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Indonesia News Digest 26 – July 9-15, 2015

West Papua

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West Papua

Diocesan priests voice concern over injustices in Papua

UCAN News - July 14, 2015

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – At least 75 diocesan priests from five dioceses in the West Papua region have voiced concern over the treatment of the Papuan people that has spurred various acts of violence in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.

"We see injustices in the fields of economy, social, culture and politics in the land of Papua. We are concerned about various acts of violence happening in the Bird of Paradise Land. Violence is faced by violence. All these violent acts hamper the development, harm the peace, and hurt the feeling of so many people," the priests said in a statement released following their recent meeting in Jayapura, Papua province.

Among those diocesan priests attending the June 30-July 5 meeting was Father Neles Kebadabi Tebay from Jayapura diocese. Other dioceses included Agats-Asmat, Manokwari-Sorong and Timika as well as the Merauke archdiocese.

While Papua is Indonesia's richest province in terms of natural resources, it lags behind others in terms of development, and the little development that occurs rarely benefits the Papuan people, the priests said.

Speaking with ucanews.com over the phone on July 13, Father Tebay said that such injustices could be seen in the development programs that focused only on district towns, where migrants mostly from Java now stay. "It's based on what we see in our parishes located in remote areas," he said.

Fr. Tebay said that migrants comprise about 70 percent of the total population in district towns such as Jayapura, Keerom, Manokwari, Merauke, Mimika, Nabire and Sorong.

According to data from the General Election Commission, both Papua and West Papua provinces had an estimated population of 5.3 million in 2014.

"We see that school buildings in remote areas look good but there are no teachers. In the healthcare field, the number of doctors and nurses is very limited," Fr. Tebay said. This dissatisfaction, he said, has led to a series of violent conflicts with the state.

Lambert Pekikir, a Papuan and a pro-independence activist, urged the Indonesian government to respect the rights of the Papuan people. "Such inequality will grow a deeper dissatisfaction. The government have so far said only words, but the problems remain," he told ucanews.com.

Meanwhile, Lamadi de Lamato, spokesperson for Papua's governor's office, acknowledged that there were gaps in the government services offered to largely Papuan communities. But he asserted that the local government has taken strategic efforts to prioritize development programs.

"Since last year, the local government has allocated 80 percent of its budget to the districts. The province receives only 20 percent," he told ucanews.com. "For sure, there are four agenda priorities: education, health care, economic growth, and development of infrastructures," he said.

Papua has been beset by a decades-long conflict over Indonesia's takeover of the region following the withdrawal of the Dutch colonial administration in 1962. The guerilla Free Papua Movement has led a low-level insurgency against the state, marked by sporadic clashes and crackdowns on the Papuan people.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/diocesan-priests-voice-concern-over-injustices-in-papua/73923

Indonesians cite MIFEE project at UN meeting on corporate abuses

Monga Bay - July 10, 2015

Sapariah Saturi and Agapitus Batbual – A coalition of Indonesian civil society groups that attended the first intergovernmental working group on a proposed UN binding treaty on business and human rights raised concerns about alleged abuses surrounding a controversial food and energy megaproject planned for the Papuan district of Merauke.

The coalition, Indonesia Focal Point, is among those pushing for a legally binding instrument to address human rights violations arising from the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The treaty would hold accountable for abuses not just the businesses themselves but also the countries where the businesses are based or operate.

Wensislaus Fatubun, one of the civil society representatives from Papua, said the Indonesian government must take responsibility for what happens in the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE), which was shelved during the administration of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono but which current President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration intends to resurrect.

"The Indonesian government must protect the rights of indigenous Papuans who have been victimized by the corporate food estate project," Wensislaus said in a statement earlier this week.

In Merauke, he explained, there had been many cases of human rights abuses involving corporations linked to MIFEE, such as forced evictions of local communities, destruction of sites important to indigenous peoples, torture and other forms of violence, environmental destruction and labor discrimination.

"Since April there has been an increase in arrests and intimidation by the security forces, directly affecting at least 531 people," said Wensislaus, who criticized the government for helping corporate interests appropriate indigenous lands.

The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights' five-day meeting in Geneva ends today.

Indonesia was one of the 20 member states on the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to support the resolution mandating the working group. The others were Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, China, Congo, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Fourteen countries voted against the resolution; they were Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, South Korea, Romania, Macedonia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Thirteen countries abstained: Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Gabon, Kuwait, Maldives, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone and the United Arab Emirates.

[Produced in English by Philip Jacobson.]

Citations: Sapariah Saturi and Agapitus Batbual. "Organisasi Masyarakat Sipil Bawa Kasus Mifee ke Sidang HAM PBB." Mongabay-Indonesia. 10 July 2015.

Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2015/0710-jacobson-un-treaty-business-human-rights-mifee.html

Papua's maternal health lags behind, says UNFPA

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2015

Jakarta – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that Papua continues to lag behind in maternal health compared to other areas across Indonesia despite significant improvements in the country's health outcomes over the years.

In Papua, 16 percent of women begin childbearing between the ages of 15-19, or twice as high as the national figure.

"Health providers in Papua are not trained to deal with adolescent reproductive health issues, and hospitals and community health centers are generally unable to provide youth-friendly health services," says UNFPA Indonesia.

On Wednesday, to improve maternal health care delivery, UNFPA launched a pilot initiative entitled Men Care Papua, which aims to engage men and boys in Papua on sexual and reproductive health issues and on the prevention of gender-based violence in Jayapura.

UNFPA says family planning is also not common practice in Papua, with low use of any modern methods of contraception among married couples. The contraceptive prevalence rate in Papua is only 24.5 percent, which is quite low compared to the national coverage of 61 percent.

The province also suffers from a generalized HIV epidemic, with a prevalence rate of 2.4 percent among 15-49 years old. "This is triggered mainly by unsafe sexual behavior," says UNFPA.

Furthermore, UNFPA says that violence against women and children in Papua is also high. According to the National Socio Economic Survey on Violence against Women and Children in 2006, Papua had the highest prevalence of violence against women and children in Indonesia.

"It is statistics like these, indicating pervasive gender inequality, which led to Papua being selected as the pilot location for the new male engagement initiative," UNFPA Indonesia representative Jose Ferraris said during the launch of the initiative.

"A second reason was because the government and civil society organizations in Papua are truly committed to working to address these challenges," he went on.

During the launch, Rutgers World Population Fund (WPF) director Monique Soesman and Men Care Papua program manager Siska Noya shared success stories and progress the program had achieved in East Java, Jakarta, Lampung, and Yogyakarta – (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/papua-s-maternal-health-lags-behind-says-unfpa.html

West Papua leadership within West Papua proposed

Radio New Zealand International - July 9, 2015

The West Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma says his personal preference is that the leader for his people's self-determination movement be based within West Papua.

The nobel peace prize nominee is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence in Abepura prison in Indonesia's Papua province for charges related to raising the Papuan nationalist Morning Star Flag.

Karma has given the Indonesian president Joko Widodo credit for several good initiatives in Papua, but says the republic's military generals are the ones who are holding back a solution in West Papua by pursuing their own agenda.

He spoke to Dutch journalist Rohan Radheya who has been in Papua several times in the past two years to hear Papuan voices often silenced by Indonesian media restrictions.

Rohan Radheya: You have been in prison for several years. Tell us about the conditions in prison. Did you ever get beaten during your time in prison?

Filep Karma: Yes.... I remember the first time I was beaten. There was a boy who just came fresh into the prison. Persons who come in fresh are an easy prey for mistreatment by the guards. They have to wait an long time for trials and till then often remain unregistrated. The guards didn't properly register him and his penalty. One guard searched the boy's pocket and found 30 thousand Indonesian rupiah. He took the money. I objected and received my first beating. This happened a couple of times more. At an certain stage the beatings became normal to me. After the beatings I sent testimonial-reports to human rights organisations. The organisations such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch pressurised the Indonesian Government and this reached the prison.

Rohan Radheya: Does this still happen?

Filep Karma: No not to me anymore, because they became afraid of my status. I also learned to deal with it. Like this morning... They usually open the doors to the garden around 6.30. Today they didnt open it. It made me angry. But if i showed my anger, i would gave them an excuse to beat me. I just controlled my anger. Thats how I get by.

Rohan Radheya: What about the others?

Filep Karma: This still happens regularly to the new arrivals who are often political activists. They are often not properly registered and their penalty noted. Thus they are an easy prey for mistreatment in the prison. After court its usually becomes better.

Rohan Radheya: The ULMWP [United Liberation Movement for West Papua] received observer status during the recent MSG [Melanesian Spearhead Group] meeting although they applied for full membership. At the same time Indonesia applied and received associate membership at the objection from many International critics, that Indonesia is Asian not Melanesian. Why is Indonesia so eager to be an part of the MSG? What are their tactics behind this?

Filep Karma: I believe that Indonesia tried to become an member to block West Papuan independence. An full-member recognition by the MSG could have been a start for other countries to start recognizing West Papuan rights for self governance.

Rohan Radheya: Were you worried about this?

Filep Karma: No I was optimistic

Rohan Radheya: There are many internal differences between West Papuan factions. Who is the proper faction and leader to guide West Papua at present?

Filep Karma: I believe that's up to the West Papuan people.

Rohan Radheya: You have armed elements in the Free West Papua movements such as the TPN-OPM. Do you believe the West Papuan independence struggle can be solved peacefully or do you believe that an armed struggle will persist in the future?

Filep Karma: I think its important for all of us to sit down and talk from the heart without holding anything back. I do believe our independence struggle can be solved peacefully if there is willingness from both sides. Personally I don't believe in an armed uprising but an non violent one.

Rohan Radheya: Is it appropriate to have leadership inside West Papua? Will a leader outside West Papua be tolerated by West Papuans?

Filep Karma: I believe that the leader should be based within West Papua among the people. In this way he can maintain structure and host an dialogue and thus appease all sides. [NB West Papua has over 200 different tribes]

Rohan Radheya: A leader in West Papua would be an easy prey for assassination or imprisonment like They Eluays.

Filep Karma: Thats the risk an leader takes upon him. If someone decides to be an leader, it's a part of the job He doesnt run away from that risk.

Rohan Radheya: The new president Joko Widodo has shown several good initiatives the last months. He released 5 political prisoners and announced to lift an ban on foreign media. How do you feel about this?

Filep Karma: I don't believe it. I do believe Mr Widodo has an good heart and will to do good to West Papua but i believe its not on him. I've witnessed his predecessor Yudhoyono. He as well passed out some major reforms to West Papua at some stage. But on the ground in Papua they were never executed. The high ranking generals in Papua and parliament refused to cooperate and execute orders. They all had their own agenda's and interests in Papua.

Rohan Radheya: So what you are saying is that their is an division between the army and Jakarta?

Filep Karma: Yes, several parliamentarians and generals within the TNI feel that the army has an sovereignty over the people and state. They feel that they own Indonesia. They don't care about civil society, they just care about power. All my life I've never heard of a high ranking General being sentenced on corruption charges or power abuse. Never.

Rohan Radheya: So corruption is an big barrier in the independence struggle?

Filep Karma: (Laughs) Like the Anti-Corruption Commission for instance. They have authority to monitor anyone in society but not in the army. Thats why I don't believe Mr. Jokowi's orders will be executed on the ground here. At least not at this stage. It will first require intensive internal reforms and Jokowi should be firm and determinated to bring real change.

Rohan Radheya: You have been in prison for several years. What is your motivation to keep going on in pursuit of the independence struggle?

Filep Karma: I feel that as an fellow Papuan I have an duty to speak out when I see or hear about Papuans being killed or locked up for baseless reasons such as by pursuing basic human principles such as democracy and human rights. Today there are some very horrifying an unforgivable things happening in West Papua. To name something – the military has repeatedly used rape as an weapon in Papua to spread fear and intimidation. These things are systematic and they affect us as an people. These kind of things remind me why I'm fighting. It gives me fire to continue. But always through an peaceful way.

Rohan Radheya: What message do you want to send to the international community?

Filep Karma: I would like to stress to the international community that many Western governments have investments in West Papua. West Papua is rich in natural resources. Indonesia is not the owner of this land. The owners of this land are the West Papuan people. The 1969 referendum was not held fair. The voters were uneducated and misled and some of their families were even held at gunpoint. I sincerely hope that they will consider this twice. Furthermore I hope that Western people will push their governments to take a tougher stand against Indonesia to end the occupation of West Papua and stealing its resources. If Western governments have interests in Papuas resources, they are welcomed. They should come and sit down with the Papuan people and discuss their interests with them. Not with the Indonesian government. The Indonesian government is not the owner of this land. Indonesia is the invader. West Papua belongs to West Papuans.

Rohan Radheya: Mr. Karma Thank you for your time.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/278375/west-papua-leadership-within-west-papua-proposed

Human rights & justice

Indonesians who helped make films about killings face safety fears

New York Times - July 15, 2015

Cara Buckley – In the Oscar-nominated 2013 documentary "The Act of Killing" and now in a companion film, "The Look of Silence," an especially chilling moment comes during the closing credits: In lieu of names, dozens of crew members are listed only as "anonymous."

The first film showed perpetrators of Indonesia's massacres, which began in 1965 and left hundreds of thousands dead, not only proudly re-enacting the gruesome killings but also living with impunity and enjoying power, even fame. "The Look of Silence," opening on Friday in New York, offers a glimpse into the agony and discrimination borne by the victims' kin by following a gentle optician, Adi Rukun, whose brother was killed in that purge, as he quietly confronts the killers and their leaders.

The filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer had planned to gather stories from victims' families for a documentary more than a decade ago, but less than a month into the interviews, his subjects received threats. Instead, Mr. Oppenheimer made "The Act of Killing," and, anticipating repercussions, shot "The Look of Silence" before the first film was released. He then left Indonesia, and, upon advice from human rights experts, has no plans to return. Eleven years ago, a prominent Indonesian human rights activist was fatally poisoned, and abuses continue.

All of which raises questions about whether Mr. Rukun, his family and the films' dozens of anonymous crew members, all Indonesians still living in their homeland, remain safe.

"We tried to get a picture of what kind of danger or threat we might have to face," said a crew member who anonymously shares directing credits on both films. "It ends up in lots of 'we don't know.' It is not clear whether we face a danger or not. It is more worrying."

The crew member was speaking through Skype, the video disabled, from the home he shares with his family on Java, Indonesia's most populous island. He still takes precautions to shield his identity. He never ventures to North Sumatra, 1,000 miles away, where both documentaries were filmed, and steers clear of screenings and in-person interviews as well as any place where the paramilitary might surface.

Protecting Mr. Rukun – who could not be reached for an interview – and his family from potential harm was another matter. Six months before "The Look of Silence" was released, Mr. Oppenheimer and his crew met the Rukun family in Thailand to discuss how to keep them safe. There was talk of moving them to Europe for a few years, but the Rukuns did not want to leave Indonesia. Mr. Oppenheimer suggested delaying the film's release until the perpetrators had died. "The family said, 'This needs to come out now,'" Mr. Oppenheimer recalled.

The Rukuns opted to move hundreds of miles from North Sumatra to an undisclosed location in the country, where, Mr. Oppenheimer said, human rights lawyers and activists live around them in a protective huddle, on high alert for any hints of intimidation or threats. (The True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Mo., helped raise $35,000 for Adi Rukun to open an optometry shop.) So far, Mr. Oppenheimer said, no threats have come.

Part of the reason might be the rapturous reception that met the "The Look of Silence" in a country where up until a year and a half ago, official denial about the massacres seemed unshakable. "The Act of Killing" had had an underground release in the country, via closed screenings. Publicly mentioning the film carried risk; a newspaper editor was physically attacked for writing about it and naming the Pancasila Youth, the paramilitary group that led the killings.

The Oscar nomination, however, gave "The Act of Killing" validation and moral heft, paving the way for the very public Indonesian premiere in November of "The Look of Silence," which was advertised on Jakarta billboards and drew thousands. When Mr. Rukun showed up unannounced afterward, the crowds greeted him with a 10-minute standing ovation.

In a way, Mr. Rukun's family tragedy was the catalyst for both films. Mr. Oppenheimer, an American then living in London (and now in Denmark), first visited Indonesia 14 years ago to help plantation workers dying of a chemical herbicide film their efforts to unionize. After the company hired the Pancasila Youth to menace the workers, Mr. Oppenheimer said, they swiftly dropped their demands. But haltingly, they began telling him of the grisly murders and disappearances that the paramilitary group had carried out decades before. "I realized what was killing my friends was not just poison, but fear," Mr. Oppenheimer said.

The workers also spoke of a man named Ramli, who was among the few victims in the region whose bodies had been found. It was shortly after Mr. Oppenheimer met Ramli's family, the Rukuns, that the army silenced the other survivors, whereupon Adi Rukun, he said, urged him to try to film the perpetrators.

Mr. Oppenheimer began doing so and was dumbfounded by their braggadocio. In 2004, two older former regional paramilitary leaders led him to a river to show, in enthusiastic detail, how they carved up their victims and even drank their blood – an act they believed would stave off insanity. Mr. Oppenheimer said the episode, which appears in "The Look of Silence," was the inspiration for both films.

After watching the raw footage, Mr. Rukun wanted to meet his brother's killers. Mr. Oppenheimer said that he initially refused, citing the obvious dangers, but that Mr. Rukun pressed him. The crew accurately predicted that filming the paramilitary's highest-echelon leaders in the first documentary would provide cover for the second one: The lower-ranking regional members interviewed in "The Look of Silence" believed that Mr. Oppenheimer was friends with their powerful higher-ups.

The aftermath of both films is still unfolding. Aware of their populist appeal, the politician Joko Widodo vowed in his presidential campaign to improve the country's human rights record. He went on to win, although Amnesty International said rampant abuses continued. Major news publications have called for the government to face the past. In March, the film was screened at a military headquarters.

Mr. Oppenheimer said that one reaction he especially treasured came from the filmmaker Werner Herzog, a producer for both films. "He said, 'Joshua, art doesn't make a difference – long pause – until it does.'"

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/16/movies/indonesians-who-helped-make-films-about-killings-face-safety-fears.html

Indonesia: ETAN calls for action over US support for genocide

Pacific Media Centre - July 15, 2015

Washington (ETAN/Pacific Media Watch) – The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) has called for action over what it describes United States support for mass violence and genocide in Indonesia.

The massacre of up to 1 million communists, leftists, ethnic Chinese, and others in Indonesia in 1965-1967 is a foundational event in modern Indonesian political history, but it remains mostly a footnote for most in the United States and elsewhere, says ETAN.

The documentary "The Act of Killing" shocked audiences as perpetrators of the mass murder reenacted their violence. The film has fueled a debate within Indonesia and drawn attention internationally to events unknown to many. Events that the US facilitated and cheered at the time.

"The Look of Silence", a companion film to The Act of Killing will soon be showing in US theatres – and it is being screened at the NZ International Film Festival in Auckland this month.

It follows the investigation by Adi Rukun into the murder of his older brother who was killed during the violence.

These powerful films tell us much about Indonesia today as they do about the past. However, any evaluation of the events of 1965-1967 must include a discussion of the role of Western powers in the violence, especially the United States.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) continues to call for accountability for those in the West who encouraged and assisted in the mass violence in Indonesia. The full truth must come out and the US should declassify all files related to Suharto's US-backed seizure of power and the murderous events which followed.

ETAN has prepared a background piece on the events and aftermath of Suharto's brutal seizure of power, where we focus on the US role and responsibility.

Read Breaking the Silence: The US and Indonesia's Mass Violence – http://www.etan.org/news/2014/09breaking_the_silence.htm.

For more information see: www.etan.org

About The Look Of Silence

Oppenheimer's powerful companion piece to the Oscar-nominated The Act of Killing. Through a family that lost their eldest son, the film explores one of the 20th century's deadliest atrocities, still largely hidden after 50 years-Indonesia's 1965 army-led purge and killing of as many as one million people. The family discovers years later (from Oppenheimer's footage) who killed their son and how, and they must confront how privileged, dangerous, and close at hand the killers remain. The younger son, an optometrist named Adi, breaks the half-century of fearful silence with an act the film calls "unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power." While testing the eyesight of the men who killed his brother, Adi confronts them. He challenges them to accept responsibility for their violence. Oppenheimer writes that the film depicts "a silence born of terror," and "the necessity of breaking that silence, but also... the trauma that comes when that silence is broken." More information about the film can be found here: http://thelookofsilence.com/

About The Act Of Killing

In The Act of Killing, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and executive produced by Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, the filmmakers expose a corrupt regime that celebrates death squad leaders as heroes.

When the Indonesian government was overthrown in 1965, small-time gangster Anwar Congo and his friends went from selling movie tickets on the black market to leading death squads in the mass murder of over a million opponents of the new military dictatorship. Anwar boasts of killing hundreds with his own hands, but he's enjoyed impunity ever since, and has been celebrated by the Indonesian government as a national hero. When approached to make a film about their role in the genocide, Anwar and his friends eagerly comply-but their idea of being in a movie is not to provide reflective testimony. Instead, they re-create their real-life killings as they dance their way through musical sequences, twist arms in film noir gangster scenes, and gallop across prairies as Western cowboys. Through this filmmaking process, the moral reality of the act of killing begins to haunt Anwar and his friends with varying degrees of acknowledgment, justification and denial.

More information about the film can be found here: http://actofkilling.com/.

Source: http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/indonesia-etan-calls-action-over-us-support-genocide-9354

A city turns to face Indonesia's murderous past

New York Times - July 12, 2015

Jeremy Kutner, Palu, Indonesia – A half-century after the massacre of hundreds of thousands of suspected Communists and sympathizers, Indonesia has shown little interest in reckoning with the event.

An investigation by the National Human Rights Commission, calling for the prosecution of military leaders, was rejected, and efforts to establish a truth and reconciliation commission have failed.

School history texts ignore or whitewash the killings. A 2012 documentary about them won an Oscar nomination, but was not shown in theaters in Indonesia for fear it would be rejected by government censors.

There is one notable exception: the city of Palu, a picturesque provincial capital of some 300,000 people that hugs a horseshoe-shaped bay on the island of Sulawesi.

Three years ago, the mayor here did something that surprised everyone, including himself: He apologized for the killings, becoming one of the only Indonesian officials to do so and, historians say, the first to do it officially, on behalf of his government.

"As a human, as a mayor who has responsibility, I have to apologize," Mayor Rusdy Mastura said in a video he recorded later. "Why is it difficult to apologize? Why is it difficult to sacrifice to admit that there were maybe mistakes among actions that we took? Now we are to forgive each other."

Since then, this feisty establishment politician has become an unlikely human rights advocate, and his relaxed seaside city has become the unexpected wellspring of efforts to grapple with one of the bloodiest episodes of the Cold War.

It almost did not happen. Mr. Mastura had been invited to a gathering of former prisoners of Indonesia's dictatorship and family members of victims of the massacres.

The mayor was hardly a likely supporter. A blunt-talking politician, he was the son of committed anti-Communists. He belonged to the pro-establishment Golkar Party and was a former member of Pancasila Youth, a nationalist paramilitary organization, both of which have long regarded the killings as justified.

And the subject remains touchy here. Many gatherings like the one Mr. Mastura was invited to have been broken up by threats of violence, including several this year in other parts of the country. But he showed up, and he told the small crowd a remarkable story.

Fifty years ago, when he was still in high school, he had been put to work in the anti-Communist sweep. He was assigned to guard prisoners and prevent their escape.

He now says he knows that at least four of the Palu prisoners were later killed. In the years since, he watched as many of the others and their families endured forced labor and unrelenting discrimination.

One of the event's organizers, Nurlaela A. K. Lamasitudju, sensed an opening. "Is there anything you want to say to the victims' families?" she asked. Mr. Mastura fumbled a bit, and then apologized.

That had not been the plan. Some people who attended the event said he became emotional and got carried away. Others say it had been the result of a long-term campaign by Ms. Lamasitudju and other rights advocates. Mr. Mastura himself said he had just come to a realization.

The victims and their relatives, he explained in a recent interview, "they did not know anything. But they have to live in conditions that make them have no future, especially their kids, because of political differences. This moved me. That's when I apologized."

Once he did, local activists seized on it, and Mr. Mastura soon took up his newfound position with gusto.

"No other local leader has done anything like this," said Galuh Wandita, the director of Indonesia and regional programs at Asia Justice and Rights, a human rights group based in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. "It is a push against the tide of impunity."

Two years ago, when a provincial government ministry recognized Palu for promoting human rights, Palu issued its own declaration, designating itself as a "City of Human Rights Consciousness" with a broad mandate to help victims. Posters have popped up around the city in recent months trumpeting the declaration.

Last year, Mr. Mastura signed a local regulation officially recognizing human rights abuse victims in the city. The regulation, the first of its kind in Indonesia, set up a system to verify victims and their living relatives and prioritize them for city services like money for rehabilitating dilapidated housing and educational scholarships for children. So far, the program has identified 485 local victims of the 1965-66 anti-Communist actions.

Now some officials and advocates, including the National Commission on Human Rights, are looking to Palu as a nationwide model. "We try to push the idea that the mayor can be an example for all the other mayors in Indonesia," said Nur Kholis, the commission's chairman.

The commission is partnering with the city in hopes of turning the commemoration of the second anniversary of Palu's declaration this month into an advertisement for Palu-style reconciliation.

Palu was not the worst site of the killings, but did not escape them. After the country's military leaders blamed the Indonesian Communist Party for an abortive coup in 1965, Communists, sympathizers, leftists and suspected leftists were expelled from government, military and social organizations, and the nationwide bloodletting began. Over five months, at least 500,000 people were killed by security forces, local militias and vigilante groups.

Only a few executions in Palu have been confirmed, but hundreds here were tortured and imprisoned, with many dying from abuse, or subjected to forced labor, building much of the infrastructure that still serves the city today. Sulawesi was a site of great violence, however, and hundreds, if not thousands, died here, Mr. Kholis said.

Silence regarding the killings prevailed in the following decades, and those suspected Communist sympathizers who were not killed or imprisoned faced official discrimination that often extended to later generations. Communist parties remain banned.

For Ms. Lamasitudju, even the incremental act of official recognition of victims under Palu's regulation is a major victory. "The struggle is the fight to rehabilitate their names so they can be ordinary people just like everyone else in Palu," she said. "They have been recognized by the government as humans."

But the effort has run into political headwinds. Early drafts of the city regulation were watered down, and mentions of 1965 were deleted, making the program open, in theory, to any victims of human rights abuses. There is little guarantee that money for further investigation will survive when the mayor steps down later this year. Many of those promised city assistance have said that it has been slow to arrive.

And it is not clear whether Palu's incremental steps toward reconciliation can be replicated elsewhere. The city's relatively minor role in the killings may make reconciliation here go down easier than in places that saw more bloodshed.

The remaining victims of the purge here are now mostly old, frail and poor, having been restricted from holding government jobs and subjected to discrimination. In the low-slung buildings of this slow-paced town, many of them live side by side with those who once openly denounced them as Communists.

For Estepien Manarisip, who was arrested during the purge along with her husband, the changes in Palu have been gratifying but slow. During the wave of anti-Communist violence, she lost her position as a teacher, and her husband, a member of the Communist Party, was jailed for more than 10 years. To support her children, she said, she was reduced to selling cakes door to door.

Looking around her dingy, dank home off a narrow alley, she remembered the days when she seemed destined for a comfortable middle-class life. "I couldn't have imagined that I would be living like this," she said. She hopes for money to renovate her house, and while she is thankful for the apology, she said, no funds have yet arrived.

Now in her late 70s, she will wait a little longer. "I can't do anything more," she said, "than kneel and pray."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/world/asia/a-city-turns-to-face-indonesias-murderous-past.html

Sexual & domestic violence

Engaging men, boys crucial to end gender-based violence

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2015

Jakarta – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said it is important to engage men and boys in efforts to stop gender-based violence and to solve sexual and reproductive health issues.

"Evidence demonstrated that male engagement plays a core role in addressing gender inequality. By involving men in policy and program discussions, we can confront the underlying gender norms and values that lead to discriminatory behaviors," said UNFPA Indonesia representative Jose Ferraris.

He was speaking during the launch of a pilot initiative to engage men and boys in Papua on sexual and reproductive health issues and on the prevention of gender-based violence in Jayapura, on Wednesday.

"We can challenge the structures that reinforce male advantage, and strengthen those that support gender equality," Ferraris said.

"By engaging men we learn that when it comes to encouraging family planning, the reproductive health of women, decreasing the rates of violence against women and changing old conceptions about masculinity – men matter," he went on.

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise delivered her keynote speech during the launch of the initiative, entitled Men Care Papua, UNFPA Indonesia jointly developed with the non-profit organization Rutgers World Population Foundation (WPF) Indonesia.

Under the Men Care Papua initiative, men are encouraged to play an equal role as caregivers to improve child and maternal health and promote sexual and reproductive health.

"The approach also encourages men to take responsibility for an equal division of labour in their households in order to encourage them to interact with their partners with an attitude of mutual respect, promoting relationships that are equitable, healthy and free from violence," says UNFPA. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/engaging-men-boys-crucial-end-gender-based-violence.html

Labour & migrant workers

Workers' real wage decline reflected in low purchasing power

Viva.com - July 15, 2015

Rochimawati, Arie Dwi Budiawati- Although the nominal wage of agricultural and urban informal workers increased in 2015, their real wages declined.

The nominal wage of agricultural workers nationally increased by 1.15 percent from 46,386 rupiah a day in May to 46,458 a day in June 2015.

"Meanwhile their real wages declined in comparison with May 2015 from 38,383 rupiah [a day] to 38,183 rupiah", said National Statistics Agency (BPS) chief Suryamin at the BPS central office in Jakarta on Wednesday July 15.

According to Suryamin, the nominal wage of urban informal workers experienced a similar decline as agricultural workers' wages: the nominal wage increased but their real wages declined.

According to the BPS's records, construction workers' wages increased marginally by 0.19 percent from 80,087 rupiah a day in May to 80,237 rupiah in June 2015. Their real wage in June however declined by 0.35 percent from 67,019 to 66,786.

Meanwhile in June 2015, the average nominal wage of beauty salon workers rose by 0.19 percent from 23,310 rupiah a day to 23,354 rupiah while real wages declined by 0.35 percent from 19,507 rupiah a day to 19,439 rupiah. The decline was similar for the monthly wages of domestic workers (PRT).

According to the data, domestic workers' wages in June increased by 0.36 percent compared with May rising from 350,247 rupiah a month to 351,497 rupiah. Their real wage however declined by 0.18 percent from 293,094 a month in May 2015 to 292,572 rupiah in June.

Suryamin said that changes in the real wage are reflected in changes in purchasing power based on the income received by workers such as agricultural workers, industrial workers and urban informal sector workers. They represent the low income social groups.

The low level of real wages shows that the purchasing power of low income people is also low. "The higher the real wage, the higher the purchasing power of workers' wages. The reverse is also the case", he said. (asp)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Upah Riil Buruh Turun, Tanda Daya Beli Rendah".]

Source: http://bisnis.news.viva.co.id/news/read/650811-upah-riil-buruh-turun – tanda-daya-beli-rendah

Mandom factory fire kills 5, injures 50

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2015

Jakarta – Fire engulfed the publicly listed cosmetics factory PT Mandom Indonesia in the MM2100 Industrial Area in Bekasi, West Java, on Friday morning, killing five workers and injuring 50 others.

Bekasi Regency police spokesperson First Insp. Makmur has confirmed that the blaze occurred at around 9:30 a.m. and eight fire trucks deployed by Bekasi Regency Fire Agency extinguished it within an hour.

"Five workers died in the fire and 50 people needed to be treated for burn injuries," Makmur said during a telephone call on Friday. All of the victims, Makmur said, were factory workers because the incident happened during working hours.

Makmur said that the five bodies were yet to be identified as they were burned beyond recognition. One of the five bodies was taken to Bekasi Regency General Hospital (RSUD) and the other four to the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the 50 injured victims were taken to Hermina Grand Wisata Hospital, Permata Bekasi Hospital and Mitra Keluarga Hospital in East Bekasi. "We will move 20 of the injured victims to RSCM [Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta] because they suffered severe burns," Makmur said.

Makmur also confirmed that the fire, which ravaged the factory's production warehouse, was caused by a gas pipeline failure.

The police, Makmur said, had questioned four witnesses, one of whom said that he heard an explosion before the fire. "But we have not yet calculated the financial damage that the fire has caused," Makmur said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal said that the National Police's forensics team from the central forensic laboratory (Labfor) had inspected the scene of the incident but the results had yet to be issued.

Jakarta Police's general crimes directorate chief Sr. Comr. Khrisna Murti said that the fire did not indicate any terrorism or sabotage. "It was a pure workplace accident," Khrisna said at the Jakarta Police's headquarters.

PT Mandom Indonesia has two factories at the location, a new one, in which the incident happened, and an old one.

Nyumarno, a union member and a councilor of Bekasi regency who deals with labor issues, said that the Bekasi Police had to wait for the forensic result to determine the precise cause.

"It was a new factory which had been in operation for less than two months. We have to find out whether it was human error or because the factory, although new, failed in its safety systems," Nyumarno told The Jakarta Post. Nyumarno went on to say that the incident was the biggest work-place accident recorded this year.

According to his data, complaints about workplace accidents from the entire Bekasi Regency increased by around 10 percent during the January-July period, compared to same period last year. He said from May to July alone, the Bekasi Council received 12 complaints regarding workplace safety.

Nyumarno said that workers in chemical manufacturing and construction companies at the industrial area were the most prone to work accidents and also to diseases due to work-related chemical exposure, ranging from asthma, kidney and pulmonary problems.

"I have suggested to the local Manpower Agency to require all companies in the industrial area to equip their workers with safety tools and provide special training programs," Nyumarno said. (foy)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/11/mandom-factory-fire-kills-5-injures-50.html

ILO warns Indonesia to invest in skilled labor or lose out

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2015

Andreyka Natalegawa – Indonesia must strengthen its labor institutions and invest in skills development, the International Labor Organization said in a report released on Thursday, with officials warning that the country should boost skill levels if it wants to benefit from regional economic integration.

In its latest Labor and Social Trends in Indonesia Report, the United Nations agency also says Indonesia should find new engines for growth as it faces economic slowdown.

"The institutions in the Indonesian labor market area are underdeveloped," said Robert Kyloh, the ILO's senior specialist for multilateral cooperation. "Indonesia has now reached a level of development where we should be trying to expand these institutions, like the labor inspection system, collective bargaining, and labor courts."

The report, which focused on the theme of strengthening competitiveness and productivity through decent work, found that Indonesia's labor market continued to expand over the 2014-15 period, with employment growing and unemployment remaining low despite highly fluid market conditions.

Estimates from August 2014 found that 121.9 million Indonesians were part of the national labor force, just over 48 percent of Indonesia's total population of 252.7 million.

Minimum wage, or less

Wages remain a crucial issue in the Indonesian labor market, as the number of Indonesians in wage-earning jobs increased to 38 percent of the entire employed population, a significant rise from past years.

"Wage-earning employment and the wages earned during that time, have become very important factors for the Indonesian economy," said Emma Allen, economist with ILO's Jakarta office and author of the Labor and Social Trends report. "As the share of people in wage employment increases, wages will begin to play a very critical role."

Despite increases in the number of individuals earning income from employment, the growth in average wages has lagged, as one in three regularly employed Indonesians receive a "low wage" of less than Rp 950,000 ($71) per month.

"In terms of this low-wage statistic, Indonesian workers are among the lowest-paid in the world," said Allen.

The ILO also found that low-wage workers in Indonesia tended to be disproportionately female. "Productivity has been increasing at a rapid pace in Indonesia, but we need to have mechanisms that ensure wages move parallel with prices and productivity gains if we want to secure equitable growth," added Allen.

Employer compliance with minimum wage regulations has also been a challenge, as 51.7 percent of Indonesian workers earn less than what they should based on provincial laws.

"What happens at the moment in Indonesia is that most employers rely on the minimum wage, and there isn't much collective bargaining to push wages beyond that," said Kyloh.

"We should be seeing discourse between employers and workers on wages, but what happens here is that people are paid either the minimum wage or less. That's a long way from the type of approach that we'd like to see in a middle-income country with a strong democracy."

In addressing issues of wage disparity, Allen recommends strengthening local labor institutions. "We must work towards building the capacities of labor inspectorates in the Ministry of Manpower, and support the development of a better collective bargaining system in Indonesia." Slowdown

Progress must be made in strengthening the responsiveness of Indonesia's labor system, as rapid changes in regional markets bring about a new global economic status quo. "The Indonesian economy has long benefited from trends in the global economy, but these trends have begun to slow down somewhat," said Allen.

On Tuesday, the Asian Development Bank revised its forecast for Indonesia's GDP growth this year to 5 percent from 5.5 percent, due to significant delays in infrastructure spending and fuel subsidy cuts not having the desired effect.

During the January to March period this year, Indonesia's GDP grew by only 4.7 percent, the nation's slowest since 2009. Meanwhile, the rupiah has experienced a period of depreciation, falling 7.4 percent this year against the US dollar.

Changing landscape

The need for Indonesia to innovate and improve its labor sector has become increasingly clear in the face of changing economic circumstances in Southeast Asia, particularly the establishment of the Asean Economic Community, which is set to come into force at the end of the year.

According to a 2014 joint study conducted by the ILO and the ADB, the implementation of the AEC could generate up to 14 million additional jobs, improving the livelihoods of the 600 million women and men living in the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"ILO economic modeling and analysis has shown that the AEC will result in the creation of an additional 1.9 million jobs in Indonesia," Allen noted. "The AEC is going to bring a lot of positive changes, but Indonesia must be ready to take hold of these changes, and make sure the local economy benefits."

According to ILO and ADB figures, demand for high-skill employment under the AEC will increase by an additional 55.7 percent during the 2010 to 2025 period, compared to increases of 26.1 percent for medium-skill employment and a contraction of demand of 3.2 percent for low-skilled jobs.

"We know that the AEC is going to increase demand for skilled labor, so now is the time to invest in education, meaning universities and vocational training systems," Allen said. "There must be a productive dialogue between employers and educators, to make sure the curriculum is in line with what the economy is demanding."

A failure to respond to changes in labor demand could have have significant impacts on the local economy, representatives from the ILO said.

"If skills investments don't happen, then Indonesia will not be well placed to take advantage of the AEC. We currently have a large supply of low-skill labor, which is a sector that will contract under the AEC," said Michiko Miyamoto, the officer in charge at the ILO office in Jakarta.

"Something has to happen quickly, because 2015 is already here. We need to see a larger volume of investment, and concerted efforts between employers and workers to prepare for the future."

Allen agreed that frameworks like the AEC would bring swift changes. "The big thing the AEC is going to do is accelerate structural changes, accelerate demand for highly skilled workers and decrease demand for unskilled workers."

"We're going to see the agriculture sector contract, while capital intensive sectors like manufacturing and service should expand," she said.

Engines for growth

Concerns about Indonesia's competitiveness in the global market have led to calls for the exploration of new avenues of development, the ILO report says.

"It's a fact, growth is going to be slower this year. So the key for Indonesia is to find new engines for growth. One of these engines for growth could be the manufacturing sector," said Allen. "Manufacturing is one of the most dynamic sectors in the local economy. It provides a lot of Indonesian workers with quality jobs."

According to the Labor and Social Trends report, the overall contribution of the manufacturing sector to Indonesia's GDP has declined steadily in recent years, dropping by 2.9 percent from 28.4 percent in 2004 to 25.5 percent in 2013.

"The manufacturing sector grew very rapidly in the decade leading up to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, but since the crash it hasn't made significant progress in growth," said Kyloh. "But with global commodity prices falling, we need to think about what Indonesia can do to bring growth back to these sectors."

"Wages have been increasing in places like China, and a lot of manufacturers are staring to make decisions on where to go next. It could be Indonesia," Kyloh said.

Earlier this year, South Korean tech giant Samsung opened a cellphone factory in West Java, in compliance with national regulation requiring that all 4G smartphones sold in the country as of 2017 include 30 percent local content.

Faced with a changing economic landscape, Kyloh said he remained optimistic about Indonesia's future as developing nation.

"There's a lot of potential here, but that potential can only be realized if there is action," he said. "Just sitting back and doing nothing is not going to work. We see many of these developments as positives, so long as the government can take action soon."

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ilo-warns-indonesia-invest-skilled-labor-lose/

Political parties & elections

KPU agrees to accept candidates from conflicted political parties

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2015

Jakarta – With only one week to go before the closing of registration for the December regional elections, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has agreed to accommodate political parties that are suffering leadership schisms.

The election committee has given a nod to a plan for rival leaders within a single political party to jointly name a candidate in a region, after previously insisting that only parties with a single official leader can name candidates for the 269 regional head elections in December.

The original requirement has kept two political parties that are currently involved in such internal conflicts – the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) – embroiled in legal battles to secure official recognition.

KPU member Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah said that the change in the registration requirement will not come easily. He said that the election committee still requires a consensus among the government, the political party leaders and the House of Representatives to make the revisions.

"If [they] can agree on one mechanism, we will run it, but if any of them disagrees, we will not change the candidacy regulation," Ferry said on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Ferry said the consensus is important since there may be differences in the coalitions parties form at the national and regional levels. This means that one candidate who is approved by a political party at a national level may not earn the same approval at the regional level.

Ferry emphasized the importance for political parties to agree on joint committees of the political parties.

The KPU previously insisted that it would not accept candidates endorsed by a political party with dual leaders on the grounds that it would contradict the Regional Elections Law.

As the registration deadline nears, the election committee has felt pressure from Golkar, the country's second largest political party, which is threatened with being left out of the elections because of the current infighting between two camps, one led by Agung Laksono and the other by Aburizal Bakrie.

Aburizal's group, which controls the party's House faction, initiated a probe against the KPU on the basis that the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had found several misreported budget items in the committee's financial report last year.

The BPK later launched a special audit on the KPU on its preparation for the December elections and ordered the committee to clarify the financial irregularities in its 2014 financial report.

On Monday, the BPK reported the results of the special audit that revealed glitches in the committee's preparations, including 25 regions that have yet to prepare security and supervisory budgets and another 11 regions that haven't allocated funds for the elections in their respective regional budgets.

The agency has also highlighted in the report that many regions still have poor scheduling for the elections, as well as the Constitutional Court that has yet to decide on a dispute settlement mechanism.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla is scheduled to meet with the KPU and political party leaders on Monday night to discuss the election preparations.

Prior to the meeting, Kalla expressed doubt that the meeting would reach any agreement. "Many of the party chairmen are currently abroad," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/14/kpu-agrees-accept-candidates-conflicted-political-parties.html

KPU to revise regulation to bypass MK ruling

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2015

Tama Salim, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) will seek to revise an existing regulation under its authority following a recent Constitutional Court (MK) ruling that has invalidated a clause in the 2015 Regional Elections Law, which analysts said could help the formation of political dynasties in the regions.

The court ruling, to respond to a judicial review by South Sulawesi Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) member Adnan Purichta Ichsan, negates Article 7 (r) of the law that restricts family members of an incumbent governor or mayor from participating in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections, scheduled to kick off on Dec. 9.

With the ruling, it is expected that incumbents could consolidate their influence in their respective electoral districts. The court, on the other hand, argued that the provision was a violation of the constitutional rights of citizens.

KPU commissioner Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah said that the election body would look to reinforce the legal basis that would prevent conflicts of interest with regard to the registration of incumbents and their affiliates in the upcoming elections.

"We respect the Constitutional Court's decision, so we'll look to revise KPU Regulation No. 9/2015 [instead]. The stipulation regarding incumbents' conflicts of interest needs to be defined as soon as possible," Ferry said during a press briefing in Central Jakarta on Saturday.

Ferry said, however, that the KPU should not be the only party tasked with cracking down on incumbents taking advantage of regulations. He said that other stakeholders should also be involved.

Besides laying the legal foundation for the prevention of possible conflicts of interest, he called on the public to monitor the internal recruitment process within political parties for regional head candidates.

"To ensure the quality of the regional elections, we have to safeguard the political recruitment process [...] There has to be a commitment on the part of political parties to adhere to the democratic process and back a candidate based on his or her track record," he said.

"If there are incumbents [or their affiliates] wishing to run again in the elections, political parties need to be more selective in making their choices, whether in terms of credibility or legal standing, such as indications of foul play," Ferry said.

The deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs, Ahmad Riza Patria, underscored the importance of the public scrutinizing the activities of incumbent regional heads and their political party affiliates ahead of the registration period.

Riza said that in spite of the court ruling, political parties played key roles in keeping the rise of political dynasties in check.

He said that it was up to political parties to screen for highly qualified and credible candidates. "We want to give a chance for the best candidates out there to run [in the election]," he said.

Constitutional law expert Irman Putra Sidin said that parties needed to be careful in screening candidates based on their familial background.

"We can agree that incumbents are prone to misusing their authority [to benefit themselves in the upcoming election], but don't let that assumption dictate the norm for other cases like family or political ties," Irman said on Saturday.

Irman said that credibility needed to be the yard stick for screening candidates, even if there was a potential conflict of interest. He said the problems of incumbency could be overcome if political parties maintained a steady hand in choosing the right candidates.

"We have to remember that it is up to the parties to nominate a candidate, and not the incumbent. That's why it is the party's task to find credible candidates," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/kpu-revise-regulation-bypass-mk-ruling.html

Rhoma Irama sets up new political party

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Self-styled king of dangdut singer Rhoma Irama launched on Saturday his new political party, called the Peaceful and Benign Islam (Idaman) Party, which he says will promote Islam's tolerance and the values of pluralism.

Rhoma, who declared himself chairman of the party, said he had decided to set up the party after seeing how Islam had become a target of Islamophobia in the past few years.

"In Indonesia and around the world, Muslims have not been brave enough to step forward and to claim their identity due to various stigmas such as terrorism, radicalism and racism," he said during the soft-launch of the Idaman Party in an Arabic-themed restaurant in South Jakarta over the weekend.

The singer, known for dangdut hits like "Begadang" (Stay up all night) and "Judi" (Gambling), argued that Islamic teaching encouraged pluralism and he wanted his party to allow membership for anybody regardless of their faith.

"The [Idaman Party] must be inclusive, not exclusive. We can't have members from just NU [Nahdlatul Ulama] or just from Muhammadiyah," Rhoma said, referring to the two largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia.

In the ceremony, Rhoma and Idaman Party secretary-general Abdurrahman Tardjo signed a certificate indicating the soft-launch of the party, before Rhoma taught the crowd the party's official slogans.

Rhoma also claimed that the party had set up their structure in all 34 provinces and most regencies and once the party met all the requirements needed to officially register with the Law and Human Rights Ministry, he would proceed with declaring the party a legitimate political vehicle.

"Hopefully we will be able to register our membership before Aug. 17 when we will officially declare the Idaman Party," he said. He declined to provide details regarding the total number of members.

Rhoma, a former member the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), denied that he had established the new party due to his disappointment with those three Islamic parties.

"I have never felt disappointed [with my involvement in the three parties] but I feel that establishing [the Idaman Party] is party of my contribution to this country. I will make it my goal to create strong links between the Islamic and nationalistic parties," he said.

Last year, Rhoma was tapped as the PKB's presidential candidate but was later dropped, leading to his departure from the party amid claims he had been manipulated simply to increase the party's vote.

He did not fare much better in the PBB as he failed to become party chairman in the race against Yusril Ihza Mahendra in April.

Political analyst Gun Gun Heryanto said the biggest challenge Rhoma would face was transforming himself from an entertainment figure into a credible politician.

"Rhoma Irama does not have an image as a credible politician in spite of his huge popularity as a musician. Although he has been involved in politics since the 1970s, he has a lot to prove because he has never been a mainstream political figure," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/rhoma-irama-sets-new-political-party.html

Court rules Golkar, PPP belong to pro-Jokowi factions

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2015

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The State High Administrative Court (PTTUN) ruled on Friday that Agung Laksono is the legal chairman of the conflicted Golkar Party, overturning a previous lower court decision that granted the party leadership to his rival Aburizal Bakrie.

"PTTUN has just approved the legality of Agung Laksono's leadership over Golkar, annulling the decision of the Jakarta State Administrative Court [PTUN]," Agung camp spokesman Leo Nababan said.

The latest court ruling was delivered in response to an appeal filed by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly against the lower court decision. Early in May, the PTUN decided to invalidate the decree of the law and human rights minister that endorsed Agung's leadership of the party.

Responding to the court ruling, Agung said that he now has solid control over the party. "Now that the court has validated our position, we have a strong legal basis," Agung told reporters.

In spite of the victory, Agung said that he would continue holding talks with Aburizal's camp, but Agung insisted that he would have the sole authority to decide which candidates who would contest the local elections. "With or without the reconciliation, I can go it alone in nominating the candidates," he said.

Responding to the ruling, Aburizal said he would file an appeal to the Supreme Court. "We will go to the Supreme Court. I am sure that the right will win the day," Aburizal said.

The latest court ruling, issued only two weeks before the General Election Commission (KPU) is to wrap up the registration period for candidates in the local elections, would allow Agung to endorse which candidates could run in the polls.

A KPU regulation obliges every central board committee of a political party to submit a Law and Human Rights ministerial decree recognizing its leadership.

A political party with a split leadership should submit a final and binding court ruling to recognize its official leader, or the election committee would refer to the most recent ministerial decree issued on the matter.

Now with the validation from PTTUN, the Golkar Party is able to submit a list of candidates for regional head positions to the KPU for the simultaneous local elections scheduled on Dec. 9.

Golkar is expected to submit the list to the Provincial General Elections Commission (KPUD) during the registration period from July 26 to 28. Party Spokesman Leo Nababan said that the party had already been selecting the candidates for the local elections.

"The candidates in 34 provinces have already undergone fit and proper tests and would be given approval by the selection team headed by Agung Laksono," he said, adding that he was one of the members of the selection team in North Sumatra. The party's provincial branch has already submitted 78 candidates to Agung in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the same court issued another ruling that endorsed the leadership of Muhammad Romahurmuziy over the United Development Party (PPP). "This court ruled to annul the verdict of the Jakarta State Administrative Court [PTUN] issued on Feb. 25, 2015," the PTTUN ruling said.

In its February ruling, the PTUN also invalidated Yasonna's decree to recognize the leadership of Romahurmuziy and gave the party leadership to his rival Djan Faridz, once a minister under then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Like in the Golkar Party, PPP elites split this year over disagreements surrounding a number of issues, including the organizing of a succession via a national congress, which is held once every five years.

Failure to find a resolution for the leadership conflict would also disqualify the PPP from contesting the regional elections. "From now on, PPP leadership is under my direction. All should be united under my lead," said Romahurmuziy. (rbk)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/11/court-rules-golkar-ppp-belong-pro-jokowi-factions.html

Constitutional court clears way for ex-convicts to run for regional

Jakarta Globe - July 10, 2015

Jakarta – Indonesia's Constitutional Court has quashed a prohibition against serious criminal offenders running for public office, just a day after removing a similar electoral restriction meant to prevent the formation of political dynasties.

In a ruling on Thursday on a challenge to the 2015 Regional Elections Law by former convicts Jumanto and Fathor Rasyid, the court found in favor of the petitioners' argument that the prohibition went "against the spirit of the Constitution."

The prohibition in question, Article 7(g) of the law, states that no one who has been convicted of a crime for which the minimum prescribed sentenced is five years may run for the post of governor, mayor or district chief.

However, the chief of the panel of justices hearing the challenge, Anwar Usman, ruled the article invalid, saying that ex-convicts should be allowed to run for public office "as long as [they] openly and honestly make known to the public that they are a former convict."

"[Article 7(g)] has infringed on the petitioners' right for equal legal and political standing," Anwar added.

Patrialis Akbar, another of the justices, said that ex-convicts who did not wish to make public their criminal record would have to wait a minimum of five years after the end of their sentence before running for office.

The court also quashed Article 45(2)(k) of the law, which states that candidates running for regional office must present proof of never having been convicted by a court of a crime with a minimum prescribed sentence of five years.

Yandri Susanto, a politician from the National Mandate Party (PAN), criticized the ruling, calling it a step backward in Indonesia's democratic march and undermining attempts to instate a system of checks and balances on power.

"It's regrettable that the court only viewed [the issue] from a Constitution standpoint without looking at the realities and input from lawmakers, academics, NGOs and the public," he said. "Ethically it is inappropriate for an ex-convict to run for office," he added.

The Elections Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu) said it would have to work even harder to ensure free and fair elections now that the court ruling allows convicted criminals to run for regional office.

The ruling came a day after the court struck down Article 7(r) of the same law, which stated that no one with "a conflict of interests" with an incumbent governor, mayor or district chief could run for the same post.

The article had been instated to prevent the formation of dynasties in regional politics, with many regional elections seen being won by the offspring, siblings or other relatives of the outgoing head, thanks to name recognition more than anything else.

The concentration of power in the hands of a select few families has given rise to massive corruption in regions such as Banten province, whose now- jailed governor, Ratu Atut Chosiyah, is the head of a clan that controls district and municipal administrations and councils across the province.

Yuddy Chrisnandi, the minister for bureaucratic reform, called both rulings "unethical". "It is inappropriate that in a political process that is getting more and more democratic and transparent we still find political dynasties," he said in response to Wednesday's ruling.

Fearing that incumbents might abuse their power to win votes for their relatives and cronies, Yuddy said his ministry would remind all public officials of the punishment they could face for failing to stay neutral.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/constitutional-court-clears-way-ex-convicts-run-regional-office/

Local leaders withhold almost $20 billion in state funds before polls

Reuters - July 9, 2015

Hidayat Setiaji & Gayatri Suroyo, Jakarta – Regional Indonesian leaders are withholding nearly $20 billion of government funds, including money for social assistance programs, while they wait for the start of election campaigns in August, palace officials said on Thursday.

The delay in fund disbursements, which represents around 13 percent of the national budget, is contributing to the worst slowdown in Southeast Asia's largest economy since 2009.

Only 1 percent of the Rp 250 trillion ($18.75 billion) allotted to regencies and cities from the national government in this year's budget has been spent, Coordinating Minister for Economics Sofyan Djalil said on Thursday.

A senior palace official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, told Reuters: "The local governments are delaying this because they would like to spend the money closer to the local elections."

Sluggish government spending, particularly on infrastructure projects, has prevented a rebound in Indonesia's economy, which is expected to have stayed below 5 percent in Q2 for the second straight quarter.

"The home affairs minister will form a team to speed up budget disbursement to kick start economic growth. They will visit regions to see what the problem is," Sofyan said.

The central bank forecast growth to reach the higher end of its 5 percent- 5.4 percent target this year if the government was able to speed up spending.

Indonesia's more than 500 local government have on average spent only around 25 percent of their regional budgets in the first half of this year, said Reydonnyzar Moenoek, director general of regional finance at the Home Affairs Ministry.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who represents one of Indonesia's most populous provinces, said some spending had been slow but denied funds were being withheld for political purposes ahead of elections.

"We're very careful in terms of social help and grants. Everything must be verified because if it turns out to be fictional, we will be arrested," Ganjar said.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/local-leaders-withhold-almost-20b-state-funds-polls/

Surveys & opinion polls

Survey suggests top ministers on chopping block

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Amid speculation that a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent, a public opinion poll has revealed that ministers handling law and the economy received the lowest approval ratings as the public is worried about the country's slumping economy and law enforcement.

The survey, released on Thursday by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), shows that the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister scored the lowest approval rating, with only 9.9 percent of respondents saying that they were satisfied with its performance.

The Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister performed slightly better with a 10.2 percent approval rating, the SMRC found.

The survey found that the public in general believed President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had performed badly in three areas: economy, politics and law enforcement.

Some 31.5 percent of respondents believed that the economy had worsened since Jokowi took office in October last year, while 37.5 percent believed that the political situation had deteriorated under Jokowi's watch. Likewise, 37.8 percent of respondents believed that law enforcement had suffered a setback during the period measured in the survey.

The survey questioned 1,220 respondents in all of the country's 34 provinces from May to June 2015, with a random sampling method and a 2.9 percent margin of error.

The best-performing coordinating ministries were the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, with a 25.2 percent approval rating, followed by the Office of the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister with 14.4 percent.

The survey also measured the approval rating of individual ministries and found that the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, helmed by Susi Pudjiastuti, was the best-performing ministry with 27 percent of respondents giving a thumbs-up.

Susi's persistent popularity has been largely attributed to her popular decision to crack down on illegal fishing activities by foreign fishermen.

"The second-best performing ministry is the Religious Affairs Ministry with 8 percent, followed by the Health Ministry with 4.6 percent, Social Affairs Ministry with 4.6 percent and the Agriculture Ministry with 4.2 percent," SMRC executive director Djayadi Hanan said.

The other 22 ministries failed to register an approval rating as they scored less than 1 percent. "It's another way of saying that the public doesn't know what the Cabinet is doing," Djayadi said.

University of Indonesia political expert Salim Said, meanwhile, said that some of the underperforming ministers had been too busy focusing on public relations campaigns, including Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi.

"A minister who is supposed to be managing bureaucracy is going to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport instead to handle a fire. That's not his business," Salim said on Thursday.

Yuddy visited the international airport last Sunday to monitor services at Soekarno-Hatta following a fire that broke out in a VIP lounge at Terminal 2E of the airport in Tangerang, Banten.

Jokowi has indicated that he is likely to reshuffle his Cabinet soon as a result of worsening economic conditions. The President has expressed his disappointment with his economic ministers' performances, especially after slowing economic growth in the first semester.

Speculation over a Cabinet reshuffle was also rife after Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo revealed there was a minister who liked to belittle the President behind his back. However, Tjahjo, a member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), declined to mention the person by name.

The PDI-P itself has proposed senior politician Tubagus Hasanuddin and former lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari as candidates for defense minister and administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, respectively, in the event of Jokowi deciding to shake up his Cabinet.

Eva said it was important for Jokowi to carry out a reshuffle to regain the public's trust following a decline in approval.

She suggested that Jokowi choose people who would stand up for him, instead of belittling him behind his back. "If I were him, I would choose someone who is loyal. Loyalty is number one," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/11/survey-suggests-top-ministers-chopping-block.html

Jokowi's approval rating nosedives: SMRC

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Amid people's growing anxiety over the country's economy, public approval of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's performance stands at a meager 40.7 percent, less than one year into his presidency, a survey has found.

The survey, released on Thursday by Saiful Mujani Research and Consultant (SMRC), shows Jokowi's public approval rating to be worse than that of then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the first year of his two-term presidency.

"It's a far cry from SBY's 2005 approval rating during his first term, which stood at 70 percent, and his approval rating during his second term in 2010, at 66 percent," said SMRC executive director Djayadi Hanan during the survey's launch at his office in Central Jakarta.

The President declined to comment about the survey result when asked about it on the sidelines of a fast-breaking gathering at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday evening.

Salid Said, a political expert from the University of Indonesia, argued that Jokowi could bounce back as long as he exercised his power more freely and resisted intervention from his ruling coalition members.

"It's important for him to realize that he's a powerful president. If he keeps letting himself be dictated to by people around him, he will be lost in history," he said on Thursday.

"If he is unable to muster up courage, then he will never be himself. Without that courage, there's no way for Jokowi to orchestrate a cabinet reshuffle to get the cabinet that he truly wants and the kind of cabinet he needs to carry out his vision and his plans," Salim commented.

The survey questioned 1,220 respondents in all 34 provinces from May to June 2015, with a random sampling method and a 2.9 percent margin of error. Djayadi attributed the quick downfall of Jokowi's ratings to high initial public expectation.

For the months leading up to the 2014 presidential election and into his early days at the state palace in October of last year, Jokowi enjoyed public adulation thanks to his meteoric rise from mayor of Surakarta in Central Java to become President of a country of 250 million people. His humble beginnings as the son of a carpenter added to his adulation.

Popular public support helped him to beat his rival, Prabowo Subianto, 53.15 percent to 46.85 percent in the election.

When Jokowi first announced his Cabinet in October 2014, 74.5 percent of respondents from a previous SMRC survey said that they believed Jokowi to be able to deliver on his promises to lead the country.

"Now, there are only 54.9 percent who say so. This is a significant drop of 20 percent in less than one year. Those who are doubtful of Jokowi's capability also increased from 17.5 percent to 37.8 percent," Djayadi said.

The survey revealed that the public perceived Jokowi's performance to be subpar in three areas: economics, politics and law enforcement,

Some 31.5 percent of respondents believed that the economy had gotten worse since Jokowi took over the presidency, while 37.5 percent believed that the current political situation had deteriorated under Jokowi's watch. Likewise, 37.8 percent of respondents believed that law enforcement had declined during the surveyed period.

"When Jokowi decided to eliminate the fuel subsidy, he failed to manage the consequences of that policy. The government appeared not to have strategies to mitigate the impact. Jokowi seemed busy focusing on the political fiasco that erupted between the National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] instead," Djayadi said.

"When people's bellies were full, they could tolerate more [mistakes from their president]. But when hunger strikes, a tiny mistake could easily fuel our rage," Djayadi warned.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/10/jokowi-s-approval-rating-nosedives-smrc.html

Media & journalism

AJI deplores violence against journalist

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2015

Kupang – The Alliance of Independence Journalists (AJI) and the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) chapter of the Indonesian Television Journalist Association (IJTI) have urged the police to investigate violence allegedly committed by a civil servant of the NTT administration's Legal Office against Efron Suna, a television journalist from Anak Flobamora Berkreasi (AFB) TV.

"AJI Kupang deplore the incident of beating [against the journalist]. We ask police to probe the case," AJI Kupang Alexander Dimoe told the Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Efron said that he was slapped by the civil servant, identified as Maret Jalla, who also took his handycam, mobile phone, and press card on Monday.

"Maret got angry after I protested against him for taking away the press card of Rambu, also an AFB TV journalist. We were trying to interview NTT Deputy Governor Benny Litelnoni at his office at that time but he refused to be interviewed. I have reported the case to the police," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/15/islands-focus-aji-deplores-violence-against-journalist.html

Environment & natural disasters

New report calls for inquiry into Montara oil spill

Melbourne Age - July 15, 2015

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – A new report into the 2009 Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea has called for a full independent investigation into the scale of the damage in Indonesian waters, saying evidence pointed to a larger environmental and social disaster than has ever been officially acknowledged.

The oil spill – the worst in the history of Australia's offshore petroleum industry – saw PTTEP Australasia, a subsidiary of Thai state-owned oil company PTTEP, spew oil into the ocean for 74 days, with estimates ranging between 400 and 2000 barrels a day.

In an attempt to disperse the oil the Australian Maritime Safety Authority sprayed more than 180,000 litres of dispersants onto the sea's surface. ome of these dispersants are now known to be toxic according to the report to be launched on Wednesday by the Australian Lawyers Alliance.

More than five years later many questions remain about the effect of the spill on the Indonesian economy and people, the report says, and the lack of remediation or any form of compensation has not been adequately brought to light.

Fishermen and seaweed farmers in Nusa Tenggara Timur – one of Indonesia's poorest and most remote provinces – say they observed an influx of white, waxy pollutants, killing fish and seaweed plots in the weeks after the spill. They say the white "sickness" destroyed their livelihoods and some reported rashes, pus-filled cysts and food poisoning.

"Following the spill, some communities believed that the gods were punishing them, or that Australia was trying to kill them," the After the Spill report says.

It says Indonesia's Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies estimates that the economic loss caused by the Montara oil spill to the fishing and seaweed industries in Nusa Tenggara Timur amounts to about $1.5 billion per year since 2009.

"Families have experienced desperation, anger, tragedy and rising debts... People have been denied the answers that they should have duly received... We believe that it is appropriate and well overdue for Australia to ensure that appropriate information is received by communities about what happened to their homes and livelihoods and for that information to be factual, accurate and based on independent science."

The villagers of Landu island, off the east coast of Rote island, say they were amongst the hardest hit because of their close proximity to the Australian coast. All the seaweed just died – all of it. Nothing was left," Landu village chief Semuel Messak told Fairfax Media.

"At first we didn't know why, till we heard about the oil spill. Before the spill, we could catch up to 100 fish each time we went out. Now, even after all these years, it's still difficult, maybe just 10-15 fish each time we go out to sea. We couldn't look for another job, because being fishermen (and seaweed farmers) is all the villagers know how to do. It was only by the grace of God we survived."

Nikodemus Manefa, a seaweed farmer whom Fairfax Media found tending his crop at Mulut Seribu in Rote recalls: "the seaweed turned white and fell off the string".

PTTEP Australasia has repeatedly said that to date it has not received any credible evidence that oil from Montara caused damage to the environment in West Timor.

It points to the Montara Environmental Monitoring Program which showed there was no long-term damage to the marine environment, notably at various reefs and shoals in Australian waters closest to Montara.

The company says independent studies published by the Australian Environment Department found 98 per cent of Montara oil stayed in Australian waters.

However the Australian Lawyers Alliance says the evidence it has gathered is sufficient to trigger an independent, scientific investigation – which it says PTTEP should fund.

It calls on the Australian government to negotiate with the governments of Indonesia and Timor-Leste, affected communities and PTTEP Australasia to ensure the commencement of the investigation.

A DFAT spokeswoman said: "The Australian government is aware that community groups in East Nusa Tenggara are interested in having research undertaken on the impact of the Montara oil spill in Indonesia, and we have conveyed this to PTTEP Australasia."

The Australian government has repeatedly said it has no jurisdiction to compel companies to perform research in another country.

But the Australian Lawyers Alliance national president Greg Phelps said the Australian government does have jurisdiction to be proactive and offer Indonesia assistance to ensure proper research is conducted.

"The poverty and disadvantage of the reported victims is no excuse to ignore the effects of this disaster," Mr Phelps said.

The report says the Australian government's response is in stark contrast to US President Barack Obama's response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico just months after Montara.

"In fact, it is in the national interest to break this stalemate, given that our relationship with Indonesia has previously been described as 'perhaps our most important relationship'," the report says.

[With Amilia Rosa.]

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/world/new-report-calls-for-inquiry-into-montara-oil-spill-20150714-gibhj0.html

Orangutans threatened with extinction

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2015

Jakarta – An animal conservation activist has warned that habitat loss is the greatest threat faced by orangutans.

"What orangutans are facing is a conflict, a fight for land where they live," Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) executive director Jamartin Sihite said on Sunday.

The conservationist said orangutans were threatened with extinction because forests in which they were living had been degraded or converted.

Citing an example, he said, primary forests that used to be the natural habitats of orangutans in Kalimantan had been converted into production forests, and trees where they used to make nests or forage for food had been chopped down. Parts of the forests have been converted into plantations, mining areas and human settlement.

Sihite said the absence of primary forests had hampered the BOSF's plans to release hundreds of orangutans it had taken care of in its conservation areas in Samboja Lestari, East Kalimantan, and Nyaru Menteng, Central Kalimantan, back to their natural habitats.

Samboja Lestari is now home to 270 orangutans while in Nyaru Menteng, there are more than 600 orangutans. "That's why we focus our attention on providing special areas for orangutans," said Sihite.

In 2009, the BOSF established PT Rehabilitasi Habitat Orangutan Indonesia (RHOI), which manages Kehje Sewen, a forest that used to be a forest utilization license (HPH) area in Muara Wahau, East Kutai, and now is used as an area where orangutans will be released.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/national-scene-orangutans-threatened-with-extinction.html

Health & education

Government says it doesn't want to price cigarettes out of reach of

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2015

Jakarta – The Indonesian government's main argument against raising the excise level for tobacco is that it will make cigarettes unaffordable for many Indonesians.

The Finance Ministry's Directorate General of Customs and Excise, which has raised its revenue target from the tobacco excise this year despite missing last year's target, says that for now it will only try to ensure tobacco companies comply with their excise obligations.

Heru Pambudi, the director general, said his office was wary about raising the tobacco excise because it would curb cigarette consumption – an attitude in keeping with the Indonesian government's refusal to acknowledge, in deed if not in rhetoric, the health dangers of smoking.

"We have to be careful about imposing a [higher] tariff when cigarette production is declining," he said as quoted by Liputan6.com. "Then consumers won't be able to afford [cigarettes]. Then [production] will fall even more, and this is what we have to look out for, because cigarette production is now experiencing a declining trend."

The customs office raked in Rp 112 trillion ($8.41 billion) from the tobacco excise in 2014, short of its target of Rp 116 trillion. This year, it has raised its target by more than a quarter, to Rp 142 trillion – although without an excise hike, last instated at the start of 2015, it appears unlikely to meet the target.

Heru said a drop in cigarette production was one of three factors that would hurt overall customs and excise revenue this year, targeted at Rp 195 trillion. The others include a Finance Ministry regulation barring transactions begun this year and concluding next year from being booked as 2015 revenue and a controversial Trade Ministry prohibition on sales of alcoholic beverages at minimarts.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/rejecting-excise-hike-govt-says-doesnt-want-price-cigarettes-reach-public/

Graft & corruption

'Mentally unstable' detective Waseso must go, says former Muhammadiyah

Jakarta Globe - July 15, 2015

Farouk Arnaz & Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – A war of words has broken out between the Indonesian police force and the country's second-biggest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, over the central role of a controversial police general in an ongoing campaign to undermine the national antigraft commission.

Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, the National Police's chief of detectives, lashed out on Tuesday at calls by Ahmad "Buya" Syafii Maarif, the highly regarded former chairman of the 30-million-strong Muhammadiyah, for him to be fired over his blatant targeting of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and its members.

"What's his capacity [to make that call]?" Waseso told reporters at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta. "There's no need for him to comment or interfere in law enforcement matters when he doesn't even understand law enforcement. He's not stupid, but he must understand what's good law enforcement and what's bad law enforcement."

Waseso, a self-professed sycophant to deputy police chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a one-time corruption suspect who won a severely flawed court ruling that threw out the charges against him before he was even indicted, was responding to Buya's statement on Monday demanding that President Joko Widodo fire the chief detective.

Waseso's office has orchestrated a string of transparently trumped-up charges against KPK officials since the antigraft commission in January named Budi a graft suspect. In its latest move to blatantly undermine the KPK, the detectives' unit last week charged two Judicial Commission members with defamation after they criticized Sarpin Rizaldi, the judge who handed down the ruling in favor of Budi.

Mentally unstable

Buya, speaking at a gathering with Joko at the KPK headquarters to break the fast, said it was ridiculous that the police would see fit to charge members of a government-mandated watchdog for doing their jobs.

"That's the sign of an official [Waseso] who lacks confidence. He's mentally unstable if he can so easily name people as suspects," the famously plainspoken Buya said. "I hope the nation no longer has to be led by someone as erratic as this."

He called on Joko to immediately order the dismissal of Waseso from his post. "How hard could it be? Just ask [police chief Badrodin] Haiti to replace him," Buya said.

The former Muhammadiyah chief has made the call on several occasions since the Budi fiasco broke in January.

"This chief of detectives doesn't understand detective work," he told Vice President Jusuf Kalla during a meeting in March. "He doesn't have the least bit of competence or professionalism."

The current Muhammadiyah leadership has thrown its support behind Buya, with Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, the chairman of its hugely influential youth wing, Pemuda Muhammadiyah, echoing the demand that Waseso be fired.

"[Waseso's] actions are an insult to Muhammadiyah followers," he said on Wednesday. "He must be fired because since becoming the chief of detectives, he has criminalized anticorruption activists and law enforcement officers who are trying to fight corruption."

Plot to undermine KPK

Waseso claims his office is simply carrying out its duty of following up on the complaint filed by Sarpin against Judicial Commission chairman Suparman Marzuki and commissioner Taufiqurahman Sauri. He did not say why it rather conveniently named them suspects within days of the commission recommending to the Supreme Court that Sarpin be suspended for six months for throwing out the charges against Budi.

The ruling was panned by legal scholars, including from the Judicial Commission, who unanimously agreed that it went against the substance of the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP) and the scope of a pretrial hearing.

Waseso's office has also been universally denounced for pursuing criminal charges against KPK chairman Abraham Samad, deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto and investigator Novel Baswedan – all based on cold cases dating back up to a decade and seen as a retaliation for the KPK's decision to charge Budi with bribery and money laundering in connection with undeclared millions of dollars in his personal bank accounts.

The investigative news magazine Tempo last week published an explosive report alleging a complex and high-level political plot to criminalize the KPK officials, said to be masterminded by Hasto Kristiyanto, the deputy secretary general of the president's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The plot, said to involve the police, was apparently hatched to get even with the KPK, in particular Abraham, for nixing Budi's chances of becoming the country's next police chief.

Budi is known to be close to PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, Joko's political patron, having served as her security aide during her presidency.

Abraham had agitated last year to launch an investigation into Megawati for writing off billions of dollars in government bailout funds spirited away overseas following the 1997-98 financial crisis, in what would have been the biggest corruption investigation in the country's history had it proceeded.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/mentally-unstable-chief-detective-waseso-must-go-says-former-muhammadiyah-head/

Sarpin's move endangers freedom of speech: ICJR

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2015

Haeril Halim and Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) has urged the Supreme Court, which oversees judges across the country, to instruct South Jakarta District Court Sarpin Rizaldi to revoke his defamation report against two leading members of the Judicial Commission (KY), chairman Suparman Marzuki and deputy chairman Taufiqurrohman Syahuri.

The National Police have gone ahead in processing Sarpin's report by naming the two KY sitting commissioners suspects for public remarks criticizing the pretrial ruling vindicating National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan. The ruling was handed down by Sarpin in February.

Sarpin filed a defamation report with Bareskrim in March alleging that statements made by Suparman and Taufiqurrohman in the media had tarnished his name.

The police moved against Suparman and Taufiqurrohman just days after the KY concluded its investigation, finding that Sarpin had violated the judges' code of ethics in his ruling on Budi's pretrial plea, in which he claimed that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigation into Budi was "illegitimate". The KY further recommended the Supreme Court suspend Sarpin for six months for his offenses.

ICJR director Supriyadi W Eddyono said that the police's move against the two KPK commissioners had closed the door for the public to criticize any controversial ruling in the future.

"If the Supreme Court does not ask Sarpin to do so then it means that the court closes the door [for the public] to criticize rulings in the future. This goes against with the openness principle campaign that the Supreme Court has promoted so far," Supriyadi said.

"Their statements criticizing the controversial ruling were made in their capacity as state officials who are protected by the law," Supriyadi added.

Shortly after the police's move, the KY called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to come to the aid of Suparman and Taufiqurrohman in the case.

On Monday, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said that the government would try to lobby Sarpin to withdraw his defamation report in a move to prevent future institutional conflicts.

National Police detective division chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso insisted on Tuesday that the defamation case could not be stopped unless South Jakarta District Court Sarpin Rizaldi revoked his police report.

"I have no problem if the person who filed the report decides to revoke the police report. I am just conducting my duties," he said on Tuesday.

Budi added that his division would automatically drop the case if Sarpin requested it as the charges were based on the latter's report, not an investigation initiated by the police.

He also asked the public not to accuse the police force for criminalizing the KY commissioners as there was no basis for such accusations.

"[Naming the KY commissioners suspect] is just a normal thing. When I was working on the cases against the [suspended] Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] commissioners, people kept saying that I was criminalizing them or making things up. Of course, that is not the case. I am a professional and this is purely an act of law enforcement," Budi said.

Moreover, he urged the public not to look at the charges as an attack against the institution but as a simple matter of law enforcement directed against individuals that had violated the Criminal Code (KUHP).

Separately, Sarpin's lawyer Dion Pongkor said that Sarpin had yet to make up his mind whether or not he would comply with the government's suggestion to withdraw his report at the Bareskrim office.

"It all depends on Pak Sarpin whether he will accept or reject the suggestion. Today, we will discuss the matter," Dion said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/15/sarpin-s-move-endangers-freedom-speech-icjr.html

KPK names top lawyer Kaligis bribery suspect

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2015

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained prominent advocate OC Kaligis on Tuesday evening, just hours after naming him a suspect in a bribery case involving judges in Medan, North Sumatra.

KPK investigators claimed they had found strong evidence that suggested Kaligis was the man behind the scheme to bribe three Medan State Administrative Court (PTUN) judges last week.

Kaligis, who is known for his often harsh statements against the KPK when he acted as the defense lawyer for several of the antigraft body's suspects, is also a member of the NasDem Party executive board, a party in the government coalition.

The arrest came just days after KPK investigators apprehended the three judges, PTUN Medan head Tripeni Irianto Putra, and Amir Fauzi and Dermawan Ginting, during a sting operation on Thursday in Medan for allegedly accepting US$20,000 in bribes from Kaligis' aide Yagari "Gerry" Bhastara Guntur.

KPK commissioner Johan Budi said KPK investigators had picked up Kaligis in a hotel in Jakarta and brought him to the KPK headquarters for questioning. After a thorough examination KPK leaders decided to name Kaligis a suspect in the case.

"We have found two strong items of evidence to name him a corruption suspect in the case," Johan told a press briefing on Tuesday at the KPK headquarters.

The KPK charged Kaligis under Article 5 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption, which relates to bribing state officials and which carries a maximum sentence of five years; Article 6, on bribing a judge, punishable by 15 years imprisonment; and Article 13, on bribing state officials in exchange for a favorable decision, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.

After hours of questioning, Kaligis, dressed in the KPK's orange detainee jacket, was rushed by a KPK van to its detention center inside the military prison facility in Guntur, South Jakarta.

Kaligis is the sixth suspect to be named in the case after the KPK charged Tripeni, Amir, Dermawan, Gerry and a court clerk identified as Syamsir Yusfan, all of whom were arrested at the PTUN Medan during the sting operation.

"If we find at least two more items of evidence in the future we will name other suspects in the case," Johan added.

The bribery is alleged to relate to a PTUN Medan ruling that the North Sumatra Prosecutor's Office had no authority to investigate North Sumatra administration finance bureau head Ahmad Fuad Lubis in the alleged misappropriation of regional assistance and social assistance funds of the North Sumatra provincial administration. It is alleged that the $20,000 bribe paid to Tripeni, Amir and Dermawan, determined the verdict they issued on Tuesday last week.

On Monday, the KPK slapped a travel ban on North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho, whose office was raided by the antigraft body on Sunday, raising speculation that the governor might follow in Kaligis' footsteps in the case. Gatot skipped a questioning session as a witness in the case on Monday.

Meanwhile, NasDem Party secretary-general Patrice Rio Capella said the party was concerned regarding the arrest.

"We are concerned about this matter. Our member has been implicated in a serious legal case and has been named a suspect by the KPK. In a day or two we will hold a meeting to discuss it," Rio said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/15/KPK-names-top-lawyer-kaligis-bribery-suspect.html

Witness claims seized money intended for PDI-P congress

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2015

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – A witness at the Jakarta Corruption Court said on Monday that the money seized by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators during a sting operation on Bali in April was intended to be funneled to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) congress.

The president director of PT Indo Mineral, Suparta aka Keta, who testified as a witness during the trial of his businessman boss Andrew Hidayat on Monday, said that prior to the arrest of his boss and PDI-P politician Adriansyah in Bali, Andrew told him that the politician had asked him for money to help fund the party congress.

"Before the arrest I was told that the money was for the PDI-P congress in Bali," Keta told the court on Monday, adding that he remained uninformed about how much money Andrew gave to Adriansyah at that time.

The money was taken from the coffers of South Kalimantan-based company PT Mitra Maju Sukses (MMS), another company owned by Andrew.

The witness said that after the arrest he instructed staff members of the PT MMS to hide the company's financial books that recorded the flow of the money from PT MMS to Adriansyah in a move to prevent KPK investigators from having grounds to confiscate more money in the future.

"At that time I did not know what to do. I was in a panic. I just did what I thought could help my friend [Andrew]," Keta added.

KPK prosecutors have indicted Andrew for bribery, accusing him of paying multiple bribes, including the US$50,000 confiscated in Bali, to secure a mining permit in Tanah Laut regency, South Kalimantan.

Adriansyah, before being elected as a lawmaker in 2014, was regent of resource-rich Tanah Laut between 2003 and 2013.

The case allegedly started back in 2012 when Andrew approached Adriansyah to ask him to issue a permit for PT Dutadharma Utama, a company operating in Tanah Laut, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors added that the PDI-P politician later granted the company a permit despite the fact that the company failed to submit all necessary documents.

After the issuance of the permit, the businessman allegedly gave an initial payoff of around US$50,000 in November, after Adriansyah was sworn in as a House lawmaker, and then paid another Rp 500 million one week later.

More money amounting to Rp 500 million was suspected to have been wired to Adriansyah in January, four months before the KPK claimed they caught the PDI-P lawmaker red-handed accepting the $50,000 cash bribe in Bali.

The revelation about the connection between the confiscated money and the PDI-P congress in Bali was first revealed by Andrew's lawyer Bambang Hartono at the Jakarta Corruption Court on June 29, when KPK prosecutors indicted the businessman in the case.

After the indictment hearing of his client, Bambang denied all the KPK accusations, saying that none the money given to the PDI-P politician had anything to do with the mining permit granted by Adriansyah for Andrew's companies, but merely constituted an innocent exchange "between friends".

Bambang said that Andrew always helped Adriansyah by lending him money when the politician needed it. Bambang revealed that the money that the KPK confiscated in Bali was related to the PDI-P congress.

"The money was about to be given to the congress committee, but to no avail because [Adriansyah] was already arrested in the first place," Bambang said.

PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto has denied any connection between the allegedly dirty money and the party congress, calling Bambang's revelation a "total lie". "Two weeks before the congress we held a meeting with party members and we all agreed that we no longer needed funds from members for the congress at that time," Hasto said.

The PDI-P moved to revoke Adriyansah's party membership over his offense of tarnishing the image of the party.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/14/witness-claims-seized-money-intended-pdi-p-congress.html

President must stop KPK criminalization: Analysts

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2015

Dylan Amirio, National – The most important tool in stamping out systemic corruption in the country's legal institutions is for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to consolidate his power and exert his political will to carry out the task, says a legal activist.

Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) director Asfinawati said that due to the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) effectiveness in probing graft cases involving some of the country's most important institutions, many in powerful positions are now gunning for the antigraft body's downfall.

The KPK's attempt earlier this year to name current National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as a graft suspect demonstrated the commission's power in its ability to affect high-ranking positions, therefore triggering a response by the police in cracking down on the KPK's operations.

As a result, former KPK commissioners Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjajanto, along with KPK investigator Novel Baswedan, were arrested by the police for their alleged breaches of the law, mostly relating to crimes they are accused of committing in the past. The President should have been able to rein in the police, Asfinawati said.

"The chief of police [Badrodin Haiti] has the ability and power to control the actions of his subordinates. The police chief should not be able to intervene in the KPK's efforts to investigate cases within the police force. And if the President thinks the police chief is not doing a good job, he has the power to remove him from his position," Asfinawati told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

She added that the police's attempts to prosecute some of the KPK's senior officials were possible because they had taken advantage of the government's period of transition from former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Jokowi.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Adnan Topan Husodo said that the President could only exert his power if he had accumulated enough power to have significant influence on government institutions.

"Yudhoyono's government had a bigger ability to influence authority figures in the country because the government was helped by the fact that the President was also a political party leader. With Jokowi, he does not have that kind of power yet and therefore [his administration] is more prone to chaos. His government truly needs to be able to balance and assert its power," Adnan said.

Political commentator Rocky Gerung said that given the severity of corruption problems in the country, the KPK needed to wield extraordinary power and that any efforts to curtail such an authority should be stopped.

"We need an anticorruption institution which is able to have a higher authority than any other institution. Counterterrorism agencies, for example, have special powers granted to them to allow the identification of possible suspects as well. In this context, the KPK has to 'abuse its power' for the sake of its work," Rocky said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/president-must-stop-KPK-criminalization-analysts.html

Judicial Commission appeals to Jokowi

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2015

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – A member of the Judicial Commission has called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to come to the aid of commission chairman Suparman Marzuki and deputy chairman Taufiqurrohman Syahuri, who have been named suspects by the National Police in a defamation case.

Imam Anshori said the naming of his two fellow commissioners had disrupted the work of the Judicial Commission, adding that the police move could create fear among other watchdog agencies.

The case involves comments the commissioners made in relation to the performance of a judge who ruled in favor of deputy National Police chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan in a pretrial hearing in February.

Imam said Suparman and Taufiqurrohman had not defamed South Jakarta District Court Sarpin Rizaldi personally, but merely criticized his controversial ruling, an act that he said was within the remit of the two commissioners given their roles as leaders of a state agency in charge of supervising judges across the country

"This [request] may not be directly related to the President, but we hope we can bring the case to his attention and he can to take action in regard to the matter," Imam said on Sunday.

Imam also said a number of lawyers as well as political parties had voiced support for the commission following the police's move.

"The Democratic Party has expressed concern that such a move is not appropriate. The PPP [United Development Party] and the PKB [National Awakening Party] have also deplored the move," Imam said, adding that the Judicial Commission would provide legal assistance for Suparman and Taufiqurrohman to face their legal battle.

In February, Sarpin made headlines when he ruled that the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) probe into Budi was "illegitimate". The ruling forced the KPK to transfer Budi's probe to the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which later sent the dossier to the National Police.

Sarpin's ruling was condemned by legal experts and former Supreme Court justices, as well as the Judicial Commission, because at that time the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) did not stipulate that citizens had the right to file a pretrial plea to challenge their legal status in criminal cases.

Sarpin moved to file a defamation report with the National Police's Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim) in March alleging that statements Suparman and Taufiqurrohman had made in the media had tarnished his good name.

Taufiqurrohman has denied that he defamed Sarpin in his media remarks. "I said that judge Sarpin's ruling exceeded what had been regulated under the KUHAP. It is controversial and drew the attention of the public for the wrong reasons. That is what I said. I always used the term 'ruling' in my statements [rather than referring to Sarpin as an individual]," Taufiqurrohman said.

Separately, Jimly Asshiddiqie, a member of the now-defunct independent team tasked by Jokowi to resolve the standoff between the KPK and the National Police in January, deplored the police's move against the commission, which has occurred after the situation had seemingly returned to normal following the months-long standoff.

"The conflict had subsided by now, so what's [this latest] move for? The public could now give their support to the police [after the standoff], but the recent move, if they keep doing such things, could further harm the National Police's credibility," Jimly said on Sunday.

Jimly also questioned the police's move to name the two commissioners after the commission issued a recommendation to the Supreme Court to suspend Sarpin for six months for breaching the judges' code of ethics in his ruling on Budi's pretrial motion.

"The police can't move to name them suspects because of the recent Judicial Commission recommendation, since it is an institutional decision. The case between Sarpin and the two commissioners is an individual matter not related to their institutions," Jimly said.

Jimly added that the recent incident should also serve as a lesson for Judicial Commission members not to make any public statements on cases before the commission had finished its investigations.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/judicial-commission-appeals-jokowi.html

'Tempo' sued for defamation

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2015

Jakarta – Chief editor of Tempo weekly Arif Zulkifli has denied an allegation that the magazine defamed Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Maruli Hendra Utama.

Arif said that in its report on the criminalization of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), published on Monday, the magazine had enough evidence to back up its claims.

"Tempo always works based on a professional journalistic code of conduct based on the Press Law. The data published went through a number of fact- checks and verification," Arif said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.

Arif said that if Maruli felt that the report smeared him he should file a report with the Press Council instead of the police. He added, however, that the magazine would cooperate with the police in their investigation.

Maruli reported the magazine for defamation over a claim it made that a PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto was behind a plot to criminalize commissioners of the KPK earlier this year.

Maruli said that the report had disadvantaged him as a mayoral candidate in the Bandar Lampung local election.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/national-scene-tempo-sued-defamation.html

PDI-P distances itself, though not far enough, from plot to bring down

Jakarta Globe - July 12, 2015

Jakarta – Indonesia's ruling party has denied ordering one of its members to press a criminal complaint against the investigative news magazine Tempo over an explosive allegation that one of its top politicians engineered a plot to criminalize national antigraft commissioners.

Maruly Hendra Utama filed the complaint with the National Police in Jakarta on Saturday, alleging that Tempo's report had tarnished the reputation of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and hence hurt his own chances of winning a regional election in December on the party's ticket.

"This is a criminal case, which is why I'm reporting it to the police," he told reporters when asked why he did not take his grievances with Tempo to the Press Council. "The data [Tempo published] clearly disadvantages me."

The party, though, denies instructing Maruly to file the complaint, saying he did so on his own initiative. "The PDI-P's central leadership board has always been of the opinion that any disputes with the mass media should be resolved through the Press Council," said Andreas Hugo Pareira, a member of the board.

Making up a story

The report, based on transcripts from wiretapped phone calls that Tempo says it obtained from a "law enforcement officer," appears to show an incredibly complex and highly organized attempt to bring trumped-up criminal charges against Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad and deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto – all apparently masterminded by PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto, second in the party hierarchy to only Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman.

The transcript, whose authenticity the Jakarta Globe has not been able to verify and which KPK officials have publicly disavowed is a result of their wiretapping operations, appears to show Hasto in communication with, variously, a senior police officer and a former spy chief in plotting the subterfuge.

In one exchange, Hasto allegedly arranges with Arteria Dahlan, the PDI-P's legal chief, to put together a "story" on Kotawaringin, in an apparent reference to the Central Kalimantan district of West Kotawaringin. Bambang served as the lawyer to one of the candidates contesting the outcome of the 2010 district election there, and was in January this year charged with compelling witnesses to perjure themselves during the Constitutional Court's hearing of the dispute.

The timing of the charge was highly suspicious, coming five years after the alleged incident and just days after the KPK had named Budi Gunawan, the president's sole candidate for police chief, a suspect for bribery and money laundering, in connection with undeclared millions of dollars in his personal bank accounts.

Budi, who eventually had to settle for the post of deputy chief following a massive public outcry, is known to be close to Megawati, having served as her security aide during her presidency.

'Death card for A.S.'

In another apparent exchange, between Hasto and Sr. Comr. Karyoto of the Yogyakarta Police, the PDI-P politician appears to set the stage for the case against the KPK's Abraham. A separate conversation, this time seemingly with A.M. Hendropriyono, a close associate of Megawati's and the former head of the military-run State Intelligence Agency (BIN), appears to reveal that the ex-spook was also in on the act.

Hendropriyono is apparently quoted in the transcript as saying that the legal process against Budi must appear to be going on, but that Abraham is going down regardless. "Let [Budi] be a suspect if indeed there's evidence to investigate... [but] we can get the death card for A.S.," he says, according to the transcript.

Another conversation, between Hasto and Anton D.H. Nugrahanto, a former social media coordinator for Joko's presidential campaign, appears to give the final orders for the attack on the KPK commissioners.

"Start attacking in the morning so that everything turns back on Samad. Add [the charge of receiving] gratuities," Hasto is allegedly quoted as saying. Anton then allegedly adds, "Tomorrow we'll strike B.W. again with West Kotawaringin."

Denials

All those apparently quoted in the Tempo report denied that they had plotted to bring down the KPK commissioners. "In this day and age it's impossible to fabricate a case," Karyoto, the police officer, told the news magazine.

However, the allegation chimes with Hasto's history of hostility toward the KPK, and in particular Abraham, who last year was agitating to launch an investigation into Megawati for writing off billions of dollars in government bailout funds spirited away overseas following the 1997-98 financial crisis.

The PDI-P, incidentally, holds the dubious distinction of being the party with the most members arrested and jailed by the KPK for corruption.

Hasto, in the days leading up to Abraham being charged by police with document fraud – for allegedly helping an unrelated woman obtain a passport using his family registration card – claimed that the KPK chief had a vendetta against Budi because his own ambition of being Joko's deputy had been scuppered by the PDI-P.

Abraham has consistently denied having any political aspirations. He and Bambang are currently suspended pending the criminal investigations against them.

Systematic undermining

The alleged plot involving Hasto, if true, would appear to have been the start of the PDI-P's apparent efforts to systematically undermine the KPK, starting with the Budi fiasco.

Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly, also from the PDI-P, early on moved to divest the KPK of its authority to rule on whether corruption convicts should be eligible for sentence cuts handed out by the government on major public holidays.

He was also instrumental in submitting to the House of Representatives a bill to rein in the powers of the antigraft commission – to the uncharacteristic chagrin of the president, who has appeared uncomfortable with many of the policy moves put forward by the party.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/pdi-p-distances-though-not-far-enough-plot-bring-KPK/

Police cater to controversial judge Sarpin by charging his critics

Jakarta Globe - July 12, 2015

Jakarta – The Indonesian police have leveled defamation charges against two members of the Judicial Commission – the government's court watchdog – at the behest of a controversial judge who notoriously ordered that corruption charges be dropped against a top general earlier this year.

Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan, a spokesman for the National Police, confirmed to reporters on Saturday that the police's detectives division had on Friday named Judicial Commission chairman Suparman Marzuki and commissioner Taufiqurahman Sauri as suspects for allegedly defaming Sarpin Rizaldi, a judge at the South Jakarta District Court.

"We're going to call them in for questioning next week. This case is based on a complaint; a complaint was filed, hence we are handling it and have named the two individuals as suspects," Anton said.

Sarpin filed the complaint on March 30, but the police conveniently only acted on it after the Judicial Commission earlier this week submitted a recommendation to the Supreme Court that the judge be suspended for at least six months for ethical misconduct in handing down a contentious ruling in a pretrial motion on Feb. 16.

That motion was brought by Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, at the time the sole candidate for police chief, after he was charged in January with bribery and money laundering by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), in connection with undeclared millions of dollars in his personal bank accounts.

Sarpin ruled that the KPK's basis for charging Budi was invalid, effectively quashing the case before he had even been indicted – a move that legal scholars, including from the Judicial Commission, unanimously agreed went against the substance of the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP) and the scope of a pretrial hearing.

"This [ruling] is of great concern and poses a legal quandary," Suparman said a day after the ruling. "It goes against the spirit of the Supreme Court in trying to reform the judiciary."

In the wake of the outcry over his ruling, Sarpin went on the offensive, threatening litigation and criminal charges against anyone criticizing his ruling. That elicited even more ridicule from the Judicial Commission, which had begun an inquiry into the controversy.

"Have you ever heard of a judge getting offended just because of something someone says about their ruling? He's the only one. And why is he offended? It's his own fault, after all," Taufiqurahman said on March 27. "He's too conceited, he thinks the ruling is all about him," he added.

It was those remarks that prompted Sarpin to file his complaint with police three days later. Even then, however, the judge still managed to court controversy, accepting for free the services of high-powered lawyer Hotma Sitompoel in filing the defamation complaint – a move that saw the Judicial Commission launch a separate ethics inquiry into whether Sarpin had received gratuities.

Taufiqurahman, speaking to Tempo on Friday, said he was surprised that the police had chosen to act on Sarpin's report and name him and Suparman as suspects.

"What I said at the time, I said in my capacity as a member of the Judicial Commission, not as a private individual," he said. "There's no legal standing [for the complaint]. If that was the case, then every judge investigated by the Judicial Commission could hit back."

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/police-cater-controversial-judge-sarpin-charging-critics/

Kalla disapproves of KPK's rearrest of Makassar ex-mayor

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2015

Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla has deplored the rearrest of the former mayor of Makassar, Ilham Arief Sirajuddin, by the national antigraft commission, saying it should have respected an earlier court ruling freeing the corruption suspect.

"I've heard about [Ilham's arrest] and I'm aggrieved. It's a pity," Kalla, who like Ilham is a South Sulawesi native, told reporters at his office in Jakarta on Friday.

He said the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, should have abided by a ruling handed down by the South Jakarta District Court in May which invalidated Ilham's suspect status and ordered him released by the KPK.

Technically, though, the KPK has respected the court ruling. Its rearrest of Ilham on Friday was the result of the same charges brought on the basis of new evidence. The rearrest marks the first time that the KPK has resumed proceedings against a corruption suspect cleared in a pretrial ruling.

"I have to respect this decision," Ilham told reporters as he was taken away from the KPK headquarters to be jailed at a nearby Military Police barracks, where the KPK usually holds its detainees. "Whatever has been decided must be respected and we must follow the procedure," Ilham added.

The KPK initially named him a suspect in May 2014 for his alleged involvement in a corruption case centered on Makassar's municipal water company during his term in office. In May of this year, Ilham filed a pretrial motion against the KPK's decision to charge him, which was accepted by the South Jakarta District Court. The judge argued that the decision to name Ilham a suspect was invalid because the KPK lacked the minimum of two pieces of evidence as a basis for charging him.

Despite being forced to release Ilham, the KPK resumed its investigation, eventually amassing enough evidence to charge him a second time in June. Ilham filed an identical pretrial motion to have the charges dismissed again, but the same court that freed him the last time around ruled on Thursday that there was no basis to his claim this time, clearing the way for his rearrest.

Kalla's response to the rearrest chimes with his increasingly hostile rhetoric against the KPK. On Tuesday, the vice president announced the imminent issuance of a presidential regulation granting regional heads who bend the rules to expedite infrastructure projects immunity from prosecution by the KPK.

He said local officials had for years been reluctant to embark on these much-needed projects because of concerns that they would fall foul of the KPK. "What business has the KPK got opposing a presidential regulation issued by the government?" he said. "Who says it's pro-corruption? This is pro-nation so that [development] can progress."

The person expected to sign off on the regulation, President Joko Widodo, has never even mentioned it.

Last month, Kalla persuaded the president to drop his opposition to the submission of a bill to parliament aimed at reining in the KPK's powers, in particular its authority to wiretap suspects' phone calls without the need to obtain a warrant from Indonesia's notoriously corrupt judiciary.

"J.K. basically said it was necessary [to amend the KPK law] so that government officials aren't afraid to get things done when the KPK is around," Husain Abdullah, a spokesman for the vice president, said on June 23.

He added that Joko was "of the same mind" as Kalla on the issue of amending the KPK law. "Both of them feel it's necessary. The president accepted the explanation, according to J.K.," Husain said.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/kalla-disapproves-KPKs-rearrest-makassar-ex-mayor/

Watchdogs troubled by KPK candidates' backgrounds

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2015

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – A coalition of antigraft watchdogs has found that of 67 candidates selected by a government-sanctioned team tasked with selecting a new batch of KPK commissioners, only around a third are credible.

After looking into 67 of the total 194 candidates declared eligible to move to the next round of selection, the coalition found that only 25 candidates were known for their positive contribution to the eradication of corruption.

The coalition's background check also found 23 candidates with a history of actions or statements undermining the KPK, while others were unsuitable for other reasons.

"There are about 19 candidates without any past activities or statements related to corruption eradication campaigns," Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Lais Abid said in a press briefing on Thursday.

Lais said that the coalition could not assess the backgrounds of the remaining 127 candidates because it had been given no relevant information.

The coalition found in its assessment that 54 candidates had integrity while 38 candidates had problems with their credibility. "We can't reveal the names as the assessment results could change when the selection team publishes the candidates' CVs," Lais said.

The selection team has yet to publish details of the candidates, preventing the public from scrutinizing their backgrounds. The coalition also found that of 41 candidates who were or had been lawyers, nine had defended suspects in corruption cases.

Separately, the committee tasked with selecting new commissioners for the Judicial Commission (KY) has announced that former Constitutional Court justice Harjono and two current KY commissioners, Suparman Marzuki and Jaja Ahmad Jayus, are among 18 candidates to have progressed to the final phase of selection.

Selection committee chair Harkristuti Harkrisnowo announced on Thursday that 18 of a total of 35 candidates had passed the profile assessment held last month.

The candidates will participate in the final stage of the process, an interview with members of the committee, on Aug. 3 and 4.

Subsequently, the selection committee expects to select seven candidates that it can then nominate to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the House of Representatives.

The 18 candidates comprise five former judges, including Harjono and Joko Sasmito, a former military judge who once presided over a trial that sentenced three Army Special Forces (Kopassus) members to six to 11 years in prison for murder; five legal scholars, including law professor Sudjito; five legal practitioners or lawyers; and three members of the public.

Two other KY commissioners, Imam Anshori Saleh and Taufiqurrohman, failed to make the grade. According to team member Asep Rahmat Fajar, the assessment had placed both Imam and Taufiqurrohman among those at the bottom of the list.

"The interviews aim to look into the backgrounds and histories of the candidates. Impartiality in terms of political and business interests is important," Asep said, regarding the disqualification of the two current KY commissioners. (ind)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/10/watchdogs-troubled-KPK-candidates-backgrounds.html

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Islamic vigilantes FPI ready for open war again PKI communists

Voice of Islam - July 13, 2015

Bogor (Suara Islam Online) – The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has issued a firm warning to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo not to provide space for the reemergence of communism in Indonesia.

The warning was in response to news that Widodo plans to issue an apology to family members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) during an upcoming state of the nation address in August.

"There is information that on August 15 President Jokowi will apologise to the PKI in the name of the government. If this is true, it would mean that the PKI would no longer be blamed [for the alleged 1965 coup], if they are no longer blamed it means that those in the wrong were the ordinary Indonesian people, the Islamic clerics, the Islamic community that challenged them", explained FPI general chairperson KH Shabri Lubis during a talk at the Al Ihya Council in the Bogor, West Java, on Sunday July 12.

The PKI carried out rebellions, including in the East Java city of Madiun [in 1948] and the G30S-PKI [September 30 movement-PKI rebellion in 1965], they also slaughtered Islamic clerics and Islamic community members. "If back then the PKI had won and finished us off, many would have been slaughtered by the PKI", said Islamic cleric Shabri.

According to Shabri, if in the past it was the Islamic clerics of the mass organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and its youth wing Barisan Ansor Serbaguna (Banser) that consistently confronted the PKI, now it will be FPI that is ready to become part of the front line against the PKI.

"We are ready for an open war against the PKI, fighting the PKI would be an honor for us. We are ready to defend Islam, the Islamic community and the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia]", concluded Shabri who was greeted by a recitation of the laudation of God is great by thousand of congregation members.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "FPI: Kami Siap Perang Terbuka dengan PKI".]

Source: http://www.suara-islam.com/read/index/14867/FPI – Kami-Siap-Perang-Terbuka-dengan-PKI

Freedom of religion & worship

Basuki stands up for beleaguered Ahmadiyah community

Jakarta Globe - July 15, 2015

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – Basuki Tjahaja Purnama on Wednesday did something no other Indonesian leader has done since the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid was president: the Jakarta governor took a stand for a beleaguered minority group.

Speaking to reporters at City Hall, Basuki said his administration would permit members of the Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect deemed heretical by the country's Sunni majority, to congregate for prayers in their own homes, following protests by Islamic hard-liners against a small community of the worshipers in Tebet, South Jakarta.

Those hostile to the group, primarily the notorious Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a rent-a-mob with religious pretensions, have rather ridiculously taken offense at the fact that the Ahmadis, who have been living and praying in the Bukit Duri neighborhood of Tebet since the 1970s, have consistently declined to worship at a nearby mosque.

The protesters claim this refusal harms their own identity as Muslims, and demand that the Ahmadis be evicted on the grounds that they are violating zoning regulations by holding prayer gatherings in a residential property.

Basuki, though, says his administration will grant an exemption from the regulation to all Ahmadiyah communities in the city who wish to worship at members' homes instead of at mosques, where their slightly different prayer rituals often mark them out for persecution by their Sunni Muslim peers.

"We'll let them get around the zoning restrictions so that their houses may be used as places of worship," he said.

Basuki, a Christian whose own beliefs were the target of a nasty smear campaign by Islamic hard-liners during the 2012 gubernatorial election, said the issue of faith was a personal one and that all citizens should be allowed to worship as they wanted to, in keeping with basic tenets enshrined in the Constitution.

"As for the question of whether a group is heretical or not, that's something else. We, as the state, cannot get involved in that kind of issue. Constitutionally we're not supposed to touch it," he said.

The governor also criticized South Jakarta municipal authorities for sealing off the Ahmadiyah property in Bukit Duri on July 8 on the pretext that it was functioning as a house of worship without the requisite building permit.

"What was the real reason for sealing it? The way I see there, there are plenty of houses of worship all around Jakarta without a building permit. Why haven't those been sealed off too?" he said.

Basuki's actions in standing up for the Ahmadiyah are an anomaly in Indonesian governance, where local and national leaders instinctively try to placate or accommodate the persecutors and hard-liners who make up their voter base.

In the neighboring city of Bogor, Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto pledged long before his inauguration in April 2014 to prioritize finding a resolution to a long-running church closure there by Muslim hard-liners.

To date, the GKI Yasmin church remains sealed off – also on the grounds that it lacked a valid building permit – in direct violation of two Supreme Court orders obliging the Bogor administration to allow the congregation back in.

President Joko Widodo, whose election campaign last year also included vows to address religious tensions, has been silent on the issue, despite the fact that the Yasmin congregation and that from the HKBP Filadelfia church, sealed off in Bekasi, continue to hold Sunday services outside the State Palace in a bid to draw his attention to their plight.

Basuki's lone act of statesmanship carries echoes of the late Gus Dur, who, during his brief presidency, ended a decades-long ban on the display of Chinese characters and made Chinese New Year an optional holiday in 2001.

Basuki has long professed to have drawn inspiration from Gus Dur, who died in December 2009. He said it was the former president who encouraged him to run for governor of Bangka-Belitung province in 2007. Basuki lost that election, but says Gus Dur still had pearls of wisdom for him even then.

"He said, 'Forget about governor, you could be the president if you wanted,'" Basuki said on April 25, during a ceremony to unveil a bronze statue of Gus Dur as a child at Amir Hamzah Park in Central Jakarta.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/basuki-stands-beleaguered-ahmadiyah-community/

Hardliners try to shut down church

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2015

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Around 30 members of the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) have attempted to close down the Indonesian Baptist Church in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on grounds that the church had not secured a building permit from the local government.

"We want the church to close and its signboard to be taken down," Yogyakarta FJI commander Abdul Rohman said during a protest in front of the church on Tuesday.

FJI members arrived at the church on Tuesday afternoon, some covering their face with turbans, others wearing blue vests emblazoned with Jamaah Hizbullah.

Bantul Police officers formed a human chain to prevent FJI members from entering the church complex. The police also seized some iron pipes from the members.

Negotiations between the police and FJI were fierce, with the group demanding the church's closure that afternoon. "No matter what, this church has to be closed down now. It cannot be used because it does not have the correct permit," Rohman said.

Sewon Police subprecinct chief Comr. Heru Setiawan explained that the decision on the church's closure was in the hands of the local government. "I will convey your demand to the local government. The police can not close this church," Heru said.

The FJI members then left the area. No one was arrested. "We have deployed around 200 officers to secure the place today. Subsequently, we will conduct routine patrols," said Bantul Police precinct operation division head Comr. Qori Handoko. (ika)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/15/hardliners-try-shut-down-church.html

Yogya sees conflicts over houses of worship on the rise

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2015

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – At least five churches and a religious tourism site in Yogyakarta are on the edge of being forced into closure this year following pressure from local Muslim groups, an NGO has said.

Friends of Freedom of Religion and Association (Sobat KBB) activist Agnes Dwi Rusjiyati said that, as of earlier this month, two churches in Bantul regency, two in Sleman regency, one in Yogyakarta municipality and a Catholic shrine in Gunungkidul regency had received warnings from local Muslim groups. These Muslims groups are protesting against the use of the buildings as places of worship.

The groups, according to Agnes, have also claimed that the churches and the religious tourism site were built without proper building permits and that their request to close down the Christian houses of worship had received support from local Muslim residents.

"Among the five regions in Yogyakarta province, only Kulonprogo regency has no public dispute regarding church establishments," Agnes told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Efforts to close the churches had also been undertaken during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, which began on June 18 and will last until Thursday, she added.

On July 5, representatives from the Yogyakarta Islamic Congregation Forum (FUI) met with Muslim residents in Saman hamlet, Bangunharjo sub-district, Sewon district, Bantul and asked them to stage protests against the establishment of an Indonesian Baptist Church in the area.

"The hamlet chief said that the building had received a building permit application. However, he was unaware that the building was intended to be used as church," Yogyakarta FUI head Muhammad Fuad said, adding that his organization was ready to help the local Muslims settle the dispute.

Saman hamlet chief Kuat Slamet, however, has a different point of view regarding the status of the 75 square-meter church, which has been operating in the hamlet for 20 years and facilitating congregation members from Bangunharjo sub-district and neighboring areas, to that of Fuad.

Defying claims from the FUI, Saman said that he had never received complaints from residents of the hamlet regarding the activities of the church. He confirmed, however, that the church currently lacked a proper building permit for its activities.

"After Idul Fitri, we will discuss this matter," he said. The church's sextons, meanwhile, refused to comment on the matter, citing safety concerns.

In 2011, the Yogyakarta office of the Religious Affairs Ministry reported that 3.2 million, or 92 percent, of Yogyakarta's 3.5 million residents were Muslims.

Last week, a group of people representing the Gunungkidul Muslim Youth Forum, the Yogyakarta FUI, and local residents, urged the Gunungkidul regency administration to immediately demolish the Cave of Mary religious shrine in Sampang sub-district, Gedangsari, citing long-standing public protests against the religious tourism site.

According to a 2006 joint ministerial decree, a new house of worship must have the support of at least 90 congregation members and 60 local residents of different faiths.

Eko Riyadi, director of Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Islamic University's Center for Human Rights Studies (Pusham UII), said that the decree had made it difficult for religious minorities in Muslim-majority Indonesia to build new houses of worship.

Eko urged local authorities to treat conflicts regarding building permits for houses of worship as civil disputes instead of inter-religious ones, because the religious angle would almost certainly put religious minorities on the losing side of the conflict.

"It will be difficult for local administrations and the police to stay neutral should they treat disputes over houses of worship as religious conflicts," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/14/yogya-sees-conflicts-over-houses-worship-rise.html

Muslim groups threaten violence on Catholic shrine over permit dispute

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2015

Bambang Muryanto, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta – A group of people representing the Gunungkidul Muslim Youth Forum, the Yogyakarta Islamic Congregation Forum (FUI) and local residents have urged the Gunungkidul regency administration in Yogyakarta to immediately demolish the Cave of Mary religious shrine in Sampang subdistrict, Gedangsari, citing the long- standing public protest against the use of the venue as a place of worship.

Speaking in an open dialogue with local government representatives at the Gunungkidul regency administration's headquarters on Thursday, members of the groups said that they would jointly tear down the Catholic shrine should the local administration fail to follow up on their objection to it.

"The government should have dismantled the shrine a long time ago as it has caused public unrest," said Suparman, a Sampang resident.

Thursday's one-hour meeting between members of the groups and the local administration became tense as protesters kept yelling and repeatedly rapped the desk as local government officials, including regency assistant Tomy Harahap, Gunungkidul Religious Office official Mukholib and local Interfaith Communication Forum (FKUB) member Iskamto, delivered their statements.

The protesters repeatedly said they were disappointed because the government failed to immediately close the religious shrine that they have been opposing since 2012. They also threatened to dismantle the shrine, as it is still being used as a palace of worship despite the local government's decision to temporarily close the venue.

"Within three days, the government must give a firm answer as a response to our objection. They must stop all religious activities at the Cave of Mary," FUI lawyer Achmad Deva Permana said.

The shrine, which also serves as a religious tourist attraction, was established in 2010 despite the absence of a proper permit from the local administration, the protesters claimed.

During the meeting, local official Tomy Harahap, who also serves as the regency's spokesperson, explained to the protesters that the local administration was still processing the permit for the religious shrine.

"The government cannot act one-sidedly. I know some are in favor and others are against the presence of the shrine. We, however, we must seek a permanent solution to the matter," he said.

Tomy's answer, however, triggered a greater rage among the protesters. The accused the local administration of persuading members of the Muslim community in the subdistrict to support the construction of the shrine.

Despite the mounting pressure, Tomy insisted that the local administration would not tear down the shrine before coordinating the matter with other relevant agencies. He also said that a final decision on the matter would need approval from the regent. "I will resolve the issue in accordance with the existing laws," Tomy said.

Contacted separately, Friends of Freedom of Religion and Association (Sobat KBB) activist Agnes Dwi Rusjiyati said the dispute regarding the status of the shrine was quite complicated, as the Gunungkidul regency had no specific bylaws that rule on the establishment of religious tourist sites. "Perhaps the building permit [for the shrine] must be made together with one for the establishment of the chapel at the venue," Agnes said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/10/muslim-groups-threaten-violence-catholic-shrine-over-permit-dispute.html

Ahmadiyah Muslims protest mosque closure, fear growing intolerance

Reuters - July 9, 2015

Jakarta – Members of an Indonesian minority Islamic sect protested on Thursday against the forced closure of one of their mosques amid concerns over rising religious intolerance in a country which is home to world's largest Muslim population.

The closure of the Ahmadiyah mosque is the latest in a series of incidents across the country in which religious minorities have faced harassment from hard-line Islamic groups, but a rare event in the capital Jakarta.

"This is a slap in the face of the local government of Jakarta because it's supposed to be a cosmopolitan and pluralistic place," Bonar Naipospos, director of rights NGO Setara Institute, told Reuters.

Ahmadiyah is one of several religious minorities in Indonesia. Hard-line Indonesian Muslims accuse Ahmadiyah and other Muslim minorities of apostasy.

Members of a hard-line Islamic group last week forced the cancellation of a religious event involving nearly 1,500 Protestants in Central Java, media said.

Other groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) have been known to break up prayer sessions at churches and Ahmadiyah and Shia mosques across Java, calling for them to be closed.

Police said the Ahmadiyah mosque was closed this week because it violated building permits. But members of the Ahmadiyah community said it has stood there for decades and that hardline Islamic groups had pressured authorities to seal it.

"Recently there has been an inclination among the police and the state apparatus to allow things like this to happen because they don't want the situation to escalate," said Yendra, a spokesman for the Indonesia Ahmadiyah Community.

A senior police official this week admitted officers were often too scared for their own safety to take on religious hardliners, media reported.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the city's first Christian and ethnic Chinese governor, has himself been the target of FPI's protests but has yet to address the issue of religious intolerance.

Activists believe the closure of a mosque, in the president's backyard, may provide the impetus for the 9-month-old government to address the issue.

"So far we have seen Jokowi appoint ministers who are progressive and open-minded about how to resolve these issues," Naipospos said, using President Joko Widodo's nickname. "But we haven't seen meaningful change yet. There's a lot of homework to be done."

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ahmadiyah-muslims-protest-mosque-closure-fear-growing-intolerance/

Islam & religious affairs

Lukman touts moderate, local version of Islam

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said that the country should embrace "Islam Nusantara" (Islam of the Archipelago) and showcase itself as a Muslim-majority country with moderate views and an emphasis on religious tolerance.

Lukman said after a discussion on Islam Nusantara at his official residence in South Jakarta on Tuesday night, that the term did not refer to a mix of Islam and Javanese traditions. Instead he believes, Islam Nusantara promotes a synthesis of Islamic values and teachings and a variety of indigenous cultures.

"The teachings that have been implemented in our country for hundreds of years have manifested into something special that can't be experienced anywhere else. This is what we now call moderate Islam, which is tolerant and full of Muslims who peacefully coexist with others – an Islam that supports human rights and the rights of women," Lukman said.

Lukman further said that Indonesia, which is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, should promote its own version of Islam and become a model for other Muslim-majority countries around the world.

He also said the country needed an extensive dialogue to allow different Muslim groups to grasp the meaning of Islam Nusantara and to understand that the moniker did not, and would never refer to, a separate branch of Islam.

The term "Islam Nusantara" stirred controversy when Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, announced that it would be the theme for the organization's 33rd congress this August.

Muslim scholar, and founder of the Liberal Islamic Network, Ulil Abshar Abdalla, said that the concept was not new but its adoption by the NU could be political.

"Although the NU was not being explicit, there was clearly a group that [it] wanted to criticize, and these are the people who have been promoting the concept of an Islamic caliphate," he said, referring to conservative groups such as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).

In spite of the NU's adoption of the term for its political purpose, Ulil said that Islam Nusantara was in fact practiced by a majority of people in the country. "[Indonesian Muslims] are tolerant, easy going and rich. We [...] may not agree with each other but we rarely resort to violence," he said.

He noted that early preachers of Islam in the country has made teachings in the Koran consistent with local cultures. "Our Wahabist [a conservative sect of Sunni Islam] friends and members of the HTI all have the right to live here, as do atheists. All groups must have a guarantee that they may live in this country," he said.

Even so, Ulil warned that the discourse of Islam Nusantara should not be muffled so as not to alienate other Muslim groups or religious minorities.

Despite claims regarding the compatibility of Islam with democracy and human rights, The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) published a report last month decrying Indonesia's continuous intolerance of religions other than the Sunni version of Islam.

The report claimed that religious intolerance stemmed from the inability of government officials' and law enforcer's to separate their duties from their personal beliefs.

The report noted several significant events such as the effective shutdown of an Ahmadiyah (a minority sect of Islam) mosque in Depok, West Java, in 2011, and the blocking of construction at the Nur Musafir Mosque in the catholic-majority region of Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, which has continued since 2011.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/lukman-touts-moderate-local-version-islam.html

Armed forces & defense

Gatot Nurmantyo officially becomes TNI commander

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2015

Jakarta – Based on Presidential Decree (Keppres) No. 49/TNI/2015, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appointed Gatot as the new TNI chief.

Born in Tegal, Central Java, on March 13, 1960, Gatot was a 1982 graduate of the Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI). The former Army chief of staff served in the infantry division of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

Prior to his appointment as the 30th Army chief of staff by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Gatot served as the chief of the Military Education and Training Command in Bandung (Kodiklat), Kostrad commander, military region command (Kodam) V/Brawijaya commander and Military Academy (Akmil) governor, as well as holding several other strategic military positions.

During a 30-year period of service in the TNI, Gatot has been awarded with several decorations, including the Bintang Dharma, Bintang Bintang Yudha Dharma Pratama, Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Pratama, Bintang Yudha Dharma Nararya and Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Nararya.

Other rewards are the Satya Lencana Kesetiaan pins for eight, 16 and 24 years of service, the Satya Lencana Raksaka Dharma, Satya Lencana Seroja and Satya Lencana Widya Sista.

As many as 1,664 Army, Navy and Air Force personnel attended Gatot and Moeldoko's handover ceremony. Several primary defense weapons, such as four Scorpion tanks and four Anoa tactical vehicles belonging to the Army were showcased during the ceremony. Four BMB amphibious tanks, two RM 70 rocket launchers and two LVT-7 vehicles belonging to the Navy's Marine Corps were also presented. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/14/gatot-nurmantyo-officially-becomes-tni-commander.html

Police, army vow to punish personnel over ATM brawl

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2015

Suherdjoko, Semarang – The Central Java Police and the Army have pledged to punish their respective personnel who were involved in Sunday's clash at the headquarters of the Central Java Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) base in Semarang.

A crowd of around 200 people, believed to be personnel from the Army's Aviation Center (Penerbad), attacked the Central Java police's Brimob base on Jl. Kumudasmoro, Gisikdrono, West Semarang, early on Sunday an hour or two after several Brimob and Penerbad members had become embroiled in an altercation, apparently over access to an ATM.

The raiders, who were armed with rifles, threw rocks and blocks of wood at the Brimob base. They also attacked two Brimob members who were about to leave the base.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Central Java Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Liliek Darmanto said both the police and the Army had agreed to settle the case. "The clash was just a minor issue and there's no need to blow it up," he said.

Liliek added that the two institutions would punish any personnel who were involved in the incident. "We have agreed to impose sanctions on those involved in the incident in line with the regulations of the respective units," he said, without elaborating on the nature of the sanctions that would be imposed.

The Jakarta Post has learned that Sunday's incident was triggered by a trivial dispute involving Penerbad and Brimob members at an ATM on Jl. Abdulrahman Saleh, Semarang.

At 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, two Penerbad members, identified only as Chief Pvt. AP and Second Pvt. RP, went to the ATM. RP was in the ATM booth when five Brimob members began queuing behind him.

The Brimob members accused RP of taking too long and a quarrel ensued in which a Brimob officer hit RP on the head with a helmet causing an injury. The other Brimob members then set upon and beat AP.

An hour later the soldiers' comrades went looking for the five Brimob members but failed to locate them. By 2 a.m. around 200 Penerbad members had gathered at the Brimob base, arriving on motorcycles and in cars and armed with rocks, batons and rifles.

Local residents said they heard an announcement from inside the Brimob base ordering all officers in the base to assemble. They also heard three warning shots. An escalation of the clash was prevented when National Police and Army top brass arrived on the scene.

Separately, Semarang City Police chief Sr. Comr. Burhanuddin said no criminal report had been filed with regard to the incident. "The incident was just due to miscommunication and has been settled," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/14/police-army-vow-punish-personnel-over-atm-brawl.html

More military bases in border areas

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2015

Jakarta – The government has unveiled plans to build a number of military bases to further secure the nation's border regions, especially in areas bordering the South China Sea, National Development Planning Minister Andrinof Chaniago has said.

Andrinof said that the blueprint for the project was now being prepared by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) and the Defense Ministry. Andrinof and Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu met to discuss the plans on Friday.

"Our meeting today was aimed at combining our goals to protect national interests and to safeguard the sovereignty of the country, especially in border regions," Andrinoff said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Bappenas and the Defense Ministry have agreed to set up an assessment team to look into a proposal to build military bases in locations such as Sambas, Tanjung Datuk, Natuna and Tarakan, all border towns in the northern part of Kalimantan.

"We will brief the President for a final decision. Hopefully, we can start the project in the near future," Andrinof added.

Ryamizard said that more military bases were needed in regions around the South China Sea. "It would be appropriate to build a military base there. Our natural resources in Natuna have a large potential. We must also protect our abundant marine resources," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/11/national-scene-more-military-bases-border-areas.html

Kopassus members named murder suspects

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2015

Surakarta – The Surakarta Military Police (Denpom) in Central Java named 16 members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in an assault against an Indonesian Military (TNI) Air Force member at the Bima karaoke parlor in Sukoharjo, Central Java.

"The number of suspects will no longer increase and one of them was not involved in the assault, but witnessed the incident," Denpom commander Let. Col. Witoyo was quoted by Antara news agency as saying on Thursday.

According to Witoyo, one of the 16 suspects was not a member of the Kopassus Group 2 in Kandang Menjangan headquarters, but was from Group 1 in Serang, Banten. "The 16 suspects are currently held at the Denpom headquarters in Surakarta," he said.

He added the dossiers of the suspects were almost completed and would be immediately submitted to the military prosecutors for hearing at a military tribunal.

The suspects have been charged in accordance with their involvement during the assault against Air Force member Sergeant Maj. Zulkifli at the Bima karaoke parlor in Sukoharjo on May 31, in which he was killed.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/10/islands-focus-kopassus-members-named-murder-suspects.html

New chiefs promise big things

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2015

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Newly inaugurated State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso, 70, and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, 55, have stated their intention to pursue major reform.

Speaking shortly after being inaugurated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, Sutiyoso laid out his plan to sharpen BIN's focus on counterintelligence measures.

Sutiyoso, who replaced Lt. Gen. (ret.) Marciano Norman, is planning a shopping spree to acquire sophisticated eavesdropping technology to boost counterintelligence.

"In the near future, countermeasures will be required. Therefore, we need to have super-sophisticated equipment," said Sutiyoso, adding that it was time for BIN to respond to the challenges of modern intelligence technology. "My priorities will also include adding personnel, as we want to be ready for the upcoming local elections," he said.

According to Sutiyoso, BIN will immediately recruit 1,000 agents of various skills and backgrounds to add to its existing 1,975 personnel. BIN, he said, would aim to have a staff of around 5,000 agents in the next couple of years.

The former intelligence agent also reiterated his strategy to make BIN more open in its interaction with the public.

"Intelligence needs information from various sources. Therefore, in the future, BIN will be more open to the public to give a chance to the people to provide us with information," he said.

Sutiyoso secured unanimous approval from all 10 political parties in the House of Representatives for his candidacy as BIN chief despite his alleged masterminding, as then Jakarta military commander, of an attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP-P) in Central Jakarta on July 26, 1996. Dozens of party members were killed in the incident

In terms of regional diplomacy, Sutiyoso also has a historical burden, particularly in regard to his alleged role in the death of five Australian journalists in Timor Leste in 1975. Sutiyoso is the second retired Indonesian Army general targeted by an Australian state coroner in relation to the incident.

While Sutiyoso has pledged to make BIN more active in society, Gatot is opposing his plans.

Unlike his predecessor Gen. Moeldoko, who initiated an aggressive return of the military into civilian affairs, Gatot insisted that he would predominantly be occupied with internal reform, particularly in updating equipment.

In the wake of last week's crash of an Air Force Hercules aircraft that killed more than 120 people in Medan, North Sumatra, Gatot said that his immediate priority would be to modernize the Air Force's aircraft and equipment.

"The President has instructed us to use new [military systems], particularly for the Air Force. Therefore I will hold immediate meetings to have the instruction swiftly implemented," said Gatot.

He added that the TNI would support Jokowi's vision of a maritime axis by also improving the Navy's fleet and infrastructure.

Although he has yet to discuss the plan with his counterparts in the Navy and Air Force, Gatot said he foresaw more vessels, warplanes and radar systems being put in place.

Gatot is a graduate of the military academy's 1982 class. He is a former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) commander and was Army chief before being installed as TNI supremo.

"I will engage in military diplomacy with ASEAN countries. ASEAN can be a role model in the synergy of military forces," he said.

"It is also important to create a favorable regional situation that will also support the economy," he said, adding that he would propose joint military training with ASEAN member states.

Critics have warned that the appointment of Gatot could be a setback to attempts to reform the military, which have been ongoing since the end of the New Order era in 1998. Jokowi broke from the tradition of rotating the TNI leadership, raising fears that the Army could regain its dominance within the TNI.

The Army's Moeldoko succeeded the Navy's Adm. Agus Suhartono in 2013. Had Jokowi kept up the tradition, the baton would have been passed to Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshall Agus Supriatna.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/new-chiefs-promise-big-things.html

Intelligence & state security

Activists question BIN plan to recruit agents for election monitoring

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2015

Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – The State Intelligence Agency will increase the number of its agents around the country to anticipate potential conflicts from the upcoming regional head elections, Indonesia's new spy chief says.

Sutiyoso, the newly inaugurated head of the agency known as BIN, said it would cooperate with the Home Affairs Ministry to run the recruitment process and to implement the new program that he called a "local intelligence network."

"There are still very few BIN representatives in regions today. That means that one agent must cover two to three districts all by himself. That's impossible," Sutiyoso said on Monday as quoted by Antara.

"That's the reason why I'm planning this program of adding another 1,000 personnel to support our activities in regions. We're also partnering with the Home Affairs Ministry to build our network."

The former Jakarta governor added the partnership was needed because the Home Affairs Ministry had the tools to connect Jakarta with regional administrations. Under the new plans, each district will have at least one spy, Sutiyoso said.

He added extra spies were needed in order to enable early detention of potential conflicts that may emerge during elections of regional heads in December. "We're studying potentials [from conflicts] in regions," Sutiyoso said. "We will launch this plan as soon as possible before the local election.

Defense and security expert Bantarto Bandoro of the Indonesian Defense University welcomed the plan, agreeing that the BIN's presence in the regions would be needed to safeguard the elections.

"This is a positive move from Sutiyoso. However, terms and conditions are required [for the recruitment of new spies]. [This is positive] as long as the new recruits can play their roles in dealing with regional head election conflicts," Bantarto said.

He added, though, that the number of personnel was actually not very important. "What is more important is whether intelligence can gather complete information and develop capacity to handle districts they'll be assigned in," Bantarto said.

He reminded both the BIN and the Home Affairs Ministry to be highly selective in recruiting spy candidates. "They must have that intelligence instinct in detecting potential conflicts in the field, before and after local elections," Bantarto said. "If not, it'll be only a waste of money. What's the purpose?'

The coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Haris Azhar, however, questioned Sutiyoso's purpose of planning the massive recruitment.

"We have no idea of how exactly the intelligence agency will work in regards to local elections. But we know that the preparation for local elections [in general] are not too promising. So what can the BIN do with all of these?" Haris told the Jakarta Globe.

"The agency and the Home Affairs Ministry must have a clear purpose, although they have said that this is important for regional elections. Aren't there enough intelligence officers already in the regions?

"Are these additions really needed? Have the BIN and the ministry done their duties? Have they detected some flaws and that's why they propose this recruitment?" he added.

Haris also demanded that both the BIN and the Home Affairs Ministry explain how would they fund the program. "The most important thing is the budget. Where will the money come from to cover this program? Is there even money yet?" Haris said.

"We surely don't want the funds to come from the private sector because there will be a vested interest, even corruption, should that really happen," he added.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/activists-question-spy-chiefs-plan-recruit-agents-election-monitoring/

Economy & investment

Jokowi: Things will get better

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2015

Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – Under fire for the sluggish realization of his campaign promises, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo attempted to boost optimism among business players on Thursday, but offered few tangible steps to reverse the country's economic slowdown.

For businesses, the short-term economic condition would be "bitter" during a period of stabilization, but things would improve in the long run, Jokowi told hundreds of economists, businesspeople and academics during a gathering held by the Indonesian Economists Association (ISEI).

Jokowi said he hoped the economy would reverse course when budget disbursement begun to pick up in the third quarter, before accelerating sharply in the years to come.

The President promised that state budget funds – a large chunk of which had been earmarked for infrastructure projects – would be spent more effectively under his watch. In 2016, government spending was expected to contribute between 0.5 and 1 percent to economic growth, from between 0.1 and 0.3 percent currently, he said.

Jokowi added that he planned to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) realization from China, Germany, Japan and the US, but emphasized that he prioritized local business players in his economic development plan.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have money stashed in your banks, houses, or in Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong. Do not just 'wait-and-see'," he said, calling for participation in infrastructure projects.

"It's all about opportunity. There are questions coming to me later on why [these projects] are given to foreign investors, but in fact I have made you my priority."

Jokowi also took time to defend the various economic reforms that he had implemented, with the President unpopular among investors for his anti- import policy, which has contributed to a pick-up in inflation, as well as for his hard-line stance on a ban on mineral ore exports.

Certain countries, according to the President, are now seeing economic contraction because they have failed to adapt to a changing world where commodity exports cannot be relied on to spur growth. "The deep, structural overhaul that the government is now undertaking is painful and bitter, but we cannot afford to delay it anymore," he said.

Concerns about Jokowi's economic management have arisen lately after economic growth fell to a five-year low of 4.7 percent in the first quarter this year, a far cry from the 5.7 percent assumed by the government in the revised 2015 state budget.

Economists fear that the economic situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon given that state budget disbursement has been sluggish. Meanwhile, leading indicators, such as growth in sales of cement and motorcycles, remain gloomy.

Consequently, the economic growth print for the April-June period may be "slightly lower" than the first quarter figure of 4.7 percent, Bank Indonesia (BI) senior deputy governor Mirza Adityaswara has forecast.

"There is a perception among the public that the government's performance is not satisfactory," said Darmin Nasution, an economist and former BI governor.

Darmin, who is also chairman of ISEI, lambasted what he called an "ineffective" state budget disbursement process, also criticizing the government's "disruptive" tax-collection efforts.

The Jokowi administration aims to collect Rp 1.29 quadrillion in tax revenues this year, 30 percent more than last year, a target considered unrealistic given the slow growth in tax revenues this year.

"This is not in line with the accommodative fiscal policy designed to counter the growth slowdown," said Darmin, a former director general of the Finance Ministry's tax office.

Suryo Bambang Sulisto, the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), acknowledged that the President's speech was "music to businesspeople's ears".

However, he argued that the current administration could do more to redress the current economic woes, complaining of red tape and a lack of coordination and communication between ministries.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/10/jokowi-things-will-get-better.html

Indonesia punching below its weight in reform

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2015

Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – Indonesia has yet to fully benefit from the ample fiscal space provided by the reallocation of fuel subsidies, with reform initiatives yielding slower-than-expected economic gains as state budget execution still faces implementation challenges, the World Bank says.

The country's output and employment growth are weakening, while major policy initiatives are facing implementation challenges from fuel pricing to infrastructure, the World Bank noted in its quarterly report entitled "Slower Gains", which was released on Wednesday.

It argued that the slower gains are "a sign of serious constraints and a shifting economy", suggesting policy makers implement policies and reforms that support the rebalancing process.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has aimed for economic growth to hit 5.7 percent this year in the revised 2015 State Budget, the first phase of an ambitious economic expansion in which he planned to push up growth to 7 percent within five years.

To achieve the objective, Jokowi has reallocated funds from fuel subsidies to growth-generating infrastructure projects, doubling the nation's capital expenditure (capex) spending from Rp 135 trillion to Rp 276 trillion (US$20.6 billion) this year in the revised 2015 State Budget.

But the World Bank noted that the budget execution was proving difficult: Capital spending is down by 18 percent relative to 2014, undermining the government's intention of a big push in infrastructure investment.

The agency also revised downward its growth forecast for Indonesia this year from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent, on the back of sluggish government spending, slowing consumption and weak exports caused by a downturn in commodity prices. The economy has slowed to a six-year low level of 4.7 percent in the first quarter this year.

Such a structural slowdown would affect overall labor absorption in the economy, as declining employment growth was observed across Indonesia, except in Nusa Tenggara, the report noted.

"In many countries 4.7 percent growth would have a positive impact on the labor market, but not so much in Indonesia, because you have 2.5 million people entering the workforce every year and you'll need growth above 5 percent to absorb them all," noted Ndiame Diop, World Bank lead economist for Indonesia.

With various economists already revising down their growth forecasts for Indonesia, government officials have claimed that things might not be as bad as they seem, predicting that growth will pick up in the second half of this year because of the acceleration of ministries' spending.

"It's not fair to say that the gains [from Indonesia's economic reforms] are slowing because the growth slowdown has recently become a common phenomenon," said Suahasil Nazara, the head of the Finance Ministry's fiscal policy agency.

Investors' confidence toward Indonesia was still strong, Suahasil claimed, citing the recent decision taken by the Standard & Poor's rating agency to upgrade the country's credit rating outlook to "positive" from "stable" in May.

"It's not slower gains, it's just the gains are not yet there," he said. "We will have gains later if [our budget] is spent properly."

Amid the challenges, the World Bank said that some of the economic policies were moving the country in the right direction, notably with its tax collection efforts, such as the adoption of electronic tax return submissions, or the improvements in income tax audit strategies.

Amid heightening external risks, Indonesia is still in a good position to respond by expanding infrastructure spending to the extent possible given the deficit limit, or closely following through on revenue collection measures, said Diop.

He also suggested the government communicate its new policies and decisions to investors in a consistent way. "Consistent communications reduces uncertainty," said Diop.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/ri-punching-below-its-weight-reform.html

Analysis & opinion

Criminalizing criticism

Jakarta Post Editorial - July 14, 2015

In yet another incident that many fear marks a setback for Indonesian democracy, Judicial Commission chief Suparman Marzuki and his deputy Taufiqurrohman Syahuri will have to undergo a criminal investigation for their public criticism of judge Sarpin Rizaldi for his decision in a pretrial hearing.

His ruling effectively ended the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) probe into a graft case involving the now deputy National Police chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan in February.

Police investigators have declared both Suparman and Taufiqurrohman suspects in a defamation case filed against them by judge Sarpin.

Indeed as law enforcers the police have a duty to investigate any criminal report filed by justice seekers, but in too many occasions defamation charges have been used and abused as a means to hit back at opponents or simply to blur core issues.

Not only in the New Order Era, but also in today's democracy defamation charges have been turned into a potent weapon to silence critics, thus stifling freedom of expression. Defamation charges have also weakened the national drive against corruption as they have discouraged whistle-blowers from helping law enforcers for fear of criminalization.

The lawsuit filed against the Judicial Commission leaders has dragged the National Police into yet another conflict of interest related to the Budi Gunawan case. Whatever the police's justification for launching the investigation into Suparman and Taufiqurrohman, the public will deem it as a payback for Sarpin's decision to free Budi from the KPK's clutches. Without Sarpin invalidating the KPK's move to name Budi a suspect, the latter's career might have ended and the police force's reputation slumped to its nadir.

Only after the controversial ruling could the police take over the investigation into Budi and, as expected, clear him of graft charges. The police faced widespread public anger when they named then KPK chief Abraham Samad and deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto suspects in separate criminal cases, and now questions are again being asked about their move against the two Judicial Commission leaders. As former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddiqie puts it, the criminal investigation into Suparman and Taufiqurrohman will further damage the police's credibility.

It would therefore be wise for the police to exercise their discretion and drop the defamation case, considering the Judicial Commission's constitutional mandate to supervise the corps of judges. The commission was established as part of the national consensus to reform the judiciary, one of the branches of power that form the democracy of the country. The fact that Sarpin received a six-month suspension from the bench after the Supreme Court found him guilty of an ethics violation in relation to his controversial decision only underlines that the oversight mechanism works.

The police will be held responsible for the death of free expression and, heaven forbid, democracy in Indonesia if eventually the two commissioners are convicted because of the statements to which Sarpin objected. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, to whom the police ultimately answer, will also share the blame if he remains silent.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/14/editorial-criminalizing-criticism.html

Tackling inequality, land conflict

Jakarta Post Editorial - July 13, 2015

The business community should not be surprised, nor inordinately worried, about the March regulation of the Environment and Forestry Ministry regarding the reallocation of up to 30 percent of industrial forests and forest concession areas to indigenous people.

Rather, business players should have anticipated the regulation after the Constitutional Court's ruling in May 2013 that the customary forests of indigenous peoples should not be classed as State Forest Areas.

The civil society organization for indigenous people's rights (AMAN) that asked for the juidicial review of the 1999 Forestry Law quoted the government's own statistics in 2012 that revealed that there were some 32,000 villages whose lands overlapped areas classed as State Forest Areas, as defined in the 1999 Forestry Law.

As such, the March 2015 regulation issued by the Environment and Forestry Ministry serves only as a guideline for enforcing the court ruling to restore the rights of indigenous peoples over their customary forests, which "had been seized by the state through the 1999 forestry law", as AMAN put it.

The frontpage headline story of Tuesday's edition of this newspaper read "Government to redistribute land". This was perhaps overblown, given that the essence of the regulation is simply to correct the error made in the 1999 Forestry Law and to return customary forests to their rightful owners. AMAN itself has estimated that 40 million indigenous peoples now are the rightful owners of the customary forests that have been the source of their livelihoods for generations.

In our view, the latest forestry regulation also aims to put an end to the perpetual land disputes in many areas between forest concessionaires and local people caused by the 1999 Forestry Law's definition of state forestry areas.

Even more important is that the regulation also aims at preventing inequality from widening. Public opinion is increasingly in favor of enhancement of inclusive and sustainable development in the agricultral sector and other resource-based industries. In the tree crop plantation sector, for example, large companies are required by the 2014 Plantation Law to allocate at least 20 percent of the total acreage of their plantation areas to smallholders through bank financing, processing and marketing arrangements.

Many companies now own and manage pulp and tree crop (mainly oil palm) plantations ranging in size from a few hundred thousand to one million hectares. We are afraid that if this condition is not gradually corrected, mounting problems of inequality of income, wealth and land conflicts could threaten the long-term sustainability of the plantation industry, even the macroeconomic stability.

We believe that harmonious and mutually-beneficial cooperation between big plantations and smallholders is the most effective way of expanding tree- crop plantations such as oil palm and rubber without widening inequality in landholding.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/13/editorial-tackling-inequality-land-conflict.html

Protecting graft?

Jakarta Post Editorial - July 9, 2015

Because the Rp 255 trillion (US$19 billion) entrusted to regional administrations has hardly been spent, let's, for the sake of the public, including the poor and needy, protect officials who fear the eagle eye of graft busters.

Such seems to be the pragmatic reasoning behind the government's push for legal protection for officials to encourage better regional budget disbursement. But amid the grueling battle against graft, which has faced continued blows, including attempts to weaken the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the planned regulation to encourage better budget spending could be further abused to steal the public's money.

On Tuesday, Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi said the ministry was drafting a government regulation to implement the law on government administration, to allow officials to use their discretion to spend regional budgets as long as it was for the public interest. He said if officials caused losses to the state in the process of tenders and procurements through mistakes that were not intended to enrich themselves and were caused by a lack of due diligence, the officials would only be asked to return the state losses and would not be prosecuted.

The government has a strong reason to be worried. Yuddy said up to Rp 255 trillion of regional funds is sitting idle in the accounts of regional administrations. The Regional Autonomy Watch (KPOD) reported that last year's allocation of Rp 116 trillion for regional spending was never disbursed as there was no demand. Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has urged governors to spend their allocations on social assistance and identify what the problems were in disbursement.

Not only ministers, but regional heads are also afraid of being sent to jail. But their claims that their mistakes were unintentional would have to stand up in court, rather than be protected from the outset with a regulation. Lawyers for the former minister of state-owned enterprises, Dahlan Iskan, also the former director of the state-run electricity firm PLN, for instance, would argue that Dahlan had only the public interest in mind in providing electrical cars for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Bali without calling for tenders, or in the central power transformer project worth Rp 1.06 trillion.

What we are seeing now in the string of incumbent and former regional heads being indicted is likely the result of the officials trying to return favors to generous campaign contributors, with social funds being a relatively easy funding sector to abuse – apart from the procurement processes and allocations of various projects, with or without tenders.

Crucial measures are needed to improve the performance of the central and local governments. But more productive measures would include the tackling of the classic problem of late disbursements from the central government, which among other reasons is blamed on the poorly formulated proposals of local administrations.

Otherwise, merely rushing to provide discretion in the spending of such huge sums amid a war on corruption would be tantamount to bowing to blackmail by powerful executives and their supporters in legislative bodies.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/editorial-protecting-graft.html

Book & film reviews

Talking to Joshua Oppenheimer about his follow-up to The Act of Killing

The Verge - July 15, 2015

Michael Zelenko – When Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing came out in the summer of 2013, few had seen anything like it. In 2002, Oppenheimer set out to chronicle the victims of Indonesia's brutal regime change, which took place in 1965 and 1966. The coup threw a pro-Communist regime out of power and installed the US-backed President Suharto in its place. Suharto spearheaded a national campaign to purge itself of Communists that resulted in one of the grizzliest genocides of the 20th century: suspected sympathizers were gutted, beheaded, and sexually mutilated. Perpetrators drank their blood by the glassful in a superstitious attempt to ward off insanity, and victims' bodies were left in the streets or dumped in mass graves. When it was all over, half a million people were dead; nearly 2 million were locked away in concentration camps.

What Oppenheimer discovered was that not only were many of the perpetrators still in power 50 years later – individuals who freely boast of slaughtering hundreds – but they were championed as national heroes. So Oppenheimer pivoted toward the killers, casting them to recreate their deeds in a Hollywood-style film. It was an unorthodox conceit, but for the first time in half a century the killers were forced to confront their own crimes in a perverse sort of play therapy. NPR's Bob Mandello called The Act of Killing "a virtually unprecedented social document"; it garnered an Oscar nomination and won a BAFTA for best documentary.

With The Look of Silence, Oppenheimer turns his gaze back to his original subjects: the survivors living in a country where killers rule with impunity. The central character in The Look of Silence is Adi, an optometrist whose work naturally brings him to the homes of the elderly – perpetrators, victims, and relatives of both. There, he openly confronts the killers, asking them to take moral responsibility for their actions – his brother Ramli, we learn, was one of those killed, his body mutilated and dumped into North Sumatra's Snake River along with 10,500 others. But no one will take take on the burden of Ramli's death – instead the killers twist and bend like contortionists, deflecting accountability.

Because the perpetrators are still in power, Adi's quest is a harrowing one. When he asks a former death squad commander one question too many, the room freezes. The commander turns on his interrogator. "These days subversives are everywhere," he says, looking at Adi. "Maybe what you're doing now is a secret communist activity."

Over and over, Adi is told to let the past be just that. "It's covered up," a victim tells him, "why open it up again?" But as The Look of Silence makes evident, forgetting is a luxury neither the victims nor the perpetrators have – the past is never really the past, it has a nagging habit of enveloping the present. When I sat down with Oppenheimer two years ago to discuss The Act of Killing, he told me that "the aim of art is to give people a space to see what they already know so that they can talk about it, so that the narrative can start to change. So much of the way we talk, and cope with the world, is founded on silence, on not saying things that we know." Even more so than the The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence reflects that. Earlier this month I met up with Oppenheimer again to discuss his new film, Adi, and what drives masochistic violence.

Michael Zelenko: How did you first meet Adi and his family, and where did the inspiration for this film come from?

Joshua Oppenheimer: In 2003, I began working with survivors of the 1965 genocide to explore what it's like for them to live constantly afraid that they could be attacked or killed. I began that work with Adi and his family – Adi would bring relatives and neighbors and cousins to tell me their stories.

Sometimes they would arrive in tears – not because they were afraid to talk – but because the only times they've been summoned by any outsider was to be called to do forced labor by the military. The idea of being invited to something they didn't quite understand was traumatic. Terribly, three weeks into this process, the army came and threatened every single [person] not to participate in this film.

Afterwards, Adi invited me to a secret midnight meeting at his parents' house because we were then under surveillance by the army. They said, 'Please don't give up, don't go home; try to film the perpetrators.' I was afraid to approach the perpetrators, but when I overcame that fear I saw that each and every one of them was open.

For the first eight months or so of filming with the perpetrators, I would film them one on one. It was risky to bring them together – I didn't know how they would talk with each other. [But] I took a risk in the January of 2004 by bringing together two perpetrators who didn't know one another. I filmed [the two of them] going down to the river, taking turns playing victim and perpetrator, pretending – and I emphasize pretending – to be proud of what they've done and leading me to the spot where they killed 10,500 people. It was a horrible day for me because I was forced to relinquish the last vestige of hope that these men were crazy. Because if there was insanity here, I had to recognize it as collective insanity. The men were even worse when they were together; they were reading from a shared script.

I wrote in my diary that night: two films. One about the lies, the fantasies, and the stories that the perpetrators tell themselves so they can live with themselves; the second about the terrible consequences of those lies when imposed on the whole society and what is it like to live in that society. What does it do to human beings to have to live for 50 years in fear?

I had this sense that ideally [the two films] should be precisely complementary exploration of the present-day impunity. The two films are formally different, but I hope precisely complementary. It's as though The Look of Silence is the inverse of The Act of Killing. The Act of Killing is the delirium of perpetrators' lies; a tropical Hieronymous Bosch cut through by these silences, these haunted spaces. In The Look of Silence you're in those haunted spaces, cut through occasionally by the footage that Adi is watching of the perpetrators boasting.

One of the things that struck me in your tone when speaking to the perpetrators in The Act of Killing was how you made every effort to judge the crime, but not the individual. Adi takes the same approach during his interviews, but the stakes are greater: these people are responsible for his brother's death, and he doesn't shy away from that. And there's almost a much greater risk for him. Many of these individuals are a part of his extended community and are politically powerful.

I think it was from Adi that I first heard this sense that one ought to be able to separate the human being from the crime and forgive the human being, at least as an ideal. That probably influenced how I approached the whole making of Act Of Killing. I'd also say that if you understand what Adi is trying to do – to find peace with his neighbors – you have to recognize that these are not interviews. It's not Adi interviewing them – it's Adi confronting them, trying to break a silence borne of mutual fear that's been dividing them and imprisoning everybody for half a century.

I'm not filming Adi interviewing on my behalf – I'm filming a scene where Adi is desperately trying to find reconciliation with his neighbor, having been warned by me that I don't think they'll be able to apologize; that none of the perpetrators will have the courage to apologize. During The Act of Killing, I worked for five years with [the primary subject,] Anwar Congo. At the end of that process, while he's choking and retching on that rooftop at the end of [the movie] – in the director's cut, he still says, "I killed because my conscience told me they had to be killed." Implying that he's still clinging to the lies while he's retching; implying that this is not a redemptive ending. This is a portrait of the human body at degree zero, human politics at degree zero, human guilt at degree zero.

So I felt like we weren't going to get that apology. But if I can, with precision and intimacy and care, film the rich array of human reactions that are inevitable when someone goes into someone else's home and says, 'You've killed my brother, can you take responsibility for it?' – if I can document the panic, the shame, the guilt, the fear of guilt, the fear of one's own guilt, and of course the anger and the threats – then I can make visible through the reactions of the perpetrators and through Adi, this abyss of fear and guilt that divides everybody.

More so than in The Act of Killing, we also see that these perpetrators are aging out, they're becoming feeble. Is there a suggestion here that they're losing their grip on the politics of the country?

Well, we see different things. In The Act of Killing we're focusing not only on the perps, but on a whole, present-day paramilitary movement that is at least two generations of proteges below Anwar. In The Look of Silence, Adi is only visiting the [original] perpetrators. Some of them are very old; some of them are not. The politician who threatens Adi is not feeble, nor is the paramilitary leader who threatens Adi.

What The Look of Silence shows is that even as the perpetrators themselves are retiring, or dying, or leaving politics, there's a whole generation who committed their own human rights abuses and massacres. In the mid-'70s, Indonesia invaded East Timor... one-third of the population was killed [there]. There are ongoing human rights abuses in the Indonesian part of Papua.

But at the same time in The Look of Silence, there's something hopeful in the sense that we see in Adi and in the daughter of a perpetrator who finds the courage and the humanity to apologize on her father's behalf. We see that if change will come, it will come in this younger generation, who are neither traumatized by the experience of the genocide nor are directly implicated in the genocide or even the military dictatorship and its crimes – its moral corruption.

The violence that we hear about in this film isn't just brutal, it's masochistic. There's a performative element here that reminded me of the ISIS videos that have appeared within the last couple of years; militants straining to devise ever more cruel means of killing. What do you think drives that behavior?

One of the interesting things with ISIS is that the violence and its staging – its mediation – are happening at one and the same moment. That serves two purposes that you [also saw] in the mediation of the violence in Indonesia. In Indonesia, Anwar talked about how at the time of the killings, he would distance himself from the act by imagining himself – mediating himself – in his own head, as being a beloved Hollywood actor from a movie that he'd just walked out of – acting was already part of the act of killing for him. I have no doubt that for people in ISIS who are committing crimes for the camera, that makes it easier to do. Instead of being more morally and emotionally present in the thing you're doing, you're performing for the camera. And also, the boasting about atrocities [creates a] mechanism of fear. If all of the death squad members have gone home to their communities and spent half a century boasting about the terrible things they've done, [it] implies that they could do it again. The perpetrators become a living threat in the community.

Are you still in touch with Adi?

I'm still working with Adi on the release of The Look of Silence both in Indonesia and abroad. There was always a back-up plan should his family be threatened to move to Europe. They haven't been threatened, in part because the reaction to the film has been so supportive and so overwhelming. It's meant that Adi has been able to stay in Indonesia with his family, and it meant that he's playing a very central role in the release of the film and more broadly in the movement for truth, reconciliation, and justice in Indonesia.

So in a sense, the film, through its popularity, is now protecting the survivors.

Yes, certainly. The men Adi confronts were regionally powerful and enjoyed total impunity in their regions. If Adi stayed in that region, they may well have attacked him with impunity. But because Adi is now on a national and international stage, they would face real repercussions if they would leave those regions.

I still receive very regular death threats that make it impossible for me to return to Indonesia. I think I could get in, but I don't think I could get out again. That makes it impossible for me to contemplate making another film there. I make [my films] from a place of real intimacy, and I can't do that in a country that I can't even visit. If the first part of this story – [The Act of Killing] – was like the child in the emperor's new clothes, making it impossible not to talk about this regime of fear in which they're living in, the second – The Look of Silence – makes it impossible not to talk about how torn the society is. The third part of this story is the future, the struggle for truth, reconciliation, and justice. It may be a very long struggle and a very difficult struggle, and as far as it's the third chapter to this story, it will not be written by me. It will be written by the people of Indonesia.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/15/8971233/the-act-of-killing-joshua-oppenheimer-interview-the-look-of-silence-documentary


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