Home > South-East Asia >> Indonesia

Indonesia News Digest 23 – June 17-22, 2013

West Papua

Labour & migrant workers Political parties & elections Mass organisations & NGOs Environment & natural disasters Graft & corruption Freedom of religion & worship Armed forces & defense Police & law enforcement Foreign affairs & trade Fuel price hike Infrastructure & development

West Papua

Vanuatu's compromise on West Papua issue unacceptable: Rarua

Vanuatu Daily Post - June 21, 2013

Godwin Ligo – Oceania Decolonization Committee (ODC) president Shem Rarua said Vanuatu leaders compromising the nation's stand on West Papua with the rest of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) members at the 19th MSG Leaders' Summit is "disappointing".

He told Daily Post yesterday that while the MSG functions as a Group, the individual member countries have their own stand when it comes to such issues as the West Papua struggle for political freedom from Indonesia.

"To comprise Vanuatu's position on West Papua issue with other Melanesian members is not acceptable," he said.

"Many promises were already made to the West Papuan leaders by the Vanuatu leaders to grant them membership over the past few months.

How can the Vanuatu Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs compromise the West Papua issue at this MSG summit which should have allowed full membership to the West Papua?" Rarua questioned.

"The Prime Minister and the Minister Foreign Affairs of Vanuatu have heard, seen and read more than enough of the brutality, killings and murdering of the West Papuan Melanesians reported in local, regional and international media every day as well as from the West Papuan leaders and people themselves.

"Then here we are Prime Minister Moana Carcasses and Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Natapei, have compromised and agreed with other Melanesian countries to visit Jakarta, Indonesia and West Papua for the proof, when you see the proof in all media outlets and even the Human Rights Organizations and the leaders of West Papua themselves every day.

"I wish to remind the two Vanuatu leaders at the MSG of what one of the founding fathers of this nation, the late Father Walter Lini said, 'Vanuatu cannot be fully independent until all colonized people of Oceania and elsewhere are politically free'.

"I want the people of Vanuatu to know that the Vanuatu Government (leaders) does not support our stand for West Papua Call to be freed from the Indonesian military control.

"The ODC two fundamental principles are clear which are; 'No Dialogue and No Referendum to be discussed with Indonesia' by anybody.

"Even the Vanuatu Parliament unanimously approved West Papua issue to be taken up with the UN Decolonization Committee but all past and today's government leaders have failed to fulfill this wish of the people of Vanuatu for West Papuan Melanesians," the concerned ODC president said.

"The ODC was registered in 2009 and liaises closely with the West Papua National Consensus Leadership (NCL) working towards the political Independence for the West Papuan people. "We were pleased to note earlier responses from the Vanuatu Government leaders when the West Papuan freedom campaigners visited Vanuatu.

"They promised the West Papuan leaders to have West Papua obtain full MSG membership in this Noumea summit. It has now turned out all differently, a lie to the Melanesians of West Papua.

"I could not sleep last night because Vanuatu Leaders betrayed our West Papua Melanesian brothers and sisters," Rarua said.

Indonesia: The need for peaceful dialogue in West Papua

East Asia Forum - June 21, 2013

Hipolitus Yolisandy Ringgi Wangge & Agustinus Kambuaya – The Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka or OPM) has opened an office in the city of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

This has been met with mixed reactions. Within Indonesia two camps have emerged. One camp is calling on the Indonesian government to take decisive action toward the British government, even if it means freezing diplomatic relations. The other camp is calling for the right to freedom of expression.

Looking at the issue closely, two trends are apparent. First, the Indonesian government has been unable to counter the second-track diplomacy undertaken by West Papuan tribal leader and international lobbyist Benny Wenda. Second, and more importantly, relations between the Indonesian central government and the Papuan people are deteriorating, risking the future of peaceful dialogue.

The recent opening of the OPM office in Oxford is consistent with what Wenda has been doing for more than decade since he left Papua for the United Kingdom in 2002. Most notably, in 2008 Wenda established the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP), a cross-party political group of politicians from around the world who support West Papuan self-determination.

He also travelled to Melanesian countries in the South Pacific (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea) to garner support. These efforts have internationalised the Papua issue and shone a spotlight on this eastern province of Indonesia. One of the objectives of Wenda's diplomatic actions has been to pressure the Indonesian government to abandon its current security approach toward solving problems in Papua.

Wenda's success highlights the weakness of the Indonesian government in exercising its diplomatic instruments. Indonesia seems unable to project an image of sovereignty over Papua. The Indonesian government has responded by strengthening its efforts to cooperate with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) since this group of countries has spoken frequently about human rights conditions in Papua. But this growing Indonesian diplomatic effort in the region cannot prevent these countries from supporting the expressions of Papuans toward obtaining independence. The Papuan goal was fortified by the MSG giving Papua observer status in their leaders' meeting on 20 June in New Caledonia.

Meanwhile, human rights conditions in Papua have also become a main concern for international agencies, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and famous figures, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and MIT Professor Noam Chomsky, who have urged the Indonesian government to respect Papuan indigenous rights.

Wenda's efforts to internationalise the Papua issue, such as through the opening of the OPM office in Oxford, and the weakness of the Indonesian government's diplomacy impacts the future of peaceful dialogue.

Initially, the idea of peaceful dialogue was launched by the Papuan intellectual Neles Tebay in accordance with The Indonesian Institute of Sciences. This effort culminated in an initiative to use active dialogue to rectify ongoing historical, political, cultural and economic grievances in Papua. By holding workshops and public discussions throughout the province as well as lobbying the national government for support for the enterprise, this strategy pushes for a positive environment under which dialogue can take place through both top-down and bottom-up approaches. However, the challenges are still numerous, including the fragmentation of the large number of parties.

One of the biggest obstacles for consolidating a dialogue is bringing all the relevant parties together for discussion aimed at finding a mutually acceptable solution. Looking back at Papua's history, there have been many initiatives, spearheaded by central and local government as well as non- governmental organisations, to arrange an active dialogue. But these efforts have faced similar obstacles related to political fragmentation among Papuans. Benny Wenda's international actions aimed at achieving Papua's independence jeopardise any potential role the OPM could play in fostering peaceful dialogue between the national government and the Papuan people.

The existence of the OPM's office in Oxford also makes the road to peaceful dialogue more complex. On the one hand, Wenda will almost certainly refuse to participate in any dialogue conducted under the auspices of the provincial authority of Papua. On the other hand, the British government can do little to disband the activities of the OPM's Oxford office due to its national laws that respect and guarantee its citizens' rights – and Wenda is a British citizen.

In this situation, ignoring the existence of the OPM office is impossible. All the British government can do is to make a public statement at a diplomatic level affirming its respect for the sovereignty of Indonesia over Papua. For the time being, Wenda and his group look set to continue to campaign internationally for the secession of Papua. But ultimately, constructive communication, including with those who have been exiled, is necessary for peaceful dialogue to forge any meaningful solutions.

In the meantime, until a long-term solution can be agreed, the consternation over the opening of the OPM's Oxford office must not be used as an excuse to incite an escalation of conflict in Papua. This concern is especially grave considering the recent military shooting and killing of several Papuans on 1 May, which coincided with the peaceful commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the handover of Papua to the Indonesian government by the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority.

[Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi Wangge is Visiting Scholar in the Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program at the Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University. Agustinus Kambuaya is a faculty member in the department of politics at Cenderawasih University, Jayapura, Indonesia. A version of this article was published here in the Jakarta Post.]

HIV awareness growing in Papua

IRIN - June 21, 2013

Efforts to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the Indonesian provinces of Papua, which has among the country's highest rates of infection, and West Papua are making steady though slow progress, say aid workers and government officials.

"People there believed that HIV/AIDS was a curse from God, but that's no longer the general perception," Setyo Warsono, a spokesman for the government's National AIDS Commission (KPA), told IRIN.

Since 2005, reported HIV infections have increased in both these provinces annually, with 535 new cases reported in West Papua and 3,028 in Papua in 2012, where infection rates have outpaced the national average. In Papua new cases more than doubled from 687 in 2009 to 2,499 in 2010.

Tanah Papua, a local term that includes both Papua and West Papua provinces, 2,000 kilometers east of Jakarta, has some of the lowest levels of human development of Indonesia's 33 provinces, according to the government.

According to a 2012 report from the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (Unaids), Tanah Papua was experiencing a low-level HIV epidemic, with a prevalence of 2.4 percent among the general population versus a national average of 0.3 percent. About 30,000 people – 22,210 in Papua and 7,160 in West Papua – are estimated to be living with HIV today.

Reaching them early

HIV prevalence among people aged 15-24 in Tanah Papua is 3 percent. In 2010 the Papua provincial government, in partnership with UN Children's Fund (Unicef), introduced a decree to integrate HIV education in schools in Papua Province, which included curriculum development, teacher training and HIV policy support at the district level.

So far, 876 teachers in 58 secondary schools and 47 primary schools have received the training.

"From zero teachers in schools teaching HIV awareness, we've increased the level markedly," said Margaret Sheehan, Unicef's chief of office in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province. "But there's still a degree of reluctance from teachers to talk about how HIV can be transmitted through sex. More sensitization work still needs to take place so teachers feel more comfortable."

Unicef plans to incorporate HIV education into an upcoming training program for teachers in rural areas in partnership with the Papua and West Papua governments.

But with 38 percent of children aged 7-15 out of school, and the highest provincial proportion of out-of-school children nationwide, aid workers are looking elsewhere to reach youths.

Unicef is offering life-skills training at youth and Protestant church clubs in a part of the country where church leaders are esteemed in the community and most youths participate in church groups.

The Papua provincial KPA is using radio, TV and a well-known local football team – given young people's love of the sport in the province – to disseminate HIV education.

Accessing remote areas

Caritas Australia is working with a local NGO to train volunteer peer educators, as well as broadcasting HIV prevention messages through the radio and concerts in the Papuan district of Merauke.

For the NGO's program coordinator in Indonesia, Terry Russell, poor rural infrastructure has been one of the biggest barriers to spreading HIV education.

"Remote villages have no mobile phone contact, so pre-visits are necessary, and often roads have worsened due to weather or a bridge being down, so the process can be very time-consuming," he said.

In 2011, the government set up a unit in Papua and West Papua to accelerate infrastructure development in Papua's remote areas, where more than one million indigenous Papuans live, according to local media.

Though slow, progress has been steady, say aid workers. "In 2005, people with HIV/AIDS in Merauke were shunned by their families, but now many more are accepted and many more are willing to undergo HIV/AIDS testing," said Russell. In 2008 some 5,000 people in Tanah Papua were tested for HIV; as of May 31 this year, that figure has risen to 31,443.

Unicef's Sheehan said HIV messages on government-sponsored billboards and TV ads are now clearer. Whereas in the past there were billboards of leaders saying "We don't want HIV," posters now feature youths with HIV- prevention messages.

Melanesian leaders release communique from Noumea meeting

ABC Radio Australia - June 21, 2013

The leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group have signed off on a communique at the end of their meeting, raising issues of alleged human rights abuses in the Indonesian Province of West Papua.

They also accepted an invitation from Indonesia for a ministerial team from the organisation to visit the province.

The communique says the leaders have accepted an application for membership from the Papuan independence activists, but have not approved it.

For more, we are joined by Australia Network's Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney in New Caledonia, who has a copy of the recently release communique

Presenter: Bruce Hill

Speaker: Australia Network's Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney

Dorney: Yes, I think that's an accurate interpretation of their position. They were, of course, hoping for membership, but I don't think that was ever likely.

What they were telling me afterwards, after the issue of the communique, is that this is a first step for them, that they're pleased, but they're also questioning what this ministerial gropu is going to travel to Indonesia and West Papua just exactly what they will find. But yes, they're pleased as you say a first step in this application to become members of the MSG.

Hill: It's quite a serious step for the Indonesians, isn't it, to actually extend an olive branch like this, to actually get outside countries to come to West Papua and also to Indonesia to find out for themselves what's actually going on. Previously, they've been kind of resistant to outside forces coming and having a look. So it's actually quite a big thing for them to have done this?

Dorney: Well, the Indonesians have been I think quite concerned about this application by the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation and it's the Vice-President of that Coalition, Dr. Otto Ondawame, was given an opportunity to speak for about five minutes to the plenary session and he made a plea for the rest of Melanesia to recognise the rights of the people, the Melanesian people of those provinces. Because there are two now, there is not only West Papua, but Papua, the old West Papua has been divided into two and the Indonesians made some point of the fact, they were talking about two provinces, not one.

The Indonesian Vice Minister who spoke fairly glowingly about what Indonesia had done and how much autonomy already existed within those two provinces.

One of the members of the Indonesian delegation was Frans Albert Jockey who I've known for a long, long time. He was the senior journalist in Papua New Guinea. He's now back in Indonesia, in West Papua and Frans Albert was saying that he thought this concentration on human rights abuses should have been raised long ago, 15, 20 years ago and he put the point that he said it's not now anything like it used to be, but he did say that there did need to be more negotiation, or more talks about just what is going on in Irian Jaya. But Frans Albert Jockey was putting the Indonesian position that yes, this invitation has been extended and the Ministerial team, which will be led we found out today by the Foreign Minister for Fiji sometime in the next six months.

Hill: Now, what does it mean that they've, the MSG has accepted an application for membership for the pro-independence West Papuans, but they haven't actually approved it. What does that actually mean?

Dorney: Well, it's the application. They talked about this application for membership and leaders noted that a roadmap in relation to this application should be based what they say on clear and achievable guidelines. They acknowledged human rights violations needed to be highlighted and noted that to progress this application from the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, in order to progress their application, it was important to continually engage with Indonesia. They agreed to establish a process of dialogue and the countries are going to raise, according to the communique allegations of human rights abuses both as the MSG and individually with Indonesia. And in that light, they welcomed the invitation from Indonesia to invite this mission, which will be led by Fred Sevele They're just waiting for confirmation on the timing of the mission.

Hill: OK. Well obviously, as well as West Papua, there are other issues for the MSG leaders to consider. What are the main points, other points of the communique?

Dorney: Well, there are quite a number, the communique itself runs to something like 35, 44 paragraphs. One of the things they've done is that they have decided to appoint an MSG, a Melanesian Spearhead Group high level representative and that's going to be Tirupati Tavola the former foreign minister of Fiji who led the report into the MSG, which was presented to the leaders as well, as to future direction and they're going to seek funding for his position and that he will travel around the region representing the MSG.

There were quite a number of other decisions Bruce. Trade was a major issue and they've even discussed the viability. They haven't decided on this yet, but they've discussed the viability of establishing an MSG stock exchange to facilitate the movement of capital across borders.

On the issue of kava, they've agreed to scaling up political efforts to secure regional and international market access for kava to Australia and the European Union and that they've approved that MSG leaders communicate with the Australian government to raise their objections to the restrictions Australia has on the importation of kava into Australia.

There's quite a declaration on climate change, there's endorsement of a Melanesian Green Climate Fund. There's going to be the establishment of a Silver Jubilee Scholarship from the MSG in honour of and will be named after Father Walter Lini, the former, the Prime Minister who took Vanuatu to independence and quite a number of other decisions. But I think the West Papuan one is the one that's attracted most interest.

Another group claims legitimacy to represent West Papuan interests

Islands Businesss - June 20, 2013

Noumea, New Caledonia – Another group has emerged claiming to legitimately represent the people of West Papua are lobbying for recognition at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit, currently underway in Noumea.

Jacob Rumbiak, who is responsible for foreign affairs for the Federal Republic of West Papua, says his group represents the majority on West Papua.

"Our national congress was voted in by 2.5 million people, so we have the legitimate right to call ourselves the representatives of the people of West Papua

"We have the majority. If we talk about independence, then we must rely on the voice of the majority. The group in Vanuatu does not have any majority support on the ground in West Papua, Rumbiak told PACNEWS here in Noumea.

Rumbiak welcomed the resolution of MSG foreign affairs minister to send a ministerial delegation to Jakarta and Jayapura before the end of the year to investigate first hand human rights abuses in the province. The group will also try and determine who is the legitimate representative for the people of West Papua.

A senior adviser on Papua affairs to the Indonesian Government, Ambassador Michael Menufandu confirmed to PACNEWS the Central Government in Jakarta has endorsed the proposed MSG ministerial delegation.

He said Indonesia is ready to receive the MSG ministerial group, at a time convenient to the Leaders. "It may be as early as July or August around the time of our independence. The dates will depend on the timing indicated by MSG Leaders, said Ambassador Menufandu.

Central Government, he said, will allow the MSG group to meet with political, social, cultural leaders, local governments including victims of the so-called human rights abuses, said Menufandu.

The senior West Papuan Government official said the Port Vila based pro- West Papua independence group does not represent the struggles of people within the Indonesian province.

"We have to live in West Papua and fight from within. The government and provincial governments are made up of indigenous West Papuans who are trying to develop the province. The cases of human rights violations are not an everyday occurrence, said Menufandu.

He said there is a misrepresentation of the true situation on the ground by social media. "The representatives in Vanuatu are in exile and not familiar with the true situation in West Papua today", said the West Papuan senior official.

The application for membership of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation is likely to be brought up by Vanuatu Prime Minister, Moana Carcasses at the Leaders Retreat today.

Indonesia to campaign on Papua progress in regional forum

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has invited foreign ministers from Melanesian nations grouped under the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to Jakarta to receive briefings on development in Papua and West Papua provinces, a move that could be seen as a campaign to obtain international support for the country's sovereignty over its easternmost region.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said that an invitation for the event had been sent to Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

"It is true that I met the Fijian prime minister in Fiji on June 3. The topics we discussed touched mainly on bilateral relations between our two countries. At the meeting, I also extended an invitation to foreign ministers of MSG member states to come to Indonesia," Djoko told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The MSG consists of Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, as well as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), a pro-independence group from French-ruled New Caledonia.

"We invite these foreign ministers to visit Indonesia to observe Indonesia's development in general, which also includes the government's policy on the acceleration of development in Papua and West Papua," Djoko said.

He denied, however, that the invitations were aimed at countering Papuan pro-independence activists' efforts to win support from the international community. The senior minister said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had endorsed the plan.

Last month, the Indonesian government was angered by a move by the Free West Papua movement to open an office in Oxford, UK. Oxford Mayor Mohammed Abbasi, Oxford's member of parliament, Andrew Smith, and former mayor Elise Benjamin were among those present at the ceremony to inaugurate the office.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador to Indonesia Mark Canning and filed a diplomatic protest against the British government for the incident.

Free West Papua leader Benny Wenda is on Indonesia's list of fugitives, but the British government decided to drop him from its wanted list despite a red notice from the Indonesian authorities.

Benny's group has been active in many countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Melanesian states. He has highlighted several issues, including alleged human rights violations by the Indonesian authorities against Papuans.

Melanesian leaders have repeatedly voiced their support for Papuan self- determination. On Monday, however, PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, who led a delegation of government officials and business leaders on a three- day visit to Jakarta, said that Papua was an integral part of Indonesia.

O'Neill merely added that he was "happy to have been asked by the Indonesian government to help manage issues" in Papua and West Papua.

Two more suspects named over Papua police attack

Jakarta Globe - June 20, 2013

Farouk Arnaz – Papua Police have named another two suspects over the burning down of a police station in the east of the restive province, bringing the total to eight suspects, police said.

"There are two more suspects, they are KS, also known as Keli, and MHK," Sr. Cmr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya, a Papua Police spokesman, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

Police said the attack on the station in Pegunungan Bintang Police District had cost Rp 28.692 billion.

Both KS and MHK have been charged under Criminal Code Article 170 for mob violence and Article 187 for arson. KS was also charged under Article 36 on theft, while MHK was also charged with Article 160 for provoking a civil disturbance. "He [allegedly] asked people to attack the police district," Sumerta said.

Police confiscated darts found in the Pegunungan Bintang Police District that were used to shoot the police and a kerosene drum used to burn down the station.

The previous six suspects are the alleged ringleader Yakop Alia, as well as Agus Yamsen, Yesayas Taplo, Emanuel Kalakmabin, Wilem Awolmabin and Katakala Alex Bamulki.

As reported on Sunday and Monday, a mob armed with machetes and arrows rounded on a police district headquarters in Pegunungan Bintang on Sunday, setting the building and several vehicles ablaze after claims police beat an intoxicated man crystallized anti-police sentiment into violent dissent.

The catalyst for the incident was understood to be four police officers arriving at Dabolding village at 8 a.m. to deal with three allegedly intoxicated men. What followed was not clear, but police say one man tried to take a police officer's rifle and the officer responded by beating him before the man fled.

Rumors soon spread of the incident and the momentum led to the attack on the police station. Three vehicles and 25 motorcycles were destroyed by fire, with nine police officers, one army officer and two civilians said to be injured.

Papuan man says he witnessed the Indonesian military slaughter 40 people

Radio New Zealand International - June 20, 2013

A man in Indonesia's Papua province says he is currently on the run from the military after witnessing a massacre of Papuans reported last month.

Several reports emerged in May of a slaughter of 40 people in the remote area of Tingginambut, close to the Puncak Jaya mountain, but so far very little evidence has emerged.

The witness says he hid up in the mountain for weeks after seeing the military kill people in villages in anger after not being able to find a wanted Papuan activist.

He says police know about the incident but haven't taken any action. He spoke to Alex Perrottet.

Man: The people were killed, about 40 people, 40 people killed. And we found them in different places.

Alex Perrottet: And have you yourself seen the bodies, have you?

Man: Yeah we found the bodies. Some of them under the bridge, they kill and then they throw next to the bridge, and then some of them under the rock. And we found in different places.

AP: What did you do with the bodies when you found them?

Man: We tried to, want to burn them, but army, heavy army, they tried looking for us and now we are hide in the jungle.

AP: And do you know the victims, the people who were killed, do you know some of them personally?

Man: Yes and I have their names and also their picture.

AP: And is anyone going to go back and try to get the bodies or not?

Man: Yes, but for today no.

AP: Have you told the police?

Man: Yeah, but I can't go to the city. In Wamena it's OK, but here it's a little bit... They are looking for us and they already know us and I try to kind of hiding.

AP: Do you know whether any police know about this?

Man: Yeah, police knows. Police know about this, but they just leave.

AP: How do you know that the military killed the 40 people? Did you see them do it?

Man: Yeah. We were together, the victims we were together. And then they just go and then kill the people, they murdered them. And then we ran and climbed and went up to the mountain.

AP: You were hiding and watching, were you?

Man: Yeah, I was hiding and watching them and I took some photos and also some video.

AP: And how did you feel?

Man: I almost died, because I feel scared and because my friends, some they killed. We were together, we eat food together and they were killed by the military. And now I'm very upset and I'm trying to get free, free to live, but I am hiding in the jungle and I am not free.

14 arrested for torching Papua police station

Jakarta Globe - June 19, 2013

Farouk Arnaz – Police in Papua have arrested 14 people following Sunday's attack on a police district headquarters in Pegunungan Bintang, a police official said on Wednesday.

"Six people have been named as suspects and the other eight people are witnesses," Papua Police spokesman I Gde Sumerta Jaya told the Jakarta Globe. "The six suspects are held in the temporary cells in Barak Bujang, which is now the temporary headquarters of the district police after the station was burned down."

The six suspects are the alleged ringleader Yakop Alia, as well as Agus Yamsen, Yesayas Taplo, Emanuel Kalakmabin, Wilem Awolmabin and Katakala Alex Bamulki.

The six are charged under Criminal Code Article 170 for mob violence and Article 187 for arson. Yakop was also charged under Criminal Code Article 160 for provoking a civil disturbance.

As reported on Sunday and Monday, a mob armed with machetes and arrows rounded on a police district headquarters in Pegunungan Bintang on Sunday, setting the building and several vehicles ablaze after claims police beat an intoxicated man crystallized anti-police sentiment into violent dissent.

The catalyst for the incident was understood to be four police officers arriving at Dabolding village at 8 a.m. to deal with three allegedly intoxicated men. What followed was not clear, but police say one man tried to take a police officer's rifle and the officer responded by beating him before the man fled.

Rumors soon spread of the incident and the momentum led to the attack on the police station. Three vehicles and 25 motorcycles were destroyed by fire, with nine police officers, one army officer and two civilians said to be injured.

Papua local government wants Freeport to resume mining now

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

Carlos Paath – The Mimika Regency government in Papua has asked the central government to push forward talks with Freeport Indonesia in order to speed up the reopening of the company's Grasberg mine.

"We asked the Ministry of State Enterprise to take immediate action because there are many people who cannot work right now, while 80 percent of Mimika's regional budget comes from Freeport," Mimika mayor Abdul Muis said on Wednesday.

Abdul said at least 1,000 workers were currently out of work waiting for the mining to resume. Abdul also demanded the government to renegotiate the contract with Freeport Indonesia.

"I support the contract renegotiation, we should involve the regional administration and community leaders..." Abdul said, before adding "don't ever dream we will be able to solve problems in Papua."

The head of the Mimika legislative council, Trifena Tinal, said a series of talks between the government and Freeport Indonesia's management had failed to arrive at a solution.

"In Mimika we always tried to have a discussion with Freeport, in Mimika we are still poor in a very rich land," Trifena said. "Trillions of rupiah are sent to the central government while we in Mimika only got a few billion."

Trifena said the contract with Freeport Indonesia should be immediately evaluated and the regional government should be allowed to own shares in the company.

Trifena also demanded Freeport Indonesia distribute the compensation to the families of the 28 victims who died during the tunnel collapse at the Grasberg mine.

"This is a horrible tragedy and we hope the compensation for the family will be distributed immediately," he said. A tunnel in the underground training facility at the Big Gossan area of Freeport's Grasberg mine collapsed on May 14, trapping 38 workers inside. Ten were rescued, but 28 others were found dead.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said recently he would wait on the results of an investigation before acting.

"We'll make a decision this weekend as to whether or not the open-pit mining can continue," Jero said. "Our first priority will remain safety at workplaces." He added that the team had declared the open pit to be safe, except for a few areas vulnerable to landslides.

But Jero said the government would not allow mining activities to resume before then, despite the results of an investigation and requests from both Freeport and the Mimika government.

The Indonesian unit of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold briefly resumed open-pit mining production on May 28, but after a worker was killed in a separate accident, the government asked the company to suspend operations until the government investigation was completed. The probe was initially forecast to take up to three months.

Freeport declared force majeure on June 12 on the shipment of copper and gold to its customers pending separate investigations by the government and the company.

The firm said in statement that the stoppage at the Papua mine – the world's second largest copper mine – resulted in an impact of 80 million pounds of copper and 80,000 ounces of gold as of June 11, and that it would continue to book a loss of 3 million pounds of copper and 3,000 ounces of gold a day until operations resume.

Melanesian Spearhead Group delays decision on West Papua membership

ABC Radio Australia - June 18, 2013

It has been recommended that a bid by the Free West Papua movement to join regional Pacific body the Melanesian Spearhead Group to been deferred by at least six months.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) brings together the leaders of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, along with New Caledonia's indigenous political movement FLNKS.

The Free West Papua movement is pushing for independence from Indonesia and sees membership of the MSG as a step towards international recognition.

PacNews reports foreign ministers gathered in Lifou, the capital of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands, have resolved to defer the decision until they've sent a delegation to Jakarta and Jayapura.

Fiji's Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola told the meeting Indonesia extended the invitation earlier this month.

He says Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands take the same position when it comes to the Indonesian province of Papua. "All MSG countries share the same view that we would like to some form of self-determination for West Papua," he said.

Vanuatu's foreign minister Edward Natapei says his country strongly backed the bid to have it discussed at this meeting, but was outnumbered.

"We have to comply with the majority," he said. "All we want is some timeline so that we are sure that this issue is going to be dealt within this year – at least that is a start for us."

Mr Natapei says Vanuatu's prime minister will raise the issue with other leaders when their retreat gets underway on Thursday.

The leaders will also consider whether to approve the foreign ministers' decision to send a delegation to Jakarta and Jayapura.

Freeport mining facility attacked

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

Banjir Ambarita – Dozens of people vandalized Freeport facilities and looted ore concentrate at the copper and gold giant's mining district in Mimika, Papua, on Sunday.

Witnesses said that around 70 people came to the mining area, looting and vandalizing cars and a security post.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya confirmed on Monday that the incident had taken place. "The perpetrators are residents who are non-employees... They came up to the Mile 74 mining area quietly," he said.

He added that besides vandalizing vehicles, the perpetrators also vandalized buses for employees and caused general alarm. "After entering the site, the group vandalized passing vehicles and also the office and started to shout, scaring the employees and sending them fleeing," Sumerta said.

Security officers, aided by police and military personnel, were only able to regain control of the site two hours later. Several of the vandals were arrested and taken into the custody of the Tembagapura Police.

"A group of seven people who fled through the Camp Davit river were apprehended and sent back to a village near the mining area," Sumerta said.

The situation has returned to normal, with a heavy security presence in place.

Freeport sent five buses to the site to evacuate some of the employees. Sumerta said that some of those who had returned to the barracks had refused to return to the worksite.

It is still not clear what losses were incurred from the vandalism and looting. The police also have not named anyone a suspect yet.

Papua: Situation calm in Freeport mining area after mob's rampage

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2013

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The situation in Tembagapura mile 74, a Freeport Indonesia mining area, is reported to be quiet again after incidents of property damage perpetrated by a mob at 7:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.

"The situation is already under control. There were no victims during the incident," Karel Luntungan of PT Freeport Indonesia's corporate communication told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

During the incident, a group of people attacked and damaged company assets including 13 vehicles and a Securicor security post as well as several concentrate tanks.

Karel said the attack was perpetrated by around 70 people who were not company employees. "The situation is getting back into normal. Security officials are patrolling the areas around the incident site," he said.

The cause of the incident remains unclear. "The people have been returning back to their homes," said Karel, without elaborating. (ebf)

Security disturbances in Yapen: Stop blaming the OPM

Bintang Papua - June 17, 2013

Serui – Following a number of violent incidents that have occurred in Yapen Island, the security forces have conduced sweepings along the coast and in Kanawa Kampung to see whether the OPM was involved.

Ferinando Worabai, the commander of a guerilla unit of the TPNPB-OPM, told Bintang Papua a short while ago that the local administration and local security units are responsible for these activities although the TPN-OPM has been blamed even though there is no evidence that these crimes were committed by the OPM.

Worabai said that conditions in the island of Yapen has been quite tranquil recently but reports have been circulating about the occurrence of several incidents which appear to have been deliberately talked up by the police such as the "pasir hitam" incident, the Ankaisera incident and the sweepings that occurred in Pantura.

"Before speaking to Bintang Papua about this, I said that there was no evidence to show that indigenous Papuans or indeed the general Papuan community are now afraid of the OPM. This is because we have not conducted any acts of violence against the community and the people as a whole know this to be true. The local administration, especially the police, are responsible for all these activities. The police have quite deliberately linked all this with the OPM."

Worabai said that until recently, everything has been calm in Yapen but in the last few weeks allegations have been made that these incidents were deliberately provoked by the police. This includes the "pasir hitam" incident, the Angkaisera incident and the sweepings that were carried out in Pantura.

He said that the headquarters of the TPN-OPM are based in the forests, not in the cities or kampungs, which is what the administration and the police have alleged. He urged the police to stop doing things that have an unwarranted impact on local communities who know nothing whatsoever about these incidents.

"I would like to repeat that we are fully aware of the limits of the law. Our bases are in the forests which means that any sweepings by the police should not be conducted in the cities or the kampungs."

As for the public notices that have been appearing about wanted men (DPO), he cautioned the police to act with greater care. The DPOs to which they refer are not members of the guerilla units of the TPN-OPM which are under his command. Before taking any action, the police should try to collect reliable information so as to avoid taking unwarranted action that is damaging to the general public.

With regard to the sweepings that have been conducted by the police in several kampungs, Ferinando said this simply doesn't make sense because it is not what the police should be doing. What they should be doing is providing protection and guidance to the people. by means of persuasion to resolve these matters.

"The police should be protecting the community and not oppressing people. The TNI and the police force must take responsibility together with the local administration. They should not take any violent actions against the Papuan people. If violence is used, no one should be surprised if the Papuan people to refuse to see themselves as being part of the Indonesian people."

[Translated with difficulty by TAPOL because of some of wording in this article has been difficult to follow.]

Reinforcements sent to Papua town following police station attack

Jakarta Globe - June 17, 2013

Farouk Arnaz & Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – High ranking police officers and reinforcements arrived at the Papuan highland town of Oksibil on Monday following an arson attack on the Pengunungan Bintang district police station.

"This morning, 26 members of the Brimob mobile police brigade arrived in Oksibil. Additionally, the chief and deputy chief of the Papua Police, as well as the heads of the Papua Police's internal affairs, security intelligence and detectives units came to provide special assistance," Sr. Comr. Sumerta Jayua, a spokesman for the Papua Police, said.

Sumerta said the incident began after the district police was told that three drunken men were extorting money from a passerby in Dabolding village.

"Four personnel went to the location to call on the men to halt what they were doing, but the group not only ignored the policemen but went on to attack them," he said.

One of the men tried to take a firearm off one of the policemen, but the officer resisted and hit the man with the butt of his rifle. The man fled.

However, according to Sumerta, rumor quickly spread that the police officer mistreated the three men, with some even saying that the three were killed by law enforcers.

"People started to get emotional and take to the street. The district police chief was forced to intervene to try and settle the matter," he said. "The locals continued to reject his efforts and began to pelt the homes of members of the district police with stones at around 10:00 on Sunday."

The protest took a violent turn, with the mob setting the district police station and vehicles alight. Three vehicles and 25 motorcycles, as well as the district police headquarters, were gutted by the fire.

Nine police men were injured in the incident, as well as one army first lieutenant and two civilians. "We have not made any arrests," Sumerta said.

Meanwhile, residents in Oksibil said on Monday that the town remained tense, with people afraid to leave their houses.

"We are still worried and are opting not to go to work because we fear that there may be more mob activity. Offices and stalls are also closed," one resident who declined to be identified said by telephone.

The house of a local public figure, tribal chief Yance Kalakmabin, which is located only 400 meters from the police station, was also set ablaze, the resident said. Yance was out of town when the incident took place, and people expressed fear that he would take revenge once he returned home.

The resident, however, relayed a different version of the incident, saying that it all started with members of the local district police checking vehicles at a roadblock.

During the check, they supposedly found a drunken man, who was then reported to be beaten until his head was bleeding. The report of the beating incensed the local population.

"I was in church when a mob, angered by the report that a citizen was beaten by the police, marched to the police station and set fire to several motorcycles," the source said. Police began firing shots in the air after the mob already left the station, the resident added.

A local public figure, who also declined to be named, said that the episode occurred because of the population's long simmering anger over the police's increased checkpoints.

He said that since Oksibil was part of Papua's hinterland, many residents did not possess driving permits. When the police began impounding their motorcycles and disturbing their daily lives, they became increasingly angry.

The public figured added that the fire which razed the house of the tribal chief was not started intentionally. He said that it only caught fire once the police began going after the mob, and that it was possible that one of the police's bullets may have sparked the fire.

Labour & migrant workers

Trafficking still threatens many workers

Jakarta Globe - June 22, 2013

Made Arya Kencana, Denpasar – Up to 20 percent of Indonesian migrant workers have fallen victim to human trafficking, a figure that suggests that the criminals involved are just as well organized as those engaged in other forms of illicit transboundary trade, a minister said on Friday.

"This shows that trafficking remains an organized crime against humanity, similar to the narcotics and weapons trade," said Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar, the minister for women's empowerment and child protection, at the opening of a national coordination meeting in Bali.

Linda said that nine million Indonesians currently worked overseas, and that of those who became victims of trafficking, 70 percent were recruited and sent overseas illegally.

Statistics from the International Organization for Migration showed that 90.3 percent of victims of human trafficking were women, while 23.6 percent of them were children.

The IOM attributed most of the trafficking cases to poverty, high demand in recipient countries and the lucrative profits possible for those involved in the migrant worker business.

According to Linda, the government has already set up anti-trafficking task forces in 88 districts and cities across 27 provinces. The task forces are backed up by Women and Children's Empowerment Integrated Service Centers (P2TP2A) in 197 districts and cities, and women and children protection units based in 456 district police headquarters.

Linda said she was concerned that most of the anti-trafficking task forces had yet to establish concrete plans and secure budgets to fight the crime.

"Certainly some of the task forces are active, but there are also others that haven't done anything yet," the minister said. Linda cited several challenges in gathering data and information on trafficking, saying the complexity of the problem necessitated a lengthy investigation process to secure sufficient evidence to prosecute the crime.

The minister said that poverty and low educational background were not the only factors that characterized victims of trafficking cases, saying socio-cultural beliefs were also to blame. "We still cling strongly to a patriarchal culture that discriminates against women," she said.

Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika said his administration had issued a regulation to address trafficking, but denied the practice occurred in the province. "To date, there is no indication of [human trafficking] cases in Bali," he said.

Bali, he claimed, had been sending migrant workers through formal channels, which had helped reduce trafficking. "The risk of becoming victims of trafficking can be minimized by sending qualified workers," he said.

Meanwhile, the P2TP2A office in Karawang, West Java, reported that half of the 30 subdistricts in the area were vulnerable to human trafficking.

The area is also vulnerable to cases of domestic violence, it reported, supporting the connection that the minister had drawn between trafficking and a strongly patriarchal culture. "The number of human trafficking victims continue to rise each year," P2TP2A Karawang chairwoman Nurlatifah told reporters last week.

Nurlatifah said the P2TP2A's functions included information dissemination and provision of guidance, consultation and training for women and public officials. In the future, the agency is expected to expand its focus to various other issues in women and children's empowerment.

"Especially since the majority of trafficking and domestic violence victims are women. They are not only adult women, little girls are also prone to both cases. That's why a special agency is needed to protect them," Nurlatifah said.

She said that West Java had the highest rate of human trafficking cases in Indonesia, because it was one of the most populated provinces in the country, and included the Karawang industrial area, which is prone to trafficking.

She said women working in factories were at increased risk of becoming domestic abuse victims because they often earned substantially more than their traditionally minded husbands, she said. "That's why we're aggressively educating the community. This is a preventive measure for both cases," she said.

Separately, Karawang Family Planning and Women's Empowerment Agency head Yuska Yassin said many institutions were involved in curbing the human trafficking problem, including the police and ministries concerned with health, social affairs and manpower.

The number of human trafficking cases in Karawang from 2010 to date number just 62, Yuska said. "This year we've only discovered one case," he said, citing the efforts of the above agencies in reducing the crime rate.

He said that the majority of victims of human trafficking were female, and below 20 years of age. They mostly came from coastal towns and from low- income families, he added.

Yuska said that they were offered jobs in other cities or overseas, and promised a high salary if they worked as domestic helpers or as store keepers. The reality was often very different, with many forced into indentured labor, including sex work, he said.

One recently discovered victim of human trafficking is 20-year-old Luki Triwahyuni, currently being cared for at the Said Sukanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta. Her case drew the attention of State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who paid her a visit on Thursday.

Luki left her hometown of Indramayu in West Java to work in Malaysia. By so doing, she hoped to improve her life, but found her situation drastically worsened after suffering abuse including starvation at the hands of her employer. Luki was left weighing just 23 kilograms.

Dahlan said the goal of his visit with Luki was to give her support and to ensure that all her medical expenses were covered by the state. The minister brought her ice cream, saying he had heard she had repeatedly requested it of hospital staff.

"Askes [a state insurance company] has already visited yesterday and confirmed it was ready to cover [Luki's] expenses. The hospital is also ready [to cover the expenses]," Dahlan said.

He insisted that his visit was not a media stunt, and that it was important for the victim to be accompanied by her family. "My visit here is not that important. Most important is that her family is here. That's why I didn't want to stay inside for too long," he said.

Dahlan said he was optimistic that Luki would soon recover. "Her weight has increased by two kilograms to 25 kilograms now," he told reporters at the hospital. "You're great, keep your spirits up. You will recover soon," he added to Luki.

Rieke questions Saudi migrant amnesty fees

Jakarta Globe - June 20, 2013

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Edi Hardum – A legislator and workers' rights activist has highlighted what she says is a massive scam facilitated by the Manpower Ministry to fleece millions of dollars from Indonesian migrant workers seeking to remain in Saudi Arabia after overstaying their visas.

Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission IX, which oversees labor and welfare, said on Wednesday that the whole scheme stemmed from a ministry regulation issued on June 7.

She said the regulation, pertaining to the visa amnesty fee to be paid by overstayers wishing to remain in Saudi Arabia legally, claimed to be based on an article in Indonesia's 2004 Migrant Worker Placement and Protection Law, but that the article in question did not exist.

The regulation states that Indonesians wanting to make use of the amnesty would have to pay a fee of 3,900 riyal ($1,040) and an administrative charge of 1,700 riyal to the Indonesian-based Association of Migrant Worker Service Companies (Apjati).

However, Rieke said the official fee levied by the Saudi Arabian authorities was only 550 riyal. She said there were an estimated 72,000 Indonesian overstayers in the kingdom, some 80 percent of whom were expected to seek amnesty to remain there.

This means that under the regulation, they will pay a combined $86 million to Apjati. Of that figure, Rieke said, the migrant worker placement companies would get $43.2 million, or $750 per worker, while the amount paid to the Saudi authorities would be $8.45 million.

"That means that under the regulation, there's still around $34.4 million left over. Where does that money go?" Rieke said.

She added it was strange that the government would seek to involve Apjati and its member companies in the amnesty policy in the first place.

"They have no business being mixed up with the amnesty. Especially when you consider that most of the migrant workers who overstayed their visas did so after running away from their employers and failing to get their back pay or other matters sorted out by the placement agencies," she said.

The ministry regulation was issued in light of Saudi moves to crack down on immigration offenders in the country. The Saudi government has given illegal migrants until July 3 to settle their documents or leave. Some 180,000 illegal foreign workers have already left the oil-rich kingdom, a newspaper report said last week.

Rieke, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that with tens of thousands of Indonesians yet to register with Indonesian diplomatic missions in the kingdom for the amnesty, the size of the payout from Apjati's handling of the payments looked certain to increase by a significant amount.

"I'm not claiming that all the information I have is correct. What I want is for the government to clarify whether it's true," she said.

"Based on past experience with the worker amnesty in Malaysia a few years ago, we should work to prevent the same sort of thing happening to our workers in Saudi Arabia."

She also called for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate the matter and carry out an audit of the money collected from the Indonesian workers under the purview of the Manpower Ministry regulation.

Rieke said the government had already bumbled its response to the Saudi policy, citing a riot outside the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah earlier this month by migrant workers in which one person was killed.

More than 12,000 workers had gathered outside the office on June 9 to register for the amnesty program, overwhelming the consulate staff. The crowding, long wait and searing heat resulted in frayed tempers that quickly escalated into a riot, with the workers throwing rocks at the consulate and starting a fire.

In the ensuing stampede, a female migrant worker was killed and a security guard injured.

"After the riot in Jeddah, it would be truly shameful and tragic for government officials to be trying to exploit this situation," Rieke said.

For its part, the government says the worker placement agencies have to be involved in the amnesty process because they are responsible for arranging employment in Saudi Arabia for the workers who want to remain there.

A multi-agency team, involving officials from the Manpower Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and Apjati, is currently in the kingdom to oversee the amnesty registration process.

In an email from Jeddah on Tuesday, Reyna Usman, the Manpower Ministry's director general for worker placement and the head of the government team, said Indonesia had requested more time from the Saudi government for Indonesian workers to register for the amnesty program.

"We've asked for a delay because we need a lot more time to arrange all the paperwork and immigration requirements that are necessary for the workers to continue staying in Saudi Arabia," Reyna said.

He added his team was also using the opportunity to push for better working conditions for those choosing to stay.

"We're calling for the new work contracts to explicitly address the points of the workers' take-home pay, weekly days off, compensation, time off, insurance and so on," he said.

"We also want the workers to have their salaries transferred into their own bank accounts, and to be given access to communicate with their families in Indonesia."

Reyna said the Saudi authorities had responded positively to the team's visit and planned to host more intensive discussions on the issue.

"They promised that they would facilitate a ministerial-level meeting to discuss this matter and that they would immediately bring our proposals before the king," he said.

There are an estimated 1.5 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia, mostly female domestic workers, according to Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

A moratorium on domestic workers going to the kingdom has been in place since mid-2011, following the execution of a maid who was convicted of killing her employer. But activists say the lack of job opportunities at home means large numbers of low-skilled Indonesians continue to head to the kingdom illegally.

The moratorium has also been highlighted as the reason for the high number of visa overstayers wanting to remain there, given the difficulty of returning there legally if they were made to leave.

Government told to protect migrant workers

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2013

Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) is calling on the government to ratify ILO Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers as the majority of migrant workers abroad are females in the domestic sector.

"We want to remind the President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] about his promise to protect domestic workers that he gave at the ILO meeting in 2011," migrant workers commissioner Agustinus Supriyanto said after an event to commemorate International Domestic Workers Day, which fell on Sunday, June 16.

Agustinus said the commission wanted the government to implement recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review from the United Nations (UN), which stipulates that the government must pass a bill on domestic workers protection, as well as ensure the work status of domestic workers.

He said 70 percent of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia were in the domestic sector. These workers face problems with the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah, especially when trying to apply for travel documents in lieu of passports required for exiting that country.

"The recent incident in Jeddah was simply the climax of similar events that have occurred in the past," Agustinus said. He criticized the government for its slow response to the victims of rioting.

Komnas Perempuan commissioner Tumbu Saraswati said Indonesia should learn from other countries, for example, Malaysia urged its consulate general's staff to handle migrant workers' administrative processes in only one day.

"We are concerned about this incident, which the government could have prevented," she said.

Last week a riot at the Indonesian consulate general in Jeddah occurred following a stampede into the consulate office by hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers – mostly illegal – who were lining up to get exit visas. Consulate officials were powerless to stop the incident, which resulted in one female migrant worker from East Java being killed during the furor.

Domestically, there have been frequent cases of abuse against domestic workers.

In the latest case, Fitrianingsih, 19, and Sipora Sanam, 23, escaped from a house on Jl. Jose Rizal in Medan, North Sumatra, after being beaten by their employers. The two women from Nganjuk, East Java, and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, had been working for 15 and 10 months respectively, at the house, but had not been paid at all during that time. (tam)

Political parties & elections

PKS is now an opposition party: Dems

Jakarta Post - June 19, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang and Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The ruling coalition has deemed the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) an opposition party following its rejection on Monday of the government's proposed revised state budget, which will give President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration the legal authority to raise the prices of fuel.

Although Yudhoyono has yet to officially dismiss the PKS from the coalition, executives from his Democratic Party said that the Islam-based party was no longer considered a member of the government coalition. "Everything is now clear that the PKS is indeed an opposition party," Democratic Party executive chairman Syarief Hasan said on Tuesday.

Fifty-one of the PKS' 57 lawmakers at the House of Representatives voted against the revised state budget during a House plenary meeting on Monday at midnight. Six other PKS lawmakers were absent from the meeting.

The 51 lawmakers joined another 130 lawmakers from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party and the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, to oppose to the government's policy of raising the price of fuel.

The PKS is a member of Yudhoyono's ruling coalition which also includes the Democratic Party, Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Yudhoyono had originally given PKS four ministerial posts in his Cabinet. In 2011, Yudhoyono sacked PKS politician Suharna Surapranata as research and technology minister, following the party's refusal to support the government's position in a proposed tax graft inquiry.

Following the rejection of the fuel plan, the positions of the three remaining PKS ministers, Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring, Agriculture Minister Suswono and Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri, are at stake. Tifatul, Suswono and Salim have repeatedly said that they would support Yudhoyono's policy on fuel prices.

When asked about the fate of the three PKS ministers, Syarief said that the decision was in the hands of the PKS leaders. "If the PKS thinks that their ministers have declined to toe the party line, then the party could punish them," Syarief said. He then suggested that the three ministers could join the Democratic Party to save their positions.

Separately, chief of the Democratic Party honor council Amir Syamsuddin said Yudhoyono would probably take stern action against the PKS as its latest move had created "inconvenience within the coalition". "It's all in the hands of the leader of the coalition now, because the PKS has repeatedly refused to take the initiative to leave us," Amir said.

Speculation is rife that Yudhoyono will only sack Suswono to punish the PKS. Yudhoyono has a convenient reason to fire Suswono due to his role in the beef importation scandal which has also involved former PKS chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq.

Tifatul meanwhile said that he was ready to be dismissed from the Cabinet. "I am ready anytime [to have a position] given or taken away. This is the President's prerogative according to the law and Constitution," Tifatul told reporters.

PKS politicians have also challenged Yudhoyono to immediately decide the fate of the party within the coalition, stressing that "PKS will never make the first move".

"Don't expect us to take further action because we have a presidential system [...] There has never been a clear-cut definition of the coalition. That is why it's the job of Pak SBY to clarify it," PKS deputy secretary- general Fahri Hamzah said.

Joko supporters form 2014 presidential candidacy group

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

SP/Hotman Siregar – A group supporting Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's presidential candidacy has officially set itself up as a formal organization, one of its executives said on Monday.

Sihol Manullang, a member of the organization that calls itself the Ranks of Volunteers for Jokowi as President in 2014 (Bara JP) said that the organization established itself at its first congress in Bandung on Saturday.

The group, Sihol said, would call on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and its chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri to endorse Joko's candidacy in the 2014 presidential election. Joko won the Jakarta gubernatorial election last year on a PDI-P ticket.

Sihol said that the main aim of the organization was to promote and collect signatures in support of Joko's candidacy. He added that although the organization's current executive board was only for the national level, it will work hard to establish boards at the provincial and district levels in the future.

The congress on Saturday also issued a political manifesto that called for a healthier political culture in Indonesia and a stronger role for the public in electing its leaders.

Sohol said that at present, democracy in the country was still very superficial and that election candidates were still very much determined by political parties.

"In the legislative elections, people are forced to elect candidates that are not known by the people and have unclear track records," Sahul said.

The congress, he said, urged all political parties to listen to the people before declaring candidates.

"Indonesia also needs a president that really sides with the people, not one that pretends to be a president and then only gathers wealth for his party and maintains power with the wealth amassed. Transactional politics needs to be ended, and the people need to be more sovereign," he said.

Joko has polled high on the list of popularity in surveys conducted ahead of the 2014 presidential elections.

A recent survey by the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed that 29 percent of the 1,600 respondents polled said they would vote for Joko, ahead of Prabowo Subianto, a retired Army general and previous front-runner, at 16 percent.

Ex-military brass vying for 2014 bid

Jakarta Globe - June 17, 2013

Woodwing Importer – Djoko Santoso, the former military chief of staff, has thrown his hat into the ring for next year's presidential election, adding to the already swelling ranks of ex-military men vying for the country's top seat.

Speaking at an event in East Jakarta on Saturday night, Djoko said he had long been urged by his supporters to mount a presidential bid.

"I know full well that being a good leader means making sacrifices and suffering for those you're leading," he said. "That's why I now wish to declare that I'm ready to stand."

He added that he felt compelled to run and had considered his decision thoroughly before making the announcement. "Once I've decided to fight, there's no backing away. So I've drawn up some preparations and concepts that I'll need for my candidacy," he said.

Djoko, who was the Army chief of staff from 2005-2007 before serving as the military commander until his retirement in 2010, said Indonesia needed a leader who was "wise and brave," and had "high capability, morality and acceptability."

He added that he did not have any particular political party in mind to run with, but said he was weighing all options, including possibly taking part in the Democratic Party's convention to choose a presidential candidate.

Djoko's entry into the presidential race adds to the number of former military top brass already jockeying for prominence. Chief among them is Prabowo Subianto, the former commander of the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) and co-founder of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), who is considered one of the front-runners ahead of the July 2014 poll.

Another prominent hopeful is Wiranto, the last commander of the armed forces under Suharto and the chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura). Both Wiranto and Prabowo previously contested the 2009 election, while Wiranto also had a run in 2004.

Also considering a tilt next year, but not realistically expected to make the final nomination, is Sutiyoso, the former head of the Jakarta Military Command and former governor of the nation's capital. Sutiyoso chairs the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI).

One of the more intriguing figures linked to next year's race is the recently retired Army chief of staff, Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who is also the brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – himself a former military general.

Yudhoyono has insisted that no members of his immediate family will seek the presidency in 2014, but conspicuously glossed over any mention of Edhie, whom analysts say could be nominated by the Democrats seeking continuity for the Yudhoyono administration.

Mass organisations & NGOs

House to approve mass organization bill

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is set to approve a watered down version of the controversial mass organization bill in a plenary meeting next week, after dropping the bill in its last sitting session in April.

Chairman of the House committee deliberating the bill, Abdul Malik Haramain, said all political factions in the House had agreed on the latest draft, which accommodated input from critics, including the country's second largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah.

"We have revised the draft to include input from the public and we can assure that the bill will not used as a tool for repression. I think those who are still opposing the bill are not being reasonable because we have done our best to accommodate as many inputs as possible," Abdul Malik told reporters on Thursday.

Bowing to previous protests from several Muslim organizations that were concerned the bill would pose threats to their ideology, the bill committee has finally included an additional article, Article 3, which says all organizations are allowed to promote other ideologies as long as it does not contradict the country's founding principles of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

A ban, however, remains against the promotion of atheism, communism and Marxism.

Abdul Malik said the committee had also added another article to allow mass organizations to expand their operations abroad, as was demanded by Muhammadiyah. The new draft also drops a requirement for existing mass organizations to register with the Home Ministry.

"In addition to what we have agreed, the bill will not mandate existing mass organizations to register with the Home Ministry as they are already registered with the Law and Human Rights Ministry. It's important for me to say this to avoid misunderstanding," the National Awakening Party (PKB) politician said.

Eight out of the nine political factions at the House have approved the latest draft of the bill. The National Mandate Party (PAN) is the only faction yet to endorse the draft, although it has basically agreed on its substance.

Committee member Ahmad Rubai from PAN said his party is in talks with groups opposing the bill. "Although we do support the content of the bill, it's important for us to get support from all organizations affected by it. We're still discussing the matter with them," Rubai said.

Critics argued that the bill, if endorsed, would overlap with existing laws, such as Law No. 24/2004 on the foundation of organizations. Critics added the bill would also grant the government excessive control in cracking down on groups deemed threats to the country's ideology as well as unity.

"The bill seems to be administrative guidelines for all mass organizations, but it can be an instrument for the state to control the activities of mass organizations, which will likely limit freedom of association and assembly," National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said.

Mass organizations bill expected to pass next week

Jakarta Globe - June 20, 2013

The House of Representatives is expected to pass the draft revision to the 1985 Mass Organizations Law next week, as all factions in the House have reportedly reached compromise on several amendments.

"Insya allah, the bill will be passed during the plenary meeting on June 25," Abdul Malik Haramain, the chairman of the special committee for the Mass Organizations Bill, said on Thursday as quoted by the state-run Antara news agency.

Under the latest draft made publicly available, associations are restricted to limited categories of activities and subject to vague prohibitions, including bans on conducting activities that "endanger the unity and safety of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," and placing restrictions on those "embracing, instigating and propagating beliefs and religions conflicting with [the state ideology of] Pancasila."

The bill also requires foreign associations, such as NGOs, to seek a permit from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

"After listening to the final opinions of the working committee and each faction of the House, the special committee decided to make the decision at the plenary meeting," Malik said.

Out of nine factions, only the National Mandate Party (PAN) has not consented to some of the changes made to the bill. "The PAN faction has not agreed on some of the points," Malik said. "But we hope before June 25, they will see eye to eye with the rest of the House."

In April, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that the House decided to delay the passage of the bill because "there [were] several articles that required adjustments."

"We need to listen to the opinions of the mass organizations, though, especially ones that have been around for a long time such as Nahdlatul Ulama [NU] and Muhammadiyah. I asked the head of the committee to communicate with both of these [groups]," Marzuki said.

While human rights groups and labor associations viewed the bill as a potential threat to freedom of expression, Islamic organizations objected to the bill's requirement that a mass organization must list the state ideology of Pancasila as the foundation of an organization.

Lawmakers have since revised the bill to permit mass organizations to select their own guiding ideology, as long as it is not at odds with Pancasila.

The latest revision of the bill prohibits a group from committing religious blasphemy, promoting separatism and spreading violence. Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Islamic organization, said in April that it would mount a legal challenge if the bill were passed.

"This bill is getting more repressive and it will lead us toward authoritarianism, so if the House doesn't listen to us, then Muhammadiyah will file a judicial review with the Constitutional Court," Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said.

Environment & natural disasters

Haze update: Palm oil companies behind Singapore smog, says Greenpeace

Agence France Presse - June 22, 2013

Jakarta – Fires on Indonesia's Sumatra, which have cloaked Singapore in record-breaking smog, are raging on palm oil plantations owned by Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean companies, environmental activist group Greenpeace International said Saturday.

"Nasa hotspot data in Sumatra over the past 10 days (June 11-21) has revealed hundreds of fire hotspots in palm oil concessions that are owned by Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean companies," the group said in a statement received by AFP.

"Fires across Sumatra are wreaking havoc for millions of people in the region and destroying the climate. Palm oil producers must immediately deploy fire crews to extinguish these fires. But really cleaning up their act starts with adopting a zero deforestation policy," said Bustar Maitar, head of Greenpeace Indonesia's forest campaign.

The Indonesian environment minister Balthasar Kambuaya said on Friday that a team has investigated eight companies suspected to be behind the fires and promised to reveal the companies' names after the probe.

A senior presidential aide Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said Friday that the fires happened in concession areas belonging to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL).

"It is very clear that the fires are in APP concessions and APRIL. We need to settle this matter," he told reporters while showing the distribution of fires from 1 to 18 June in concession areas in Riau.

APP, the world's third-largest paper producer said in a statement late on Friday that "ground verification" detected "only 7 points that are actually forest fire, affecting around 200 hectares of land".

"They are under and being controlled by approximately a thousand fire fighting crews and their team. Our team's preliminary investigation found that 5 of the fires were set by the community to clear land for crops and 2 cases are still under investigation," APP added.

APRIL said in a statement on Saturday morning: "They do not correspond with intensive monitoring on-the-ground conducted by APRIL in its own concessions over the past several weeks nor with information on Friday from Indonesia's official national body for Meteorology, Climate and Geophysics."

It added: "While there have been a small number of fires within APRIL's concessions over the past three weeks, all of those fires were spread from fires that began outside our concessions and all were quickly extinguished by our fire fighting teams."

Indonesia stepped up its fire-fighting efforts Friday by deploying aircraft to artificially create rain and to water bomb the blaze.

The haze crisis has caused a dramatic escalation in tensions between tiny Singapore and its vast neighbour, with the city-state repeatedly demanding that Jakarta steps up its efforts to put out the fires.

Singapore and Indonesia spar as haze breaks new high

Bloomberg - June 21, 2013

Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index stood at a record 400 at 11 a.m., a level deemed hazardous, the National Environment Agency, or NEA, said on its website. Malaysia said air pollution in Johor, which borders Singapore, remained at hazardous levels.

"There's clearly a lot of frustration, a lot of anger here in Singapore," Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and former chairman of the NEA, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. "Not just from the Singaporeans, from the various foreigners who have planted offices here in Singapore, who have made a home here in Singapore, who want to live in a global city."

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday he expressed "serious concern" in a letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and requested evidence that Singaporean or Malaysian companies were responsible for the "illegal burning," as suggested by some Indonesian officials.

Disputes between the two neighbors flare up regularly over haze. The Malay Peninsula has been plagued for decades by forest fires in Sumatra to the west and Kalimantan on Borneo island to the east. "Singapore should not be behaving like a child and making all this noise," Agung Laksono said yesterday in Jakarta.

Malaysia and Singapore should pressure both the Indonesian government and palm-oil companies that are burning forests to clear the way for plantations to halt the practice, Barry Desker, dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said in an e-mail.

"There is no significant impact in Jakarta and it is not a major priority for the Jakarta-based political elite, which is preoccupied with the hike in petrol prices," Desker said. "Pressure must be put on Indonesia to stop the problem at its source."

While diplomatic ties wobble at times over haze and other issues, Indonesia and Singapore have strong economic links. Singapore's total trade with Indonesia was S$79.4 billion ($62.3 billion) in 2012, according to government trade promotion agency IE Singapore. Indonesia is Singapore's fourth-largest trading partner.

The relationship between Singapore and Indonesia is a "very broad and largely positive one," Tay from the Singapore Institute of International Affairs separately told Bloomberg. "As a whole, Indonesia needs Singapore and Singapore can play a useful role in Indonesia. It's still very symbiotic in many ways."

Singapore's prime minister said the fires were caused by errant companies and were not likely to just be smallholders slashing and burning. He said it was not fruitful to respond to Indonesian minister Laksono's comments.

"We need to work on the problem rather than exchanging harsh words," Lee said, repeating an offer to help Indonesia. Singapore has provided satellite data to help identify the companies responsible for the fires.

Cloud seeding

Malaysia's Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister James Dawos Mamit said his country was also willing to send firefighters. "If they need our help, we will offer whatever assistance we can," Dawos was quoted by the New Straits Times as telling reporters yesterday. The Indonesian forestry ministry plans to induce rain by seeding clouds, Channel NewsAsia reported yesterday.

Environment ministers from Singapore and Indonesia are scheduled to meet in Jakarta today, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed Indonesian officials to immediately tackle the problem, Natalegawa said.

The pollution will hit tourism-related industries in Singapore, which make up about 5-6 percent of the economy, as well as construction, Joey Chew, an economist at Barclays Plc, said in a research note on the haze yesterday. A disruption for one week could cost the economy about $1 billion, Barclays economist Wai Ho Leong said in an e-mail on June 19.

Stay indoors

Lee said Singaporeans could expect a higher incidence of respiratory diseases, offered medical financial assistance to the young and elderly and urged people to stay indoors where possible. Singapore's armed forces have stopped field training, the Straits Times reported yesterday.

Lower visibility from the smog has prompted Singapore's Changi Airport to increase the time between aircraft takeoffs and landings, the aviation authority said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg. The island's secondary airport at Seletar in the northeast will remain closed until 2 p.m. due to "prolonged poor visibility," Changi Airport said.

Ships were advised to navigate with caution, the port authority said in an e-mail. Singapore Flyer, which operates the city-state's ferris wheel, suspended operations yesterday. In south Malaysia, children at kindergartens were sent home, according to the The Star.

Plantation companies

Indonesia's Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said yesterday the government had identified more than 100 fire hot spots in the Riau region of Sumatra, of which 80 percent are within farm and plantation areas and 20 percent in forests.

Major companies with palm oil plantations in Indonesia, such as Singapore- listed Wilmar International Ltd. (WIL), Malaysia's Sime Darby Bhd. (SIME), the world's biggest listed palm oil producer, and Cargill Inc., told Bloomberg they had a zero-burning policy.

Half of the fires detected between June 11-18 were in areas that should have been protected by an Indonesian moratorium on clearing forest, said environmental campaign group Greenpeace by e-mail.

"The fact that these fires continue to affect the region shows just how poorly forest protection measures are enforced in Indonesia," said Yuyun Indradi, forest campaigner for Greenpeace Indonesia, in the statement.

If there were a "silver bullet" Indonesia would have shot it by now, said former NEA chairman Tay. "There are serious issues here about industry, about the climate, and about climate change gases, which is a complex issue across a very large country called Indonesia."

Nothing amiss with mud volcano budget: Aburizal

Jakarta Globe - June 21, 2013

Ezra Sihite – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said he was confused claims by several leaders of the House of Representatives that they were unaware of an article in the 2013 revised state budget that allocated Rp 155 billion ($15.7 million) to overcome the impacts of the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster, which some experts say was caused by the Bakrie family gas drilling company.

The House approved the revised state budget revision on Monday, which included article 9, which stated that the government would cover the expenses for the widening areas affected by the 2006 mudflow in East Java.

"Who says? If they were unaware, why would they approve it?" Aburizal said in Jakarta on Wednesday night.

House Deputy Speaker Sohibul Iman, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said his faction would file a request for a judicial review on the article with the Supreme Court.

Previously, the Supreme Court rejected a judicial review on the government's decision to provide compensation for the mudflow victims, saying it was part of the state's functions and duties to protect and offer security to the public.

Lapindo Brantas, a subsidiary of the Bakrie Group involved in drilling activities near the site of the disaster, had been in charge of paying compensation to the residents affected by the mud.

Aburizal said it was normal for the government to allocate the budget because Lapindo Brantas was only responsible for compensating residents' land and buildings that were in its map of affected areas. "Those who are not in our map of affected areas become the responsibility of the government," Aburizal said.

House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung Wibowo, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said he was unaware of the Rp 155 billion allocation in the revised budget for compensation and mitigation efforts for the mud volcano disaster.

He added that none of the House leaders, including Speaker Marzuki Alie, from the Democratic Party, knew of the allocation, which critics contend puts the bulk of the compensation obligation on the government for a disaster that is blamed by many experts on Barkie Group affiliate Minarak Lapindo Jaya.

"The leaders were probably not informed [of the article]. Marzuki, who led the plenary session, only found out about it at the time," Pramono said. "For this case, my answer as a leader would be that I only found out during the lobbying forum. I didn't know of this before. If I have to swear, then I will. By God, I didn't know at all about this."

The allocation passed virtually unnoticed on Monday night, with all the attention on the budget focused on measures paving the way for a fuel price hike.

The high amount of compensation provided by the state, and the government's insistence that the mud volcano was a natural disaster and not triggered by Lapindo's drilling activities, has raised speculation about political horse-trading between Golkar and the ruling Democratic Party.

Speculation is rife that the Democrats made the Sidoarjo concession in exchange for Golkar's support on the fuel policy.

But Aburizal denied the suggestion, saying that Golkar did not make any special deal with the government in exchange for mudflow mitigation budget. "There's none. Golkar supports [the revised state budget] for the sake of the people," he said.

Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) director for investigation and advocacy Uchok Sky Khadafi said that the government has disbursed a total of Rp 5.69 trillion in budget for compensation and mitigation efforts for the mud flow disaster since 2006.

Uchok said the budget allocated for the disaster continued to increase each year and he suspected high-level lobbying to get the budget approved.

"But with such a huge budget allocation, how come there are still people affected by the Lapindo mud that have not yet received the compensation?" he asked on Thursday. Uchok also questioned why efforts to stop the mud volcano had been halted. He speculated that the government had let the mud continue to flow as a means to keep its grip on Golkar Party, especially in the parliament.

Uchok said Golkar was unusually compliant as a ruling coalition member in backing the fuel price increase. Aburizal is running for president next year.

Indonesia says Singapore 'behaving like a child' over haze

Agence France Presse - June 20, 2013

Indonesia on Thursday accused Singapore of "behaving like a child" by complaining about severe haze from raging forest fires on Sumatra island that has cloaked the city-state.

"Singapore should not be behaving like a child and making all this noise," Agung Laksono, the minister who is coordinating Indonesia's response to the haze crisis, told reporters in Jakarta. "This is not what the Indonesian nation wants, it is because of nature."

The minister for people's welfare also said Jakarta would reject any offer of financial aid from Singapore unless it was a large amount.

"Unless (Singapore) wants to give us a large amount, we won't consider accepting it," he said. "If it is only half a million, or one million dollars, we don't need that. We would rather use our own national budget."

The comments came as the neighbours prepared to hold emergency talks in Jakarta to ease the severe smog enveloping the city-state.

Singapore's air pollutant index was again hovering around the "hazardous" level of 301 at midday, close to the all-time high of 321 set the night before. Any reading above 200 is considered threatening to health.

Laksono said investigations were under way to find out which company was responsible for the haze. "There are Indonesian, Singaporean and Malaysian companies there," he said, echoing previous comments from officials in Jakarta seeking to shift the blame away from solely Indonesian firms.

Indonesia dodges haze blame game

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih and Rizal Harahap, Jakarta/Pekanbaru – Amid criticism from its neighbors, Malaysia and Singapore, over the cross-border haze and deteriorating air quality affecting the two countries, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa talked tough on the issue, saying that ASEAN members should collaborate to address the situation rather than lay blame.

"The approach must be one of collaboration and partnership, not one of apportioning blame here and there. Let's focus on putting the fires out," Marty told a press conference.

Numerous hot spots created by slash-and-burn activities by several agricultural firms operating in Sumatra, particularly in Riau province, have reportedly resulted in thick haze over Singapore and some parts of Malaysia.

Singapore has urged Indonesia to provide data on the companies and concession maps to enable it to act against the plantation firms that employ slash-and-burn methods, adding that air pollution on the island had hit unhealthy levels with some of the worst readings since the 1997 regional haze crisis.

"Calls of such a type are actually a bit redundant, in the sense that we in Indonesia, the government and our people, want those responsible to be held accountable," said Marty, commenting on the request. "There is actually no need for such a demand. We are fully aware of the impact and consequences and the need for action," Marty added.

The minister confirmed he had received phone calls from his counterparts in Malaysia and Singapore, but he refused to offer details, saying only that they had "exchanged information about the situation".

Marty cited similar haze problems in other countries. "Recently, we have seen a number of forest fires in the US and Australia. When those broke out, I think the first instinct was to express sympathy and solidarity, rather than wanting to blame somebody," he continued, adding that there would be technical meetings between Indonesian and Singaporean officials on the issue in the coming few days.

Marty admitted that the government had not ratified the ASEAN trans- boundary haze pollution treaty, which was signed some 12 years ago. He said it was still undergoing a legislative process at the House of Representatives.

"We have to go through a certain process to ensure there is full consensus on the treaty. Even without ratification, as a matter of fact, we have complied with the requirements of the agreement," Marty said.

Forestry Ministry secretary-general Hadi Daryanto said the ministry was ready to partner with Singapore in tracing the firms behind the fires in Riau. "We are keen to join with neighboring countries to identify the perpetrators; and the sanctions imposed will be imprisonment, fines and permit revocations," Hadi said.

He added, however, that the country needed cooperation from Singapore and Malaysia to track down and prevent future blazes, considering that a number of companies operating in the area hailed from the two countries.

The haze itself is believed to emanate from Bengkalis and Dumai in Riau following peat land fires in the region. A blanket of thick haze has covered Bengkalis and Dumai over the past week and the number of respiratory infections has increased.

In Bengkalis, the number of people suffering from respiratory infections reached 531 as of June 17, jumping from only 387 a month earlier.

Data at the Dumai health office showed that the number of patients with respiratory problems treated at local community health centers (puskesmas) and hospitals totaled 393 as of June 19, up from 351 in early June.

Residents have been told to reduce outdoor activities, while those who have to go outdoors are advised to wear masks over their noses and mouths, and helmets and jackets to protect the eyes and skin from irritation. Meanwhile, the Bengkalis administration has called on the central government to immediately dispatch assistance to help tackle the disaster.

Bengkalis Deputy Regent Suayatno said the fires, which have destroyed vast hectares of rubber and oil palm plantations and bush, had been raging since March 1.

He said the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and local fire fighters had dispatched all their personnel to extinguish the fires, but the flames continued to spread due to strong winds and very dry weather.

[Anggi M. Lubis contributed to the story.]

Singapore pressures Indonesia to identify firms behind haze

Jakarta Post - June 19, 2013

Rizal Harahap – Singapore's worst air pollution in 16 years sparked diplomatic tension on Tuesday, as the city state urged Indonesia to provide data on companies and concession maps to enable it to act against plantation firms that allow slash-and-burn farming.

Singapore's environment minister made the request to his Indonesian counterpart by telephone as air pollution on the island hit unhealthy levels for a second straight day, with some of the worst readings since the 1997 regional haze crisis.

"We need to exert commercial pressure against companies causing the haze," Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on his Facebook page, without saying what measures Singapore might take.

"We are also waiting for Indonesia to publish the concession maps. The combination of satellite photos, which are updated daily, and these concession maps would enable us to pinpoint the errant companies," he added.

Indonesian Forestry Ministry spokesman Sumarto Suharno said the government was continuing to educate farmers about alternatives to traditional slash- and-burn methods. "We have been able to reduce the regional haze problem significantly for years with help from local communities and will continue to undertake all efforts to prevent it from spreading," Suharno said.

Plantation companies with land concessions in Indonesia include Wilmar International Ltd, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd and First Resources Ltd.

Singapore's pollutant standards index (PSI) rose to an unhealthy 155 on Monday night, prompting the US embassy to advise Americans planning a visit to consult their doctors about the effects of air pollution.

Visibility improved slightly on Tuesday and the PSI score slipped back to a "moderate" level of 85 after peaking at 123 in the morning.

A map on the site of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Specialized Meteorological Center showed dozens of satellite-detected fires on Sumatra on Tuesday with winds blowing east toward Singapore.

The haze has also enveloped some parts of neighboring Malaysia, with four regions suffering "unhealthy" PSI levels above 100 for a second day.

On Tuesday, authorities in Bengkalis regency in Riau province, one of the fire hot spots, stated they had given up efforts to extinguish the widespread fires that in one area alone covered 3,000 hectares.

Bengkalis deputy regent Suayatno said that fires had raged in plantations as well as bush in three villages since March. "We have been dealing with the fires for three months, but this week the fires have become so big that we're no longer able to extinguish them. It is beyond our capability," he said, adding that "If there's no rain within three days, the haze could get thicker."

However, Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) questioned whether Singapore's haze was from Riau.

BMKG Pekanbaru analyst, Warih Budi Lestari, admitted that the wind direction was to Singapore and Malaysia, but the speed was only between 5 to 20 kilometers per hour. "At that speed, the haze could only reach areas within a 100-kilometer radius. The wind speed needs to be some 30 kilometers per hour to reach Singapore," he said. (Agencies, Singapore)

Sidoarjo mud volcano budget share raises eyebrows

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

Criticism has mounted over the government's lack of discussion regarding the Rp 155 billion ($15.7 million) fund allocation in the 2013 state budget for the management of the Sidoarjo mud volcano in East Java.

The announcement of compensation in the revised budget, approved last night, has raised concerns about the government's ability to swiftly compensate residents whose homes and land were swamped by the still-growing lake of mud that began gushing in May 2006.

It also triggered questions over whether a political deal between the Democratic Party and the Golkar Party had been involved in the budgeting.

Minarak Lapindo Jaya, the gas drilling company that is widely blamed by experts for triggering the mud volcano, is controlled by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Under the revised 2013 budget, the Rp 155 billion will be used for housing aid and to pay for land and building purchases outside the area affected by the mud zone, such as in Besuki, Kedungcangkring and Pejarakan villages, as well as nine neighborhood units in three other villages.

Another point in the budget also states that the same aid will be provided for 66 other neighborhood units in a number of other villages.

In addition, the budget is also expected to be used to fund more efforts to slow and contain the mud lake and to revive the local economy and the livelihoods of the residents living near the levees that have been erected around the lake.

Sutan Bhatoegana, a Democrat legislator, said it made sense for the government to agree to the large sums as plenty of work remained to be done to help the victims.

He added that the budget allocations were far removed from any notion of political horse-trading. The mud volcano has been officially declared a natural disaster by the government, putting the victims directly under its responsibility.

"[What happened] in Sidoarjo is a natural disaster, so the government is managing this through the state budget," Sutan said. "I think we should prioritize the people's needs."

Amir Syamsuddin, the justice minister and another Democrat politician, also denied any politics behind the budget. "That is not the case," he said at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

"The government cannot ignore the fact that some of its people are suffering. We cannot say this is solely Lapindo's responsibility when at the moment [the people of Sidoarjo] are suffering."

He added that the government and Lapindo could settle a responsibility scheme over the compensation that the government had agreed to offer.

"There will be a responsibility mechanism later on between the government and Lapindo," Amir said. "But it is impossible to ignore our citizens in need. Without investigating the real cause of the problem [mud volcano], some steps should first be taken to manage their distress."

In response to the accusations of political bias, Roemkono, a member of the House Budget Committee from Golkar, said on Monday that such claims were tantamount to slander.

"There is no such thing. That's slander," he said. "[The disaster] is a state matter, so it's being resolved by the government for the affected people."

Singapore, Malaysia choke as illegal Indonesia forest fires rage

Reuters - June 17, 2013

Singapore – Air pollution in Singapore and Malaysia rose to unhealthy levels on Monday thanks to illegal forest clearing in Indonesia, prompting Singapore to advise people against staying outdoors for long and to urge Indonesia to do something to stop it.

In usually clear Singapore, the pollutant standards index hit the highest level in nearly seven years, with the taste of smoke hitting the back of the throat even in air-conditioned offices and the subway.

"Given the current hazy conditions, it is advised that children, the elderly and those with heart or lung diseases reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor activities," Singapore's National Environment Agency said in a statement. "Everyone else should limit prolonged or heavy outdoor activities."

The agency said the haze was caused by forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and that it was expected to last for a few days. It said it had "urged the Indonesian authorities to look into urgent measures to mitigate the transboundary haze occurrence".

In Malaysia, the air quality reached unhealthy levels in several northeastern states as well as the southern state of Malacca, a UNESCO heritage site popular with tourists, the country's Department of Environment said.

The illegal clearing of forests by burning is a recurrent problem in Indonesia, particularly during the annual dry season that typically stretches from June to September.

In 1997 and 1998, the smog disrupted air and sea traffic, causing an estimated $9 billion in terms of economic, social and environmental losses, according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10- member regional grouping that includes Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

ASEAN members signed an agreement on transboundary haze pollution in June 2002 but Indonesia has yet to ratify the agreement.

Graft & corruption

AGO 'too soft' on graft suspects, convicts

Jakarta Globe - June 20, 2013

Yeremia Sukoyo – The Attorney General's Office has been urged to take a hard line on corruption suspects by issuing travel bans and detaining them during investigations.

"The AGO shouldn't compromise with any corruptors," Emerson Yuntho, an activist with Indonesia Corruption Watch, said on Wednesday. "Suspects have to be banned from traveling, and if need be, they should be detained to prevent them from fleeing."

He said that if the suspects were eventually convicted, prosecutors should seize their assets as compensation for the losses incurred by the state as a result of their crimes. He added this measure would also prevent them and their families from laundering the money.

However, Emerson said the AGO often chose not to detain suspects and only started looking for them once they had fled.

ICW data showed that in the first six months of 2013 alone, up to 54 people remain at large despite being convicted of graft. The watchdog said that some had escaped, but most had gone on the run.

ICW said the AGO had been too soft in dealing with graft suspects, especially when compared to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Emerson pointed out that in prosecuting graft suspects, the KPK had an almost 100 percent conviction rate, while the AGO's conviction rate in corruption cases was as low as 60 percent.

"Almost all the cases brought to trial by the KPK end in a guilty verdict," he said. "Meanwhile, the AGO can only manage conviction rates of 60 percent to 80 percent when prosecuting corruption suspects. That means that a large number of suspects walk free. In some extreme cases, the AGO has even dropped cases entirely."

He added that the AGO should adopt the KPK's methods of dealing with suspects to prevent them evading justice.

Achyar Salmi, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia, said cooperation between law enforcement agencies should be improved to prevent graft suspects and convicts from escaping.

"What needs to be improved is the coordination in the legal enforcement system, which involves investigators, prosecutors, courts and penitentiaries," Achyar said on Tuesday.

He said that under the legal system, the four elements comprised one unit and that coordination evaluation was needed due to the fact that many graft defendants had fled the country before a court had issued a binding verdict. Achyar said law enforcers should maximize the use of their detention facilities and lock up all graft suspects throughout the investigation process.

"If many have fled, it's better to just detain them. If not, they won't learn any lesson. Law enforcers can also maximize the use of their detention facilities to hold the corruptors," Achyar said.

He added that besides maximizing the use of detention facilities, law enforcement officers must also investigate how suspects and convicts were able to go into hiding, whether overseas or within the country, adding that if many had fled overseas, coordination with the immigration department should also be improved.

Last week, officers arrested Anung Nugroho, the former director of an East Kalimantan coal mining company, who was named a fugitive in April for his involvement in the divestment case of Kaltim Prima Coal, a unit of Indonesia's biggest coal producer, Bumi Resources. Anung was arrested at a hotel in Solo, Central Java.

Business as usual for Nazaruddin in prison

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

The notorious former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin is maintaining his power and influence despite being locked up in jail on charges of corruption.

Tempo Magazine reported in its Monday edition that Nazaruddin has turned the Cipinang Penitentiary into his new office where he can freely hold regular weekly meetings with former Permai Group employees still loyal to him.

The magazine reported that Nazaruddin, who was convicted last April and sentenced to seven years in prison for bid-rigging linked to a construction project for the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, has been holding his weekly meetings every Saturday since last year.

The meetings are held from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and he is able to use the prison's consultation room on the second floor, which was located near the penitentiary security head's office.

An inmate told Tempo magazine that the meetings were usually attended by 10 to 15 of Nazaruddin's employees and that at around sunset one of the wardens would knock on the door to break up the meeting.

"They go home past visiting hours," the inmate was quoted by Tempo magazine on Monday.

Several sources also said that Nazaruddin once told meeting participants about his obsession with leaving the prison as one of the richest men in Indonesia.

Nazaruddin ordered his men to create at least 25 companies with each company hiring 10 to 20 employees.

Nazaruddin also appointed three people as his confidants – Aan Ikhyaudin, Baskoro and Tabah Kurniawan – to manage the business.

"If you see potential applicants, offer them the position as director," said one of the sources, imitating Nazaruddin's instruction.

He added that Nazaruddin prioritized former Permai Group employees to become directors.

Once they are appointed as directors, they are instructed to open new companies and are allowed to decide on the names and locations of the companies, subject to approval from the confidants.

Once approved, the directors submit the budget to open the new companies to Baskoro and Tabah, who later submitted them to Aan.

The men discuss the plans at the Saturday meetings to seek Nazaruddin's approval. Once approved, Nazaruddin is believed to instruct his relative Yusna, also known as Dona, who served as the group's treasurer, to disburse the money.

Nazaruddin has unleashed a torrent of allegations against former party colleagues and fellow legislators.

One of those, Angelina Sondakh, a former Democratic legislator, was in January convicted in a separate bid-rigging case, while two other Democrats – Andi Mallarangeng, the ex-sports minister, and Anas Urbaningrum, the former party chairman – have been named suspects in another case brought to light by Nazaruddin.

Most recently, he accused two legislators from the Golkar Party and one from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of being involved in rigging the contract to procure driving simulators for the National Police traffic department.

The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights fired the head of Jakarta's Cipinang Penitentiary in April for allowing Nazaruddin to spend nine days in a hospital.

"Nazaruddin was out of the Cipinang Penitentiary, [he was being treated] at Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Jakarta," said the ministry's secretary-general Bambang Rantam Sariwanto.

Nazaruddin, who was undergoing treatment for gallstones from April 11 to 20, was able to briefly reunite with wife Neneng Sri Wahyuni, also a graft convict, who was undergoing treatment at the same hospital.

Activists allege staggering resource graft

Jakarta Globe - June 17, 2013

Rizky Amelia – A leading antigraft watchdog has highlighted corruption in Indonesia's natural resources sector as an "unlimited" font of ill-gotten wealth that will only run dry when the precious resources have been completely exhausted.

Tama Satrya Langkun, a researcher with Indonesia Corruption Watch, said on Sunday that while other forms of corruption, such as embezzling funds from regional budgets, could realistically be ended, this was not true of resource-related graft in the forestry and mining sectors.

"The embezzlement of regional budgets can be tackled, I'm sure of that. When the money runs out, the corruption ends. But with natural resources, it doesn't end until the resources have run out, which is what makes it an essentially unlimited form of corruption," he said.

He cited claims by activists that losses from corruption in the forestry sector had boomed from Rp 7 billion ($709,000) in 2003 to Rp 273 trillion in 2011.

The claims were first made last week by a group calling itself the Anti- Forestry Mafia Coalition, and which includes ICW, based on data published last year by the Forestry Ministry.

Wilmar Tumpak Hutabarat, a representative for the coalition, said the figure of Rp 273 trillion stemmed from possible irregularities or infractions in the issuance of permits for 727 plantations and 1,722 mining sites in just seven provinces.

Wilmar said the biggest potential losses were recorded in Central Kalimantan, at Rp 158 trillion, followed by West Kalimantan at Rp 47.5 trillion, East Kalimantan at Rp 31.5 trillion and South Kalimantan at Rp 9.6 trillion.

He added that a separate estimate by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had pegged the combined potential losses from corruption in the forestry sector in those four provinces at no less than Rp 15.9 trillion a year.

The coalition submitted its claim about the losses to the KPK last Friday, demanding a thorough investigation into all forms of corruption in the forestry, plantations and mining sectors.

"When we met with the KPK leaders, we discussed five cases in particular and presented our findings about the various means of corruption," Tama said.

He added that the five cases highlighted accounted for an estimated Rp 1.9 trillion in losses. He also said the coalition had linked a spike in the number of suspect concessions being approved to the run-up for elections, and warned that there could be another surge in forestry-related graft ahead of next year's polls.

"In 2009, which was an election year, there was a more than 200 percent increase in the number of permits issued for coal mining and plantation operations," Tama said.

"That's something we have to keep an eye on, because it seems that national political developments can open the door to companies to plunder the country's natural resources."

He added that in addition to the companies believed to be at fault in the five cases brought to the KPK, the coalition also reported the involvement of "certain ministers regarding the land use changes of forest areas."

"There are three ministers involved, as well as five district heads, one ministry official, one regional administration official and six company directors," he said, but declined to identify them.

Tama also called into question the commitment of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to crack down on environmental crimes, in spite of the government having recently extended a moratorium on issuing concessions in primary and peat forests.

"The substance of the moratorium itself is fine, but it's the enforcement that is lacking," he said.

He claimed it was no secret that regional administration had continued to issue new mining, logging and plantation permits for off-limits areas even after the moratorium had gone into force in May 2011.

He attributed the blame for these violations not just to the regional authorities, but also to the forestry, home affairs and energy and mineral resources ministries, for what he called their lack of oversight in the matter.

"It's the home minister's job to monitor what governors and district chiefs are doing. Whoever is issuing these permits has to be scrutinized," he said.

By taking a stronger line on enforcing the moratorium, Tama went on, the Yudhoyono administration could show that it was serious about its commitment to protecting the environment.

He also urged the administration to make good on its other commitments under the moratorium, saying that it had only fulfilled one of the three key points, which was to draw up a unified map of areas protected under the terms of the policy.

He said the other two points, to improve the concession-issuing process and to review permits already handed out, had not yet been adequately addressed.

The government insists that it is committed to the spirit of the moratorium, but notes that the authority to issue mining, logging and plantation permits rests with regional authorities, and that under the principles of regional autonomy, the central government has little say in how local authorities exercise their power.

However, Tama said this should not justify the proliferation of forestry violations or the dearth of law enforcement in the field, and took issue with police and prosecutors for not treating forestry crimes as seriously as other offenses.

"The fact is that the KPK treats corruption in the forestry sector quite seriously. But the problem is that the police and prosecutors don't," he said.

He added that the KPK was currently investigating seven separate cases involving major alleged forestry crimes, whereas the other two law enforcement institutions had no such cases in their sights, and if anything, tended to take a hard line against environmental activists.

"There are many cases in the field where they've gone after activists, and there have been several reports of activists being assaulted or criminalized for flagging forestry crimes," Tama said.

One of the forestry cases that the KPK is currently probing involves the issuance of logging permits in Riau by the province's governor, Rusli Zainal.

Rusli was taken into custody last Friday after being charged with taking a bribe in that case, as well as two other counts of corruption in a separate bid-rigging case centered on the construction of facilities for the National Games in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, last year.

Freedom of religion & worship

Beleaguered Shiites banished once again

Jakarta Globe - June 21, 2013

Amir Tejo, Camelia Pasandaran, Arientha Primanita & Ezra Sihite, Surabaya/Jakarta – The bedraggled group of 162 men, women and children had since August last year been forced to live in squalor in a sports center that was meant to be their temporary refuge, after a mob drove them out of their home village in Sampang district on Madura Island.

If they thought they had scraped the bottom of the barrel, they were proven wrong on Thursday when the authorities, also backed by a mob, once again ordered them relocated, this time to a market in Sidoarjo, on the East Java mainland.

The offense that had condemned them into exile twice in less than a year was the simple fact that they were Shiites among a conservative Sunni majority.

The plight of the Sampang Shiites, as the world has come to know them, entered a dark new chapter this week with the latest forced eviction, which an advocate for the group says was instigated by Sunni clerics and district officials who wanted the Shiites out of Madura.

Akhol Firdaus, from the People's Anti-Violence Network (Jamak), told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that Iklil Al Milal, the head of the beleaguered group, was summoned to the district police headquarters on Wednesday, where the police chief, district officials and clerics ordered his group to leave the sports center because a prayer gathering of Sunnis was planned at a nearby square.

"But Iklil said he couldn't speak for all the Shiites and so he couldn't make that decision on his own," Akhol said. He added that in response, the police and district officials said they would not be responsible for any harm that befell the group if it refused to leave.

The prayer gathering went ahead as scheduled on Thursday morning with around 5,000 people in attendance, with the preachers repeatedly denouncing the Shiites as heretics.

As the event ended, the Sampang deputy district chief, Fadillah Budiono, led a group of about 1,000 people to the sports center, where they confronted Iklil and once again told him to lead his group out of the facility. "I'm not sure how badly they intimidated him that he fainted and had to be taken to hospital," Akhol said.

He added that Fadillah had shown up with trucks and buses and was accompanied by several hundred police officers. In light of the overwhelming pressure, the Shiites agreed to be relocated.

"Let's be clear: This eviction was ordered by the Sampang administration and the Sunni clerics," Akhol said. "The prayer gathering had ended without incident when the deputy district chief showed up and, together with the clerics, went to the sports center to tell the Shiites to move to Sidoarjo."

Herstaning Ikhlas, a lawyer representing the affected group, confirmed separately that Fadillah and the district police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Irman Edwin Siregar, were at the sports center overseeing the eviction. Agus, a lawyer with the Universalia Legal Aid Foundation, which also advocates for the group, said that "Police are taking them on buses and trucks to the relocation place in Sidoarjo."

Driven from their homes and now their temporary shelter, the families have been taken to a market in Sidoarjo, where they will remain while the authorities prepare to move them into tenement housing.

History of discrimination

The group has long faced discrimination by others in the district, in part because of a falling out between two brothers: Tajul Muluk, the head of the Shiite community, and Rois Al-Hukama, who was vociferous in his denouncement of the group.

Tensions came to a head in August last year when a mob of around 500 people attacked the two Shiite villages of Karanggayam and Bluuran. Two Shiites were killed and dozens injured, while 48 homes were destroyed by the mob.

Tajul was later tried and convicted on a widely criticized charge of blasphemy, while Rois, who led the attack, was acquitted of inciting the violence.

Bowing to demands from the hard-liner antagonists, the government moved the Shiites into the sports center as a "temporary" solution until they could be moved to new homes elsewhere. They proposed Sidoarjo, in keeping with the demands that the Shiites leave Madura, but the group insisted that it just wanted to return home.

In recent months, the district authorities have cut off the supplies of food, water, medicine and other provisions that it had promised to keep giving the group, incensing supporters of the families who said it was an attempt to drive them out.

With that goal now achieved, the government says evicting the Shiites from their home district was the best solution.

Gamawan Fauzi, the home affairs minister, said that if the Shiites had returned to their home villages, the government could not guarantee their safety. "We wanted this to be resolved inside the district, but who's going to vouch for their safety if they go back home?" he said in Jakarta on Thursday.

He added the East Java administration had already prepared 70 homes for them in Sidoarjo that they could occupy "if they agree to relocate." He said he had not received any reports that the group was forced to leave Sampang because of mob intimidation.

Taking sides

Religious freedom advocates have lashed out at the authorities' treatment of the Shiites. Hendardi, the executive director of the Setara Institute, which promotes tolerance and pluralism, said now would be a good time for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene and prove that he deserved a recent international award for religious tolerance.

"He must order the Sampang administration to end this ceaseless violence against the Shiites," he said in a statement on Thursday. "It's high time that Yudhoyono, through the chief security minister, takes direct control of this matter and resolves it."

For their part, the police denied they had forced the Shiites to leave, saying they were not taking any sides in the conflict.

Insp. Gen. Unggung Cahyono, the East Java Police chief, said his force was "professional, neutral and unbiased." "We only carried out security measures to ward off a potential clash," he said of the police's role in evicting the Shiites.

There are indications, however, that the authorities had prepared for the eviction long in advance and used the prayer gathering as a cover for their actions.

Akhol said the gathering was originally scheduled to take place in Pamekasan, a neighboring district, but was inexplicably moved to Sampang at the last minute.

The switch also coincided with a visit by Unggung to the Shiite shelter on Sunday – his first official outing after having been appointed the provincial police chief just two days earlier.

Sampang Shiites evicted from Madura

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2013

Ina Parlina and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta – Members of the Sampang Shia community have been evicted from a sports complex where they had sought refuge for the past year, and have been forced to relocate to Sidoarjo in East Java.

The incident has occurred less than a month after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received an international award in recognition of his work in promoting pluralism and human rights.

Citing security concerns, officials from the Sampang regency administration moved to evict the Shia members and transfer them to low-cost apartments in Sidoarjo, on the main island of Java, bowing to pressure from some within the majority Sunni community who demanded the internally displaced persons (IDPs) leave the area.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, hundreds of Sunnis took over the local sports stadium and occupied it for a mass prayer, known locally as istighosah.

Johan Avie of the National Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Faith (AKBB), which offered advocacy to the minority group, blasted the government for failing to protect its citizens. "The security argument makes no sense as the forced relocation was conducted after the crowd left the stadium after the istighosah," he said on Thursday.

Faiq Assaddiqi of Surabaya's Legal Aid Institute (LBH) said the relocation may serve as a precedent for further discrimination against other Shia Muslims and minority groups in the country.

"It will set an example for others. It justifies their doing the same thing against minorities in other places," he said. "It's like, if they can do it in Sampang, why can't they do the same thing elsewhere?"

The Shia IDPs had taken refuge at the Sampang sports complex following an incident on Aug. 12, 2012, when around 200 people stormed their settlement in Nangkernang hamlet. At least two people were killed and 10 homes razed during the violent incident.

The IDPs had been struggling to survive, especially after the local administration stopped the delivery of basic supplies.

The first sign of conflict erupted on Dec. 29, 2011, when mobs set fire to a Shia boarding school in the hamlet.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said that relocating the Shiites to Sidoarjo was the best option the local government had. He said that the move was to prevent future violence.

"As a matter of fact, we have no problem if they insist on coming back to their village. But we in the government will take the blame if there is another attack," Gamawan said.

The National Police also defended the eviction, saying that they merely supported the local government's responsibility in handling the issue.

"It's in the hands of the local administration. We are only interested in matters concerning violations of the law," National Police chief Timur Pradopo said. "We will secure the local administration's policy."

Timur also applauded the action of police personnel for safeguarding the eviction process. "Thank you for ensuring that things went well and no one was injured or hurt," he said.

House of Representatives' Speaker Marzuki Alie maintained that the relocation was only a temporary measure until the security situation in their home village improved.

"It is crucially important to prevent a situation like this from worsening. Some groups seem to dislike peace breaking out in the area. The Shia community can return to their village later on, once things become better with time," he said.

Marzuki, a Democratic Party politician, added that the relocation would actually benefit the Shiites, as the houses would become their property while they would still own their plots of land in their home village.

"I have met with the East Java administration as well as members of the regional council and they have agreed to issue certificates for each of the Shiites to ensure that they never lose their land in their home village," Marzuki said.

Back in May, President Yudhoyono received the World Statesman Award from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF), a US-based interfaith coalition.

Sampang Shiites removed as thousands appear outside refuge

Jakarta Globe - June 20, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran & Arientha Primanita – A fatal mob attack on a community in East Java that displaced 160 Shiite Muslims took another turn today when authorities began their forcible resettlement after more than 1,000 people appeared outside their refuge under the direction of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI).

"[Wednesday] afternoon at 3 p.m., Sampang deputy district head Fadhilah Budiono, Sampang police chief and East Java Political and National Unity Office came to the sports center and asked [the Shiites] to leave Sampang sport center and live in Sidoarjo," Herstaning Ikhlas, a lawyer representing the affected group, said on Thursday.

It is understood that the matter was the subject of a discussion in Jakarta between House of Representative Speaker Marzuki Alie, East Java governor Sukarwo and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto. The decision for the Shiites to be relocated on Thursday was reached on Wednesday night.

Herstaning told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that the local government had asked the Shia to move to apartments in Sidoarjo, more than 100 kilometers away, or three-to-four-hours drive from their hometown in Blu'uran and Karanggayam, Sampang district. Herstaning said the Shiites had responded to the news by shouting "We want to go home! We want go home!"

Sampang Police accompanied by Brimob officers then oversaw the removal of the 160 from the sports center.

Herstaning confirmed that he had spoken with one of the 160 and had been told they were en route to Sidoarjo, while Agus, a lawyer of Universalia Legal Aid Foundation said "Police are taking them on buses and trucks to the relocation place in Sidoarjo."

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said 2,000 police officers had been assigned to police the area. He said that no-one had been injured in the resettlement operation.

Today's events are another chapter in a long and complicated dispute that has divided opinion on its central cause.

In August last year, a mob of 500 Sunni Muslims attacked a group of Shiite students and teachers with swords and machetes in the village of Nangkernang, in Sampang district.

Two Shiites, Hamama and Tohir, were killed, and seven others were injured. The mob also torched dozens of homes belonging to Shiite residents. They have been sheltered in the sports center ever since.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi has previously said that the attack was more a case of warring families than a case of religious intolerance.

"The Sampang incident is a purely criminal case that developed out of a family conflict and later gained momentum within the local community," Gawaman said at the time. "It is not an anti-Shiite situation."

The presence of the Indonesian Ulema Council does, however, appear instructive that the situation has mutated into one that encompasses religious differences.

Indonesian Ulema Council Sampang chapter head Buchori Ma'sum said the mass prayer outside the sports center was held in support of the resettlement plan. "It's for them to get a better place to live," Buchori said as quoted by Hidayatullah.com.

Indonesia fails to protect religious minorities, says US report

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2013

Jakarta – The US Department of State's 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom has revealed that the Indonesian government has failed to properly address the banning and assault of religious minority groups.

The annual report was released by the US Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday. "The Indonesian government honors the freedom to choose religion but fails to prevent violent acts toward religious minority groups," a statement in that report said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The report said the Indonesian government respected six official religions but that some religious sects were deemed as deviant by clerics.

The report also said that the police tended to be lenient on hard-liners that tried to implement laws that limited religious freedom. "Police failed to protect religious minority groups when they are being attacked by hard- liners," the report said. (hrl/dic)

Sampang Sunnis: 'No problem with Shiites'

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2013

Jakarta – The Sunni majority in Sampang, Madura, East Java, had no problem welcoming the return of ostracized Shia community members; the main issue that bars them from returning to their homes is the local government's intransigence, a rights group has said.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the local government had disseminated false information about members of the Sunni and Shia communities being in conflict.

"We can say that the situation in their hamlet is very good. Locals [Sunni] visited the [Shia] refugees at the sports stadium. It seems that there is no problem between them, which certainly contradicts the government's claim that conditions are not conducive," Kontras Surabaya member Fathul Khoir said in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Fathul also said that clashes between the two communities were not motivated by faith, but instead sprang from competition between local elites.

Based on an investigation by Kontras, the conflict resulted from a competition between local figures, with some local Sunni leaders feeling intimidated by the preaching of Shiite cleric Tajul Muluk.

"Tajul told locals to go to state elementary schools because they offered free tuition. Some clerics were annoyed because they run Islamic primary schools that receive the government's school operational assistance [BOS] funding," Fathul explained.

Members of the Shia community sought refuge at the Sampang sports complex following an incident on Aug. 12, 2012, when more than 200 people stormed a Shia settlement in Nangkernang hamlet, Sampang. Two people were killed during the violence.

The conflict first began on Dec. 29, 2011, when mobs set fire to a Shia boarding school in the community.

Members of the Shia community opposed the government's plan to relocate them to areas outside Sampang. The Sampang administration claimed that its plan to evict the local Shiites was in deference to the demands of the majority Sunni community.

Also on Monday, a coalition of rights groups rejected the government's plan to relocate members of the Shia community.

The coalition, which includes Kontras, the Universalia Legal Aid Institute (LBH Universalia), Elsam and the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), said that if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono allowed the relocation to take place, he would be violating the Constitution.

"Every citizen is entitled to legal protection for their physical safety and for their property," the coalition said in a statement.

To drive the point home, the coalition recently launched a campaign that has seen members of the Sampang Shia community riding bikes from Surabaya to Jakarta. The delegation arrived in Jakarta on Sunday and said they hoped to meet Yudhoyono.

Rosyid, a member of the campaigning cyclists, urged the President to give safe passage to their fellow Shiites to return home. "When I went back to the hamlet, some security guards apprehended me and ordered me to go back to the Sampang sports complex," he said.

Bad Timing: American students visit Surabaya on religious pluralism tour

Jakarta Globe - June 17, 2013

It was perhaps the worst possible time for officials in Surabaya to host students from two US universities hoping to learn about pluralism and democracy.

Hours after the six students from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan arrived on Friday evening, local media reported that one of Indonesia's last remaining vestiges of its Jewish community had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

Beth Shalom in Surabaya, Java's only synagogue, was demolished in May after being sealed off by Islamic hard-liners since 2009.

"I'm afraid there's no right time to come to Indonesia to learn about pluralism because you can find bad examples of intolerant acts almost every day here," Hendardi, the executive director of Setara Institute, a nongovernmental organization promoting tolerance and pluralism, said on Sunday.

Freddy Istanto, the director of the Surabaya Heritage Society (SHS), told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday that the synagogue had been destroyed, and it was uncertain when it was demolished and who did it.

"In mid-May, I was informed by a member of the SHS that the synagogue was destroyed. In disbelief, I went over there and it had been flattened."

Freddy reported the case to the Surabaya City Council and prompted the commission to summon the Surabaya Tourism Agency, which was responsible for the heritage building," Freddy said. "It was designated as a heritage site by the agency on April 16, 2009. It should have been protected."

Indonesia's last surviving synagogue is located in Manado, North Sulawesi.

A small, Dutch-style building located on a 2,000-square-meter plot of land in the middle of Surabaya's business district, Beth Shalom looked like an ordinary house in the neighborhood. The only features that distinguished it as a synagogue were its mezuzah (Torah scrolls fastened to an entrance way) and the two Star of David carvings on its door.

"There were many artifacts in the building that can't be found anywhere else," Freddy said.

Sachiroel Alim, a City Council deputy speaker, told the Globe on Saturday that the council summoned the Surabaya Tourism Agency at the end of May and gave them seven days to officially report the case to the police because the demolition was in direct violation of the Law on Cultural Heritage.

In January 2009, Muslim demonstrators sealed off Beth Shalom and burned an Israeli flag to protest the country's attacks on the Gaza Strip at the time.

Soemarsono, the head of the National Unity and Society Protection Agency of Surabaya, claimed that the synagogue was an illegal structure because it did not possess proper building permits.

"How can foreign students learn about living in harmony if the mind-set of officials and some people continue to be like this, while the government allows these groups to take the law into their own hands?" Hendardi said.

However, lecturers at Airlangga University in Surabaya said the US students still learned one or two things about pluralism from the city.

"They learned about how the residents form a pluralist and democratic community," said Diah Ariani Arimbi, dean of the university's School of Literature.

The students, in the country under the US-Indonesia Partnership Program for Study Abroad Capacity (USIPP), have been in East Java since Tuesday, and Surabaya was their last destination. They visited several Islamic boarding schools, mosques and churches while they were in the province.

Armed forces & defense

Cebongan witnesses risk intimidation at trial

Jakarta Post - June 22, 2013

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) fears intimidation of witnesses at the trials of 12 of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) members accused of killing four detainees at Cebongan Penitentiary in Sleman, Yogyakarta.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post after a discussion held at the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) on Thursday evening, Komnas HAM chairwoman Siti Noor Laila said that security at the trials was not sufficient, creating an intimidating environment. "We support the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK) using a video link for witness testimony," she said.

She said the main courtroom at the II-11 Yogyakarta Military Court was too small and testifying witnesses would be standing too close to visitors. "This could intimidate the witnesses, which in turn could influence the trial process," she said.

A number of groups staged rallies outside the court building during the first hearing on Thursday. The demonstrators made loud vocal protests in front of the main courtroom as the military prosecutors charged the defendants with premeditated murder in the deaths of Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, Yohanes Juan Manbait, Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu and Andrianus Candra Galaja.

The murdered detainees had themselves been suspects in the murder of former Kopassus member First Sgt. Heru Santosa.

Siti also called on the Yogyakarta Military Court to conduct a hearing at the penitentiary, arguing that the indictments that were presented by military prosecutors did not include a reconstruction of the crime scene. She said an on-site court session was permitted under Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP).

"Trial sessions at the crime scene can serve as a means to examine discrepancies in the results of the investigations conducted by different fact-finding teams," she said, pointing to the fact that the rights body had concluded that there were more perpetrators than the 12 alleged by Army investigators.

Other differences, she said, included the presence of grenades that was not presented in the trial. Artists' impressions of the attackers made by the Yogyakarta Police were not presented either.

LPSK member Teguh Soedarsono was also disappointed that the panels of judges at the trials did not provide better security. "Initially only 10 witnesses asked to testify by teleconference, but now all of the 42 witnesses have requested it."

He also questioned the seniority of the military judges and prosecutors, who are of lower rank than the leading defense lawyer. The highest rank among the judges and prosecutors is lieutenant colonel, while the leading defense lawyer is a colonel.

Teguh suggested a temporary promotion of the judges and prosecutors through a military decree.

Separately head of the Yogyakarta Military Court's internal administrative affairs, Capt. Aulisa Dandel said relative seniority would not affect the trial process. "A problem would only arise if the defendants' ranks were senior to those of the judges," she said.

Komnas HAM chair harassed by Kopassus supporters in Yogya

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2013

Ina Parlina and Slamet Susanto, Jakarta/Yogyakarta – The first trial in the Cebongan Penitentiary murder case at Yogyakarta Military Court was marred when National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) chairperson Siti Noor Laila was harassed by supporters of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers, who were being tried.

Siti, along with her staff, was chased out of the courtroom and shouted at by a group of people believed to be the supporters of Kopassus, as they left the military court on Thursday.

"Where is Komnas HAM? I will talk to them so they will not cherry pick facts about the case," Jiyono, one of the Kopassus supporters, said.

On Wednesday, Komnas HAM announced a report on its inquiry into the execution-style killings of the Cebongan detainees, highlighting the possible complicity of higher-ranking Kopassus officers. The commission also deemed the murders a human rights violation and urged the military tribunal to investigate those other than the 12 members of the Kopassus Kandang Menjangan Group, who were already implicated in the murders.

"I was chased by Kopassus supporters just after the trial session ended," Siti said. "Some were wearing black outfits. They crowded around us and hit the car," Siti said.

Siti said that if an official from a state-backed institution could be harassed by members of vigilante groups, she was concerned that witnesses in the trial could suffer worse.

"It was alright for us, but not for witnesses," she added. "This is already on our record. We don't recommend the witnesses to testify under such conditions, with these people outside the trial, putting pressure on the witnesses."

Siti then slammed the Yogyakarta Police and the local Army commander for failing to provide enough security for the trial.

The police and the army dispatched more than 400 personnel, with two Barracuda armored vehicles and Gegana bomb team car, to safeguard the trial. However, the security appeared less heavy compared to the security at the trial of gang leader John Kei at the Central Jakarta District Court last year, with 650 officers, and the ongoing trial of reputed gang leader Hercules Rozario Marshal at the West Jakarta District Court, with 700 personnel.

"It was not enough. Those people managed to enter the court building and gathered just in front of the courtroom door," Siti said.

Hundreds of residents and members of mass organizations came to see the trial, flashing dozens of banners, such as: "Judges, please consider the Kopassus services for Yogyakarta" and "Yogyakarta people are ready to take the place of the 12 noble Kopassus members".

Siti said given the tension within and around the courtroom, there should be protection for witnesses, including by setting up teleconferencing facilities. Ten eyewitnesses have requested to testify via teleconference.

Amnesty International warned the trial would likely be "little more than a sham [...] used to shield human rights violators", as the majority of the Kopassus forces – which have been accused of human rights violations – have never been tried in an independent court for such crimes.

"They are biased, and they create an intimidating environment for witnesses to testify," deputy director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Program Isabelle Arradon said in a press release.

Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm. Agus Suhartono said that there was little that they could do to people on the sidelines of the trial. "They are not military personnel, am I right?" he said. "We will tighten the security later."

Indonesia's human rights commission under fire

ABC Radio Australia - June 20, 2013

George Roberts, Indonesia – Indonesia's Human Rights Commission is under fire from supporters of 12 soldiers who stormed a prison and executed 4 suspects.

The soldiers are on trial for raiding a prison and killing four men who were suspected of murdering an elite commando.

Outside the Military court in Yogyakarta, militant groups rallied in support of the soldiers and called for the Human Rights Commission, Komnas HAM, to be disbanded.

The Commission has released a report with evidence that the raid was highly planned and co-ordinated, amounting to human rights abuses.

The report findings go against the Military's explanation that the raid was spontaneous and the men acted without help.

The soldiers could face imprisonment or the death penalty if charged with pre-meditated murder.

Komnas HAM calls for open trial in deadly prison attack

Jakarta Globe - June 20, 2013

Ethan Harfenist – The national human rights body has called on judges in the court martial of 12 soldiers charged with the summary execution of four men in police custody to ensure transparency in the proceedings.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Wednesday that the tribunal that begins today must be open in order to establish the truth, bring a sense of justice and uphold the supremacy of the law.

"We are recommending the panel of judges at the Yogyakarta military tribunal hold a transparent trial," Komnas HAM chairwoman Siti Noor Laila said at a press conference in Jakarta to announce the commission's findings on the March 23 attack on the Cebongan jail in Yogyakarta's Sleman district.

Siti also asked the tribunal to clarify the type and number of weapons used as well as the number of people involved in the attack, due to the different findings by Komnas HAM and military investigators.

Aside from demanding a transparent legal process, the human rights watchdog also recommended the authorities question the Yogyakarta Police chief and the local military commander at the time about what really transpired.

Siti added that the incident involved at least 14 soldiers storming the jail and gunning down four detainees, and not 11 soldiers as determined by the military.

Komnas HAM said the attack was well planned and conducted out of revenge following the murder of First Sgt. Heru Santoso, allegedly at the hands of those subsequently killed in the jail raid. "The attack at the Cebongan prison was well planned. This can be seen from the equipment [they] brought," Siti said.

She said the perpetrators, from the Army Special Forces (Kopassus), had been assigned with different tasks, including acting as lookouts, keeping track of the time, destroying surveillance footage, damaging the jail's armory and holding the wardens at gunpoint while the others shot the detainees.

Komnas HAM also found that the Yogyakarta Police had committed an act of negligence by moving the detainees to Cebongan from the far more secure provincial police headquarters.

"Our team of investigators found that there was negligence in the security arrangements believed to be committed by the Yogyakarta Police," Siti said. "The police also failed to convey information transparently about the four suspects who were allegedly involved in the murder of First Sgt Heru Santoso."

The human rights commission also faulted the local Kopassus chief for failing to control his men.

Eleven Kopassus members were arrested on April 2 for breaking into Cebongan and murdering four detainees awaiting trial: Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, Yohanes Juan Manbait, Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu and Adrianus Candra Galaja.

Military investigators have said that the motive for the murders was revenge for the killing three days earlier of their Kopassus colleague, for which the four detainees had been charged.

Human rights groups, arguing that military tribunals in Indonesia lacked accountability, transparency and neutrality, have called for the soldiers to be brought to a civilian court.

Under Indonesian law, soldiers cannot be tried in civilian courts, regardless of the nature of their offense, although there have been a few exceptions when officers were brought in front of an ad hoc human rights court over human rights violations.

The military has vowed full transparency in the court martial of the 11 alleged perpetrators and a 12th individual who was later found to have aided in plotting the attack. The court martial begins today, and unlike most such procedures, will be open to the media.

Role of Kopassus leaders 'must be probed'

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2013

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) released on Wednesday a report on its inquiry into the execution-style killing of detainees in Cebongan Penitentiary in Sleman, Yogyakarta, highlighting the possible complicity of higher ranking officers of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

Komnas HAM also deemed the murder a human rights violation and urged the military tribunal to investigate culprits other than the 12 members of Kopassus' Kandang Menjangan Group already implicated in the murders. The announcement was made ahead of the first trial session of the 12 soldiers.

In its two-point recommendation, Komnas HAM urged the military court to hold a fair and independent trial and look for evidence of higher-ranking involvement in the killings. "It is important to see whether or not their superiors were involved," Komnas HAM commissioner Nur Kholis told a press conference on Wednesday.

On March 23, the 12 Kopassus members are alleged to have descended on the Cebongan prison in and shot four prisoners who were accused of killing former Kopassus member First Sgt. Heru Santoso, at a cafe in the Sleman area on March 9.

Two weeks after the incident, Diponegoro Military Regional Command chief Maj. Gen. Hardiono Saroso and Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Sabar Rahardjo were removed from their positions.

Komnas HAM said in its report that it had found no evidence that senior officers in Jakarta, including Kopassus Commander Maj. Gen. Agus Sutomo, were involved in the attack or knew in advance about the raid.

Based on case reconstructions and witness testimony, Komnas HAM found that at least 14 Kopassus members, rather than 12, were involved in the murders. "One of them acted as leader," Komnas HAM chairwoman Siti Noor Laila said in the press conference.

Nur Kholis said the military court proceedings could be the best way to find out the actual number of assailants. "We also ask the judges to give us our rights of amicus curiae [a brief filed by someone who is not a party to a case]," Siti said, adding that a Komnas HAM team would monitor the trial.

The early morning attack on March 23 was premeditated murder carried out by professionals, Komnas HAM said in the report. Wielding AK-47 and SS-1 assault rifles, as well as FN pistols and hand grenades, the assailants threatened Cebongan prison guards before storming the cells.

"We can see that they were pros from how they used their weapons as well as from how they distributed the roles and tasks of time keepers, executioners, lookouts, guards and drivers," Siti said.

The report also sought accountability for any parties deemed responsible for preventing the incident, including Hardiono and Sabar as well as the commander of the Kandang Menjangan Kopassus HQ.

The trial will begin at Yogyakarta Military Court on Thursday. Television coverage and tents are being provided for outside observers.

The Military Court Monitoring Coalition (KRPM) urged the court to ensure that the session would be free from intimidation. "Don't let anyone intimidate the trial," said the coalition's Tri Wahyu KH.

10 Cebongan witnesses require teleconferencing

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2013

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – A team of psychologists examining 42 witnesses in the attack that took place in Cebongan Penitentiary, Sleman, Yogyakarta, said 10 witnesses would require teleconferencing facilities when giving testimony in the upcoming trial at the Yogyakarta Military Court.

"We recommend the 10 witnesses give their testimonies directly without being present at the trial," team head Yusti Probowati said when presenting the results of the examination in front of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) and Yogyakarta Law and Human Rights Office on Monday.

Yusti said the 10 witnesses consisted of two Sleman prison guards and eight inmates. They preferred to use the teleconference facility because they still felt anxious about the mechanisms of a military court.

According to the Witness and Victim Protection Law, witnesses have the right and can give testimony through electronic devices, such as teleconferencing. "Forty-one people can stand as witnesses, but only 31 have the courage to give testimonies directly in court," said Yusti.

Based on the examination conducted from May 29 to June 15, the 18-strong team of psychologists from the Indonesia Psychological Forensic Association (Apsifor) found that 34 people would be able to give testimony in court.

They consisted of eight prison guards and 25 inmates, while seven people – two prison guards and five inmates – were deemed less able to give testimony. Only one inmate was deemed not able to do so.

After disclosing her report, Yusti handed it to the LPSK, represented by LPSK member Teguh Soedarsono.

Teguh said the report would serve as a basis of whether or not the witnesses required the teleconference facility when giving testimony to the court later. "We will send the result of the examination to the Yogyakarta Military Court's council of judges," he said.

He would also send a report to the Yogyakarta Military Prosecutor's Office head, Supreme Court chief justice, Judicial Commission head, Law and Human Rights Ministry, High Military Court in Surabaya, East Java, and the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander-in-chief.

A witness in the case, security head of Cebongan Penitentiary Margo Utomo, said he was not afraid of giving testimony in court.

"However, if possible, we prefer to give our testimonies through teleconferencing," said Margo, arguing that he would not need to leave his prison duties if he could make use of teleconferencing facilities.

Yogyakarta Law and Human Rights Office administrative division head Tarsono said his office had yet to receive an order from the Yogyakarta Military Court regarding the witness summons.

"We have only coordinated with the Yogyakarta Military Prosecutor's Office regarding witness protection when the witnesses are brought from the prison to the military court," said Tarsono.

On June 20, the Yogyakarta Military Court will commence hearing the trial of 12 members of Group 2 of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in Kandang Menjangan, Sukoharjo, Central Java, who allegedly shot and killed four inmates at Sleman prison.

As reported earlier, the 12 Kopassus members allegedly burst into the prison on March 23. They then shot and killed four murder suspects who had alledgedly killed their colleague, former Kopassus member First Sergeant Heru Santoso, at a cafe on March 9.

The four deceased were identified as Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, Yohanes Juan Manbait, Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu and Andrianus Candra Galaja.

Police & law enforcement

Police set to lift ban on hijab

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Bowing to pressure from Muslim groups, politicians and rights activists, the National Police is set to revoke an internal regulation that bans female officers from wearing the Muslim headscarf or hijab.

National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that a team led by the National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo was working on a draft regulation that would allow female members of the corps to wear the hijab while on duty.

"We could revise the existing regulation [on the ban] or issue a new regulation to accommodate the rights of female officers to wear the hijab," Boy said, referring to a 2005 decree by the National Police chief that ordered all members of the corps to wear only official uniform items and specifically prohibited female officers from wearing the hijab.

The decree, however, excludes female members of the corps in Aceh due to the province's 2011 sharia-inspired bylaws that oblige all women to cover their hair.

The police have been under pressure since earlier this month as Muslim and human rights groups called on the National Police to review its regulation banning female officers from wearing the hijab, a move deemed essential to restore justice and religious freedom.

Critics of the ban, including Muslim cleric Amidhan Shaberah of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) cited the ban as a sign of the repressive nature of the police institution.

Although supporters of the ban have argued that the hijab could compromise female officers' duties, particularly during conflicts involving different faith groups, human rights campaigners including the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and Imparsial have slammed the ban, saying that it violates basic human rights.

Earlier on Tuesday, Timur told the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing law and human rights that the police would seriously consider the criticisms, including those from Commission III lawmakers.

"We don't prohibit [plain clothes or off-duty] female officers from wearing the hijab. But, there is a regulation that needs to be followed. Nevertheless, we welcome all suggestions regarding the ban, including from respected figures. We will definitely use them as input in our evaluation of the regulation," Timur said in response to lawmakers.

In the hearing, lawmakers criticized Timur for maintaining the ban, which was first imposed during the tenure of Gen. Sutanto in 2005. Several commission members wanted Timur to include the hijab as part of the National Police's standard uniform.

"Female members of the corps in Aceh wear the hijab, so why not allow female officers in other parts of the country? There is no acceptable reason to prohibit them following the example of their colleagues in Aceh. So, I strongly urge you to revise the regulation," said Ahmad Yani, a United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker.

Fellow Commission III member Taslim from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the ban could offend the majority Muslim community in the country. "Wearing the hijab is part of religious freedom. Therefore, I hope that National Police officers will not make policies that are offensive to Muslims in the country," he said.

Politicians jump on controversial 'hijab' ban

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The brouhaha over the National Police's ban on the hijab (headscarf) is about to get political with the House of Representatives' Commission III on human rights planning to summon National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to offer clarification on the policy.

Members of Commission III are expected to hold a meeting with Timur on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

Muslim and human rights activists have called on Timur to revoke a 2005 regulation issued by his predecessor, Gen. Sutanto, that prohibits female officers, excluding those stationed in Aceh, from wearing hijab. Critics say the ban infringes on the basic rights and freedom of Muslim women on the force.

Nasir Jamil, a lawmaker from the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), was among the first to voice his criticism. "The regulation must be revoked because it contradicts the 2002 National Police Law," he said on Monday.

Nasir said that according to Article 21 of the law, the force must respect its members' strong faith in God. "Donning a hijab is evidence that a policewoman has faith in God," he said. Nasir also acknowledged, however, that a hijab could compromise the work of a woman officer, especially when dealing with interfaith conflicts.

But the lawmaker said that in most cases, hijab-wearing policewomen could perform their tasks effectively. "Female police personnel rarely handle such cases. Most of them are tasked with dealing with domestic violence and child abuse cases," he said.

Outspoken Democratic Party lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul said he would remain neutral on the issue and let Timur make the decision. "The police know what is best for them. Therefore, whatever step they take, we will support them," he said.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto confirmed that a meeting had been scheduled between Timur and Commission III lawmakers.

Earlier, National Police Commission (Kompolnas) member Adrianus Meliala said that senior officials in the National Police were planning to amend the regulation in response to the protests.

"They will issue a regulation that allows women police officers to wear the hijab, but they have to be taken off during official ceremonies," he said.

Policewomen in Aceh are excluded from the regulation due to the province's 2001 sharia bylaws that oblige all women to cover their hair.

Police in hot water over hijab ban

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Muslim and human rights groups called on National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to revoke a 2005 ban on hijabs in the police corps.

A decision made by then National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar in 2005, orders all members of the corps to only wear official uniform and specifically prohibited female officers from wearing hijabs. The ban, if violated, could result in dismissal.

Female members of the corps Aceh are excluded from the regulation given the province's 2001 Sharia-inspired bylaws that oblige all women to cover their hair.

Poengky Indiarti, the executive director of rights watchdog Imparsial, urges Timur to review the decree to restore justice and religious freedom.

"The opportunity to become a member of the police force should be equal, including for Muslim women who wear hijabs. It's discrimination if only female members of the corps in Aceh are allowed to wear the garb," Poengky said on Sunday.

Separately, Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said by lifting the ban on hijabs, the police would be uphold one of the country's founding principles.

"By allowing female members of the police to wear hijabs, the National Police would uphold the country's motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [Unity in Diversity]," he told The Jakarta Post.

Azyurmadi said that the police should be open to all interpretations of Islamic teachings. He said that some Muslim scholars saw head covering for Muslim women as compulsory while others consider it optional.

Amidhan Shaberah of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said the hijab ban showed that the police were a "repressive institution". He said that the MUI was expected to deliberate the issue in an internal meeting in the near future.

A chorus of rejection toward the ban has also been voiced by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW).

"In Indonesia, many institutions have allowed their employees to wear hijabs. I urge policewomen to look for support from the House of Representatives' Commission III on legal affairs and the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry for the abolition of the ban," IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said.

Supporters of the ban have argued that hijabs could compromise a female officer's work, especially during conflicts involving two groups of faiths or in religious conflicts.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronny Sompie previously said that the police would not change their policy. Ronny said the police had their own dress code and that everyone applying for a position within the corps should be aware of the regulation.

"This has nothing to do with human rights or privileges. The National Police have their own regulations," he said on Friday.

National Police Commission (Kompolnas) member Adrianus Meliala, however, signaled that the force would bow to the mounting protests against the ban.

"According to the National Police General Supervision Inspectorate, they will issue a regulation that allows female police officers to wear hijabs, but they have to be taken off during official ceremonies," he said recently.

Another police spokesperson, Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto, said that the protests would not influence the police to change their policy. "We are complying with the decree until it is amended," he said.

Foreign affairs & trade

PNG leader's visit may herald better relations

Jakarta Globe - June 22, 2013

Diska Putri Pamungkas – Greater cooperation between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia may be on the horizon following a three-day visit by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and 100 of the country's business leaders to Jakarta this week.

Several experts have called for Indonesia to strengthen relations with its eastern neighbor.

Bilateral talks during O'Neill's visit, which ended on Wednesday, covered illegal trading, logging and border security, problems Indonesia has previously voiced concerns about.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with O'Neill on Monday at the State Palace to discuss strengthening bilateral relations. Indonesian businesspeople also discussed investment and trade opportunities with their PNG counterparts during the visit.

During the leaders meeting, Yudhoyono and O'Neill signed 11 memorandums of understanding on issues including extradition of criminals and suspects, border security, energy cooperation, tourism and sports deals.

"PNG is ready to assist Indonesia in addressing the many challenges along the border areas," O'Neill told a joint press conference after the meeting.

Yudhoyono stressed the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries. "In total, trade increased 35 percent on average between 2008 and 2011. Although there was a slight decline in 2012, we believe we can increase trade cooperation further this year," the president said.

Deals between the two countries will allow direct flights from Jakarta to Port Moresby, which officials from both governments said would begin in August.

Indonesia has been pushing for an extradition agreement in order to prevent the country's fugitives, especially Papuan rebels and corruption convicts, from seeking refuge in PNG. Several Free Papuan Movement (OPM) members are believed to have fled to PNG after allegedly fatally shooting police and civilians.

The recent escape of graft convict Djoko Tjandra raised concerns about extradition arrangements with PNG. Djoko, the former owner of now-defunct Bank Bali, fled Indonesia for Port Moresby on a chartered flight in 2009, just a day before the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for embezzling Rp 546 billion ($56.7 million) in bailout funds meant for his bank during the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

He was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison and ordered to return the embezzled funds. Djoko has been listed as a wanted person by Interpol since 2009.

On Tuesday, PNG Defense Minister Febian Pok met with his Indonesian counterpart Purnomo Yusgiantoro to discuss increasing defense cooperation, especially in the military industry.

"If we can do it seriously, we can boost our defense industry," Purnomo said. He added that there were opportunities for PNG to buy weapons and other defense equipment produced in Indonesia.

Foreign-policy watchers say Indonesia can boost the PNG economy and use its ties as a leverage to clamp down on insurgent activities in Indonesian Papua.

Aleksius Jemadu, dean of the Pelita Harapan University School of Social and Political Sciences, said Indonesia should convince PNG that the archipelago can act as a gateway to stronger relations with other Asian nations. It could also consider sponsoring PNG to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a position also sought by East Timor.

"PNG sees Indonesia as a very important neighbor, not only because the two countries are geographically close, but also because the leading role of Indonesia in Asia, particularly in Asean, that could become a bridge for PNG to expand its economy," he said.

Aleksius said that PNG's interest in expanding its economic cooperation with Asia could lead to strong economic ties with Indonesia, which could then be used as leverage to push PNG and its leadership to cooperate on combating Papuan insurgent groups.

Bantarto Bandoro, a senior lecturer with the Indonesian Defense University, agreed that Indonesia should use its closer bond with PNG as leverage to demand the country cut direct and indirect support for OPM, a rebel group known to operate with a significant web of support among Pacific countries.

"Papua and the issue of sovereignty are the main reasons why Indonesia should forge better relations with PNG," he said.

Aleksius and Bantarto both expressed optimism that future relations between Indonesia and PNG may improve despite a long history of mistrust stemming from Indonesia's perceived annexation of the western half of Papua.

"The long story of love-hate relationship between PNG and Indonesia may not be erased in one-night, even if Prime Minister O'Neill's official visit opened multiple sectors for cooperation," Bantarto said. "But leaders from both countries can come up with better understanding to overcome the existing mistrust."

Government blamed for exports decline

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2013

Batam – An expert on Saturday accused the government of not being serious about increasing export growth from non-oil and gas products, as indicated in the continuous decline of the value of export products over the last few years.

Chairman of the National Exports Supporting Council (DPEN) for the 1989- 1998 period, Ismeth Abdullah, said that he was worried about the country's declining exports, particularly for non-oil and gas products.

Citing data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), he said the total value of exports declined to US$190.03 billion in 2012 from $203.5 billion in the previous year.

"The government should have paid attention to the decline to see what was responsible for it. Was it the result of a lack of competitiveness or weakening capital in the business sector?" said Ismeth.

No anticipatory measures, such as small and medium enterprises empowerment or domestic product exports promotion, had been taken by the government despite such a decline, he added.

Speaking separately, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan admitted that the exports were declining but that it was caused primarily by global economic growth stagnation including in Europe and Asia Pacific.

"To deal with the situation, we have to continue developing businesses with a focus on adding value to what they produce," he said.

Fuel price hike

Fuel offsets crimp state budget, experts say

Jakarta Globe - June 22, 2013

Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy & Agustiyanti – Payments for the poor designed to compensate for the impact of the fuel price rise will undermine the benefit to the state budget of the cuts to subsidies, analysts said on Saturday, as the first day of increased pump costs appeared to go smoothly.

Officials began distributing direct cash handouts, known as BLSM, hours after the new price of subsidized fuel came into force at midnight on Friday.

The price of subsidized gasoline went up from Rp 4,500 per liter to Rp 6,500, and the price of subsidized diesel was increased from Rp 4,500 per liter to Rp 5,500.

National Development and Planning Minister Armida Alisjahbana said at the announcement of the price-rise timing on Friday evening that 15.5 million poor people are eligible to receive the cash handouts, which offer Rp 300,000 ($302) per family in two installments.

The first payments started on Saturday, Armida said, distributed with the help of postal agency Pos Indonesia. Jakarta is among the first cities to receive the handouts. The first stage of the program is expected to be completed on July 1, reaching all eligible people across all 33 provinces.

But Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Anton Supit said the program undermined the purpose of the cut to fuel subsidies: to free up government funds for other programs.

"What we hoped for is that [subsidy money] would be used to finance education, infrastructure, sustainable programs to create better human resources but instead the government is distributing BLSM," he said.

Anton said the cash handout program was motivated by politics rather than benefiting the economy or alleviating poverty. "There are too many political games [surrounding the handout]. It is all to do with popularity," he said.

Although four political parties opposed the fuel price hike, the House of Representatives unanimously agreed to the government's proposal to allocate Rp 9.3 trillion for the cash transfers scheme on Monday.

Economist Faisal Basri said the BLSM will not have a lasting or substantial impact on the country's poor and negated the government's plan to fight a swelling budget deficit.

Faisal noted that the revised state budget approved by the House on Monday forecast an increase in the budget deficit, which Faisal blamed on bureaucratic inefficiencies. "I think people wouldn't mind if the price of [subsidized] fuel increases, even doubles, as long as politicians are not corrupt," he said.

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on Monday said he disapproved of the monetary assistance program but argued that he could not halt the scheme because it is administered by the central government.

"If possible, the cash should be given to productive home industries and small-scale enterprises. That is better," the governor said. "Giving out cash does not educate people."

Nurhayati Ali Assegaf of the Democratic Party, chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, defended the program, saying that similar schemes work in other countries.

But analysts said that other countries are moving away from direct cash handouts and investing in more beneficial programs like free or affordable health care.

The program is also prone to corruption or misuse, Anton said. In 2008, the government increased the price of subsidized fuel to Rp 6,000 and distributed similar handouts, known as the BLT, but claims abounded that some of the cash was disbursed to households not entitled to it.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said the government had learned from the 2008 experience and earmarked Rp 360 billion to monitor the distribution if funds. On Saturday, the government introduced a hotline to report misuse.

As Yudhoyono sought a second term in 2009, his administration lowered the price of subsidized fuel back to Rp 4,500. Yudhoyono's reelection campaign boasted that he was the only Indonesian president to ever lower the price of subsidized fuel.

Four years later the economy suffered, Anton said. "This is a matter of leadership. Leaders should be stringent, our future rests on them," he said.

Students protest fuel-price hike

Jakarta Globe - June 22, 2013

Bayu Marhaenjati – Students across the capital rallied and closed down some streets following the government's announcement of a hike in the price of subsidized fuel on Friday.

Hundreds of students from the National University (Unas) in South Jakarta demonstrated against the decision in front of their campus in Pasar Minggu, while groups closed down Jalan Sawo Manila in Pasar Minggu and blocked traffic by burning tires.

The demonstration took a violent turn when the students started to throw dozens of molotov cocktails and rocks at police officers guarding the demonstration.

"Two of our officers sustained minor injuries from rocks," Pasar Minggu police chief Comr. Adri Desas Fuyanto said. One student, identified as Reza, also sustained a head injury during the demonstration.

Ferry Agus Setiawan, the organizer of the protest, was unrepentant. "We will not stop voicing our opposition for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his regime who have raised the fuel price," he said. "We urge all Indonesian students to come and join the fight because this policy will make a lot of Indonesians suffer."

The protest began forming at around 10 p.m. on Friday and gathered momentum into the early hours, with protesters refusing to comply with police requests to bring the demonstration to an end. While the pleas of armed law enforcers fell on deaf ears, the demonstration was eventually brought to a close after irate local residents came out and politely asked the students to keep the noise down.

"Please act with intelligence, don't force your beliefs on other people," Khadir, a local resident said to students. "Let's have a discussion. And stop using violence, please."

In Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, hundreds of students from the Institute of Political and Social Science (IISIP) came out on Friday night. They blocked the main road connecting Jakarta to Depok by burning down tires, which blocked traffic until early Saturday morning.

South Jakarta police chief, Comr.Sr.Wahyu Hadiningrat, said he had tried to persuade the students to go home, again to no avail. Dozens of officers were assigned to the demonstration and officers eventually used tear gas to push the students back.

Workers walk out as government prepares for fuel-price protesters

Jakarta Globe - June 21, 2013

Dessy Sagita & Ezra Sihite – The head of Indonesia's largest labor union promised strikes that could paralyze the country as thousands of workers walked out on Friday and police prepared for widespread protests ahead of tonight's announcement of a fuel price hike.

"Nationally, we can manage the security level. We can also manage the demonstrations that appear across the nation," Coordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said on Friday.

Four water cannon and six armored vehicles have been mobilized to secure the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises against any demonstrators crossing police lines, while hundreds of police officers and military personnel have been assigned to the area.

In the city's satellite industrial centers, thousands of workers downed tools to protest the government's plan to raise the price of subsidized fuel. Calls to companies in the Cikareng industrial area, near Bekasi, revealed that many workers had left work before Friday prayers.

Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), said on Friday morning the industrial areas in Bekasi, Cibitung and Cikarang, West Java, had been paralyzed after workers walked out en masse.

"There are so many military personnel and police officers guarding the demonstration here in Ejip, Hyundai, Lippo, Delta Silicon and MM 2100 in Cikarang Bekasi because it is expected that thousands of workers will close down the toll road to protest the fuel price hike," he said. Said said workers in Pulogadung and Karawang industrial zones would be joining the strike.

In Jakarta, Djoko said he empathized with protesters but warned that the law would be enforced against anyone hoarding fuel or provoking excessive protest. "Demonstrations are normal and understandable, but do not violate the regulations, such as the time limitation," he said. "And, please, refrain from committing violence."

The time limitation refers to a specified deadline, nominally 6 p.m., when protests are required to disperse. Police may afford some flexibility if circumstances warrant an extension. As the law is only sporadically enforced, in part due to the difficulty of doing so, it was unclear on Friday afternoon whether it would inhibit the scale of the weekend's anticipated protests.

"I believe the police officers will not use excessive force if the demonstrates are protesting orderly, it is a very stupid thing to do to use excessive force without any provocation," Said said.

Said emphasized that workers had to protest the increase in the fuel price because it would have a profound impact on their standard of living, pushing many into poverty.

"Laborers who are nearly poor will become absolutely poor with this price hike," he told the Jakarta Globe. "The increase of the minimum wage announced by the government earlier will become useless, and we reject the government's temporary direct cash assistance (BLSM) scheme because it was a political move created before the 2014 election and it will make the president and his party appear as Santa Claus."

If the government insisted on the fuel price hike, he said, workers in 200 districts across the country would continue demonstrating, while a national strike on August 16 would involve "10 million workers," the day before Independence Day.

At 5 p.m. on Friday, police were diverting traffic away from the Jakarta- Cikampek toll road due to the demonstration, while Muhammad Rusli, secretary general of The Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), promised that protests would continue late into the night. "We will not stop asking the government to cancel the fuel price hike," he said.

Impoverished women first to be hit by price rise

Jakarta Post - June 20, 2013

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – A group of female activists voiced their rejection on Wednesday of the planned fuel-price hike, which they said would put more burden on low-income women workers and homemakers.

The activists, who represent different organizations and communities, have joined the Women's Action Committee (KAP).

Siti Kholifah from Tanah Baru in Depok, West Java, said women, who generally manage their families' budgets, would be prone to domestic violence as their husbands would not care how they handled the money to cope with increasing prices of staple foods.

She said she had already suffered from higher food prices for a month, which had affected her small cake business. "My customers want to buy the same quality cakes at the same prices, so I have to reduce my profits," she said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

According to a KAP survey, some staple foods such as rice, eggs, meat and milk had seen price increases of between 10 percent and 40 percent after lawmakers approved the 2013 revised state budget, paving the way for the government to increase the price of subsidized fuel.

Dina Ardiyanti of the Trade Union Rights Center said her concern was that the rising prices of staple food items would force housewives to skimp on a nutritious diet for their children as they had no increase of income.

She also criticized the government's plan to distribute temporary direct cash assistance (BLSM) of Rp 150,000 (US$15) per month to the impoverished, saying that the short-term assistance scheme would not improve conditions for the poor.

"I think the cash assistance should be given under certain conditions. For example, low-income families earning the minimum monthly wage would receive a few years of cash assistance, but they would have to ensure that their children stayed in school," she said.

The planned fuel-price increase has also forced industrial workers to insist companies comply with the 2013 minimum provincial wage for different sectors (UMSP).

Last December, the Jakarta Remuneration Board set the 2013 UMSP at between 5 and 17 percent higher than the 2013 minimum wage (UMP), which the board set at Rp 2,216,243 or 44 percent higher than last year's level of Rp 1.53 million.

Ampi, an activist with the All Factory Workers Forum (FBLP) at Kawasan Berikat Nusantara in Cakung in East Jakarta, said that only a few companies had so far complied with the regulation. She said the fuel-price hike would exacerbate financial hardship for workers, adding that they struggled to make ends meet on a daily basis.

"Many workers borrow money from loan sharks and they can only afford to pay the interest, not the whole debt," she said. Getting a job with a decent salary has become an issue for impoverished people, forcing many women to seek jobs overseas as domestic workers.

Karsiwen of the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers, said the combination of the fuel-price increase and inadequate job opportunities would only increase the number of Indonesian women working abroad without proper documentation.

"Being a migrant worker is not a dream for us as we are separated from our families and face many challenges. But, finding a job here is difficult and the higher cost of fuel will make things worse," she said.

Indonesians are now counting the days ahead of the fuel-price hike. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said on Tuesday that the new prices would be announced within one week.

Mutiara Ika Pratiwi of women's organization Perempuan Mahardhika said she wanted to see more women fighting against the fuel-price increase.

"To date, only students and workers have joined the movement against the fuel-price hike. Women need to participate because they are the ones who will feel the direct impact," she said.

PDI-P continues resistance against fuel price hike on the streets

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2013

Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) members launch a long march to the State Palace in Jakarta to protest against the recent subsidized-fuel price hike.

Kontan.co.id reported that the mass gathered at the Tugu Proklamasi at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and began their march at 10:30 a.m.

PDI-P senior politician Ribka Tjiptaning said that the march was the last ditch of resistance from the party against the hike. "We have been defeated in the legislature and now we will continue our resistance outside," Ribka said.

The subsidized-fuel price has been raised after the government and the House of Representatives agreed to pass the 2013 revised state budget (APBN-P) bill into law on Monday.

Abolish all fuel subsidies, Kadin tells government

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

Tito Summa Siahaan – Economists and business leaders have urged the government to treat the decision to reduce fuel subsidies only as a first step in a pricing reform project, saying the job is not done until subsidies are phased out entirely.

Suryo Bambang Sulisto, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said on Tuesday that the fuel price increase is long overdue, urging the government to swiftly announce the timing for the price increase. "The waiting makes people anxious," he said.

Government officials said they would announce the timing of the fuel price increase by Friday, after the House of Representatives on Monday approved the 2013 revised budget. The budget contains social spending to reduce the impact of the fuel price increase on 15 million poor households.

The subsidized gasoline price will rise to Rp 6,500 a liter and subsidized diesel to Rp 5,500 a liter. Both are sold at Rp 4,500 (45 cents) a liter currently, less than half their market price.

Suryo maintained his previous view that the government should entirely phase out fuel subsidies as soon as possible. "The money for subsidies is better used for improving infrastructure," he said.

"Fuel subsidy is like a cancer; the longer we wait to treat it the sicker we become. The treatment will be painful but it will make us stronger and healthier," Suryo said.

David Sumual, chief economist at Bank Central Asia, agreed with the need to phase out the subsidy completely. "I think Indonesians can do it. Many countries with lower income per capita than Indonesia's have done it," he said.

But he doubted that the government would remove the subsidy completely anytime soon, saying politics played a big role in decision making. He said the government should revise its subsidy scheme by introducing a maximum level of spending every year.

"Let's say the subsidy is set at Rp 100 trillion, then after the spending has surpassed that level, the price of subsidized fuel will be adjusted," he proposed.

Dian Ayu Yustina, an economist at Bank Danamon, said: "I think Indonesians still need a fuel subsidy, but over the long-term it needs to phased out."

Dian and David said a decision in 2009 to cut the price of subsidized fuel to the current level ahead of a general election was politically motivated and warned future administrations not to take similar measures because it could send negative signals to investors.

Kadin's Suryo said the government must avoid any temptation to reduce the fuel price. "With the current crude price, it's only logical for the future government to raise it further," he said.

Parties play politics with Indonesia fuel price vote

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

Indonesia's political parties are hardly paragons of consistency, but the sheer number of flip-flops in the past week, culminating in Monday's grueling debate and vote over raising the subsidized fuel price, took their political grandstanding to another level.

The plenary session, meant to approve the revised state budget and its attendant supporting measures for the price hike to be announced by the government, came unstuck from the moment it began at 10 a.m., with a constant stream of interruptions by legislators slowing the agenda to a crawl.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which in the past week has switched its stance on the hot-potato issue at least twice, settling as of Friday on the ruling coalition's line of supporting the increase, stayed true to form when its legislators made their latest U-turn on Monday and said they were once again opposing the policy.

Fahri Hamzah, a PKS legislator, told the meeting it was the government that had failed to ensure a sound and judicious energy policy, and it was now making the people pay for that failure by raising prices at the pump.

"There are many anomalies in the government's campaign claim that the current subsidy isn't benefiting those it's meant to help," he said. "So that means this administration has for the past eight years knowingly run a flawed subsidy policy. So how are they going to make up for this?"

He urged the government to "be more sensitive to the feelings of the people," and implied that the ruling Democratic Party was pushing for the increase now so that it could propose a cut next year, just before the elections.

The PKS was one of two coalition parties, along with the Golkar Party, that resisted a proposed fuel price hike in March last year. This year, it appeared on track to toe the coalition line before making an about-face and stating it would oppose the policy.

But last week, amid mounting speculation about the party's future in the coalition, it emerged that PKS legislators at the House Budget Committee had in fact approved unanimously of the supporting measures for the price hike to be brought before the plenary session.

The opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), meanwhile, voiced its opposition to the policy early on, but as Monday's plenary session drew near, it gave indications that it might switch sides.

Prabowo Subianto, the Gerindra chief patron and cofounder, whom analysts say is trying to woo the Democrats for their backing in next year's presidential election, expressed his approval of the fuel price hike, saying it was important in keeping the subsidy from ballooning out of control.

"What's clear is that we see no sense in the state burning up Rp 300 trillion [$30.3 billion] every year [on the subsidy]. We need to allocate the budget more productively," he said. Gerindra legislators, however, felt otherwise.

In the end, with no consensus in sight, House Speaker Marzuki Alie called for the revised budget to be brought to a vote.

As expected, legislators from the five parties supporting the hike – the Democrats, Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) – voted unanimously in favor of passing the budget, with 338 votes for.

The parties opposed – PKS, Gerindra, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) – also voted unanimously, but could only muster 181 votes. And with that, the budget passed.

88 held after fuel protests at DPR

Jakarta Globe - June 18, 2013

Bayu Marhaenjati – Jakarta Police have arrested 88 people after forcibly breaking up a protest against Monday night's fuel-price vote at the House of Representatives building, police said.

"After dispersing the protest in front of the House, we arrested 88 people," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr.Cmr. Rikwanto said. "76 are college students from various universities, as well as nine Cikarang vocational high-school students and three junior-high-school students."

Rikwanto said police had interviewed them and retained their data and fingerprints. "The plan is we will return them to their parents or guardians this afternoon," he said.

Two college students were wounded during the protests. 24-year-old Boma Angkasa Bhuwanda, a student at Pamulang University, and Nur Arifin, also 24, from the Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah.

"They were found on the street," he said. "They were lightly wounded and treated by Jakarta Police's health unit. Boma was wounded on his left forehead, while Arifin was exposed to tear gas. He said that he was looking for the news for his campus media." No police were injured during the protests, Rikwanto said.

Thousands of people including college students demonstrated at the House of Representatives on Monday protesting the subsidized fuel-price increase while lawmakers held a plenary meeting to pass the 2013 Revised Budget.

Tempers flare during fuel protests

Jakarta Post - June 18, 2013

Jakarta – Some rallies against the proposed fuel-price hike staged across the archipelago on Monday were tainted by violence.

National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said five protesters, six police and two journalists were injured in rallies in Ternate, North Maluku and Jambi.

In Ternate, around 2,000 protesters clashed with local police as they tried to occupy the Baabulah Airport around 12 p.m. local time. The mob, armed with slingshots, attacked police officers who responded by shooting rubber bullets.

"Six police were injured. There were also six civilians who sustained injuries from rubber bullets. Among them was a journalist from local daily Mata Publik," Agus said in a press conference on Monday in Jakarta.

Separately, in Jambi, a journalist with TV station Trans7, Nugroho Anton, was left with an eye injury after a rally in front of the Jambi Legislative Council. Nugroho was covering a demonstration staged by hundreds of members of the Jambi Students Alliance when he was hit by a splinter debris from a tear gas canister.

"Officers had thrown the tear gas canister into the crowd to calm the protesters. Nugroho was rushed to Jambi Hospital for treatment," Agus said.

In Medan, North Sumatra, protesters set fire to a US flag in front of the US consulate before trying to storm Polonia International Airport. The police were able to hold the crowd back but the situation affected passengers planning to fly from the airport.

State airport management company PT Angkasa Pura opened the back gate access to allow passengers to get into the airport and deployed security guards to escort them.

In Bandar Lampung, Lampung, students trampled on a poster of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to express their disappointment with the planned fuel-price hike. They also stopped a truck carrying fuel and prevented the driver from continuing his journey. The police managed to reason with the students and they finally let the driver go.

The situation also got out of hand in Makassar, South Sulawesi, when an angry mob damaged motorcycles near the Alauddin State Islamic University (UIN) and protestors tried to force their way past hundreds of police officers guarding the South Sulawesi gubernatorial office.

Armed with stones, arrows and Molotov cocktails, the protesters attacked the governmental office but were dispersed by tear gas released by the police.

South Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Endi Sutendi said around 1,600 police officers and 600 members of the National Military had been deployed to safeguard the city.

A rally staged by students of the Walisongo State Islamic Science Institute (IAIN) in Semarang, Central Java, caused severe traffic congestion on the Pantura (northern highway) route, which links Semarang and Jakarta. Students burned tires and combustible paraphernalia on the thoroughfare.

Rally coordinator Amri Zaroiz said they took harsh action since previous peaceful rallies had been ignored by the government.

In Bandung, West Java, a rally held by the Alliance of the People of West Java in front of the Gedung Sate gubernatorial office was peaceful.

The protesters expressed their rejection, of the government's plan to directly distribute financial assistance (BLSM) to cushion the poor against inflation from the planned subsidized fuel-price hike, without resorting to violence. Ubus, a farmer from Pangalengan, said that such a system would trigger new conflict among people.

"The distribution [of direct cash assistance] might not be fair. Many people might not receive the money," he said.

The planned fuel-price hike has sparked anger among Indonesians and even triggered panic buying amid fears of a fuel scarcity. In a number of cities across the archipelago, police officers were deployed to guard gas stations to tackle any disruption to fuel distribution.

The management of some gas stations in Ternate preempting that the rallies would end in violence, decided to shut their businesses on Monday.

In the meantime, the police also conducted a fuel crime prevention operation to combat fuel hoarding and illicit distribution. In Lampung, four men were arrested for allegedly hoarding as many as 13 tons of fuel.

"We detained four suspects: AG, DN, SDR, and SPR. We will continue to investigate their connection to several fuel speculators that committed fuel crimes in Lampung several years ago," Lampung Police spokeswoman Sulistyaningsih said.

She said the 13 tons of subsidized gas and diesel were seized from the speculators operating on Jl. Soekarno-Hatta and Jl. Ir. Sutami Bandarlampung, Koya Menggala, in Tulangbawang regency, as well as in Labuhan Meringgai in East Lampung regency.

Indonesia steps toward fuel hike despite protests

Associated Press - June 18, 2013

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesia's Parliament voted to approve a budget package on Monday that lays the groundwork for the slashing of government fuel subsidies, as police fired tear gas and water cannons outside to disperse hundreds of angry protesters.

The package, which passed after repeated interruptions from lawmakers on both sides, includes a provision for about $900 million in cash handouts to help cushion the impact on 15.5 million impoverished families.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expected to move swiftly ahead with the plan to cut the subsidies, which will increase fuel prices an average of 33 percent.

In 2011, the subsidies cost close to $20 billion, the same amount the government aims to spend on infrastructure in 2013. The issue is highly sensitive – a fuel price hike in 1998 triggered rioting that helped topple former dictator Suharto. Last year, Parliament rejected a similar plan to raise fuel prices.

In a speech after the voting, Finance Minister Chatib Basri said the legislators have made the best decision for the country by ensuring that the poorest people are not hit by a sudden spike in fuel costs.

"With the fuel price hike, the poor will increase by 4 million if there are no cash handouts," he said. The compensation will be paid over four consecutive months.

Even before the vote, street protests erupted in major cities and clashes with authorities were reported. More than 18,000 police and soldiers were deployed to secure the capital, Jakarta. Thousands of police also guarded gas stations across the country. At least 14 people were injured nationwide.

After setting tires on fire near Parliament's main gate, hundreds of protesters blocked both lanes of traffic in front of the complex for hours. Police later used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd after the rally continued beyond the time limit set for the protest.

The proposed plan would raise the price of gasoline from around 50 cents to 65 cents per liter and diesel fuel from 45 cents to 55 cents. The subsidies have kept pump prices in Southeast Asia's largest economy among the cheapest in the region, but experts warn they are weakening the economy.

"If fuel prices are not raised, there will always be threats to Indonesia's fiscal strength, especially threats to the exchange rate, consumption and price of crude oil," said economic analyst Said Didu. "All three are difficult for the government to control."

Indonesia, with 240 million people, is the region's largest oil producer, but has been forced to turn to imports amid skyrocketing demand and decades of declining exploration and extraction. Each year, a million new cars and 8 million new motorbikes hit the streets, according to the Central Statistics Agency.

The government has set the 2013 fuel subsidy at $20.2 billion – nearly 4 percent of total economic output – in the revised budget. It said without the price hike, subsidies would jump to about $29.7 billion this year.

[Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos contributed to this report.]

Injuries reported as anti-fuel hike protests turn violent in Jambi, Ternate

Jakarta Globe - June 17, 2013

A number of protesters and police officers, as well as two journalists, were reportedly injured as rallies against the proposed fuel price hike turned violent on Monday in the North Maluku towns of Ternate and Jambi.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto on Monday said that five protesters and a photographer from Ternate-based newspaper Harian Mata Publik were hit by rubber bullets fired by police, while around 2,000 demonstrators were attempting to occupy Ternate's Baabullah Airport.

Indonesian news portal tempo.co reported that Roby Kelery, the photographer, would have to undergo surgery to lift a projectile from his left thigh.

"It started out peacefully, but then they began marching through routes and disrupting public activities," Agus told rmol.com. "The National Police were trying to block them. In the end, they headed to Baabullah Airport and attempted to occupy it."

He said protesters began using slingshots to hurl stones at police and injured seven officers. One officer was badly wounded and had to be admitted to an emergency unit of a Ternate hospital. Police retaliated by firing rubber bullets.

In Jambi, TransTV contributor Nugroho Anton was also reportedly badly wounded after what looked like a shattered piece of a tear gas canister stuck his forehead shortly after police released tear gas at protesters flocking to the Jambi Legislative Council office.

Nugroho underwent an hour of surgery, after which doctors handed down the canister piece to other journalists waiting for Nugroho at the hospital. "This will provide strong evidence that officers have released shots," said Nanang, one of the journalists.

Protests have been reported across a number of regions in Indonesia, as the House of Representatives is expected to make its decision regarding a price hike for subsidized fuel as part of the 2013 state budget revision on Monday.

Agus denied any use of live ammunition by police in securing the protests, saying that law enforcers obeyed standard operating procedures.

The House plenary session discussing the budget revision was adjourned for the second time on Monday afternoon, as only five out of nine factions of the House said they approved the government's draft revision.

The five factions are all members of the government's ruling coalition: the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

The sixth coalition member, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), rejected the draft, along with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).

House speaker Marzuki Alie said the adjournment was supposed to let parties lobby before the House made a final decision on the budget revision, bisnis.com reported.

Students, labor activists protest Indonesia's fuel price hikes

Jakarta Globe - June 17, 2013

Bayu Marhaenjati & SP/Bernadus Wijayaka – Jakarta Police shut down access to the Jakata-Tangerang toll road Monday morning as labor unions attempted to flood the capital in protest of Monday's expected fuel price hikes.

The blockades brought traffic to a halt as police attempted to prevent large-scale protests in Central Jakarta, according to reports aired on Elshinta Radio.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the central government's controversial fuel subsidy cuts, a move that would raise the price of subsidized fuel 44 percent to Rp 6,500 ($0.65) a liter. Thousands of protestors had already gathered in a demonstration outside of the House Monday afternoon, prompting police to blockade sections of the inner-city toll road and causing gridlock on westbound lanes.

The scene inside the House was no less chaotic. The House's plenary session on the revised 2013 state budget adjourned for recess without reaching a decision Monday afternoon after deliberations erupted into a series of heated arguments. The session was to scheduled to restart at 1 p.m., but at 2:35 p.m. the recess was still in effect.

The Jakarta Police stationed thousands of officers at key locations across the capital in anticipation of the demonstrations. Previous efforts to rein in Indonesia's costly subsidies resulted in days of chaotic protests in Central Jakarta as demonstrators set fires and hurled stones at police.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Rikwanto said some 19,400 officers were deployed along the protest route – the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to Merdeka Square – and at gas stations throughout the region. He expected some 5,000 protestors to take to the streets on Monday.

"We estimate that protestors [will number] around 5,000 up to 10,000 people from many labor elements and social organizations," he said.

Protestors in West Jakarta massed at M1 toll gate, near the Jakata- Tangerang border, blocking off access to one lane of the airport-bound toll road. Smaller protests were reported in Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Ciamis, West Java, Surabaya, Ambon, Makassar, Siantar, North Sumatra.

Police extinguish fire on tires torched by students during a protest against fuel price hikes in front of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday. (JG Photo/Bayu Marhaenjati)

The Muslim Students Association (HMI) and Indonesia Muslim Students' Movements (PMII) announced plans to join the protest on Monday. The Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI) announced plans to send 3,000 members to Monday's protest. The organization rejected both the fuel price hike and a government cash handout meant to cushion the sting of higher prices, KSPI President Said Iqbal said.

"[The] workers refuse the fuel price increase, therefore we will deploy 3,000 people on June 17 to the House of Representatives building," he told Detik.com on Monday. "At the same time, the protests will also be held by thousands of workers in Pulogadung industry area and all over Indonesia."

In Depok, West Java, more than 300 police officers were standing guard at 45 gas stations to prevent looting or hoarding before the price increase takes effect, said Cmr. Suratno, head of the Depok Police's operational division.

"We are guarding the stations as a preemptive step in anticipation of unwanted things like fuel hoarding, which happened last year in the Bojonggede area," he said.

Infrastructure & development

House wants big cut in infrastructure spending

Jakarta Post - June 21, 2013

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Government spending on improving infrastructure and transportation facilities will likely fall significantly in 2014 as legislators have proposed a sizable cut in the budget allocation for the public works and transportation ministries.

The lower budget will undermine the government's commitment to build and improve the country's inadequate infrastructure, which has become a bone of contention among business players.

During plenary deliberations of the government's 2014 state budget at the House of Representatives (DPR), the government proposed a budget allocation of Rp 110.01 trillion (US$11 billion) for the Public Works Ministry, which oversees infrastructure development.

However, House Commission V on public works and transportation only sanctioned budget funds of Rp 68.7 trillion, or around Rp 40 trillion less than proposed. This figure is even less than the Rp 77.9 trillion the Public Works Ministry received this year.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Ministry only secured Rp 33.55 trillion, Rp 25.7 trillion less than the Rp 59.3 trillion proposed. Similar to the Public Works Ministry, the total is less than the Rp 36.9 trillion the ministry received this year.

Results reached during the initial deliberations at the House will be included in the draft of the 2014 state budget, which will be formally submitted to the House on Aug. 16 for further deliberation. Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the government's total spending in the 2014 budget would reach about Rp 1,900 trillion, rising from Rp 1,772 trillion this year.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto admitted that the low budget allocation would hamper the growth of infrastructure, which would in turn hamper the flow of goods and people in the country.

"We understand that we are likely to face a slowdown in the infrastructure sector next year. However, we are going to continue working as best as we can in order to deliver the best results to the people," he said.

He said that the toll-road division, managed by Bina Marga, suffered the largest cut from its proposed Rp 52.8 trillion budget, with the commission only approving Rp 32.9 trillion. In a bid to lessen the impact next year, he said the ministry would try to accelerate the crucial projects they were currently working on, such as the Medan-Kuala Namu-Tebing Tinggi road in North Sumatra.

Contacted separately, Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said the ministry was currently identifying projects that should be prioritized to enhance the country's connectivity in order to maintain economic growth.

Bambang said budget funds for projects that were in line with the government's Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI) would not be cut. "[Budgets for the] Trans- Java double track railroad, pioneering flight services and shipping services to help develop remote areas will not be cut," he said.

According to Transportation Ministry data, the railway directorate general received the largest cut of Rp 8.16 trillion from its proposed Rp 18.23 trillion budget. The second-largest was the sea transportation directorate general, whose budget was slimmed down by Rp 7.8 trillion from the planned Rp 17.61 trillion.

Economic analyst Imam Sugeng from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance said infrastructure and transportation issues remained unresolved problems across the country.

"Since [the New Order Regime under Soeharto], we have only spent 1.5 to 2 percent of our total GDP [gross domestic product] annually on infrastructure. That is a huge decrease from the previous 4.5 percent that we spent during Soeharto's presidency," Imam said.

He said the main problem lay in the lack of vision among Indonesia's leaders. "They think that investment will always come to Indonesia because we enjoy strong economic growth and have a growing middle class, regardless of whether infrastructure is built or not. Therefore, I am disappointed with [the leaders'] lack of vision for the future."

Indonesia receives FAO's award for reduced hunger and malnourishment

Jakarta Post - June 17, 2013

Jakarta – The Indonesian government received an award from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) presented to recognize its consistent work in reducing hunger and malnourishment towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

On behalf of the government, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa accepted the award in "Notable Result" category at the 38th FAO Conference in Rome, Italy, on Sunday.

In his remarks, Hatta expressed his gratitude to FAO director general Jose Graziano da Silva for the award it had presented to Indonesia.

"The Indonesian government will be continuously committed to increasing efforts to achieve a conducive environment for the alleviation of poverty and hunger, and the reduction of food vulnerability and malnourishment," Hatta said as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said the government had implemented a thorough policy in achieving sustainable food self-sufficiency, in promoting food diversification, and in increasing the farmers' prosperity.

"As a response to the FAO's warning on possible global food vulnerability, Indonesia has also made efforts to increase its staple food production," said Hatta.

According to the FAO, Indonesia has achieved the MDGs point 1 target on poverty alleviation by reducing the proportion of people living in hunger to 8.6 percent during the period of 2010-2012 from 19.9 percent in 1990- 1992. This achievement exceeded the proportion of 9.9 percent targeted in the MDGs.

Currently, Indonesia has reduced the number of people living in hunger to 21 million in 2012 from 37 million in 1990. The World Food Summit (WFS)'s target is 18.6 million.

Indonesia was one of several countries receiving the "Notable Result" Award, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameron, Chile, Dominica, Fiji, Honduras, Jordan and Malawi.(ebf)


Home | Site Map | Calendar & Events | News Services | Resources & Links | Contact Us