Ni Komang Erviani and Tassia Sipahutar, Denpasar, Bali – Large contingents of uniformed and plainclothes police officers were sent to guard foreign consulates and strategic facilities in Denpasar on Monday.

Their deployment was due to anti WTO (World Trade Organization) activists keeping their promise to make their dissenting voices heard through rallies and discussions throughout the ninth WTO Ministerial Meeting slated to be held on Dec. 3-6 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Early in the morning, activists from Gerak Lawan voiced their opposition against the global trade organization by cycling around Puputan Margarana, a vast field that lies in the heart of the administrative district in Renon. They wore white headbands emblazoned with "#EndWTO".

Hasan Harry Sandy Ame from the national secretariat of the Youth Solidarity Festival said that three policy packages, known as the Bali Package, that would be discussed in the ministerial meeting would endanger the fate of Indonesian people.

"None of the WTO agreements will benefit Indonesian people. It will only marginalize us, all communities, including farmers, women, professionals and even civil servants," Harry said.

"All of the packages are only the US' attempt to control international trade. Our people will only become victims of all those policies," he declared.

As many as 200 uniformed police officers equipped with riot gear were deployed to protect the consulate building. They formed a human barricade that separated the protesters from the consulate's main gate.

"The deployment of such a large number of officers is important in our effort to prevent the rally from escalating into something negative," Denpasar Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Gusti Kade Budhi Harryarsana said, as quoted by Metrobali.com.

He said that another contingent of riot police had also been deployed to the Australian consulate on Jl. Tantular in Renon.

Meanwhile, numerous NGOs – under the Gerak Lawan and the Social Movements for an Alternative Asia alliance – held a public discussion at the Yuwana Mandala sports hall in Denpasar on Monday, during which they called for the dissolution of the WTO.

Pablo Solon, the executive director of Thailand-based Focus on the Global South, said that the organization had mainly benefited big transnational companies in developed countries.

"The philosophy behind it [the WTO's establishment] was to promote trade, economic growth and poverty reduction. Now it has been 18 years and we see that this has not happened," Solon, who once served as Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, said on the sidelines of the discussion.

Muhammad Ikhwan of the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI) said that his organization had stopped believing that trade talks under the WTO would actually bring about changes.

He forecast that this year's ministerial meeting would be no different to previous ones and would end in an impasse.

Similar protests were also held by students and activists from a number of NGOs in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

"The WTO conference will only strengthen the control of imperialists, especially the United States, over Third World nations, including Indonesia. Only powerful countries will gain profits, while poor, developing countries will suffer," said Muhlis, coordinator of the rally.

"All the agreements made by the Indonesian government and imperialist countries have led to many foreign investors investing their money in the country and snatching away people's land. Many Indonesians have lost their land, while the land was their only source of income," he added.

He also highlighted the education sector, which has been dominated by capitalist investors. The protesters urged the Indonesian government to conduct a reform of the agricultural and industrial sectors in a bid to improve people's welfare.

As well as staging a rally, the protesters also held a theatrical performance, in which they portrayed what they described was the people's misery caused by liberalism and imperialism.

[Andi Hajramurni contributed to the story from Makassar.]

Anti-WTO activists rally at US Consulate

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2013

Made Arya Kencana, Denpasar, Bali – Dozens of university students and members of non-governmental organizations rallied in front of the American consulate in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday, calling for the World Trade Organization conference to be canceled.

The rally commenced with a long march from Niti Mandala Field in Renon, Denpasar, to the consulate, but demonstrators were blocked by barbed wire installed by police.

The activists were then forced to keep a 50-meter distance from the US consulate, while they chanted messages to end the WTO and "reject oppression by America."

Reval Larung, coordinator of the rally, said the WTO was nothing more than a tool for the US to further its economic oppression of the world, including Indonesia. "We must reject the WTO if we do not want to continuously be colonized by America," he said.

The group plans to hold a bigger rally when the conference commences today, involving an anticipated crowd of up to 1,000 – comprising farmers, laborers, students, women and youth from more than 30 countries at Niti Mandala Field.

"The Bali package is a terrible agreement for developing countries," said Henry Saragih, chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI).

"We are being forced to accept the agreement, which will tie us to the WTO's trade mechanisms, while subsidies are not allowed for farmers and other hungry citizens." Yudhvir Singh from the Bharatiya Kisan Union, India's largest farmers union, also insisted that WTO negotiations would bring no good to farmers in his country.

"We do not want to be involved in the WTO negotiations, whether the peace clause will be applicable for four or 10 years, what is most important is to highlight that the WTO is doing nothing for the farmers."

"In the long run, free trade will mean death for farmers," he said. "Farmers in India will never agree to this kind of deal."

The Bali Police have confirmed they would deploy thousands of officers to ensure conference security.

According to Bali Police operational chief Sr. Comr. I Gede Alit Widana, security measures on the island will also be aided by police units from West, Central and East Java, all of which will help with security convoys, intelligence activities, technical issues and counterterrorism measures, among others.

Rallies similar to the one in Bali have also taken place in other regions. Members of the Indonesia National Students Movement (GMNI) in Solo, Central Java, have called for the WTO conference to be stopped.

"There are many developing countries who are not ready to compete with developed nations in the liberalization of trade," Irwansaebudin, coordinator of the rally in Solo, said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com. "Only developed nations will gain because they will find ways to market their products in Indonesia."

In Sukabumi, West Java, students also marched to the Sukabumi Legislative Council to express their opposition to the WTO conference.

"We are very concerned that farmers do not own farming fields, and that the fields they develop belong to other people. The fields belong to the big bosses," Ade Putra Daulay, secretary general of the central board of the Indonesia Agriculture Students Association, said on Monday, as quoted by Pikiran Rakyat.

"Farmers merely tend the fields, most of which belong to the owners of the capital. This is not fair."

West Papua

Papuan returnees live with broken promises in Indonesia

IRIN News - December 5, 2013

Keerom – Refugees who have returned to Indonesia's Papua province from exile in neighbouring Papua New Guinea (PNG) are disillusioned with their new lives. Provincial officials pledged money, jobs and homes in 2009, but four years later, although some of the former refugees have homes, few have found steady work.

"We're miserable here. There are no jobs, nothing," said Noan Nayager, 29, sitting on a bench in front of his new 35 square metre house in Keerom district, 60 kilometres north of the provincial capital, Jayapura, near the PNG border.

After three years of living in a temporary shelter, Nayager recently moved into his own government-funded house, one of a row of newly finished brick homes overlooking a palm oil plantation. Each home has its own well in front of it.

Scores of Indonesian Papuans fled the fighting in a separatist conflict that peaked in the 1980s and still continues, although at lower intensity. They sought refuge across the border in PNG and lived there for decades. Many now have children who were born in PNG.

Nayager, who was a little boy when his father took him to PNG, returned to Papua with hundreds of others in 2009, leaving behind jobs and lives. "In PNG our lives were better. We could work in construction, in shops or even in banks, but here we don't even know if we're going to eat tomorrow," he said.

He occasionally gets part-time work in road construction or on a palm farm and can earn up to 700,000 rupiah (US$60) a month, but this is a fraction of the province's $166 minimum wage.

A May 2013 census bureau report says only 17 percent of Papua's 1.6 million labour force has steady full-time income. Some 38 percent are considered unpaid domestic help, and another 45 percent are self-employed or in part- time work. But analysts say the situation is even tougher for returnees. Some have returned to PNG because they saw no future in Indonesia, Nayager said, and he might eventually do the same.

Background

Papua, a mainly ethnic Melanesian region located on half of New Guinea island, has been the scene of a low-level separatist conflict since the 1960s, when Indonesia took control of it from the Dutch. In the 1970s and 80s, Indonesian military operations targeting the separatist group, known as the Free Papua Movement, forced more than 10,000 rebels and ordinary people simply fleeing the fighting to cross the border to PNG, where the residents share ethnic and linguistic ties with Papuans. Papua region is now divided into Papua and West Papua provinces

According to a June 2013 report by the Germany-based International Coalition for Papua, Indonesian forces continue to engage in abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, without being held accountable, allegations the government denies.

In July 2012, dozens of residents in Keerom fled into the jungle during a military operation following the murder of a village chief for which separatists were blamed.

More than 1,000 former refugees have returned from PNG to Papua and thousands of others have expressed interest, Papuan officials told IRIN. Keerom district official Syaharuddin Ramli said about 6,000 refugees remained on the other side of the border. The government has built nearly 50 homes in Keerom, but it is not clear how returnees in other Papuan districts are faring.

Lovelyn Sudumero, 20, said her family returned to Keerom because Papuan officials appealed to the refugees to "come home". "Officials came to us in PNG and persuaded us to return. They said they would give us food and take good care of us," said Sudumero, who has a two-year-old daughter.

"They stopped giving us food after some time and my father is still jobless," she said. Her husband works as a motorcycle taxi driver. The children of some returnees have stopped going to school to help their parents make a living, she said.

Franciscus Xaverius Motte, a spokesman for Papuan governor Lukas Enembe, said the government is addressing returnees' grievances. "It happened during the previous provincial government [in power until early 2013]. We'll look into what agreement was made, and if there are problems, we'll fix them."

Tackling indigenous unemployment in Indonesia's Papua

IRIN News - December 4, 2013

Keerom – Indigenous people in Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, struggle for employment because most jobs in the gold-rich region go to migrants despite government efforts to tackle growing income inequality. Service industry jobs in the provincial capital, Jayapura, are taken mostly by non-indigenous Papuans, who make up half the province's 2.8 million people.

"I have to work myself half dead to have enough money for food," said Roni Sareo, 29, a native Papuan from Keerom district, about 60km north of Jayapura – "I wish there were other jobs." He graduated from secondary school 12 years ago, but at most can only earn US$75 per month from odd construction jobs, less than half of the $166 monthly minimum wage in the province.

Disadvantaged from the start

The reasons vary for why the unemployment rate of the indigenous half of the population is many times higher than among non-indigenous people, say analysts.

In a May 2013 report by the national statistics bureau, only 17 percent of Papua's labour force reported receiving income from full-time work, another 45 percent were self-employed or working part-time, and 38 percent were in unpaid household help.

Data for native Papuans is not broken down, but experts say this group usually cannot compete with migrants – who tend to be better-skilled – and most likely form the bulk of the unemployed and underemployed.

There has been an influx of migrants from other parts of the country since Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, resulting in more competition for education and jobs, experts say. Franciscus Xaverius Motte, a spokesman for the newly elected governor, Lukas Enembe, said poor education is partly to blame for the poor access of indigenous Papuans to employment opportunities.

The government has built schools in even the poorest and most remote areas of the province, but high teacher absenteeism, as discussed in a 2012 UNICEF report, continues to be a problem in spite of government incentives such as "remote area" allowances and housing.

Even when young people manage to finish secondary education, there are few job prospects. Papuan youths say business owners, who are mostly non- indigenous people from elsewhere in the archipelago, stereotype them as being lazy and incompetent with a penchant for drinking.

A local Protestant priest, Lipiyus Biniluk, dismissed the stereotype as a rumour among "unscrupulous" business owners looking to profit from cheap migrant labour. "Businesses won't hire indigenous Papuans because they think they will lose money," said Biniluk.

Running their own businesses seems a likely solution for native Papuans, but this avenue also has its obstacles, said Sinthia Harkrisnowo, a project coordinator with International Labour Organization, which launched an initiativewith the UN Development Programme in 2012 to encourage entrepreneurship among native Papuans.

"The challenge is there's little forward thinking. Many farmers are subsistence producers and they live from hand to mouth," she told IRIN. "They have no access to the market because even if they want to sell their produce in the city, they can't afford the transport costs."

Tackling inequality

Officials and experts have often cited the gap between rich and poor as a contributor to the long-running separatist conflict in Papua region, which consists of Papua and West Papua provinces, and is known as Tanah Papua.

Earlier in 2013, analysis by the Australia National University noted that "in provinces like Papua and West Papua, which are relatively rich compared to the Indonesian average, the picture [of growing inequality] is arguably worse: both exhibit poor Gini ratios [a measure of income disparity] and very high poverty – a combination that implies a very skewed income distribution."

To pacify separatist demands, in 2001 the government introduced a special autonomy scheme for Tanah Papua. The plan has yet to improve the welfare of Papuans, or the quality of education and healthcare, Neles Tebay, coordinator of the Papua Peace Network in Jayapura, was quoted as saying in local media.

In 2012 the government launched an affirmative action initiative by allowing only native Papuans to bid on government construction projects, but implementation is difficult because of the low capacity of indigenous contractors, Motte, the government spokesman, told IRIN.

"We need to change the model of development. In the past, development focused too much on the physical aspect [infrastructure], but now we want to develop the human side," he acknowledged, noting the provincial government's plans to increase the amount provided in scholarships to indigenous students.

At nearly $600 million in 2012, Papua province has one of the largest budgets among the country's 34 provinces, and the fifth highest gross regional product, but its human development rankings are among the nation's lowest, including an adult literacy rate of only 64 percent, and less than six years, on average, of formal schooling per resident.

Army given six months to construct 14 roads

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Army has been given six months to complete the construction of 14 roads stretching more than 900 kilometers in Papua and West Papua provinces.

On Friday, soldiers from the 10th/Ksatria Yudha Dharma (KYD) Combat Engineering Detachment (Denzipur) were officially deployed by XVII/Cenderawasih Military Command (Kodam) chief Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua to take part in the projects managed by the Papua and West Papua Development Acceleration Unit (UP4B).

Christian expected the soldiers to do their best to open access to remote areas in both provinces. "Gen. Budiman said the roads will be completed and passable in the next six months," UP4B spokesman Amiruddin Al Rahab said in Jayapura on Nov. 25, adding that the Army was currently mobilizing heavy equipment to 14 project locations.

He was referring to Army chief of staff Gen. Budiman, who officially started the project on Mansinam Island in Manokwari, the provincial capital of West Papua on Nov. 21.

Amiruddin said the military's involvement was aimed at ensuring stronger construction and accelerating the road construction at a cheaper cost. "That's why the military is involved," said Amiruddin.

The current road project in Papua, financed by the state budget, added Amiruddin, was not only being carried out by Army personnel but also by the National Road Center involving civilian contractors.

"The President hopes isolation in Papua can be quickly overcome, that's why the Army is involved in the road projects," he said. "If all of these projects were carried out by the private sector, they would take a long time to complete as they first go through a bidding process," said Amiruddin.

Separately, Papua Indigenous Entrepreneurs Chamber (KAPP) chairman John Haluk objected to the Army's involvement in the construction of 14 roads in Papua because he said Papuan contractors were capable and KAPP was ready to provide the needed contractors.

"It would be better if the soldiers return to their barracks instead of getting involved in the road projects. Papuans are traumatized by the Army's presence and its involvement is the same as intimidating Papuans," Haluk said in Jayapura.

Haluk also regretted that the UP4B had never involved native Papuan entrepreneurs in policy-making. "When Papuans are not involved, they don't feel like they are the owners of what's being built," he said.

Amiruddin declined to comment on Haluk's objections. "It's his [Haluk] opinion and he has the right to comment. I don't have to respond to it," he said.

West Papua military leader extends thanks to Vanuatu in person

Radio New Zealand International - December 2, 2013

The most senior commander in the OPM rebel force in Indonesia's Papua region is in Vanuatu to thank that country for its support for the indigenous people's push for independence.

Commmander Richard Joweni slipped surreptitiously out of Indonesia, through Papua New Guinea to reach Vanuatu.

He has met with the prime minister, Moana Carcasses, and thanked him for his backing in speeches at the United Nations General Assembly and at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka.

But a spokesman, Rex Rumakiek, says he also wanted to convey the importance of a planned visit by a Melanesian Spearhead Group ministerial delegation.

"Since the decision by the MSG in June the people are ready to welcome the foreign ministers' delegation to West Papua. So it is a big issue in West Papua where everybody is waiting for them."

Protestors against Indonesian rule in West Papua gather to raise flag

Radio New Zealand International - December 2, 2013

Protestors against Indonesian rule in West Papua have gathered outside New Zealand's parliament and raised the Morning Star flag.

They were marking the 52nd anniversary of the West Papuan declaration of independence. New Zealand Green Party MP, Catherine Delahunty, says the New Zealand government should be doing more to help West Papuans.

"It is the Palestine of the Pacific and our Government is colluding and providing funding for police and military ties – which is unacceptable and people just don't know and if they did know, I think they would care."

Catherine Delahunty says momentum for the cause is building despite the media blackout in West Papua.

Military not involved in deadly raid: TNI

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2013

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The Indonesian Military has denied reports it was involved in a deadly raid on a village on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Free Papua Organization, or OPM, a separatist group established on Dec. 1, 1963.

"There was no attack. Military personnel were just making preparations to anticipate [anniversary events], no one was out for any operation," Col. Lismer Lumban Siantar, a spokesman for the military command in Papua's Puncak Jaya district, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.

PapuaPost.com had reported that a police raid on a suspected paramilitary- style group was assisted by a military infantry unit based in Sentani, near the provincial capital of Jayapura.

Markus Haluk, a Papuan human rights activist and member of the Papua Customary Council, also told the Globe that several military personnel were involved in the attack on a house in Yongsu village, about 25 kilometers west of Jayapura, on Saturday morning.

The issue is significant because the military's large troop presence and heavy-handed approach in Papua has been one factor fueling anti-Jakarta sentiment among indigenous Papuans.

Lismer said the military was committed to prioritizing a humane approach rather than employing excessive force toward any party, including separatists. "As commanded, military personnel are not allowed to attack, let alone plan an attack. We choose persuasive means, unless we are being attacked first and are cornered, then we are allowed to defend ourselves," he said.

Markus said the target of Saturday's raid was still unclear. Villagers said that a man shot during the raid was the village secretary, identified as Eduard Bunyan. "However, the officers claimed the victim shot was an OPM member, Colonel Amos Sorontauw. We still need to verify the information," Markus said.

Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, Papua's deputy police chief, said that police had received reports that Adranus Apaseray, said to be an OPM leader, had been fatally wounded in the shootout. "But his body has not been discovered," Metro TV quoted Paulus as saying.

Markus said following the attack, most of the village's 200-odd residents fled, hampering investigations. "The villagers have evacuated and some houses were reportedly burned after the incident," he said.

Markus said villagers who wanted to return home were not allowed to enter their own village, and the victim's family were denied access to their relative's body by military personnel. "The victim's body has been taken to the police hospital [in Jayapura], but the family is still not allowed to see him," he said.

Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Pujo Hartono said his officers undertook a raid on the village based on initial suspicions it was being used as a separatist military training ground. "I don't think they are OPM members. They call themselves the Cyclops King Group and they have always talked about human rights," he said.

The area is overlooked by the Cyclops Mountains. Sulistyo said the raid happened after the police received a report from villagers uncomfortable about the presence of the group in their village and the military training in the area.

"The information we received from the villagers is that this group started operating four months ago, and we have received this intel many times, that's why we decided to raid them," he said.

Sulistyo said persons in a house in the village fought back, firing at police, with gunfire lasting for about 10 minutes before a group of men fled the scene. He admitted a person died during the firefight but declined to confirm the victim's identity. "We are still coordinating with religious leaders and local villagers to confirm his identity," he said.

Police said they confiscated some firearms, bladed weapons and a separatist flag, although some media reports claimed six homemade bombs were also seized during the raid.

Sulistyo denied reports that the attack had scared villagers and caused them to flee the village. Paulus told the state-run Antara news agency that officers were "still at the site" and that the identity of the slain individual remained unknown. A policeman was shot in the arm during the incident and was in a stable condition, Paulus added.

Earlier this week, a soldier, First Sgt. Wandi Ahmad, was shot and severely injured in the Illu traditional market in Puncak Jaya district. Lismer said that Wandi was shot in the face by an unidentified assailant who fled into the nearby forest. Wandi remains hospitalized in critical condition.

On Friday, the National Police said that they had temporarily boosted their forces in Papua by 100 officers to anticipate the OPM's anniversary, but said that there was no urgent threat.

Gen. Sutarman, the National Police chief, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that he would pay special attention to restive Papua. "We should solve violence in Papua with a humane approach," he said.

Despite these soft words, he said police would have zero tolerance for displays of the Morning Star flag – a symbol of Papuan separatism – and calls for a self-determination plebiscite.

Indonesian police killed West Papuan activist after rally, witness claims

The Guardian (Australia) - December 2, 2013

Marni Cordell – At least one person was killed and others injured when Indonesian police opened fire and beat activists during a demonstration in the West Papuan capital of Jayapura last week, according to a witness.

The witness, who asked not to be named, said police fired live bullets into a crowd of about 800 demonstrators and also beat people with their firearms at a political rally last Tuesday.

The body of West Papuan man Matias Tengket was later found in a nearby lake, the witness said. "Tengket's body was thrown into Sentani Lake after being killed [by police]."

An eyewitness to the murder told independent West Papuan news outlet, Jubi, that Tengket was chased down and beaten to death by a group of people driving a black Avanza car. They then dumped his body in the lake.

But the head of Jayapura police, Alfred Papare, said Tengket's body was later examined at a police hospital and found to show no signs of mistreatment.

When asked if police shot Tengket, Papare replied, "[The deceased] didn't have any injuries whatsoever. There was no maltreatment of him let alone him having been shot. The finding of that body has no connection with the ... demonstration".

The witness said the confrontation occurred when police took a vehicle that was being used to carry a sound system and ordered the crowd of demonstrators to stop marching and enter a nearby building. When they refused, "hundreds of police blocked the crowd moving down the road", the witness said. Police then started shooting into the crowd.

"We thought it was tear gas they were shooting, aiming towards us. We became frightened and the crowd including myself fled. But then we realised it wasn't tear gas they were shooting at us but rather they were firing bullets from weapons."

The police chased the fleeing demonstrators and "there were many that were injured," the witness said.

He told Guardian Australia he escaped injury by hiding in the house of a family until the police had dispersed, and said police had given public orders for people not to hide the demonstrators, many of whom are now in hiding in fear for their lives.

Parpare denied the use of live fire at the demonstration and said "the demonstrators didn't have a permit, so they had to be dispersed". "In any demonstration whatsoever the police never fire weapons. The only firing by police was of tear gas," he said.

The rally was organised by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), an organisation that campaigns for a referendum on West Papuan independence.

In a statement released last week, the KNPB's general chairman, Victor Yeimo, said other activists involved in the action were still missing, presumed dead.

"[We are] looking for four other KNPB members that are missing: their whereabouts are unknown. We strongly suspect that the police shot them and disposed of their bodies."

On Thursday, Amnesty International released a statement calling for an investigation into reports that 28 political activists who were arrested at the rally had injuries consistent with being beaten in custody: "According to a human rights lawyer who saw them in detention at the Jayapura City police station, there were indications that they had been beaten after they were arrested."

"The authorities must ensure a prompt, thorough, and effective investigation into the allegations of ill-treatment by the police and ensure that those suspected of involvement, including persons with command responsibility, are prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness," the statement said.

Papua students in Surabaya mark December 1 with call for self-determination

Lensa Indonesia (LICOM) - December 2, 2013

Around 300 demonstrators from the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) gathered in front of the Negara Grahadi building in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on December 2 demanding that the Indonesian government give them the freedom to determine their own future as a democratic solution for the people of West Papua.

Surabaya AMP spokesperson Mesak Pekei said that the 52nd declaration of Papua was reaffirmed yesterday on December 1 in the city of Port Numbay, Jayapura. The demonstrators are using this opportunity to again call for the acknowledgement of the sovereignty of the Papuan people.

"Based on the declaration of the West Papuan state, as of December 1, 1961 we have been independent. Then independence was taken away by the NKRI [the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia], and because of this, we want to again demand our independence from the NKRI", said Pekei when speaking with LICOM during the action on Jl. Gubernur Suryo Surabaya on Monday.

In addition to Surabaya, demonstrators also came from cities such as Bandung and Bogor in West Java, Jakarta, the Central Java cities of Semarang, Salatiga, Yogyakarta and Solo, as well as the East Java city of Malang and from Bali.

During the action they called on the government to put an end to the implementation of political policies such as special autonomy (Otsus), Otsus Plus and the Special Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B). They also called for the withdrawal of all organic and non-organic police (Polri) and military (TNI) from the land of Papua.

According to Pekei, the Indonesian state succeeded in thwarting the establishment of the Papuan state and forced the Papuan people the join the NKRI.

But he said that the struggle to realise the formation of the Papuan state will never abate. "[Despite] the various changes in ruling regimes in Indonesia, starting with the militaristic regime of [former president] Suharto through to the regime of SBY-Boediono [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono- Vice President Boediono], they have never been able to extinguish the Papuan people's flame of resistance", he added.

During the action, the demonstrators formed a circle and raised their left hands in a fist as a symbol of the Papuan people's resistance to the NKRI. "We will continue to struggle from generation to generation until the end, because we want to determine our own future", said Pekei.

Pekei explained that the various problems faced by the Papuan people are not about prosperity, social imbalance or economic inequality but rather are about the issue of the identity of the Papuan people as nation that cannot be resolved by the policies of the NKRI.

"This is our biggest problem, so we demand that the regime of SBY-Boediono immediately give [us] the freedom and right to determine our own future, as a democratic solution for us, as the West Papua people", he said accusingly.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Government should stop police funding in West Papua - Greens

Voxy - December 1, 2013

The Green Party is calling on the Government to cancel police and military ties with the Indonesian regime in West Papua on a day of international action in support of West Papuan independence from Indonesia.

Today is the 51st anniversary of the West Papuan declaration of independence from Dutch rule. In 1961, the people first raised their 'Morning Star' national flag which has since become a symbol of resistance. Citizens who raise this flag in West Papua risk 15 years imprisonment.

"New Zealand's ongoing support of the brutal Indonesian occupation of West Papua does not square with our support of human rights internationally," said Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty.

"This week in West Papua, a peaceful protest was attacked by a combined military and police operation with one man killed and several others missing as well as a number of people arrested and beaten.

"The Government can provide no evidence that New Zealand's police training courses in West Papua have improved the situation there. Instead we are tarnishing are our international reputation by working alongside a violent police force.

"Pilot community police projects in Papua and West Papua in 2009 and 2010 didn't change the reality of what is happening there. The situation remains highly oppressive for West Papuans.

"We are fooling ourselves if we think that some funding for community police projects will have any impact on Indonesia's violent suppression of the West Papuan independence movement.

"In October, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully announced that New Zealand would provide a further $6.34 million for a three-year community policing programme in Indonesia. That is money that will be used to supress human rights in West Papua.

"It is time for us to cancel military and police ties with Indonesia in West Papua and push urgently for a peace process and an end to the current violence."

Port Moresby governor defies PM and raises West Papua independence flag

ABC News - December 1, 2013

Liam Fox, PNG – The governor of Port Moresby has raised the flag of the West Papuan independence movement, despite a request by Papua New Guinea's prime minister not to do so.

Police told several hundred West Papuan refugees not to march through Port Moresby's streets today but they did anyway, calling for independence from Indonesia. Their destination was city hall, where governor Powes Parkop raised the Morning Star flag of the West Papuan independence movement.

"Papua New Guineans: for the last 50 years we have been silent, blind, not seeing, not hearing, not speaking. But tomorrow it must change," he said. Prime minister Peter O'Neill had asked him not to raise the flag.

Also at the flag-raising ceremony was visiting West Papuan activist Benny Wenda and Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

The pair are in Port Moresby at the invitation of Mr Parkop. But PNG immigration officials have threatened to deport them for "engaging in political activity".

Ms Robinson says an official told her independence was a sensitive issue for Indonesia. "I think it's a grave concern that Indonesia has such influence on domestic matters in Papua New Guinea," she said.X

Arrests at West Papua flag-raising

The Guardian (Australia) - December 1, 2013

Marni Cordell – Three organisers of a pro-West Papua rally in Port Moresby have been taken into custody, with the governor of the Papua New Guinean capital accusing the country's government of bowing to pressure from neighbour Indonesia.

The PNG nationals Fred Mambrasar, Tony Fofoe and Patrick Kaiku said they were interviewed by police on Sunday afternoon after taking part in a march to mark the West Papuan national day of 1 December. The event culminated in the raising of the banned West Papuan morning star flag.

Powes Parkop, the Port Moresby governor, told Guardian Australia the three had been targeted "due to undue pressure from the Indonesian government". West Papua is a province of Indonesia but there is an independence movement that does not recognise the government in Jakarta.

"Clearly Indonesia has put pressure on the [PNG] government but we are an independent nation. Our constitution allows us freedom of expression and assembly. They will not intimidate us any more," Parkop said.

Mambrasar told Guardian Australia he expected they would be charged with unlawful assembly despite the event being endorsed and approved by the municipal government, led by Parkop.

At the rally Parkop addressed the crowd of approximately 1,000. "We have broken the silence. We won't be intimidated any more. I congratulate you all for turning up," he said.

"This is our ancestral land. The morning star flag deserves to be raised across our ancestral land. This will become a worldwide movement that cannot be stopped. I want to tell the Indonesian government that their claim to West Papua is based on fraud and lies."

Earlier the West Papuan activist Benny Wenda and the Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who attended the event, told Guardian Australia they had been threatened with arrest and deportation if they took part in "political activities" while in PNG on visitor visas.

Parkop said he personally intervened to make sure they were not arrested. "I have advised [PNG] immigration that Benny and Jennifer are here at my invitation," he said. Guardian Australia sought comment from the PNG prime minister, Peter O'Neill.

Aceh

Shariah officer injured in Aceh as partygoers fight back

Jakarta Globe - December 4, 2013

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Scores of young people vandalized a shariah police office and injured a religious police officer in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the Islamic authority broke up a gathering in Langsa, a religious official said.

"Around 1 a.m., one Wilayatul Hisbah [shariah police] team of 12 conducted an operation in the former Cafe Citra building on Jalan A Yani in Langsa because a 'drinking party' was said to be going on," Ibrahim Latif, the head of the Langsa city shariah police told the Jakarta Globe.

"It was also a 'sex party' because men and women who were not related were mixing," he added.

He said that local residents tipped off the shariah police, saying that noisy activities were held at the building every evening until the early hours. "They were in an intoxicated condition and their breath had a strong smell of alcohol" Ibrahim said.

The shariah police arrested three men and one woman, their ages could not be confirmed, and detained them in handcuffs at the local police office. Several people then descended on the office in Langsa, vandalizing the interior, damaging two motorcycles and injuring a Wi-Ha officer.

The violence was the second incident this year against the shariah police in the area. On Aug. 25, dozens of shariah police members were mobbed by local youths while trying to disband a musical performance in Karang Anyar village in Langsa Baru subdistrict.

Ibrahim said that the attack would not discourage the shariah police from enforcing the religious law in Langsa.

"I am not afraid of enforcing the Islamic shariah, even though I will face resistance," he said. "It is this very resistance that is motivating me and the Wilayatul Hisbah members to continue to hold raids against violators, so that they know we are not afraid."

Aceh is the only part of predominantly Muslim Indonesia allowed to implement partial shariah law, granted as part of autonomy following the 2005 peace pact between the government and separatist rebels which brought an end 30 years of war.

Human rights & justice

In reliving past, East Timorese victims defy sense of impunity

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Tunggul Wirajuda – For millions of East Timorese, Indonesia's 24-year occupation of their country seemed an interminable nightmare.

"My husband, a school principal, was killed by Indonesian soldiers a month after they invaded in November 1975," says a woman identified only as M.F.

"I then fled into the jungles with the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor [Fretilin] until I was caught by the Indonesian military in 1979." From that point on, her nightmare truly began.

"I was then held and tortured at the Hotel Flamboyan in Baucau, which was then used as a military headquarters by the Indonesian forces. They made me give away the whereabouts of my brother, a Fretilin fighter," she recalls.

"I was tortured and raped by servicemen at the Hotel Flamboyan and gave birth to four daughters out of wedlock. Even now I have no idea who their fathers are."

However, M.F. managed to find solace through her family's love and the support of a priest willing to baptize her children, despite their unknown paternity.

Another anonymous compatriot of M.F.'s, who underwent the same ordeal, was not so fortunate.

"My husband refused to take me back because I had been 'defiled.' But I managed to get back on my feet by raising my children and running a cocoa plantation, due to my children's love and support," she says.

"My daughters first learned about their paternity when they saw a documentary about children born out of wedlock during the Indonesian occupation. But fortunately, this only strengthened their love and support for me as well as sympathy."

Striving for justice

The two East Timorese women are among thousands of victims of atrocities committed by the Indonesian military between 1965 and 2005.

The duo, along with 30 other victims of human rights violations by the Indonesian military in places like Aceh and Papua, are stepping forward to share their experiences with the Indonesian public.

The hearings, titled "Speaking the Truth, Breaking the Circle of Violence," are being held at Jakarta's National Library by the Coalition for Justice and Truth (KKPK), a group of 47 NGOs and government institutions whose members include the Citizens' Council, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, the National Commission on Human Rights and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency.

"We held the hearings this year because we designated 2013 as the 'Year of Truth.' The year particularly resonates, as it marks the 10th anniversary of the assassination of the human rights activist Munir," KKPK spokesman Dodi Yuniar said. "The hearings are the second major event of its kind since a similar hearing was held in 2005 to mark the 40th anniversary of the purge of suspected communists [in 1965]."

KKPK coordinator Kamala Chandrakirana said the victims' testimonies were divided into different categories. The themes include violence against women, atrocities committed during the military insurgencies, sectarian violence, forcible displacement of people to exploit natural resources, and violence against human rights activists.

"We urge the government to admit that human rights violations did occur, and to apologize for them. Doing so will help the country start over, with a clean slate.

"The People's Consultative Assembly said truth and justice should be used as legal foundations, but they have yet to live up to their promise," Kamala said.

Revisiting the dark past

As with the conflict in East Timor, the 1965 anti-communist purge also hit women hard, among them a Yogyakartan who wished to remain anonymous. "I was arrested by military authorities in Yogyakarta when I was studying for a degree at a teacher's college during the purge," she said.

"They accused me of having affiliations with the Indonesian Communist Party [PKI], even though the organizations I was a member of, like the Indonesian Students Association and the Indonesian Catholic Students Union, were not affiliated with the party.

"A priest freed my sister and me, after which I managed to get my degree and teach. However, the military authorities rearrested me in 1968 and coerced me to confess to another identity.

"I was physically and sexually abused after I refused to do so. They moved me to a number of prisons until I was eventually released in 1978."

The woman, now in her 70s, said she bore two children during her ordeal, and continues to face stigmatization and discrimination because of her status as a former political prisoner.

The fallout from the military conflicts in Papua and Aceh also affected people like Christian Padua and Murtala.

"I was taken into custody by Indonesian authorities without charge between November 1967 and April 1968. They accused me of being a Free Papua Organization [OPM] insurgent and subjected me to psychological and physical torture," said Padua, 71, who was fired without compensation or explanation from his job as a supervisor in charge of four Papuan districts at state- run electricity company PLN.

"Even now, I won't disclose the full extent of what I've been through to avoid reprisals against my family."

Murtala was a survivor of the Simpang KKA incident, a massacre in North Aceh in May 1999 that left 46 people dead, 10 missing, and more than 156 others wounded.

"I was covered by the victims' bodies and blood during the massacre, which killed my older brother. I only survived because I was presumed dead," the 43-year-old said of the incident, which occurred when a mob converged on a military base to demand justice, following an incident involving a member of the Indonesian military.

Murtala insisted that the government stop covering up, and called on all sides to forgive but not forget the incident.

The Citizen's Council has noted that the culture of impunity remains a legacy of the past. It also praised the victims for having the strength and courage to face their dark past.

Aside from the harrowing testimonies, the event also featured playwright Putu Oka Sukanta, who recited his latest work of verse called "Catatan Kecil Dalam Sejarah Indonesia" or "A Little Note In Indonesian History."

The poem affirmed his humanity and identity as a writer, and his identification with the more marginalized segments of society. Other highlights include speeches by former Indonesian first lady Sinta Nuriah Wahid, the widow of late president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, and G.K.R. Hemas, the wife of Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of Yogyakarta.

The KKPK has vowed to pursue its cause of bringing the truth to light until the circle of violence breaks. The national rights commission says it will publish a report on the testimonies and other findings in March next year.

Sexual & domestic violence

Activists urge government to draft strict anti-rape bill

Jakarta Post - December 7, 2013

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Dozens of activists from different NGOs from a number of cities staged a rally at the Yogyakarta Ground Zero area on Friday, demanding the government draw up an anti-rape bill due to the high number of rapes in the country.

Wearing traditional attire, the activists who came from Yogyakarta and the neighboring Central Java towns of Surakarta, Wonosobo and Magelang, also called on society to pay more attention to the issue of rape.

Quoting data from the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Rina Widarsih of the Rifka Annisa Women's Crisis Center (WCC) said that there were 4,845 cases of rapes from 1998 – 2010 committed across Indonesia. "The real figure I believe is much higher because many cases are not reported," Rina said.

Based on reports filed with Rifka Annisa, she said, there were 131 rape cases and 71 sexual harassment cases in Yogyakarta from 2009 – 2012. This year alone, from January to September, there were 32 cases of rape and 10 of sexual harassment. The victims, Rina said, were mostly girls often between 14 and 16 years old. "Some were even only 3 years old," Rina said, adding that in many cases, the blame was put on the victims.

"Parts of the community still view rape as caused by the women themselves rather than as a form of violence and crime," Rina said. Therefore, she continued, it was urgent for the House of Representatives to produce a specific law on rape because the Criminal Code was not effective in preventing rape.

Another activist, Thontowi, also of Rifka Annisa, said that the sentences given to rapists were too lenient and thus did not act as a deterrent. "A rape victim could die or experience trauma for the rest of her life," he said, adding that the state needed a new law to provide greater protection to rape victims.

He also expressed concern over the fact that schools frequently expelled students who became pregnant due to rape. Thontowi insisted that rape victims who got pregnant had the right to access education. "We also call on the community not to consider rape victims as somehow disgraced. They are victims who need protection," he said.

Separately, Puteri of the Yogyakarta Women's Network (JPY) lamented the fact that few legal institutions could properly handle rape cases.

NGOs participating in Friday's rally included Rifka Annisa WCC, Kinasih Women's Solidarity, Magelang Woman's Friend and the Center for Women, Difable and Kids Advocacy (SABDA).

Carrying posters expressing their demands, the demonstrators also sent a petition to the Ministry of Education and Culture, calling on the institution to pay serious attention to the issue of rape.

Online support for sexual abuse victims

Jakarta Post - December 7, 2013

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the Jakarta administration launched a website on Friday to reach out to sexual abuse victims.

"A reliable system to respond to sexual abuse cases is long overdue. At least 35 women are subjected to sexual abuse every day, or three women every two hours," Komnas Perempuan chairwoman Yuniyanti Chuzaifah said during her speech at City Hall.

The website, kekerasanseksual.komnasperempuan.or.id, was integrated with the police and the Integrated Service Center for the Twitter account of the Empowerment of Women and Children (P2PT2A).

Yuniyanti said in the future, the website would be connected with the city's 119 emergency call center number. She said the commission would provide training for the call center's operators, so they could receive reports from the victims and act as a reference when the cases were investigated. In addition, the commission would also encourage volunteer to support the call center.

"This website aims to make it easier for victims to report cases and allow them to get quicker responses. Currently, many victims do not report their cases because they lack public information about where to report and what kind of support is available," she said.

The website contains, among other features, a video campaign titled Aku Bukan Aib (I am not a disgrace), a list of 15 categories of sexual violence and an inventory of reports on sexual abuse cases. Victims can send their reports to the website or via email. Unfortunately, there is no information on how to help the victims.

The launching of the website is in conjunction with the global campaign of 16 days of activism against gender violence from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, which has also been carried out by 130 organizations in 26 provinces in Indonesia.

In 2012, the commission recorded 4,336 sexual abuse cases, 37 percent of which were sexual assault and rape cases. The total cases of violence against women reported that year was 211,822.

Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said he supported the website because it could provide convenient access to help for sexual abuse victims.

"I think the initiative to set up a website and email address is good because not every victim has the courage to make a call. They need to share their stories because they may be afraid to tell their parents or siblings," he said.

He said currently the 119 call center number is dedicated to healthcare services, but the city wants to extend its function for various emergency situations. In the future, it would function like the 911 emergency number in the United States.

Ahok said it would be important to have volunteers who had experience in caring for sexual abuse victims. After the system was ready, he added that operators of the 119 call center could connect the victims to the available volunteers.

He said the system for the emergency call center was expected to be set up next year.

Labour & migrant workers

Workers launch toll-road blockade

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Jakarta – A number of travelers have called on the police to take harsh action against workers who launched a blockade on the toll road leading to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which caused them to miss their flights.

Antony and Syamsuri who were set to fly to Makassar in South Sulawesi and Surabaya in East Java, respectively, found themselves stranded in Tangerang city when the toll gate leading onto the Tangerang toll road was blocked by thousands of workers demanding a significant wage hike and the end to outsourcing practices.

The demonstrators called on Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosyiah to raise the provincial minimum wage to Rp 2.6 million (US$234.96) in 2014 from the current Rp 2.44 million. "If the governor does not meet our demand, we will paralyze industrial areas, toll roads and areas near the airport," said Tangerang Raya workers alliance coordinator Koswara as quoted by kompas.com.

Koswara said the workers had begun to set up their blockade at the Bitung toll gate on Tuesday at 5:30 a.m., and added that the protest would continue until Ratu Atut met their demand.

The workers' rally also brought traffic to a standstill on main roads in Tangerang, Bogor and Bekasi, all in West Java.

Political parties & elections

Yudhoyono-Anas feud continues to shake Democrats

Democratic Party Jakarta Post - December 6, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Supporters of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Democratic Party (PD) have called on former party chairman Anas Urbaningrum to stay silent and focus on his graft case rather than continue making personal attacks on the President, who is current party chairman.

Earlier on Tuesday, Anas, who was ousted as party chairman by Yudhoyono in March after being named a suspect in the Hambalang graft case, suggested that the President should run as a vice-presidential candidate to salvage the party's electability rating.

Anas said that Yudhoyono needed to be ready to make a similar sacrifice as he had made when the President unseated him in an extraordinary PD congress in Bali earlier this year.

"Anas' statement is really offensive. Pak SBY has been the president for two terms. It's embarrassing to suggest that he would take a position lower than what he holds now," Democratic Party deputy chairman Max Sopacua said Thursday.

Max, a lawmaker on the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs and informatics, said that Anas' statement could suggest that Yudhoyono was a power-hungry politician.

"I don't see anything positive from the statement. We all know that SBY can't run for a third time and this is why we decided to hold a presidential convention," Max said.

The PD is currently holding its convention to select a prospective presidential candidate. Eleven contenders are vying for the nomination.

They include former Army chief of staff Gen. (ret) Pramono Eddhie Wibowo, speaker of the House Marzuki Ali, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, and rector of Paramadina University Anies Baswedan and others.

Analysts have suggested that the convention was merely a ploy to legitimize the nomination of Pramono, who is the brother of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.

Meanwhile, PD deputy secretary-general Ramadhan Pohan said that there was nothing the party could do to stop Anas from making derisive comments about Yudhoyono. "We can't prohibit him from making such a statement. We live in a democracy now," Ramadhan said.

Ramadhan suspected that Anas was being disingenuous in his statement. "I don't know why he said what he said because Pak SBY has repeatedly said that neither he nor Ibu Ani would run in the election next year," Ramadhan said, referring to the first lady.

Later on Wednesday, Anas reiterated his statement by saying that putting Yudhoyono forward as a vice presidential candidate could be a winning ticket.

According to Anas, Yudhoyono's nomination would attract political parties to build a coalition with the Democratic Party simply because Yudhoyono was the biggest name in the party. "There are no figures in the party more respected than Pak SBY. [He is] the only sun in the Democratic Party," Anas said.

Anas went on, saying that Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who has been officially nominated as the party's presidential candidate, would gladly allow Yudhoyono to be his running mate in the 2014 election.

Golkar Party politician Bambang Soesatyo agreed, saying that his party would be open to a proposal pairing Aburizal with Yudhoyono. "If the ARB- SBY ticket were to materialize, I predict the Democratic Party would benefit," he said.

NasDem, Gerindra popular on Internet

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2013

Jakarta – The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party is the most popular political party on social media, a survey has shown.

The online media monitoring firm Katapedia found that Gerindra was the most-talked about political party in the month of November, making up 19.67 percent of total political party mentions on the social media platforms Twitter and Facebook.

CEO of Katapedia Deddy Rahman said that Facebook and Twitter were surveyed simply because among social media sites they had the largest number of users in the country.

Deddy said that a party's popularity was measured by how often the party's name was used as a keyword or hashtag. The second most mentioned political group was the National Democrat (NasDem) Party with 13.68 percent.

NasDem, a new political party founder by media mogul Surya Paloh, was considered a success story in the social media given its ever-growing visibility. Deddy said that the success of the NasDem Party owed much to its decision to hire a so-called social media "buzzer" in the regions.

"The NasDem Party used the official Twitter handles and Facebook accounts of its legislative candidates in the regions as a campaign tool," Deddy said in a press conference on Monday.

The NasDem Party has also issued a directive for its legislative candidates to use the hashtag "NasDem" whenever they send a tweet.

From the survey, Katapedia came up with a list of the most popular political parties based on their presence in the social media.

The graft-ridden Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is in third place with 12.97 percent, while the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) comes in fourth place with 12.12 percent.

As of 2012, there were 43.6 million Facebook users and 19.5 million Twitter users in Indonesia, based on data from state-owned telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom).

Meanwhile, the now-defunct social media consulting company salingsilang.com had predicted that by 2014, there will be at least 100 million social media users in the country.

Social media in Indonesia has also proven to be effective in triggering public movements. In 2009, a social movement called "Coins For Prita" emerged on Facebook. The movement sought to raise at least Rp 204 million (US$17,340) to help Prita Mulyasari, a housewife, to pay fines imposed by the Banten High Court for defaming Omni Hospital, after her private complaints became public.

Her supporters declared the punishment imposed on Prita was unfair as she had merely practiced her right as a consumer to complain. Thousands of people of various backgrounds from around the archipelago donated coins – finally resulting in more than Rp 600 million being raised for Prita.

Knowing the power of social media to spur the public, political parties and public figures alike have begun to take the new trend more seriously.

Some politicians, such as Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie and Gerindra chief patron Prabowo Subianto, jumped on the social media bandwagon in 2009, while some, like President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, only started using Twitter and Facebook recently.

Yudhoyono and his family have been very active in social media since. In fact, Yudhoyono first vented his anger about the Australian spying program via Twitter. His wife, Ani Yudhoyono, who is also known as an avid photographer, is a heavy user of popular photo-sharing app Instagram.

Early Jokowi nomination would benefit PDI-P

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – As Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo tops various opinion polls on presidential candidates, political analysts and pollsters believe that now is the best time for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to nominate the former Surakarta mayor in order to maximize the benefits for the party.

Most pollsters have indicated that Jokowi would greatly help the party to regain its position as the largest faction in the legislature. Therefore, the sooner the PDI-P makes the nomination the better for the party because Jokowi is obviously contributing to the increasing support for the party.

A recent study by Jakarta-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), revealed that support for the PDI-P has steadily grown, to 17.6 percent in November from 11.6 percent last July.

According to the study, which was made public on Sunday, 29.9 percent of 1,180 people interviewed between Nov. 13 and 20 said they would vote for the PDI-P if the party nominated Jokowi as its presidential candidate, beating the Golkar Party, which has officially nominated its presidential ticket of chairman Aburizal Bakrie, with 15.1 percent of the vote; and the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party in third place with 9.2 percent of the vote.

"It's clearly seen that the Jokowi effect positively impacts on the electability of the party. The sooner the PDI-P announces his nomination the better because leaving the decision until the legislative election will be too late and might hinder the party's increasing electability," said political analyst from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Ari Dwipayana.

Ari added that a quick nomination of Jokowi would also help the PDI-P to strengthen internal bonds while at the same time building a wider and stronger network. "Above all, making the decision now will help PDI-P focus all its efforts on winning both the legislative and presidential elections," Ari said.

Another recent survey by Jakarta-based pollster Indikator also found that Jokowi's perceived integrity and compassion for the people would allow him to gain 47.4 percent of the vote. Trailing behind Jokowi was Gerindra's Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto at 15.8 percent and Golkar's Aburizal with 12.6 percent.

Hamdi Moeloek, an analyst with the University of Indonesia, cited the public's need for a fresh face in combination with the perception of Jokowi's integrity as being behind the skyrocketing public confidence in him.

"Public appearances alongside Jokowi would probably boost Megawati's electability as well. But that would not raise her electability as high as Jokowi's because the electorate is seeking fresh faces," Hamdi said.

But when will the party make the strategic decision? "It all depends on our chairwoman. We have agreed to trust her to make the decisions on our presidential as well as vice presidential candidates," said PDI-P executive Pramono Anung, who is also a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, on Monday.

Amien Rais leads talks on coalition

Jakarta Post - December 2, 2013

Jakarta – Former speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais facilitated a meeting between Muslim-based political parties in an effort to set up a coalition known as the "central axis."

United Development Party (PPP) secretary-general M. Romahurmuziy said that Amien had convinced the leaders of 14 Muslim parties to start a coalition ahead of the 2014 legislative election.

"The meeting has already gone ahead. We were silent about this because we wanted the plan to be solid first," Romahurmuziy said as quoted by tribunnews.com. He said that the Muslim-based parties had not yet decided on their presidential ticket. "We wanted to first be united," he said.

Amien, now a senior member of the National Mandate Party (PAN), had said earlier that smaller Islam-based political parties could unite to form a coalition and nominate a presidential candidate to contend with the Democratic Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party and other major players.

Environment & natural disasters

Bogor on the rampage against illegal buildings

Jakarta Globe - December 4, 2013

Vento Saudale – Officials from Bogor have since October torn down 75 holiday villas and buildings as part of efforts to eliminate a total of 239 illegal buildings in the Puncak area in a bid to reorganize spatial planning laws and restore the land to its original function, an official said.

Bogor Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) chief Dace Supriadi said that dozens of villas had been demolished in Sukatani and Caringin villages, with the agency planning to take down another 57 buildings in the Megamendung area.

"Last Friday, we sealed off 20 of the 57 buildings and we will finish the rest within the coming week. After that, we will tear them down," he said.

Dace said that the 57 buildings were located on land designated as water catchment areas for the Ciliwung River and therefore prohibited for residential development.

The buildings to be demolished belonged to people and businesses of various backgrounds, including doctors, entrepreneurs and public officials, he said. One such official is Tomex Kurniawan, the former Bogor district police chief who now works as the traffic police chief in Central Kalimantan.

At least 600 officers from the Satpol PP, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police were involved in the demolitions, which Dace said cost Rp 100 million ($8,413) a day to carry out. The government has allocated Rp 2.1 billion for the demolitions until the end of the year, funded by grants from the Jakarta administration.

The hilly Puncak area has long been a popular weekend destination for Jakarta residents, and for decades locals and outsiders have built homes and holiday rentals in the scenic area, often in direct violation of zoning regulations.

The unfettered spate of forest clearing for residential development has degraded the area's ability to serve as a water catchment for the Ciliwung, resulting in increasingly severe flooding downstream in Jakarta each year.

Rachmat Yasin, the Bogor district chief, said that after the demolitions, the areas would be restored to their original function.

"If it is arable land, we suggest that the area be used as a productive land without any buildings. If it is a water catchment and conservation area, the district government will conduct reforestation," he said.

The Bogor administration has faced pressure from building owners over the demolitions. Yasin said the owners were either unaware of the existing regulations or refused to accept the fact that their homes were illegally built.

"Those buildings have been there for dozens of years, even before I became the head of Bogor district, and [people] have involved other high-ranking officials to put pressure" on the district government to turn a blind eye to the violations, he said.

However, Yasin said officials would continue with clearing the illegal dwellings, regardless of who the owners were. "I don't care who owns the building. If it's proven to be in violation of the law, then I will confront them," he said.

Dace said authorities had tried to notify the owners prior to carrying out the demolitions, but in many cases the owners merely delegated a representative or housekeeper to meet with officers.

"And then when it comes the time to carry out the demolitions, the owners come up with all kinds of excuses, claiming they were never approached to discuss the issue when, instead, our office has sent them three letters of notification before taking action," he said.

He added he hoped that the more influential among the building owners would not try to incite popular resentment against the program.

"In almost every program of this kind, there's always some group that riles up the residents who don't understand the issue," Dace said. "We won't be daunted by this, but we do have to be very careful."

Coal rush ravages indonesian Borneo

Agence France Presse - December 4, 2013

Angela Dewan – Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Barges loaded with mountains of coal glide down the polluted Mahakam River on Indonesian Borneo every few minutes. Viewed from above, they form a dotted black line as far as the eye can see, destined for power stations in China and India.

A coal rush that has drawn international miners to East Kalimantan province has ravaged the capital, Samarinda, which risks being swallowed up by mining if the exploitation of its deposits expands any further.

Mines occupy more than 70 percent of Samarinda, government data show, forcing entire villages and schools to move away from toxic mudslides and contaminated water sources.

The destruction of forest around the city to make way for mines has also removed a natural buffer against floods, leading to frequent waist-high deluges during the six-month rainy season.

And despite the 200 million tones of coal dug and shipped out of East Kalimantan each year, its capital is crippled by frequent hours-long blackouts as the city's aging power plant suffers constant problems.

Farmer Komari, who goes by one name, has lived in a corner of Samarinda half an hour from the city center since 1985 and used to get by growing small amounts of rice and breeding fish. But the mines have poisoned the water used in his fields and small ponds, he says.

"The rice is basically grown in poisonous water," said the 70-year-old, standing among his paddies, ankle-deep in brown sludge near the bare, one- room wooden shack where he lives with his wife. "We still eat it but I think it's pretty bad for us," he says, adding that the water makes his skin itch.

Along with 18 other farmers, Komari has filed a civil suit against government officials, blaming them for contaminating their water sources and allowing rampant mining.

They are not seeking compensation, instead asking the government to oblige a coal company next to their homes to decontaminate the water and provide health services.

'Cronies have done this to Samarinda'

Udin, who owns and drives a rental car and was born in Samarinda 30 years ago, said the city today has been transformed. "When I was kid, my home was a jungle with orangutans and so many different colorful birds. But now it is bleak," he said.

According to Jatam, a group representing communities affected by mining across Indonesia, the root of the problem is obvious – local officials have been lining their pockets with bribes from companies in exchange for granting them permits to mine.

"A bunch of cronies have done this to Samarinda. We call them the mining mafia," said Merah Johansyah from the group's Samarinda branch.

Jatam and Indonesian Corruption Watch recently reported a case to the country's anti-graft agency, alleging an Indonesian company, Graha Benua Etam, in 2009 bribed Samarinda's former energy and mining department chief in exchange for a permit.

They say at least four billion rupiah ($340,000) was handed out in corrupt payments, and that some of the money flowed to a former mayor for a political campaign. The company could not be contacted for comment.

Bribes are being paid for more than just permits, Johansyah said. He said they also help companies mine in areas they are not supposed to and avoid obligations such as consulting communities and carrying out environmental impact assessments.

Law enforcement, often a problem across the sprawling archipelago of more 17,000 islands where power is heavily decentralized, is also lax.

Campaigners say that companies have ignored their legal obligation to fill abandoned deep pits once their activities are complete. More than 10 people, including seven children, died between 2011 and 2012 from falling into these holes, according to local media reports.

Coal mine destruction spreading

This grim picture of Samarinda is a far cry from what it once was – a lush jungle with orangutans and exotic birds, many native to Borneo.

It is a common story across the world's third-largest island, which was once almost entirely covered in trees but has now lost around half of its forest, according to the WWF. Like in the Amazon, the rainforest on Borneo acts like a sponge, soaking up climate change-inducing carbon from the atmosphere.

A recent report from NGO the World Development Movement warned the coal rush is spreading to better conserved parts of Borneo, such as Central Kalimantan.

The forest in that province is currently almost untouched but companies such as Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton have plans to begin mining for coal. BHP said that any development it carries out in Kalimantan "will be subject to detailed environmental and social impact assessments".

Despite the destruction, Borneo continues to attract nature lovers from around the world to see the oldest known rainforests on the planet and its more than 1,400 animal species and 15,000 types of plants.

But environmentalists warn there might not be much left to see if the environmental devastation continues at the current pace.

Activists call for halt in mercury imports after treaty signing

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2013

A coalition of activist groups has praised Indonesia for signing an international treaty on mercury emissions, but emphasized that the country has much to do to reduce the use of the highly toxic metal across the archipelago.

"We have to stop importing mercury and Indonesia must set a mercury- reduction target immediately in the national implementation plan," said Yuyun Ismawati, a representative of BaliFokus.

On Oct 10, government representatives from 139 countries agreed to adopt the new mercury treaty, named the Minamata Convention on Mercury, in Kumamoto, Japan. As of today, 94 countries, including Indonesia, have signed the treaty.

The true extent of mercury poisoning was first found in Minamata. A local chemical factory dumped the metal into the city's bay for more than 30 years, contaminating local seafood. After years of eating fish and shellfish, residents began to exhibit the signs of what is now called Minamata disease.

While the use of mercury in modern gold mining is a thing of the past, opportunist prospectors in Indonesia and other countries frequently rely on the metal to increase yield. A UNEP study showed that small-scale gold mining was identified as the single biggest source of mercury emissions around the world, while clandestine gold mining in Indonesia by small groups accounted for 57.5 percent of the country's emissions, equivalent to 195 tons per year.

Mercury is imported into Indonesia through legal channels for use in light industrial and medical applications, but a black market exists for the self-employed gold trade. Yuyun said illegal mercury imports in 2012 were valued at around $31 million, traded illegally in as many as 850 locations across the country.

"It is so shameful that Indonesia is the top importer of the illegal mercury of the world," said Nur Hidayati, head of advocacy and campaigns at environmental watchdog Walhi.

Gatot Sugiharto, coordinator of Community Green Gold Mining (CCGM), said that communities involved in gold mining would be broadly supportive of a program to implement non-mercury techniques. He emphasized, however, that the threat of criminal charges for miners would drive many away from engaging in the initiative.

Rossana Dewi from the Gita Pertiwi Foundation emphasized the human health consequences of mercury entering the food chain. "When the food chain is contaminated, our food will be unhealthy and unsafe, risking the quality of life for our future generations," Rossana said.

Henri Subagiyo, the director of Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), said that the government must ensure that it put in place a system that made polluters responsible for reparations backed by adequate law enforcement.

Health & education

Number of stunted children increases in Indonesia: Survey

Jakarta Post - December 7, 2013

Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – Despite government efforts to combat malnutrition, the recently released basic health research (Riskesdas) shows an increase in the percentage of children under five who suffered from stunted growth over the past few years.

The recently released 2013 Riskesdas revealed that 37.2 percent of children in the country are stunted or shorter than average for their age, a slight increase from 36.8 percent in 2007. The highest prevalence was documented in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), where more than 50 percent of children are stunted, followed by Pekanbaru with 30 percent.

Stunting is the result of maternal malnutrition, commonly found in the country's poorest areas. Researchers have found that stunted children generally have lower IQs compared to well-nourished children.

The Health Ministry's nutrition director Doddy Izwardy said that the ministry was still evaluating the data. "We used different methodology when designing this year's Riskesdas. Along with the ministry's research and development center, we are still examining the reason behind the increasing figure," Doddy said Thursday.

A World Bank report released in July that was based on the 2007 Riskesdas showed that Indonesia had a greater number stunted children per capita than Vietnam and the Philippines.

Surprisingly, The World Bank also noted that Indonesia had the highest number of overweight children, with 12.2 percent facing overnutrition and increased likelihood of cardiovascular diseases later in life.

Doddy said that to combat malnutrition among children and address stunting the ministry, in cooperation with the US government under the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), had developed a food supplement, Taburia, a multiple micronutrient powder (MNP) for children aged 6 months to 5 years.

"We began the study in 2006 and now Taburia is ready to be mass-produced. We have completed the trial and this product is 100 percent safe," Doddy said. "In March next year, we will begin the tender process and any company is welcome to participate in the bidding."

According to Doddy, Taburia will be ready for distribution to community health centers (Puskesmas) and integrated health post (Posyandu) by next year. He said that all children suffering from malnutrition would be given the supplement for free.

"The supplement will increase appetite and we will encourage children who suffer from malnutrition to consume the supplement by sprinkling it on top of their meals for four months," he said.

The ministry's nutrition management directorate general secretary Kuwat Sri Hudoyo said that in 2012, only 75.1 percent of children under the age of 5 regularly visited health centers.

"Around 25 percent of children still have no access to health care. This would be one of our focuses in combating malnutrition, expanding access," Kuwat said.

"We will also improve our Scaling Up Nutrition project, which currently focus only on the first 1,000 days of life, by providing better nutrition for teenagers, in a hope to further increase youth awareness on healthy living," he said.

Back to school for education policy makers

Jakarta Globe - December 6, 2013

Kennial Caroline Laia & Natasia Christy Wahyuni – Indonesia ranks second from the bottom in an international education survey conducted to assess students' skill in mathematics, science and reading, it was revealed on Wednesday.

The first of six volumes detailing the results of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Program for International Student Assessment 2012 (PISA) reflects the poor condition of education in the country, experts said.

The test, conducted in 2012, was taken by more than half a million randomly selected students aged 15 and 16 from 65 countries.

Ranked 64th out of a total of 65 countries, Indonesia's position is far behind other Asian countries including China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Macau and Japan. In 2009, Indonesia ranked 57th out of 65 countries despite Asia being declared the continent with the best education system.

The OECD's PISA scores, considered the global benchmark for evaluating the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems, provides an opportunity to identify effective methods or policies that can be adapted in local contexts.

While the aim of PISA is to allow teachers, policy practitioners and other stakeholders to evaluate and to improve the curriculum system in comparison to those in other countries, the result often also compels education policy makers to put more effort into improving standards applied to national school systems.

Why is Indonesia so behind?

Utomo Dananjaya, an education expert from Paramadina University in Jakarta, said Indonesia was lagging far behind other countries because of its outdated education system.

Utomo said the best way to improve the quality of the education system was to overhaul the bureaucracy within the Education and Culture Ministry. "If possible, change the minister," he added, referring to Mohammad Nuh.

Utomo said the lack of communication among government officials was one of the main obstacles that "has caused the chaos within the education system" in the country, pointing to the highly contentious 2013 school curriculum as one of the most obvious examples.

"The new curriculum should have never happened in the first place," he said. "Rather than changing the curriculum, the government should have changed the communication system and perspective toward the education system among education officials."

The Education Ministry was widely criticized for pushing through a curriculum that sacrifices English and science lessons for religious and civic studies, including a heavy emphasis on patriotism.

Mohammad Abduhzen, the executive director of Paramadina University's Education Reform Center, said Indonesia should focus on nurturing the students' curiosity, encouraging them to express their opinions and motivating them in the pursuit of knowledge.

Abduhzen cautioned that students should not be pressured into securing high scores in the national examinations by requiring them memorize the material.

"We must encourage students to use their logic, motivate them to think critically and skeptically, as that is the key to stimulating their reasoning ability," he said.

Budget constraints?

The education sector in Indonesia has been frequently criticized for failing to reform itself despite getting the biggest portion of the state budget. A total of Rp 286.85 trillion ($30.4 billion), or 20 percent of the state budget, has been allocated for education this year.

Abduhzen said that even though the government had allocated a large budget for the education sector since 2009, the money was not used efficiently or on the most important issues. Rampant corruption within the sector was also hampering the country's efforts to reform its failing education system, he said.

He said the government only focused on building infrastructure, while teacher training programs had proved futile. "The president must evaluate the education system and form an audit agency tasked with reviewing the performance of the Education Ministry," he said.

Utomo said Indonesia also needed to improve the quality of its teachers to reform its education standards. He said the Indonesian education system needed a major overhaul if the country was to compete on the international stage.

"The standard of education in the country is one of the most influential factors that will determine the fate of the students when they enter the labor market in the future," Utomo said, adding there must be intensive training for teachers and educators in Indonesia.

Abduhzen echoed the same sentiment. "Teachers should be trained with a whole new constructive approach, as mentioned in the 2005 Education Law, which states the role of the teacher is to be a fully competent learning agent or facilitator for the students," he said.

He said a new curriculum was not the answer. "We are only deceiving ourselves by changing the curriculum, thinking that it might be successful; ultimately it's only a waste of time and money and there is no tangible result," he said.

Responding to the PISA survey, the Education Ministry pledged to do better. "The PISA results confirm that there has been no significant change since the last survey and we cannot let this happen again," Ibnu Hamad, a ministry spokesman, said Thursday. "We will try to answer this challenge by improving the standard and will review the 2013 curriculum."

He noted that most Indonesian students in the PISA test were only able to solve the easiest math problems. "Our students are having problems solving advanced math problems because they haven't received the lessons they were supposed to have," he said.

Ibnu said that despite the criticism, the 2013 curriculum was expected to bring about positive changes. "It was only just implemented, so we won't see the results just yet," he added.

Nationalism in the national curriculum

The controversial new curriculum excludes science, English and social studies courses in favor of Indonesian, nationalism and religious studies. Education Minister Nuh claimed the changes would maintain Indonesia's Human Development Index score, which the United Nations Development Program calculated at 0.629 in 2012, up slightly from 0.617 in 2011.

Nuh noted that per capita income had grown from $1,177 in 2004 to $3,592 in 2012, and that it is predicted to stand at $5,000 by 2014, which will categorize Indonesia as a middle-income country.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called for a consistent annual increase in the education budget to improve access to and quality of education. Yudhoyono said the extension was aimed at ensuring 97 percent of Indonesians aged between 16 to 18 would have a high school qualification by 2020.

He vowed to continue improving the quality of Indonesia's education services by improving teachers' skills through certification programs and the implementation of the new curriculum.

The Education Ministry also pledged to train 1.7 million teachers ahead of the implementation of the new curriculum at more schools nationwide next year.

The government says it will increase next year's education budget by 7.5 percent to Rp 371.2 trillion in a bid to improve the quality of education and ensure an even distribution of services across the nation.

The additional funds will be concentrated on developing the new curriculum introduced this year, and on the ministry's drive for universal secondary education. Under the new program, compulsory participation will be extended from nine years to 12 years of schooling.

Health official bows to pressure to halt campaign promoting condom use

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2013

Dessy Sagita & Kennial Caroline Laia – A senior government health official has sought to distance himself from the controversy over a condom promotion campaign following opposition from conservatives across the country.

"We would like to emphasize the campaign is not ours and the Health Ministry did not allocate a special budget for the program," Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the ministry's director general for disease control and environmental health, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He was referring to the National Condom Week campaign, held during the first week in December each year to promote safe sex as part of a wider HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.

The program came under fire this week after a bus employed for the campaign was accused of being used to distribute condoms for free outside Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

National Condom Week, organized by DKT, an international HIV/AIDS prevention organization, and the National AIDS Commission (KPAN), has sparked controversy every year since its outset in 2007.

The campaign is opposed by conservatives and religious leaders who say promoting condom use encourages sexual promiscuity.

"On Monday we had a meeting with DKT and the KPAN and we asked DKT to stop the National Condom Week bus campaign... to prevent unnecessary controversy," Tjandra said.

KPAN secretary Kemal Siregar echoed Tjandra's statement about the halting of the campaign bus, which had been expected to operate until Saturday. "We just want to calm everything down and prevent further controversy," he said.

Kemal said that despite the setback, the KPAN would continue its work in changing public attitudes toward condom use.

The opposition to the National Condom Week bus began on the Internet, with several social media users accusing DKT of handing out free condoms.

DKT responded immediately to the protests, saying the bus was sent to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS in Jakarta and not Yogyakarta, and that no distribution of condoms took place.

Kemal said programs to distribute condoms for free were only targeted in areas with high rates of prostitution, including red-light districts and around bus terminals and seaports.

The Health Ministry announced last year that it would distribute 10 million free condoms to commercial sex workers who would otherwise not be able to afford them.

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) warned that Indonesia would see 76,000 new HIV cases each year if it did not come up with a strategy to overcome the problem.

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi previously said that up to eight million men regularly had sex with commercial sex workers, but only 3 percent of them claimed to regularly use condoms.

The rate of condom use among such men is the lowest compared to other high-risk groups, which include shared needle users and homosexuals. This reckless behavior has resulted in a growing number of housewives getting infected with HIV.

Government lauded for nixing national exams

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – Education experts and campaigners have welcomed the Education and Culture Ministry's decision to scrap the national examination for elementary school students by next year.

The government went further, by ending the practice of ranking students' academic achievements on a report card. Elementary students will only be given descriptive feedback in their evaluations to boost their confidence.

"Measuring a student's performance with a rank is akin to putting them in a box and not letting them fully develop their capacity. Therefore, teachers will be obliged to describe students' grades with narrative feedback, with encouraging words that will not damage their spirits," the ministry's head of curriculum and textbooks, Ramon Mohandas, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Ifa Misbach, an educational psychologist at the Indonesian Education University (UPI), said the decision to eliminate the national exam and ranking system was what educational experts had for a long time hoped to see.

"This is a very positive move by the ministry. A below-standard exam score can affect a child's view of themselves. They see themselves as incompetent," she said. "I just hope the ministry will be consistent in implementing this policy with no other intention but to improve educational quality."

Separately, Retno Listyarti, secretary-general of the Indonesian Teachers Unions Federation (FSGI), said this policy was what many teachers had fought for in the past few years.

"We really appreciate this. For the first time, I agree with the ministry for no longer burdening young children with national exams or ranking their accomplishments. Elementary school students should not yet be thinking about competition," she said.

Around 4.25 million students at 148,361 elementary schools participated in this year's national examinations. However, the experts also said that the ministry should gradually eliminate national exams in junior and senior high schools too, saying that students' final grades should be decided within their schools.

"The national exams are a high-stakes form of testing, where each student faces tremendous pressure not to fail," Retno said.

She added that the implementation of the new policy, obliging elementary school teachers to evaluate students using narrative feedback, would not be easy.

"The number of schoolchildren in Indonesia is far greater than in Europe or many other countries. In state-run schools, we have to teach approximately 30 to 40 children in each classroom; so if one teacher teaches several classes, they may have hundreds of students," she said. "Imagine how we can give each child descriptive feedback. That could take a very long time," she continued.

Ramon said that since the new curriculum was implemented in June this year, the ministry had trained teachers from around 6,000 elementary schools. By next year, they aimed to train teachers in a further 150,000 elementary schools.

Conservatives all riled up over condoms

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2013

Amir Tejo, Dessy Sagita & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A backlash against a government campaign to emphasize the importance of condoms as part of an HIV/AIDS awareness program could hurt efforts to curb new infections in the country, campaigners have warned.

"I know this is a sensitive issue but please be more sensible," Kemal Siregar, the secretary of the National AIDS Commission (KPAN), said on Tuesday in response to criticism that promoting condom use would only encourage sexual promiscuity. "If we want to tackle HIV/AIDS problems, we have to work comprehensively on prevention and harm reduction."

Kemal said opposition to the campaign stemmed largely from a lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission.

"It is so easy for the public to be swayed by rumors. It is not true that condoms encourage people to engage in risky sexual behavior; it is just a health tool to protect people from getting infected with the virus," he said. Although condom awareness in Indonesia has progressed in the last five years, many challenges remain, he said.

The controversy surrounding the condom campaign emerged during the observance of World AIDS Day on Sunday, which coincided with National Condom Week, commemorated in the first week of December every year.

The opposition began on the Internet, with several social media users accusing the social organization DKT of distributing free condoms from a bus parked in front of Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University. DKT responded immediately to the protests, saying the bus was sent to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS and that no distribution of condoms took place.

Religious conservatives have also blasted National Condom Week as an insidious campaign condoning and encouraging pre-marital sex.

"We strongly reject the National Condom Week in East Java," Abdul Shomad Bukhori, chairman of the East Java chapter of Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said on Tuesday. "We believe there are many other, better, ways to educate people about the danger of HIV/AIDS."

Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, a deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' health oversight commission, also expressed his opposition to the condom campaign. He urged Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi to halt the ministry's program to distribute free condoms to high-risk groups.

The ministry announced last year that it would distribute 10 million free condoms to commercial sex workers who would otherwise not be able to afford them.

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) warned that Indonesia would see 76,000 new HIV cases each year if it did not come up with a strategy to overcome the problem.

Disability rights

Disabled people seek equality, brighter futures

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Andi Hajramurni and Slamet Susanto, Makassar/Yogyakarta – While the government's commitment to ensuring equal employment opportunities for disabled people is being questioned, people with disabilities have not lost hope as they struggle to live decent lives and earn a living.

In Bantul, Yogyakarta, for instance, the Bantul Revival Association (PBB), a group of people in wheelchairs who sustained spinal injuries in the devastating 2006 Java earthquakes, have become financially independent by making handicrafts under the umbrella company Buldan Craft.

"Our fate would have never improved if we depended solely on state or public charity. Only we ourselves could change our fate," said Saibul Bani of Bawuran, Kretek, Bantul, who is a paraplegic. He said he could support his family though making handicrafts.

Together with seven other difables (differently abled people) he employs, Saibul produces various handicrafts, such as candle holders and bags. "My dream is to make a disabled person into a boss [who runs a business] every year," said the father of three.

He said he started the business with fellow difables with Rp 20 million (US$1,807) as capital. "The greatest challenge is to change their worker mentality into an employer one."

Under the coordination of the PBB, Buldan Craft offers training for the disabled to develop a business according to their respective physical constraints. Once considered capable, they are supplied with various raw materials to make handicrafts to enable them to earn money and to employ others. According to Saibul, big-scale traders in the city had committed to marketing the products of difables.

Sardi, who has been in a wheelchair since 2006, said he found it difficult to get a job mainly because of his disability. "No company or institution was willing to hire a person in a wheelchair. We have to help ourselves," Sardi said.

Dasar Widodo, an activist who has a lower limb disability, said some 900 people in Bantul had become paraplegics due to the earthquake. Unfortunately, he said, insufficient attention had been paid to this particular group of earthquake survivors and the government was more concerned with reconstructing damaged houses than with mentally rehabilitating affected people.

"Through the association we will continue developing entrepreneurship and seeking donors [to help execute the program]," he said.

Meanwhile in Makassar, South Sulawesi, dozens of disabled people wearing traditional attire staged a 1-kilometer march to urge the administration to ensure equal opportunities and equal rights. The rally was held to commemorate International Day of People with Disabilities on Tuesday.

They started the march in front of South Sulawesi Social Agency building before heading to the Makassar city council. "Disabled people do not want to be treated exclusively. They want to be treated like any other person, have the right to work or to become civil servants," said Murni, one of the demonstrators.

The protesters urged local councilors to approve a draft bylaw on accessibility for disabled people. "We hope that the councilors will immediately enact the bylaw to help eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities in Makassar," said Murni.

After the march, the protesters released colorful balloons into air as a symbol of their high hopes in gaining equal rights.

Graft & corruption

'Cikeas head' sought slice of Hambalang project, court told

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Jakarta Corruption Court heard on Tuesday allegations that members of the First Family's inner circle were involved in the corruption scandal surrounding the Hambalang sports complex project.

Mindo Rosalina Manulang, the former marketing director of PT Anak Negeri, a company owned by former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, said that many people, including a woman she identified "as the head of the Cikeas household", wanted to get a slice of the lucrative project. Cikeas refers to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's family estate in Bogor, West Java.

Mindo said her former boss was upset that he did not win the tender for the construction project. She said Nazaruddin had paid Rp 10 billion (US$841,397) in bribes to some parties involved in the graft case, including Joyo Winoto, former head of the National Land Agency (BPN), and former youth and sports minister Andi Alifian Mallarangeng, but to no avail.

Mindo then told Wafid Muharram, the former secretary at the sports ministry, that Nazaruddin would not seek repayment of the Rp 10 billion as long as his company secured the tender for the Hambalang equipment- procurement project.

She claimed, however, that Wafid told her that someone else had already asked for it. "I'm sorry but Ibu Pur was already here [saying that she wanted the tender]," Mindo said, quoting Wafid. Following this rejection she asked who Ibu Pur was, to which Wafid replied that she was the head of the Cikeas family household.

Ibu Pur is believed to be the nickname for Sylvia Sholehah, a close friend of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono. In the cover story of its July 15, 2013, edition, Tempo reported that Sylvia was the wife of Purnomo D. Rahardjo, a retired military official who graduated from the Armed Forces Academy in 1973, the same year as Yudhoyono. She is believed to have played a crucial role in the project.

Widodo Wisnu Sayoko, believed to be a cousin of President Yudhoyono, has testified that he and Sylvia tried to help the Finance Ministry in handling documents necessary for the project. In his testimony, Widodo said that he, Sylvia and Arif Gunawan once had a meeting with Sudarto, a retired official at the Finance Ministry's budget department, in 2010.

When KPK prosecutors asked him about an SMS text message Widodo sent to Sudarto, he admitted that he once offered Sudarto his help in the project. "[I told Sudarto] if there were any difficulties [in the project], I would report to my boss and maybe he could help. That's it," he said, referring to Arif as his boss.

Cabinet secretary Dipo Alam denied Mindo's claim that Ibu Pur was part of the President's inner circle. According to him, there is no such position as the head of the Cikeas family household. "I can confirm that the position of household head in Cikeas, as claimed by [Mindo] in court, has never existed," Dipo said in a statement uploaded to the Cabinet secretary's website.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha acknowledged that Ibu Pur's husband was in the same class as Yudhoyono, but she was not part of the President's inner circle.

Fight against graft stalls in Indonesia

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2013

Jakarta – The fight against rampant corruption in the country has not made much progress in the past year, Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) has revealed in its annual Corruption Perception Index for 2013.

The international antigraft watchdog gave Indonesia a score of 32 on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), the same score that the country got last year.

In this year's index, Indonesia was ranked 114th, four spots higher than last year. Indonesia is two points ahead of Timor Leste, but one point behind Kosovo.

Last year, Indonesia appeared in 118th position out of 176 countries polled, down from 100 out of 183 the year before, and tying with Madagascar, Egypt, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Denmark and New Zealand shared the top spot in this year's ranking, scoring 91, followed by Finland and Sweden, both scoring 89. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia were at the bottom of the list, each scoring eight points.

TI Indonesia secretary-general Dadang Trisasongko said that the antigraft efforts made by the government were "not enough to tackle the massive corruption in the country". TI Indonesia recommended the government strengthen public institutions, especially in politics, law and business.

Considering that 2014 will be an election year, Dadang warned that corruption in politics would intensify and one of the ways to curb illicit practices would be to scrutinize campaign funding and the integrity of candidates contesting the legislative elections.

"The political sector must be a priority because political corruption contributes significantly to Indonesia's index score," Dadang said.

Responding to the finding, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said that the TI index could not be used as the sole reference to measure the progress of corruption eradication efforts.

Bambang said that his commission was currently developing a number of indexes of their own, including an index to measure the perception of integrity of government institutions.

The KPK is also developing an index to gauge the role of families in encouraging corrupt practices. "The family is an integral part of our society. There have to be efforts to ensure that an anticorruption culture is embedded within our families," Bambang said.

The KPK deputy chairman, however, concurred with TI Indonesia that graft would be more pervasive next year, considering the high costs in politics. He said that the pattern had been that major graft cases occurred in the run-up to general elections.

"Before the 1999 election, there was the Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance [BLBI] case. Before the 2009 election, there was the [Bank] Century case. We will see if the cycle continues," Bambang said.

Yunus Husein, an adviser to the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development, also had reservations about the TI findings.

Yunus said that in the past 10 years, the country had made great progress in the fight against graft. The government in fact was now stepping up its efforts to curb rampant corruption, he said.

He added that both the central and local governments were now working on action plans to step up the antigraft campaign. "More than enough decrees have been issued, now it is time for their implementation," Yunus said.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Terrorism in Indonesia weak, for now: Report

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2013

Terrorism in Indonesia has been reduced to "low-tech, low-competence, low- casualty attacks" by weakened groups – but could shift up to a more deadly threat if Indonesians fighting in Syria return home with greater professionalism, a new report says.

"Weak groups need to prove themselves," said Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, the author of the report "Weak Therefore Violent: The Mujahidin of Western Indonesia." "This may explain why we have more terrorist plots today than in the past, even if most of them fail."

The international connections and skill sets of terror network Jemaah Islamiyah have been dispersed as counter-terrorism authorities successfully dismantled the group.

Government data show 75 attacks between 2010 and 2013 – a significant rise on previous years – but they have been largely ineffective and the last three suicide bomb attacks killed only the bombers.

"It is reassuring that most of the would-be terrorists in Indonesia lack international experience and international connections, but the longer the Syrian conflict continues, the greater the chances that more Indonesians will get involved," the report read.

Terrorism in Indonesia is now characterized by low-skilled militants who may feel that violence is the only way to gain legitimacy, but do not possess the wherewithal to carry out a large attack.

Instead, attacks on the police have become more frequent, with several shootings and stabbings of officers in Jakarta's satellite cities this year. The report indicates that militants may be targeting police out of vengeance for the high number of terrorists that have been killed during police operations.

While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono suggested earlier this year that the military could assume a role in the hunt to root out the country's militants, Jones says the task should remain the province of the police.

"Given the fact that Indonesia does not have a repressive government, is not under occupation or attack and has no active communal conflicts at the moment," the report reads. "The only real motivation for temporarily disengaged jihadis to return to battle is to avenge... deaths at police hands.

"This means there is an urgent need for counter-terrorism police to review the procedures that are resulting in so many deaths of suspects and make a more concerted effort to ensure that future targets are captured alive."

Of pressing concern, however, is the potential for a charismatic, highly skilled leader-in-the-making to change this state of affairs.

The foreign ministry believes there are around 50 Indonesians fighting in Syria – where contacts, military experience and training can be easily won.

The report notes that the number of Indonesians who have traveled to Syria is a "reminder that the current sense of distance from the global jihad can easily change as more Indonesian fighters go to Syria and return."

Freedom of religion & worship

Court keeps Ahmadiyah mosque locked up in Bekasi

Jakarta Globe - December 6, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran – A beleaguered Ahmadiyah congregation in Bekasi was handed a hollow victory on Thursday when a court invalidated a municipal order to board up the group's mosque – then went on to uphold another order to keep the building locked.

Muhamad Isnur, a lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) representing the congregation, told the Jakarta Globe that it had been a roller-coaster day of rulings from the Bandung State Administrative Court.

In the first case, the court ruled that an order to board up the mosque with iron sheets was unlawful because it was issued by the Bekasi municipal secretary who had no authority to do so.

But in the second case, heard by the same presiding judge but with other judges on the panel, the court rejected the Ahmadis' request to strike down an order from the Bekasi mayor to close off the mosque under lock and key.

"We're grateful about the decision regarding the iron sheets, but we're disappointed concerning the sealing," Isnur said. "We still can't enter the mosque because the decision to seal off the mosque is still considered lawful."

He said the congregation would immediately file an appeal with the Jakarta State Administrative High Court.

"The locking was considered lawful. The judge said it was done according to the SKB [joint ministerial decree] on the Ahmadiyah, as well as the West Java gubernatorial regulation and Bekasi mayoral regulation banning the Ahmadiyah" from promoting their faith, Isnur said.

"The court turned conservative in the second case. They ignored the fact that the mayor had wrongfully sealed the mosque. They only considered the regulation."

In 2011, the Bekasi mayor issued a bylaw banning all activities by the Ahmadiyah. In November that year, the Bekasi Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) made its first attempt to shut down the mosque by placing a large sign out front stating that all activities there had been ordered to cease.

On March 8 this year, the government put up another sign. This time, it cited the joint ministerial decree issued in 2008 restricting Ahmadiyah- related activities; the West Java gubernatorial regulation; an edict from the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI); and the Bekasi mayor's initial bylaw. That same day, the Satpol PP sealed off the entrance to the mosque.

On April 5, in response to the continue activities at the mosque, the Satpol PP officers boarded up the mosque with corrugated iron sheets – even though 30 congregation members were still inside.

Government fails to act as two more churches sealed

Jakarta Globe - December 6, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran – Two more Indonesian churches have been taken out of commission in Sulawesi and West Java over the last week as Christians and local governments once again locked horns over the issue of official building permits.

"In 1989, the building was transformed into a church," Arruan Lenden, a leader of the South Sulawesi Christian Church (GKSS), told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. "Because it was made of wood, no permit was required."

The Pangkep district government has been dismantling the church – located around 75 kilometers north of Makassar – since Wednesday, and the wooden structure was still being taken down on Friday.

The 75-square-meter building was originally put up as a Sunday school in 1985. At that time, some 400 local Christians were using a police dormitory as a place of worship, but the congregation was later told to move on to a room located at the district government offices. Church leaders maintain they were then given verbal permission to use the Sunday school on Jalan Andi Maurada as a church.

Arruan said that in 2011 they had asked the district chief for permission to renovate and to issue a building permit for the church. A permit for a house of worship requires 60 signatures from people living in the village where the building is located. While the congregation counted around 400 people as members, many of them live in surrounding villages and communities, and their signatures would not have been valid on a building permit.

The church was forced to stop the project to repair the roof because of a protest by the hard-line Islamic Joint Forum (FBUI).

"The condition of the building is worse this year; it's rickety and leaking," Arruan said. "We sent a letter to the Religious Affairs Ministry asking for them to issue a recommendation but they did not reply in time. "

The church decided to go ahead with the renovation on Nov. 21, 2013. After the project began the reply from the Religious Affairs Ministry arrived demanding that Arruan find 60 signatures from the local community to repair a roof.

"We have no problem with the residents," Arruan said. "But they only gave us verbal permit, they refused to sign because they did not want to bear the consequences later."

Preaching to the choir

The local residents' fears may well be understandable. In April this year, a particularly nasty banner appeared outside a South Tangerang mosque saying that any Muslims found to have signed a permit for the Protestant Church in Western Indonesia (GPIB) Obor Banten in Pondok Jagung Timur would face profoundly serious consequences.

A banner outside the mosque read, "The Islamic preachers of Pondok Jagung Timur hereby declare that we will not take care of the remains of those who support or agree to the construction of the church in this neighborhood."

The church had secured the correct permit, but the preachers responsible for the banner maintained they had been forged or faked.

In Nov. 28, 2013, district chief Abdul Rahman Assagaf decided to seal the building. On Dec. 2, 2013, the church was asked to begin dismantling the building within two days. "On Wednesday, a team from the Pangkep Public Works Agency dismantled the roof, and they were still dismantling the building today [Friday]," Arruan said.

Arruan said the congregation was disappointed that they had been denied a place to celebrate Christmas but that they would work to resolve the matter through the appropriate channels.

Razing the roof

Rahman told the Jakarta Globe that the government had not ordered the building dismantled, only sealed.

"We have to be cautious of potential conflict in that area," he said. "The building was located in a Muslim residential areas. The residents allowed them to use the building to worship, but it would be a problem if they wanted it to be a permanent church. If there was a leakage problem, they could just change the roof, not renovate the whole building."

Rahman maintained that the government would not have sealed the building if the church had managed to find 60 signatures from the village.

Bandung: Signed, sealed

In a West Java subdistrict east of Bandung, a Pentecostal church built in 1987 looked set to suffer a similar fate after the government sealed the building last week, again citing a permit impasse.

"We suggest the church does not conduct any services before receiving the building permit," Jatinangor subdistrict head Bambang Rianto said, as quoted by Tempo.

The church, located in Mekargalih village in Sumedang district, filed a permit application to the government but village chief, Arief Saefulloh, refused to sign in February, claiming that he had lost the paperwork.

Bambang said that he had assigned a team of officials to check the validity of signatures of the residents who had approved the church construction.

The church has endured a difficult 2013. Earlier in the year, the priest of the church, Bernhard Maukar was arrested and served three months for conducting a service in an unlicensed building. On Nov. 24, 2013, a church service was stopped when an intolerant group stormed the church.

The pastor's wife, Corry Maukar, confirmed that the church had ceased activity since the end of November. The congregation members – more than 600 adults and 400 children – had moved to a shophouse nearby.

"We're not allowed to worship; we have to wait for the permit," Corry said on Friday afternoon. "A meeting in Nov. 29, 2013 involving all sides, including the district chief and neighborhood unit chief, decided to verify the signatures of residents."

Corry who is a member of the verification team said that she had received verification on 42 of the residents who had signed their agreement.

"The village chief refused to sign the paper because he claimed many of the signatures were fake," Corry said. "But when I asked him which of the signatures were fake, he could not answer."

Permission slips

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) estimated earlier in 2013 that 85 percent of houses of worship – mosques, churches, Balinese pura, et cetera – did not possess a permit.

The successful acquisition of local-government permission is not, however, a guarantee that a church will be allowed to exist in Indonesia.

HKBP Taman Sari church in Setu, Bekasi, was demolished in March by the district administration. GKI Yasmin, a protestant church in Bogor, received a permit, but it was later rescinded by the city's mayor on the grounds that the agreement with local residents had been fabricated.

The St. Bernadet Catholic church in Ciledug, South Tangerang, had waited 23 years for permission from the local government to break ground on a house of worship. They received a permit on Sept. 11 this year, but a protest at the construction site by several hundred Sunni Muslims meant that never a stone was laid.

Barriers to entry

Barriers to church construction as well as shutterings and demolitions of existing religious buildings is one thread in the frequently problematic fabric of religious coexistence in Indonesia.

Data from the Setara Institute show 264 cases of violent attacks on religious minorities in 2012, a significant increase on the 216 cases in 2010.

Fatal attacks on Ahmadiyah Muslims and Shiite Muslims by local Sunni communities have lent credence to the view that intolerance is on the rise in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, but many of the problems are woven out of the country's strong decentralized political framework and abrasive hard-line groups who are permitted by the national government to operate without fear of serious prosecution.

After the St. Bernadet construction site was picketed by an aggressive collective of hard-liners, one observer told this newspaper that the protest was not a legitimate expression by local residents but an opportunistic attack on free expression by outsiders.

"They use the issue of 'Christianization' to raise fear among residents on the argument that, if there's a church nearby, it will later convert people because of the church's social activities," Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy director of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, told the Jakarta Globe at the time.

"This group moves from one place to another, actively seeking information on churches that are in the process of trying to get a permit or those that don't have a permit."

When church leaders and the local administration entered a standoff outside HKBP Taman Sari, a crowd of hard-liners appeared on the grounds to demand the destruction of the simple bamboo and brick building. The hard-liners cheered as a bulldozer tore through the building, but they were on their motorbikes heading out of town less than an hour later, leaving the tearful congregation to pick through the pieces.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has frequently found himself on the receiving end of blame for what some say is an increase of religious intolerance in Indonesia.

Human Rights Watch published an article in August entitled "Putting a Smiley Face on Indonesia's Religious Intolerance," that criticized Yudhoyono for retaining "a minister for religious affairs who encourages extremism."

In November, the unsuitability of Minister Suryadharma Ali to office was once again evident after he went on the record to suggest that the faith of the Ahmadiyah Muslims should be disbanded.

"A religion that looks similar [to Islam] but is clearly not the same has prompted anger from some believers, especially Muslims who are the majority," Suryadharma said last month.

"It eventually creates horizontal conflict, an unfavorable situation not only for the followers of both religions but also for the people who live around the conflict area."

The role of hard-line groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in ramming their beliefs down the throats of the country's minorities, and the tacit approval given to their activities by government ministers including Suryadharma and Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, have been documented in incidents from Tangerang to Madura.

Central government figures, such as Yudhoyono, are wont to seek refuge in the powerlessness of the central government to interfere in local government matters. "The central government often washes its hands by saying that local governments should be the ones to find solutions," Bonar said in September.

Yudhoyono has accepted international praise for his commitment to religious tolerance, much to the ire of human rights groups. While the nation's Christians, Shiites and Ahmadiyah Muslims have struggled with increasing attention from influential Islamist groups, mayors like Rahmat Effendi, in Bekasi, and Diani Budiarto, in Bogor, are permitted to hold onto their positions despite evidence of supporting hard-liners or ignoring Supreme Court rulings.

Suryadharma, the nation's controversial religious affairs minister, has survived his harshest critics despite numerous controversial statements and public relations gaffes.

But people like Arruan are rarely afforded such breaks. Instead he will be left to contemplate the seemingly intractable problem in Sulawesi while he waits to find out whether he will be able to rebuild the roof of his church. An immediate solution has already been decided on, but what happens in the longer term is out if his hands.

"If they allow us, we will use a tent on the same land to conduct church services," he said. "But we do hope that government would allow us to rebuild: this world does not belong only to them, the majority, but to all people, of all religions."

SBY's Sampang visit shuts out Shiite leaders: Advocates

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran & Amir Tedjo – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Sampang, East Java, has done little to resolve long-simmering tensions between local Sunni and Shia Muslims, prominent Shiite advocates said on Thursday.

Yudhoyono was scheduled on Wednesday to attend a meeting of local leaders tasked with hashing out a lasting solution to Madura island's history of sectarian violence targeting the Shiite Muslim minority. Instead the meeting was marred by the same issues affecting the government's reconciliation team from the start: the lack of local Shiite leaders on the board.

"We were not invited, none of the victims was invited," said Hertasning Ichlas, a lawyer for the displaced Shiites in Sampang. "Ahlul Bait Indonesia (ABI) were not invited. He should at least talk to the three village chiefs in the conflict areas."

Yudhoyono and his staff met with Sampang government officials and Sunni ulema for a discussion with Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali. The minister is already seen as a controversial figure for local Shiites over his refusal to classify the violence as a religious conflict and his laissez-faire attitude toward allegations of forced conversions taking place on the island. The lack of Shiite representatives at a meeting meant to determine their future on Madura island further irked the displaced community's attorney.

"This team was not representative [of the island's population] since the beginning," Hertasning said. "They should have included Shiites. But it's understandable. The team was established by the Religious Affairs Minister and he only appointed those who shared his idea of forcing Shiites to convert."

The president told a delegation of displaced Shiites that he promised to return them to their homes by Idul Fitri. Months later, the Shiites have yet to return to Sampang.

Herstasning sent a group of Shiite Muslims to their former villages to check on the progress of 50 homes slated for construction in the Shia-heavy village of Karang Gayam. What they found was troubling, he said. "What housing construction?" Hertasning said. "Nothing has been built at all."

The long road to reconciliation

The government's plan to address sectarian tensions in Sampang, which boiled over in a violent riot in August of 2012 that left two dead and displaced hundreds, has been in discussion for months.

Some 80 families lived in cramped conditions at a squalid sports center until the local government forcibly relocated them to subsidized apartments in Sidoarjo, East Java – a location miles from their hometowns. They would be returned home, local officials said, once a reconciliation plan was completed.

The East Java government's plan is to construct 50 homes for Shiites from Karang Gayam. Local Sunni Muslims, who live in the area surrounding the village, would receive double that amount, 100 new government-built homes, in an effort to head-off further tension between the two groups.

"If we only built 50 units for [Shiite leader] Tajul Muluk, the others will be envious" East Java Governor Soekarwo said on Wednesday. "So, we'll build 100 units for the affected residents."

The provincial government allocated Rp 15 million ($1,245) per house and planned to complete construction by early next year, Soekarwo said. The displaced residents will be returned in three stages, structured as to their reported allegiance to their religion, he said.

"It will be divided into three classifications, the first one will be those who are not serious [about their religion], then the half-serious and finally the most serious ones will be returned as the last batch," he said.

Fear of forced conversions

The reconciliation team's efforts have been tainted by accusations of forced conversions to Sunni Islam since it was formed in August. The religious affairs minister said the plan hinged on the "enlightenment" of the Shia, a statement that religious tolerance groups say smacked of conversion.

"In the meeting it was agreed that the reconciliation would be based on the enlightenment of the refugees, so that there's a confluence of perception with regard to their religion," Suryadharma said. "This enlightenment process will be carried out where they are currently staying in Sidoarjo."

The minister declined to specify what he meant with "enlightenment" other than explaining that several recently "enlightened" families had been welcomed back into the community with open arms.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi denied the claim, explaining that nowhere in the government's plan did it call for forced conversions of Shiite Muslims.

"We have to check it first, I don't think there's such forced conversion," Gamawan said in August. "Belief is a human's relation with God. The government has nothing to do with forcing [people to convert to certain beliefs]."

Suryadharma later denied hearing reports of conversions on the island. There was a program to bring people's perceptions of religion to a common understanding he said, but never a policy of converting non-Sunnis.

"I don't know whether there were forced conversions," Suryadharma said. "What I know is there was a program for people to have common perception..." The minister has long denied the nation's problems with religious intolerance, but admitted that differing interpretations of the teachings of the Koran have caused problems for some communities. Increased regulation of which religions are allowed in Indonesia would solve the problem, Suryadharma suggested.

"There's no problem between Islam and Christianity, between Hindu and Buddhism," he said. "They [Shiites] call themselves Muslim, but it's a different Islam, and it creates conflict. So [religious] freedom should be limited by regulation, and it should not be violated."

National promises, local problems

Yudhoyono's visit was trumpeted as a step toward drafting a lasting solution to Madura's sectarian strains. Now the affected parties aired doubts as to whether Yudhoyono seriously hoped to settle the issue.

"In the past Yudhoyono wanted us to believe his words," Hertasning said. "But now, in December, instead of fulfilling his promise, he handed the solution over to the Sampang district government, whose only thought is of converting us to Sunni Muslims.

"It's difficult to expect for a genuine reconciliation [from the Sampang government], to expect the returning refugees to move back home without conditions."

The Anti-Discrimination Islamic Network (JIAD) criticized Yudhoyono's reluctance to involve Shiite Muslims in the process in an open letter addressed to the president.

"Mr. President, in our opinion, your meeting with all stakeholders of Shia case in Sampang without the refugees is a show of arrogance and violation to the principals of inclusiveness and impartiality in conflict resolution," wrote Aan Anshori, a coordinator with JIAD. "A righteous leader should ensure the fair treatment of Shiites in the dialogue meant to return the displaced Shiites [to their homes]."

More than 30 Shiites have been converted to Sunni Islam on the threat of violence in Sampang, local leaders reported. The community remains concerned that any plan to return the displaced residents to their homes will be damaged by threats and further attempts at conversion at the hands of the local government.

"We hope the president will keep his promise and help us return home," a Shiite leader said shortly after the commission was established. "As a leader he can make it come true. We only want to live in peace in our hometown."

Peace on the ground

If local government officials believe they are acting in accordance with the views of Sunni Muslims on Madura island, they are likely mistaken. The irony of the government's repeated insistence on shutting out Shiite leaders from the talks is that a contingent of Sunni Muslim already made peace with local Shia in a tearful meeting of the one-time enemies.

A group of 40 Sunnis traveled to the Puspo Argo apartments in Sidoarjo in late September and delivered a peace agreement signed by 73 members of the Sunni community in the most significant step toward ending the cycle of violence that has plagued Madura in recent years.

The conflict stems from a dispute between two brothers, one Sunni, one Shia, over a mutual love interest. That dispute, which would have normally been confined to blood ties, has been allowed to spin out of control and enflame long-standing resentment of the Shia community.

Now, after more than a year of back-and-forth regarding the fate of the homeless Shia, some local Sunnis have come around to see the conflict as little more than a political issue.

"They admitted that they had been tired of being provoked every week," Hertasning said after the meeting. "They finally came to realize that this is only a political game, not a religious issue. They realize that reconciliation is the right Islamic way to solve it."

Jakarta & urban life

Jokowi unhappy with bureaucracy

Jakarta Post - December 5, 2013

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – The latest unannounced visit made by Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to a subdistrict office on Wednesday has brought to the attention of many that bureaucratic reform in the capital over the past year has yet to result in improved public services.

During Jokowi's blusukan (impromptu visit) to the Menteng Atas subdistrict office in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, several residents were seen waiting for officials to open the public service counters.

Jokowi made his visit at 8:10 a.m., while the office's working hours supposedly begin at 7:30 a.m. "I am very disappointed. I will summon the subdistrict head [Eko Kardianto]," he said later in the day.

Such an unsatisfactory visit is not his first. Over the past year, Jokowi has conducted a number of similar visits to various city administration offices, mostly subdistrict offices, and often found the counters unattended.

The current 267 subdistrict leaders and 44 district leaders were the first recruits of an open-call selection introduced by the governor earlier this year.

Separately on Wednesday, Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama addressed dozens of city officials attending a coordinating meeting at City Hall to improve public services. As many as 52 city officials signed a pact stating their commitment to the improvements.

"Let's face it, we are being dragged down by past mistakes. We have selected the best people for the subdistrict and district leadership posts, but many of their subordinates are still involved in fraudulent practices. We need to join forces and solve the problems together; otherwise, the problems will remain," Ahok said. He pointed out that the governor had set a public service benchmark that had to be followed by all civil servants within the city administration.

"Pak governor wants the quality of our services to equal those in private banks. When we arrive at a bank branch, we are usually greeted and assisted by a security officer, whereas that isn't his responsibility. That's just one good example," he said.

He said in future, all civil servants needed to play a larger role beyond their primary job description.

"I don't want to hear about a resident not receiving proper assistance just because he or she didn't meet with the 'right' official. Everyone at a city office should be able to assist or offer explanations to residents. It's time to change," Ahok said.

The city administration is mulling the introduction of night shifts for officials at local offices as one way toward improving public services.

National Ombudsman chief Danang Girindrawardana said the city administration's performance in public services remained lackluster.

"Compliance among city offices with public service standards as stipulated in the law still stands at between 18 and 25 percent. The law stipulates, among other things, that all government offices should display at their counters the required fees and standard time frames for each service," he said.

Danang acknowledged, however, that he appreciated the bureaucratic reform programs initiated by Jokowi and Ahok. "They are both reformists and we are happy to support the two of them," he said during the City Hall meeting.

He added that the Ombudsman had conducted a surreptitious assessment over the past two months on officials' compliance with legal standards. "I will deliver the results to Pak governor and Pak deputy governor on Dec. 8," he said.

Armed forces & defense

RI looks to Russia for submarines with multi-role missile systems

Jakarta Post - December 7, 2013

Indonesia is in talks with Russia on the purchase of a number of Kilo Class submarines, as the country expands its deterrent capabilities in anticipation of future regional disputes.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Friday that a team of officials, led by Navy chief of staff Adm. Marsetio, would head to Russia at the end of this month to initiate a deal and assess the technical capabilities of the arsenal.

"There is a plan for a massive build-up of our submarine fleet," Purnomo said in a press conference after an hour-long closed-door meeting with Russian Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN Mikhail Galuzin.

Purnomo said he could not provide more details as the ministry was still awaiting reports filed by Marsetio regarding his planned visit to Russia. "Further to his report, we can then decide whether to buy new submarines or modernize used ones."

According to Marsetio, Indonesia required "at least one submarine to cover each sea choke point" (a strategic narrow point of passage). He said in total, the country needed a minimum of 12 submarines, as laid out in the Defense Ministry's Minimum Essential Force strategy.

The ministry refused to detail the allocated budget for the submarines. Between 2008 and 2013, defense spending has increased by an average 22 percent to Rp 81.5 trillion this year, according to the Finance Ministry. The budget is slated to rise to Rp 83.5 trillion next year.

The planned submarine purchase will be in addition to the three U-209 submarines currently being built by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) and state-owned shipyard PT PAL Indonesia.

The three submarines will be delivered between 2015 and 2016, and will add to the existing two Kilo Class submarines procured in 1978 from the former West Germany.

Purnomo said the ministry's interest in Russian submarines was based on their advanced cruise-missile system, with which they can accurately target an object at a range of 300 to 400 kilometers.

Submarines are known to be effective war machines that can act as a deterrent because of their capacity for stealth.

The ministry is also considering a number of weaponry options to be fitted on the existing submarines, such as procuring the Klub-S missile system, as well as fitting them with the supersonic, anti-ship Yakhont missile.

Indonesia has a long history of operating submarines from the former Soviet Union, now Russia. In 1967, it acquired 12 Whiskey Class submarines from the Soviet Union.

The new submarines may well be housed at a newly established naval base in Palu, Central Sulawesi, of which only 2.8 hectares of its total 13 hectares have so far been developed.

Natural protection against extreme ocean currents is also considered to be a necessary requirement for a submarine base. The Palu Naval Base will in the future not only serve as a forward base but also a main naval base.

In response to whether the submarines had anything to do with the current spat with Australia, Purnomo diplomatically said: "We never mentioned in our defense white paper that there will be any threat from the South [namely, Australia]".

The government recently suspended its cooperation with Australia in the areas of military and defense, joint-patrols against people smuggling, as well as intelligence and information sharing, resulting in the two nations' relations plunging to their lowest level since the late 1990s.

The souring of relations was triggered last month by allegations that Australia's intelligence agency had eavesdropped on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and Cabinet ministers in 2009.

Police & law enforcement

Female police can move to Aceh if they wish to wear veil: Dep. Chief

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2013

Farouk Arnaz – The Deputy Chief of the National Police has responded to the controversy surrounding whether or not female police officers can wear headscarves by telling those who wish to cover their hair that they can be transferred to Aceh, which is governed in part by Shariah law.

"If they can't sleep because of not wearing headscarves, they can be temporarily assigned to Aceh," Comr. Gen. Oegroseno said on Thursday. "It's not difficult."

Oegroseno on Nov. 28, 2013, ordered that the policy's implementation would be postponed, insisting it will have to wait for the formal regulation. His decision has sparked criticism.

Oegroseno is exasperated that this issue has become a problem so soon into the tenure of the new police top brass. After being installed as National Police chief, Gen. Sutarman said on Sept. 19, 2013 that policewomen would soon be allowed to wear headscarves.

As soon as he made the announcement, many policewomen started using wearing the veil, but in colors and prints that were not compatible with police uniform.

National Police backtracks on Islamic headscarf policy

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The National Police is now reconsidering their policy of allowing female officers to wear the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, on duty.

In a confidential internal telegram signed by National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Oegroseno on Nov. 28, female members of the force were ordered to stop wearing the headscarf to work until the National Police had issued a regulation on the new type of uniform.

Oegroseno said on Monday that the decision was made after learning that female members of the police had worn scarves of different colors and designs with their official uniforms.

"The wearing of the hijab by policewomen – from Aceh, to Bengkulu and Papua – must be based on a written regulation. Thus, we should wait for a National Police chief regulation on the uniform hijab," Oegroseno said at the Air Police Corps headquarters in South Tangerang, Banten.

The deputy police chief said that the new uniform would likely be very simple. "Personally, I prefer policewomen to wear a long, one-piece uniform that covers their bodies from head to toe, and not a body-hugging uniform that would arouse the opposite sex," he said.

Scores of female police personnel started wearing the headscarf on Nov. 22, two days after National Police chief Gen. Sutarman issued a verbal order lifting the 2005 regulation that had prohibited officers from wearing it.

Female police officers in Aceh were excluded from the regulation, given the province's 2001 Islamic bylaws that oblige all women to cover their hair.

Sutarman had previously said that he had no plan to formalize the new ruling into a decree, as it would carry a responsibility for the National Police to provide new uniforms for officers who opted to wear the Muslim garb.

But some policewomen have already spent their own cash to purchase headscarves to match their uniform, swapping their short-sleeved shirts and knee-length skirts for long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

Sutarman has said that he is not happy with how his new policy has played out. "I ordered the suspension after seeing that some policewomen were wearing a red hijab, white hijab, while others wore a hijab with a different combination of colors. It is not beautiful at all," he said.

Some Muslim figures, the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) and Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) lambasted the National Police for the suspension of the new headscarf policy. Kompolnas member Hamidah Abdurrahman said that the National Police's inconsistency over the hijab had created confusion among policewomen.

"The National Police should have acted more wisely. Instead of temporarily banning the hijab, the National Police could have ordered policewomen to wear a hijab similar to those that their colleagues in Aceh wear," she said on Monday.

Some policewomen shared their concerns over the suspension of the policy. "We felt uncomfortable taking off the hijab. It feels that [we] face many challenges in performing our duty and covering our bodies," one policewoman, Arisma Hery Dian, said on Monday.

The National Police currently have 20,000 female members, representing only 5 percent of the force's 400,000 personnel.

According to the IPW, policewomen have little impact on the decision-making processes in the force as most of them are assigned to low-level desk jobs or act as public relations agents to appear on live news programs on national television.

Foreign affairs & trade

Indonesia responds cautiously after Tony Abbott says spying will continue

Australian Associated Press - December 6, 2013

Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa has given a cautious response to comments by prime minister Tony Abbott that Australia will continue to spy on its northern neighbour.

Abbott on Friday said Australia had not given any undertakings not to spy on Indonesia, in the wake of the espionage row that has seen the diplomatic relationship between Jakarta and Canberra sink to its lowest point in more than a decade.

The comments come after foreign minister Julie Bishop, following high-level talks with Natalegawa on Thursday, said Australia would "not undertake any act or use our assets and resources, including intelligence assets, in any way to harm Indonesia".

Bishop said the Australian government regretted the hurt caused to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by media reports of alleged tapping of his mobile phone by Australian intelligence officials four years ago.

But the prime minister said Australia had not agreed not to spy on Indonesia in the future.

"No. And they certainly haven't agreed to stop collecting intelligence on Australia," Abbott told Fairfax radio on Friday. "But we are close friends and strategic partners."

Natalegawa is expected to report to the Indonesian president later on Friday, with Yudhoyono also expected to make a statement. The Indonesian foreign minister said Abbott's comments were "not necessarily" a contradiction of assurances given by Bishop.

"It's a description of fact in terms of intelligence and information gathering. It's something that countries conduct and carry out," he said.

"My understanding is it's part and parcel in co-operation between countries. After all, intelligence co-operation is provided for under the Lombok treaty."

Abbott also refused to confirm whether Australia had agreed to the six- point plan that Yudhoyono had demanded Canberra follow before relations are normalised.

"What we've agreed to set up is a much better channel of communications, a hotline, if you like, so that when issues arise they can be dealt with quickly before they become a public drama," Abbott said when asked if Australia had agreed to Yudhoyono's "roadmap" to restoring co-operation.

"We're certainly very happy to have a more extensive, more formalised intelligence and security relationship because we think that's in the best interests of both countries," he said.

Natalegawa downplayed Abbott's comments, describing ongoing discussions with Bishop as "a process".

"We are now working earnestly and purposely to achieve progress and I think the discussion with minister Bishop... was productive, was very constructive, and I'm looking forward to making further progress," Natalegawa said. "The president is very much privy to the discussions."

Bishop on Thursday announced a so-called "hotline" between herself and Natalegawa would be established at Indonesia's request in the hope of avoiding future diplomatic skirmishes. She also said Australia had agreed to follow Yudhoyono's roadmap to normalising relations.

"We note the steps set out by president Yudhoyono that must be taken in order to normalise the relationship and, of course, we agree to adhere to those steps," Bishop had said.

However, Natalegawa has insisted that military and police co-operation, as well as sharing of intelligence, would not be restored until all six points in Yudhoyono's roadmap are addressed.

He also refused to nominate a time frame for discussions around the code of conduct which Yudhoyono demanded in the wake of revelations his phone, and those of his wife and inner circle, were monitored by Australian spies in 2009.

The president has insisted that the code of conduct must address the spying issue and contain protocols to ensure similar espionage activities do not occur again, and that it is signed by himself and Abbott.

However, even if the code of conduct is implemented, there would be a period of evaluation, before Indonesia would agree to restoring co- operation in areas such as the military and police, including joint efforts aimed at combating people smuggling.

Analysis & opinion

A historic flag-raising event signals an awakening to West Papua's plight

The Guardian (Australia) - December 5, 2013

Jennifer Robinson – West Papua's claim to self-determination is gaining grounds internationally. But for this to become a reality, more Melanesian leaders must show brave and principled leadership

For the first time in history, the Morning Star flag was flown at a Papua New Guinea (PNG) government building in Port Moresby.

West Papua's national flag flew alongside the PNG flag at City Hall on Sunday as part of celebrations to mark 1 December, which West Papuans consider their national day.

It commemorates 1 December 1961 when the New Guinea Council – West Papuan parliament under Dutch colonial rule – raised the Morning Star flag for the first time, signaling the recognition by the Dutch of West Papua's national symbols and statehood. Soon afterwards, Indonesia invaded and has brutally controlled the territory ever since. Every year on 1 December, flag-raisings and protests against Indonesian rule take place in West Papua and around the world.

But for PNG this was a first. And it was not without controversy. Port Moresby governor Parkop raised the flag in defiance of a request from the prime minister not to do so. The day before, the visiting West Papuan leader in exile Benny Wenda and I – both on the official invitation of Parkop for the specific purpose of briefing parliament and attending associated events – were warned by a state official that we would be arrested, prosecuted and deported if we attended.

Jennifer Robinson Jennifer Robinson received this letter from PNG officials.

We refused to be intimidated and attended without incident. But police broke up the planned march, and I watched as three of the event organisers were arrested. The crowd sang as they were escorted by police, jubilant and defiant, to police vehicles. Parkop announced they were "heroes" and that their arrest was "a small price to pay" for such a historic event.

This sort of harassment and intimidation – and much worse – is common in Indonesia: peaceful protests like this in West Papua are met with violence and arrests. But it is unprecedented across the border in PNG. According to Parkop, it was "due to undue pressure from the Indonesian government".

At the same time, state officials all conceded that great sympathy exists for West Papua in PNG. Some alleged the harsh government response was not the result of Indonesian pressure and the fear of its military expansionist history but instead came from Australia, which is more invested in an Indonesian West Papua than any other state (PNG is heavily reliant on Australian aid, which raises questions about independent foreign policy).

But wherever the pressure comes from, Parkop has exposed 50 years of silence in PNG. Upon receiving an award for his efforts to protect West Papuan refugees and raise their claim to self-determination, he stated "we in PNG are not responsible for Indonesia's occupation of West Papua but by our silence – and due to our fear – we are rendered complicit in Indonesia's crimes against our fellow Papuans." In so doing, Parkop has created a clear choice for PNG politicians: you can remain scared and silent, or you can stand up and support a dignified response to the issue of West Papua's self-determination.

What is clear is that West Papua is fast becoming a domestic political issue for PNG, as it has already become in Vanuatu: the previous government lost power because of its failure to support West Papua's cause, and the new government has raised West Papua in international forum. Government- sanctioned flag raisings attended by cabinet ministers took place in Vanuatu last weekend, and the prime minister met a West Papua rebel forces leader.

Speakers at the event in Moresby emphasised the fact PNG takes its own independence for granted, having been "handed it on a silver platter by Australia and the UN" while West Papua was betrayed by the Netherlands, Indonesia and the UN in the fraud was the Act of Free Choice. The 1969 vote was supposed to be a free and fair vote of the people to determine their future, as was required by international law. Instead, just 1,026 West Papuans (of an estimated population of a million) were forced to vote, under threat of violence, for annexation with Indonesia. It is no wonder that the vote is known to Papuans as the "Act of No Choice" and is universally condemned by academics and former UN officials alike. Parkop was uncompromising in his criticism, "I want to tell the Indonesian government that their claim to West Papua is based on fraud and lies."

Privately, Indonesia concedes that the military approach has failed; the transmigration and development approach has failed: ultimately, West Papuans do not – and will not ever – consider themselves Indonesian. Parkop believes that letting West Papua go would be good for Indonesia, providing an opportunity to redeem themselves in the eyes of their Melanesian and Pacific neighbours.

Events this week in Moresby represent a re-assertion of West Papua and PNG's shared Melanesian identity through music, culture and reclamation of their ancestral lands. Indonesia's myth of national identity has long been expressed by the geographical limits of the claimed nation. But this week, Wenda reclaimed his ancestral lands and the unity of the Melanesian peoples of New Guinea by launching his "Sorong to Samarai" campaign, calling on PNG and the states of Melanesia to throw off the shackles of their former – and current – colonial rulers. An independent island of New Guinea, West Papua and PNG, wealthy as they are, would fundamentally shift power relations in the region.

In the past weeks, very quietly, another historic but more significant and enduring event occurred: leadership from all factions in West Papua met in PNG to unite and develop a resolution for the future. The unanimous declaration – named the Gabagaba Resolution after the village where it was drafted – clearly articulated the desire for independence from Indonesia. The resolution was presented to PNG government ministers, calling upon PNG to provide equal protection to West Papuan refugees and to raise West Papua's claim to self-determination internationally.

But for this to become a reality, more Melanesian leaders must show the kind of brave and principled leadership we are now seeing from Parkop in PNG or Vanuatu prime minister Moana Carcasses. It was clear that Parkop made a choice to speak out so forcefully, in the hope that his courage will be contagious.

Indonesia was handed a free kick and used it

The Drum (ABC) - December 2, 2013

Lance Collins – The storm in a teacup sparked by the Snowden leaks and the heated response from Jakarta – when Tokyo, Hanoi, Dili and Beijing were also mentioned – has resulted in predictable commentary from the usual suspects.

The narrative goes that the special relationship with Indonesia, given that state's strategic importance and complex political and cultural factors, requires sophisticated handling by people with particular insight.

Such cultural relativism was the currency of Canberra's response to a range of thorny issues from the takeover of West Papua through to the invasion of East Timor and ridicule of American warnings about the development of terrorism in eastern Indonesia.

Those who have traded in this currency are known as the Jakarta Lobby. The relationship between Canberra and Jakarta is about power, or perceptions of it. The current imbroglio, despite the noise, will blow over fairly quickly because it is in the interests of both sides for it to do so.

Unlike the other states named in the leaks, Indonesia chose to react noisily: they were handed a free kick and used it. Their reaction had some vulnerable skin to bruise because of past actions by Australian special interests.

First, Jakarta expressed mixed outrage and dismay, the country's foreign minister complaining of a breach of trust, such spying being something they would never do. Indonesia demanded an apology as demonstrations materialised outside the Australian Embassy and references to an alleged betrayal over East Timor were dragged up.

This is where past follies raise their head. With East Timor, destiny was set by the Whitlam government's decision to take Richard Woolcott's DFAT advice of supporting Jakarta's invasion, over that from Bill Pritchard in Defence, who advocated dissuading them because it would result in an "erosion of the mutual confidence essential to our long term defence interest".

In 1999 the Howard government advocated East Timor remaining part of Indonesia. Indeed the deputy secretary of DFAT stated in the Senate that this end was the purpose of Howard's letter to Indonesian president BJ Habibie.

All the while, Canberra was denying the role of the Indonesian military in the violence. Who could forget the Defence Intelligence Organisation's immortal line: "TNI paradoxically provides a moderating influence on both sides by decreasing the likelihood of widespread and serious conflict"? The plain truth was: no TNI, no militia

In my view, Canberra's wayward moral compass at this time was a significant factor in the death of the DIO liaison office in Washington, Mervyn Jenkins, as a hunt for whistle-blowers was initiated.

Habibie responded unexpectedly by announcing a ballot and in the face of Australian public outrage over Indonesian military-sponsored violence in East Timor, Howard did an 11th hour and 59th minute backflip. Humanitarian intervention was on: success guaranteed by international support behind American diplomatic and economic pressure and over-the-horizon US military support.

Well and good, except that, seemingly to shore up its Persian Version for posterity, in 2001 DFAT published the government's narrative of how self- determination for East Timor had been the goal all along; duplicity justified by the need to out-manoeuvre the Indonesian military, which had temporarily lost its perfume to Canberra's senses.

In the aftermath of the independence of East Timor, a number of Indonesian officers wrote Weimar-like accounts of how they did not lose but were stabbed in the back. Thus an Australian Government primary source document backed up the Indonesian mis-appreciation of what happened in 1998-1999.

In September 1999, days before the first Australian combat troop deployed to East Timor, veteran journalist Brian Toohey wrote a front page article for the Australian Financial Review which revealed a hunt was on for an Indonesian spy: a senior Australian bureaucrat evidently. Most nations with their troops about to face off against the state doing the spying would show some interest in this, but both major parties and the mainstream media allowed the story to die.

Similarly both Canberra and the media dropped a related issue after Jakarta's Intelligence chief, Mahmud Hendropriyono, boasted to Sarah Ferguson, at the time a journalist with Channel Nine's Sunday program, of bugging Australian military and political figures in the lead-up to the East Timor intervention. He chortled noticeably in denying he had managed to recruit Australian traitors.

How different the atmospherics of the last weeks might have been if that Australian of mixed loyalties, and any others, had been caught, outed and punished. Other countries do it, and for good reason. Instead, Australia's security agencies were engaged in suppressing whistle-blowers.

It emerged in the Senate this week that "less than five" Australian politicians had their electronic communications intercepted by authorisations granted to the Federal Police. This was evidently not for investigations into fraud, corruption, assisting foreign powers or the like, but it poses a deterrent to whistle-blowers.

That brings us back to the perceived beginning of this drama, Snowden's leaks brought on by the indignation over how Western intelligence and security systems have systematically intruded into the lives of private citizens, who after all, are a greater threat to the secret state than any terrorist.

Australia's own commissar class of insiders has got us into the current situation with the Indonesian state. There are many special interests at risk if these 'catastrophic' circumstances get out of hand.

Jakarta does not want the spotlight on its access here. Canberra does not want its dirty linen aired, or even searched for it seems. Then there is a range of financial, commercial and career interests at stake.

In the contrition Jakarta will seek – outside and after the glare of publicity – as things return to 'normal', will be the real gains they are able to make: more aid, more intelligence access, more freehold land ownership, concessions on the live cattle trade, technology transfer. Time to wash the teacup perhaps?

[Lance Collins was senior intelligence officer for the International Force East Timor (INTERFET) between September 1999 and February 2000. He left the Army in 2005. He is the co-author of "Plunging Point: intelligence failures cover-ups and consequences".]

Religious intolerance in Indonesia officially goes up a notch

Jakarta Post - December 2, 2013

Endy Bayuni, Jakarta – Brace yourself to see more discrimination and persecution of religious minorities in Indonesia, after the House of Representatives formally re-endorsed a law limiting the number of religions recognized by the state to only six.

While this policy has been in place since the 1950s, last week's amendment of the 2004 Civil Administration Law takes place at a time when religious intolerance is on the rise.

Article 64 of the law retains the requirement that religious affiliation be declared on your ID card. The choice is between Islam, Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism or Confucianism. Otherwise, you can state "other".

This policy has been the source of institutionalized discrimination against people whose faiths fall outside the six recognized religions. In recent years, these discriminatory practices have moved up a notch to outright persecution against many religious minorities.

The deliberation of the civil administration bill provided Indonesia with a golden opportunity to amend one of the biggest anomalies in the nation's life since its founding: The lack of freedom of religion fully guaranteed by Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution.

This has also been a dark spot in Indonesia's march toward democracy. Removing Article 64 would have done the trick.

Sadly, no faction in the House took the opportunity to eliminate this institutionalized discrimination, even when it was clearly in contravention to the spirit of the Constitution, democracy and the nation's long held motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Religious intolerance, including discrimination and persecution against religious minorities, is a problem many politicians and government officials would rather ignore. This is despite repeated warnings from civil rights groups at home and abroad about the dangers of religious intolerance.

The UN Human Rights Committee questioned Indonesia's commitment to protecting religious freedom in June when it reviewed the government's report on compliance with the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia signed and ratified in 2006.

The practice of the government to recognize only certain religions, even if only for administrative purposes, cannot be anything but discriminatory. In practice, those who put "other" on their ID cards would be denied or have difficulties accessing public services, such as registering marriage or inheritance.

Many have opted to choose one of the six religions, even when this goes against their belief, simply to secure public services. Others decided to risk it, and are now paying the price.

According to the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP), during the 2010 population census, as many as 270,000 people out of Indonesia's population of 237 million listed "other" as their religion. The real number is much higher.

Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim community in the world and it also has pockets of Christianity and Roman Catholicism in parts of the archipelago, Hinduism primarily in Bali and Buddhism and Confucianism primarily among its ethnic Chinese.

The ICRP also counts as many as 245 non-denomination a faith organizations across the country, mostly indigenous beliefs that predated the arrival of imported religions from the Middle East and India.

There are also smaller religions like Bahai and Judaism, and smaller Islamic sects that the majority Sunni Muslims consider heretical, like the Shia and Ahmadiyah.

The last known Jewish synagogue in Indonesia in the East Java city of Surabaya was demolished earlier this year as intolerance against religious minorities intensified throughout the country. Other groups recently singled out for persecution include the Ahmadis and Shiites, while churches in towns near Jakarta have been the subject of vandalism and forced closures.

Many of these violent acts of persecution were carried out by radical Islamic groups, but often, they had tacit if not open approval from the government. At best, the police would simply turn a blind eye when these attacks took place. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, whose job it is to protect all religions, has publicly spoken out against the presence of Ahmadis and Shiites in Indonesia.

Discrimination and persecution against religious minorities does not only undermine Indonesia's claim to diversity, but could also lead to a loss of wisdom, and in the case of indigenous faiths, local wisdom.

The faith of people in Borneo or in Papua's forests, for example, has developed to ensure harmony and conformity with the environment. In comparison, Islam and other major religions are "neutral" to the forests and have not spoken out against massive deforestation.

The UK national newspaper The Guardian last week reported on Islam being the target of discrimination and persecution in Angola, as it failed to make the cut as a recognized state religion. Angola has recently seen its fair share of attacks on its Muslim population and the burning of mosques, according to the report.

The piece sounds eerily familiar to Indonesia, where instead, Muslims are the ones doing the persecuting.

Indonesian politicians, government officials and Muslim leaders would do well to read and follow the Angola story and reconsider this policy of limiting the number of recognized religions.

[The writer is senior editor of The Jakarta Post and is a founding member of the International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ).]

Australian imperialism in Indonesia

Red Flag Newspaper - December 2, 2013

Tom O'Lincoln – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may just be posturing about Australian intelligence phone taps. But it wouldn't be surprising if he was genuinely annoyed. There is a long history of Australian imperialism messing with the countries to our north.

Before and after independence, the republic of Indonesia has confronted several major forms of imperialism, and the scars are still visible. Australia's oppressor role in this picture is often discreet, but it has been there for a long time, networking with the main imperial players, first the Dutch and later the USA.

In all of the history except for the Japanese occupation during World War Two, there is the irksome fact that the boss is white. Otherwise it's pretty diverse.

"We have ruled here for 300 years with the whip and the club", said the Dutch governor of Java, Bonifacius DeJonge, in 1935. So unpopular were the Dutch colonialists that they couldn't mount a guerrilla campaign against Japan during the war – they lacked the support.

When the war ended in 1945, British forces and surrendered Japanese troops were used to fight against a rising independence movement. In Sumbawa, after clashes between Indonesian nationalists and Japanese forces, the latter were told to "shoot to kill".

In the eastern islands, Australian troops also tried to smash the independence fighters. George Bliss of the 7th Division recalled: "About six weeks after the war ended we were told we were going into Sulawesi 'to supervise the rounding up of the Japanese'. We realised later that it was to prevent the locals organising against the return of the Dutch.

"We went by ship to Makasar. On arrival we were lined up on the wharf, fully equipped in battle order, and marched through the town out to the Dutch barracks about three miles out. That was the first act of intimidation."

The Australian leaders were determined to complete this colonial mission. And so, whatever their personal sentiments, the Australian troops helped entrench Dutch control. Australian operations in Sulawesi paved the way for Dutch Captain Paul Westerling, who developed ferocious new tactics in counter-insurgency. Emboldened by success, the Dutch used more repressive tactics in Java.

At this stage, the Chifley Labor government was still calling unequivocally for the Dutch to get their colonies back. At the outset of World War Two, then Prime Minister John Curtin had spoken of defending "rights of free people in the whole Pacific". It was nothing but empty rhetoric.

Canberra's imperialist greed found expression in diplomacy. As the war drew to an end, Chifley and Foreign Minister Evatt first looked for ways to grab territory. On a visit to Washington, Evatt proposed that Australia assume post war control of Dutch Timor, West New Guinea and the Kei, Aru and Tanimbar Islands.

But by 1947 it became clear that rising nationalism across Asia would make such seizures impractical. In fact, Canberra would have to back the independence movement, like it or not.

"Surrounded as we are by non-Europeans", said Chifley, "Australia could not be seen to be inactive". By the end of the decade, Australia was posturing as Indonesia's great friend, a game Tony Abbott is still playing.

But Australia, as a close ally of the US, and as a regional bully in its own right, soon dispelled that image. The West backed pro-Dutch regional rebellions. When President Sukarno called for a confrontation with the British after they moved to create Malaysia as an obstacle to wider regional unity of the Malay-related peoples, Australia sent troops to oppose the Indonesians.

In the diplomatic sphere, Canberra lobbied aggressively to get control of West Papua. But the US, which was now arbiter, blocked it. Australian companies had to settle for exploiting West Papua's mineral wealth under the eye of the Indonesian army. They've happily done this for more than half a century.

There's no evidence of direct Australian involvement in the 1965 coup, which led to the death of a million or more people, including destruction of the Communist Party. But Harold Holt made the government's attitude clear when he gloated:

"With 500 thousand to a million communist sympathisers knocked out, I think it's safe to assume a reorientation has taken place."

Since the terrible bloodshed of 1965, Indonesia's rulers have largely lived within the rules and assumptions laid down by imperialism. But despite the benefits they undoubtedly gain, they still don't like being errand boys.

When it began to get strong economic growth in the mid-'90s, the government of General Suharto became mildly assertive towards the imperial bosses. When it felt threatened by Western demands for token reform, it tried to resist. The West responded during the Asian economic crisis, designing International Monetary Fund aid in ways that undermined Suharto and eventually forced him out.

Now Yudhoyono, in his turn also enjoying stronger growth than Australia, is getting assertive. He thinks if he writes Abbott a letter, the clown will have to read it. Also there is an election coming, and he wants to polarise the political mood – which he has done.

The phone tapping scandal created a diplomatic storm, but the mutual interest of each country's rulers means this is unlikely to turn into a long-running drama.

The Indonesian elites are basically on good terms with their Western allies like Australia. Joint exercises between the special forces of both sides (SAS and Kopassus) have been postponed, but not for long. Thirty Australian police are still stationed there. In the same way, Canberra generally supports its Indonesian counterpart.