erwida Maulia and Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Lawmakers expressed skepticism Sunday over the government's plan to allocate 20 percent of the 2009 state budget to education, warning the amount could be used to "fool" the public because it lacked transparency.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) also accused the government of trying to deceive the public with its claim it was increasing the education budget to 20 percent of the 2009 state budget, which has a total expenditure of Rp 1,122.2 trillion.

"This is a government trick. We want the government and the House of Representatives to make the formulation of the education budget open and transparent to the public," said Ade Irawan of ICW.

It has been widely reported that the government's education spending for 2008 stood at around Rp 44 trillion (US$4.8 billion).

But President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claimed in his speech before the House of Representatives' plenary session last Friday that the government had allocated up to Rp 154.2 trillion for education this year.

He added the government would increase the education budget to 20 percent of the total, or Rp 224.44 trillion, in 2009. But Yudhoyono did not provide details of what made up the record- breaking amount.

"We will ask the government to clarify the detailed components that constitute the huge figure. We don't want the public fooled," said Cyprianus Aoer, a lawmaker with House Commission X for education, sport and tourism affairs and a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

"The government has different versions of the components of the education budget than we do."

He said the government might have incorporated into the education budget the salaries of teachers, lecturers and personnel for regular education and training programs in all state institutions.

But most people still see the education budget as merely the amount allocated for the National Education Ministry, he said.

Cyprianus accused the government of playing "budgetary politics" ahead of the 2009 legislative and presidential elections.

Fellow Commission X member Ferdiansyah from the Golkar Party said the government, in its proposal for the 2009 state expenditure, allotted Rp 50.2 trillion for the National Education Ministry, Rp 20.8 trillion for the Religious Affairs Ministry, which oversees religious schools, and Rp 46.1 trillion of the additional education budget in the state budget reserve.

He criticized the government for failing to go into detail about the amount allocated for education and training programs in other state institutions, which were likely responsible for the generous 2009 education budget.

The 2003 Law on the National Education System states that the 20 percent mandatory education budget, as required under the 1945 Constitution, must exclude the salaries of educators and funds for education and training programs in state agencies outside the National Education Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry. But in a decision that favored the government, which has repeatedly failed to meet the Constitutional requirement, the Constitutional Court ruled in February that teachers' salaries must be included in the education budget.

The verdict drew protests from community groups, including ICW, which said teachers' salaries – formerly included in the civil servant budget – would eat up a large portion of the education budget.

This would leave little for the long list of items in the education sector that urgently require improvement, ICW added.

Meanwhile, National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo acknowledged the biggest portion of the 2009 education budget would be used for teachers' salaries, which would be transferred to regions in the form of general allocation funds.

"Teachers' salaries will eat up half of the education budget, followed by the National Education Ministry and Religious Affairs Ministry," he said.

 War on corruption

KPK to target public sector, official says

Jakarta Post - August 23, 2008

Khairul Saleh, Palembang – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) planned to turn its attention to the public service sector, said KPK deputy head Haryono Umar in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Thursday.

Public services has been the locus of public complaints due to well-publicized corruption cases which have left public services mired in red tape.

Haryono said the KPK would initially select five regencies as pilot implementation sites to be followed by other regencies later. KPK would gather the required information but act preventively in order to expedite public services.

He cited a case at one of the customs offices recently where KPK officers conducted random inspections though they obtained meager results. The commission has formed a subsidiary which is expected to begin work by the end of the month.

"We will coordinate with other law enforcement agencies, such as the police, the prosecutor's office and the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP)," said Haryono during a discussion in Palembang.

The head of BPKP's South Sumatra office, Agus Sukaton, said people were looking for improvements in public services, such as streamlining license applications.

"Three sectors are potentially rife with corruption: procurement of goods and services, civil servant recruitment and public services," he said, adding the most effective and efficient way to curb corruption was to prevent it, such as by conducting spot checks on public services.

Chief of the corruption crimes division of the South Sumatra Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Totok Wibowo acknowledged difficulties in resolving various graft cases in the province quickly as police were hampered by limited authority and regulations.

"We must have written approval from the president before questioning provincial leaders or their aides, and we need permission from the governor to interview council members. The process takes time," he said, adding his division has already finished processing 118 cases, nine of which were handed over to the prosecutor's office while seven remained in the investigation stage.

Asked about progress on a bribery case involving mangrove forest conversion in Tanjung Api-Api, South Sumatra, Haryono disagreed with reports stating police were slow in handling the case, arguing they were currently gathering fresh evidence.

He said the process was proceeding as it should, and police were currently examining fresh evidence and interviewing witnesses, excluding the two persons who had been named as suspects.

"The graft cases KPK is handling must have all evidence in hand. We can't simply arrest people because the law may have been broken. Everything must be proven in court," he said.

Haryono said KPK should not lose in court since it had won all its cases so far.

Asked whether there would be new suspects in the Tanjung Api-Api case, he said, "We are still in the investigation stage, so it is possible to name new suspects. This is about justice, and not letting culprits go free."

Nepotism feared to weaken House

Jakarta Post - August 21, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – With history showing many cases of leaders who failed to groom quality successors among their kin, the recruitment of legislative candidates through bloodlines has raised concern over future legislative bodies.

Observers and experts insist that the tendency of party leaders to select candidates based on family connections over proven track records will further erode the strength and image of the much-criticized House.

In expressing his doubts that political leaders' family members have what it takes to become good politicians, executive director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) Hadar N. Gumay warned the appointment was counterproductive to the political system.

"Lawmakers need to have specific skills in legislation, budgeting, negotiation and mastery of issues. I notice that most of candidates chosen because of their fathers or husbands have neither adequate experience nor skills. How can they perform their duty?" Hadar said.

The number of family members of party leaders and figures contesting the 2009 elections far exceeds previous levels.

Hanura Party nominated the wife of its chairman Wiranto, Uga Wiranto, as a candidate for Gorontalo electoral district, while co-founder of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais had his son Ahmad Mumtaz named to run in Cilacap electoral district.

The United Development Party (PPP) listed Nur Agus Haz and Musa Ikhwansyah, respectively a son and son-in-law of former party chairman Hamzah Haz, to its legislative candidates list.

Several senior Golkar Party politicians, such as Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, House Speaker Agung Laksono and Theo Sambuaga, let their children fill in their shoes at the House.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) nominated Puan Maharani, daughter of the party's leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, to run for a legislative seat in Central Java, while Guntur Soekarnoputra's daughter Putri Paundrianagari and Sabam Sirait's son Maruarar Sirait will vie for the legislative posts.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is no exception. His youngest son Edhie Baskoro will represent the Democratic Party (PD) in the elections.

Saying it was natural for party leaders to rely on their immediate kin in gripping power, political scientist Notrida Mandica argued that nepotism was not necessarily harmful if candidates were up to the task. Executive director of Indo Barometer research center Mohammad Qodari said there should be no worries about nepotism as long as advancement was based on merit.

"But we have seen in history that nepotism has outshone capabilities. That's why the parties must fix the recruitment process if they want strong figures," he said.

Yet another corruption case begins to unfold

Jakarta Post - August 19, 2008

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said Monday it had searched the office of Forestry Minister Malam Sambat Kaban for material evidence in connection with a new graft case.

The Friday raid was also related to a bribery scandal over a mangrove forest conversion in Banyuasin, South Sumatra, in which Kaban was implicated, KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin said.

But Jasin declined to provide information about the new corruption case, nor did he say whether it involved Kaban.

The search drew a protest from the minister, who said the KPK had seized documents that were not related to the Banyuasin forest conversion.

The minister demanded the KPK publicly reveal the documents it had confiscated. "The search was not only to find evidence on the mangrove forest conversion case, but was also part of our investigation into another case," Jasin said.

He said the KPK could continue its search at the Forestry Ministry to seize further evidence if preliminary investigations indicated that was necessary.

"We don't just carry out a search without authority. Our searches are always based on Article 12 of the KPK law," Jasin said in response to Kaban's protest.

Article 12 of the KPK law gives the commission the right to arrest and detain someone, conduct searches and seize evidence in any corruption case it is investigating. The law also stipulates that the search procedure refers to the 1981 law on criminal procedure.

"We have already carried out hundreds of searches and none of them was found to be a violation. Why is this one being made an issue?" Jasin said.

During Friday's raid, KPK investigators broke into the offices of the Forestry Ministry secretary-general and members of the general affairs, finance and planning divisions.

The KPK had previously said the search was an extension of an investigation into alleged bribery related to the conversion of a mangrove forest for the construction of the Tanjung Api-Api seaport in Banyuasin. The case has implicated two members of the House of Representatives' Commission IV overseeing forestry, agriculture and fisheries: Yusuf Emir Faisal of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Sarjan Taher of the Democratic Party (PD).

In the South Sumatra administration master plan, the Tanjung Api-Api mangrove forest is a protected area. The construction of the Tanjung Api-Api seaport is scheduled to finish by July next year. Kaban has said the forest conversion was legitimate under the law.

Yusuf, the husband of famous singer Hetty Koes Endang, admitted he accepted money in relation to the Banyuasin conversion project, but said he had handed the money over to the PKB in accordance with party regulations.

According to Yusuf's lawyer Sela Salomo, his client received Rp 800 million (US$87,500) from an unknown party, Rp 300 million of which he handed over to then PKB treasurer Aries Djuanedi. The remaining Rp 500 million was given to deputy party chairman Muamir Muin Syam, Sela said.

Yusuf is the sixth lawmaker to be declared a suspect in the case this year. The KPK earlier arrested Saleh Djasit and Hamka Yandhu of the Golkar Party, Al Amin Nasution of the United Development Party (PPP) and Sarjan and Bulyan Royan of the Reform Star Party (PBR) in separate corruption cases.

Kaban recently defied two KPK summonses for questioning as a witness in the embezzlement of Rp 100 billion from the central bank.

 Islam/religion

New court head slams sharia bylaws

Jakarta Post - August 23, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Less than 24 hours after being sworn in as the new head of the Constitutional Court, Moh. Mahfud M.D. on Friday slammed regional administrations for enacting sharia- inspired bylaws.

The enforcement of sharia-based ordinances threatens national integrity and runs counter to the state ideology (Pancasila) principles of social justice, since they discriminate against minority groups, he said.

"Sharia bylaws are not constitutionally or legally correct because, territorially and ideologically, they threaten our national integrity," Mahfud told top military officers attending a training program on the amended Constitution and human rights.

On Tuesday, Indonesian Military chief Gen. Djoko Santoso, who opened the Friday training program, warned against attempts to establish an Islamic state or alter state ideology.

Such activities are categorized as "acts of treason", the four- star Army general said.

Mahfud, who served as defense minister under the Abdurrahman "Gus Dur' Wahid administration, said local ordinances should not be enacted simply to cater to a region's religious demographic.

"This means Bali can pass a Hindu bylaw, or North Sulawesi can have a Christian ordinance. If each area fights for a religious- based ordinance, then we face a national integration problem," he said.

Mahfud said in addition to threatening national integrity, sharia-based ordinances also violated all basic principles used as a yardstick to determine whether a law was constitutional.

Under these principles, a law or regulation must serve to strengthen democracy and social justice, as well as promote religious tolerance in a civilized way, he said.

He added the implementation of sharia would discriminate against the weak and minority groups, leaving them out of the national system and without protection.

Dozens of regions have enacted sharia bylaws despite warnings the ordinances could deprive women and non-Muslims of their civil rights.

These bylaws include requiring Koran literacy for students and brides, enforcing Islamic dress code on Muslim women and skewed anti-prostitution regulations that punish only women and not men.

Critics say many of the ordinances were drafted by unqualified people, with no transparency or public participation, and aimed solely at wooing Muslim voters.

The government has pledged to review 37 sharia-based ordinances in force in several regions across the country which have been dubbed discriminatory and in violation of higher existing laws.

Human rights activists were quick to praise Mahfud's bold statement, saying sharia bylaws violated human rights principles.

"It's a bold and brave statement from the new Constitutional Court chief. We should support him," said Refendi Djamin of the Human Rights Working Group.

Senior Golkar Party lawmaker Theo Sambuaga echoed Mahfud's views, saying such ordinances brought about "disintegrative affects" on the pluralistic nation.

They criticized politicians for endorsing these bylaws in a bid to win support from Muslim voters in local elections.

Several major parties that openly back sharia bylaws include the United Development Party (PPP), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

Enactment of the bylaws has received support from several Golkar politicians, including the incumbent Tangerang mayor, who promote them for their own political gains.

Indonesian extremist charged over attack

Agence France Presse - August 21, 2008

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors demanded more than five years' jail Thursday for an Islamist hardliner accused of inciting an armed attack on a moderate rally, as his trial opened amid tight security.

Hundreds of police formed a cordon outside South Jakarta District Court for the trial of Islamic Defenders Front leader Rizieq Shihab, who is accused of being behind the June attack by hundreds of his stick-wielding followers.

The radical preacher was read charges of inciting hatred and violence and could face up to five-and-a-half years in prison, less than a possible nine years earlier floated by prosecutors.

Scores of white-clad FPI supporters surged towards a car carrying Shihab as he arrived at the court, and chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greater) as he entered the courtroom.

His lawyers argue he cannot be held responsible for the attack, which saw a mob of religious fanatics armed with wooden sticks set upon the peaceful rally at the national monument in Jakarta.

Several people were injured as the extremists beat unarmed demonstrators including old women and children.

Police failed to stop the attack, sparking criticism that the government was afraid to enforce the law in the face of a militant fringe of Islamic extremists.

Front member Jauhari Mubarok told AFP outside the court that the attack was a spontaneous "expression of disappointment" at those who had rallied for tolerance between religions.

"Habib wasn't involved at all. He didn't give us any instructions to attack the rally, it was just our expression of disappointment," he said.

The Front, which wants sharia, or Islamic law, has launched a series of violent vigilante attacks since 2000, with targets including the US embassy and nightclubs.

Turban-wearing Shihab earlier this year declared "war" on a minority Islamic sect which does not believe Mohammed was the final prophet, breaching one of the basic tenets of the religion.

Militant behaviour and the government's moves to restrict the activities of the Ahmadiyah sect have raised concerns that religious freedom is under attack in the world's most populous Muslim country.

More than two years in limbo for Ahmadiyah refugees

Jakarta Post - August 19, 2008

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – After more than two years as refugees, the fate of hundreds of Ahmadiyah followers in West Nusa Tenggara remains uncertain, with the provincial government failing to take decisive action to resolve their situation.

The administration's failure to act is despite a joint ministerial decree recognizing Ahmadiyah followers' freedom to practice their faith but barring them from propagating their faith to others.

It is up to the refugees to help themselves by accepting the decree because they had been forcibly evicted from their homes by local communities, head of the nationhood and security affairs at the governor's office, H.M. Nur said.

"The government cannot work alone to resolve the issue. The initiative must also come from the Ahmadiyah followers. They must be able to assimilate into society before we can return them to their homes," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Forty-eight families, or 194 people, have been living in temporary shelters at the transmigration building in Mataram, Lombok, and in a disused hospital in the city since 2006, when their homes were destroyed and they were forced out of their villages in Lingsar and Praya districts.

The forced evictions occurred after the Islamic Ulema Association (MUI) declared Ahmadiyah "heretical".

Nur said the government had provided counseling for refugees so that they might accept mainstream Islamic teachings and live together with other Muslim people, but had made no effort to change public views or to reconstruct their damaged homes.

The refugees need intensive counseling and guidance before they can be sent home, head of the provincial religious office Lalu Suhaimi said.

"The evaluation will determine whether or not the followers have truly adhered to the items (in the decree). We are considering whether to return them to their home villages, but it all depends on the community there," he said.

Ahmadiyah followers living at the transmigration transit center in Mataram said they were resigned to their fates and had little expectation of being returned home any time soon.

"We have celebrated Independence Day and the Ramadan fasting month in the shelter three times now. We are resigned to our fate," Ahmadiyah refugee coordinator Syahidin told the Post.

"It's the same with or without the SKB decree, despite our strong desire to return home."

He said the refugees were ready to be rehabilitated, but none of the authorities had come or contacted them for counseling.

Provincial legislative vice speaker Muhammad said the Ahmadiyah issue in West Nusa Tenggara called for mutual understanding and decisive leadership on the part of the provincial administration.

"The provincial administration should not have let the issue drag on, but should realize that Ahmadiyah followers are also humans and citizens. The government is obliged to help them go back to their home villages," he said.

The administration should mediate a dialogue between the refugees and residents from their hometowns, he said, adding that if both sides were not on equal terms, assimilation could not be achieved immediately.

Government, conservatives to blame for much ado about Ahmadiyah

Jakarta Post - August 19, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Al Mahmudah mosque is like any of the other myriad mosques scattered throughout Indonesia, where a cool breeze blows in from outside, creating a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere.

And there is nothing unusual about the outfits or behavior of the Muslims who pray there.

Indeed, there is nothing about it at all to indicate whether this is a mosque like any other, or one of the biggest mosques belonging to the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Islamic sect.

More than 100 Ahmadiyah members (Ahmadis) attended Friday prayers at the Al Mahmudah mosque in Gondrong, Tangerang, Banten province, last week, giving no hint of any fear of an attack by a radical Muslim group following the government decree in June restricting their activities.

"We should work hard and be good to other people on earth to be able to get to heaven," an Ahmadi preacher said.

Ahmadiyah's religious activities have not been disrupted despite the government's ban on the sect from spreading its teachings.

"We don't see anything wrong with Ahmadiyah members. They are just like us, and there is no reason to make them our enemies or attack them," said Yunus, 50, who lives near the mosque.

He said Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis had lived peacefully side by side in Gondrong for many years.

Just like any other Friday, other Muslims in the neighborhood also went to one of several mosques linked to Nahdlatul Ulama or Muhammadiyah according to their respective Mazhab (schools of thought).

Some non-Ahmadis living in the neighborhood, afraid of being late for the Friday prayers, even went to Al Mahmudah to pray.

Ahmadiyah was founded in Pakistan in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be another prophet in Islam after Muhammad. The sect is banned in Pakistan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and has come under attack in Bangladesh. There are approximately 200,000 Ahmadis in Indonesia.

Ika, a 25-year-old from an Ahmadiyah family in Gondrong, said she was born in the area and could remember no attack or any other violence against her family or other Ahmadis living there.

"According to Ahmadiyah leaders, this is the most tolerant area in Indonesia," she said.

Indeed, Gondrong is probably the only safe place for Ahmadis right now, with other members of the minority Islamic group across the country coming under attack since the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) issued an edict in July 2005, declaring Ahmadiyah heretical.

Islamist groups subsequently attacked the Ahmadiyah headquarters near Bogor, West Java. Assaults on Ahmadiyah members were also reported in East Lombok and Manis Lor in West Nusa Tenggara, and in Tasikmalaya, Parung, Garut, Ciaruteun and Sadasari in West Java.

Attacks on the Ahmadiyah community continued in 2006, forcing hundreds of Ahmadis to flee to a refugee camp in Lombok after local mobs destroyed their homes and mosques. Some Ahmadis sought political asylum at the Australian and German consulates in Bali.

In December 2007, mobs attacked Ahmadis, their mosques and their homes in Kuningan, West Java.

On April 16, 2008, Indonesia's Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) recommended banning the Ahmadiyah faith, triggering a fresh round of attacks on Ahmadiyah.

On June 1, Indonesia's image reached a new low after members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), armed with bamboo sticks, assaulted activists from the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion during a rally at the National Monument park, leaving about 70 people injured.

The peaceful rally was to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of Pancasila state ideology and to show support for Ahmadiyah.

Following the attack, the government gave in to pressure by radical groups, issuing a joint ministerial decree in July to ban Ahmadiyah from spreading its religious beliefs.

The US-based International Crisis Group labeled the decree a setback for Indonesia's image as a country that can stand up to Islamic radicalism and President Yudhoyono's image as a strong leader.

"The outcome suggests the government has no clear vision of basic principles itself but rather seeks compromise between those who speak loudest," it said in a statement.

Local human rights groups also expressed concern that Yudhoyono's compromise with the radical Islamists meant these groups would demand more, including the dissolution of Ahmadiyah.

"The state has no right to tell people what to believe. It's against our Constitution. Sticking to this principle, Yudhoyono should be firm in saying no to radical groups. They are the ones who want to get Ahmadiyah eradicated, not the people as whole. All the attacks were incited by them, not by the people around them," Rafendi Jamin of the Human Rights Working Group said.

Meanwhile, young people like Ika who inherited their beliefs from their Ahmadi parents have been affected by the pressure by the radicals and the government.

Her five-year relationship with her boyfriend, who comes from traditional, non-Ahmadiyah family, turned sour for some time as his family did not want him to marry an Ahmadi.

"We broke up when we were just about to marry because the media headlines have categorized us as a weird and humiliating group. I tried to convince him that I would follow his beliefs to prevent the breakup but I failed," she said.

But fortunately, their love turned out to be stronger than they had thought. They decided to make up and get married quickly while trying to convince their families. "It is still hard and I feel alienated being an Ahmadi," Ika said.

 Elections/political parties

KPU blames poor census for flawed voter lists

Jakarta Post - August 22, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) on Thursday deflected criticism over findings that more than 36 million eligible voters nationwide were still not registered, six days before the registration deadline.

The KPU blamed the problem on the government's poor population census and the failure of political parties to encourage their constituents to register.

"The fact is many of our citizens have no identity numbers. It is a very basic requirement for registering voters," KPU member Andi Nurpati said.

She added most people aged 17 years or older by April 9, 2009, when the legislative election is held, might not have identity cards yet. "But it is a reality of our country. It is not only the KPU's fault," she said.

The KPU earlier estimated the number of eligible voters could reach about 174 million people, based on population reports from the Home Affairs Ministry.

The KPU was required to update voter data three months after receiving it from the ministry in April this year.

A survey jointly conducted by the Institute of Research, Education and Information of Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES) and the National Democratic Institute showed more than 36 million eligible voters were not included in the preliminary voter list (DPS), which the KPU released on August 8.

The survey, conducted between August 7 and 10, polled 1,537 respondents in all 33 provinces. It found 20.8 percent of those polled were not registered.

The KPU will close voter registration on August 27 and announce the final list of eligible voters in October. The KPU claims it provided the DPS to political parties.

"It seems there is public apathy to check whether voters are registered or not. We hope political parties take an active role in encouraging their constituents to register," KPU member Endang Sulastri said.

The KPU also drew mounting protests over its "inconsistency" in dealing with certain political parties.

"The KPU has failed to sanction parties that do not meet the requirement of submitting lists of legislative candidates. The KPU is spoiling them," Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) member Wahidah Suaib said.

She said the KPU should have directly rejected proposals from the Freedom Party and the Indonesia Unity Party (PSI), which submitted lists of their legislative candidates without the required documents.

Both parties submitted the names of their candidates without any documents just two days before registration of legislative candidates closed.

"The KPU violated its own policy. It is too lenient to these parties and it is setting a poor political example," Wahidah said.

Bawaslu also protested the KPU's acceptance of legislative candidate lists from rival factions of the splintered National Awakening Party (PKB).

In response, KPU member Andi claimed her office had worked within the legal constraints.

"According to election regulations, we can accept the registration of legislative candidates from parties with a dual leadership. But we will verify them based on regulations issued by the justice ministry," she said.

Some 36 million voters unregistered: Survey

Jakarta Post - August 21, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – More than 36 million voting-age citizens might be staying at home for the 2009 legislative election, as a recent survey shows their names are not included in the official preliminary list of eligible voters (DPS).

The survey was jointly conducted by the Institute of Research, Education and Information of Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) from Aug. 7 to 10, involving 1,537 respondents in all 33 provinces of Indonesia.

It found 20.8 percent of respondents were not registered.

"If the General Elections Commission (KPU) estimates there will be 174 million people eligible to vote in 2009, this means that more than 36 million people won't be able to exercise their voting rights," NDI election program manager Anastasia Soeryadinata told the press when launching the findings Wednesday.

The DPS, recently released by election bodies, is supposed to be the updated version of voter lists submitted by the Home Ministry to the KPU in April this year. Under regulations, the KPU had three months to update the list after receiving it.

All local election bodies should have then announced the updated preliminary lists at the village or subdistrict levels on Aug. 8, leaving eligible voters with 10 days to verify their names on the roster.

However, the survey revealed that over 92 percent of respondents were unaware that they had to check their names on the lists, and that fewer knew about the period for name checking.

The survey has raised fears among poll monitors that the DPS remains unchanged and that millions of unregistered citizens have lost their chance to vote.

The survey said only 3.4 percent of respondents said they had checked their names on the roster.

"It is ironic, because some 87 percent of unregistered respondents said they would vote while over 93 percent (of registered and unregistered respondents) expressed the same intention," Fajar Nursahid of the LP3ES said.

Executive director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) Hadar N. Gumay, who attended the press briefing, slammed the KPU for "doing almost nothing" to increase people's awareness of the election.

"This survey should be a warning to us that the upcoming election will be much worse than the 2004 election. The KPU can't hide behind the government's unpunctuality in disbursing election funds," he said.

"The KPU should push for it (the disbursement) and if the government continues not to disburse the money, they should boycott the election process and return the mandate as it is impossible to work without money," he added.

Hadar warned that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would damage his image if his administration failed to conduct a credible election.

The NDI, LP3ES and Cetro urged the KPU to extend the voter registration period for a month and postpone announcing the final list of eligible voters (DPT) from October to November to give people more time to register.

"We believe an extended registration period will not affect the election process. By my calculations, five months is more than enough time to prepare the election logistics materials," Anastasia said.

The KPU is scheduled to close voter registration on Aug. 27 and release the DPT in October this year.

Union militant to contest elections

Green Left Weekly - August 20, 2008

Vannessa Hearman – Indonesian labour activist and chairperson of the Deliberative Council of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas), Dita Sari, has declared that she will run for the Star Reform Party (PBR) in the 2009 legislative elections.

Sari and around 40 other Papernas members have declared their intention to contest the elections as part of the PBR.

Sari will occupy the number one position on the party's candidate list for an electoral district in Central Java that incorporates the towns of Klaten, Boyolali, Sukoharjo and the city of Solo.

According to Indo Pos, the district where Sari will run is a hotly contested area, with other candidates including Puan Maharani, daughter of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, running for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Hidayat Nurwahid, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly from the Prosperity and Justice Party (PKS).

Klaten, Boyolali, Sukoharjo and Solo were strongholds of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) during the 1950s and '60s. It was in these areas where the worst massacres in Central Java took place in 1965-66, as General Suharto seized power and physically exterminated the PKI.

Dita Sari's decision to run under the banner of the PBR, a party that began as an Islamic party, has created controversy. Papernas has been targeted consistently by right-wing Islamic groups, such as the Defenders of Islam Front (FPI), and dubbed the new PKI.

Some Indonesian political commentators have posed the question of how anti-communist forces will respond to this instance of left activists running inside a party that has Islamic origins. It is understood that Papernas has been in negotiations with the PBR leadership since at least 2007 to discuss a joint platform or some form of electoral collaboration in 2009.

PBR

The PBR began as a split from the United Development Party (PPP), a party that was created out of the forced amalgamation of a number of Islamic parties in 1973 and sanctioned by the Suharto's New Order dictatorship.

The PPP was recognised as one of three parties, alongside Suharto's Golkar party and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), allowed to exist and run in elections throughout the New Order period.

The key founder of PBR, Zainuddin MZ, an Islamic religious leader with a huge following, was a member of PPP until he and several others left to establish PPP Reformasi in 2002. PPP Reformasi was established in the aftermath of Suharto's 1998 overthrow, when restrictions to establish and join political parties were lifted.

Zainuddin argued that PPP Reformasi was to be "the smiling party" – leaving behind notions of "political revenge and sins" of the past and intent on reforming the political and economic system of the country.

Zainuddin explained that the party stood against corruption, in favour of justice for the poor and for "clean" politics. At an extraordinary meeting of the party in 2003, its name was changed to PBR, the Star Reform Party. Zainuddin left the PBR last year.

Some PBR leaders, such as Bursah Zanubi, have their political origins in the Islamic Students' Association (HMI).

Sari explained that Papernas would continue to exist and not be liquidated into PBR. She told Indo Pos that she was not perturbed by PBR's Islamic origins, pointing to the aspects of the PBR program that she agreed with – for example economic independence, free from foreign domination, the abolition of the foreign debt and prioritising development of the rural economy.

She argued that Papernas had made strenuous efforts to meet the requirements to be registered as a party able to participate in the elections, however only 34 parties have successfully met all the bureaucratic requirements to run.

Deputy secretary-general of PBR's central leadership board, Yusuf Lakaseng, argued that there were common areas of struggle between Papernas and the PBR. He said, "Indeed we are opening ourselves up towards the activist currents".

In the 2004 elections, PBR only achieved 2.5% of the vote but will be aiming for around 7% in these 2009 elections. Lakaseng is confident of achieving this target, as the party now has set up structures throughout the country, compared to four years earlier. The party claims 780,000 members and 60,000 branches.

Youth

According to Lakaseng, himself a former member of the predominantly young People's Democratic Party (PRD – the left-wing party that helped found Papernas and that Sari is also a leader of), the PBR is prioritising youth candidates.

The PBR is putting in place a quota system of 60% for candidates below the age of 40. The party also aims to have women compose 30% of its fielded candidates.

Chairperson Bursah Zanubi said that his party tried to embrace as many young people as possible, with 30 legislative candidates under the age of 30 and a policy of two maximum terms on the leadership board of the party.

On July 12, Zanubi explained to Kompas that his party would focus on the issues of food and constructing an economy oriented to the needs of people and workers. He said that the PBR would campaign through meetings, discussions and gatherings, aiming for 50-100 people at each event.

Sari said that no party was completely "clean", but that the challenge in Indonesian electoral politics was to "seek the best out of the worst".

In response to the case of PBR parliamentarian Buylan Royan, who arrested on June 30 under order of the Corruption Eradication Commission, the PBR central leadership board sacked him from the position two days later and declared its willingness to cooperate with the commission's investigation.

Royan was accused of receiving bribes for procurement of government patrol boats.

Parties choose loyalty over democracy in polls

Jakarta Post - August 20, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Political parties will use alternative mechanisms to select legislators despite the election law requiring selection based on the numerical order system, which is a closed election process.

Some parties say they would follow the law while others would select their lawmakers based on the most votes each candidate wins in an electoral district during the 2009 legislative election.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said it would implement a combination of both the numerical and open polls systems to ensure free internal competitions.

"On the one hand, we will uphold the law but we will also implement an internal policy," PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung said.

He said PDI-P candidates who win 30 percent of the votes in their respective areas as required by the election law would automatically win legislative seats although they would be assigned to the lowest rank of the party's legislative candidates.

"We will provide the remaining votes to legislative candidates ranked in the top of the lists. It will be our way to respect the party's cadres," Pramono said.

The PDI-P, the opposition party which is chaired by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, submitted its names of 620 legislative candidates to the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday.

The numerical method, a way of determining legislators as adopted in the 2008 election law, allows the central board of every political party to appoint its loyalists to legislative bodies.

Loyalists to party leaders commonly topped the lists of legislative candidates and contested the elections in their party's strongholds to ensure they would secure legislative seats.

The country will hold legislative elections on April 9, 2009, with 38 political parties competing for 560 seats in the House of Representatives.

New members for local legislative bodies and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) will also be elected at that time.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said it would comply with the prevailing election law in determining its legislators.

PKS secretary-general Anis Matta said the move to select lawmakers based on the open polls system was mostly prompted by internal conflicts within the concerned parties.

"It is mandated in the PKS to be a legislator so there is no conflict in our party; we will adhere to the election law," he said. The PKS registered its 573 legislative candidates Tuesday with the KPU for the 2009 election; 35 percent of its candidates are women.

Meanwhile, New Indonesia Party of Struggle (PPIB) secretary general Edi Danggur said his party would join the growing trend and adopt the open election system.

"We will apply the open system because we want our elected legislators to be chosen by the people so they will know their respective constituents," he said. The PPIB proposed a list of 55 legislative candidates on Tuesday for the election.

The country's largest party, Golkar, decided last week to similarly apply an open polls method, taking the lead in promoting a more democratic system.

The decision was made in a leadership meeting of Golkar led by Vice President and party chairman Jusuf Kalla in a bid to respect its members who have worked hard in the interests of their supporters.

KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary has said the poll body would uphold the existing mechanism in accordance with the 2008 election law.

Election watchdogs have expressed doubt that the upcoming election would favor elected candidates with voter legitimacy because the law recognizes the dominant influence of party executives.

Political parties branded as reform's illegitimate riders

Jakarta Post - August 20, 2008

Dian Kuswandini and Maulina Sartika Pravitasari, Jakarta – The country's 10 years of reform failed to achieve the main goal of providing prosperity for all, thanks to "instant leaders" and unconsolidated parties, a discussion concluded Tuesday.

"Parties are just illegitimate riders on the waves of reform because they don't share the same goals as the civil society," Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political analyst, Syamsudin Haris said.

He said the current reform movement still belonged to the civil society, not the political groups, including parties and legislative councils.

"Parties are involved in developing democracy for short-term motives and only to benefit themselves, while the cost to democracy is expensive," Syamsuddin told the discussion organized by the Indonesian Muslim Student Movement (PMII).

He expressed concern over the increasing number of political parties competing for seats in the House of Representatives, with no specific ideology and offering the same old promises."

"One thing is for sure, all the new parties the country has now are actually 'spin-offs' of the old parties – Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP)," he said.

It means, he added, that their ideologies are just similar to the old parties. Syamsudin said the new parties were established as result of disappointment with the old ones.

"Former PPP cadres, for example, got disappointed and formed the Star Reform Party (PBR). But what are the differences between the two? Just their names and their party colors."

As the parties were born of internal conflicts, he said, they did not cooperate well, resulting in the failure of democracy.

Former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung agreed, saying that the increasing number of political parties did not ensure that citizens gained prosperity. "With the mounting conflicts among political parties, prosperity will remain a dream," Akbar said at the same discussion.

However, he said parties are still needed for the democratic process, as they bring people together for common purposes.

"Political parties serve as an entry point for legislative and executive positions, needed so that democracy can operate," Akbar said, adding that the most important thing is to educate citizens on politics.

Akbar said that despite specific rights for non-party candidates, this did not make any difference for the country. "Instead, it has actually disrupted political parties," he added.

Syamsuddin also criticized legislative and executive candidates who used "instant means" to gain their political goals.

"It's funny nowadays that there are so many new candidates seeking popularity through the media (and advertisements) to win elections.

"A true leader of a nation should start from zero and take a long period to gain power," Syamsuddin said. "This kind of instant selection of candidates has created popular but incompetent leaders," he added.

Syamsuddin urged political parties to establish a solid system of candidate selection in order to prepare competent leaders.

KPU made 'deals' allowing four parties to run

Jakarta Post - August 19, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Poll watchdogs urged the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday to reverse its decision to allow four more parties to contest next year's legislative elections.

The decision violated the 2008 elections law and would undermine the legitimacy of the election results, they argued.

People's Voter Education Network (JPPR) national coordinator Jeirry Sumampow accused the KPU of making "certain deals' with four minor parties.

"It is a fatal decision. The KPU sells its authority for the sake of these parties," he told a discussion with journalists. "The KPU should drop this if they want a legitimate election next year," he asserted.

Jeirry could not elaborate on the "deals" between the KPU and the four parties – the Freedom Party, the Indonesian Nahdlatul Ummah Party (PNUI), the Islamic United Party and the Labor Party.

However, he said the KPU may have been involved in "money politics" during the verification process last month to determine the eligibility of political parties to contest the 2009 legislative elections.

The KPU made its decision the day after the State Administrative Court issued a verdict ordering it to allow the four parties to contest the upcoming elections, along with 34 others, which had already been listed as eligible.

Legal expert Topo Santoso of the University of Indonesia said the verdict was legally flawed as it was handed out by the State Administrative Court.

"The 2008 elections law only authorizes district and high courts and the Constitutional Court to handle legal cases related to election matters," Topo, who is a former member of the Elections Supervisory Board, said at the same discussion.

Topo also expressed concern over the State Administrative Court's lack of understanding of the legal aspects of electoral matters.

"If they had read the Constitutional Court verdict, the State Administrative Court should have rejected the petition from the four parties," he said.

Meanwhile, Yulianto from the Consortium on National Law Reform urged the KPU to hire legal experts to deal with legal problems arising, ahead of the elections. "We conclude that one of the weaknesses of the KPU lies in legal matters, as none of its members have legal experience," he said.

The JPPR also called on the Elections Supervisory Board to take position on the KPU's decision to recognize the four parties as being eligible. "They should warn the KPU to avoid such decisions in future," he said.

The KPU is now under pressure from the My Republic Party, which similarly won a legal battle through the State Administrative Court on Friday.

Party members stormed the KPU office on Monday, demanding the polls body should also include their political group in the list of eligible parties for the 2009 election. However, the KPU said it would appeal against the latest verdict.

Gus Dur's PKB fires unfaithful

Jakarta Post - August 18, 2008

Jakarta – Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, chief patron of the fractured National Awakening Party (PKB), said his camp had fired both Effendy Choiry and Ikhsan Abdullah from the party's central board.

The senior party executives were dismissed because they had affiliated themselves with a rival faction led by Muhaimin Iskandar, Gus Dur said.

"That (decision was made) three days ago because they had been nominated by Muhaimin," the former president was quoted by Antara as saying at the State Palace, Jakarta, after attending a flag hoisting ceremony to mark Indonesian Independence Day.

Gus Dur controls the PKB camp chaired by Ali Maskur Musa, in which Effendy had served as one of his deputies and Ikhsan as party head of its justice and human rights bureau.

Gus Dur said he had not decided whether to dismiss other PKB executives from his faction who had switched allegiances to Muhaimin's camp ahead of the 2009 elections.

The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has authorized the Muhaimin-led PKB to contest the upcoming elections.

 Economy & investment

Labor-rich industries lagging

Jakarta Post - August 21, 2008

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The government has not supported the steady growth of labor-intensive industries over the last six quarters, missing a vital opportunity to reduce unemployment and poverty, several lawmakers say.

Last year, the economy grew 6.3 percent, while in the first half of this year, the economy expanded by 6.4 percent, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

However, "Growth by sectors shows that the agriculture and manufacturing industry sectors had a low growth," Rama Pratama of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Faction said Wednesday during a House of Representatives plenary session.

"These two sectors absorb more laborers than most other sectors," she added. If the government fails to improve labor-intensive industries immediately, it might miss its poverty and unemployment reduction targets, Rama said.

"The government's challenge is to create a quality economic growth, meaning the growth can absorb a significant number of laborers to reduce poverty," he said.

In a speech last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government targets to reduce the rate of poverty in 2009 to between 12 and 14 percent, and unemployment to between 7 and 8 percent.

The poverty rate stood at 15.4 percent in March 2008, and the unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in February 2008, Yudhoyono said, citing BPS data.

Nusyirwan Soejono of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction said the nation's economic growth was being enjoyed only by middle- and high-income people, while low-income people continued to suffer. "Modern markets and malls are developing, while traditional markets are declining," Nusyirwan Soejono of the PDI-P said.

Economists have said the government must improve labor-intensive industries and empower regions to secure a leap in the economy.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the government will focus starting next year on improving labor-intensive industries, as well as other rapidly growing industries.

"The manufacturing industry will be one of the government's priorities for revitalization," Sri Mulyani said. "If we see the composition by sectors, our hopes lie in the labor-intensive sectors, also including the agriculture and services sectors."

According to the BPS, the transportation and communication sectors grew the most in the period beginning 2004 and ending at the start of the second half of 2008, despite it contributing only a small portion to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP).

In the same period, the manufacturing industry sector lagged behind the transportation and communication sectors as well as the construction, financial, real estate and company services, and the trade, hotel and restaurants sectors.

 Opinion & analysis

Waiting for a Trump Card

Tempo Magazine - August 19-25, 2008

The Munir murder case is entering a new stage. These coming weeks Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Pr is standing trial. The former deputy of the State Intelligence Agency will be accused of having ordered the killing of rights activist Munir. If proven, Muchdi is liable to a death sentence or life imprisonment.

However, Muchdi's defense counsel is convinced that he will escape. The documents used by the prosecutors are considered too weak to send this ex-Special Forces commander to prison. Now prosecutors are being challenged.

The dossier about 20 centimeters thick was on the left side of the desk of prosecutor Cirus Sinaga. Beneath the red cover, the case document was interspersed with paper strips of different colors to indicate important pages. It was the examination dossier of Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwoprandjono, 59, the former Deputy V/Consolidation of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). The file contains Muchdi's answers on his role in BIN and the accusation of his involvement in the murder of Munir. On Thursday last week, the dossier was delivered by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to the South Jakarta District Court.

The dossier is bulky because it includes no less than examination reports of 13 witnesses plus various court decision papers. For instance, there are the verdicts on Indra Setiawan, former Garuda Indonesia CEO, and Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, an ex-pilot of the state-owned airline company. Then there is also heaps of other evidence implicating Muchdi in the case of Munir's "elimination."

The AGO has formed a team of public prosecutors under Cirus Sinaga. "We have solid evidence," said Cirus about this case. The proof covered a quarto cash book with notes of incoming/outgoing letters and expenses, computer hardware owned by Muchdi's subordinate, complete details of cell phone notes, and three letters printed from data that were previously discarded and deleted but could still be retrieved. The last mentioned papers were among the important documents indicating the presence of an "order" to kill Munir.

On Monday last week, the examination documents were turned over by a police investigating team under Brig. Gen. Mathius Salempang to the AGO. The prosecutor will charge Muchdi with violation of Article 340 and Article 55 of the Criminal Code. These criminal provisions deal with premeditated murder and those ordering criminal action. They may involve penalties of 20 years in jail, life imprisonment, or capital punishment. Cirus was optimistic that Muchdi would not be able to evade the case.

Muchdi "slipped" and fell into a mud hole of the Munir case after the discovery of proof of 41 phone calls between him and Pollycarpus. Since the case was investigated by a fact-finding team – formed by the President three months after Munir died on September 7, 2004 – the phone notes have served as an indication of BIN's involvement. Based on the notes, Muchdi had five contacts with Pollycarpus on the day the human rights activist was "terminated."

Munir, founder of the Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence (Kontras), died on a flight aboard Garuda GA-974 from Jakarta to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. When the plane was in transit in Singapore, somebody saw Munir talking with Pollycarpus at the Coffee Bean cafe. A Dutch laboratory test declared arsenic poisoning to be the cause of Munir's death. A further forensic test in Seattle, USA, confirmed that the poison entered Munir's body when the plane was in transit.

It was this forensic test that made the court find Pollycarpus guilty in its review trial on January. Previously, the Supreme Court appeal panel in October 2006 acquitted him of the murder. After the review, the police actively conducted an inquiry into the connection of the "agent pilot" with Muchdi, who kept denying any telephone contact. The police then obtained testimony from Muchdi's subordinate, Budi Santoso, that the two had communicated before.

Based on Budi's statement, along with the assignment letter signed by M. As'ad Ali, BIN Deputy Chairman, requesting that Garuda CEO name Pollycarpus as flight security staffer, the police pronounced Muchdi a suspect in May. On June 19, Muchdi was taken to the National Police HQ. He was held along with corruption suspects in the detention house of the Police Mobile Brigade Command head office in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.

When the case was under investigation by the fact-finding team, this team faced difficulty in asking for information from Muchdi and other senior BIN officials. Three summonses addressed to Muchdi received no response from the ex-Special Forces commander. Until the expiration of the team's working period on June 23, 2005, none of them – Muchdi, As'ad, and former BIN Chairman Abdullah Makhmud Hendropriyono – was prepared to make any statement.

The completion of Muchdi's examination documents brought relief to Usman Hamid, a colleague of Munir in Kontras now serving as Executive Secretary for the Committee of Solidarity Action for Munir. He hoped the prosecution would not only rely on the police evidence, but also strengthen it or find new proof. "Prosecutors should make every effort so that the hard work by the police won't be in vain," said Usman, who is also now Coordinator of Kontras.

The AGO has prepared its best personnel in the battle against Muchdi's attorneys in court trial. "We are readying 10 prosecutors," said Deputy Attorney General for General Crime, Abdul Hakim Ritonga. To support the accusation, 13 witnesses will be summoned, including As'ad Ali (who signed the letter of assignment), Indra Setiawan (who followed up the letter), Budi Santoso, and Pollycarpus. Meanwhile, Hendropriyono is not made a witness because there was no information that touched on him.

Muchdi's defense team is also prepared to save the retired general from the serious allegation. The attorneys are even optimistic that Django – Muchdi's nickname among close friends – will escape indictment. According to Ahmad Kholid, Muchdi's attorney, all the prosecutors' evidence is insufficient to charge his client with premeditated murder. "If two people communicate over the phone many times, are they definitely talking about crime?" he queried. Moreover, he said, the prosecution claimed to possess no recording of the 41 phone calls. "They have to prove this in court." Ahmad also questioned the source of the phone notes. "Who tapped the phone? Was it based on the relevant procedure? It can be a bad precedent," he added.

There is another "weapon" already prepared by Muchdi's attorneys to resist prosecutors' charges: the evidence of assignment received by Indra Setiawan. It is the letter retrieved by investigators from a computer in Muchdi's office using a computer forensic technique. In Ahmad's view, even the photocopy of an original document is debated, let alone the copy only "retrieved" from "inside" a computer and printed out.

Apart from Muchdi's defense team, criminal law expert from the University of Indonesia, Rudy Satryo Mukantardjo, also described the prosecutors' ammunition to send Muchdi to jail as inadequate. The evidence of the assignment letter is an example. According to Rudy, it has to be verified by witness statements. "At least two witnesses," he said, who are the issuer and recipient. Besides, further supporting proof is required to show that the letter is indeed the same as the lost original. Still another document certifying the letter's entry or its receipt note is needed. If prosecutors possessed no such pieces of evidence, added Rudy, it would be hard to accuse Muchdi of masterminding Munir's murder.

If prosecutors use "notes of telephone calls between Muchdi and Pollycarpus," according to him, it cannot serve as proof either. "Because owners of phone numbers do not automatically indicate perpetrators of Munir's murder," pointed out the lawyer. Rudy suggested that the prosecution should not hastily unveil the mystery of Munir's killing. "Still, for the criminal penalty of twenty years, the case has an 18-year expiration period," he concluded.

Prosecution team head Cirus Sinaga rejected Rudy's doubts. "Without strong evidence, why should we seek to prosecute?" he remarked. Cirus emphasized that his team had the proof that Muchdi's defense counsel would have no way of countering. Usman Hamid was also sure that the prosecutor had a trump card to be played in court trial. "It's my hope that there will be a recording to be heard in court," he said, referring to the playing of a recorded conversation between prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan and Artalyta Suryani in the Corruption Court, which promptly uncovered the guilt of both corruption suspects.

Usman also hoped that Muchdi's trial would be a stepping stone to discover the persons more responsible for the death of Munir. "We anticipate that, besides Muchdi, there are others yet to be brought to court," he added. The court will indeed prove whether Muchdi will escape, or he alone, as a top BIN official, will to go to jail. – Adek Media, Rini Kustiani

Will He Fall Again?

It is not the first time that Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwoprandjono has stumbled on a serious case. Ten years ago, at the peak of his career as Special Forces commander, Muchdi faced the case of kidnapping anti-New Order activists.

It was Munir who at the time eagerly unveiled the case. Consequently, Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto dismissed Muchdi, Prabowo Subianto, and Chairawan from their posts after their trial by the Military Honorary Council. The three were considered responsible for the behavior of the Rose Team, the team that kidnapped the activists.

Muchdi was later "parked" without an office at Indonesian Military HQ, until Hendropriyono in 2001 appointed him Deputy V of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). Now he is again "facing" Munir, his old enemy. Will he fall again?

2004

September 7: Munir, 39, dies from poisoning.
December 23: The President sets up a fact- finding team.

2005

March 18: Pollycarpus is declared a suspect.
May 13: The fact-finding team summons Muchdi. It was ignored.
May 17: The team reports to the President on the repeated contacts between Pollycarpus and Muchdi during September-October 2004.
June 3: The team fails in questioning Muchdi. Five days later, Muchdi does not appear either.
June 24: The team submits its report to the President.
August 9: The trial for Pollycarpus starts in the Central Jakarta District Court.
November 17: Muchdi testifies in court trial. He denies any connection with Pollycarpus.
December 1: The prosecutor demands life imprisonment for Pollycarpus.
December 20: Pollycarpus is found guilty. The judge sentences him to 14 years in jail.

2006

January 26: Suciwati, Munir's widow, meets with Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh. She requests that he order cellphone operators to open the recording of talks between Muchdi and Pollycarpus.
February 16: Muchdi meets with House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono to ask for legal protection.
February 21: Muchdi questions the consideration of the judge's decision that links him with Pollycarpus.
March 27: The Jakarta High Court backs the verdict passed on Pollycarpus.
October 3: The Supreme Court's appeal panel of justices declares Pollycarpus not proven of committing murder.

2007

January 1: Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh states he will request a review of the case of Pollycarpus, with new pieces of evidence.
August 23: Recordings of tapped phone conversation between Pollycarpus and Indra Setiawan are played in the court session reviewing this case. There, Pollycarpus mentions "Avi and Asmini," who turn out to be code names for Muchdi and M. As'ad, BIN Deputy Chair.

2008

Januari 14: Budi Santoso, Muchdi's ex-subordinate, admits having been once asked by Muchdi to give money to Pollycarpus. May Investigators declare Muchdi a suspect.
June 19: Muchdi is detained.
August 11: Muchdi is transferred to the Attorney General's Office.

Reform's a hard sell for Indonesia's army

Straits Times (Singapore) - August 18, 2008

John McBeth – Lost in the recriminations over the Commission of Truth and Friendship's (CTF) report on the bloody events surrounding Timor Leste's vote for independence is a singular recommendation to implement a major shift in the culture of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

In keeping with language in the 2002 Defence Law, the commission calls for the TNI to drop its time-honoured concept of total people's defence and replace it with a conventional reserve element that, when activated, will become part of the military's formal chain of command.

Enshrined in the previous 1982 Defence Law, and underpinned by the 1945 Constitution, the current doctrine allows for the creation and arming of the same military-backed militias that were responsible for much of the destruction and bloodshed in Timor Leste nine years ago.

A draft Defence Reserve Component Bill, drawn up in 2006 and still waiting to be tabled in Parliament, envisages the creation of a volunteer reserve force with professional training, clear authority, rights and responsibilities.

The size of the force is not mentioned in the legislation, but it is believed the TNI plans to eventually recruit about 150,000 reservists, aged between 18 and 58, who would undergo about three months of training and serve for five years. One vague provision allows for 'natural resources, manufacturing resources, national structures and infrastructure' to be utilised in support of the reserve, presumably at a time of national mobilisation.

The Bill stipulates that the costs of the reserve force should be borne by the national budget, with each provincial government providing a supporting allocation.

Retired general Agus Widjoyo, a reform-minded member of the CTF, sees the provision and other recommendations in the 356-page report as 'another milestone in the Indonesian transition, symbolising a shift from authoritarian values to open democratic values'.

But while the document contains what Gen Widjoyo calls 'substantial new packaging', the commission's non-prosecutorial mandate meant it was never going to satisfy anyone – least of all the relatives of the 1,500 people who died at the hands of the Indonesian-backed militiamen.

In fact, in issuing what amounted to an apology for what happened in its former territory – the first time it has acknowledged culpability – the Indonesian government now faces renewed pressure to follow up with prosecutions.

That won't happen, of course. As farcical and unconvincing as the process was, the administration can point to the ad hoc trials that led to the acquittal of all 20 officers and civilians accused of inciting the bloodshed.

Despite saying sorry, even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is understood to have been unhappy over some of the report's conclusions – in particular where it found that Indonesian soldiers were guilty of gross human rights abuses.

There is no question the Timorese bent over backwards. Even in the joint statement, they replaced 'apology', which appeared in the original Indonesian version, with the softer 'regret' that Dr Yudhoyono used.

Although the report didn't mention names, Indonesia will continue to be criticised for failing to successfully prosecute any one and for a culture of impunity that has ignored other abuses in Papua, Aceh and Jakarta over the years.

The Timor Leste events may have occurred after former president Suharto's downfall, but clearly not enough time had elapsed from the repressive New Order era for the military to have changed its culture to any appreciable degree.

The TNI says it should instead be judged on the strides it has made since then, separating itself from mainstream political life, dramatically improving its human rights record and progressively edging out of business enterprises.

But it still resists the concept of civilian supremacy, pointing by way of justification to the corruption and abuse of power that exist among politicians and the way they persist in trying to draw the military into their machinations.

"Civilians still try to spoil the TNI," notes Gen Widjoyo, who also faults the media for asking senior officers provocative political questions. "Defending the military is an instinctive thing among politicians. But there's no reason for putting it on a pedestal."

Former armed forces chief General Wiranto has always refused to accept command responsibility for the 1999 rampage, arguing that he was carrying out a state mission – even if it was not sanctioned by the civilian leadership.

Gen Widjoyo calls it a "grey area", with the TNI's "dual function" doctrine as a military as well as a socio-political force allowing it to effectively trump the authority of then- president B.J. Habibie's civilian administration.

But if the doctrine is now a thing of the past, the same vacuum of authority was illustrated only two years ago when the navy chief of staff warned of war if Malaysia continued to lay claim to East Kalimantan's offshore Ambalat oil concession.

Reformers also want to see the police taken away from presidential control – it has replaced the military as a centralised institution – and placed under the authority of provincial governors and district chiefs.

"There is still an authoritarian mindset, based on the assumption that anything carried out as a state mission has to be protected," says Gen Widjoyo. "In that mindset there is always a sharp dividing line between who is the enemy and who are the friendly forces.

"There are those who remain in that mindset, but we are in a time of transition. That's why the commission is trying to move from old arrangements to the building of new arrangements. There has to be a new way to look at nationalism and patriotism."


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