Jakarta – The National Police said on Sunday that a member of the Islamic Students Association (HMI) may be prosecuted for planning to throw shoes at President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Suhardi Alius said the HMI member, Abdul Syukur Oumu, could be charged under the 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law. "Article 29 of the ITE Law stipulates that an individual who intentionally threatens another person faces a sentence of 12 years in prison," Suhardi said as quoted by kompas.com.

At a press conference held on Thursday, Oumu, who led an HMI-sponsored campaign to reject Yudhoyono's administration, said that throwing shoes at the President could be considered a good deed, given the empty statements that Yudhoyono had made in the past weeks. "What's the point of listening to his baloney. For us, throwing shoes at him would be halal," Oumu said.

HMI has been a staunch supporter of ousted Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum during his row with Yudhoyono over control of the party.

Anas led the HMI between 1997 and 1999.

Many former Pancasila Youth now national figures, successful politicians

Tempo.co - March 17, 2013

Munawwaroh, Jakarta – Former Pancasila Youth (PP) chairperson Yorrys Raweyai objects to the bad image sometimes held by the public about the youth organisation PP, which is now more than 50 years old, with the world of thuggery and violence.

"Don't make that mistake, many [public] figures that have 'made good' came from the Pancasila Youth", he told Tempo on Friday March 15.

According to Raweyai, many PP alumni have become 'big people', such as national figures, politicians, businesspeople or other professionals. For example, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono, Constitutional Court judge Akil Mochtar, Democrat Party politician Ruhut Sitompul, and still many others.

"In the DPR [House of Representatives] alone, out of the 560 members, there are around 30 former PP leadership board members", he said.

Raweyai said that this success on the part of many PP figures who became important people is because of the skilled and professional cadreisation of the organisation. All cadres are free to work at and pursue choices in accordance with their wishes.

"They are free to go where they please, it they want to be professionals, politicians, it's up to them" said the Golkar Party politician from West Papua.

There has however been an internal changes within the PP. Particularly post-reformasi [the political reform process that began in 1998] a quite meaningful change has taken place. "In my time it began to change, what was before a battle of wills has now become a battle of wits", he said.

The Pancasila Youth began to recruit young intellectual cadre by bringing them together under the Student and Youth Units (Satma). "Right now this is in process so the public will be able see what the PP is like", he said.

Notes

Pemuda Pancasila (Pancasila Youth) was established by the army in October 1959, ostensibly to uphold the state ideology of Pancasila, but under former president Suharto the organisation became an association of notorious thugs and petty criminals who carried out dirty work on behalf of the regime. The organisation still has close ties with various factions of the military and police, and have been linked to criminal activities such as racketeering and extortion. In recent years the organisation has been involved in a number of violent turf wars with mass organisations such as the Native Jakarta Brotherhood Forum.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

West Papua

Melanesian states strengthen support for West Papuan independence

Tabloid JUBI - March 18, 2013

Jayapura – Melanesian support for the independence of the West Papuan people has always been very strong. For anyone who travels anywhere in Papua New Guinea and the other Melanesian states, they will hear people saying that they fully support West Papua's independence and that West Papua which is separated from PNG by a border is part of the same family, that "we are one all part of the same family".

In the Solomon Islands, Kanaky, Vanuatu and Fiji, people will tell you that Melanesia will not be free until West Papua is free. The people of the Pacific states are acutely aware of the fact that the people of West Papua are living daily under the threat of the gun.

On 6 March, Power Parkop, governor of the National Capital District has clearly nailed his flag to the mast. Speaking before a gathering of around 3,000 people, he declared: "There is no justification in law, religion or morality for Indonesia's occupation of West Papua."

Welcoming the Papuan leader, Benny Wenda who is on a visit to PNG as part of a global tour, he declared: "Wenda will not be arrested while in PNG, no-one will take him into custody, he will be given full freedom. Nothing will be done to stop him and he should feel that he is totally free to say anything that he wants to say. This is his right, which is denied him in West Papua, where he would be arrested, tortured and killed simply because of the different colour of his skin."

Governor Parkop is a member of International Parliamentarians for West Papua which now has members from 56 countries and is conducting a campaign for independence for West Papua. He promised that an office will be set up at City Hall where the Morning Star Flag will be flown. He also promised that Melanesian musicians will support West Papua.

Last year, the Prime Minister of PNG, Peter O'Neil "damaged" relations with Indonesia after reminding his people that they will respond to the state violence which is taking place and the human rights violations that are occurring and the failue of Indonesia's governance in West Papua. Urged on by four thousand women from the Lutheran Church, O'Neil said he is very worried about the human rights violations being committed by the Indonesian government.

Together with the Prime Minister, he is planning to visit Indonesia to present their views to Indonesia about the way to resolve the conflict with West Papua, once and for all.

A well-known political commentator in PNG, Emmanuel Narakobi, spoke on his blog about the multi-faceted approach being taken by Parkop, on how to mobilise public opinion in PNG about West Papua. "This is the first time that I have heard about plans being made with regard to solving the problem of West Papua."

Speaking on the radio, Governor Parkop accused the Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr of failing to handle the issue of West Papua and "trying to sweep it under the carpet." [NB: The Australian foreign minister refused to meet Benny Wenda]

In Vanuatu, the opposition parties have taken strong measures with regard to the question of West Papua and the Anglican Archbishop of Vanuau as well as the priest, James Ligo have called on the government of Vanuatu to change their position on the issue of West Papua.

Recently, Ligo attended the Assembly of Pacific Churches in Honiara in Solomon Islands which adopted a resolution calling on the World Council of Churches to put pressure on the UN to send a team of investigators to Indonesian-occupied Papua.

"We know that Vanuatu has taken a different position (on the question of West Papua), and our government agreed to Indonesia's observer status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group. But at the same time, we are convinced that our churches have the right to continually advocate that our churches will continue to press our states to remind the governments and people about our fears for our brethren in West Papua who continue to suffer daily," said Ligo.

The people of West Papua are organising themselves, not only internally but across the region about their moral indignation at the violence which continues to occur in West Papua.

Prior to the visit of Benny Wenda, a representative of the National Coalition of West Papua for Independence which is based in Vanuatu was granted observer status in the MSG meeting which will take place in June this year 'New Caledonia is another home for Benny Wenda on his long journey for the right to self determination of all Melanesian people.'

In Vanuatu, Benny Wenda won support for all these measures, calling on all opposition groups which hold different opinions to support 'a common agenda for freedom'., and to ensure that a decison for West Papua to attend the MSG meeting as an observer will be adopted.

'In Australia, Bob Carr may try to clamp down on the growing public support for the independence of West Papua, but here in the Melanesian states, everything is moving in the opposite direction.'

[Translated by TAPOL]

Vanuatu opposition wants government to reverse Papua policy

Radio New Zealand International - March 18, 2013

The Vanuatu opposition leader, Edward Natapei, has called on the government to reverse its stance on West Papua ahead of the July summit of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

This comes after a Papuan activist, Benny Wenda, visited Port Vila on a regional tour from his exile in Britain.

Two years ago, Vanuatu's prime minister, Sato Kilman, backed Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Solomon Islands in admitting Jakarta as an MSG observer. Mr Natapei says he wants Mr Kilman to reverse his stance.

"I called on the government to review that decision with a view to admitting West Papua as the member of the MSG and to actually terminate the observer status of the government of Indonesia."

Vanuatu opposition leader, Edward Natapei, says the change should be made during the MSG summit in New Caledonia in July.

TPN in Yapen arrest local Indon police chief for abuses on civilians

West Papua Media - March 18, 2013

Ongoing repression on peaceful dissent and acts of torture on civilians by Indonesian police (Polri) in Yapen has drawn a sharp reaction from West Papuan pro-independence guerrillas, who have captured and carried out an arrest of the local Police chief for human rights abuses committed under his watch.

Details have emerged from the remote island district that the North Yapen Sector Chief of Police (Kapolsek), Bripka (Chief Brigadier) Saimima, was apprehended in Yobi village outside Serui just after 9pm local time on Wednesday March 13 by a small group of men led by local pro-independence West Papua National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional or TPN) commander Ferdinand Worabay.

Local human rights sources have reported that the action, which is being treated as a hostage taking action by Indonesian security forces, was carried out as a lawful arrest under international law for crimes committed under the Kapolsek's command, and is being claimed by TPN sources as a legitimate assertion of both Papuan sovereignty and the rule of law on alleged human rights abusers.

The apprehension of Bripka Saimima was carried in retaliation for his alleged involvement in continual violence against Papuan community members, carried out by Indonesian police officers on duty in the Yapen archipelago, according to TPN spokespeople.

There are unconfirmed reports from local human rights sources that at least 100 heavily armed police have been sent into the area to free Bripka Saimima. It is believed that a tense stand off between the highly mobile guerrillas and heavily armed police and army is continuing, though heavy exchanges of gunfire were reported in the area from 9.15 pm Thursday night (local time).

More unconfirmed reports on March 17 claimed that the Kapolsek has been freed after three days in TPN custody, though further details have yet to surface, and no reports of attacks on civilians have been received at time of writing. Most armed assaults by Indonesian security forces result in significant civilian casualties.

The captured police officer, Saimima, is well known in Yapen for his alleged human rights abuses. Whilst under the command of notorious torturer, the former Yapen Police Chief Roycke Henry Langie, Saimima was allegedly involved at a command level in the systematic torture, arbitrary arrests and repression of local nonviolent activists and civilians, including the brutal torture and disappearance of political activist Lodik Ayomi in October 2012.

According to TPN sources, another reason for his apprehension is the detention and torture carried out by Polres Yapen officers against members of the TPNheld at the Polres Yapen station. Local activist sources have told West Papua Media that the demands surrounding the release of Saimima are nothing more than basic bail conditions for any criminal suspect. It is not known if Worabay's men have demands to hand over Kapolsek Saimima to human rights prosecutors, an unlikely tactic given the lack of trust Papuan people have for human rights violations being successfully or honestly prosecuted under Indonesian law.

However, Worabay has attached clear political demands to the arrest. Worabay claimed responsibility for the arrest of the Kapolsek of North Yapen, telling West Papua Media stringers by phone that the objective of the hostage taking was to demand the release of all Papuan political prisoners in all prisons in Indonesia, including particularly a local activist Decky Makabori, who is imprisoned in Sarmi Polres.

Worabay also demanded that both Polri and the Indonesian Army (TNI) immediately halt the violence in Puncak Jaya, Paniai, Wamena and other districts, and for the Indonesian government to "immediately enter into dialogue with the transitional Government of West Papua."

"If these demands are not responded to seriously in order to be resolved.... there will be effects on the situation which will be worse," Worabay told WPM stringers.

Meanwhile, at 5am on March 15 in a separate incident on Jalan Pasir Putih (White Sands Road) in the Serui sea village, an exchange of gunfire occurred between police and members of Rudy Orarei's local TPN Yapen unit. The TPN unit were surrounded and ambushed by three members of the Brimob from Yapen police headquarters, but Rudy Orarei returned fire from his house, according to local sources. Two police were injured in the shootout, with Orarei reportedly fleeing the police cordon into the bush. The area remains tense under heavy police occupation, according to witnesses.

[From West Papua Media, with local sources in Yapen.]

In Papua, development may be the answer, but trust is the key

Jakarta Globe - March 17, 2013

Yosie Sesbania – After winning a case in the Constitutional Court over an election dispute, Lukas Enembe is now on his way to being sworn in as the governor of Papua.

The governor-elect, who won the election by a landslide 52 percent of the vote in local elections in February, has set himself a big task for his first 100 days in office. As his first order of business, Lukas is aiming to address the problems of conflict and violence in the restive province.

Lukas believes that the root cause of unrest in Papua is the province's underdevelopment. High unemployment, poverty and a lack of infrastructure fuel calls for separatism led by the Free Papua Movement (OPM), he says. By prioritizing development, Lukas aims to bring peace to Papua.

A complex challenge

Critics say the 100-day time frame set by Lukas is an ambitious target, as the causes behind Papuan rebellion stretch far beyond a lack of schools, roads and hospitals. But most critics agree that making sure development funds reach their targets is a good starting point to improve the quality of life in the province.

Poengky Indarti, executive director of human rights monitor Imparsial and the author of "Securitization of Papua: Its Impact Towards Human Rights Situation," said that Papua needed a governor who would listen directly to the people.

He added that Lukas would need to work together with his defeated election opponents in order to build a better and more peaceful Papua.

Poengky recommended improved coordination between the legislature and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), as well as between district chiefs, traditional leaders, religious leaders and other key figures. "Lukas also must spend more time in Papua. He shouldn't spend too much time in Jakarta," he said.

Improved education, health, infrastructure and empowerment in line with the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy, as promised by Lukas, would need to be implemented properly. But most importantly, Poengky said, Lukas must safeguard his government from corruption.

"If improvements fail to occur within the first 100 days, then there is a great possibility that Lukas Enembe's leadership will not proceed well," he said.

To improve chances of success, Poengky recommended an initial emphasis on education, health and income. "The focus of budget allocation must look toward major needs that can and should be addressed, so that [development] can proceed effectively and efficiently," he added.

Establishing trust

Poengky expressed his optimism for the new governor's first 100 days in office, but admitted that some problems could not be addressed in such a hasty fashion. Engaging with the OPM, for example, was an exercise that would take some time as it involved establishing mutual trust, he said.

"We must not get stuck on groups that do not play an important role, or even common people who do not know anything but claim to be part of OPM, and we must not use development funds to 'buy' the OPM."

The way to quell the conflict, Poengky continued, was through development and increased prosperity for the people. This style of development can be carried out from the bottom up and include the participation of all Papuan citizens, he added.

Even more importantly, Poengky emphasized non-physical development, such as acknowledging and preserving Papuan cultures and traditions, to ensure that the Papuan people no longer felt marginalized by development itself.

Poengky said he hoped that Lukas could also work together with law enforcers to peacefully change perceptions of freedom of expression and social criticism so that these were no longer considered forms of rebellion and were instead seen in a positive light. "This is my input... for establishing a better Papua," he said.

Human development

Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, the former head of the Political Research Center at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (P2P LIPI), agreed that overcoming conflict in Papua would not be easy.

While recognizing that the province lagged behind the rest of the country in economic terms, Ikrar said that an economic approach was not the best way to resolve the conflict. Instead, he suggested a human development approach.

Papua's Human Development Index, gauging the life expectancy, education and income levels attained in the province, was at 63.35 in 2012, the lowest in Indonesia.

Ikrar suggested that the top priority in Papua's development should be establishing an education system that could raise the capacity and capabilities of its people.

"The education budget must be able to overcome the problems of education there, such as how to make children feel comfortable at school, how to make parents feel comfortable in sending their children to school, how to stop teachers stationed there from abandoning their post. Teachers' wages must not be cut," he said.

Aside from education, Ikrar pointed to health as another important issue. Developing health infrastructure, such as hospitals, ambulances and medical workers, must be prioritized, he said.

The province is flush with special autonomy funds, Ikrar said, and these must be channeled toward developing infrastructure, education and health in a transparent manner.

He added that past projects had been suspected of siphoning funds away from development and distributing them among officials. "If special autonomy funds are just shared out, this will not improve the prosperity of the society," he said.

As for addressing separatist sentiments, Ikrar said that initiating dialogue was the best approach. However, he admitted that it was not so easy to carry out. One obstacle to dialogue was the absence of a line of command in the OPM, he said.

"Papua is not like Aceh. In Aceh, GAM [the Free Aceh Movement] had one person in command. There was one person who could be recognized and trusted. Therefore, negotiation was possible," he said.

"Meanwhile, in Papua, who can represent the OPM, or people who demonstrate in the forests? And what about the Papuan groups that demonstrate in the international realm?"

Aceh

Shariah police head in Aceh tests positive for drug use after car accident

Jakarta Globe - March 19, 2013

The head of the Lhokseumawe Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) and Shariah Police in Aceh has tested positive for marijuana use after slamming his car into a tree and a house on Sunday night, police said.

Shariah Police officer Zulkarnain lost control of his car after leaving his office in Simpang Asmi, Kutablang village on Sunday. Another officer came to investigate the accident, where he discovered hashish inside Zulkarnain's car.

"His urine test shows that he was consuming drugs," head of the Lhokseumawe police narcotics division, First. Insp. Poeloeng Arsa, told Atjehpost.com on Monday.

Zulkarnain was not arrested after the officer found the illegal substance because injuries he sustained during the accident required immediate treatment. He was admitted to the Kasih Ibu Hospital, where he received 20 stitches for a wound on his lips.

Poeloeng told Detik.com that Zulkarnain will be questioned by police after he recovers from his injuries.

Zulkarnain, who has been the head of the Shariah Police since December 2012, denied the allegation that he was under the influence of marijuana before the accident. He said that he lost control of his car when one of his front tires blew.

"If there was marijuana, I would have been arrested," he told a reporter from Atjehpost.com. "If you write there was marijuana [in my car], we'll see what will you be, human or ashes."

Lhokseumawe administration secretary Dasni Yuzar said that if Zulkarnain is found guilty of drug use, the government would discipline him appropriately.

"Whoever the [Lhokseumawe government] employee is, if the person is convicted, we'll enact strict sanctions according to disciplinary regulations," Dasni said. "We won't be selective [in handing down sanctions]."

Human rights & justice

First execution in 4 years a major setback for Indonesia: HRW

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2013

The death of Malawian national Adami Wilson – Indonesia's first execution in four years – heightens the urgency for the government to end the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

A firing squad executed the 48-year-old in Jakarta on March 15. He was convicted in 2004 of smuggling one kilogram of heroin into Indonesia.

The execution marked an end to Indonesia's unofficial moratorium on the death penalty since the November 2008 killing of three men convicted for their role in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that left 202 people dead.

Attorney General Arief Basrief announced on the day of last week's execution that his office planned to execute nine more convicts this year. Last year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acknowledged the global trend toward abolishing the death penalty, and warned that his government "must not wrongly punish people."

"The Indonesian government's execution of Adami Wilson is a senseless end to four years without state killings," said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at HRW. "President Yudhoyono needs to have the courage of his convictions and act to abolish the death penalty."

Wilson's execution contradicted the country's statements on capital punishment at the United Nations, HRW said. In November 2012 at the UN General Assembly, Indonesia stated that "public debate was ongoing, including concerning a possible moratorium... [and] the need for transparent national and international debates, use of the death penalty, and the provision of safeguards." Indonesia that same month for the first time abstained, rather than opposed, a resolution in favor of a global death penalty moratorium.

Indonesia currently has more than 100 people on death. HRW opposes the death penalty because of its cruelty and finality.

"Indonesia should immediately stop its renewed and appalling use of the death penalty," Kine said. "If Indonesia is serious about becoming a leader among Asian nations, it should join the countries that have abolished capital punishment."

Government does about-face on human rights tribunal

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The government will not set up an ad hoc human rights tribunal to prosecute those believed responsible for the 1998 kidnapping of activists in the near future, a senior minister said on Thursday.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto on Thursday denied a statement made by presidential advisor Albert Hasibuan who said the President would soon issue a decree to establish the rights tribunal. The minister claimed that Albert had misinterpreted the President's statements on the matter.

"What the President said to me was that the cases must be dealt with comprehensively and altogether, not limited to certain cases such as those in 1998," the retired Air Marshall and former Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander told the press at the State Palace. "What I understood from the President's order was that I shall not deal with the ones recommended by the House only."

A few days ago, Albert revived hope that the country would finally move to resolve past human rights abuses, particularly the forced disappearances of several anti-Soeharto activists in 1997 and 1998 by members of the military. He said that Djoko had told him that the process for the creation of the rights tribunal was nearly finished.

"I believe the court would operate before Yudhoyono's tenure ends in 2014 at the latest," Albert said when attending a gathering with family members of the kidnappings at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Tuesday.

The establishment of the rights tribunal is highly political as it involves several prominent figures, including presidential hopefuls Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto.

Prabowo, the chief patron of Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), was the commander of the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) when the kidnappings took place. Wiranto, who chairs the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), was then chief of TNI.

A recommendation from the House of Representatives on the establishment of an ad hoc court for the 1997/1998 forced disappearance cases was sent to the President in 2009.

The 2000 Human Rights Courts Law mandates the President to establish an ad hoc human rights court should the House issue a recommendation to set up an ad hoc court to scrutinize human rights cases taking place before the Law entered into force in 2000. The law also mandates the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to follow up Komnas HAM's findings with a full-blown investigation and prosecute the suspects before the court.

The government has failed to follow up on the House's recommendation until only recently when, earlier this year, Djoko held a meeting with House members to arrange a consultative meeting between the House and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss the creation of the tribunal.

Djoko, however, said that it was hard for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to set up the tribunal as Komnas HAM did not name the people involved in the alleged abuse.

"According to the law, Komnas HAM must identify the individuals implicated and their alleged roles. But the commission's reports only mentioned institutions. The AGO considered it unfinished. They cannot process such an incomplete report."

Previously, attorney general Basrief Arief said the ad hoc court could not be organized in the near future because the preliminary investigation by Komnas HAM was flawed and internal rifts within the commission hampered coordination between the two institutions.

A Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker, Indra, said that he regretted the government's indecisiveness. "This matter has political aspects, we cannot deny that. It can be used as a political bargaining tool," he said.

[Margareth S. Aritonang contributed to the story.]

Prabowo could escape international rights tribunal

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Hopes of seeing the generals allegedly responsible for the May 1998 riots dragged into an international rights tribunal have been dashed, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) made it clear that it would not concern itself with any crimes taking place prior to 2002.

ICC president Song Sang-hyun has said there will be no exceptions made to the statute's principles of complementarity and non-retroactivity, meaning that the court's jurisdiction will remain strictly focused on cases taking place after the statute came into force in July 2002, according to Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana, who met with Song in The Hague, the Netherlands, earlier this month.

"The ICC president told me that there are no exceptions for the two basic principles under any circumstances," Denny told The Jakarta Post. "My question to Song was general and didn't refer to particular cases."

It had been uncertain whether the ICC had the authority to hear cases such as forced disappearances, which, though committed before July 2002, could be categorized as "continuous crime", with experts providing mixed opinions.

While the chances of bringing those responsible for the forced disappearance to the ICC are now slim, rights activists have urged the government to immediately set up an ad-hoc human rights court, as mandated by the 2000 Human Rights Courts Law.

A recommendation from the House of Representatives on the establishment of an ad-hoc court for the 1997/1998 forced disappearance cases, which is mandatory according to the law, was sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2009.

The Indonesian Ombudsman has even reprimanded the President for ignoring the House's recommendation for more than three years.

Attorney General Basrief Arief said an ad hoc rights court could not be organized in the near future, given the internal rift that was now rocking the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

"There are still differrences of opinion between the government and Komnas HAM. We had planned to discuss the differences but the problem within the commission has forced us to reschedule," Basrief told the Post on Monday.

Basrief said that Komnas HAM needed to work on some details in its report for the 1997/1998 forced disappearance cases.

Among former Indonesian Military (TNI) officers accused of having responsibility in past human rights cases are People's Conscience Party (Hanura) chairman and former chief of the TNI Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, as well as Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) chief patron and former commander of the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto. The two are looking to win the presidency in the 2014 election. Basrief said the government was unconstrained by politics in the formation of an ad hoc rights tribunal.

Prabowo has repeatedly attempted to draw a line under the affair, claiming the investigation into the 1998 forced disappearance of pro-democracy activists has been completed, resulting in the finding that a team he set up (the Rose Team) was responsible for the kidnapping.

Wiranto has attempted to justify the military's actions in 1998 by saying that "the country was in a mess at that time."

Executions of convicts resume

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Five years after executing the three Bali bombers in 2008, Indonesia sent a drug convict to the firing squad on Thursday night, in a move human rights activists say reflects the government's incoherent stance on the death penalty.

Attorney General Basrief Arief confirmed on Friday that Nigerian drug trafficker Adam Wilson, who was sentenced to death in 2004 for possession of 1 kilogram of heroin, had been executed in Jakarta. "Last night, the execution was conducted in Thousand Islands Regency," Basrief told reporters.

Wilson made headlines in January when Jakarta Police officers discovered that he was running an international drug syndicate while awaiting execution in Nusakambangan Island prison in Central Java. He allegedly worked with two other foreign inmates, Malaysian national Lee Chee Hen and Singaporean Tan Swa Lin, who are also on death row.

The revelation sparked concern that the country was losing its battle against drug abuse. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the National Anti-Narcotics Movement (Gannas) called on the AGO to immediately execute all drug convicts on death row.

Wilson might not be the only convict to face the firing squad in 2013. The AGO previously announced that it was aiming to execute 10 convicts this year. As of December 2012, Indonesia had 113 people on death row, 71 of whom were drug convicts. Some, like Wilson, have been incarcerated for more than a decade due to the prolonged legal process.

The latest foreigner known to have been sentenced to death in Indonesia is Lindsay Sandiford, 56, who was found guilty of smuggling 5 kilograms of cocaine into Bali.

While anti-drugs activists will likely cheer Wilson's execution, human rights activists are troubled by the AGO's decision.

Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Haris Azhar said that Wilson's execution reflected "the paradox of the government's human rights stance".

"The execution was carried out amid global calls to abolish the death penalty. In recent years, Indonesia had appeared to be shifting away from the death penalty, considering the fact that the country had not executed anyone since 2008," Haris told The Jakarta Post.

In 2008, Indonesia put 10 drug and murder convicts – including the three Bali bombers Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas – to death. In 2009, Indonesia was the only Southeast Asian country not to have executed any convicts.

Kontras and six other NGOs have persistently urged the government to adopt the United Nations' General Assembly Resolution 62/149 issued in 2007, which calls for a moratorium on capital punishment. As of October 2012, 155 countries had abolished the death penalty or had conducted no executions in the previous 10 years.

The rights activists claim the death penalty is a human rights violation that has little deterrent effect. Bhatara Ibnu Reza from human rights watchdog Imparsial, said that the death penalty for terrorists would actually "encourage a new generation of terrorists".

Haris suggested that the government abolish the death penalty and start promoting restorative justice.

"Instead of executing Wilson, the government should have forced Wilson to reveal the entire network of his international drug syndicate. Now, it's harder to track down the syndicate since its key player, Wilson, is dead."

Wilson's execution also came as the country made efforts to save its own citizens from being executed abroad, efforts hampered by the fact that Indonesia recognizes capital punishment.

Only recently, the government said it was looking for ways to prevent Satinah, a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, from being executed for killing her employer. The family of her employer had asked for Rp 25 billion (US$2.5 million) in blood money, but the government refused to fulfill the request.

Last October, Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said that 198 Indonesians were awaiting execution around the world. The government, he said, had commuted a number of death sentences in the hope of gaining reciprocal treatment for Indonesians on death row overseas.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has granted 19 of 126 clemency pleas received since he took office in 2004. Among those whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment was repeat narcotics offender Meirika "Ola" Franola.

Women's rights

Women Ministry to push more women participation in politics

Antara News - March 16, 2013

Jakarta – Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection has highlighted the lack of women participation in politic in Indonesia, hence they will push the female contribution through several policies.

"One of which, we have pushed the issued of the Presidential Decree Number 9 Year 2000 about the Gender Mainstreaming in National Development," said Executive Secretary of Women Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry Mudjiati here on Saturday.

Mudjiati said on behalf Minister Linda Gumelar during the opening ceremony of National Assembly of Islam Women Student Association (Kohati) XXI in Jakarta, that the inequlity between women and men participation in politics has became major concern of the Women Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry (WECPM).

Based on the report of WECPM and Central Statistic Agency of the Gender Based Human Development research, the women participation in politics is just 18 percent comparing to the men participation which is 82 percent. "Meanwhile, women who achieved first echelon position in the bureaucracy is under 10 percent," she said.

According to Mudjiati, the inequality in the politic sector was not only caused by the low participation of the women related with their education achievement, but also affected by the patriarch culture which is still dominant.

Since the gender understanding among the community has many perspectives both from women and men, it has caused the difficulties for the policy maker to provide fair and equal policy for all genders, she explained.

"Even some policy makers are not entirely understand about the essence of gender itself. If they don't understand the basic, how do they will produce the fair policy?" she said.

To push more the women participation in politic, the government has put the Gender Mainstreaming program in the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2010-2014.

"The acceleration plan on the mainstreaming gender program is important to be well-defined to accommodate the challenge of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015," she said.

Sexual & domestic violence

Child rape in Indonesia a 'national emergency'

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2013

Dessy Sagita – Indah Kristina, a working mother with a 5-year-old daughter, is deeply concerned about the string of media reports on sexual abuse of children in Indonesia over the past few months.

"I'm scared to think that it could have been my child. I don't even want to take my eyes off of her because I noticed many victims were raped or sexually abused by people they knew and trusted," the 31-year-old event organizer told the Jakarta Globe.

However, as a single mother, Indah must work and leave her daughter in the care of teachers or a nanny from time to time. Indah said she started giving her young daughter lessons about her own body in very simple ways that she could easily understand.

"I can't watch her 24 hours a day, so I told her that not everybody can touch her private parts. My daughter also knows she's not allowed to let any man enter her room without supervision," she said.

In the past few months, Indonesia has been rocked by shocking cases of children being sexually abused.

In January, an 11-year-old girl fell into coma for six days and later died of infection. Doctors confirmed she had been sexually abused and contracted sexually transmitted diseases from her rapist.

It was later learned that the girl was raped several times by her own father.

In late February, the family of a 5-year-old boy filed a report to the police after he was allegedly sodomized by his neighbors, a police officer and a construction worker.

The boy was severely traumatized, and medical examination revealed he had been sexually abused.

Shortly after the case went public, the family had to evacuate after being intimidated by neighbors who did not believe the boy's claim and thought the family was trying to stir up trouble.

"We have already declared 2013 as a year of national emergency over child sexual abuse. This is totally unacceptable," said Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), a nongovernmental organization advocating children's issues.

Arist said there had been a worrying escalation in the number of child sex abuse cases. In 2010, Komnas PA received 2,046 reports of violence against children, 42 percent of which were sexual.

In 2012, the figure had risen to 2,637 cases, 62 percent of them sexual abuse. "Remember this is just the tip of the iceberg, many more cases go unreported," Arist added.

Maria Advianti, secretary of the Indonesian Commission on Child Protection (KPAI), said the most worrying part was that most rape or sexual abuses were committed by family members.

"In such cases, the probability of the victim filing a report is even lower."

Maria said rape committed by family members usually went unreported because the family could not bear the shame if it was publicly known.

"We have heard cases where daughters were raped by their own fathers for years, in such cases where it would be impossible for the mothers to be totally ignorant, she said.

"I believe the mothers knew but were too afraid to say anything out of shame, or because the fathers were the bread-winner, and if the fathers went to jail the family would not have any means to survive."

Community's role

"We need to change society's mindset. People must know that there is nothing private when it comes to rape or domestic violence," Arist said.

"The neighborhood has a shared responsibility to be aware of what's happening in their surroundings, and if the neighbor knows something but doesn't say anything about it because they believe it's none of their business then they too must be held accountable."

Gregorius Pandu Setiawan, a prominent psychiatrist and former director of mental health at the Ministry of Health, echoed that sentiment, saying communities must be alert all the time.

"Children are the easiest prey for sexual predators because they are completely powerless against adults, physically and psychologically, not to mention most abuses come with a threat, so terrified children do not say anything. It's society's job to notice if something is wrong," he said.

Pandu said that in urban areas there was a growing trend of people gradually stopping to care about what's going on in their surroundings.

"It has happened in a densely populated city like Jakarta: with so many stress triggers in their life, people simply do not care about what's going on," he said.

Arist said children would continue to be victimized by sexual predators as long as Indonesians did not perceive sex abuse as a serious crime.

"Sadly it has been deeply ingrained in our permissive society that women and children are sex objects, and we need to re-educate our people so that nobody should be subjected to such atrocities. We need to speak up," he said.

In late 2012, a 14-year-old student in Depok was expelled from her school after she was kidnapped and raped by a man she met online.

The growing use of the Internet and social media in Indonesia has also played a role in the escalating number of cases of sexual abuse against children.

Last week, a 15-year-old junior high school student was raped by several men after she agreed to meet someone she befriended on Facebook.

"In the social media era, even 10-year-olds have started using Facebook or Twitter. Parents must take control before it's too late," Arist warned.

"Internet use is inevitable in this age, and we can't stop our children from using it, but we can teach them how to use the Internet healthily."

Arist said many children spend excessive amounts of time in front of computers or gadgets because their family was dysfunctional and did not provide them with security or a sense of protection. He said unhappy children would resort to the Internet to seek attention and could easily fall prey to seduction by strangers.

"Many of those children who agreed to meet their captors were loners who did not get the affection they wanted from their family. Strengthening family values and spending more quality time with our children might change this, he added. Maria proposed that parents monitor what their children were doing on the Internet carefully.

"Don't give them limited access to the Internet but assist and guide them. Parents must also check what the children have been browsing," she said.

Tougher laws, or better enforcement?

Arist said the growing prevalence of child sexual abuse indicated a failure in the Indonesian legal system.

"Clearly our current law isn't working, it doesn't provide any deterrent for the perpetrator," he said.

Under the 2002 Law on Child Protection, anyone who has intercourse with a minor can face up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 60 million ($6,200).

"We need to revise the law; the minimum punishment for child sex abuse should be at least 15 years while the maximum sanction should be a life sentence," Arist said.

"There should be additional punishments if the perpetrators were the parents, teachers, or police officers of the children, and supposed to protect them."

But Maria said Indonesia did not need to revise the law, just make sure law enforcement was upheld.

"I think the current law is sufficient, it's the enforcement that concerns me; many times prosecutors only demand seven to eight years for the perpetrators, so they could walk free in a few years," she said.

University of Indonesia criminologist Erlangga Masdiana said harsher punishments alone would not be enough to reduce the rate of sexual violence in Indonesia.

"The problem is much more complex than that. There's the demoralization problem and the poverty issue [for example]. The government must address these issues individually, and we need to strengthen our fading spiritual values, be it religion or anything else," he said.

For victims of sexual abuse, serious counseling sessions are needed to help their psychological recovery.

Maria said there were several counseling or trauma centers run by the government or private organizations that provided assistance to rape victims.

"But the number is nowhere near enough compared to the number of children being victimized by sexual predators, that's why we need to empower our society so everyone can take part in healing traumatized children," she said.

Pandu added that victims of sex abuse must be handled very carefully to properly heal their trauma, with the counseling done in a very private and safe environment.

"It really angers me to see children who have been sexually victimized interviewed on TV with their faces covered by a mask, it's really dangerous for their mental health," he said.

Pandu said it was very unlikely for victims to forget what happened, but with proper care their pain could be eased.

"The counselors must have the capacity to handle these vulnerable children, and all of society must ensure they can return to a safe environment without any stigma and without any worry that the horrible experience could happen again," he said.

Labour & migrant workers

Companies who don't pay the minimum wage should leave the capital: Basuki

Jakarta Globe - March 19, 2013

The Jakarta administration said on Tuesday that companies who were not willing to pay the new minimum wage to their employees should just leave the capital.

"Businessmen are allowed to leave, we did not raise the minimum wage without thorough consideration, that is why I told Apindo [Indonesian Employers Association] that I'm keeping my stance," Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Thahaja Purnama told city news portal BeritaJakarta on Tuesday.

Basuki denied that the government's decision to increase the province's minimum wage by 44 percent to Rp 2.2 million ($227) a month was too steep and would affect businesses.

"The decent living costs [KHL] measure that the businessmen were using was wrong and we did not suddenly raise the minimum wage, but the previous minimum wage was too low and now it has to be adjusted with the inflation," he said.

"If you [businessmen] want to leave, we can't force you to stay but we also will not let people in Jakarta to be paid lower than the KHL measures, because it is slavery," Basuki added.

While Basuki acknowledged that at least 90 companies had threatened to close down their business and move to Central Java, where the minimum wage is lower, he said that Jakarta would find the best solution to solve the problem.

"Those who can't afford the minimum wage please step aside, and find another place to do business," Basuki said.

The Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said there were more than 900 companies across Indonesia that had filed a request to be exempt from paying the new minimum wage.

Muhaimin argued that the government had a selective process in choosing the companies who really needed to delay increasing the wages, adding that a request was only granted if an agreement had been reached between the company and its workers, or if a company could prove, through financial reports, that it could not afford the new minimum wage. He said 500 companies had already been granted a delay.

Said Iqbal, from the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Union (KSPI), told the Jakarta Globe that the Union had met with Muhaimin on Tuesday to reject the exemption, especially for the companies that had not been audited publicly.

"What's the point of announcing the new minimum wage if the government will keep finding excuses to let these companies escape their responsibilities," he said.

Political parties & elections

Down but not out for Indonesia's largest islamic party

Strait Times - March 22, 2013

Salim Osman – Indonesia's largest Islamic party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), is defying predictions of tough times ahead of legislative elections due next April.

The results of two regional elections in West Java and North Sumatra earlier this month saw its incumbent governors Ahmad Heryawan and Gatot Pujo Nugroho, respectively, defeat their challengers from large parties.

The wins were sweet, coming after party chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq was arrested on Jan 30 for allegedly receiving 1 billion rupiah (US$103,000) in bribes from meat importer PT Indoguna Utama to secure a government contract.

But the graft case will remain in public memory, with consequences. First of all is the PKS' credibility as an Islamic party that takes an anti- corruption stance, as well as its credentials of growing out of an Islamic movement.

"The public will now think of the PKS as hypocritical and that behind their sanctimonious facade, PKS politicians are just the same as any other politician from any other party," writes political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi of the Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University in a commentary.

Secondly, its prospect of moving up the ranks from the fourth largest party in Parliament (DPR), to third place in next year's polls is in doubt. The party should not expect to do better than its performance in 2004 when it won 7.34 percent of the popular vote compared to only 1.4 percent garnered by its predecessor, the Justice Party (PK), in 1999.

That success was due to its anti-corruption stance and championing of good governance. For strategic reasons, it downplayed its Islamic agenda.

The PKS can forget about fielding its own candidates to contest the presidential election because next July is still not a good time for it to take a shot at the top job. It neither has a candidate of stature nor does it have the qualification to field one; the party may be unable to garner 25 percent of the national vote or seek partners whose combined votes meet the threshold in order to contest.

The third consequence is the "trust deficit" – party workers who saw their leaders as both trustworthy and having integrity will be demoralized.

Will the scandal, dubbed the Luthfi Affair, cause it to be eclipsed by other Islamic parties or even spell its end The setback is serious but is unlikely to cause its demise. Neither will it result in PKS being overtaken by rivals which face a grim future themselves in the face of changes in voter behaviour and competition from secular-nationalist parties.

The PKS remains a respectable organisation with a solid support base. It can count on loyal cadres and members likely to believe in the party's cause.This month's regional victories have shown that the party remains strong.

The PKS is not alone in being tainted by graft. Politicians from established parties like Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P) and even the Democrat Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have been convicted of corruption.

Likewise, the PKS, being the least corrupt, will not be doomed. The party's rank and file remain corruption-free and committed to anti-corruption principles.

The PKS embodies the compatibility of Islam and democracy in a Muslim- majority country. It began as an Islamic movement, the Jamaah Tarbiyah, active in university campuses. It became a political party, the Justice Party (or Partai Keadilan), in July 1998. It has since revamped into a progressive Islamic party that is open to all Indonesians irrespective of religion.

It has the right stance, being anti-corruption and supporting good governance while remaining engaged in issues affecting Muslims and Islam.

The PKS is part of the six-party coalition led by the Democrat Party of President Yudhoyono since 2004. The inclusion of the PKS provides the ruling coalition with balance in an otherwise secular-nationalist bloc. It is also a vital link to the Muslim ground.

In short, the corruption case will dent the party's credibility but will not lead to its demise. But it is imperative for its leaders to do some soul searching and to act to rebuild its tattered image.

One way for the PKS to distinguish itself is to come down hard on corruption, and to send a strong message that the party abhors corruption by even sacking those declared suspects in a corruption case or who are later found guilty of the offense.

First Lady 'joins' chairmanship race

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Many regional chapters of the Democratic Party have nominated First Lady Ani Yudhoyono as candidate for the party's chairmanship, amid intense internal struggle within the party ahead of the party's extraordinary congress later this month.

Democratic Party executives confirmed on Tuesday that many regional party chapters had backed the candidacy of Ani.

"There are at least two reasons Bu Ani should be nominated. First, she served as party deputy chairperson in 2004, so she has the capacity. Second, local party chapters were impressed by Bu Ani when she accompanied her husband in presidential visits to regions," the head of the Democratic Party faction at the House of Representatives, Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, said.

Nurhayati, however, said that Ani had no intention of running for the party chairmanship. "But the voices of local party chapters should be heard and considered by the President as the chair of the party's Supreme Assembly," she said.

Nurhayati said that Ani would be the perfect candidate to bring the party together after it was rocked by graft allegations. A party patron, Ajeng Ratna Sumilar, meanwhile, said that Yudhoyono had picked at least three candidates that he could endorse for the party chairmanship.

Yudhoyono is said to have proposed that the election of the new party chairman should be done through an acclamation and that party members would only endorse his pick.

Ajeng hinted that Yudhoyono would propose "a senior party member who is highly regarded by party members".

Ajeng, however, denied that the candidate would come from Yudhoyono's family. "[Yudhoyono] will never propose members of his family," Ajeng said. When asked if the candidate currently serves as a minister, Ajeng only said, "It's likely."

There are five ministers who are members of the Democratic Party; Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syariefuddin Hasan; Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin; Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik and Transportation Minister EE Mangindaan.

Among them, only Jero has expressed interest in leading the party. "If ordered [to run for party chairman by Yudhoyono], I must be ready," he said on Monday.

Yudhoyono's pick would likely hurt the candidacy of House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie, who has been expected to be a frontrunner following his alliance with the ousted party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

Some party members confirmed that Marzuki and Anas will likely build an alliance ahead of the congress, with Marzuki being asked to push for an amendment to party statutes in exchange for votes from Anas' supporters.

Lawmaker Achsanul Qosasi, known to be Marzuki's supporter in the party chairmanship race 2010 in which Marzuki lost to Anas, called on Yudhoyono to name Marzuki as the sole candidate.

"I agree that there would be a high risk of conflict if the upcoming congress is held like a free market. But I would like to ensure that Marzuki has the right to be party chairman now," he said.

Jokowi not in big leagues yet: PDI-P official

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2013

Senior Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Guruh Soekarnoputra said that popular Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was not ready to become the country's next president.

"He is dedicated and sincere in his work. But I don't think he has the capacity to become president. It is better that he does not run for president now," Guruh said as quoted by kompas.com.

On Monday, PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo issued a statement indicating that the party might be warming to the idea of nominating Jokowi in 2014.

Prabowo-Hatta coalition 'in sight' for 2014 presidential race

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2013

Robertus Wardi – A coalition between former military general Prabowo Subianto and National Mandate Party chairman Hatta Rajasa for next year's presidential race is just a step away, one of the party's politicians says.

Viva Yoga Mauladi, the campaign manager for the party known as the PAN, said on Monday that both figures were communicating intensively for the possibility to join forces in the election.

"A Hatta-Prabowo pairing is just a step away," said Viva, who is also a member of the House of Representatives. "Both will continue to build communications until the results of the 2014 legislative election are out."

He added that Prabowo had visited Hatta's home to discuss various issues. "Prabowo came to Hatta's house, [they] met for two hours. In the two-hour meeting, Hatta explained and discussed about the economy, social, cultural and political issues, and how politics will develop in the future," Viva said.

Based on the meeting, he went on, both figures learned that they shared a common vision for the development of the nation. When asked if they had decided who would run as president and as vice president, Viva said it would be discussed after the legislative election in April 2014. "You could say that this is an embryo to a coalition," he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is reported to have given his blessing for a Prabowo-Hatta ticket in the presidential election next July, but the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), which Prabowo founded, claims it is unaware of this.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Gerindra's chairman for domestic political affairs and also the Jakarta deputy governor, said the party had not received any information about the president's blessing for Prabowo and Hatta to form a coalition.

"It hasn't been brought up at any party meetings. We're focusing on winning the election and nominating Prabowo [as president]," Basuki said on Tuesday.

He also said he did not know what was discussed during a meeting last week between Prabowo and the president. "I don't know about the meeting with Yudhoyono. The adviser didn't have to report to us," Basuki said, referring to Prabowo who is Gerindra's chief adviser.

Separately, Adjie Alfaraby, a researcher with the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said it appeared likely that Yudhoyono's Democratic Party would form a coalition with Gerindra.

"The Democrats don't have any strong presidential or vice presidential candidates to nominate, while Gerindra has Prabowo," Adjie said. He added that recent reports suggested that Yudhoyono preferred Prabowo as president because of the two men's shared military background.

Political party mergers illegal, watchdog says

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2013

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – An election watchdog is questioning the merger of several political parties ahead of next year's legislative elections, saying the moves violate the law as well as internal regulations enacted by the parties involved.

Said Salahuddin of the Public Synergy for Indonesian Democracy (Sigma) highlighted the growing trend of parties that fail to qualify electorally forming temporary coalitions with parties that are eligible.

The disqualified parties offer qualified parties their vote, Said added, while in return, members of the disqualified parties are named as legislative candidates representing the host parties.

"The emergence of such agreements between political parties, like the mergers that we are seeing lately, is quite questionable," he said. "We need to question the legal basis of such a move. Such deals are not recognized by the Law on Political Parties."

Said argued that political parties that join another party should first be disbanded, as stipulated by Article 41 of the law. "But this is not what happens," he said.

The Law on Elections forbids a legislative candidate from having dual political party membership. The Law on Political Parties also bans an active member of one party from joining another without first resigning from the original party.

Last month, the United Development Party (PPP), one of 10 parties qualified to run in the election, announced that it was merging with the Ulema National Awakening Party (PKNU).

PPP secretary general Romahurmuzy said the merger was temporary, adding that the PKNU "will still exist as a political party. The alliance is just on the individual level."

The PPP is also forming a coalition with the Crescent Star Party (PBB), another Islam-based party that last secured a parliamentary seat in 2004 and failed to qualify for the next election.

The National Mandate Party (PAN), another party that qualified for next year's election, has also agreed to form a coalition with three smaller parties, the Star Reform Party (PBR), the Democratic Renewal Party (PDP) and the National Sun Party (PMB).

One election contestant, the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), denied that it was violating the law when it absorbed the Sovereignty Party into its ranks, saying members of the latter had officially been named as Hanura members.

"All Hanura legislative candidates do not have dual memberships. The KPU will reject the merger if it is illegal," Hanura lawmaker Saleh Husin said, referring to the General Elections Commission.

PDI-P may be warming to Jokowi for 2014

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) are not ruling out nominating popular Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo instead of PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri for president in 2014.

Jokowi, elected governor in September, has publicly opposed plans to nominate him for president, saying that he would focus on tackling the host of ills plaguing the capital.

However, on Monday, PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo issued a statement indicating that the party might be warming to the idea of nominating Jokowi in 2014.

"We truly understand that Jokowi wants to be accountable to Jakartans as their governor. But politics are always dynamic. Let's just wait for his next move," he said.

Tjahjo also apparently hinted that the party might have its own plans for the governor. "Jokowi must have his own political considerations and calculations. We are still waiting for the right moment."

Observers have said that the PDI-P would likely wait until the last moment before deciding to nominate Jokowi, fearing that an early announcement might sour public opinion toward Jokowi as a political opportunist.

While the PDI-P has not announced a candidate for 2014, Megawati, a former president who has lost two bids for reelection, is expected to make another run for the nation's highest office.

A national meeting of the party in Bandung, West Java, in 2011 gave Megawati the authority to decide the party's next presidential candidate.

Lawmaker Puan Maharani, a party executive and a daughter of Megawati, said that the party might nominate Jokowi with Megawati's approval after it met the legislative threshold for the next election.

"We are still focusing on national consolidation to secure at least 20 percent of the legislative seats," she said.

According to the 2009 law on presidential elections, only political parties that win more than 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, whether alone or in coalition, can field presidential candidates.

The PDI-P is reportedly divided on whether Megawati should run in 2014. Party patron Taufiq Kiemas, who is also Megawati's husband, said that Megawati should not be nominated.

However, Taufiq has also recently said that Jokowi should focus on his work as governor and not as a presidential candidate, especially on a PDI-P ticket.

A survey released by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) this weekend said that Megawati was the potential candidate with the best prospects for 2014, with 20.7 percent of respondents saying they would vote for her if the election was held today.

Jokowi was not included in the survey, as the LSI only polled candidates nominated by political parties.

However, the survey said that Jokowi was backed by 35.2 percent of respondents as a good vice presidential candidate, faring better than former vice president Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Economic Minister and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) analyst Siti Zuhro said that it would be unethical for Jokowi to run in 2014. "In 2014, he would have only served as governor for less than 2 years and, at that time, he is not likely to have made significant changes in Jakarta yet. Will he be as popular as today? I don't think so," she said.

Surveys & opinion polls

Megawati, Bakrie top new LSI survey on 2014 presidential race

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2013

Anastasia Winanti & Ezra Sihite – Candidates from nationalist parties have trumped their religious-party counterparts in the latest survey of presidential contenders conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle.

Topping the list, announced on Sunday, was former President Megawati Sukarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with 21 percent, followed by tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, of Golkar Party, with 20 percent; former military general Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) with 19 percent; and fellow former general Wiranto of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), with 8 percent.

The highest-polling candidate from an Islamic party was Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa from the National Mandate Party (PAN), in fifth place at 6.4 percent.

"Figures from Islam-based parties were overshadowed by nationalist figures," Adjie Alfaraby, a researcher from the polling company known as LSI, said at his office in Jakarta on Sunday.

Adjie said Suryadarma Ali, chairman of the Islam-focused United Development Party (PPP), netted just 1.9 percent support, while Muhaimin Iskandar, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), gained 1.6 percent support and Anis Matta, chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), only won 1.1 percent support.

All four of the Islam-based parties mentioned are part of the government coalition led by the Democratic Party, none of whose candidates notched up a result.

The trend toward nationalist parties continued when voters were asked to consider their preferred vice presidential candidate.

The LSI found the top four candidates for the number-two job were Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, affiliated with the PDI-P, with 35 percent; former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, currently without a party affiliation, with 21 percent; Hatta with 17 percent; and unaffiliated senior judge Mahfud M.D. with 15 percent support.

The poor results for figures from Islam-based political parties matched their parties' lack of popularity. All Islam-based parties eligible for the 2014 general election received less than 5 percent support, and none made it in the top four.

The survey of 1,200 people was conducted from March 1 to 8. The survey identified three factors that contributed to the lack of support for candidates from Islam-based parties, LSI said.

Firstly, a lack of exposure, with only 30 percent of survey respondents saying they had seen Islam-based political figures in advertisements or engaging in activities.

Secondly, a lack of funds, with 75 percent of respondents saying figures from Islam-based political parties lacked sufficient wealth to compete in the general election.

Thirdly, intense competition, with 61 percent of respondents saying that nationalist figures can accommodate the interests of Islamic groups.

Adjie said that compared to the 2009 general election, Golkar support had increased by 8 percentage points, while PDI-P's backing was steady and that of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrats had fallen dramatically.

Megawati back in the game

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Jakarta – The popularity of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri has rebounded, with the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) publishing the results of its latest survey that places the former president at the top of its electability list.

In an opinion poll released on Sunday, the LSI announced that 20.7 percent of voters would vote for her if a presidential election was held today, a significant improvement compared to the results of previous surveys by pollsters.

The survey also shows Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has significantly improved his electability rating by coming second, with 20.3 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him. Until recently, opinion polls showed Aburizal's electability rating in single digits.

The LSI also found that the perennial favorite, chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, came in third place with a 19.2 percent approval rating.

The survey, conducted in the first two weeks of March, interviewed 1,200 people and had a margin of error of 3 percent.

LSI researcher Adjie Alfaraby said loyal supporters of Megawati and the PDI-P were responsible for the surge in Megawati's electability despite the little media coverage given to her.

"The fact that she was a former president and has already secured a spot in the presidential election will give her the bulk of loyal voters," he said.

Adjie said that rural voters made up the majority of Megawati's support. "Around 70 percent of these voters live in rural areas and they don't have the same access to information as the middle-class in major cities," Adjie said.

There was a consistent trend in Megawati's electability rating, Adjie went on. He said that in an LSI survey released in October last year, Megawati had also come out on top.

"The same goes for Prabowo. Despite his alleged involvement in human rights violations, a lot of people see him as a very charismatic leader due to his military background," he explained.

The LSI said Aburizal's significant jump in the poll could be attributed to the consistent performance of Golkar.

"Golkar always has the highest electability rating in any survey, and that has impacted on the total votes received by Aburizal," Adjie said.

In its latest survey, the LSI found that Golkar would receive the most votes (22.2 percent) followed by the PDI-P (18.8 percent) and the Democratic Party (11.7 percent).

In the survey, the LSI removed candidates who had yet to receive support from political parties, like former vice president Jusuf Kalla and outgoing Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD.

In November last year, the LSI released a poll in which 79 percent of a total 223 respondents said that Kalla and Mahfud were among the top five of the most capable presidential candidates, along with Dahlan Iskan and Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

The LSI said the votes received by Aburizal would definitely have been lower if Kalla had been included in the poll.

In early March, the National Leadership Center and international research institution Taylor Nelson Sofres, found in an opinion poll that 35 percent of respondents would nominate Prabowo as their preferred candidate, while 20 percent would choose Megawati and 12 percent would choose Kalla.

However, the rise of Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has served to dent Prabowo's electability rating.

A public opinion poll conducted by the Jakarta Survey Institute (LSJ) in February found that Jokowi was the most preferable candidate for the 2014 presidential election, with 21.2 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him if the election was held today. (nad)

Mass organisations & NGOs

Drop Pancasila from mass organizations bill: PKS

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) wants lawmakers to drop requirements from a bill on mass organizations currently under deliberation that would require that the state ideology of Pancasila be their sole organizing principle.

A representative of the PKS said he was concerned that the inclusion of such a stipulation in the bill would allow for the repression of Muslim groups as happened during the New Order.

PKS lawmaker Indra told The Jakarta Post over the weekend that a formal endorsement of Pancasila would be redundant, claiming that members of the public were aware of the tenets of the national ideology.

"Pancasila, as well as the 1945 Constitution, have been used to regulate our lives, so it's unnecessary to mention them in the bill," Indra said. "We are not against Pancasila, but we don't want it to be the only principle to be adopted by mass organizations."

Indra, who is a member of the House of Representatives committee deliberating on the bill, said that the PKS proposed giving courts authority to suspend or dissolve organizations deemed problematic, calling on such measures to be undertaken incrementally.

"We believe that problematic groups should be given more guidance instead of being slapped with an outright ban. Organizations deemed to have violated the rules deserve a warning so that they can make some improvements," Indra said.

The PKS reportedly has consulted several Islamic organizations in the nation, such as the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which have previously objected to the bill and called for explicit bans on groups promoting capitalist or communist ideology.

Requiring a mass organization to adhere to Pancasila, as stipulated in the bill's second and third articles, would not be enough to stop the capitalists and communists, the groups said.

The Muslim organizations also suggested that the bill should make it more difficult for foreign organizations to operate in Indonesia out of fears that the groups might pose threats to the country's unity and moral principles.

Contacted separately, legislative committee chairman and lawmaker Abdul Malik Haramain said that the House was expected to endorse the bill by the end of the month, despite opposition.

Abdul Malik said that the bill would require all mass organizations to adopt the 1945 State Constitution and Pancasila in addition to other ideologies that they have espoused.

The lawmaker said that the bill would not grant the government the right to dissolve or suspend problematic organizations, claiming that such decisions could only be made after relevant agencies completed complicated procedures.

"We have invited Islamic groups to thoroughly discuss the matter today. As of for the PKS, we believe we can lobby them to sort things out," Abdul Malik said.

State & civil society

Coup attempt? Not on my watch, says Indonesian army chief

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2013

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Carlos Paath – The Army's top officer and a relative of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has denied rumors of a coup d'etat later this month, saying the military would never back such a move.

"God willing, there will be no coup," Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who is the brother of the first lady, Ani Yudhoyono, said at the Indonesian Military headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.

He argued that in order to be successful, the coup would have to have the backing of the military, and insisted that the military would do no such thing.

Pramono, the Army chief of staff, also said that top officers had been told to quash any talk about a coup in their units. "I have already told [them] to not spread the coup rumors. Let's all just abide by the law. The military will not launch a coup, I can guarantee that," he said.

Rumors about the coup stemmed from an intelligence report that suggested it would start with a major demonstration planned for next Monday.

The speculation was further fueled when Yudhoyono held closed talks last week with a group of seven retired but influential generals, although they later said that they only discussed the upcoming presidential election.

Pramono urged an end to the speculation, warning that it could scare investors away if sustained for long enough, thereby hurting the country's economic growth.

Fadli Zon, the deputy chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said earlier that the talk of a coup was mere bluster and would not be acted on. "The rumor should be stopped. It's unproductive and assumes that the public is stupid," he said on Wednesday.

"There is no tradition of coups in our country, unlike what we see in other countries in the region. Even if there are those intent on carrying out a coup, who would mobilize it and with what?"

He added that most coups involved active military leaders or at least government officials, and argued that with Yudhoyono loyalists heading all three branches of the military, there was no way that such a coup would take place.

There is also the so-called self-coup, Fadli went on, usually committed by the government with the military's help in a bid to gain extra constitutional powers, like what happened in Peru in 1992 under Alberto Fujimori.

This, the Gerindra politician went on, was the likelier scenario but still a very remote possibility. "Given Indonesia's current condition, a coup from outside [ex-military or government officials] is very unlikely," Fadli said.

Tubagus Hasanuddin, a retired general and current deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission I, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, agreed that any coup attempt without the backing of the armed forces would be pointless.

"A coup in Indonesia will only be effective if carried out by the military or by [rogue] military members who are armed," he said on Wednesday. "Now, is there any sign that the military will launch a coup attempt? In my opinion, it's very unlikely."

Government protest response called 'paranoid'

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution is calling the government paranoid for its response to a protest against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono planned by civil society groups for March 25.

"The government thinks that aspirations for change are the same thing as a coup d'etat. To me this is what paranoid people do," Adnan said as quoted by kompas.com.

The prominent lawyer, who was also previously a member of Yudhoyono's advisory council, said that the activists were ill-equipped to overthrow the government, which has been what National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman said was their goal.

Playwright Ratna Sarumpaet and her group, the Sovereign Indonesian People' Assembly (MKRI), will convene the rally to ask for Yudhoyono's resignation and the establishment of a transitional government.

Playwright wants to topple SBY: BIN chief

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2013

National – National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman has accused playwright Ratna Sarumpaet and her group of planning a coup d'etat against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Marciano said that peaceful street rallies across the country, planned by Ratna and members of her group, Assembly of the Sovereignty of the Indonesian People (MKRI), was part of the plot.

The nationwide rally is scheduled for March 25 and is aimed at challenging Yudhoyono's administration, which the group deemed a failure.

Marciano, however, predicted the rally would be peaceful and that no security problems were expected. "Our analysis shows that the planned rally will go ahead. God willing, it will be secured," he was quoted by tribunnews.com.

Late last week, the MKRI called for the creation of a transitional government to assume power from Yudhoyono and manage the country until a new government is elected in the 2014 general election.

Group calls for transitional government

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – A group of activists grouped together as the Assembly of the Sovereignty of the Indonesian People (MKRI), has called for the creation of a transitional government to assume power from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and manage the country until a new government is elected in the 2014 general election.

Ratna Sarumpaet, the group's chairwoman, called for peaceful street rallies across the country on March 25 to challenge President Yudhoyono's administration, which the MKRI deems a failure.

Without the creation of a transitional government, the activists argued, the 2014 election would merely be "a tool by which the regime could recycle the old gang of thieves and place them in new posts in the new administration".

"Our goal is to return the country to the spirit of the Constitution, Pancasila and the Sumpah Pemuda [youth pledge]," Ratna said over the weekend.

"We need a transitional government before 2014 and, therefore, Yudhoyono must resign," said Ratna, who is also a playwright.

She added, however, that the March 25 rallies would be peaceful despite the anger felt by some.

Earlier this month, Yudhoyono claimed that he had received intelligence that a coup d'etat was possible.

Yudhoyono said he hoped that any protests would be conducted within democratic parameters as a violent transfer of power would severely impact people's lives.

Ratna said Yudhoyono need not be concerned about the planned rallies. "The State Palace should not see this as a threat to the President or his position; this is about the country. Our intentions are good, so there is no need to panic," Ratna said.

Analysts have said the President was trying to ensure that his remaining year in office would be free from political jolts by seeking support from various parties, including his opponents.

Last week, Yudhoyono met representatives from 12 Islamic organizations as well as seven retired generals who are mostly known for their affiliations with Aburizal Bakrie and the Golkar Party.

One of the retired generals, Gen. (ret.) Luhut Binsar Panjaitan confirmed that the group was aware of rumors that Yudhoyono may be ousted before the 2014 election.

MKRI member Haris Rusli said that in a democracy, ousting a government was valid if the people agreed to the plan.

Fellow activist Adhie Massardi, spokesman for former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, said the country was entering an emergency situation.

"We are in an emergency situation where many ministers, lawmakers, regents and governors are corrupt. We are also dealing with an emergency regarding food supplies. And we are facing a security emergency with military and police personnel shooting at each other," Adhie said.

Tamrin Amal Tomagola, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia (UI) said that Yudhoyono had lost the moral standing to rule.

Environment & natural disasters

WWF comes under fire over continued Riau forest clearing

Jakarta Globe - March 17, 2013

Indonesia's Forest Ministry will investigate claims of continued deforestation in Riau's protected Tesso Nilo National Park after lawmakers lashed out at the World Wildlife Fund's allegedly unsuccessful efforts to slow forest clearing in one of Indonesia's worst-hit provinces.

"We will evaluate [the WWF's work]," Darori, the ministry's director general for forest protection and nature conservation, told the Indonesian news portal antaranews.com. "If it proves to have no benefit, we will terminate the partnership."

Darori's statements followed the ministry's analysis of a decade's worth of satellite images of the park. The images showed the clearing of some 46,960 hectares of the protected forests over the past ten years.

The 83,068-hectare park is managed by the Tesso Nilo National Park Agency, a division of the Forest Ministry, in an area experiencing the most rapid rate of deforestation in Indonesia. Riau is home to two pulp mills and has been partitioned off in numerous concessions for logging and palm oil companies.

The World Wildlife Fund Indonesia has worked to slow the rate of clearing in the park, which is home to rare Sumatran tigers and elephants. The organization said that without their work the forest would have disappeared by 2007.

"Based on a World Bank analysis, with the rate of deforestation at Tesso Nilo National Park the forest would have disappeared by 2007," WWF Indonesia conservation director Nazir Foead said. "Thanks to the efforts of the Forest Ministry, its NGO partners and the local community, we've managed to save 37,000 hectares of Tesso Nilo National Park."

The head of the House of Representative's commission on forests doubted the World Wildlife Fund made any impact on forest clearing in Riau.

"It is time for Indonesia to stop compromising with the WWF because it has failed to do anything," Firman Subagyo, head of the commission, said. "They can only speak out and do black campaigns [against Indonesia] from abroad.

"Foreign NGOs like the WWF are like thieves visiting our homes to steal our treasures without us realizing it. The NGO's arrogance has impacted our weakened industrial competitiveness overseas, which will end worsen Indonesia's economy."

Most of the region's forests were cleared to make way for palm oil and rubber plantations, the World Wildlife Fund explained. Nearly 47,000 hectares of land in the national park have been converted to plantations.

Local police need to step up and prosecute those responsible for clearing protected lands, Nazir said. "Law enforcement is an important measure to tackle the clearing [of forests]," he said, "especially when it involves perpetrators with big bank accounts."

Health & education

Teachers, parents file petition against new curriculum to ministry

Jakarta Globe - March 16, 2013

Dessy Sagita – A group of educators, experts and parents have delivered a petition with more than 1,500 signatures to the Education Ministry, rejecting Indonesia's new school curriculum which will see science and social studies dropped as core subjects in July.

"[The new curriculum] will not answer the country's education problems," said Siti Juliantari Rachman, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), on Friday. "This petition is a symbol of our rejection and was signed by more than 1,500 people who are against the implementation of the new curriculum."

The ICW, parents, teachers and practitioners started the petition on Dec. 5 after they failed to reach an agreement with ministry officials following a series of talks.

The Education Ministry has argued that the current primary school curriculum is putting too much strain on students, and that it is looking to limit subjects taught in elementary schools to just six, eliminating science, social studies and making English language classes an elective subject.

The new curriculum would contain religion, nationalism, Indonesian language, math, arts and sports.

But despite its argument that the new curriculum would be less of a burden on students, the ministry decided to increase school hours to 38 per week from 32.

The new curriculum sparked controversy and polarized the nation when it was revealed in December, with proponents of the plan arguing that their children had long felt overburdened by the curriculum.

But opponents of the plan argued that it would make Indonesians less competitive in the globalized market and discriminate against those who could not afford to send their children to private English and science tuition centers.

The government has requested Rp 2.49 trillion ($257 million) to develop and implement the national school curriculum, which experts say could be used to address the discrepancy in the numbers of quality teachers between major cities and remote areas of the country.

"More than half of the budget will be used to purchase books and it's not a secret that books procurement is an easy target for corruptors," Siti said.

ICW reported that since 2004 to 2011 there were at least six corruption cases in books procurement that cause the state loss worth of Rp 54.9 billion.

Education Minister Mohammad Nuh said on Thursday that despite mounting criticism, the government would not postpone the implementation of the new curriculum.

"There will be no cancellation, we are going forward with the new curriculum, and there are only a few people who are speaking against the new curriculum anyway," he said.

Gender & sexual orientation

Straining to treat Jakarta's transgenders

Jakarta Globe - March 21, 2013

Nivell Rayda – In a room of 20 people, Linda stands out. While others sport colorful T-shirts, skimpy outfits or dresses, Linda chooses to dress like a man, wearing a pair of loose jeans and a thick jacket that she grips tightly to her chest on this searing hot day.

Linda (not her real name) lays quietly on a worn sofa, legs outstretched, her head resting on a cushion. The rest of her transgender friends text or chat among themselves as they wait for the weekly gathering of their HIV/AIDS support group to start.

But then Linda abruptly collapses, sending a jolt of panic through the room. Those who do not know her well can only whisper. The host of this beauty-salon-slash-foundation headquarters is summoned, a 60-year-old transgender named Nancy Iskandar. In another room, a plastic mat is quickly spread across the yellow tiled floor, on top of which a thin mattress is laid. Linda's agony shows in every step she takes to get to the other room.

Nancy tells Linda to lie down and preps a nearby oxygen tank. She checks Linda's pulse, tightly gripping her wrist with two fingers. Nancy had done this hundreds of time, and it shows. "What's your name?" Nancy asks.

Struggling to breathe, Linda can only lay in silence. A friend reveals her name. "I haven't seen you in a while. Have you been taking your medication?"

Linda is unresponsive, perhaps from fatigue or embarrassment. It has been three months since she last visited the Srikandi Foundation, headquartered in a decaying house in the poor and congested neighborhood of Jatinegara, East Jakarta.

Linda hasn't taken her antiretroviral (ARV) pills for three months, because, she says, she couldn't stand the side effects, which range from nausea to rashes.

"We have a stubborn one here," Nancy tells me. "Her health is deteriorating. She has developed tuberculosis. She has AIDS already, which means her immune system is deficient."

An assistant grabs a book containing records of all the transgender people living with HIV who have come to seek Nancy's help. Sure enough, Linda's name appears. The list is long, and stretches back in time to when Nancy established the Srikandi Foundation in 1998.

Finding a niche

Srikandi started as a training center to redirect transgender people away from prostitution. But since transgender sex workers are group keenly affected by HIV, Nancy began to notice her pupils' ailing health. She felt compelled to help, learning all she can about the disease, despite a lack of formal health training.

As Nancy's efforts soon became known, she found herself treating more and more people. Transgender individuals in Indonesia suffer discrimination and rejection from friends, family and neighbors, so they had little choice but to seek help from people like herself, one of their own, Nancy said.

"In the beginning, I had to knock on many doors. Now I know who to call for extreme cases. I know who to call when I need oxygen tanks, ARV drugs and condoms," Nancy said.

"I'm just bridging the transgender community with the proper health treatment they deserve. Most transgender people in Jakarta are from villages, dropping out of school and running away from rejection back home."

When Nancy returns to the crowd, the mood has changed. Linda's sudden collapse is enough to get them talking about their own experience with the disease.

Nancy breaks the ice by telling her staff to fetch a big red plastic bag. "Who wants some candy?" Nancy shouted, waving a pack of condoms in the air. The group replied in cheerful, high-pitched screams with a hint of baritone.

Doing what it takes

By noon, more people joined the meeting, all of whom had to take a daily dose of medication to suppress the HIV virus. They talked about the importance of taking those drugs despite the harsh accompanying side effects.

"We have all been there. Over time these side effects will go away," said Henny, a coordinator at the foundation and one of the first people living with HIV that Nancy helped.

"It is important for you to keep taking your medication, because the one you are taking now is subsidized by the government," she explained. "If you don't take them regularly you will have to take even stronger drugs that are not subsidized by the government."

HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are not the only medical problem the transgender community faces. "Some of my transgender friends are taking birth control pills to look more feminine," says Lulu of Suara Waria, a youth transgender group that Nancy also helps manage.

"It is much cheaper than an estrogen shot. But... all sorts of side effects can occur," Lulu said. "Then there's the use of silicon which can cause problems like leakage and infection, especially if they get it from some beauty parlor instead of a real doctor."

The scope of the issue

According to Indonesia's National AIDS Commission 2006 estimate, 35,000 Indonesians are transgender. How many live in Jakarta is unknown, though more and more are believed to arrive in the capital each day searching for work and a modicum of acceptance.

Nancy said her group estimated that there are around 4,000 transgender Jakartans, 38 percent of whom live with HIV.

The 2011 Integrated Biological and Behavioral Survey estimated that 22 percent of transgender Indonesians are living with HIV. The study also found the HIV prevalence among transgender Jakartans was higher than the national average at 30.8 percent.

"I know one transgender person who has been HIV positive since she was 13 years old," she said.

New people seeking services from Srikandi were straining the underfunded foundation's resources, Nancy said. On busy days, a room may be so packed with the sick that she has to borrow mattresses from neighbors.

Nancy said that in a single month she loses up to five patients, all succumbing to AIDS-related illnesses. Most times, she arranges their funerals herself, paying for the grave and procession by raising funds from the transgender community. Other times, all the expenses come out of her own pocket.

Nancy said she always tried to reach out to her patient's family with the hope that news of a dying member would rekindle broken ties. This doesn't always work.

"Once I had a patient so gravely ill that the doctors only gave her days to live. I tried to contact her family but they don't want to have anything to do with her. Even when she died, they wouldn't come to her funeral," she said.

"The night after the funeral, her mother came. The mother asked for her daughter's death certificate and a doctor's note detailing how she died. I politely asked 'What do you need them for?' And she replied 'I want to claim my son's insurance.'

"At that point I was so enraged. I tore up all the documents she had asked right in front of her face. Does she think transgender people are animals? Was her daughter doing more good to her dead than alive? I screamed so loud, and told her to leave. If she hadn't left, who knows what I'd do," Nancy said.

Making her rounds

After the support group wraps up, Nancy takes me to a nearby clinic for an appointment with a gravely ill transgender patient too sick to be treated at the foundation.

The clinic is small and basic. It is clear that Nancy has been sending many of her patients here. She is immediately greeted by legions of staffers, doctors and nurses when she arrives.

At the clinic, I get a glimpse of Nancy's more humorous side, which I suspect is her way of dealing with the tough nature and harsh reality of her work.

"Excuse me doctor, I need your help. I fell down the stairs and landed on one of my testicles. Now one of them is bigger than the other," she jokes while sticking her head into the open door of a doctor's office.

"Let me get the other one to swell as well. That way they can be nice and even," the doctor replies.

We are just minutes away from when her patient is supposed to arrive. As we wait, Nancy tells me stories from her younger years, a time when she was known by friends as Nandy; how her military father was enraged when he caught her sleeping with a man.

She also tells stories from her times as part of a traveling cabaret, and how she later became the only openly transgender civil servant in Indonesian history, charged with getting transgender people off the streets and into skills training or treatment.

Before we know it, we have waited for nearly an hour, and still there is no sign of her patient. "I am a punctual person. I think we have waited long enough," she says. "If we're lucky she'll reschedule. I just hope she's not stubborn like the one before."

Sex workers & prostitution

FPI: Depok red-light raids 'half-hearted'

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2013

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in Depok gathered outside the mayoralty office compound on Friday to protest, what they deemed to be, the half-hearted raids in red-light areas by the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP).

The protesters demanded that the administration and the police permanently close venues they believed to accommodate prostitution in the municipality.

"If the administration does not do it right, we will take over the raids," FPI Depok chairman Habib Idrus Algadri said, adding the accusation that the prostitution business was backed by some political party members.

On Thursday, Satpol PP officers and a team from Depok police closed over 50 cafes allegedly providing illicit sex in Pondok Rangon, which borders Depok, Bekasi and East Jakarta.

Many of the cafes raided had been abandoned by the owners prior to the raids. Some of the cafe owners resisted closure and claimed that their businesses were legal. However, during the raids, the officers found unmarried couples in the bedrooms at the cafes.

The officers also confiscated hundreds of bottles of alcohol although the cafes did not hold the relevant license to sell alcohol.

On Wednesday, officers sealed Duta Residence Hotel in Sukmajaya for running a business without a permit after residents reported it for allegedly accommodating prostitution. "Those raids were fake because we found couples still committed adultery in those places afterwards," Habib Idrus said.

The rally on Friday was guarded by dozens of police officers with police women deployed to prevent protesters from forcing their way in to City Hall.

Satpol PP chief Gandara Budiana declined the accusation of fake raids and hotel closure. "We banned activities in Pondok Rangon in July last year, but the residents broke the seal on the cafes and resumed the night activities. This time, we are determined to bring the offenders to court," he said.

Separately in Tangerang regency, the administration had made it clear that it would take stern measures against the presence of amusement places at Citra Raya residential area in Cikupa district.

Tangerang Public Order Agency chief Teteng Jumara said the residents had filed complaints over alleged prostitution in the area. "We will execute all illegal amusement places, mostly massage parlors, in the near future. We are just waiting for a written instruction from Regent Ismet Iskandar," he said.

The agency found that only one of the amusement places could show an operating permit issued by the administration, Teteng said, declining to name the businesses to be closed in the near future.

FPI members in Panongan district had earlier delivered complaints with the administration about the presence of the illegal amusement places that had caused unrest to the locals.

FPI demands government shut down buildings operating prostitution services

Jakarta Globe - March 16, 2013

Vento Saudale, Depok – An Islamic fundamentalist group has demanded city officials in Depok knock down a rundown, illegal building that they claim has been used to run a prostitution service.

Hundreds of members from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) told the Depok administration on Friday that they had until April 15 to clean up illegal buildings.

"We have asked Depok's mayor Nur Mahmudin over and over again to control that seedy place, they have no building permit anyway and if our request is not responded to, we will take action in that location," said Habib Idrus Al Gadri, head of the Depok FPI branch, on Friday.

Idrus claimed that the city's public order agency, known as Satpol PP, was receiving money from the people running the prostitution service in exchange for protection during raids.

"We are not afraid of any mass organization that legalizes and protects sinful activities, we will fight back, the raid conducted by Satpol PP was fake and it was done just so we did not take any action," he said.

Idrus claimed that at least 50 places were running prostitution services freely in Depok. "We demand that the buildings be demolished, don't just seal them," he said, adding that FPI members would fight anyone who tried to stop them from fighting prostitution.

But Gandara Budiyana, head of the Satpol PP in Depok, said that his unit had shut down at least 10 buildings that were suspected of running prostitution services in the area.

"We are not slacking around," Gandara said. "We have sealed some seedy motels and cafe, but to knock down a building is a different thing, we need an official instruction from the mayor."

Prostitution helps community thrive

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2013

Hans David Tampubolon, Reportage – Prostitution has existed since the beginning of civilization and in some parts of the world, like in Dolly, Surabaya, it has become part of the community and its culture.

Selling sex is illegal in Indonesia. History, however, tells us that it is not unusual for prostitution to become legal, or at the very least tolerated by officials, to support regional economies.

For example, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin once legalized the Kramat Tunggak prostitution complex in North Jakarta to finance the development of the capital in the 1970s, and to "rehabilitate" the sex workers. Kramat Tunggak, however, did not last after Ali's departure as governor, and prostitution in Jakarta returned to the underground economy.

Dolly, on the other hand, has never been officially recognized as legitimate by the regional government but it has managed to survive for decades as one of the main contributors to the economy of East Java's capital.

The Dolly prostitution complex consists of at least 300 brothels covering at least 30 hectares in the Putat Jaya subdistrict, employing thousands of prostitutes each night.

Due to its illegal nature there has never been any official data about the monetary value of transactions conducted in the area. However, locals and workers say that Dolly could be worth billions of rupiah daily.

A pimp, who wished to be referred to only as Arifin, said that transactions in Dolly could reach at least Rp 2 billion (US$200,000) per day from prostitution alone. This means that Dolly's annual turnover from sex alone could be at least Rp 730 billion.

The existence of prostitution in Dolly has also triggered numerous supporting businesses – clinics, mini markets, sexual enhancement medicine vendors, parking lots, banks, rented houses, Internet cafes, small restaurants – even Islamic boarding schools operate in the area.

University of Indonesia economist Lana Soelistianingsih said that based on the assumption that income to consumption ratio stood at 60 percent in Dolly, the economic transactions triggered by prostitution could contribute around Rp 1.5 trillion to Surabaya's gross domestic product (GDP), which stood at Rp 235 trillion in 2011.

"But that is just from prostitution. If there are a lot of businesses in the area that heavily depend on prostitution, then the overall contribution from the complex to the city's economy might be quite significant," Lana said.

The history of the Dolly complex and how it has managed to become an integral part of Surabaya is unclear and has many different versions.

According to a paper from the Sunan Ampel Islamic Institute in Surabaya, the complex was initiated by a woman named Dolly Khavit. In 1967, Dolly married a Dutch sailor and opened her first brothel. From one brothel, her business grew and the area became synonymous with her name.

Decades later, Dolly has become one of the largest prostitution centers in Southeast Asia – though still much smaller than Bangkok's Patpong, going by unofficial traveler reviews.

The fact that Dolly is located in Surabaya, the second-largest metropolis in Indonesia that hosts an international airport and the busy Tanjung Perak Port, has also helped it grow significantly.

Sex workers here say their customers came from all over the globe and from various institutions, including from the marines stationed at the port, and even the police.

"When policemen and military men visit Dolly for sex, they use disguises because they are not allowed to be here except to join patrols," Ayu, a local prostitute, said.

"You can tell if a customer is involved with the military or the police. They often have short hair with muscular figures and they always like to finish quickly because they do not want to get caught," she added.

Another version among the locals, however, suggests that the Dolly complex has been around since the Dutch colonial era and the name derived from a Dutch-Indonesian prostitute named Dolly.

Regardless of the various versions of the origins of Dolly, locals say it would be very hard to disregard its contribution to the community as a whole.

Sugeng, a taxi driver who operates in the Dolly complex, said that every attempt to eradicate prostitution from the area had been futile.

"A couple of years ago, East Java Governor Soekarwo tried to remove prostitution from Dolly. But like others before him, he failed. Prostitution can never be removed from Dolly because thousands of livelihoods depend on its existence," Sugeng said.

"Dolly's significance and contribution to the community has been so significant that its name has become better known than that of Surabaya itself," he added.

Graft & corruption

KPK demands government to revoke the revised criminal code procedures draft

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2013

Rizky Amelia & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Corruption Eradication Commission is calling on the government to revoke the draft revision of the Criminal Code Procedures bill, which has been sent to the House of Representatives for deliberation, claiming that it would weaken the role of the commission in battling corruption.

"We want the draft to be revoked," Busyro Muqoddas, deputy chairman of the body known as KPK, said on Friday. "We were not invited to discuss the draft of Kuhap [Criminal Code Procedures bill]."

Busyro said that the KPK would lodge an objection letter to the government, who initiated the revision of the Criminal Code Procedures, for failing to involve the corruption watchdog during the discussion.

"We're ready for a dialogue," Busyro said. "We will ask academics and society, so the input is not only from us."

The revised draft of the Kuhap has gathered some criticism over articles that have been seen as weakening the commission, including a proposal that forces the KPK to get court approval before using a wiretap.

But the Justice and Human Rights Deputy Minister, Denny Indrayana, said that the draft helped the commission fight corruption. "Related to wiretapping, our proposal is clear, it won't affect KPK and they don't need judge's approval," Denny said.

Denny said that he would not reject the idea to revise the draft if it was considered bad."The possibility to make the draft perfect is not closed," Denny explained.

In an academic paper written to draft the Kuhap, it stated that the KPK should obtain permission from the court judge to use a wiretap. Andi Hamzah, the head of the drafting team, said that the KPK was not excluded from the law. It also stated that the commission was allowed to wiretap if it was an urgent matter, but they would still have to report to the judge.

Democratic Party lawmaker Saan Mustopa said on Friday that the KPK could send their objections to the House to be discussed. "It's not necessary for the draft of Kuhap to be revoked by the government," Saan said. "We can discuss it here, just tell their objections and arguments."

Saan said that the KPK was equal with other legal institutions and therefore should be supervised. "[They] need to be supervised to prevent power abuse," he said.

Another PKS politician implicated in beef scandal

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Jakarta – A Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker says he previously owned the car used by graft suspect Ahmad Fathanah when he was caught accepting a Rp 1 billion (US$102,743) bribe.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) questioned PKS lawmaker Jazuli Juwaini on Thursday in connection with his role in the beef import bribe scandal at the Agriculture Ministry.

Jazuli, a member of the House of Representatives Commission VIII on religious and social affairs, is the latest politician from the Islamist party to be implicated in the case.

Jazuli said that he sold his car, a Land Cruiser Prado, to Ahmad last year when Jazuli was running for governor in Banten in 2012. "I bought it for Rp 900 million. I sold the car because I needed money. It turned out the person who wanted my car was Ahmad Fathanah," Jazuli told reporters before he was questioned.

Ahmad, a close aide to former PKS chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, reportedly paid Jazuli Rp 600 million for the car.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the vehicle was confiscated by investigators when the commission took Ahmad into custody at the Le Meridien Hotel in South Jakarta earlier this year.

According to the commission, beef importer PT Indoguna Utama allegedly bribed then-PKS chairman Luthfi through Ahmad to win a government contract. Luthfi has been accused of using his influence to rig the beef import contracts at the Agriculture Ministry, which is led by another PKS politician, Suswono.

Investigators found Rp 980 million in the car and another Rp 20 million in Ahmad's pockets when he was found in a hotel room with a college student identified as Maharani Suciyono.

The commission charged Ahmad with corruption and money laundering for his role in the scandal, claiming that investigators had evidence that Ahmad's wealth had been amassed illegally.

Other than the Land Cruiser, which is still registered to Jazuli, the KPK confiscated another three cars reportedly owned by Ahmad: a black Toyota FJ Cruiser, a white Alphard and a black Mercedes Benz.

Jazuli denied he was involved in the scandal, stating he had only been questioned by the KPK as to the ownership of Ahmad's Land Cruiser.

Several PKS politicians, including Suswono and party secretary-general Taufik Ridho, have been questioned by the KPK about their roles in the scandal, which has tarnished the party's previous reputation for integrity in the public's eye.

PKS leaders have claimed that the charges leveled against its former chairman were political and aimed at discrediting the party ahead of the 2014 elections.

Others have said that Ahmad, who reportedly had five wives and eleven children, had never been a member of the party, claiming to know very little of him, except that he was an acquaintance to Luthfi.

Critics want 'aggressive' KPK to seize more assets

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should aggressively use its existing powers to seize the assets of corruption suspects to recover taxpayer money, several critics have agreed.

Under the 2010 Money Laundering Law, the KPK has been authorized to charge graft suspects with money laundering and to request confidential information on suspicious transactions from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Thursday that the commission would use the law more often to recover more public money from corrupt officials. "The law enables us to return stolen assets to the state coffers more effectively."

Despite the spokesman's statements, the commission has yet to make good on such intentions. Last year, the KPK recovered a scant Rp 113 billion (11.64 million) in state funds from convicted corruptors, down from Rp 134.65 billion in 2011, Rp 179.99 billion in 2010 and Rp 142.99 billion in 2009.

Wa Ode Nurhayati, a former lawmaker on the House of Representatives budget committee, was the first person charged by KPK with money laundering. Although Wa Ode was convicted, the commission recovered only Rp 10 billion out of Rp 50 billion that she allegedly illegally obtained.

"Our legislative tools are improving now, but law enforcement and judiciary officials are still using an old approach," Donal Fariz of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said.

Separately, Kuntoro Mangkusu-broto, the head of the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4), previously described the commission's current approach as unsatisfactory.

Kuntoro said that current laws providing for asset seizures and imposing a reverse burden of proof on suspects were rarely used. The Supreme Court is currently enacting a regulation requiring judges to allow prosecutors to seize assets from graft defendants before verdicts are handed down.

Donal said that current regulations on money laundering and asset seizures could be a powerful tool for the commission, allowing it to confiscate assets without having to first prove predicate crimes.

I Made Hendra, an ad hoc judge for the Jakarta Corruption Court, said that his fellow jurists were generally passive in such cases, ceding the initiative to the KPK. "The KPK's prosecutors can ask the court to place the burden of proof on the defendant about the illicit assets," he told The Jakarta Post.

In what is thought to be a first, the South Jakarta District Court in 2011 – responding to a request from prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office – imposed the burden of proof concept on former tax official Bahasyim Assifie. The court confiscated Rp 60 billion and $681,487 in foreign currency from Bahasyim after he was unable to prove the source of funds.

Trisakti University law expert and former judge Asep Iwan Iriawan said that it was up to the KPK alone how to use its authority.

Since the Money Laundering Law was enacted in 2010, the KPK has used it to charge several corruption suspects in hopes of recovering billions in stolen state assets.

There are three graft suspects currently facing money laundering charges: former National Police Traffic Corps chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo; Ahmad Fathanah, a suspect in the import beef scandal; and the disgraced lawmaker and high-profile graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently ordered authorities to take necessary steps to eradicate corruption based on asset recovery and by establishing international cooperation, as stated in 2013 Presidential Instruction No. 1 on Action on Corruption Prevention and Eradication.

I'm a victim in tax leak case: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is slamming the tax office for not keeping his family's returns confidential, saying that he has become a victim.

"If we do not take action, if we cannot prevent this, then this might be used as a method for blackmailing taxpayers," the President said when submitting his tax form for 2012 at the Finance Ministry in Jakarta on Thursday. "I have become a victim in this," the President told reporters at the ministry.

Yudhoyono said that leaking tax documents was a crime since taxpayer confidentiality was guaranteed by law. He asked that the Taxation Directorate General at the ministry investigate and punish whoever leaked his returns.

"I hope that this case will not happen again. If it happens, then the director general of the tax office must respond and clarify immediately. If not, then this might be used to defame certain taxpayers," Yudhoyono said.

Documents obtained by The Jakarta Post provided details of Yudhoyono's 2011 tax return, submitted in the first quarter of 2012, indicating that he earned Rp 1.37 billion (US$140,800) as president and Rp 107 million in royalties.

The documents, the validity of which were confirmed by sources at the Taxation Directorate General, also indicated that Yudhoyono opened bank accounts worth Rp 4.98 billion and $589,188 in 2011.

The President's two sons, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, also had bank accounts containing Rp 1.64 billion and Rp 1.57 billion respectively, the documents said.

Agus' money was in five savings accounts and one term deposit account that were opened in 2011, while Ibas listed as assets a house and land in Cikeas, West Java, as well as an Audi Q5 SUV car, bringing his wealth to Rp 6 billion.

Meanwhile, the documents said that Agus, a field-grade officer with the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), reported Rp 70.2 million in income in 2012, while Ibas, then a Democratic Party lawmaker, earned Rp 183 million.

Calls have mounted for Yudhoyono to address the disparity between the amounts listed on the tax returns and his family's income, with former top taxman Fuad Bawazier saying that the President should explain and "make clear" to the public the sources of his and his sons' income.

Speaking in front of Cabinet members and Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, who were also on hand to submit their returns, Yudhoyono took time to defend himself. "A certain media outlet portrayed me as not fulfilling my obligation as taxpayer. Really, I am compliant and disciplined when paying my taxes every year."

The President added: "Documents that I have obtained have been verified thoroughly. I do not want to be short of even one rupiah. It will do no good for a government official to be proven to have a tax return that is short of the amount that should be paid."

The current chief of the Taxation Directorate General, Fuad Rahmany, said that the leak investigation was ongoing, alleging that there was evidence that the returns might have been stolen by unidentified hackers.

"Our system utilizes IT [information technology] and it is all already online. This poses dilemma between having a more efficient workload and hackers scattered around the world and Indonesia," Fuad told reporters.

He said that leaking a taxpayer's return, frequently done under the illegal practice or "tax peeping", or the unauthorized viewing of the returns of notable individuals, was a threat in Indonesia as well as in developed countries such as the US and Germany.

KPK turns up the heat on Golkar

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has raided the offices of Golkar lawmakers Setya Novanto and Kahar Muzakir at the House of Representatives in connection with the National Games (PON) construction scandal.

Setya, who is also Golkar's treasurer and leads the party's lawmakers in the House, has been accused of asking an official in Riau, which hosted the games in 2012, for a US$1 million bribe for Golkar lawmakers to approve construction projects for the games.

The raids came as several major political parties, such as the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), have been struggling to gain public support for the presidential and legislative elections in 2014 and amid corruption scandals that have taken a toll on their reputations and electoral prospects.

Investigators arrived at the House at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, when the lawmakers had convened a plenary session, and left around 5 p.m.

A host of boxes containing documents and evidence were taken out of the lawmakers' offices by the KPK. Setya was reportedly present as six investigators searched his office.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the raids were conducted as part of the commission's investigation of Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, the only senior Golkar politician to have been charged in the case. "We conducted the raids as we believed there was evidence there [at the House]."

Rusli, whose private residence in West Jakarta was also raided by the KPK on Tuesday, is facing charges in three corruption cases, two of which are connected to the PON scandal and one involving forestry permits.

He allegedly paid Rp 900 million in bribes to local legislators through Riau Sports and Youth Agency head Lukman Abbas to expedite deliberations on a bylaw to increase the budget for construction of PON venues. Rusli also allegedly accepted a bribe from a company that benefited from the bylaw.

Lukman, who was sentenced to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment for his role in the case on Thursday, testified in court that he gave $1 million to Golkar lawmakers to approve the Riau administration's request to the central government to allocate Rp 250 billion for PON projects.

He said that the bribes were channeled to Setya through Kahar following a meeting between Rusli, Setya and Kahar at the House complex in Senayan, South Jakarta.

While Setya has denied Lukman's allegations and accused his peer of perjury, he has admitted to meeting Rusli.

Setya reportedly left his House office through the emergency stairs to evade the assembled journalists waiting for him. This is not the first time that Setya has been implicated in a corruption case. In 1999, he was charged in the Bank Bali scandal, although he was later exonerated in court.

The raids bode ill for Golkar, which previously distanced itself from Rusli after he was named a suspect by the commission last month.

Senior Golkar politician Nudirman Munir criticized the commission for the raids, saying that the KPK had treated lawmakers unfairly. "The House is the people's house and should be protected from any kind of harassments.

Nudirman claimed that the commission had no legal authority to search the offices of lawmakers in the House, demanding that the KPK treat the House with dignity.

The PON scandal has not been the only case placing Golkar politicians in the hot seat. Golkar lawmaker Zulkarnaen Djabar, a member of House Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs, is standing trial in the graft case surrounding the procurement of Korans by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

The Koran scandal has implicated deputy House speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, who is also a member of Golkar's executive body.

The KPK has also recently questioned Golkar lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo for allegedly accepting bribes from former National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who is facing corruption and money laundering charges for allegedly rigging a tender for the procurement of driving simulators.

Djoko's assets indicate massive graft at national police

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Anti-graft watchdogs suspect that graft suspect Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, former chief of the National Traffic Police Corps (Korlantas), amassed his assets from other corruption-ridden projects within the force.

Over the past fortnight, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) seized numerous assets from Djoko, including luxurious houses and vehicles in Jakarta, West Java, Central Java and Bali

On Monday, the KPK seized a villa, constructed on 25-hectare plot in Subang, West Java. Several media outlets reported that Djoko had built a small zoo for exotic animals inside the compound.

Over the weekend, the KPK seized a house in Harvestland upmarket housing complex located on Jl. Raya Kuta, Bali, and a 7,000-meter plot of land in Tabanan, Bali. The two-story house is approximately worth more than Rp 4 billion (US$412,072).

Djoko was the first serving senior police officer to be arrested and charged with corruption and money laundering for his role in the graft- ridden Rp 200 billion driving simulator procurement project at Korlantas.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the anti-graft body had also seized four cars, six tour buses and three gas stations that belonged to the two-star general. "The total value of seized assets belonging to DS [Djoko Susilo] is between Rp 60 and 70 billion," Johan said.

In 2010, Djoko stated in his wealth report that his assets were worth Rp 5.6 billion.

The chairman of the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW), Neta S. Pane, said that Djoko had an obscenely excessive amount of wealth for a two-star police general.

"His monthly salary was below Rp 4 million. If we combine this with benefits, his total take-home pay was around Rp 15 million per month," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the seizure of Djoko's wealth could pave the way for the KPK to uncover bigger corruption cases inside the force.

"I reckon that the KPK is collecting evidence for other cases, other than the simulator procurement scandal," he told the Post, referring to the suspicious "fat" bank accounts of several high-ranking police officers.

Meanwhile, Djoko's lawyer, Juniver Girsang, lambasted the KPK's continued effort to hunt for his client's assets. He said that the anti-graft body was only authorized to confiscate assets that were purchased in 2011, the time when Djoko handled the procurement project.

"The KPK's move to seize Djoko's assets amassed before 2011 is not relevant to the corruption charges. We are preparing our next legal move, we believe the KPK is going beyond its authority," Juniver said on Monday.

Emerson said that the KPK could ignore Juniver's complaints. "Under the Money Laundering Law, the KPK can seize any assets that come from corrupt practice," he said.

KPK urged to summon Ibas following testimony

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Jakarta – An antigraft watchdog has called on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to question Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono without delay, following a statement by graft convict Yulianis, former deputy financial director at the Permai Group, accusing the President's son of accepting US$200,000 from the company.

Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) researcher Uchok Sky Khadafi said the KPK should follow up on Yulianis' testimony to determine whether Yudhoyono's youngest son was implicated in a graft case.

"The KPK should find out where the money came from and how it ended up in Ibas' hands," Ucok said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Sunday.

Ucok said that by launching an investigation into Ibas, the KPK would demonstrate its independence and impartiality. He added, however, that the KPK was choosy in picking its battles.

"It seems like the KPK hesitates to investigate people with close connections to power. But if those people work in opposition to that power, the KPK could resolutely act against them," Uchok said.

At a trial hearing last week at the Jakarta Corruption Court on the graft case surrounding the procurement of laboratory equipment for several universities, Yulianis said the Permai Group wired Ibas $200,000, money that was allegedly pooled from the Hambalang project.

The money was reportedly used to finance the Democratic Party congress in Bandung in 2010, at which Anas Urbaningrum was elected chairman. She said that records about the money transfer had been saved on his personal computer and laptop, both of which were confiscated by the KPK.

Ibas has denied the accusation, saying he did not know Yulianis and adding that the allegation was an attempt to smear his reputation.

"I have often been accused [of being involved in graft cases], over, for instance, money from the Bank Century case, Hambalang, and others. I hope this [allegation] won't be repeated because I didn't accept anything," Ibas told reporters on Saturday. Ibas said that someone else could have accepted the money.

"I chaired the steering committee for the Bandung congress and I didn't accept any money. I am certainly curious about who received the money, especially if my name was abused," Ibas said. "I wonder whether political interests are behind this disclosure."

The KPK had previously received reports alleging that members of Yudhoyono's family were involved in graft. One of the allegations stated that Ibas had accepted $900,000 from former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin between Jan. 18 and Dec. 29, 2010.

Former secretary-general of the National Defense Council, Lt. Gen. (ret.) M. Yasin, who is also a Yudhoyono loyalist, accused Yulianis of lying and called on her to withdraw her statement.

"I have known Ibas since he was very young. It is impossible that he would have accepted [the money]. I know that Ibas wouldn't do such a thing," he said. (nad)

KPK finds no evidence to link Suswono to beef imports graft case

Jakarta Globe - March 16, 2013

Indonesia's national antigraft body says they have no evidence to charge Agriculture Minister Suswono as a suspect in the beef import quota bribery case.

"Suswono is still a witness," said Johan Budi, spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday, as quoted by Antaranews.com. "There is no evidence on the agriculture minister's involvement [in the case]."

Johan said that the commission had made no plans to question Suswono again, after the minister was questioned by the KPK for the second time on Thursday.

Suswono, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), had been implicated in a case centering on an attempt to rig the awarding of beef import contracts by his ministry.

He allegedly met with graft suspect Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, the former PKS president, in Medan last month, along with the president director of a beef import company Indoguna Utama, Maria Elizabeth Liman, and Elda Devianne Adiningrat, the former chairwoman of the Indonesian Seeds Association.

Luthfi is alleged to have demanded a kickback from Indoguna for using his influence over Suswono to ensure that the company was awarded a lucrative government contract to import several thousand tons of beef this year.

He has been charged by the KPK along with two Indoguna executives, Arya Abdi Effendi and Juard Effendi, as well as Luthfi's assistant, Ahmad Fathanah.

Elda and Elizabeth were questioned by the KPK on Thursday, along with Luthfi, Ahmad, Arya, Juard, as investigators tried to determine the scale of the alleged big-rigging. Neither Suswono, Elizabeth nor Elda have been charged, although the KPK have issued travel bans for the two women.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Poso terror raid video is authentic: Komnas HAM

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has verified as genuine a video depicting officers from a police counterterrorism squad allegedly using excessive force when searching for suspects in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

The commission's findings contradicted a senior police general, who claimed that the video, which found a wide audience in the local Muslim community through social media, was a fabrication in part.

The 13-minute video sparked protests against the National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism unit since its appearance on Youtube. Last month, representatives of several Muslim groups called on the police to disband the unit.

Siane Indriani, who leads Komnas HAM's investigations division, said that commission had recevied testimony from several local residents who were later convicted of terrorism claiming that they were beaten or shot by Densus 88 officers after surrendering during the raids.

"We visited in Palu and Poso, Central Sulawesi between March 7 and 11. Based on our investigation and interviews with the convicts and eyewitnesses, we believe that the video depicts the raid in Tanah Runtuh, Poso, on Jan. 22, 2007," Siane said during a press conference at Komnas HAM's headquarters in Jakarta.

In 2007, a Densus 88 unit raided a house in Tanah Runtuh where several suspected were thought to be hiding. Twelve people, including one police officer, were slain in the ensuing shoot out.

"Some of the victims were still alive after the shootings, but the police did nothing to save them," Siane said. "Of all the victims, only one, Icang, who was a fugitive, survived."

One suspected terrorist shot during the raid, Wiwin, told Komnas HAM that officers beat and shot him after he raised his hands and surrendered, the commission said.

Komnas HAM also questioned the treatment of Fachrudin, a suspected terrorist who died a day after the raid. "He was apprehended in good condition, with no gunshot wounds. A day after he was detained in Central Sulawesi Police headquarters, he died, and his body was in bad shape," Siane said.

National Police Criminal Investigations Division chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman previously claimed that some of the video had been fabricated to discredit Densus 88, claiming that the officers in the video were not part of the counterterrorist unit and were members of the provincial police's Mobile Brigade special operations unit.

Sutarman said that officers shot Wiwin, who involved in the murder and mutilation of three SMU Kristen High School students in 2005, for resisting arrest.

Komnas HAM chairperson Siti Nurlaila said the commission found indications of human rights abuses in the terror raid. "The police killed a suspect without trial. This is a violation of the right to life." Siti urged the National Police to conduct transparent investigation to bring those responsible to justice.

Freedom of religion & worship

Religious intolerance in Indonesia 'strips away other rights'

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2013

Dessy Sagita – The effects of growing religious intolerance in Indonesia go much deeper than just limiting freedom to worship and have the potential in some cases to affect the victims' entire lives, activists say.

"The domino effect of the intolerance is tremendous, not only are people prevented from the freedom to worship their God but their other rights have been denied," Palti Panjaitan, the national coordinator of the Solidarity of Victims of Religious Freedom Violations (Sobat KBB), told the Jakarta Globe recently.

Palti, the pastor of Bekasi, West Java's HKBP Filadelfia church – long subject to persecution – said many victims of religious intolerance were prevented from living their lives normally.

"Ahmadi can't marry legally and their children would be born without needed documentation. They will be considered illegitimate [children] who were born out of wedlock, and later these children can't access many facilities as citizens, including Jamkesmas [state health insurance for the poor]," he said, referring to adherents of the Islamic sect known as Ahmadiyah.

Although there is no formal instruction from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, allegations of an unspoken rule prohibiting the marrying of Ahmadiyah couples have long existed. "The sad thing about it is that many victims choose to stay quiet because they would be criminalized if they fought back," he said.

Palti himself has been named a suspect by police for allegedly assaulting a member of an intolerant group on Christmas Eve last year, a charge Palti says was trumped up.

Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said even though Indonesia has ratified several international conventions pertaining to human rights, violations against minorities remained rampant.

Yuniyanti said most victims of religious intolerance could not access their economic and social rights because of pressures from hard-liners. "They can't obtain an ID card, they can't join the election and they can't even set up an account at banks," she said.

Religious violence had started to take its toll on children especially, Yuniyanti said. In some places like Bekasi, she said, children had started to fear religious symbols, associating them with violence.

"Children are terrified seeing people dressing in Islamic garb and they are scared whenever they hear somebody chant 'Allahu akbar' because they think it means an attack. This is sad, because religion has become something terrifying for children."

Palti urged the government must take immediate action. "Now we hear persecuted people have started to retaliate; in my hometown in North Sumatra we heard some mosques were burned down. This has to stop now," he said.

A report by the Setara Institute, an Indonesia-based research and advocacy group, found 216 cases of violent attacks on religious minorities in 2010, 244 cases in 2011 and 264 cases in 2012.

Batak church demolished by Bekasi government

Jakarta Globe - March 21, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran, Jonathan G. Vit & Sandra Siagian – The congregation of Bekasi's beleaguered HKBP Taman Sari church huddled close, forming a barrier between their church and the idling bulldozer sent to demolish their house of worship on Thursday.

They sang tearful Batak hymns in the afternoon heat, wailing between the verses, as church member Megarenta Sihite shouted at the officers from the Bekasi District Public Order Agency (Satpol PP).

"What is our sin, sir?" she screamed. "Is it a sin to pray? Show us where our mistake is. I thought this is a democratic country. Please, Mr. President, we were born here in this country with five religions. We never did anything bad to their houses of worship. Why are they doing this to us?"

The Bekasi district administration issued an order to demolish the church on Wednesday, arguing that it was built in violation of a local bylaw requiring all houses of worship to secure a building permit before construction.

Church leaders said they had gathered 89 signatures of approval from local residents needed to acquire a permit, but were derailed when the urban ward chief refused to sign the document, claiming that most of the signatures were faked.

The congregation pushed back on Thursday in an hours-long standoff between churchgoers and Satpol PP officers. The dispute peaked as pastors and an attorney from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation presented Dikdik Astra, the Satpol PP chief, with documents claiming the demolition order had violated Indonesian law.

Dikdik dismissed the argument. "We received orders from the district chief [Neneng Hasanah Yasin]," he said. "We only want to obey what the district chief said. Whether it is legal or not, that is her business."

The church was demolished amid cheers of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") from members of the hard-line Taman Sari Islamic People's Forum (FUIT) who had gathered outside the building.

Pastor Adven Leonard Nababan accused the Satpol PP of caving to pressure from hard-line groups. Dikdik denied the allegation.

Hard-liner support, police inaction

The road leading to HKBP Taman Sari was flanked by members of local Islamic hard-line groups Thursday morning. Men dressed in white robes flew flag bearing the names of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) as they shouted demands into megaphones a half-kilometer from the church.

"It's not a church," Zuhri, of the FUIT, said. "It's an illegal building. So don't mistake this as a religious conflict. It's not a war between Christians and Muslims. It is not a church at all. It is just an ordinary illegal building."

The church has held regular services in a small bamboo structure since 1999, Pastor Adven said. But as the congregation ballooned to more than 600 people, Sunday services spilled out into the church's wooded lot. "The church could not accommodate all of them," Adven said.

"We were afraid that the building would collapse, so we planned to build a new building to worship comfortably."

Their troubles began when the church broke ground on the expansion. Islamic hard-liners rallied against the construction, holding a large demonstration in January demanding that the government shutter the church.

"The opposition from the hard-line groups started on January 15 with a rally of some 750 people," Adven said. "After that, the process to get the building permit was not continued."

District chief Neneng ordered the Satpol PP to close the church on March 7. The congregation was told to demolish the partially constructed building themselves. The church refused.

Thursday's demolition was in violation of Indonesian law, said Yunita, a lawyer with the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation.

She presented a copy of the law to Dikdik and to Adj. Comr. Sumarwoto, the Setu subprecinct police chief, arguing that the demolition order had failed to follow national protocol.

"Dismantling this building will be illegal," she said. "You should have letter from the district chief to dismantle the building and a long investigation process as stipulated by the law. Do you have the letter?"

Dikdik claimed he had the necessary documentation, but the letter he had was an order to seal off the building listed under the name of Markus Sihite, and not an order to dismantle the church.

"See, you have no rights to do this," Yunita said. "This is a church, not a building owned by Markus Sihite. If you want to knock it down, at least get the right letter."

Sumarwoto, for his part, washed his hands of the case, telling the churchgoers that his officers were only on location to prevent a brawl between Islamic hard-liners and churchgoers.

"It's not my business," he said. "It's the Bekasi district government and Satpol PP. I am only here to secure the place and prevent a clash between residents and church members."

A community pulls together

The HKBP Taman Sari congregation is the latest Christian group in West Java to face opposition from locals over their presence in largely Muslim communities.

The GKI Yasmin congregation in Bogor has been locked out of its church since 2008 by the municipal authorities, in direct violation of two Supreme Court rulings and an order by the Indonesian Ombudsman to allow it back in.

Bogor officials' initial pretext for revoking the church's permit was that the signatures required to obtain it were fake. It now says that its refusal to abide by the rulings of the highest court in the land is based on residents' opposition to the church.

The HKBP Filadelfia congregation is the victim of a similar injustice. Since 2007, its members have been forced to worship on the street outside the church in Bekasi as district authorities continue to deny the church a permit.

The Home Affairs Ministry, which exercises authority over regional heads, has repeatedly claimed that regional autonomy renders the central government powerless to force the Bogor and Bekasi administrations to comply with the Supreme Court rulings.

The two congregations now hold joint services every Sunday on the street outside the State Palace in Jakarta, to draw the president's attention to their plight.

Back at the site of the HKBP Taman Sari church, two young girls wept as the dust began to settle on the collapsed walls. "Why are they so mean?" one girl cried. "Why did they have to demolish it? Where will we go for Sunday school?"

Women wailed and collapsed in fits while a single woman stood atop a pile of rubble, collecting bricks one by one to reset the Indonesian flag. She placed a tin sign bearing the church's name alongside the Merah Putih before walking off.

Adven, the church's pastor, addressed the crowd. "Don't cry," he told them. "Your tears will turn to victory. Remember, this is a test of your faith."

Adven said he would continue leading the congregation members in worship at the same location, because of the lack of nearby churches. The nearest HKBP church is 15 kilometers away, in Jakarta.

"We will still keep worshiping in this place," he said. "It has been two weeks that we've held services outside the church after they sealed off the building."

"Time flies, and soon we'll celebrate Good Friday," said Markus Simamora, a member of the congregation. "No matter how many times they demolish the church, we'll rebuild it."

Adven led the congregation in a prayer thanking Satpol PP and the Islamic hard-liners for their actions.

"Satpol PP officers and members of the Islamic group, we thank you for what you have done. May God bless you abundantly," he said. "Amen," the crowd responded.

Nia Pandiangan, a congregation member, accused the central and local governments of being unable to protect their right to worship. "But we won't hate them," she said. "As children of God, we were told to love, not to hate. So we'll pray that God will soften their hearts."

Few hard-liners, political elites behind religious violence: Ministry

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A top official at the Religious Affairs Ministry claimed that attacks on religious minorities nationwide have been orchestrated by political elites and a small number of hard-liners and did not reflect rising intolerance.

The head of the Religious Affairs Ministry's research and development division, Muhammad Machasin, told The Jakarta Post recently that based on a study conducted by the ministry the majority of Indonesian Muslims were tolerant.

"We have found that most of our people are in fact maintaining harmonious relationships with their neighbors. We've found that differences appear to be no problem among the people. "However, such people-to-people harmonious ties have been torn into pieces by a number of people who apparently have been influenced."

Machasin said that the ministry's previous findings showed that the perpetrators of religious violence were mostly outsiders. This, he argued, highlighted the "dirty moves" by certain groups and political leaders to abuse religion for their own benefit.

Machasin's statement came at a time when Indonesia has been under the international spotlight for failing to protect minorities.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), for instance, issued a report accusing the government of complicity in cases of religious violence. The government has snubbed the report, saying that foreign observers were wrong.

According to the ministry's study, provinces in eastern Indonesia, such as East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and North Sulawesi, were among the most tolerant; while Jambi in Sumatra was considered as the least tolerant of religious differences.

The study also said that NTT and North Sulawesi were heterogeneous communities with small migrant populations, making them more open to religious differences because local residents had a sense of community that could be mobilized to quickly counter threats, including those driven by religious sentiment.

Meanwhile, places with more homogeneous populations and a high number of migrants were more prone to religious conflicts orchestrated by religious figures or local leaders, Machasin said.

"We aim to promote more community-based programs that will strengthen people-to-people relationships in the belief that mature and strong relations among people will not be easily disrupted by incorrect teachings or discriminative bylaws," Machasin said.

There was an urgent need to carry out such programs before the 2014 elections as religious sentiments might be manipulated by political parties, he added, calling on the government to enforce the law to minimize conflicts.

Machasin's statement confirms claims made by victims of religious violence.

Rev. Palti Panjaitan from the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Filadelfia church, for example, said that attacks on the church had been carried out by people from outside the neighborhood because members of the church had had harmonious relations with their neighbors.

However, Palti said that the attacks got worsened when the government sided with the perpetrators by refusing to enforce the law. "The government is also responsible for the rising attacks on religious minorities nationwide by omission," Palti said.

The Setara Institute, a local NGO that monitors religious freedom, previously said that the number of attacks against religious minorities rose from 144 in 2011 to 264 in 2012.

Bekasi government to demolish church without building permit on Thursday

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran – The Bekasi district government will demolish a church in Setu, Bekasi on Thursday because the church has no building permit.

Deputy Bekasi district chief Rohim Mintareja told Tempo.co on Tuesday that the church, HKBP Taman Sari, had violated the Bekasi bylaw requiring houses of worship to obtain a permit.

Rohim said the government had warned the church several times but the church ignored the warnings, so a joint team of officers from the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), military and police will demolish the building.

"The letter to dismantle the building has been signed by district chief Neneng Hasanah Yasin," Rohim said.

Rohim said that the government had offered to allow the congregation to worship in different building to prevent clashes with residents, but members reportedly refused the idea.

"The government should take a strict action to keep the situation conducive, and [the church] should also comply with the existing regulation," Rohim said.

The pastor of HKBP Taman Sari, Adven Leonard Nababan, said that the church would file a lawsuit against the Bekasi district government if it dismantles the church.

The deputy director of human rights group Setara Institute, Bonar Tigor, told Jakarta Globe that the church has tried to obtain the permit, but it was not successful.

"HKBP Setu met all the requirements. They have already obtained 60 residents' signatures as stipulated by the regulation," Bonar said. "It has been approved by the urban ward chief. When waiting for the approval of the subdistrict chief, there was rejection from the residents. Some residents who had signed the agreement decided to revoke their support."

He said that the government should not "demolish a House of God, and instead give facility for the congregation to exercise their religion."

Bonar said 29 other HKBP churches in Bekasi could face the same problem. "There are 39 HKBP churches in both Bekasi district and Bekasi city, but only 10 that have obtained building permits," Bonar said. "It's so difficult to get the building permit at all levels, from the neighborhood unit chief up to the district or municipal office."

While the process of getting a permit is difficult, Bonar said that some churches could speed up the process by paying large sums of money to government offices.

"In a Toraja church in Bintaro, they paid to the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) Rp 400 million ($41,140) for them to get the permit from the government," Bonar said. "They got the building permit soon after giving the money."

Bonar said that another HKBP church in Bekasi that had not obtained the permit was also opposed by residents. But after the church paid monthly installments of Rp 1.5 million to FBR and the Satpol PP, the residents stopped protesting the church.

HKBP Setu is not the first church to be dismantled in Indonesia. In 2010, a Pentecostal church named Narogong located in Limusnunggal village, Cileungsi was demolished by Bogor police for not having a permit. In 2012, 17 churches in Aceh Singkil district were demolished by the Satpol PP for the same reason.

Parliament & legislation

Witch hunt junket for 60 lawmakers

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Margareth Aritonang, Jakarta – Despite massive criticism for irrational pronouncements, the House's legal commission members plan trips to three European countries including Russia to 'find facts' for the Criminal Code and Criminal Code Procedures revisions.

The lawmakers will go in four groups of 15, departing between April 14 and 19 to the Netherlands, France, the UK and Russia. Among the facts they hope to find and insight on how to deal the impact of black magic on society.

"Black magic is a part of witchcraft, which has existed everywhere since a long time ago," Achmad Dimyati Natakusumah from the United Development Party (PPP) said on Friday.

"Many people believe in black magic. That's why we need to regulate it to avoid communal judgement," he added. Activists have been asking why the lawmakers intend to put a chapter on black magic into the new codes, arguing that law enforcers would meet serious obstacles in proving the acts had been committed. (dic)

Armed forces & defense

Indonesian army to welcome female cadets for first time

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2013

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Army plans to allow women to train as officers for the first time in the force's history, as part of sweeping reforms that the Army chief has vowed to usher in ahead of his retirement later this year.

Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, the Army chief of staff, announced on Thursday that of the 192 Army cadets that the Military Academy planned to recruit this year, 16 would be women. He said the move was part of efforts to improve gender equality in the Army.

"They will train alongside their male counterparts and go through the same activities," he said of the female cadets.

This will mark the first time in the Army's history that women will be allowed to train as officers at the Military Academy. Upon graduating, the lowest rank they can hold is that of second lieutenant.

Previously, female Army personnel seeking to attain that rank or higher had to start out as enlisted personnel or non-commissioned officers before being promoted through the ranks.

Pramono said the change was part of wider efforts at military reforms that he hoped to introduce before retiring in May. "We call on young men and women with a nationalistic spirit who want to help the country to join the Army," he said.

The general also vowed to end the practice of officers demanding bribes from applicants to the Military Academy or to any Army recruitment office.

"For the Army, whether you're applying to be an enlisted personnel, a non- commissioned officer or an officer, there are no fees to pay," he said. "If anyone is asked to pay a bribe during the recruitment process, please report it. I assure you we will follow up against the officer in question, no matter their rank."

He added there would be no shortcuts for cadets looking for an easy pass. "Whether a cadet graduates depends solely on that cadet's abilities, and not the influence of other people," Pramono said.

Criminal justice & prison system

House to tackle black magic in law revision

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Lawmakers and activists are voicing opposition to an "irrational" draft revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) that the House of Representatives is set to start considering next week.

One critic said that the proposed revisions threatened personal liberty and might return the nation to medieval times, given provisions providing punishment for those who practice black magic (ilmu hitam).

Article 293 of the revised bill stipulates that individuals who claim to practice or who encourage the practice of black magic can be sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment or to pay a fine of Rp 300 million (US$30,000).

In bad news for the job prospects for the nation's dukun (sorcerers or shamans), the article would provide penalties for those who practice black magic for financial gain.

The latest version of the draft, if endorsed, could also infringe on the rights of religious minority groups.

Article 341 of the draft, for example, provides for sentences of to up two years' imprisonment for public expressions of hatred toward the nation's five recognized religions, while Article 342 states that those convicted of blasphemy can be sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment or to pay a Rp 300 million fine.

The bill would impose a similar penalty on those who publicly insult the teachings of the prophets, apostles, holy books and rituals of any religion.

Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that such stipulations could further undermine religious tolerance in the country.

"Some of the articles still encourage hatred of the country's minority groups. They encourage people to place their God over others," Eva said.

Eva described the bill's provisions on black magic as "irrational" and prone to abuse. "This article and other repressive articles convince me that our legal system has yet to bring justice to minority groups," she said.

Another contentious article dealt with cohabitation. Those who live together can be sentenced to one year's imprisonment and to pay a Rp 30 million fine under the draft revision.

Meanwhile, Article 483 would provide for a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment for adultery, up from a current maximum sentence of nine months.

Activists have also voiced concerns on proposed revisions that would make it easier for the government to stifle its critics in the mass media.

The current draft has 10 articles covering treason alone. Article 284, for example, imposes a maximum of three years' imprisonment or the payment of a Rp 300 billion fine for those who "insult" the government.

Article 285 would apply the same penalties for those convicted of publishing or broadcasting content deemed an "insult" to the government or that might create unrest in the community.

Rights activist Wahyudin Djafar of the Institute for Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), a human rights watchdog, said that the current draft failed to comply with universal values of human rights. "Almost all the articles give an opportunity to the state to treat citizens as criminals," Wahyudin said.

"The revision is intended to modernize the country's positive law, but the current draft is in fact a throwback to the colonial era," he added.

One lawmaker, however, was unconcerned by the critics. Lawmaker Indra of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said that he could endorse the government's version of the draft that is slated for deliberation by the House.

Indra said that he particularly supported the article on cohabitation, which he claimed could be used to improve the country's moral standards.

PKS leader insists proposed law against witchcraft is sensible

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2013

Carlos Paath – A conservative legislator has sprung to the defense of a proposed article against witchcraft in a newly drafted revision to the Criminal Code, insisting it addresses a more serious problem than it appears to.

Indra, a member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said on Thursday that the real target of the proposed article was the practice of fraud by self-proclaimed shamans and spiritual healers, and not the actual notion of witchcraft itself.

"What needs to be emphasized here is that the substance of the article is the fraud, not the witchcraft," he said. "Anyone claiming to be, or advertising themselves as capable of using witchcraft to hurt or kill others is committing fraud."

Indra, who serves on the House of Representatives' Commission III, which oversees legal affairs and is responsible for deliberating the proposed amendments to the 95-year-old Criminal Code, said there were a lot of cases of people advertising such services in tabloids and magazines.

"Those are the people we're after. I believe this initiative by the government should be strongly supported," he said.

The existing Criminal Code contains no provisions on the practice of witchcraft. The inclusion of the proposed article in the revised code that was submitted to the House by the government earlier this month raised questions by criminologists on how law enforcers could define witchcraft, as well as concerns from practitioners that the law could be abused to shake them down.

Singles caught having sex face jail time under proposed law in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - March 21, 2013

A draft of a criminal code (KUHP) revision proposed by the government for debate earlier this month punishes unmarried people caught having sex, a report said on Thursday.

"It [singles engaging in premarital sex] is liable for up to five years in jail," Wahiduddin Adams, the director general for legislation at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said, as quoted by Tempo Interaktif online. In the current penal code, only adultery is punishable under article 284.

Wahiduddin said that the government included non-married individuals in the proposed revision because it reflected the prevailing norms in the society. "Our society is not like in the old penal code, that allows this," he said, according to Tempo Interaktif.

However he said that the law could only be used if a report against an individual was filed by others who deemed they have been put at a disadvantage because of the action.

"Therefore, it cannot [be used] in a sweeping operation in the field," he said, referring to the raids often conducted by police and officials on hotels and inns to look for unmarried couples sharing a room.

Wahiduddin said that the draft penal code revision also threatened unmarried couples living together with up to one year in jail.

Ida Ruwaida, a sociologist with the University of Indonesia, questioned the effectiveness of such articles in the penal code. "It would be senseless if there are no regulation or control in the field," Ida said, according to Tempo.

However, she said that the rules were not intervening in the privacy of individuals. "The intention of the government is good. This is a regulation for a social order," she said.

Syarifuddin Sudding, a lawmaker from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said his political fraction had not yet discussed the matter but he agreed that they should be dealt with under the law. "I think, it would be good if this is regulated," Syarifuddin said.

Foreign affairs & trade

Indonesia may decline to ratify treaty on arms trade

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2013

Jakarta – A member of Commission I which oversees foreign affairs at the House of Representatives, Muhammad Nadjib, said that Indonesia might decline to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) during the two-week Final United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, which began on Monday local time at the UN Headquarters in New York, if several articles in the treaty remained unchanged.

"Speaking as the representative of the Indonesian House of Representatives, I warn the countries' leaders and delegations, that the House will not ratify the Arms Trade Treaty if several articles to which the Indonesian delegation have voiced their objections remain unchanged," said Nadjib in a written statement in Jakarta, Tuesday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Citing an example, he said one article in the treaty stipulated that an arms-supplier country had a right to unilaterally assess human rights violations allegedly occurring in a potential buyer-country. It was one of several articles the Indonesian delegation had voiced their objections to, he added.

"This article is deemed subjective and is directed at furthering the political interests of developed countries. Moreover, it has been widely known that they exercise double standards on human rights," said Nadjib.

He said the treaty also included an article on sanctions such as ammunition embargoes and other trade controls that supplier-countries could apply at any time if they suspected human right violations in the buyer-countries.

"This could paralyze our very expensive primary weapons defense system [Alutsista] that we have bought," said Nadjib.

He also urged the Indonesian delegation to push national delegations to include the rights of countries to protect their territories and citizens in the articles of the treaty.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that there should be a comprehensive instrument to standardize the international conventional-arms trade. He said such arms trade control was very important and urgent.

In his speech at the conference in New York Ban urged representatives from 193 UN member countries to complete their work by March 28. (ebf)

Infrastructure & development

Indonesia takes a step up on human development

Jakarta Globe - March 16, 2013

Indonesia's life expectancy has climbed but education levels have fallen in the past year, in aggregate allowing the country to inch forward in the latest United Nations Human Development Index.

In 2012 edition of the annual report, launched in Mexico City on Thursday, Indonesia climbed three places to 121 out of 187 countries and territories.

Indonesia scored 0.629 on the index, which uses various indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income to calculate a score between 0 and 1. Indonesia remained below the world average of 0.694 and the East Asia and Pacific regional average of 0.683.

The index classes Indonesia as a "Medium Human Development" country and documented improvements in most categories from last year. Among them was a rise in life expectancy to 69.8 years from 69.4 years.

But Indonesians older than 25 only received 5.8 years of education on average, indicating no significant change in the past three years despite the government earmarking one-fifth of its annual state budget for education.

For children of school-entering age, the expected years of education dipped to 12.9 years from 13.2 years. The weak education result comes as the country reshuffles its curriculum, reducing the roles of science and English.

Indonesia's overall improvement follows a dramatic drop in 2011, when it fell to 124th place from 108th a year earlier. The country has failed to match the long-term progress of comparable countries in the region, such as China.

In 1980, when the United Nations Development Program launched the index, China came below Indonesia, but it has since risen rapidly.

The report noted that Indonesia is one of 40 developing countries that have made greater human development gains in recent decades than would have been predicted. These achievements, it says, are largely attributable to sustained investment in education, health care and social programs.

Within the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesia sits above only Vietnam, at 127th, and Laos and Cambodia, tied at 138.

Singapore ranked 18th in the index, while Brunei was 30th and Malaysia 64th. Norway came first with a score 0.955 while Niger and Congo shared last place at 186, with a score of 0.304.

Economy & investment

Slowing domestic investment prompts World Bank to cut growth forecast

Jakarta Globe - March 19, 2013

Dion Bisara – The World Bank has cut its growth forecast for Indonesia this year as the pace of domestic investment recedes and pressures on the country's external balance intensify due to massive fuel imports.

The Washington-based lender forecast Indonesia's economy would expand by 6.2 percent this year, a notch below the previous forecast of 6.3 percent. Next year's growth projection remains unchanged at 6.5 percent, the World Bank said in its quarterly report on Monday.

Indonesia's economy grew by 6.2 percent last year, down from the 6.5 percent expansion recorded in 2011. Indonesia's economy has grown by more than 6 percent annually for the past three years.

"The biggest risk to near-term growth may come from domestic investment," the World Bank said in the statement.

The country's fixed investment growth declined to 7.3 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 12.5 percent in the second, the World Bank said. Imports of capital goods also weakened by 12.1 percent year-on-year in January 2013, suggesting a moderation of investment.

"The weaker commodity market conditions, which have been in place since mid-2011, may continue to impact aggregate investment spending with a lag, particularly in capital-intensive resource sectors where investment is lumpy," the World Bank said.

Higher inflation could erode people's purchasing power and force the nation's central bank to tighten monetary policy, both of which could put a brake on investment in Indonesia's domestic consumer sector, the global lender said.

Inflation accelerated in February to 5.3 percent year-on-year compared to 4.6 percent pace in January. The last time inflation exceeding 5 percent was in June 2011. Bank Indonesia, however, has maintained its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 5.75 percent for 14 straight months.

The World Bank also noted that investment "is likely to face some headwinds from ongoing, and possibly further, regulatory uncertainties and political noise as the 2014 elections approach."

Such policy uncertainty was most apparent in the country's mining sector, where the policy environment was ranked as the least attractive among 96 countries, the World Bank said, quoting a recent Fraser Institute survey of global mining executives.

The lender estimated that should investment only grow by 5 percent in 2013, about half its pace in 2012, the country's gross domestic product growth would be reduced by about 1 percentage point.

The government has said it expects the economy to grow by 6.5 percent this year, while the central bank has predicted growth of between 6.3 percent and 6.8 percent.

Chatib Basri, the head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), and Bambang Brodjonegoro, chief of the fiscal policy office at the Finance Ministry, did not respond to a request for comment on the World Bank report.

The World Bank projects the current account deficit to fall to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2013, from 2.7 percent in 2012. The improving global economy is forecast to boost demand for the country's exports, offsetting energy imports.

"The oil and gas trade deficit will likely continue to pose a challenge in 2013 amidst strong domestic energy demand, especially if there is not further progress on fuel subsidy reform," the World Bank said, adding that the fuel subsidy carried an opportunity cost, missed its intended target and distorted energy usage.

The government has estimated that subsidized fuel consumption may escalate to between 48 million and 53 million kiloliters this year, more than the 46 million kiloliters set in the state budget. The government spent Rp 211.9 trillion ($21.8 billion) last year to provide cheap fuel below market price. This year, the bill could reach beyond Rp 300 trillion, compared to the Rp 216 trillion spending allocated for infrastructure, which according to the World Bank is "inadequate and aging" and "continues to constrain growth, causing bottlenecks and high logistics costs."

The government's attempt to raise the fuel price failed last year after violent street protests and strong opposition from lawmakers.

Suryo Bambang Sulisto, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), expressed support for the World Bank assessment on the fuel issue.

Suryo said the subsidy money could boost the country's growth if it were allocated to build infrastructure as well as invest in education, health care and small and medium enterprise development programs.

"If the government communicates this well enough there will be no protest if they increase the fuel [price], because there will be a lot of jobs available," Suryo said.

Several economists in Jakarta have long urged the government to raise the subsidized fuel price and shift the funds to finance more productive projects, including boosting the development of infrastructure such as airports, seaports and toll roads. Poor infrastructure has long been blamed for slow growth in Indonesia.

Analysis & opinion

Ploy to tame the KPK (again)?

Jakarta Post Editorial - March 22, 2013

Wiretapping corruption suspects is one of several powers that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) possesses when carrying out its duties. Yet, it is key to the anticorruption commission's success in netting graft suspects – particularly high-profile ones – in the country.

As a consequence, it is perhaps not surprising that repeated efforts have been made to tame, or at least reduce, the commission's powers. The latest one is revisions made to the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP), whose draft was submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) in January.

So as to protect civil liberties, the bill stipulates that wiretapping is illegal, with exceptions applying to 20 serious crimes, including corruption. Article 83 of the bill goes into more specifics by saying that law enforcers are allowed to conduct wiretapping while investigating certain crimes, but they must first obtain warrants from their superiors and a judge. Also, a judge can issue a phone-bugging permit to last 30 days, with an extension for a maximum additional 30 days being allowed.

The reason for the controversy is the necessity for investigators – in this case, KPK investigators – to secure a warrant from a judge to wiretap corruption suspects. Such a clause requiring a warrant from a judge is normal and common practice worldwide. But, the fact that the country's judiciary has been tarnished by questions of its integrity makes it irrelevant not only to prohibit wiretapping, but also to require that investigators secure a judge's permit for lawful interception.

Both the Law and Human Rights Minister, Amir Syamsuddin, and his deputy, Denny Indrayana, have dismissed allegations that the bill would curtail the antigraft commission's power to wiretap corruption suspects and, therefore, weaken it. They said the KPK would be exempted from the clause in the draft bill, suggesting that "The KPK has its own law, which is considered lex specialis", meaning "It does not have to abide by the KUHAP".

Still, this assurance from the two senior government officials does not completely remove the anxiety felt among the public that the KPK could still be subject to this clause in the bill. Andi Hamzah, a former government prosecutor and criminal law expert from the University of Indonesia (UI), has said that even though the KPK had its own law, it may still have to comply with the KUHAP.

Efforts to tame or weaken the KPK by stripping its authority to wiretap corruption suspects are not new. In a proposed revision to the 2002 KPK Law filed in 2011, several lawmakers called for the removal of such authority. Also in the same proposed revision, the lawmakers sought to reduce the commission's authority to that of an ordinary law enforcement agency by allowing for investigations to be halted, contradicting the existing principle stipulated in the law that a KPK investigation amounts to a point of no return, forcing it to focus on cases with solid preliminary evidence.

Those efforts exclude the demands voiced in 2011 by House Speaker Marzuki Alie and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Fahri Hamzah that the KPK be liquidated for a variety of reasons that ran counter to the general public's expectation of the continuing existence of the commission.

The KPK is indeed an ad hoc anticorruption body that will someday have to be dissolved. But, as long as the two legal institutions with prosecution power, namely the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the National Police, have yet to achieve their utmost in upholding justice – which was the main idea behind the establishment of the KPK in 2003 – the KPK should remain at the forefront in the fight against corruption.

Prabowo and Papua

Edmund McWilliams - March 17, 2013

Prabowo is "somebody who is perhaps the greatest violator of human rights in contemporary times among the Indonesian military."

The list of likely candidates in the Indonesia's 2014 Presidential election includes Lt. General (ret) Prabowo Subianto, leader of the "Great Indonesian Movement Party" (Gerinda). His candidacy has generated concern over the future of democracy in Indonesia, because of the retired General's well-documented record of human rights violations and his admitted role in a coup attempt.

Prabowo, was forced out of the Indonesian army in August 1998 following revelations of his role in the kidnapping, torture and murder of peaceful democratic activists in 1997-98 and due to his apparent central role in sparking May 14, 1998 anti-Chinese riots in Jakarta and several other major urban areas.

Prabowo has confessed his role in the kidnappings, but told foreign journalists that his "conscience is clear." In 2000, Prabowo became the first person to be denied entry into the United States under the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Robert Gelbard, former United States Ambassador to Indonesia, described Prabowo as "somebody who is perhaps the greatest violator of human rights in contemporary times among the Indonesian military. His deeds in the late 90s before democracy took hold, were shocking, even by TNI standards."

Prabowo's rapid rise to power was based on nepotism. He married the dictator Suharto's youngest daughter, Titiek Suharto. Prabowo's father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, was a cabinet minister under both President Sukarno and Suharto. Although, he financed an armed rebellion against President Sukarno in 1957-58. His son's career also benefited from close ties to the United States military, which trained him in the US and provided the forces he commanded special training and access to US military technology.

Prabowo's military record, early on, demonstrated a disregard for human rights. In 1976, Prabowo was a commander of Group 1 Komando Pasukan Sandhi Yudha and took part in the Indonesian army's Nanggala Operation in East Timor. He led the mission to track down Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, a founder and vice president of Fretilin, who became the first Prime Minister of East Timor after the declaration of independence in November 1975. Lobato – who had become East Timor's second President – was shot in the stomach and killed after Prabowo's company found him on 31 December 1977. The Indonesian military reportedly decapitated the body and sent Lobato's head to Jakarta.

Prabowo was appointed vice commander of Kopassus's Detachment 81 in 1983 before receiving commando training at Fort Benning, GA, in the US. As commander of Kopassus Group 3, Prabowo attempted to crush the East Timorese independence movement. To terrorize the population, he employed militias trained and directed by Kopassus commanders and hooded "ninja" gangs, who operated at night dressed in black. In East Timor, Prabowo "developed his reputation as the military's most ruthless field commander. [1]

While Prabowo's notorious reputation is based, to a significant extent, on his 1998 anti-democratic and inhumane exploits and his role as a butcher in East Timor, less is known of the key role he played in West Papua. In 1996, Prabowo led the Mapenduma Operation to secure the release of 12 researchers from the World Wildlife Fund's Lorentz expedition taken hostage by the OPM several months earlier. While five of the researchers were Indonesian, the others were English, Dutch and German. The presence of Europeans among those abducted drew international attention to the obscure struggle for self-determination in West Papua.

Prabowo seized upon the crisis as a means to enhance his reputation domestically and with the international community. He devised a plan whereby the hostages would be released via negotiations between himself and their captors. After lengthy negotiations mediated by the local office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the OPM commander Kelly Kwalik agreed to turn over all hostages in exchange for a military promise of no reprisals and an ICRC pledge to establish a network of health clinics in the remote Mapenduma area. The deal fell through at the last minute.

The Indonesian military's version of events, quickly accepted by Jakarta- based embassies which were monitoring developments, was that Kwalik had had an inexplicable "change of heart" and had fled the village of Geselema where the transfer of hostages was to take place. There followed a clumsy Indonesian military attack on the village (already evacuated by Kwalik) which killed up to eight civilians. The foreign hostages eventually escaped their captors and reached Indonesian military encampments.

However, in separate interviews with the author of this article, the two most senior ICRC officials provided an entirely different account of events.

On the eve of the transfer, the senior ICRC official involved in the negotiations was summoned by Prabowo to his military headquarters in West Papua. There, an enraged Prabowo told the ICRC official that Suharto's elder daughter, "Tutut," was planning to fly to West Papua the following day to officiate at the hostage transfer in her capacity as Indonesian Red Crescent chairperson. This, Prabowo told the ICRC official, would rob him of the credit for the hostage rescue. Prabowo pressed the ICRC official to telephone Jakarta and press for Tutut to abort her mission. The ICRC official made the call but learned that Tutut was already enroute. Prabowo, according the two ICRC senior officials who spoke with this author, then moved to scuttle the transfer. This was done by conveying to Kwalik through a source Kwalik trusted that the Indonesian military had been acting in bad faith all along and would immediately target Kwalik and his personnel once the transfer had taken place. This, the ICRC officials claimed, was the reason for Kwalik's last minute "change of heart."

The aborted hostage transfer led to a brutal campaign of reprisal attacks by the Indonesian military (largely Kopassus) against highland villages thought to be sympathetic to the OPM. The campaign began with the assault on Geselema using an Indonesian military helicopter disguised to look like the helicopter that ICRC mediators had been using for several months. The ICRC officials told the author that the disguised helicopter and the use of the Red Cross insignia constituted a "perfidy" about which the ICRC could have protested, but did not. The consequence was to so damage the reputation of the ICRC with Papuans as to limit its effectiveness in West Papua for many years. (The Indonesian government subsequently forced the ICRC to close its office in Jayapura, an action unrelated to the Geselema affair.)

The reprisal campaign executed by Prabowo and Kopassus represents only a portion of Prabowo's long record of involvement in West Papua, but is perhaps among the most important considerations for Papuans as they consider the prospect of a Prabowo presidency.

[1] Joseph Nevins, A Not-So Distant Horror, Mass Violence in East Timor, Cornell University Press, 2005. p. 61

[WPAT's Edmund McWilliams is a retired US Foreign Service Officer who served as the Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Jakarta. 1996-1999. He worked closely with sources cited in the following account.]