Suherdjoko, Surakarta – Up to 80 million Indonesian people are believed to lack private toilets, which means they tend to defecate anywhere, an official said Tuesday.

Speaking at the Sanitation City Summit's media gathering in Surakarta, Central Java, the head of the sanitation technical team's secretariat, Nugroho Tri Utomo, said this was a bad habit that needed to be wiped out.

"It means a third of the Indonesian population routinely pollutes the environment, by defecating in rivers or any open spaces."

Nugroho is also the head of the subdirectorate of drinking water and liquid waste at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

"The volume of feces discharged reaches 14,000 tons. "This pollutes dams, rivers and groundwater," he said.

Indonesia has been at a critical sanitation stage as the pollution has been worsened by the huge amounts of waste from both households and industrial companies, according to Nugroho.

The destruction of the environment has increased at an alarming rate, he added. Nugroho said 75 percent of rivers in Indonesia, especially those crossing the big cities, have already been badly polluted.

"Regional water companies (PDAM) should be highly appreciated for their success to change polluted water into drinkable water."

The worsening quality of the environment has caused many incidents of diarrhea and related ailments. "The damaged environment indirectly leads to 50 deaths among 1,000 newborn babies, which are caused by the emergence of various types of illnesses," he said.

The lack of sanitation has increased families' medical costs. Each family has to set aside up to Rp 600,000 (US$54.50) per year.

Due to the various effects on the environment, the government needs to build an integrated sanitation system the community can use cheaply and healthily, Nugroho said.

Meanwhile, the director general of Housing and Settlement at the Public Works Ministry, Budi Yuwono, explained there were 11 Indonesian cities that already had an integrated sanitation system.

Out of the 11 cities, only Surakarta has been able to improve the performance of its waste treatment plant.

"Similar waste treatment plants have been built in cities like Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Balikpapan, Bandung, Surakarta, Banjarmasin, Denpasar, Jakarta and others," he said.

"But Yogyakarta, for example, has only been able to utilize about 50 percent of its operation capacity, even though it was built 14 years earlier." He added Bandung could only utilize 30 percent of its capacity although the facility had been built 30 years ago.

Budi also urged the central government to set aside more funds for sanitation.

"So far Rp 1.2 trillion has been allocated, but when it is distributed by the regional administration, most of the money is used to develop drinking water facilities."

Separatist flags fly on RMS anniversary

Jakarta Post - April 26, 2009

Five flags of the secessionist South Maluku Republic (RMS) were flown Saturday coinciding with the separatist anniversary in their stronghold Aboru village in Haruku Island district, Central Maluku regency.

"There were five flags hoisted in Aboru today," an Aboru informal leader, John Malawau, said over the phone on Saturday, adding that the sitution was "just fine."

Meanwhile, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Totoy Hermawan Indra said they were checking "rumors" of the incidents. Aboru has been labeled as a separatist village as many separatist leaders hail from the village.

No special security on RMS birthday: Police

Jakarta Post - April 25, 2009

Ambon – Unlike in previous years, the anniversary of separatist movement Republic of South Maluku (RMS), which falls today, is not marred with violence or deployment of massive security measures by the police.

Maluku Police Chief Gen. Totoy Herawan Indra said, as quoted by Antara Saturday noon, security condition was relatively under control. "There is no violence in the city during the birthday event. Maluku is safe," he said in Ambon.

In today's celebration, no officers are seen patrolling across the province, a contrast view from previous years in which many policemen were deployed.

On April 25, 1950, former pro-Dutch government supporters Chr. Soumokil, J.A. Manusama, J.H. Manuhutu declared RMS to separate itself from the country. (ewd)

Actions, demos, protests...

North Sumatra Farmers threaten to boycott presidential elections

Detik.com - April 29, 2009

Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – Thousands of farmers in North Sumatra (Sumut) have threatened to boycott the July 8 presidential elections if the various problems facing farmers are not resolved. This threat was conveyed during a protest action at the offices of the North Sumatra National Land Agency (BPN) on Jl. Brigjen Katamso in Medan on Wednesday April 29.

The farmers, who came from the North Sumatra Politics for the Poor-National Farmers Union (STN-PRM), urged the government to listen to their aspirations about the liberation of the people's land in North Sumatra.

"We are disillusioned with the Sumut BPN and the BPN in Jakarta because not one of the land problems in North Sumatra has been resolved, yet the land dispute resolution operation has already been running for the last two years," said action coordinator Mangiring P. Sinaga.

This disillusionment, said Sinaga, of is often felt and farmers who are fed up. Because of this therefore, if their request is not realised, then the farmers will not cast their vote in the coming presidential elections.

The protest action by the farmers – who came from three North Sumatra regencies – was held in the form of a long-march from the Merdeka Square in Medan. These three areas represent the centre of land disputes in North Sumatra, namely the regencies of Sahan, Labuhan Batu and Deli Serdang. The total amount of land under dispute in these areas is around 360 hectares.

In a press statement the farmers called for a resolution to the land disputes and asked for the return of the people's land in accordance with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution and Law Number 5/1960 on Agrarian Reform. (rul/djo)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Workers rejects elections, say capitalism is bankrupt

Detik.com - April 24, 2009

Ari Saputra, Jakarta – Around 40 workers from the Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM) held a demonstration on April 24 calling on the political elite – who are in middle of fighting over the presidency and vice presidency – to pay more attention to the people.

"The 2009 elections have not been effective in changing the situation. We reject them. They have only perpetuated the elite's [position]," said action coordinator Anwar Ma'ruf at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on Friday.

During the action, the demonstrators wore T-shirts with the writing "Capitalism is Bankrupt". The workers said that the capitalist system, which has been applied in many countries, including Indonesia, has failed to bring much change to the situation. They believe that the affluence promised by the capitalist system is simply figment of imagination.

"We are inviting workers to unite and take to the streets. There will be even larger [actions] on May 1", said Ma'ruf.

The demonstration, which proceeded for around 45 minutes, did not attract any significant security from police. The protesters disbanded on their own volition and did not create any traffic congestion because the number of demonstrators was not overly large. (Ari/nrl)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Aceh

A mixed bag for Aceh's local parties in elections

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2009

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Party, founded by former guerilla fighters from the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, is the only one of six local political parties in the province to clear the 5 percent electoral threshold guaranteeing their future, a political analyst from a local university said on Wednesday.

"Only the Aceh Party will pass the electoral threshold," Syiah Kuala University political analyst Muhammad Jafar said here.

"The other five local parties in the 2009 elections will not be able to participate in the elections five years from now because they didn't get the 5 percent it takes to pass the electoral threshold."

The Aceh Party has dominated the vote tally for the provincial legislature, or DPRA, garnering 44.27 percent of the votes that have been counted.

The Aceh Independent Election Commission, or KIP, was still counting votes on Wednesday night but expected to complete the process today. The threshold is spelled out in the law on Aceh governance and a 2007 regulation.

Failure to meet the threshold means disqualification from participating in the 2014 elections, unless a party changes its name and registers as a new party with the regional office the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

As well as 37 national parties, six local parties took part in the April 9 legislative elections in Aceh.

Besides the Aceh Party, they are the Aceh People's Independent Voice Party, or SIRA; the Aceh People's Party, or PRA; the Sovereign Aceh Party, or PDA; the United Aceh Party, or PBA; and the Safe and Prosperous Aceh Party, or PAAS.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia allowed to have local parties, based on the 2005 peace deal between the government GAM.

"With 69 seats in the DPRA, a local party can only pass [the electoral threshhold] if it wins three seats, or 5 percent of all 645 seats in the 23 district and municipality councils," Jafar said.

"So far, only the Aceh Party has been able to do this. The likelihood of the rest of the local parties passing the threshold is slim. If they are to participate in the 2014 elections, they have to change their names and start anew."

Jafar said he believed the decision-making process at the DPRA would be improved with the Aceh Party holding the majority.

"Legislative decision-making will be easier with a single majority," he said. "Relations with the Aceh government will also be very good because the governor himself is from the Aceh Party, allowing for a mutually supportive and synergistic relation between the legislature and the government."

However, Jafar said there might be communication problems between the DPRA and the central government, since local Acehnese parties did not have party branches in Jakarta.

He said it was important that there be intensive communication between the DPRA and the 13 Acehnese members of the central House of Representatives, to ensure that the province's interests were sufficiently represented in Jakarta.

West Papua

Papuan separatists held police officer for hours

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Jakarta – A Papuan separatist group held a local police officer hostage for seven hours after confiscating his revolver, local police said Sunday.

Papua police chief Bagus Ekodanto said to kompas.com news portal that the incident occurred Saturday and the officer had since been released. He is currently at the Supiori police station.

According to Ekodanto, the hostage situation arose when undercover intelligence officers were sent to the Amias village to investigate reports a separatist group was harassing local residents.

The officer had been part of the first unit assigned to reach the village, but was apprehended by the group and taken to the residence of the separatist leader, Ekodanto said.

Eventually the officer was released, Ekodanto said, following a negotiation process. The confiscated weapon was not returned.

"Despite this, the Supiori deputy regent has promised to do whatever he can to help secure the return of the weapon," he said.

Angry soldiers target commander, journalists

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Jakarta – Tension gripped the Papua regency of Jayapura on Wednesday when dozens of soldiers staged a rare protest, which soon turned violent.

Local reporters said soldiers from the Army Battalion 751 Sentani were protesting against a decision made by their commander, Lt. Col. Labok Sihotang, who had collected money from them to cover air transportation and funeral expenditures for their colleague Priv. Joko.

The enraged soldiers then turned their anger toward journalists, whom they suspected had recorded the protest.

The media was present to cover a commemoration of West Papua's vote for integration with Indonesia, upon invitation from the Papua military command.

Cahyono from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Papua said the soldiers pursued members of the media.

"Four of our colleagues, who were eating at a food vendor near the scene of the incident, were attacked by the angry soldiers. The journalists tried to flee but the soldiers managed to grab at least one camera," Cahyono said.

The journalists sought shelter at residents' houses and a police station, he said. In an attempt to trap the journalists, soldiers blockaded nearby roads.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua said the incident did in fact take place, but played down the severity of the protest. "It is true that the actions of battalion commander Labok Sihotang sparked discontent among the soldiers. There were gunshots, but the riot did not spread to the streets," he said.

He said the commander had collected Rp 90 million (US$8,400) from the soldiers to cover the burial costs of their colleague.

"The soldiers did not immediately react to the actions of the commander, so he thought everybody approved of his choice," Zebua said. "But apparently the soldiers questioned his decision afterwards and accused him of swindling the money allocated for their fallen colleague."

He said the soldiers began their protest following a morning ceremony. The commander fled after realizing his troops were dissenting, while the deputy commander reportedly sustained injuries to his head.

Christian did not explain how many soldiers were involved. He said security and order had been restored after Papua Military comamnder Maj. Gen. Ahmad Yani Nasution spoke with the protesting soldiers.

"He [Ahmad Yani] has spoken with the soldiers and things are now under control," Zebua said. (fmb)

Furious soldiers run riot in Papua

Jakarta Globe - April 30, 2009

Christian Motte & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jayapura – Hundreds of soldiers went after senior officers on Wednesday and damaged their battalion headquarters in Papua after the family of a deceased soldier was told to pay half the cost of flying his body home.

Members of the 751 Battalion, in the first such incident in the decade since the fall of former President Suharto, also fired shots into the air and beat civilian onlookers and journalists trying to cover the mutiny.

The soldiers threw stones and other objects at the office of the battalion's headquarters, and blocked the road with pieces of wood. Curious onlookers and journalists were chased away or beaten up. The camera of a local journalist was ripped from his hands and several private vehicles near the scene of the violence were vandalized, witnesses said.

The deputy commander of the battalion received a head wound, according to a source quoted by news Web site Tempointeraktif.com, but the report could not be immediately confirmed.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua said that the mutiny had been spurred by the soldiers' anger toward their commander following the death of a fellow soldier. It took five days for the body of the soldier, who died after falling ill, to be returned to his family in Nabire, also in Papua, about 380 kilometers southwest of Jayapura.

Zebua said it may have taken time to charter a plane. The family of the soldier had paid half of the cost to transport the body, Zebua acknowledged, as the commander, identified as Lt. Col. Lambok, had only offered to cover half of the expenses.

Papua, a sprawling, underdeveloped province, relies heavily on air transportation and residents said that the cost of chartering a plane to fly the body to Nabire would have been Rp 90 million ($8,400).

"And this morning, feeling discontented, the soldiers demanded to know why the commander only paid 50 percent of the cost, and why low-ranking soldiers still had to pay," Zebua said.

He denied soldiers had stolen guns stored at the base. The guns used by the soldiers during the riot were not taken from battalion, Zebua said, "but every soldier does have a weapon because they are all equipped with a gun to secure the area."

He said the head of the Cenderawasih Military Command overseeing military operations in Papua had arrived on the scene to resolve the conflict at the base, as well as between soldiers and civilians and journalists.

"If any journalist was attacked by soldiers, we will protect [journalists] and we apologize. Any soldier found guilty [of attacking journalists] will be punished," Zebua said. He added that the responsibilities of the battalion, including security along the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border, had not been compromised by the incident.

Witnesses said that by Wednesday evening the situation had calmed.

The incident followed brawls between soldiers and police in the Tolikara district of Papua on Monday and Tuesday. Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bagus Eko Danto said that some shots had been fired during the brawls, understood to have been triggered by an incident involving a drunk police officer.

Military chief apologizes over soldiers' violent protests

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Jakarta – Indonesian Military commander Gen. Djoko Santoso apologized to the public over the incident in Sentani, Papua, where soldiers staged violent protests against their commander.

"The situation over there is under control. I regret it and apologize to the public in Sentani who were disturbed by the incident as well as to the media whose safety was in danger," he said, after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Jayapura army base erupted violently Wednesday as Battalion 751 Sentani soldiers protested over what they said was the theft of their money.

The rioting began during celebrations of West Papua's integration into Indonesia. Soldiers demanded the battalion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Labok Sihotang, be held responsible for his actions.

Army chief of staff Gen. Agustadi Sasongko visited the battalion Thursday morning, and Sihotang was immediately dismissed from his position following the visit.

Gen. Santoso said the military would investigate the incident thoroughly and would take legal actions against anyone violating military rules. "Of course, there will be sanctions. Everyone involved will be processed and tried," he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

AGO bans Australians from leaving Merauke

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Five Australians who illegally entered Indonesian territory through an airport in Merauke, Papua, in September last year have been banned from leaving the province until a Supreme Court verdict has been handed down.

Head of Merauke Prosecutors' Office, Sudiro Husodo, said the ban was issued by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on April 2.

"The five (Australians) are therefore not allowed to leave Merauke until the ban is lifted," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The ban, he said, was proposed by his office in March following a verdict by the Papua High Court that acquitted the five Australians from all charges.

They were arrested after landing at Mopah Airport in Merauke without visas, flight approval or security clearance. Later they were identified as Henry Scoot Bloxam (pilot), Vera Scoot Bloxam, Hubert Hofer, Karen Burke and Keith Rowald Mortimer.

The twin-piston P-68 aircraft they arrived in, registered as VH- PFP, was seized by the state.

On Jan. 15, the Merauke District Court sentenced pilot Henry Scott Bloxam to five years in prison and fined him Rp 50 million (US$4,500) for violating Articles 13 (2) and 58 of Law No. 15/1992 on aviation.

Failure to pay the fine would have resulted in an additional three months in prison.

The four passengers were each sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rp 25 million (or and additional two months in prison) for violating Articles 6 and 53 of Law No. 9/1992 on immigration.

They appealed the convictions and the high court overturned the ruling in March.

At the time defense lawyer Efrem Fangoihoy said the high court accepted their appeal because there was evidence indicating the air crew had received verbal clearance to land.

He said even though no prior written consent was granted for the aircraftto enter Indonesian airspace, the government could only deport them as illegal entrants, not hold them in detention.

The ban, Sudiro claimed, was proposed at almost the same time the appeal was filed to the Supreme Court. "Let's just wait for the verdict to see whether the appeal is accepted or overturned. Then we will know the fixed status of these Australians," Sudiro said.

Papua closes immigration office due to violence

Jakarta Globe - April 28, 2009

Christian Motte & Nurfika Osman – Papua authorities have decided to close down an immigration post at Skouw-Wutung on the country's border with Papua New Guinea, due to the province's deteriorating security situation, an official said on Tuesday.

"The immigration post will be reopened once security in the province improves," said Gusti Bagus, head of the legal sanction unit at the Papua Immigration Office in Jayapura, adding that the post was closed down on Monday morning.

According to Bagus, the shooting deaths of police in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya district, and bomb attacks on the Abepura police station in the past two weeks have prompted authorities there to close down the Skouw-Wutung Immigration Office. "We do not know when we will reopen the post," Bagus said.

Violence intensified ahead of the April 9 legislative elections in Papua, where the separatist Free Papua Movement, or OPM, has been waging war for independence since the 1960s.

One police officer was killed and six others injured when armed men ambushed a police convoy in Tingginambut on April 15.

The attack came just days after armed groups, believed to be members of the OPM, attacked and killed four transmigrants in Wamena, Jayawijaya district.

Police blame group for election attacks in Papua

Jakarta Post - April 25, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Recent bomb attacks linked to the legislative elections in troubled Papua province may have been orchestrated by a single group, police said Friday.

They said a forensic laboratory report showed that explosive materials used in both bombings were the same.

"The report shows that the bombs used TNT as its main ingredient," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira told journalists in Jakarta.

He said TNT was used in bombs planted beneath the Pani bridge in Jayapura and was found in an explosive at the Sumber Makmur store in Abepura, among other sites. "This confirmed our initial suspicion that the string of attacks were orchestrated by one group," Abubakar said.

However, he refused to elaborate further, saying the details and identity of the group were still being investigated.

A series of attacks rocked Papua just the night before the legislative elections on April 9. Not only did the attackers use bombs in the attacks, but also guns and traditional weapons.

Abubakar said a thorough investigation process was currently underway. At least five men, including three motorcycle taxi drivers, were killed and several others severely injured in the attacks.

Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adisucipto had earlier suggested the attacks were carried out by a separatist group and aimed at disrupting the legislative elections. However, no faction of the fractured Papua Free Organanization (OPM) claimed responsibility for the incidents.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen FX Bagus Ekodanto supported this suspicion, saying the attacks were likely launched by that same group which had for decades waged a campaign for the independence of Papua.

"Months before the attacks we found banners and pamphlets belonging to the Free Papua Organization. The separatist banners called on OPM supporters to cancel or disrupt the legislation elections at every cost, he added.

"We therefore suspected that this (attacks) is what they were talking about,"he told The Jakarta Post.

Dozens of people were arrested and questioned following the attacks, with eight being detained in Papua for intensive interrogations as suspects.

Clinton signals support for greater autonomy for Papua

Radio New Zealand International - April 23, 2009

In a response to American Samoa's congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has signalled her support for greater autonomy for the Indonesian region of West Papua.

Faleomavaega met today with Secretary Clinton who testified for the first time before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Secretary requested the congressman's direct advice and support in developing a more comprehensive US policy toward the Pacific region.

Faleomavaega requested that the Obama Administration review the political status of West Papua, and the extent to which Jakarta has included West Papuans in the development of special autonomy status. He also asked that the Administration hold Indonesia accountable for continued human rights abuses in West Papua.

Secretary Clinton said West Papuans need to be supported in their efforts to have a degree of autonomy within Indonesia. She said while West Papua is part of sovereign Indonesia, it deserves more support, respect, and certainly protection from any human rights abuses.

ICRC says request to leave Papua is not linked to jail visits

Radio New Zealand International - April 24, 2009

The Indonesia office of the International Committee of the Red Cross says the request by Jakarta for it to leave the Papua region is not linked to visits by its officials to separatists in jail.

The foreign ministry in Jakarta says the government is offended both by the ICRC's practice of visiting separatists in prison.

However the ICRC says it's not just in Papua that it visits detainees to ensure they are treated properly.

A spokesperson for ICRC Indonesia, Layla Berlemont, says the closure of their Papua office comes after a recent government request that they reassess and renegotiate the agreement under which the ICRC has operated in Indonesia since 1977.

"We do acknowledge as well that the situation in Indonesia changed profoundly from, for example, 1977 to the present... So this assessment will allow us to bring our proposal before the Indonesian and... let's see how things will evolve."

Papuan activist allegedly assaulted by prosecutors, police

Radio New Zealand International - April 23, 2009

Lawyers for West Papuan activist Buchtar Tabuni claim he has been assaulted by Indonesian police and three public prosecutors.

Buchtar Tabuni was allegedly beaten and kicked as he refused to wait in a holding cell shortly before a scheduled testimony hearing for his trial on subversion charges in the Jayapura District Court.

One of his lawyers, Peter Ell, says Mr Tabuni refused because he was being denied the chance of talking with his legal team.

Mr Tabuni, who is charged in relation to organising recent demonstrations, was left with serious wounds and back injuries and needed hospital attention.

Mr Ell says the hearing was eventually cancelled because an expert witness failed to appear.

Indonesia orders Red Cross out of Papua over jail visits

Reuters - April 23, 2009

Sunanda Creagh, Jakarta – Indonesia has ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to leave the politically sensitive Papua region after its officials visited separatists in jail, the foreign ministry said.

Papua, the underdeveloped but resource-rich western half of New Guinea island where independence activists have waged a separatist campaign for decades, is geographically isolated and foreign journalists need special permission to visit.

There is a strong military and police presence in Papua, especially around the huge Grasberg copper and gold mine. Police recently shot demonstrators calling for a boycott of Indonesia's April 9 parliamentary election.

Foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said that the government was offended both by the ICRC's failure to obtain proper permission to operate in Papua and by the prison visits.

"Any organisation must be aware that, yes, this is a new Indonesia but we are a sovereign country," Faizasyah told Reuters, suggesting that other aid organisations might also face a clampdown. "They should not abuse our democratic reform and act as though they can do whatever suits their interests."

The ICRC said it runs sanitation projects in Papua and also visits detainees, including jailed members of the secessionist Free Papua Movement (OPM), to ensure they are treated properly.

"People accused of crimes which might be called subversion, or rebellion could be at risk of being discriminated against," said Vincent Nicod, the head of the ICRC's Indonesia delegation.

"When we visit detainees, it is not to look into the reason for the detention. It's part of our activity relating to international humanitarian law to ensure that political prisoners are provided worldwide with decent conditions."

The dispute follows last year's release of stricter new rules on the funding of foreign non-governmental organisations in Indonesia.

The foreign ministry's Faizasyah said that the government first asked the ICRC to renegotiate the deal under which it operates in Indonesia in 2000 but the ICRC said talks stalled after the tsunami in December 2004 when 170,000 Indonesians died.

In March 2009, the government told the ICRC to close its Papua office and return to Jakarta to renegotiate the agreement.

"Do they question our ability to manage our prisons? We have a free media now, functioning NGOs and if there is any mishap in the handling of an institution, it will, of course, be reported to the government," said Faizasyah.

The ICRC's Nicod said that the Indonesian government had approached the ICRC in early 2000 to rewrite the deal but said the existing agreement officially had no expiry date. (Editing by Sara Webb and Alex Richardson)

Human rights/law

Villagers shot during protest over quarry

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu, Central Sulawesi – Police shot two residents Tuesday evening while dispersing hundreds of people protesting a rock quarry in Damsol district, Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi.

Ramang Datu Adam, 39, and Safrudin, 28, residents of Sioyong village in the district, were shot in the right legs. They were taken to Undatu General Hospital in Palu, the province capital.

According to Ramang, the shooting occurred at about 6:40 p.m., when a number of Mobile Brigade officers showed up to guard several trucks carrying rocks from Parisan Agung village to the beach at Sabang village, also in the regency.

He said hundreds of people from Sioyong village and neighboring villages suddenly blocked the trucks when they were passing the village.

Residents then became embroiled in a shouting match with police officers. As the situation spiralled out of control, the officers ordered the protesters to leave the scene.

They also fired several warning shots into the air and shot tear gas canisters into the crowd. With the warning shots and tear gas not succeeding in dispersing the protesters, the officers then started shooting into the crowd.

"We didn't even fight them (the officers)," Ramang claimed. He said he would urge police chiefs in the area to investigate the shooting incident.

He also said the residents were against the quarrying operation managed by PT Asean Tunggal Mandiri Perkasa, fearing it could damage the environment.

"We're worried about the activity due to its negative impacts and because it could cause flooding in our area. And it's now the rainy season," he claimed, adding the local administration and the village head had not approved the operation.

Asean Tunggal Mandiri Perkasa president director Muhammad Reza Akbar denied his company had no operating permit to quarry rocks in Parisan Agung village.

He said his company had secured an eight-year quarrying contract and had just begun the operation three months earlier. However, he said would call a halt to the operation if the situation kept giving rise to hostilities.

"To avoid conflicts (with residents), we should stop the quarrying operation, although we have a permit for it," he said.

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Irfaizal Nasution confirmed police had shot into the crowd of protesters. He added the action had to be taken because the protesters were getting out of hand. However, he said the police were probing the shooters and questioning several witnesses.

"The Central Sulawesi Police's internal affairs department is investigating the case," he said. "They are examining the bullets fired in the incident. We will complete the investigation."

Rumkabu: The stigma 'makes us feel we're not part of Indonesia'

Jakarta Post - April 26, 2009

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Papuan Tineke Rumkabu, along with activists and relatives of human rights victims, met Argentinean human rights icons Lidya Taty Almeida and Aurora Morea of Les Madres de la Plaza de Mayo last week.

Like the others, Tineke waited patiently while Lidya and Almeida's speeches were translated from Spanish to English and Bahasa Indonesia.

Perhaps something was lost in the translation, but it certainly wasn't love, as all who attended the gathering at the National Commission on Violence against Women grieved the loss of children and other family members.

Tineke said she lost friends in what was known as the Bloody Biak Tragedy in 1998, which police were still investigating. The women – including Tineke – said they were impressed by the courageous Argentineans, who struggled for decades before seeing trials involving those responsible for the their family members' disappearance. Almeida said the struggle for justice in Indonesia had just begun and that if women did not keep up the fight, no one else would.

What happened during the Bloody Biak Tragedy?

On July 2, 1998, Filip Karma and his friends raised the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag at a water tower in Biak where residents gathered.

We raised the flag to express our feelings. Papuans had been witnessed cases of people disappearing and mysterious murders between 1963 as well as after the 1969 Act of Free Choice or Pepera.

For years, Papuans were unable express their feelings. When the Reform Era came (the end of Soeharto's regime), Papuans seized the opportunity to express how they felt by raising a flag (of the Free Papua Movement). As the flag was raised, someone made a speech questioning the whereabouts of missing family members.

Then the police came. We tried to keep the flag in its place so we could have a dialogue. But the Mobile Brigade Unit (Brimod) attacked us until July 6. Many of my friends were caught and taken aboard a ship; some others were taken to police stations, including myself. The police beat and tortured us. They dragged us on asphalt roads.

They took and killed many Papuan women on the ship. The women were stripped naked, their genital areas burned, the breasts cut and their wombs stabbed. The bodies were thrown into the sea and left to rot on the beach. We were taken away and separated from our community. We saved ourselves by jumping over a fence.

If the women were dead, why didn't they just leave their bodies alone? Why mutilate the bodies or stab their wombs?

Many of our friends, such as Frans Gawe, Ruben Orbu, Olmus Rompaisum and Yuslin Froyer disappeared without further explanation. We are fighting to know their whereabouts.

If Papuans are truly part of Indonesia, we should receive justice. The government should tell us where our parents and relatives are. But (authorities) didn't deal with the issue wisely. They didn't solve it through negotiation and dialog, but through violence. Security forces are supposed to protect the people, not harm them.

What have the Papuans done to fight for their rights?

After they interrogated and detained us for one week, they released us under the proviso we appeared as witnesses in the flag raising incident. About eight people were arrested, the rest were released, but given the torture they had been put through, many died after their release.

The International Church Council cooperated with the Indonesian Christian Church in Papua to find victims and give them support. We have been receiving support from the Jakarta and Papua Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) as well as the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) since 1999.

Pak Munir – the Kontras founder murdered in 2004 – also visited us in Biak and gave us training on trauma counseling and how to find victims. Since 1999, I've been going to the villages looking for missing friends and collecting data from residents. None of the missing persons have returned.

We found 38 tombstones without names along the coastline. When we reported them, the government said they belonged to tsunami victims from neighboring Papua New Guinea (around 1,000 reportedly died in the tsunami in PNG in July 1998 - Ed.). We want the government to show us proof those victims were not from the Bloody Biak Tragedy. If they were from PNG, why weren't the bodies stranded in Jayapura, which is closer?

The government should take responsibility over the murder and missing person's cases.

We established an organization called Solidarity of Papuan Women, Love, Justice and Peace (SP2CK) on March 26, 1999. We held protests at the regency and provincial legislative councils, but we received no response. We finally formed a bigger organization called Papuan Women Solidarity, based in Jayapura, which reached the regency level. Our main focus is women issues and human rights victims in Papua.

Activists' families warn parties of mixing with rights violators

Jakarta Globe - April 24, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Families of activists missing since 1997 have called on candidates hoping to run in the July presidential election to avoid cooperating with parties led by individuals linked to past human rights violations.

Sipon, the wife of Wiji Thukul, a poet who has been missing since antigovernment protests in 1997, said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday that some political parties had demonstrated their intentions to resolve all past human rights violations.

"We have seen that during the 2004-2009 parliamentary period, parties like the PDI-P and PAN have supported our cause," Sipon said, referring to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the National Mandate Party, respectively.

PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri, who has publicly announced her plan to run in the July 8 presidential election, has been holding meetings with Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto, both former military generals, about a possible coalition. Both Wiranto, who was a military chief when the antigovernment protests started, and Prabowo, former commander of the Army's feared Special Forces, or Kopassus, have also held talks with PAN.

Thursday's press conference was also attended by Tuti Koto, the mother of Yani Afri, who has been missing since 1997; Sumarsih, the mother of missing student Wawan; Suciwati, the widow of prominent human rights campaigner Munir Saib Thalib, who died of arsenic poisoning on a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam in 2004; and Maria da Silva, a victim of human rights violations in East Timor.

Sipon said the families were worried about PDI-P's political motives, including the meetings with Wiranto and Prabowo. Wiranto is chairman of the People's Conscience Party, or Hanura, and Prabowo is chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra.

"It is a fact that Prabowo and Wiranto have been linked to past human rights violations, particularly to the kidnapping of student activists and pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998, and human rights violations in East Timor," Sipon said.

They also criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, which has held coalition talks with the Nation Functional Party, or PKPB, headed by former Army chief Hartono. "When all the coalitions are brought to the parliament, it means all efforts to settle past human rights cases are back to square one," Sipon said.

Reacting to the appeal, Tjahjo Kumolo, a member of PDI-P's central board, said on Thursday that despite its political ties with Gerindra and Hanura, his party was committed to supporting the victims of past human rights violations.

Tjahjo said that everyone, including the families of the victims, should separate legal cases from the political motives of parties. However, he also said that none of the former generals has been found guilty of human rights violations by a court of law.

"So when such figures come to your house, as a host, how can you reject them?" Tjahjo asked, defending Megawati's meetings with Prabowo and Wiranto at her house.

Asked if the PDI-P would consider such political figures as potential vice presidential candidates in the July election, Tjahjo said it would be decided at the party's special national meeting scheduled for Saturday.

Labour/migrant workers

Leftist coalition plans Labor Day protest downtown

Jakarta Globe - April 30, 2009

Farouk Arnaz – Sounding like revolutionaries from another era, the People's Movement Against Neocolonialism and Imperialism, or Gerak Lawan, claimed on Thursday that it would mobilize as many as 10,000 workers today, May 1, which is celebrated in most countries as Labor Day.

The day is not a public holiday in Indonesia, a fact that has angered labor unions and activists. Employers argue that the country has enough holidays already, especially because it recognizes the religious celebrations of five of the largest faiths in the country.

The protesters' spokesman, Gunawan, said that the group planned to march from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to the Presidential Palace complex to demand better wages and working conditions.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said that the police had issued a permit for the protest, but that they also appealed to the demonstrators to "obey the rules." "We will deploy our personnel to secure this action so it can be done peacefully," Abubakar said.

The radical alliance has said that it would also be protesting this month against the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting, being held in Bali from Saturday through Tuesday, and at the World Ocean Conference, from May 11 to 15 in Manado, North Sulawesi Province.

Gunawan said that both events were attempts to bring "neocolonialism" to the country. Gerak Lawan is comprised of several labor and farming groups opposed to globalization, but it is unclear how many members the alliance has.

In 2006, a Labor Day demonstration turned violent in Jakarta when 12 police officers were injured by rocks and 14 protesters were arrested.

Workers to see more hard times after elections

Jakarta Post - April 28, 2009

Jakarta – The country's laborers will likely face another difficult period throughout the next five years as none of the presidential candidates or political parties represent their interests, a discussion concluded in Jakarta on Monday.

The director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), Asfinawati, said even though the winning political parties and presidential candidates had repeatedly pledged to treat businessmen and workers equally in their campaigns, it would not eventuate in any significant benefits for laborers.

"A promise to treat businessmen and workers equally is definitely a misleading concept. How can a worker on a low salary have the bargaining power to protest against their boss' decision?" she said. "Laborers will always require government assistance to protect their rights and welfare."

Sastro, the national coordinator of the Indonesian Alliance for the Defence of Laborers (ABM), said many parties and presidential candidates had only feigned support for laborers in an attempt to attract voters.

"Many legislative and presidential candidates have suddenly begun acting like labor activists in their campaigns. They have lured workers with a promise to fight for their rights so that they can earn a better living," Sastro said.

"But as we have seen following the elections, the candidates have forgotten these promises and are busy making political coalitions," he said.

With the global financial crisis continuing to make its impact felt this year, Sastro and Asfinawati predicted the upcoming administration would almost likely issue more pro-business policies at the expense of laborers as business and political interests become increasingly inseparable.

"Given this situation, it is now more urgent for the labor unions and the press to intensively observe how the upcoming administration treats business owners and workers," Sastro said, citing an example of a massive labor protest against a joint ministerial decree released last year.

The decree, which was issued by the minister of manpower and transmigration, the home minister, the trade minister and the industry minister on Oct. 22, 2008, stipulates that monthly minimum wages are to be set by companies through an arrangement by employers and workers, and fixed based on economic growth in the respective regions.

The latest data from the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration recorded that more than 44,000 workers were laid off in the period from last November to March 2009. Without any indication of employment improving this year, similar mass layoffs could continue throughout the entire year.

Since no labor-based party won the parliamentary threshold of 2.5 percent of votes, Max Lane, an Australian labor observer who spoke at the discussion, urged Indonesian activists to establish a labor-based media to keep their ideas alive. (hwa)

Trade Unions reject election results in lead up to May Day

Okezone - April 27, 2009

Depok – In the lead up to the commemoration of International Labour Day or May Day, the Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM) and the Greater Jakarta Railway Workers Trade Union (SPKAJ) are planning massive actions in Jakarta on May 1.

As part of the preparations for May Day, the groups held a protest action at the University of Indonesia (UI) train station in front of the university this afternoon.

Aside from collecting donations from sympathisers, they also called for the main agenda item for May Day to be rejecting the results of the April 9 legislative elections. In order to attract support from UI students, they gave speeches and handed out hundreds of May Day leaflets with calls to reject the election results.

According to the workers, the recent elections were not a people's election, were fraudulent and are illegitimate. The grounds for the workers' rejection of the elections is because the 'festival of democracy' failed to give birth to an elite or assembly members who side with the interests of workers – for example who have the courage to abolish contract labour systems (outsourcing) which is extremely harmful to workers.

The action was also marred by an argument between demonstrators and a UI security guard who tried to stop the demonstration because they did not have permission from the rectorate. Nawawi – the UI security guard – said that they should have submitted a request for written permission with the rectorate two week before the demonstration. After negotiations however, they were finally allowed to hold speeches for half-an-hour or so.

The protesters chose UI as a site for the demonstration because students are the most critical in responding to the corruption and dishonesty that is occurring in the nation and the state. Unfortunately, it appeared as if the UI students were unconcerned about the labour movement and many leaflets that had been distributed were simply thrown away.

Action coordinator Surya Ginting meanwhile said that in addition to rejecting the 2009 elections, workers would be articulating four demands. First, calling a national industry and agrarian reform that is strong and self-sufficient. Second, the nationalisation of industry under the control of the ordinary people. Third, refusing to pay the foreign debt by selling off the country's assets. And forth, the eradication of corruption and the seizure of corruptors' assets.

There was also a speech by a former Hotel Indonesia employee who related how after the hotel's assets were sold off, the situation for his family became miserable. [Okezone.com]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

44,000 layoffs since November: Minister

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2009

Jakarta – As the global financial crisis continues to hit domestic and international industries, the number of layoffs across the country hit a new level, with the manpower ministry announcing Wednesday that some 44,000 people lost their jobs between November and March.

Myra Maria Hanartani, the ministry's director general for industrial relations and social security, said that as of April there was no sign the country's employment situation would improve this year.

A key labor union warned that unemployment could worsen, with at least 300,000 Indonesian migrant workers returning home from overseas due to the crisis in the host countries.

"Our latest data shows that since last November, around 44,000 workers have been laid off," Myra said.

The ministry said more than 24,000 workers had permanently lost their jobs in January alone, while as many as 11,703 were temporarily laid off by the end of the month.

Workers in the garment, plantations and forestry industries were the hardest hit, Myra said on the sidelines of celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Thamrin Mosii, president of the Indonesian Labor Union Confederation, said 300,000 migrant workers would return to Indonesia after their contracts ran out this year.

"We estimate around 300,000 workers will return from Malaysia this year, with companies there experiencing slowing demand," he said.

He added the number of returning workers could be much higher, as other host countries were also feeling the impact of the crisis.

On the domestic front, he said, outsourced and contract employees in the textile industries were the most severely affected by the crisis.

"I don't know the exact figure, but it could be in the hundreds of thousands. It's hard to pinpoint the figure because most outsourced employees are not registered with (state pension and worker insurance firm) PT Jamsostek," he said.

However, Thamrin was confident the government's fiscal stimulus would help cushion the impact of the financial crisis if applied in rural areas.

"The stimulus should be aimed at creating infrastructure in rural areas," he said. "This will boost rural economies and create employment, particularly in the construction sector."

Given the growing wave of layoffs expected to hit Indonesia this year, the extent of the ILO's role in helping workers has come into question. Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Soeparno said the ILO's role in Indonesia could be improved.

"For instance, they should help us promote the welfare of migrant workers," he said.

"In reality, many host countries fail to acknowledge migrant workers' rights, such as protection rights, human rights and normative rights. The ILO cannot turn its back on that reality. It is the ILO's role to help us promote worker's rights."

Alan Boulton, the ILO country representative in Indonesia, played down the criticism, saying the organization had taken steps to help with various labor issues.

"The ILO has been assisting the Indonesian government in terms of understanding the employment impacts of the financial crisis," he said. "We're working globally with employers, unions and governments in identifying different impacts of the crisis."

Boulton added Indonesia needed to improve its social security system to protect workers from layoffs, adding that companies needed to find alternative ways to reduce labor costs without losing their skilled workforce.

"This can be done through shorter working hours, giving more raining to workers and instituting a coordinated disbursement of the government's fiscal stimulus," he said.

The government has set aside a Rp 73.3 trillion stimulus package to support industries hit by the economic slowdown so they can avoid dismissals. (fmb)

Environment/natural disasters

City urged to take immediate action to save lakes

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Jakarta – With more than 50 percent of lakes in Greater Jakarta in subpar condition, the government and administration have been told to enforce regulations more strictly and restore lakes to prevent another Situ Gintung like disaster (in which nearly 100 people died) from happening, a discussion concluded on Tuesday.

Jakarta Green Map coordinator Nirwono Joga said that the poorly coordinated government institutions for lake management allowed a great deal of public and officials violations.

"It is strange to see that the public works agency only has the authority to maintain the lake water, while several other agencies can issue permits to build houses or even big malls around the lakes," Nirwono, who is also the head of the Indonesia Landscape Architecture Study Group, said.

According to existing regulations, the construction of houses and other buildings is prohibited within a 50 meter radius of any lake. However, buildings are commonly found around the city's lakes.

Nirwono accused the city administration of turning a blind eye to the widespread violations.

"No wonder many lakes are now in critical condition."

Last month, more than 100 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed after the wall of the 70-year-old Situ Gintung reservoir in Tangerang burst, flooding nearby villages.

Earlier in 2007, the residents of Situ Gintung reported cracks in the wall and asked the public works agency to take action; their pleas went unanswered.

According to the data from the directorate general of water conservation at the Public Works Ministry, as of January 2009 there are 182 lakes in the wider JABODETABEK area.

Under the assumption that each lake is 1 to 1.5 meters deep, Nirwono estimated they could hold almost 30 million cubic meter of water, supposedly enough to prevent severe flooding in Jakarta.

However, the data shows that less than 50 percent of the lakes are in good condition.

For example, only five of the 22 lakes in Jakarta work properly, while the smaller Rorotan, Rawa Kendal, Rawa Ulujami and Penggalingan lakes have disappeared entirely.

In the Bogor regency, 13 of the 94 lakes have reportedly been converted into farms or residential areas.

Meanwhile, the biggest lake in Greater Jakarta, Lake Situ Rawa in Cipondoh, Tangerang, has plummeted in capacity by more than 50 percent, from 270.3 hectares in 1970 to 130.4 hectares in 2007.

"Big lakes will stay, although they keep plummeting, but lakes with an area less than 4 hectares will disappear within several next years if the government does not take immediate action to save them," Nirwono said. (hwa)

Indonesian economy under threat: ADB report

Jakarta Post - April 29, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia's efforts toward sustainable development, poverty eradication and a stronger economy are under serious threat from climate change, according to an ADB report released Tuesday.

The study said climate change would increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and tropical cyclones.

"It is exacerbating water shortages, constraining agricultural production, threatening food security, triggering forest fires, coastal degradation and increasing health risks." Rainfall would also decline in the next 20 to 30 years in Indonesia, the study claimed.

The report, "Economics of climate change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review", was conducted jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the British government. It followed up on economist Lord Nicholas Stern's review on climate change in 2007.

The study focused on four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Climate change seriously threatens Indonesia's economic development. The worst is yet to come," ADB assistant chief Juzhong Zhung said in the report. "Combating climate change requires urgent action on both adaptation and mitigation – there is no time for delay."

The report also warned that hundreds of small islands across the country are under serious threat of sinking as climate change contributes to rising sea levels.

Under a high emissions scenario, the annual temperature in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam is projected to increase by 4.8 degree Celsius by 2100 compared to 1990. This in turn could lead to a 70 centimeter rise in sea levels over the same period.

Indonesia has 5.8 million square kilometers of sea with coastlines stretching 81,000 kilometers, which serve as home to millions of people.

Data from the State Ministry of Environment shows 65 percent of people on Java, Indonesia's most populated island, live in and around coastal areas. The country also has about 17,500 small islands.

The study said the changes in climate would also hit the agriculture sector in Indonesian and other Southeast Asian countries.

"By the end of century, the total cost of climate change could be equivalent of 6.7 percent of Southeast Asian nation's gross domestic product (GDP) each year," ADB principal climate change specialist David McCauley said at a press conference in Jakarta to announce the release of the report.

The study also names Indonesia as the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the region, releasing 59 percent out of the total 5,190 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2000.

"We don't need to be bashful [over the ranking], because these emissions mostly originated from forest fires. What we need to know is how to protect the forests," environmentalist Emil Salim, who was also involved in producing the report, said.

British Ambassador to Indonesia Martin Hatfull said halting deforestation would be an alternative to cutting emissions in Indonesia.

Residents say no to nuclear power plant project

Jakarta Post - April 27, 2009

Jepara, Central Java – Some 1,500 residents of Balong subdistrict, Kembang district, staged a rally over the weekend protesting against a government plan to build a nuclear powered electric generator (PLTN) in their village.

The rally, also held to commemorate the 1986 Chernobyl, Ukraine, nuclear reactor tragedy, was started from Proliman Balong. Wearing bandages bearing writings saying "No to PLTN" they marched on trucks, heading to a site near Kembang district administration office.

There they spread a 500-meter banner, on which they signed names to express support for the refusal of the nuclear project.

"We want to show to the government and the community that Jepara people really refuse the PLTN," Sardi Elbayano of the people's and student's coalition refusing the PLTN said.

Protests have been repeatedly expressed by the residents to the PLTN project, projected to start operation by 2016. The PLTN is designed to produce between four to six megawatts of electricity to meet with five percent of the total national need.

Women & gender

Women to help campaign for voter registration

Jakarta Post - April 25, 2009

Jakarta – State Minister of Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta called on women to actively encourage their neighbors to register with the polling body Friday in an initiative to improve public participation in the upcoming presidential election.

"Our experience in the recent legislative election showed us that many people were not registered and subsequently lost their right to participate in the election," Meutia said at her office in Jakarta on Friday.

The legislative election on April 9 saw many complaints surface surrounding the voter lists after tens of millions of citizens did not register and thereby lost their right to vote.

The minister said the Women of Family Welfare Movement (PKK) would help speed up the renewal of voter lists through data they are collecting via current programs.

She encouraged women to inform as many people as possible to register with their neighborhood units. "Women are in the middle of society while housewives are in the midst of daily life," she said.

"We call for every public organisation, particularly those involving women, like Kowani, PKK, the Bhayangkari, the Dharma Pertiwi and religious organizations, to encourage women to register for themselves," she said.

Titi Djoko, a spokeswoman for Kowani, said they would soon invite the presidential candidates to present their views to Kowani's member organisations in a move to boost political education for women. "It will be similar to what we did before the presidential election in 2004," Titi said.

Another women's movement, Indonesian Women for Solidarity, took it one step further by claiming they would announce the names of legislative candidates living in polygamous relationships.

Yeni Rosa Damayanti, coordinator of the group, said, "This is just information for the public. The choice is still left up to them." "It's about time this polygamy issue was brought onto the political stage," she said to inilah.com news portal. (iwp)

Kartini and her 'kebaya': Pioneer of women's empowerment

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2009

Jakarta – Women's Empowerment Minister Meutia Hatta says Kartini was a heroine and rejects criticism that she did little to fight for her own rights.

Meutia paid tribute to Kartini for fighting so that no woman in her country would be a victim like she was.

"She was a thinker of women's empowerment. She suffered the experience herself for having to leave school and marry at such a young age," Meutia said on the sidelines of the launch of the "Care for Women" program.

It was hosted by six women's organizations including the Jurnal Perempuan Foundation and the Puan Amal Hayati Foundation.

"Of course Dewi Sartika and others have contributed to the empowerment of women. Rohana Kudus from West Sumatra, for example, was the first female journalist."

A number of scholars and women's rights activists once demanded that the government revoke Kartini's status as a heroine, saying she did not contribute to the founding of Indonesia as a nation state.

Kartini lived during the rule of Indonesia by Dutch colonialists. She even bowed to pressure and entered a polygamous marriage.

Meutia said women continue to face uphill challenges long after Kartini died early in the 20th century. The minister suggested that women's organizations join forces to overcome the problems that collectively face them.

Zumrotin Soesilo, a former deputy chairperson of the National Commission on Human Rights, said the chief problem facing women is "the fact that millions of our women still live in sad conditions".

Indonesia has the highest mortality rate among women in Southeast Asia. Cases of domestic violence jumped from 3,000 in 2001 to 58,000 in 2008, Zumrotin said.

Melanie Subono, a singer at the program's launch, said, "While we have heroines like Kartini in the past, in our era we have also heroines such as Marsinah and Suciwati."

Marsinah was a female activist in East Java who was killed in her fight for labor rights. Suciwati has been fighting for justice since the murder of her husband Munir, a human rights activist.

Melanie recently released a song titled "Hey Women", but radio and television stations refused to air it. However, the song has been used as the theme for the movie At Stake and Melanie has donated it to the "Care for Women" program, who will use it to raise funds by selling it as a ringtone for cellphones.

The discussion was attended by women mostly dressed in traditional Javanese kebaya and kain outfits.

Regarding the traditional costumes – usually the Javanese kebaya – that people wear to celebrate Kartini day, Meutia said, "It's fine if children wear traditional costumes to school but of course it does not always have to be on Kartini day. They can wear them on Independence Day too."

Oppie sang her new song at the event, with the lyrics, "Women, don't limit your space, fly high to the sky, but don't forget to return home..." (iwp)

Corruption & graft

Graft eradication bill 'weakens KPK'

Jakarta Post - April 27, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won praise for his tough stance against corruption, but a newly drafted antigraft bill reveals the opposite, a discussion heard Sunday.

Speakers at the forum said the corruption court bill, which is being debated at the House of Representatives, would reduce the authority of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), despite the fact extra powers handed to the commission have led to the arrest and prosecution of people known as "the untouchables" in the past.

"The latest antigraft bill drafted in August last year reduced the authority of the KPK to investigation only," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator for legal and court monitoring, Illian Deta Arta Sari, said, in reference to Article 30 (2) of the bill.

The limitation is strengthened by Article 31 of the bill, which says investigation, prosecution and hearing of corruption cases are conducted according to Criminal Procedure Code Law, rather than the corruption court law. "There lies the problem; Criminal Procedure Code Law says the National Police are responsible for investigation, while the Attorney General's Office is responsible for prosecution," said Hasril Hertanto, the executive director of the Indonesian Judiciary Supervisory Community (MAPPI) at the University of Indonesia.

Hasril said the antigraft bill contradicted the 2002 law on the KPK, which stipulates the commission has the authority to investigate and prosecute corruption suspects.

"The KPK could face lawsuits for arresting or investigating graft cases because once the bill takes effect, all corruption eradication efforts should refer to this bill," he said.

Former director of investigation at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) Khairul Imam opposed the pessimistic view. He said it was not a big deal if the KPK's authority was limited to investigation, as long as they conducted it seriously.

Elections/political parties

Dream coalition remains pie in the sky

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Dicky Christanto and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Political parties trying to put together a jumbo coalition to challenge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will need to stop shadow boxing and make hard decisions to win the real fight in July.

Golkar secretary-general Sumarsono said Wednesday the jumbo coalition was hanging in the balance and would require a political compromise in the coming few days if it is to work.

"We are expecting a meeting of political party leaders to hammer out a compromise," Sumarsono said after a meeting with Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla.

Sumarsono said the reluctance of Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party and the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party to each drop their presidential ambitions was standing between them and a grand coalition.

Kalla, who is the Vice President, declared the jumbo coalition of six parties, which would include the United Development Party (PPP) and National Mandate Party (PAN), would be declared before May 3.

Later in the day, Kalla held a meeting with his PPP counterpart, Suryadharma Ali, at the vice presidident's office for talks. But it was still not clear when the six parties could declare their grand alliance.

"We will form a small team to discuss the coalition issue with Golkar," Suryadharma, cooperative and small-scale enterprise minister, said.

PDI-P leader Megawati Soekarnoputri understood the coming four days would be crucial for the proposed partner parties to see if they could form the dream coalition, deputy chairman Tjahjo Kumolo said.

"Bu Mega will meet privately with Prabowo Subianto of Gerindra, Jusuf Kalla of Golkar, Wiranto of Hanura and Suryadharma Ali of the PPP in the next four days to determine the final framework of the coalition," Tjahyo said.

He added the parties would need to put their egos aside if they were to build a strong coalition to fight Yudhoyono, whose Democratic Party has formed a solid coalition with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and multiple small parties below the radar of the 2.5 percent parliamentary threshold.

"Willingness to step down will play a major role for the planned coalition should the parties expect to seriously challenge SBY. "In politics, you win some and you lose some. So, somebody has to step back from his or her presidential ambitions," Tjahjo said.

Taking a break from his busy political agenda, Kalla appeared on TV One for a talk show, in which he expressed guarded optimism that he could win the presidential electio.

Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin suggested that the political parties should form coalitions based on similar objectives rather than on the "like or dislike" principle.

"Coalitions are okay, but we hope no parties will form coalitions based on likes or dislikes, on enmity and cynicism; moreover with efforts to discredit and ruin each other," Din said, after a meeting with President Yudhoyono.

Din added Muhammadiyah was in favor of a less complex and simpler political party system, with a smaller number of political parties active in contesting elections.

Prabowo to become SBY's 'strongest opponent'

Jakarta Post - April 29, 2009

Jakarta – With his almost unlimited financial capacity and increasing popularity, Prabowo Subianto is shaping up to be President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's (SBY) strongest opponent in the upcoming presidential election, a seminar concluded in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Speaking at the seminar, political experts agreed that if Prabowo could win the support of major parties such as the Golkar Party or the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), his presidential bid could become a real threat to SBY.

"Prabowo is the only candidate with enough fire-power to challenge the incumbent," National Survey Institute (LSN) director Umar S. Bakry said during the discussion.

"He has a completely different persona from SBY, whom many see as indecisive and conservative. Prabowo has displayed feisty, risk- taking, straight to the point and decisive characteristics," he added.

Throughout his election campaign, Prabowo has constantly criticized SBY's neo-liberalistic economic policies, which he claims have done nothing to improve welfare, particularly for the poorest in Indonesia. "And what is more is the fact that he is a newcomer in the game. SBY will have a hard time predicting his moves," Bakry said.

Some experts had already predicted that anybody wishing to seriously challenge Yudhoyono would have to include Prabowo in their coalition. "Prabowo's popularity continues to increase. If he can gather support from the PDI-P or Golkar then he can challenge SBY," political communication expert Effendi Ghazali said recently.

The experts also claim that PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is daydreaming if she believes she can ever beat SBY in the presidential election. "Even if Megawati's popularity ranks second after SBY in some surveys, the percentages tend to decline. If Mega goes head to head against SBY, then he will most certainly knock her out cold," Umar said.

The people's lack of trust in Megawati is the main factor hindering her from presidential success said Jeffrey Winters, a political-economy professor from the Northwestern University in Chicago and an expert on Indonesia.

"Such a lack of trust came about because she failed to carry through promises during her first reign as president. People had high hopes when she became president in 1999 because of her image as Sukarno's daughter. However, she dropped the ball and disappointed a lot of people," Winters said. "Megawati only continued the New Order policies. People's dreams faded into a reality that they had chosen an incapable president."

The director of the Institute for Democracy Research and Welfare State (Pedoman) Fadjroel Rachman said Megawati blew her chance to win over the people in 1998 when she failed to carry out much- needed reforms.

Umar said based on her slim chances of victory, it would make sense for Mega to take the initiative to pull out of the race and support Prabowo. "She should consider stepping down not only for her own sake but for the PDI-P as well. Another loss would be very demoralizing for the party." (hdt)

PDI-P, Golkar plan coalition of six parties

Jakarta Globe - April 29, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, and the Golkar Party – now clearly relegated to second and third place after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party in the recent legislative polls – are planning to build a coalition with four other parties to face the July presidential election, their executives said on Tuesday.

"The coalition will aim to establish a large, stable administration in the future, both in the cabinet and in the legislature," said Soemarsono, Golkar secretary general, after a closed-door meeting with a PDI-P team led by his counterpart, Pramono Anung, at a hotel in Central Jakarta.

He said the two parties, which preliminary and quick counts showed to lag far behind the Democratic Party in the April 9 legislative elections, had agreed to establish a larger coalition with fledgling upstarts the People's Conscience Party, or Hanura, and the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, as well as with the more established United Development Party, or PPP, and the National Mandate Party, or PAN.

Gerindra was founded by Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, while Hanura is chaired by Gen. (ret.) Wiranto. The two other parties – PPP and PAN – are divided between those wanting to support Yudhoyono and those who want to join the PDI-P's camp.

Based on the official preliminary vote tally late on Tuesday, the six parties accounted for about 48 percent of the about 14.7 million votes counted so far. There were some 170 million eligible voters in the April elections.

The Democratic Party, which has 20.6 percent of the votes according to the same tally, looks set to enter a coalition with the Islamic-oriented Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, which has 8.15 percent of the votes.

Soemarsono said that all leaders of the parties wanting to take part in the coalition would meet to talk about a final agreement. Pramono said the meeting might be held as soon as Wednesday.

The meeting would also decide on who the coalition would back to run as the presidential and vice presidential candidates, Soemarsono added.

"Each party has decided on its own presidential candidate. But we know that not all of them can run in the presidential election. So there must be a willingness from the candidates to sit and talk together to decide that there will only be one possible name. We will know whose name that is in the next day or two," Pramono said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party secretary general Marzuki Alie said the door was still open for a coalition with Golkar but spelled out conditions for accepting a vice presidential candidate from the party. "They must agree to establish a coalition with us and the vice presidential candidate must be chosen by us," Marzuki said.

Separately, Golkar chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla denied rumors of a rift in the party, saying that different views among party leaders were acceptable as long as they were based on the decisions of the party's recent special leadership meeting.

House ratifies regulation on voters list

Jakarta Post - April 29, 2009

Jakarta – The House of Representatives finally ratifies the regulation in-lieu-of law on voters list via voting mechanism at the House's plennary session hall in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The regulation authorizes the General Election Commission (KPU) to update voters list to allow more eligible but unregistered voters to cast their ballots in the April 9 general elections.

There were many frictions prior to the ratification of the regulation, mostly by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

PDI-P condemned the ratification of the regulation, saying it merely served as legitimate backing for the government on the voters list fiasco, which costed around 40 million voters their balloting rights.

PDI-P's persistence on rejecting the ratification led to Wednesday's vote. Under an internal House regulation, if one faction maintains its stance to reject an agreement then a vote will take place.

"We know that we are going to lose this vote but we have no problem with it. At least we show that we have stood by our opinion," PDI-P's caucus chairman Tjahyo Kumolo said prior to the session.(hdt)

PAN embraces SBY, offers two names for running mate

Jakarta Post - April 28, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The National Mandate Party (PAN) central board finally came to the decision Monday to join the incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a coalition for the upcoming presidential election.

The board also proposed that Yudhoyono pick one of its two cadres – PAN chairman Soetrisno Bachir and current State Secretary Hatta Radjasa – as his running mate in the July 8 election.

The decision was achieved after a meeting of the PAN central executive and advisory boards at the party's headquarters in Jakarta, which was led by chief patron Amien Rais. Amien said the endorsement of the two proposed vice-presidential candidates would be discussed further at a special party leadership meeting to be attended by local branches across the country.

The meeting is scheduled for May 2 in Jakarta. "We are going to propose these two names at the upcoming leadership meeting," Amien told journalists after talks Monday.

PAN chairman Soetrisno Bachir promised there would be no intervention from himself or any other party executive during the upcoming meeting. "Everything will be delivered transparently," he said.

The decision reflected the strong influence of Amien as the chief patron of PAN. He is a former party chairman and a failed presidential candidate in 2004. The decision arose after Amien held private talks recently with Yudhoyono, despite his previously staunch criticism of the incumbent government.

Soon after his earlier meeting with Yudhoyono, Amien gathered senior PAN officials at his residence in Yogyakarta to inform them they would be supporting the President's bid for a second five-year term in office.

The meeting concluded with three party figures nominated as vice presidential candidates: Amien, Hatta and Soetrisno. Amien rejected his nomination, saying that at 65, he was too old for the job.

Soetrisno and his allies reportedly wanted to support the presidential nomination of Prabowo Subianto, not Yudhoyono. The Yogyakarta meeting was not attended by Soetrisno, sparking rumors of an internal rift within PAN ahead of the presidential election.

However, some PAN executives, including economist Dradjat Wibowo, denied any split within their party, saying they were unified in facing the next presidential election.

"We are going in the direction earlier indicated by Amien Rais," Dradjat said. From the beginning, he said, party officials had made up their mind to channel support for Yudhoyono.

Earlier Monday, PAN secretary-general Zulkifli Hasan said the party would prioritize the national agenda as a common platform for building a political alliance.

"When choosing our future partners, we will scrutinize the national agenda of the candidates' party and once that is agreed upon, we can form an alliance," he said.

In response to his nomination as a potential running mate for Yudhoyono, Hatta said he would leave the matter to the President. He said he had never thought of becoming a vice presidential candidate and had never discussed the issue with Amien.

"Let's just leave the President to tackle the vice presidential issue. Let's not create fuss there," Hatta, who is the PAN deputy chief patron, said last week.

Yudhoyono has said he is seeking a vice presidential candidate who displays loyalty to the president and places national interests ahead of their own.

Golkar's mutiny keeps SBY coalition alive

Jakarta Post - April 28, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – In just three days, the Golkar Party's provincial branch leaders have forced Chairman Jusuf Kalla to scale down his bid for presidency, re-opening possibilities for another partnership with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Zainal Bintang, one of the party's deputy chairs and a staunch supporter of Kalla's quest for presidency, said Monday the Golkar regional leaders' move was unilateral and illegitimate.

"I am very concerned about this decision. It violates the party rules as the revision was made at a meeting of less significance than the executive meeting we held at the Borobudur Hotel last week," Zainal, who founded the JK for President Center, told The Jakarta Post.

Kalla, the incumbent Vice President, announced his bid for the presidency and Golkar's breakaway from SBY and the Democratic Party after the top party brass and pro-vincial leaders met on Thursday last week.

But on Sunday night, the same Golkar provincial leaders revised Kalla's status as either a presidential or vice-presidential candidate.

Zainal said the Sunday meeting was attended only by the heads of Golkar provincial branches without involving the central board of executives.

"This is like character assassination on Pak Kalla. I believe a number of the party members behind this revision were those initially aiming to nominate him as a vice presidential candidate," Zainal said.

Golkar leaders supported Kalla's solo run for the presidency after intensive coalition talks with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party collapsed over the vice-presidential candidate.

The head of Jakarta's provincial branch, Ade Surapriatna, denied Zainal's allegation of a mutiny waged by Golkar provincial leaders. Ade also brushed aside speculation a third party was behind their move.

"This has nothing to do with pressure. We only added some further comments to the previous agreement on the vice-presidential candidacy. It is up to Kalla to choose between a presidential or vice-presidential campaign," he said.

West Java's provincial head, Uu Rukmana, refused to comment on speculation that the provincial branch leaders came under pressure to retract their support for Kalla's presidential bid.

Responding to the latest move by the local elite group, Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono said the potential for the party to maintain a coalition with the Democratic Party was still wide open. "Golkar can recommence political communication with the Democratic Party to build a coalition," Agung said.

Meanwhile, the party's advisory member Aburizal Bakrie said coalition talks with the Democratic Party seemed very plausible with Kalla downgrading his ambition to secure the vice- presidential post.

"The coalition remains very possible if Golkar chooses to seek the vice presidential job," Aburizal told reporters after a limited cabinet meeting.

Kalla has so far held intensive talks with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party and the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, but has not yet formed a coalition agreement with any party.

Ideology no longer priority for power-hungry parties

Jakarta Post - April 28, 2009

Dicky Christanto and Adianto Simamora, Jakarta – Party officials have admitted to placing ideology on the back burner as they move to build the crucial coalitions required to secure power.

Shared concern surrounding the implementation of the national agenda in the future is what really counts, a number of politicians have suggested.

"Our party welcomes any party regardless of its ideology as long as both sides can agree on the national agenda, which we consider more important," Secretary General of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Zulkifli Hasan told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said PAN would not waste its votes carelessly building an alliance with a party which could not demonstrate a clear agenda. The party has taken a cautious step and is surveying candidates to determine whether they fit the criteria for its future partnership.

The PAN national agenda includes, for example, allocating Rp 1 billion to each village throughout the country in a move, PAN executive Didik Rachbini explained, aimed at strengthening the grassroots economy.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) executive Effendy Simbolon said interests rather than ideology would be the determining criteria when assessing any potential coalition with a party. "A national working agenda is a key requirement that will be taken into account," he said.

Another factor will be the track record of any potential coalition party. "I believe there is no such thing as ideological differences nowadays. As we can see, most parties share a similar concern for their people," Effendy said.

PDI-P is seeking an alliance with Golkar Party and the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, which are nationalist- oriented. PAN, meanwhile, is moving toward the Democratic Party and Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Commenting on the failure of parties to maintain their faith in ideology, executive director of the Reform Institute, Yudi Latif, said ideology had long been replaced by political pragmatism.

"All the party executives care about is how to achieve more votes, political power and a closeness with capital owners rather than, for instance, struggling to uphold party ideology," he said.

He added that being pragmatic was unavoidable and one of the only ways to survive in the current political environment. "The need to preserve the party's existence often becomes the motive for pragmatic behavior, especially having entered the reform era. Things are more transparent now," he said.

Political expert from the University of Indonesia Maswadi Rauf said coalitions were only really necessary in the short-term purpose for parties to win the July presidential election and did not aim to fulfil the desires of constituents.

Challenged within Golkar, Kalla looks for partners

Jakarta Globe - April 26, 2009

Golkar Party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's attempts to charm former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her possible running mate, Prabowo Subianto, over the weekend appeared to go nowhere.

While it is too early to know how the coalition merry-go-round will sort itself out, Kalla's bold move on Friday to break away from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party in a bid to pose a challenge to the president seemed to have made little progress in recent days.

Compounding problems for Kalla is that his bitter rival, former Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung, continued on Saturday and Sunday to meet with disaffected members of the party's district-level boards, raising the possibility that Kalla's leadership of the party could be challenged ahead of the July presidential election.

Golkar is now racing against time to form a coalition to allow Kalla to contest the presidential election. The General Elections Commission, or KPU, is to open the formal registration for candidates on May 10.

Analysts believe that the Democratic Party, which easily won the recent legislative elections, according to preliminary counts, and Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, are near to announcing their coalition partners.

PDI-P and Golkar have been running neck and neck for the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the legislative vote count. But most major players are still talking, however, making it difficult to predict how the final pairings will shake out.

Reports over the weekend that Megawati may join forces with Suharto-era Gen. Prabowo and his Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, did not deter Kalla and Prabowo from meeting on Sunday.

"This is an initial talk. It will surely be followed up with another talk about a relationship that benefits both Golkar and Gerindra," Kalla said after the meeting. Prabowo concurred, saying that the two agreed to "intensify our talks."

Prabowo, whose party is currently in eighth place with 4.3 percent of the popular vote from the legislative elections, is believed to be favored by Megawati due to his healthy bank balance and vast network of contacts. It remains unclear, however, if he would accept a nomination to runs as Megawati's vice president or will run himself.

Golkar and PDI-P are scheduled to hold another meeting today to discuss forming a coalition ahead of the presidential poll.

Golkar executive Priyo Budi Santoso said on Sunday that the party was expecting to get 109 of the 560 seats in the House of Representatives, which is roughly 19 percent. That means the party could form a coalition with smaller parties to reach the required threshold of 20 percent of House seats to nominate a presidential candidate.

It's a high-wire political act for Kalla, who may be fighting for his survival within Golkar, which remains divided between those who support his presidential bid and those who are opposed to it.

An extraordinary national meeting of the party to address the split between pro- and anti-Kalla forces could be held if it is requested by two-thirds of the 33 provincial Golkar branches.

Kalla-Prabowo inching closer to alliance

Jakarta Post - April 26, 2009

Jakarta – The chairman of Golkar Party Jusuf Kalla said on Sunday that his meeting with the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chairman Prabowo Subiyanto was an initial step in forming a coalition between the two parties.

"This discussion is in its infancy. We will continue further as the ties improve. We will establish unity, including how to form a solid coallition," Kalla said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Kalla also said there was a possibility for Prabowo to run as his vice presidential running mate. "I think it [the coalition]'s like that," he said, referring to possible future discussion agenda between the two parties.

Prabowo, who is also a former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), added that the two parties share many similarities conducive for a future coalition.

"That's why in the near future we'll discuss things more intensively so as to find a more specific ground to share," Prabowo said. (amr)

Supporters urge Mega to look beyond Prabowo, Wiranto

Jakarta Post - April 25, 2009

Supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI-P), have demanded her to be cautious not to choose vice president candidates with possible ties to human rights violations.

During their protests prior to the party meeting, Megawati Supporter Committee (KPM) have warned the chairwoman to be selective in choosing vice president candidate as her partner in the presidential election scheduled for July.

"Principally, we ask for the PDI-P elites to deeply consider the after-effect in naming either Prabowo or Wiranto as vice- president," KPM's field coordinator Doni Muhidin told The Jakarta Post in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, on Saturday.

Doni was referring to the Greater Indonesian Movement (Gerindra)'s chairman Prabowo Subianto and his counterpart from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) Wiranto. As of now, Megawati remains PDI-P's front runner for president candidate.

However, Megawati has been lying in bed, politically speaking, with some of her past bitter rivals in the New Order era such as Prabowo and Wiranto.

Megawati's political romance with her New Order foes has raised the possibility for her to name one of them as her vice-president running mate. This situation, if occurs, raises an objection from the KPM which has backed her since 1996.

In its press statements, the KPM said that they rejected any president or vice-president candidate with a human-rights violation and New Order-related background.

Both Prabowo and Wiranto, as a matter of facts, were prominent military generals during the New Order and deemed to be held responsible over several human rights violation in the past.

Many have said Prabowo to be the leading actor behind activists abduction at the dawn of the New Order era in the late 1990's. Most of those activists are still missing and the possibility of their demise is second to none, judging from the time frame of their abduction to the present date.

Wiranto was in charge of the military as the Supreme Commander during the May Riot, in which thousands of men and women died on the streets of Jakarta. Survivors of the riots has said that they saw military personnel' involvement during the riot, which brought an end to New Order.

The KPM has also asked for Megawati to focus on election frauds instead of presidency nominations. "Megawati should not allow herself to be lured with presidency seats. She should maintain her focus on the unfair election issues rather than concentrating on presidential election," Doni said. (hdt)

Golkar seeks support for presidency

The Australian - April 25, 2009

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Negotiations began in earnest yesterday after the spectacular split in Indonesia's ruling coalition, as Vice-President Jusuf Kalla held closed-door meetings with potential partners.

A day after a leaders' convention of Mr Kalla's Golkar party charged him with taking it to victory at presidential elections in July, he met former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and retired military figure Wiranto. Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle is expected to announce its preferred presidential candidate today.

However, nothing is set in stone, with the nominating deadline still three weeks away and Golkar having ordered Mr Kalla to "report back" on his coalition-building endeavours before then.

Activity at the presidential palace, where Democrat Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was considering strategy, was also intense in the hours after Thursday's Golkar decision.

A delegation of senior Golkar figures visited Mr Yudhoyono to see whether he would still accept a nominee from their party to stand as his vice-presidential running mate despite the split.

Mr Yudhoyono was noncommittal, telling the delegation, according to an official who was at the meeting: "You must understand there will be political complications... if I choose a vice- presidential candidate from the Golkar community. But I will consider your request."

Showing the deep divisions that have finally spilled over in the one-time ruling party of the late dictator Suharto, senior member Akbar Tandjung immediately denounced the Kalla move.

Mr Tandjung, a former speaker in the house who in 2004 had a three-year jail sentence for corruption overturned on appeal, has been tipped as a dark-horse alternative to Mr Kalla as a Yudhoyono running-mate.

Quizzed about that yesterday, Mr Tandjung said it was "my hope... (and) for sure, Golkar will return (to the Democrats)".

Pointing out that Golkar still needed up to an extra 11 per cent of the vote to achieve the 25 per cent threshold required to stand a presidential team on its own, Mr Tandjung said this would be "extremely difficult, even impossible" unless it allied with Mr Yudhoyono.

Vote-counting after the April 9 elections is proceeding at a snail's pace, but the Democrats have about 20 per cent, and Golkar and Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) each have about 15 per cent.

A slew of second-rung parties are already in intense negotiations with the PDI-P or the Democrats. These include the Greater Indonesia Movement of retired general Prabowo and Subianto and the People's Conscience Party of general Wiranto, both already in close talks with Ms Megawati.

Others, thought more likely to fall in with the Democrats, include the Muslim-leaning Prosperous Justice Party and United Development Party, as well as the National Awakening Party created by one-time president Abdurrahman Wahid.

Such a coalition would still not give Mr Yudhoyono a majority in the house, creating concern at his ability to convince it to pass any controversial legislation during a second five-year term.

Anxiety had already emerged yesterday over the prospect of the Government achieving anything further in the remainder of its term, with important bills still under consideration.

The house had passed only 157 of a targeted 284 bills, according to parliamentarian Bomer Pasaribu. Most important among those yet to be passed include a bill to deal with the economic crisis.

Coalitions of parties blasted as 'superficial'

Jakarta Post - April 25, 2009

Jakarta – Political analysts have criticized potential coalitions being discussed for the presidential elections as "superficial and fragile".

Such procedural mergers were less relevant under the presidential system and would ultimately not benefit the people, they said Friday.

Commenting on the broken coalition between the Democratic Party and the Golkar Party, Cecep Efendi, who closely observed the last two consecutive presidential races and Senate activities in the United States, said these presidential coalitions would not last because they were made for entirely the wrong reasons.

As there is a threshold which must be met in order for parties to nominate a candidate, the coalitions are merely legal and administrative requirements and would face significant difficulties when it comes to sharing power, he argued.

"So, if a coalition loses the presidential race that will be the end of it, and if it wins there will be no real benefit for the people," he said in a discussion at the House of Representatives in Jakarta.

Cecep said the coalition between PD and Golkar, despite having lasted almost five years, was fragile because it was established to maintain the status quo and win political support from parliament.

He said that if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was aware of the political significance of the direct presidential election he won in 2004, then PD should never have coalesced with so many parties. There was no need for the President to be afraid of impeachment, he said, because it was impossible under the presidential system as long as no breach of the Constitution had occurred.

Coalitions, he argued, should be formed based on similar political platforms so a strong, unified front could at the very least benefit their supporters.

"Far before the presidential race, President SBY should introduce his vision, mission and political programs to the other parties which did well in the legislative elections. This way he not only increases his chances of winning another presidential term, but also win over eligible voters' sympathy and political support for any potential coalition," he said.

The results from the legislative election so far show PD winning with 21 percent of the total votes. Golkar so far have garnered 14.5 percent of the votes and is looking toward the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the Teuku Umar Bloc for a strong, contract-based opposition in parliament if they lose the presidential election.

Separately, J. Kristiadi, from the Centre for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), said the potential coalitions so far do not reflect the public preference and ignore suggestions by election surveyors that PD and Golkar should continue together for a strong government.

"All parties which formed a coalition with PD in 2004 have proven themselves to be stable working partners for almost five years, but their political egos have driven them to walk separate ways now."

The new coalition being discussed between PD and the PKB, PKS or even PPP, he claimed, would not bring stability to SBY's government in the next five years if he won the upcoming vote.

"Democracy in our country is relatively new and is still unstable. If parties easily switch sides, this will undermine democracy and the political stability throughout the next five years." (fmb)

Abstaining voters increase in Bali

Jakarta Post - April 25, 2009

Denpasar – 23 percent of voters abstained from voting in the April 9 legislative election, or 621,443 voters out of 2,667,065 registered voters did not cast their vote.

The results, revealed at a plenary meeting of the Bali General Elections Commission (KPU) on Friday, showed an 8 percent increase in vote abstention since the 2004 election.

Participation level in Bali reached 76.7 percent, although 16.95 percent or 346,207 ballots were considered invalid.

The political powerhouse, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) garnered the most votes with 40.94 percent, sliding about 10 percent in comparison to the figures from 2004.

Golkar Party came in second with 16.76 percent, an 18 percent decrease. The Democratic Party (PD) soared to 14.61 percent, almost tripling their 2004 efforts. PDI-P won 24 seats at the Bali Provincial Legislative Council and Golkar gained 12 seats.

Golkar deputy Jusuf Kalla turns on Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The Australian - April 24, 2009

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Indonesia's Golkar party has opened up the national election race by declaring Vice-President Jusuf Kalla will stand against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

It is likely to be a poisoned chalice for Mr Kalla, and is the result of bloodletting within the party that came to a head at a meeting of national leaders in Jakarta yesterday.

At a sombre announcement by officials, all wearing the party's traditional yellow blazers, Mr Kalla, Golkar's chairman, thanked them for bestowing on him "this heavy mandate". As well, the meeting resolved to seek coalition partners outside the current arrangement with Mr Yudhoyono's Democrat Party.

Although barely 11 per cent of the vote from the parliamentary elections a fortnight ago has been counted, it seems only the Democrats will meet the 20 per cent threshold of seats in the parliament – or 25 per cent of the national vote – to stand a candidate for the presidency in their own right.

But now that Golkar, which looks to have won about 15 per cent of the popular vote, has declared its intention to stand a candidate, the parties will get into the nitty-gritty of coalition negotiations. Deals with the smaller parties among the 38 that stood for election will be the target for Golkar officials.

The Democrat Party and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle are expected to announce tomorrow who they will stand as candidates in the July 8 election.

The race now seems certain to be between three candidates: Mr Yudhoyono, Mr Kalla and Ms Megawati. Negotiations will focus on who stands as running mates for each of the three, and what deals can be done over potential cabinet seats.

Mr Yudhoyono announced on Sunday the five qualities he required in a vice-presidential running mate: integrity, capacity, loyalty, party support and popular acceptability.

This was widely interpreted as a challenge to Mr Kalla and Golkar, signalling that the President was unhappy with the Vice- President's performance.

But despite Golkar's determination to seek alternative coalition partners, the door is not completely closed to a reunion with the Democrats. However, it would probably involve another senior party figure joining Mr Yudhoyono. This could be someone such as former parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung, who has strong factional support within Golkar but has struggled to remove the tarnish of corruption charges.

He was sentenced to three years' jail in 2004 for misusing funds allocated to the state logistics agency, Bulog, intended to feed the poor. Although the decision was overturned on appeal, Mr Tandjung's candidacy would not help a Yudhoyono re-election campaign based on corruption-busting credentials.

An alternative could be Mr Yudhoyono's Finance Minister, the US- educated economist Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who previously ran the International Monetary Fund for the region.

Golkar splits coalition with presidential candidate

Sydney Morning Herald - April 24, 2009

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Indonesia's ruling coalition has disintegrated after the Golkar party decided yesterday to run its own presidential candidate against the immensely popular incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The rupture occurred after President Yudhoyono had told his deputy, Jusuf Kalla, on Wednesday that he will not be a partner with him for another term, instead preferring to run with a different figure from Golkar, the political machine created by the former dictator Soeharto and home of Mr Kalla.

But after a conference of its leadership yesterday, a majority of Golkar sided with Mr Kalla, vowing to run their own candidate in July's presidential run-off.

"Most provincial chapters' heads agreed that the party should have its own presidential candidate," deputy secretary general, Rully Chairul Azwar, said on the sidelines of the meeting in Jakarta. The split throws open the possibility of Golkar teaming with former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Party of Democratic Struggle, which registered about 14 per cent support in legislative elections this month, about the same as Golkar.

Even so, Golkar is insisting that its candidate – almost certainly Mr Kalla – has to be the senior partner and presidential candidate in any coalition.

Both parties were trounced by Mr Yudhoyono's Democrat Party, which snared 20.5 per cent of the vote according to unofficial counts.

That result gave Dr Yudhoyono the whip hand in negotiations over coalition parties and his rejection of Mr Kalla was blunt and humiliating. After the rebuff, Mr Kalla was advised by Dr Yudhoyono's cabinet secretary not to bother turning up to a scheduled cabinet meeting on Wednesday, if he felt so inclined. The bad feeling between them raises serious questions about how the two men can govern together until the current administration is formally dissolved in October.

Meanwhile, the political machinations this week increase the likelihood that Dr Yudhoyono will form a coalition with Islamic- based parties for his tilt at the presidency.

Polls show Dr Yudhoyono is on track to win a second term regardless of who his coalition partners are, and a senior Golkar official yesterday admitted it would be hard to defeat him.

Small parties call for 2.5% house threshold to be delayed to 2014

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2009

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – A number of small parties have demanded that an Elections Law stipulation on the legislative threshold be postponed, saying it bars them from having their own candidates in the House of Representatives.

"We will arrange a meeting with the president, the Constitutional Court and the House to postpone the implementation of the 2.5 percent threshold," said Sys N.S., an executive of the Regional Unity Party, or PPD, after a meeting with at least 26 small parties on Thursday.

The threshold dictates that parties must receive more than 2.5 percent of the national vote for their candidates to sit in the House.

Sys said the requirement should be postponed until the 2014 elections to allow them to seat their representatives. "It's a pity as we should have got some seats in the House but we could not have our representatives due to the threshold," he said.

M. Jasin, who chairs the Labor Party of Struggle, or Pakar Pangan, said the parties had sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asking for the issuance of a government regulation in lieu of law for the postponement of the threshold.

According to the initial results of the legislative elections, only nine of the 38 national parties will pass the threshold. The other parties received less than 2.5 percent of the total votes.

The threshold is aimed at limiting the number of political parties that will serve in the House, said Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, a Golkar Party lawmaker. "The main purpose is to simplify the country's multiparty system," he said.

Experts cited over-fragmentation in the House, which often resulted in prolonged decision making. Parties that win only one seat in the House may seat their representative if they merge with a major party or group of small parties to establish a legislative faction.

Golkar names Kalla as presidential candidate

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Golkar party officially declared its chairman Jusuf Kalla as presidential candidate to compete in coming election.

The decision was made at the leaders meeting on Thursday attended by 33 head of provincial chapters.

The meeting also gave mandate to Kalla to set up team to seek his potential running mate and coalition with political parties. "I welcome the decision and mandate," Kalla said.

The majority of Golkar Party's provincial chapter leaders had earlier in the day agreed to nominate its own candidate to contest the upcoming presidential election.

"Most of provincial chapters' heads agreed that the party should have its own presidential candidate," deputy secretary general Rully Chairul Azwar said on the sidelines of the meeting at Borobudur Hotel Thursday morning.

The party' executive board members decided on Wednesday to drop a coalition talk with Democratic Party.

Is split Golkar breaking with democrats?

Jakarta Globe - April 23, 2009

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Muhamad Al Azhari, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Camelia Pasandaran – In a day of hectic political maneuvering, Golkar executives announced on Wednesday that the party would cease coalition talks with the Democratic Party, a move the Democrats called unilateral and other Golkar leaders said was far from final.

"The Golkar executives' regular meeting declares that there was no deal in the coalition talks with the Democratic Party and that Golkar Party gives a full mandate for the chairman to open political communications with [other] political parties for a strong and effective government," Golkar secretary general Soemarsono said.

The comment came ahead of today's special national leaders meeting at which Golkar is to officially ratify any decision on a coalition. The party could choose to nominate its own candidate for president, form a coalition with another party or return to the bargaining table with the Democrats.

The comment caused political tremors early in the day and seemed to open the possibility of a major challenge to Yudhoyono in the form of a coalition between Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P.

But other Golkar leaders said they were still open to a coalition with the Democrats, exposing a deep political divide within the party.

The Golkar executive meeting was led by party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla and was attended by top executives such as Burhanuddin Napitupulu, Syamsul Muarif and Agung Laksono.

Syamsul said the decision was taken because the Democratic Party demanded that Golkar name more than one potential vice presidential candidate for Yudhoyono to choose from. "We could not fulfill their demand."

That demand is widely seen as an indication the sometimes shaky five-year political marriage between Yudhoyono and Kalla is finally on the rocks. The announcement, however, was countered by other Golkar senior members.

"The door remains open for the Democratic Party, or other parties," Agung said, adding that the legitimate party decision is to be issued at today's national leadership meeting.

"This is politics. Changes could happen every minute, every hour, every day. Who knows? There could be another sign from Cikeas," deputy party chairman Priyo said, referring to Yudhoyono's private residential area.

After attending the Golkar meeting on Wednesday morning, Kalla skipped a scheduled limited cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace at 2 p.m.

Siswono Yudhohusono, another Golkar executive, said the party leadership had to explain the coalition decision to provincial leaders. Meanwhile, Several Golkar sources said that Yudhoyono has already told Kalla that he may not pick him as his vice presidential candidate.

For his part, Yudhoyono responded by asking top Democratic Party executives to attend a meeting in Cikeas, Bogor. But instead of presiding over a scheduled press conference, Yudhoyono gave that task to deputy chairman Anas Urbaningrum under the argument that Golkar's announcement was made by its secretary general.

Reading from a written statement, Anas said the Golkar decision was a unilateral move. "The Democratic Party did not expect Golkar to announce that the coalition talks deadlocked," he said.

Anas said that both the Democratic Party and Golkar have already agreed to form a coalition to support the government for the next five years. "On Tuesday, Golkar proposed a draft coalition agreement.

"We agreed on all items except the presidential and vice presidential candidates. We have yet to agree on whether Golkar would propose one or several names," he said.

"It's not true that the Democratic Party has been dictating to Golkar arbitrarily during this coalition process," Anas asserted, saying that his party respects Golkar's decision.

20 political parties reject East Java vote count results

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2009

Achmad Faisal, Surabaya – Witnesses from 20 small political parties walked out of a plenary session with the provincial elections commission (KPUD) on Wednesday, during the counting of votes from regencies in East Java.

The 20 small parties contesting the elections included the Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party (PNBKI), the Regional Unity Party (PPD), the Independence Party, the Patriot Party, the Ulema National Awakening Party (PKNU) and the Indonesian Workers and Employers Party (PPPI).

Observing the poor performance of their parties in 10 regencies, the witnesses, mostly provincial chairpersons, protested over alleged systemic manipulation of the April 9 legislative elections.

In contrast, witnesses from leading parties remained calm throughout the meeting.

PNBKI's Rudi Sapulete said the 20 parties agreed the legislative elections were conducted unfairly, due to the flawed voter lists they claimed benefited certain parties.

He said it was useless to continue the vote counting and the upcoming presidential election as the General Elections Commission (KPU) had failed to resolve the "systematic manipulation" of the voter list and corollary problems.

"It is better to skip the presidential election and just appoint the incumbent President for the next five years," he said after walking out of the plenary meeting.

Until Thursday, only 10 of 28 regencies and municipalities, including Trenggalek, Jember, Pacitan, Nganjuk and Gresik, had delivered the vote tabulation results to the provincial polling body.

Despite the walkout, the KPUD continued the vote counting in the presence of the major parties' witnesses.

Arief Budiman, a member of the provincial polling body, said the walkout had no impact on the results of the vote count. "They walk-out or they stay at the plenary session, the results of the vote count will remain valid, because they have been carried out in accordance with the 2008 general election law," he said.

However, he regretted the walkout which he said showed disdain for democracy and lacked political maturity. "Parties contesting the election have the right to reject signing the election results; however they are required to do so before the vote count is announced."

According to vote tallies from Pacitan, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party temporarily dominated in his home regency. Pacitan totaled 190,713 votes for SBY's party, inclusive of votes for other Democratic Party legislative candidates.

His son, Edhie Baskoro, won 113,265 votes, contesting a seat at the House of Representatives, in his electoral district in Ngawi, Pacitan and Trenggalek. His fellow Democratic Party candidate, Ramadhan Pohan, gained 11,085 votes.

Heri Achmadi and Hasto Kristiyanto, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), gained 5,576 and 1,574 votes respectively.

Police reject report from human rights group

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Police dismissed Wednesday a report citing alleged manipulations in the final voter lists used for the April 9 legislative elections.

The report was filed by the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), representing 262 eligible voters from Jakarta and its outskirts. Those voters lost their right to vote because they were not registered on the lists.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Untung Yoga Ana confirmed his office rejected the report but declined to elaborate. The National Police previously said they were not authorized to probe into any kind of procedural violations in the elections' administration.

Responding to the rejection, PBHI's Jakarta chapter head Hendrik Sirait said the refusal would not stop them from exploring other legal avenues.

"We will make another move in the immediate future, such as filing a citizen lawsuit with the Central Jakarta District Court this Thursday. One thing is certain. We will keep pushing this issue to the surface and putting pressure on the government to solve this problem," Hendrik told The Jakarta Post later in the day.

He said the residents were currently angry, as they were aware their reports had not been properly responded to. "Some of them even want to hit the neighborhood units if they find their names are not registered as voters for the presidential elections," Hendrik added.

Separately, the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chief patron and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto voiced similar concerns over the voter list problem. He said a request from parties to access the fixed voter list had also been refused by the General Elections Commission (KPU), citing "baseless reasons".

"Why should the voter list be hidden from us? We demand the government immediately fix the current voter list, because it could endanger the upcoming presidential elections," said Prabowo, after attending a meeting at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's Menteng residence Wednesday.

Prabowo came to the meeting with several party figures, mostly former army generals. Ex-army chief of staff Gen. (ret.) Subagio HS, PDI-P legislator Let. Gen. (Ret) Sidarto Dhanusubroto and Maj. Gen. (Ret) Adang Ruchiatna were also on the guest list.

Prabowo said the meeting concentrated on the flawed voter lists. "We are not talking about coalitions right now," he said.

Government/civil service

SBY-Kalla rivalry over presidency will 'ruin administration'

Jakarta Post - April 24, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora and Dicky Kristanto, Jakarta – The breakdown of ties between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his deputy Jusuf Kalla will undoubtedly impact on the remaining six months of their administration, political observers said Thursday.

The SBY-JK government will end its five-year term on Oct. 20 this year, but the two have already opted to go separate ways.

Political experts said the decision by Kalla to challenge Yudhoyono in the July 8 presidential election would negatively impact on their personal relationship and ultimately affect the performance of their Cabinet members.

"It cannot be denied that they will focus most on their respective campaigns to win the presidential election rather than on their daily state duties," said political analyst Maswadi Rauf from the University of Indonesia (UI).

He said the commitment made by both Yudhoyono and Kalla to fully continue running the government until October was only "lip service". Maswadi advised Kalla to resign as vice president for the sake of the nation and to allow him time to promote his presidential bid.

"If possible, it would be even better for Jusuf Kalla to resign from his current position and start focusing on his candidacy," he said. "There will be hesitation and awkwardness between Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla from now on. Thus the effectiveness of the current administration will be less than optimal over the next six months," Maswadi said.

Ibramsyah, another political observer from UI, said both Yudhoyono and Kalla would be very busy meeting with their party members to devise strategies to win the election. "It cannot be avoided. The presidential candidates will be spending time every day attending internal meetings relating to the candidacy."

He said the two candidates would also be traveling across the country to garner support in the lead up to the elections. "We can see from the recent legislative elections. Pak Yudhoyono specifically traveled to East Java for his Democratic Party's campaign immediately upon returning from Thailand," Ibramsyah said.

Reform Institute director of research and development Abdul Hamid shared similar views, saying the image of this current administration would never be the same following Kalla's presidential bid. Hamid similarly suggested that Kalla should resign from his vice presidential post for the interest of the nation and to focus on his presidential campaign.

"Golkar should build a coalition with the PDI-P (the Indonesian Demoratic Party of Struggle) in order to become a strong contender against the incumbent.

"If this moment is wasted then we are going to see a strong administration later on without proper monitoring from the parliament," he said.

The soured relationship between Yudhoyono and Kalla was evident Thursday when the vice president failed to attend a Cabinet meeting shortly after Golkar decided to cease its coalition with the Democratic Party.

According to some Yudhoyono aides in the Cabinet, Kalla had confirmed his plan to attend the meeting to discuss preparations for the World Ocean Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi.

However, the Media Indonesia daily newspaper reported Thursday that Kalla canceled his plans to attend the meeting after one of his aides was informed by Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi that his absence would not be an issue if he was preoccupied with the party.

Political clash will not affect economic policies: Minister

Jakarta Post - April 24, 2009

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The political uncertainty following Golkar Party's decision to abandon a nearly five years coalition with the Democratic Party will not affect the government's economic policies, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani says.

"This government will continue the programs, which will not be affected (by the political conditions) as all minister have mechanisms to run the programs," Mulyani told reporters Friday.

Mulyani was responding to businessmen' worries that the government might not focus in implementing economic programs due to the current political conditions.

Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla, incumbent vice president, decided to run for presidency in the coming election after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also founder of Democratic Party, demanded Golkar to propose more candidates besides Kalla as his potential running mate.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) said Thursday businesses were extremely cautious about the final outcome of the breakup.

Both Kadin and Apindo called on Yudhoyono and Kalla not to get distracted from directing their ministers in running the economy.

"For economic programs in general we will see the conditions and dynamics from the economic side. I think all this time there hasn't been any effect (from politics) to the focus and jobs of minister," Mulyani added.

Foreign affairs

US sees Indonesia as key ally in evolving new foreign policy

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – US President Barack Obama's 100-day- old administration has "re-energized US foreign policy with a fresh diplomatic approach" in a movement that "re-established the leadership" of the super power amid global tensions, a spokesman for the Indonesian president said.

Spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said on Wednesday Indonesia holds the new US administration in high regard, but added it might be too soon to define political achievements made under the pledge of "soft diplomacy" toward Arab nations.

"It takes a lot more time (than 100 days) to deliver and achieve. It's not fair to judge what Obama has achieved in such a short time," Dino said in a discussion held to mark the first 100 days of the Obama presidency at Pelita Harapan University in Tangerang.

Obama was sworn in as the first black president of the United States on Jan 20, inheriting two wars and a major economic crisis from George W. Bush administration.

Dino said although it supports many US foreign imperatives, Indonesia has remained cautious toward many issues and has been at odds with Washington in certain circumstances.

Indonesia condemned the Iraq war, launched by the US in 2003 over accusations that Baghdad had developed weapons of mass destruction.

Jakarta has also remained sceptical of the West's claims that both Iran and North Korea have secretly developed nuclear weapons, saying Jakarta's position over possible sanctions would be based on the reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the revival of six party talks.

"From the start, we need to have a clear and good idea of US foreign policy in a way that will serve Indonesian interests the best," Dino said.

Bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United States have focused much on the cooperation to fight terrorism and enhance democracy, especially after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.

A military embargo by the US administration, issued over concerns of human rights abuses in Timor Leste and Papua, was waived in 2005 when president George W. Bush took office, with his administration citing improvement in human rights.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume said the United States could not solve the global economic and security issues alone and would need partnership from democracies around the world.

"Indonesia is a stable democracy that is in the middle of an election season remarkably free of serious problems. America and Indonesia share a future," he told the seminar.

He said Indonesia, as a fellow member of the G 20, has a critical role to play in addressing this crisis. Indonesia is also a key partner in the Muslim world "to promote democracy, tolerance and peace throughout Southeast Asia and beyond."

Jakarta and Washington have agreed to develop a comprehensive partnership that will include a grant for poverty reduction programs and cooperation on education, maritime security and peacekeeping missions.

Azyumardi Azra, professor of history at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said the United States would continue to define its policy towards Indonesia with an emphasis on the war against terrorism, as Washington would need Indonesia as a partner in approaching the Arab world.

"Indonesia will see itself involved more with the US in solving Middle East conflicts in the future, in addition to its own efforts to help addressing it."

"Indonesia is the world's biggest Muslim majority country and the third largest democracy. Obama wants Indonesia to play the intermediary role because of our special stature in the international stage," said Azyumardi.

Economy & investment

Liberalization of Indonesian railway industry is on track

Jakarta Post - April 30, 2009

Benget Besalicto Tnb., Jakarta – The government is pushing liberalization of the railway sector by drafting a regulation on the separation of track management and train service businesses, opening up to private sector participation.

Tunjung Inderawan, the director general of railways at the Transportation Ministry, said Wednesday his ministry had presented a draft regulation to the president for approval.

The draft regulates the separation of track management and train services, and the establishment of a new agency to manage the tracks.

"Once the government regulation is effective, then we'll initiate a transitional period for three years before we proceed with taking over the business of railroad operations from state-owned PT Kereta Api and giving it to a new company that we'll set up later," he said.

The regulation will be the follow-up to a law enacted in 2007, which mandated the liberalization of the railway industry in the country.

Under article 214, the ministry is required to reform the state- owned sole railway operator PT Kereta Api by conducting a total audit and financial audit, improving its public service obligation (PSO), and improving its human resources, also auditing its pension fund totaling Rp 8 trillion.

"After finalizing all of these [steps]required by the Law, we then proceed with setting up a new company to manage the railway tracks. Only by doing this can we improve the safety of train transportation and invite the private sector to participate in the business," he said.

He added that by implementing this separation the government will be implementing the principle of open access with multi operators.

"Currently, PT KA still controls both the railway tracks and train services. There are private firms operating the train services but only to a small extent and they are very dependent on KA for using the tracks."

"Giving the business of railway track [management] to the new company is the basic requirement for creating fair competition. It will then be possible to provide equal treatment to all players wanting to enter the business," he said.

He said in future, private investors could enter the track management business or the train services business. He pointed as an example to the Manggarai-Cengkareng Airport railway development project.

"We'll conduct a re-tender of the project early next month with seven participating companies," he said.

The government has to re-tender the project as six of the seven firms participating in the tender had not presented their necessary documents on time. Among the participants were Alstom of France, and Mitsui and Sumitomo from Japan.

With only PT Railink, a consortium of PT KA and PT Angkasa Pura, left to participate in the tender, then the government was left with no option but to re-tender the project next month.

"If they [private firms] don't participate in next month's tender, we'll decide to take over the project. We'll get an allocation of funds from the state budget in 2010," he said.

He noted the issuance of the new regulation should kick-start the government's program to revitalize the railways.

"For the revitalization program we actually need a total of about Rp 150 trillion until the year 2020 or between Rp 12 and Rp 15 trillion per year. But as our state budget is limited we need the participation of private investors to take part in the business," he said.

Political winds behind increase in 2009 ad spending

Jakarta Globe - April 28, 2009

Dian Ariffahmi – Political campaigning is being credited with a surge in advertising spending, with figures released on Tuesday showing that total advertising spending in the first quarter of 2009 jumped by 19 percent to Rp 10.36 trillion ($950.4 million) compared with the same period in 2008.

The increased advertising placement, however, did not always translate into success at the polls.

According to the Nielsen Media survey, the Golkar Party, headed by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, and its candidates placed the most advertisements – 15,285 – but still managed to see its popularity drop from more than 20 percent of the popular vote garnered during the 2004 general elections to less than 15 percent this time around.

By way of contrast, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and its individual candidates purchased 11,055 ads and saw their support increase from 7.5 percent in 2004 to more than 20 percent in 2009.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, headed by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, placed a total of 7,284 advertisements, but the party's popularity shrunk from 18 percent in 2004 to about 14 percent in 2009, according to the General Elections Commission's marathon vote count.

The Nielsen survey was calculated based on 102 newspaper titles, 163 magazine and tabloid titles and 19 television stations. Broadcasters had the highest media ad spending share with 60 percent followed by newspapers at 36 percent and magazine and tabloids at 4 percent. Radio stations were not included in the survey.

However, the Nielsen figures do not measure how much money different parties spent on different ads or the sophistication of their campaigns.

Known big spender, Prawbowo Subianto's startup Gerindra Party only came in seventh in terms of ad quantity at 3,864 ads, after the National Mandate Party, or PAN (5,564), the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS (4,221), and Wiranto's Hanura Party (3,880). Gerindra won 5 percent of the vote this year, mostly based on its expensive prime-time TV ads.

Nielsen executive Maika Randini said on Tuesday that she expected political ad spending to continue to increase by up to 19 percent in the second quarter in the run up to the July presidential election.

"During the presidential campaign, political parties will still use advertising in both print and electronic media as their campaign tools to raise people's awareness and gain their sympathy," Maika said.

Manufacture may expand faster in second quarter: Minister

Jakarta Post - April 28, 2009

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The manufacturing sector may expand faster in the second quarter from a quarter earlier as firms start producing more than in the first quarter, with the economic growth getting back on track.

"I see in the second quarter the manufacturing sector may be better... (In) the first quarter (the sector slowed) as a reaction to the fourth quarter of 2008 when demand nose-dived, causing producers to halt production," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Monday.

The global economic crisis and downturn hit Indonesia strongly in October last year, with the Indonesian financial market being the hardest hit among the Asian countries. The sentiment then spread to the real sector, in which manufacturers responded by cutting production as global demand was weakening – eventually hitting jobs.

But in the first quarter, consumption proved to be resilient, fueling the economy to expand by an estimated 4.6 percent, according to the central bank and Finance Ministry.

"If purchasing power remains strong, as did consumption in the first quarter, then they (manufacturers) will begin to see a decline in their stocks, making them start producing goods again," said Mulyani.

She added that the rise in car sales and electricity consumption by industries in March as compared to the previous months this year showed the economy had started moving again, supported by still-high purchasing power.

According to the Finance Ministry, electricity consumption in industries in March rose 2 percent from February. In the last three-month period of 2008, power consumption in industries had contracted by 3 percent.

The central bank has estimated that the manufacturing sector may expand 2 percent this year as compared to the 3.7 percent growth it recorded last year.

The manufacturing sector and the mining sector are forecast to show the sharpest declines this year, while transportation and communications should only slow slightly.

However, Mandiri Sekuritas chief economist Destry Damayanti said the manufacturing sector would still have difficulties to "grow normally" in the second quarter as demand has not yet fully recovered.

"Global demand is still low, affecting export-oriented industries; domestic demand is also low as people's purchasing power weakens; and bank loans have not recovered, reducing company activities. (These factors) make the growth of the country's manufacturing sector somewhat hesitant," she said.

She added the sector might grow by as little as 1.5 percent this year, less than the central bank's estimate.

Growth in the manufacturing sector, with labor-intensive factories, is crucial to help avoid further layoffs and to keep growth in unemployment and poverty in check.

On the demand side, the government has been trying to bolster the capacity of the domestic market to generate demand, at a time when the export outlook remains depressed, to keep the economy going well.

The central bank has said the economy may expand by 3 percent to 4 percent in 2009, down from 6.1 percent growth last year.

Mulyani said the economy could grow higher than that. "I still think a range of between 3 percent and 4 percent is too low. I think it will be between 4 percent and 4.5 percent".

Previously, Mulyani had said that, as exports and investments continued to drop, economic growth in the second and third quarter might likely be slower than the 4.6 percent booked in the first three-month period. But the economy would start picking up again in the last quarter of the year. Now it seems there might be some earlier signs of recovery.

Manufacturers to improve this quarter: Minister

Jakarta Post - April 27, 2009

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Growth in the manufacturing sector may be better in the second quarter this year as companies start producing again after seeing a still-high consumption growth in the first quarter, the Ministry of Finance says.

"I see that in the second quarter the manufacturing industry may be better... The first quarter was a reaction to the fourth quarter of 2008 as demand sharply declined so that manufacturers halted production," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Monday.

"But if purchasing power remains strong, they [manufacturers] will see that stocks are declining so they will start to produce goods again," she added.

The government expects the economy to expand between 4 percent and 4.5 percent this year, down from 6.1 percent last year.

Companies to spend less on capital: Survey

Jakarta Post - April 27, 2009

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – Forty five local firms have been surveyed on this year's business operations amid the continuing global downturn, and the result is hardly a surprise – more than half of them plan a cut in proposed capital spending.

While there are some companies that will boost capital expenditure sharply, overall company capital expenditure will go down by an average of 14.6 percent from a year earlier.

The survey by PT Mandiri Sekuritas released over the weekend shows that capital spending of 45 Indonesian firms in 14 sectors will fall to US$8.26 billion down from $9.6 billion in 2008.

This is a significant drop compared to the previous year, when capital expenditure of these companies surged 93 percent compared to 2007.

In the 2009 survey, the two specific companies surveyed in the construction sector were hardest hit by slowing economic growth, slashing capital expenditure by 94.8 percent to $27 million down from $524 million recorded in 2008.

In 2008, the capital expenditure of these same companies had surged 8,635 percent, as compared to 2007, showing huge volatility reflecting global economic conditions.

In contrast however, other companies operating in sectors heavily linked to construction such as toll roads, property development and building material firms showed an opposite trend, planning to spend even bigger this year.

Toll road firms will boost capital expenditure this year by a whopping 309 percent to $409 million, property firms by 217 percent to $318 million and and building material firms by 150 percent to $448 million.

Capital expenditure increases for these companies, according to the survey, reflects government plans to speed up infrastructure projects to stimulate economic growth to help cushion the impacts of the global economic slowdown.

Of the total Rp 73.3 trillion ($6.63 billion) in its stimulus economy package, the government will disburse Rp 12.2 trillion for infrastructure projects - in addition to more than Rp 90 trillion of similar projects already allocated in the 2009 state budget, in the hopes of stimulating the economy.

All in all, the Mandiri survey suggests no one can escape from the economic slowdown, with most local companies being conservative on business expandion in anticipation of continuing impacts from the global economic crisis.

Among these are the surveyed telecommunications firms, which will cut their budgets by 15 percent this year to $3.7 billion.

Plantation and energy companies, which enjoyed soaring commodity prices last year, are cutting capital expenditure by 30 percent and 25 percent respectively, to $159 million and $1.35 billion, respectively.

Other sectors where companies are cutting back include chemicals (85 percent) and heavy equipment (28.5 percent).

Meanwhile, companies focusing on consumer needs will slightly increase capital expenditure this year, by 4 percent, up to $325 million than in 2008. With its stimulus economic package, the government still targets the economy to grow at between 4 and 4.5 percent this year, lower than the 6.1 percent recorded in 2008.

First-quarter rubber exports plunge 32 percent by volume

Bloomberg - April 24, 2009

Yoga Rusmana – Exports of natural rubber from Indonesia, the second-biggest grower, plunged 32 percent by volume in the first quarter in a bigger reduction than targeted by the country's industry association.

Shipments fell 197,500 metric tons to 418,000 tons in the three months from a year ago, Suharto Honggokusumo, executive director of the Indonesian Rubber Association, said today. Indonesia planned to cut first-quarter exports by 116,000 tons.

Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's three biggest producers, agreed in December to reduce shipments by a combined 700,000 tons to help revive prices, which have been hammered by the global recession.

"Farmers not only reduced tapping, but some even totally stopped work because of low prices," Honggokusumo said by phone. Low shipments may continue in the second quarter on weak demand from tire manufacturers, he said, without giving a forecast.

Rubber futures have slumped about 47 percent over the past year as the global economic crisis forced automakers including Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest, to reduce output. The September delivery contract was at 155.1 yen a kilogram ($1,588 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at the 11 a.m. local time break.

Timber industry facing stringent EU import rules

Jakarta Globe - April 25, 2009

Teguh Prasetyo & Dian Ariffhami – The European Union has taken a firm step against illegal logging by adopting stricter certification rules on timber sold within the bloc's markets, which could have far-reaching implications for Indonesia's timber industry.

According to EU lawmakers, all actors in the timber supply chain must be responsible for ensuring that illegally sourced wood does not find its way to the EU market. Two years after the regulation enters into force, member states would have to ensure that all timber products in the market are properly labeled.

The stricter requirements could affect the country's timber exports, which last year reached $1.2 billion. The nation's producers could face problems because certified timber products are generally more expensive on the international market.

Nevertheless, Indonesian exporters have begun to certify their products through surveyor companies.

"We have received more demands for certification from timber companies recently, in line with their greater need to comply with quality control and other requirements such as eco-labeling imposed by the European Union and the United States," Supriyanto, senior manager of the forestry and environment department of certification consultant Sucofindo, said on Friday.

Supriyanto said stricter controls on timber products had been imposed by the EU and the United States to ensure that imported timber products come from sustainably developed forests.

Ambar Tjahyono, chairman of the Furniture Industry and Handicrafts Association, or Asmindo, on Friday said the group welcomed higher standards.

"So far there are few exporters who have finished the certification process with surveyor companies due to stricter requirements and the long process of certification and labeling," he said.

Ambar said he hoped the stricter controls would not seriously hurt the timber and furniture industries because buyers outside the EU and the United States were seeking cheap timber.

"Timber sold without certificates in overseas markets is mostly cheaper than those with certificates and labeling," he said.

Indonesia 'the most confident country' in facing crisis

Jakarta Post - April 24, 2009

Jakarta – Indonesia boasts the highest consumer confidence index in the world, a survey by the Nielsen Company shows, effectively brushing off any threat to economic activities here from the global economic crisis.

The survey, revealed Thursday, showed Indonesia topped Nielsen's global consumer confidence index with 104 points, followed by Denmark (102 points) and India (99 points). The lowest score goes to Korea and Portugal, with 31 and 48 index points, respectively.

"Indonesia is the most confident country in facing the global crisis," the Nielsen executive director of customer research, Catherine Eddy, said during the announcement of the survey.

The latest biannual Nielsen Consumer Confidence survey, conducted between March 19 and April 2 and involving interviews with 25,140 regular Internet respondents from 50 countries, showed that global consumer confidence had plummeted to a new record low in the past six months. The index fell 7 points, down from 84 to 77, according to the latest survey.

"We interviewed Internet users, whom most of whom are well- educated and have middle- to upper-income jobs," Eddy said. "We found most Indonesian respondents were highly optimistic in facing the crisis."

She added 86 percent of 533 Indonesian respondents were very optimistic with local job prospects within the next 12 months, while only 9 percent felt uncertain with their job security.

"Indonesians also perceive they can keep buying the things they want and need, even during the global crisis," Eddy said. "Indonesians are also confident with their personal finances in the years ahead."

The survey revealed 70 percent of Indonesians were optimistic with regard to financial stability.

Despite the optimism, the survey also showed that Indonesians tended to save their money rather than spend it during the crisis. "Our survey discovered 67 percent of Indonesian respondents put their cash into savings," Eddy pointed out.

She added the respondents were not holding back entirely from spending. They also still spent their money for good bargains. "They like to spend their money for certain materials, which would benefit some companies during the economic crisis," she said.

The survey showed 29 percent of Indonesians liked to spend their money on new technology products, while 25 percent spent money on holidays Twenty percent spent money on outdoor entertainment, 17 percent on house redecorating, and 44 percent on investment in shares or stocks.

"Actually there was a significant drop in the investment sector," Eddy said. "In the second half of 2008, 50 percent of the Indonesians interviewed invested their money in stock funds."

She added the global crisis had already influenced Indonesians to be more careful in investing.

"Surprisingly, the demand to purchase new clothes is still similar to that in the second half of 2008 and first half of 2009," she said. "About 17 percent Indonesian respondents still like to buy clothes," she added. (naf)

Recovery depends on US, probably in 1st quarter of 2010

Jakarta Post - April 23, 2009

Mustaqim Adamrah and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's economic recovery will depend heavily on how reforms in the US and Europe manage to lift them out of the worst downturn in decades, a minister says.

"We know the first and second quarters of this year will be the most affected by the impacts of the global [economic] crisis," acting Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Wednesday.

"Unless the financial and banking systems in Europe and the United States are fixed, there's a chance the economy will continue to weaken until the first quarter of 2010."

However, Mulyani said if positive sentiments continued in the third quarter of this year, "there is a chance for recovery to start in the second semester [of this year]".

Mismanagement of financial policies and the banking system in the United States has been blamed for triggering the crisis, which has dragged other countries down with it.

But even during this time of crisis, Indonesia's economy fared relatively better than those of its neighbors, with some Asian countries even plunging into a deep recession.

The Finance Ministry predicted Indonesia's economy grew 4.6 percent in the first quarter, thanks to continued robust domestic consumption amid slumping exports and foreign direct investment. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the economy grew between 4.6 and 4.8 percent in the first quarter.

"We need to be thankful, as our economy is faring better than we previously thought. We came third after China and India [in the Asian region in terms of economic growth]," Yudhoyono said. "We hope the [economic] growth will reach 4.5 percent throughout the year."

Turning to next year, the government is upbeat economic growth will pick up speed. In addition to an estimated recovery in the global economy, the higher growth will also be attributable to another round of stimulus spending.

State Minister for National Development Planning Paskah Suzetta confirmed Wednesday that another stimulus would be on the cards for next year to further bolster the economy. The stimulus funds could reach "up to Rp 21 trillion [US$1.98 billion]".

The figure is lower than what the government had set aside for this year's elections. Since there will be no elections next year, "that same amount of fund will be used for the stimulus, as well as for weaponry and programs for the empowerment of people living in rural areas," he told reporters.

The budget allocation for weaponry will be Rp 1 trillion, while for the empowerment programs it will be Rp 4 trillion, he added. Additional funds for weaponry will be obtained from domestic borrowing.

Mulyani said the economy might grow by between 5 and 6 percent next year. "The government will create clear policies to spark confidence so that the economy is seen as being managed coherently," she said. "This is a crucial year, and hopefully next year we can recover from the global financial crisis."

The stimulus will be used to raise people's purchasing power and develop labor-intensive programs. A further round of tax cuts for corporations, from 28 percent this year to 25 percent next year, is also expected to spur growth.

That will make state tax revenue grow "moderately" by 14 percent, she added.

Analysis & opinion

Setting Indonesia's history straight

Jakarta Globe - April 29, 2009

Armando Siahaan – On March 28, 2007, hundreds of protesters under the umbrella of Gerakan Anti-Komunis, or the Anti-Communist Movement, arrived at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in South Jakarta aboard Metromini buses.

They had come to publicly denounce the institute for allegedly seeking to revive communism in Indonesia, an ideology that President Suharto sought to wipe out in the late-1960s when he introduced to the country what was later to become known as the New Order. There was one particular person the demonstrators were looking for: Asvi Warman Adam.

Recalling the day in his cozy home in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, Asvi did not see the incident as discouraging.

"A lot of groups oppose what I have been doing," said the 54-year-old historian, who still sometimes receives late-night phone calls threatening his wife and children. "That means my work has made an impact."

The protesters demanded that Asvi discontinue his efforts to correct mistakes in the version of Indonesian history that is widely accepted and taught in state schools.

Following the fall of Suharto in 1998, Asvi dedicated himself to the intellectual movement he calls pelurusan sejarah, or the straightening of history.

He believes the ruling powers have attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for the past by presenting untruthful accounts as historical fact. "Indonesian history was written uniformly by men in uniform," Asvi said.

In what he terms the militarization of history, Asvi said the New Order regime wrote and controlled the version of Indonesian history that is conveyed through school textbooks, national monuments and museums.

Asvi saw the breakdown of the authoritarian regime in May 1998 as an opportunity to create a more accurate, scholarly and impartial picture of Indonesian history, a process that he considers to be an essential part of the democratization of the country.

"By having more than one understanding of history, people can debate and discuss which version makes more sense. This helps in forming a critical and democratic society," he said.

Asvi has written numerous books, articles and essays debunking the New Order regime's accounts of historic events, particularly the circumstances surrounding the unsuccessful coup of Sept. 30, 1965, which led to the political demise of the founding president, Sukarno.

The New Order said the coup was orchestrated by the Indonesian Communist Party, using that to justify an anti-Communist purge in which more than half a million people may have been killed.

"The 1965 incident was a watershed in Indonesia's history," Asvi said. "Looking at it politically, economically, and culturally, it brought about drastic and fundamental changes."

The official account of the 1965 coup is a salient example of the way in which Suharto used history to condone his iron-fisted rule, Asvi said.

For years, he said, the coup was used to awaken a fear of "the enemy," meaning anyone who opposed the government. "History was merely used to legitimize his [Suharto's] accession to power and consolidate his rule," Asvi said.

His books include "Suharto Sisi Gelap Sejarah Indonesia" (Suharto, the Dark Side of Indonesian History), "Seabad Kontroversial Sejarah" (A Decade of Controversial History) and "Membongkar Manipulasi Sejarah" (Unraveling History's Manipulation).

Earlier this year, Kompas published an anthology of articles Asvi has written for the newspaper. It has so far sold more than 10,000 copies.

Events in Indonesian history that Asvi is currently re-examining include the attack on Dutch troops in Yogyakarta on March 1, 1949, and the Jan. 15, 1974, Malari incident – abbreviated from Malapetaka Lima Belas January, or the Tragedy of January 15th – in which Suharto's men quashed a mass student protest, turning it into a bloody riot.

In June, Asvi will be a speaker at a conference, titled "The Indonesian Killings Revisited, 1965-66," at the National University of Singapore, joining renowned Indonesianists such as Robert Cribb, Anthony Reid and Kate McGregor in the largest meeting of scholars on the subject.

In much of his work, Asvi not only refutes the New Order's version of events, but also looks at history from the point of view of victims.

"History cannot be written just by the winners, we should also give the other side a chance," said Asvi, referring to the victims of the 1965-66 anti-Communist violence.

In terms of the people's reaction to his sort of struggle, Asvi believes that he has seen significant progress since the advent of the reform era.

"For 32 years, there was a taboo against questioning the government's version of history," Asvi said. "Now they're being offered something unheard of. Society wants to know what has been kept hidden from them."

Asvi did not begin his academic career as a historian. He graduated from the University of Indonesia in 1980 with a degree in French literature and, after a short stint working as a sports journalist for Sportif magazine, became a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in 1983. A year later, he was invited to teach Indonesian language at a university in Paris.

It was in France that he became interested in history. Aside from teaching, he decided to pursue a doctorate at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Socialies. Under the tutelage of the renowned Asianist Denys Lombard, Asvi spent six years writing a dissertation on the relationship between the Dutch East Indies and Indochina during the colonial era.

In 1990, he came home to reassume his position at the institute of sciences. Six years later, Masyarakat Sejarawan Indonesia, or the Indonesian Historians Community, designated him as the head of education affairs.

When Suharto abdicated in 1998, Asvi was contacted by newspapers, academics and members of the public, who challenged him to re- examine the New Order version of Indonesian history.

That same year he was invited by a Christian group – a group of men and women in their 60s and 70s –to speak to victims and survivors of the anti-Communist purge of 1965-66.

"They asked me to tell them about the September 30 Movement," he recalled. "At the end of the lecture, you could see that sorrow was not the only thing emanating from them. They were very eager to know what actually happened."

After he delivered his speech, some of the victims came up to him and gave him about Rp 30,000 in rumpled notes, collected by the victims, thanking him for his willingness to share his thoughts with them.

"It was a moment when I felt like I had to help them," he said. "For victims like them, the straightening of history is a healing process. Not a single day passes when I don't think about them."

Asvi said that determining the identities of the masterminds of the 1965 coup was secondary to doing something about the impact of the suppression that followed, which has had an inter- generational impact.

"I have a friend, a political analyst," he said. "After decades of knowing him, only recently did he reveal to me that both of his parents were [exiled during the 1960s].

"Millions of people had to hide their true identities due to their association with a communist past."

Before he met the victims, Asvi said, his journey into the world of history was merely for academic purposes. But for the past 10 years, he has written his articles with empathy for the victims of a dark chapter in Indonesian history.

"History should no longer be exploited as an instrument of oppression. It should be utilized as a means of liberation," Asvi said.

Turbulence hits Indonesian market

Jakarta Post Editorial - April 27, 2009

Jakarta Post – The steady rise of Indonesia's share price index and the rupiah immediately after the April 9 legislative election suddenly reversed into a decline last Thursday after the breakup of the coalition between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's (SBY) Democratic Party and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's Golkar Party.

The market was buoyed by the upbeat sentiment after quick counts of votes showed an impressive performance by Yudhoyono's party. Foreign portfolio investment (capital) returned in big sums to the financial market as investors rested assured that the incumbent government would rule again with even stronger confidence thanks to broader support in parliament.

However, this sense of certitude and policy predictability seemed to evaporate after the Golkar Party decided to nominate Kalla for president, competing against Yudhoyono in the July 8 presidential election.

Businesspeople are greatly concerned about the running of the government within the next few months, since both the incumbent President and Vice President are now gearing up for their upcoming fight.

There are questions about policy coordination and decision making within the Cabinet. There are big concerns over the risks of the government turning into a lame-duck administration at a time when a strong government is especially needed to cope with the adverse impact of the global economic crisis.

Yet more worrisome is the fear that the SBY-Kalla rivalry would also adversely affect the important legislative agenda as the Golkar faction in parliament may suddenly turn itself into an opposition party. Even before the split between the two parties, inertia had virtually enveloped the House of Representatives as many of its members lost in the recent legislative elections.

Only statesmanship qualities on the part of SBY and Kalla would be able to minimize the risks of political instability and keep the wheels of public administration running smoothly until the new government is installed in late October.

The SBY-Kalla administration has brought about fairly impressive achievements in virtually all fields since it took over the government in October, 2004. They have laid down stronger foundations for the economy, introduced an impressive set of reform measures in various areas and staged a strong anti- corruption drive.

We don't think SBY or Kalla is so ignorant as to not realize the big risks of political uncertainty and economic debacle we are facing within the next few months.

It is therefore most imperative and urgent for both SBY and Kalla to see to it that their coalition will continue in both the executive and legislative branches within the next few months until the new government is installed.

The manner in which both SBY and Kalla manage their rivalry within the government in the run-up to the upcoming presidential election will also determine the quality of their leadership in the eyes of voters. Hence, their chances in the election.

We need an even stronger administration to put all the fiscal stimulus to work at pump priming, especially now as the economic situation is highly vulnerable to the fallout from the global financial crisis.

Both leaders should ensure that their coalition at the House will continue as there are several important economic bills that urgently need enactment, including those regarding the financial safety net, value added and luxury sales tax and the 2010 draft state budget.

Indonesia's voters retreat from radical Islam

New York Times - April 24, 2009

Norimitsu Onishi, Jakarta – From Pakistan to Gaza and Lebanon, militant Islamic movements have gained ground rapidly in recent years, fanning Western fears of a consolidation of radical Muslim governments. But here in the world's most populous Muslim nation just the opposite is happening, with Islamic parties suffering a steep drop in popular support.

In parliamentary elections this month, voters punished Islamic parties that focused narrowly on religious issues, and even the parties' best efforts to appeal to the country's mainstream failed to sway the public.

The largest Islamic party, the Prosperous Justice Party, ran television commercials of young women without head scarves and distributed pamphlets in the colors of the country's major secular parties. But the party fell far short of its goal of garnering 15 percent of the vote, squeezing out a gain of less than one percentage point over its 7.2 percent showing in 2004.

That was a big letdown for a party and a movement that had grown phenomenally in recent years, even as more radical elements directed terrorist attacks against Western tourists and targets. The party had projected that it would double its share of seats in Parliament even as it stuck to its founding goal of bringing Shariah, or Islamic law, to Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, with 240 million people.

Altogether, the major Islamic parties suffered a drop in support from 38 percent in 2004 to less than 26 percent this year, according to the Indonesian Survey Institute, an independent polling firm whose figures are in keeping with partial official results.

Political experts and politicians attribute the decline to voters' disillusionment with Islamic parties that once called for idealism, but became embroiled in the messy, often corrupt world of Indonesian politics. They also say that the popular president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is expected to be reelected in July, appropriated the largest Islamic party's signature theme of clean government through a far-reaching anticorruption drive.

On a deeper level, some of the parties' fundamentalist measures seem to have alienated moderate Indonesians. While Indonesia has a long tradition of moderation, it was badly destabilized with the end of military rule in 1998, which gave rise to Islamist politicians who preached righteousness and to some hard-core elements, who practiced violence. The country has only recently achieved a measure of stability.

Although final results from the election on April 9 will not be announced until next month, partial official results and exit polls by several independent companies indicate that Indonesians overwhelmingly backed the country's major secular parties, even though more of them are continuing to turn to Islam in their private lives.

"People in general do not feel that there should be an integration of faith and politics," said Azyumardi Azra, director of the graduate school at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University. "Even though more and more Muslims, in particular women, have become more Islamic and have a growing attachment to Islam, that does not translate into voting behavior."

The Islamic parties' 2004 surge occurred around the time that Indonesian terrorists were attacking hotels and nightclubs popular among Westerners, as well as the Australian Embassy here. A growing number of communities were adopting Shariah as some of the smaller, more hard-line Islamic parties also pushed to insert Islamic law in the Constitution.

The hard-line stance, though, was at odds with the attitudes of Indonesians; most of them practice a moderate version of Islam and were attracted to the Islamic parties for non-religious reasons.

In 2004, just two years after its founding, the Prosperous Justice Party came out of nowhere, then joined the coalition government of President Yudhoyono and won several governors' races. Although one of its founding principles is to bring Islamic law to Indonesia, the party attracted middle-class urban voters by emphasizing clean government, anticorruption policies and humanitarian activities.

Once the Islamic parties were in office, their pristine image was tarnished after several of their lawmakers were prosecuted in corruption cases. One member of the Prosperous Justice Party is under investigation in a bribery case.

The parties angered many Indonesians by pressing hard on several symbolic religious issues, like a vague "antipornography" law that could be used to ban everything from displays of partial nudity to yoga. The governor of West Java, a member of the Prosperous Justice Party, tried to ban a dance called jaipong, deeming it too erotic, but many people view it as part of their cultural heritage.

"There are now problems in hotels because they can't serve alcohol," said Jusuf Wanandi, a political analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a policy research group based here. "That's why people started to recognize what they are up to and why the middle class that supported them now have second thoughts."

Ahmad Zainuddin, a lawmaker with the Prosperous Justice Party and one of its founders, acknowledged that support for his party had fallen considerably in the election. Mr. Zainuddin, 42, who had predicted that the party would double its share of the votes, now says that it would be hard pressed to expand its appeal.

"If we emphasize Shariah or religious matters, our supporters will decline, so we should emphasize mostly clean government and anticorruption," he said in an interview at the party's headquarters, whose facade mostly bears images of the party's humanitarian activities and has no references to its religious goals.

But Mr. Zainuddin – who graduated from Lipia, a Saudi-financed university here that promotes Wahhabism, a rigid interpretation of Islam – also believes in the party's founding goal of carrying out Shariah in Indonesia.

The party is now split between those committed to pursuing the party's Islamist goals and those who want to stress good government.

Zulkieflimansyah, 36, a lawmaker with the Prosperous Justice Party, said many younger party members were trying to steer the party away from its Islamist origins and away from older members who were inspired by radical Islamic organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan.

Mr. Zulkieflimansyah, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name, added: "If we are too critical, they will kick us harder than we thought. Or, borrowing an expression from our friends in the United States, don't force a pig to sing. It will not work, and it annoys the pig as well."

Despite the Islamic parties' decline, they remain influential, analysts say. The country's major secular parties, including President Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, have courted them and their supporters. And the Prosperous Justice Party, despite its minor gain of less than one percentage point, is pressing to increase the number of ministers it has in the coalition government to four from three.

"It's still not clear where they stand on many issues like freedom of expression, morality, the place of women," said Ahmad Suaedy, director of the Wahid Institute, a research organization based here. "The agenda of many people inside the party is still to Islamize Indonesia, and that's a constraint on democracy."

Coalition turns collision

Jakarta Post Editorial - April 24, 2009

High tempers were hard to miss on Wednesday as the Golkar Party made a clear move to cut ties after less than five years in its coalition with the Democrat Party.

The announcement came when Golkar was just an inch shy of extending its coalition pact with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party, following intensive lobbying involving top leaders of the two camps over the past week.

That Democrat Party leaders said the partition was "a shock" and "unilateral" suggests the break-up was unimagined, since never in Indonesia's modern history has Golkar refused to take sides with the winner.

It was later revealed that the issue of the vice presidential candidate had caused their negotiations to stall. Golkar had insisted it would nominate only one running mate candidate, who most likely would have been its chairman, Jusuf Kalla, the incumbent Vice President.

Yudhoyono, however, had allegedly requested more than one option – a logical request, but one that analysts say showed Yudhoyono wanted a Golkar candidate other than Kalla.

Previously, Yudhoyono had also dropped hints regarding his disfavor of Kalla when he unveiled five criteria his new running mate needed to fulfill. The collapse of the grand coalition between these two parties – that look certain to claim first and second places in the legislative elections – is indeed cause for some concern. With the presidential election just around the corner, the Democrat Party will have to work extra hard to gather the support it needs to form a coalition that can secure the majority of House seats.

For Yudhoyono, unlike other candidates, the problem is not how to win a re-election, but how to make sure that during his second term in office there will be less of the challenges his administration is currently facing.

Yudhoyono badly needs an effective and stable government for the sake of Indonesia's population of 235 million who are feeling the pinch of the global crisis. An effective government would enhance or at least keep voters' trust in Yudhoyono's party in the 2014 elections, making it easier for him to arrange a smooth succession.

After 11 years of tumultuous reforms, Indonesia is in need of a government that is able to make sure public services are delivered, the rule of law is upheld and democratic exercises do not infringe on the rights of others.

Without a solid bedrock of support in parliament, Yudhoyono's second administration will be no improvement on the current government, as it will have to spend more time trying to survive political ordeals than running the country. Such conditions would easily spark public distrust in democracy, making them vulnerable to temptations from the"good old days". If this happens, the reform movement that began 11 years ago will be remembered as the most regrettable landmark in Indonesian history.

What is more concerning are the adverse impacts of the deteriorating coalition between Yudhoyono and Kalla. The remaining six months will be a most inconvenient period for both of them because they still have to work together while preparing to fight against each other.

National interests will be at stake as relations between the two top leaders are bound to turn sour as they compete against another in the July presidential election. Let's hope both men, who were elected on one ticket in 2004, will have enough statesmanship in them to ensure the nation a safe passage in the transition to the new government.

The PKS's pragmatic adjustment of moderation

Jakarta Post - April 24, 2009

Syahrul Hidayat, Spring Exeter, UK – In the recent election the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) failed to keep up its momentum gained from the 2004 election when it saw a 600 percent increase in votes, to 7.

4 percent of ballots cast. In contrast to its hopes of gaining 20 percent of the vote, several quick count institutions have predicted PKS will only accumulate less than one percent more votes. This relatively stagnant achievement has raised concerns that the party has paid a huge price in its ideology to attract new support.

In this regard, PKS faces a massive challenge to keep up its momentum since it is not a centrist party in terms of its ideological platform and "movement character". The jargon of "partai dakwah" (Propagation Party) describes the specific goal of spreading Islamic ideas of social and political framework of an ideal society upheld by cadres who are trained within the web of network across the country.

As an ideological party with solid political machine resembling the character of a movement, its position in the political spectrum is surely not in the middle. While most of the voters are located in the middle and prefer political parties that offer moderate agenda, transforming the party into a big party is not an easy job. It is believed that ideological party, especially Islamic party, will not reach 10 percent of voters; so that easing the image of a very Islamic party and develop a more friendly image to the potential voters are the most possible alternative.

The conclusion that moderation will give positive result in democratic system is not without any evidence. The success of AKP in Turkey in the last two elections, plus the latest local election even with slight turning down, shows that leaving the pro-Islamic agenda of Erbakan's Refah is more productive in the democratic system.

Even where Islamic party is prohibited in that country, Refah's agenda and jargon were believed to be inspired by Islamic ideas. When Erdogan and other young colleagues chose to leave Erbakan and offered more suitable political agenda for Turkish people and insisted that AKP is a secular party, more people are willing to vote for the party as a centrist party.

Different from AKP, PKS tends to apply pragmatic adjustment of moderation. This type of moderation refers to an ideological party that wants to be a centrist party without giving up its ideology and the party still clearly abides with Islam as its formal ideological basis by persisting the specific term of "partai dakwah."

For an Islamic party like PKS, moving toward the center in democratic system is more problematic. The party will inherit the debates of whether Islam is suitable for democracy or not and also the questions of accepting the idea of nation state with "human made" constitution. Answering the inquiries is crucial and requires decent arguments to convince the plural Indonesian society that PKS is friendly for them.

In facing the 2009 election, in order to penetrate the majority of the middle moderate voters, PKS has tried to soften its ideological stands to acknowledge people's awareness. After easing the ideological image, the party also tolerates some of its campaigns to be more attractive.

Image building through media is also applied by releasing different types of publicity. The most controversial efforts to attract people is putting Soeharto as the nation guru as part of accepting the history of the country wisely along with some of Indonesia's important figures.

To be more Indonesia, the party also introduces the squeal of Merdeka (Freedom) together with Allahu Akbar (Allah the Great) during the state's independence ceremony and acknowledge plurality of Indonesian society by having a national meeting in Bali, a tourist favorite place. As a party that wants to be more Indonesia, building a relationship with all political, social and economic power is acceptable under the idea of building the state together.

Months before the elections, the efforts have raised big concern within the internal PKS itself. Some senior members and some other members, especially in Jakarta, are known to be unenthusiastic with the pragmatic approach and strategy to seek political advantage.

The rise of concern on the way of attracting more people and allowing new ideas of reducing the religious image of the party basically reflects the confusion of the party's moderation image even in front of its cadres.

In this sense, PKS was trapped in the situation of moderating its image while at the same time still having Islam as formal ideological basis. Having Islam means that every program and activity must comply with the principle of Islam and for some cadres tolerating some religious principles in order to raise popularity and political support is part of the violation of the religion itself.

PKS' pragmatic adjustment in moderation process for an Islamic party reflects the problem of defining tolerable aspects of politics and democracy. So far, gaining more centrist voters while maintaining its ideological basis has given two contrasting aspects of having new supporters and losing its "traditional supporters." It will be interesting to see the way the party will be directed, following the popular middle voters' preference or revisiting its basic character. Or they should find their own way to modify the mixture of those two?

[The writer is PhD Student, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK.]

Book/film reviews

Breaking the 40-year silence about the anti-communist purge

Jakarta Globe - April 29, 2009

Lisa Siregar – A feature-length documentary that was shown at the Boston International Film Festival over the weekend is an intergenerational depiction of the 1965-66 anti-Communist purge, in which an estimated 500,000 Indonesians were killed at the hands of the military.

"40 Years of Silence: An Indonesia Tragedy" was shot between 1997 and 2007 on the islands of Bali and Java. The film follows the stories of four people whose parents fell victim to the violence and torture of the military; some even witnessed the executions of their parents.

After keeping their stories to themselves for 40 years, they reveal how they struggled to survive discrimination under Suharto's New Order regime and how those experiences still haunt them today.

Kereta, a Balinese farmer, saw a group of men kill his father with a sword after his own family turned him over to authorities. Lanny, a woman from Central Java, has similar memories and finds peace only in her spirituality. Degung, also from Bali, remembers as a child watching a group of men drag his father away and decapitate him. He was abandoned in Surabaya after his father's death and was raised by sex workers there.

Although Budi was born decades after the killings, he has been harassed and stigmatized by his fellow villagers in Java because his father is an ex-political prisoner. He was eventually put into an orphanage to protect him from the villagers who tore down his family's small home. The young man comes face to face with the villagers who tormented him and tells of his anger and desire for revenge. The director, Robert Lemelson, who is also a trained psychologist, said in a press release that all four of his subjects suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, characterized by frequent nightmares, emotional flooding and hypervigilance.

Degung has focused his energy on political activism, raising awareness of the trauma caused by the mass killings. Lanny focuses on Buddhism to overcome the memories of her father's death. She recounts her childhood, which was spent largely alone as the other children branded her a Communist that couldn't be trusted

Kereta returns to a peaceful life after years of being fearful and wary, also with the image of his father's brutal execution in his mind.

Explanations and opinions from three historians are also included to give a broader political perspective of the purge. Some of Lemelson's sources were at first reluctant to speak.

"It was only after I knew them well that they agreed to speak about their experiences," Lemelson said. "Some feared for their personal safety, but ultimately, they all felt that their stories should be told."

Living in the United States, Lemelson and his crew returned to Indonesia several times over the years to track the everyday lives of the four subjects and to record their psychological progress.

"[This film] took this long to complete because we wanted a long-enough scope in the characters' lives to really track their development," he said.

Lemelson's film is adding to the pool of information slowly being disclosed from a time shrouded in secrecy.

"One of the striking features of the violence under Suharto's regime was the degree to which the government successfully repressed all memorials, remembrances and recollections of the event," he said.

A screening of a rough cut of the film was shown last year at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, but there is no word yet on whether the film will be screened again in Indonesia.