Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – A mediation session between Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono and Papuan students in Yogyakarta on Friday failed to bridge their differences. The provincial leader insisted on banning the students from engaging in political activities.

The governor said he would not allow the Papuan students to voice their political beliefs, particularly on the campaign for Papuan self-determination.

He conveyed the message during a meeting with representatives of the Papuan students alongside councilors from the Papuan legislative council.

"With regard to politics, the sultan kept restricting us. Nonetheless, we will continue speaking about it. We will not stay silent," Papuan Students Association chairman Aris Yeimo said after the hearing.

The mediation session was held following a mid-July crackdown against Papuan students to prevent them from conducting a rally in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's (ULMWP) campaign for membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

During the mediation session, Aris said he told the sultan that following the incident, Papuan students did not feel safe as they were often the target of racist comments from unidentified passersby in front of their dormitory on Jl. Kusumanegara.

A student was even hit by an unidentified motorist in Maguwo, causing him to suffer a broken leg.

Aries said that during the meeting the sultan had expressed his willingness to offer security assurances to Papuan students but refused to apologize for labeling them separatists and for banning them from being in Yogyakarta. "He just said that if Papuan students engaged in introspection, the statements would be withdrawn," Aris said.

Aris added that the Sultan had also promised to censure mass organizations yelling racist words against Papuans and to ask the Yogyakarta Police to refrain from surrounding their dormitory.

"We expect the sultan to issue an instruction that will be heard by the people to clean up the negative stigma around us. We want to develop Yogyakarta together," he said.

Laurenzus Kadepa, a Papuan provincial councilor who joined the meeting, also asked the sultan to take care of Papuan students and people living in Yogyakarta, saying that they were valuable assets. "That is what we do to people coming to Papua. We take good care of them," he said.

With regard to the restriction on Papuan students from engaging in politics, Laurenzus said it was their right and should not be restricted. As long as the acts were conducted without violence, then no regulation was violated. Repressive acts, he said, would only create a bad image.

Previously, Natalius Pigai from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) also said that freedom of speech was guaranteed by the Constitution and that the Convention on Civil and Political Rights had already been ratified by Indonesia.

After the mediation session, the Sultan was not available for comment. The Yogyakarta administration's acting secretary Rani Sjamsinarsi, who joined in the hearing, also declined to comment.

Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti has repeatedly denied accusations that the Yogyakarta Police committed repressive actions and violated human rights when dealing with the Papuan students' rally. "All was conducted according to standard operating procedures," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/governor-tells-papuans-avoid-politics.html

Papuan students in Malang ask for protection from intimidation

Tempo - July 28, 2016

Eko Widianto, Jakarta – Dozens of members of Papuan Student Association (IPMP) staged a rally in front of Malang City Hall, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. They demanded protection and more humane treatment following intimidation directed at them in the past month.

"After 36 years studying in Malang, we have been living peacefully with Malang residents. Pleasant and peaceful," said the coordinator of the rally, Anton Nawipa. However, they have seen banners displayed of late by certain organizations accusing Papuan students of plotting a coup. The organization even had no hesitation in threatening to banish them.

"We have been left distressed from our dorms, to our campus," he said. He claimed that he often been accused of being involved in a student organization plotting a coup. He had also been subject to racial discrimination. Therefore, he had asked Malang administration and city council to help maintain stability in Malang.

According to him, Malang residents have been welcome to Papuan students studying in Malang. In fact, they have been mingling and interacting with local residents. "Their judgement is wrong, we will never plot a coup, we only came here to study. We are part of Malang residents," he said.

The rally was also staged to clarify and played down separatism and coup allegations. In the rally they hold posters and banners bearing the words: "Maaf kami bukan separatis" (Sorry, we are not separatists), "Menolak rasis" (Against racism), "Aksi solidaritas anti diskriminasi dan rasis," (Solidarity action against discrimination and racism).

Source: http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/07/28/055791230/papuan-students-in-malang-ask-for-protection-from-intimidation

Papuan students demand apology from Yogyakarta sultan

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Association of Papuan Students in Java and Bali has demanded Yogyakarta Sultan Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X apologize from statement he made that accused Papuan students studying in Yogyakarta, Central Java, of embracing separatism.

"If within the next two days he [Hamengkubuwono X] does not do so [apologize], we, the Papuan students, will return to Papua," said Ruben C. Frasa, the chairman of the Association of Papuan Students (IKPMD Papua) in Yogyakarta on Tuesday, while reading out the students' joint statement.

The statement was read before a hundred Papuan students studying in Java and Bali, who held a meeting with a Papua provincial government delegation. The five-member delegation was led by chairman of the Papua Legislative Council's Commission I, Elifis Tabuni.

Also present at the meeting were deputy chief for intelligence of the Papua Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Alfred Papare and a staffer from the province's National Unity and Political Department, Helen Waromi. Beside demanding an apology from the sultan, the students also demanded proper democracy in Yogyakarta.

The Papuan government delegation came to Yogyakarta to verify the alleged repressive acts by the Yogyakarta Police in response to a planned rally by Papuan students in their dormitory compound in Kamasan, Yogyakarta, on July 15.

The rally was meant to express their support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's (ULMWP) bid for membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). The delegation members heard testimonies of witnesses and watched the recorded moments of the Yogyakarta Police's actions.

During the meeting, student representatives in West, Central and East Java also told their stories on the conditions in their respective regions, where most of them said they experienced discrimination and repressive acts by police officers.

One of the delegation members, Laurensius Kadepa, expressed his concern of the police's approach toward the students. He said he personally could not interfere with the plans of the students to return to Papua because only the they themselves knew the conditions in Yogyakarta.

Lawmaker of the Papua Legislative Council Matea Mamoyo criticized the central government's failure to accelerate development programs in Papua in order to catch up with other provinces.

"There has been discrimination between us [Papuans] and other Indonesians, while the only difference is that our skin is darker if compared with the rest of the country," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/papuan-students-demand-apology-yogyakarta-sultan.html

Team seeks solutions following student attack

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Nethy Dharma Somba and Bambang Muryanto, Jayapura/Yogyakarta – Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has sent a team to Yogyakarta following an attack by a number of community organizations at a Papuan student dormitory in Kamasan, Yogyakarta, on July 15.

The team will seek information and verify a call made by a Papuan student association in Yogyakarta for Papuan students in the province to return to Papua on account of a lack of security assurances from the Yogyakarta authorities over their safety.

"In response to developments following the attack on the Papuan student dormitory in Yogyakarta, the governor has sent a team to consolidate the Yogyakarta provincial administration, Governor Hamengkubuwono and the [Papuan] students," said Papua provincial secretary Hery Dosinaen in Jayapura on Monday.

The consolidation team, which left Papua on Sunday, was led by Papua Legislative Council (DPRD) speaker Edo Kaize, deputy speaker Yanni and DPRD Commission I head Elvis Tabuni.

Dosinaen said Enembe expected the students to return to campus and continue their regularly scheduled activities, and to not feel afraid or alienated because the children of Papua were Indonesians and had the right to study anywhere in the country.

"They don't have to return to Papua. Disagreements are common so don't leave Yogyakarta simply because of this," said Dosinaen. Enembe expressed hope that Papuans studying in Yogyakarta would be accommodated by the local administration, and that any further issues would be communicated.

Papua human rights observer and Yap Thiam Hien Award recipient Rev. John Jonga said the case in Yogyakarta should be resolved by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo because the separatist label attached to the Papuan students would put their safety at risk.

"The President should not consider the problem faced by the Papuan students as trivial, because they no longer feel comfortable there, especially with the separatist label given to them, as it puts pressure on them and makes them fearful," he said.

He further said that a statement from the Alliance of Papuan Students (AMP) in Yogyakarta that they would return to Papua because they did not feel safe was a slap in the face of the Jokowi government for not being able to protect its citizens.

"What's the use of coming to Papua to build if the government is unable to provide security and comfort for Papuans in other areas in Indonesia? The students are not separatists, and expressing aspirations is not treason," said Jonga.

Jonga expressed concern that if the Papuan students in Yogyakarta returned to Papua, they would be followed by other students on other islands, which would eventually trigger international attention. "The government must immediately address the problem in Yogyakarta so that everything returns to normal," said Jonga.

Earlier, the AMP in Yogyakarta declared its plan to return to Papua in the absence of assurances over its members' safety following an accusation by the Yogyakarta governor that they had been involved in separatism. "We have decided to go back home [to Papua]," said Roy Karoba of the AMP on Sunday.

The decision was made, Roy added, following a meeting of Papuan students in Yogyakarta last Thursday. He, however, declined to mention when and how many of them would return to Papua. There are about 8,000 Papuan students studying in Yogyakarta.

General secretary of the Association of Papuan Youths and Students (IKPMDP), Ruben C. Frasa, said earlier that the decision was triggered by the repressive acts of security authorities in Yogyakarta against their planned rally on July 15 in support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's (ULMWP) bid for membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), and also by the governor's statement that there was no place for separatists in Yogyakarta.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/team-seeks-solutions-following-student-attack.html

Vanuatu PM urges MSG to stay true to founding principles

Radio New Zealand International - July 26, 2016

Following the move by the Melanesian Spearhead Group to defer a decision on the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application to become full members, Vanuatu's prime minister Charlot Salwai says there is a need for membership criteria to be developed which better reflects the group's founding principles.

Transcript

Vanuatu's prime minister says the Melanesian Spearhead Group should stay true to its founding principles on the question of membership in the group for West Papuans.

At this month's Honiara summit, amid intense lobbying by Indonesia, MSG leaders deferred a decision on the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application to become full members while adequate membership criteria is developed.

There is divergence between some of the leaders on whether the full membership of New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanak movement, sets a precedent for the West Papuans to have full membership.

Charlot Salwai told Johnny Blades that since last year membership criteria was developed which did not reflect the MSG's founding principles.

Charlot Salwai: So that is the reason why we decided not to accept the criteria that was presented for further amendments and we asked the secretariat and the committee to come up with a new criteria that could reflect the fundamental principles of the MSG. Which in the beginning was political and the criteria should reflect political aspiration and the principles of international laws. Because the one that was presented last time it looks like it tends to select financial members. And maybe turn more for trade relationships than MSG its original purpose was political to get Melanesia free from the colonisation, especially for those who are fighting for their self-determination and decolonisation, which is related also to the human rights. That is the reason why we call another meeting and we request the committee to come up with some new criteria that would reflect the original spirit of setting up the MSG.

Johnny Blades: Has the criteria changed at some point since the beginning? Because we know the FLNKS...

CS: Yes that is the issue that, why are we changing the criteria now while the FLNKS is already inside the (MSG). One of the (new proposed) criteria is talking about the state, Melanesian state to become part of the MSG. But the FLNKS is not a state it is a political party as well as the ULMWP (United Liberation Movement For West Papua). So we request that the committee reconsider the criteria that have been submitted to Honiara and the MSG should look at on this special summit that should be held from now to the end of September.

JB: I asked (PNG Foreign Minister) Rimbink Pato about this, what was the difference between the ULMWP and the FLNKS. And he said well, the FLNKS was there from the beginning and they are different because they have a process in place towards decolonisation possibly, you know under the UN. He says that the West Papuans don't have that and the FLNKS are different.

CS: Vanuatu believes that the MSG was set up as Vanuatu was in the very beginning very instrumental in this organisation, and it was to get the whole of Melanesia free from decolonisation that is the idea to set up the MSG.

JB: So are you disappointed with how it has turned out so far or do you think there is still, there is still chance to remedy this?

CS: Well not really to be disappointed, but I think I am disappointed on the way that how the criteria has been drafted which tends to address more the financial situation of the organisation than the original objective of the organisation which was the political objective of the organisation.

JB: Who has been changing it? Is this members or secretariat?

CS: Well a committee has been appointed by the Honiara meeting last year 2015 and the proposal was submitted to this year's MSG meeting which, as I said, we checked it, subject to review to be presented in the coming special sitting, special meeting of the MSG in Port Vila.

JB: Why is it important for the region to accept West Papua into the framework?

CS: Well I think everyone knows what is happening in West Papua, with the people in West Papua. The issue with Human Rights as well as it is part of Melanesia and I think it is the duty of the organisation, the MSG, to support them.

JB: You know, this is a very divisive issue. Do you think the MSG will find a way through or will the outside influences maybe threaten the unity over this issue?

CS: Well the MSG is very important for Melanesian countries, it is a unique organisation for Melanesia, and I believe with the Melanesian spirit we will continue to maintain the solidarity. But we have to understand and find a way to support our brothers of Melanesia to get what we want. We want self determination so why are we supporting FLNKS and not supporting ULMWP? If we believe in Melanesian culture we should not turn away, (we should) continue to unite, because the benefit of having the MSG is huge for Melanesian countries.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201809583/vanuatu-pm-urges-msg-to-stay-true-to-founding-principles

Human rights & justice

Wiranto needs to clarify rights abuse allegations: Lawmaker

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2016

Erika Anindita Dewi, Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto must clarify allegations of his involvement in human rights abuse cases, a lawmaker has said.

"This is a chance for him to explain," said Didik Mukrianto, a secretary to the Democratic Party's faction in the House of Representatives, in Jakarta on Friday.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appointed former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Wiranto to lead the office that was previously led by Luhut Pandjaitan, in the second Cabinet shake-up on Wednesday.

Wiranto's appointment sparked protests from human rights activists, who accused him of being involved in human rights abuses in East Timor (now Timor Leste) in 1999, after the referendum that ended with the separation of the region from Indonesia.

The coordinating political, legal, and security affairs minister is among people who will solve problems, including human rights issues, said Didik, a member of the House's Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

"I think Wiranto doesn't want to be burdened by past problems. Therefore, it's better for him to explain the issue," he added. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/29/wiranto-needs-to-clarify-rights-abuse-allegations-lawmaker.html

Wiranto challenges critics to specify rights abuse involvement

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Newly appointed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto has denied accusations of his involvement in past human rights abuses, amid rampant public scrutiny over his appointment to the Cabinet.

The former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief has sought to clarify the human rights abuse allegations and has asked people to point out his alleged wrongdoings.

"I want them to clearly point out when and where exactly my involvement was. Only then will I explain, one by one," Wiranto told journalists on Thursday after a handover ceremony at his office with his predecessor and newly inaugurated Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan.

Criticism was a typical response every time he served a new position in government, the chairman of the Hanura Party said. The important thing was, Wiranto added, that his assignment as a minister proved he had a clean track record, outlining his capabilities as a government official.

Wiranto, who also served as a minister during the administrations of former presidents Soeharto and Abdurahman Wahid, vowed to continue Luhut's efforts in resolving Indonesia's past gross human rights abuses in a fair and transparent manner, without endangering national security.

The retired military general was among nine new ministers introduced by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in his second Cabinet shake-up announced on Wednesday. Human rights watchdogs have slammed Jokowi's decision, citing Wiranto's alleged involvement in human rights violations during the referendum of East Timor, now Timor Leste, in 1990 when he served as TNI commander. He has been barred from entering the US and Timor Leste for alleged abuses. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/29/wiranto-challenges-critics-to-specify-rights-abuse-involvement.html

US notes Wiranto's appointment with human rights concerns

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2016

Liza Yosephine, Jakarta – The US government has recognized the newly inaugurated Cabinet members while highlighting human rights concerns with regard to the appointment of Wiranto as the new coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister.

The US respects the composition of the Cabinet as it is the matter for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Indonesian citizens, US State Department spokesperson Anna Richey-Allen said on Thursday. Still, the US is also aware of the allegations of human rights violations against Wiranto when he served as the commander of Indonesian Military (TNI), formerly ABRI.

She pointed out that promotion and protection of human rights embodied the foundation of US foreign policy.

"We continue to discuss the importance of accountability for past abuses and addressing impunity within the security forces," she said in a press statement received by thejakartapost.com.

Through the statement, Richey-Allen also expressed enthusiasm from the US to continue collaboration with the Indonesian government to enhance strategic partnership and promote shared interests.

Human rights activists have lambasted Jokowi's decision to appoint Hanura Party chairman Wiranto in his Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, over his poor human rights track record regarding alleged violations committed during Indonesia's withdrawal from occupied East Timor, now Timor Leste, in 1999. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/29/us-notes-wirantos-appointment-with-human-rights-concerns.html

'Wiranto's appointment bolsters impunity for human rights violators': Rights

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Human rights groups have lambasted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to appoint Wiranto as the new coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, claiming it is in contrast to the government's own commitment to resolve the past human rights abuse in which Wiranto was alleged to have been implicated.

Wiranto's appointment manifested concerns that Jokowi did not take human rights abuse into account in his Cabinet shake-up, chairman of human rights advocacy group Setara Institute Hendardi said on Wednesday.

"Wiranto's presence in the Cabinet will bolster the impunity of human rights violators as it will be difficult for him to resolve gross human rights violations, involvement in several cases of which he himself was suspected," Hendardi said in a text message to thejakartapost.com.

His appointment indicated a dim future for Indonesia's efforts toward the fair settlement of rights violation cases, he said, adding that Wiranto held a strategic position that oversaw the performance of the Attorney General's Office, the National Police, ministries and institutions related to politics and legal and security affairs.

Separately, Al-Araf, director of human rights watchdog Imparsial also slammed the appointment of the retired military general with a poor human rights track record as a demonstration of Jokowi's inconsistency in his own vows to uphold human rights in his administration.

Wiranto was inaugurated on Wednesday afternoon replacing Luhut Pandjaitan who was appointed as the coordinating maritime affairs minister in the second Cabinet reshuffle. He was notoriously suspected of having committed gross human rights violations during the referendum in East Timor, now Timor Leste, in 1999 when he served as the commander of the Indonesian Military. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/wirantos-appointment-bolsters-impunity-for-human-rights-violators-rights-groups.html

Jokowi urged to reverse Wiranto's appointment

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should reverse his decision to appoint Wiranto as the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister for he was indicted for crimes against humanity, a rights group has said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wiranto was the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander in 1999, when the country's army and military-backed militias carried out numerous atrocities against East Timorese after they voted for independence.

In February 2003, it said, Wiranto was indicted for crimes against humanity by the UN-sponsored Special Panels for Serious Crimes of the Dili District Court and named a chief suspect by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). The charges against Wiranto led to the US decision in 2014 to place Wiranto and five others accused of crimes in East Timor (now Timor Leste) on a visa watchlist that could bar them from entering the country.

"President Jokowi's decision to appoint Wiranto to his Cabinet is a slap in the face to Indonesians seeking accountability for past atrocities in Indonesia," HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said on Thursday.

"Wiranto's alleged complicity in murder, arson, and mass forced expulsions in East Timor in 1999 entitles him to a fair criminal trial, not a seat in the cabinet."

HRW says Wiranto's appointment calls into question President Jokowi's commitment to pursuing accountability for human rights violations. Those abuses include the 1965-1966 massacres and 11 high-priority human rights cases in Papua.

Wiranto's predecessor, Luhut Pandjaitan, had led the government's efforts toward accountability, which included plans to exhume mass graves from the 1965-1966 massacres and the creation of an investigation team to probe abuses in Papua.

"By offering Wiranto a Cabinet position, President Jokowi is undermining his own important efforts to obtain accountability for the terrible abuses of Indonesia's past," Kine said. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/jokowi-urged-to-reverse-wirantos-appointment.html

Human rights: Does Indonesia's Jokowi walk the talk?

Asian Correspondent - July 28, 2016

Hanis Maketab – Indonesian president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been called out over his commitment to protecting human rights following a Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday.

The appointment of retired military general Wiranto as the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, in particular, has drawn the ire of human rights groups.

The decision to put Wiranto in such an influential position within the Cabinet is a troubling one for many, as he has been implicated in overseeing human rights abuses carried out by Indonesian armed forces in East Timor some 17 years ago.

Wiranto replaced Luhut Pandjaitan, who will take up the crucial position of Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister amidst tensions over the South China Sea.

Local human rights advocates have accused Jokowi of turning a blind eye to Wiranto's involvement in the atrocities conducted by militiamen on civilians supporting East Timor's independence movement, which proved successful in 1999, but not without bloodshed.

Hendardi, chairman of human rights group Setara Institute, told the Jakarta Post: "Wiranto's presence in the Cabinet will bolster the impunity of human rights violators as it will be difficult for him to resolve gross human rights violations, involvement in several cases of which he himself was suspected."

He added that Wiranto's remit over legal affairs heralded a dim future for ensuring fair settlement in cases involving rights violations, as the former army chief now holds power over the Attorney General's Office and the National Police.

Al-Araf, director of Imparsial, also criticized Jokowi's decision in choosing Wiranto, calling it a demonstration of the president's shaky stance on upholding human rights.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said it strongly opposed Wiranto's appointment, citing a 2003 United Nations report which held Wiranto accountable for "murders, deportations, and widespread systematic violence" in East Timor, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe.

In 2004, the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor issued an arrest warrant for Wiranto due to his culpability in the crimes, which has so far been ignored by Indonesian authorities.

Deputy Prosecutor for Serious Crimes, Nicholas Koumjian, told AFP at the time: "General Wiranto at the time was the commander of all the Indonesian armed forces including the police, and our case shows that he failed to take any measures to prevent these crimes from happening, to punish the perpetrators, although it resulted in a large number of deaths, conservatively estimated at over 1,400."

Amnesty International also expressed its dismay at the appointment, calling it a show of "contempt for human rights".

"This is adding insult to injury. A day after ordering a fresh round of executions, Jokowi has now decided to hand control of the country's security apparatus to someone who was indicted for crimes against humanity by a UN-sponsored tribunal," said Josef Benedict, Amnesty's Deputy Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Jokowi has also been under fire this past week over Indonesia's continued use of capital punishment after calling for another round of executions, in what will be the third during his tenure as president.

In 2015, he sanctioned two rounds of executions, which saw 14 prisoners in total put to death by firing squad.

According to Amnesty International, which has been pushing for the abolishment of capital punishment, at least another 14 people could be executed this week, most of them convicted for drug offenses.

They comprise four Indonesians and 10 foreign nationals, including a Pakistani, an Indian, a Zimbabwean, a Senegalese, a South African, and five Nigerians.

In a report released by the human rights group last year, several defendants were denied access to legal counsel at the time of their arrest, while some claimed that they were tortured in police custody and forced to "confess" to their alleged crimes.

Despite for calls of a moratorium on executions from the international community, local media has reported the ongoing preparations for the executions, such as 14 coffins being transported to Indonesia's Nusakambangan prison island, where the prisoners are being held. Spiritual advisers have also been told to be on standby to carry out final rites.

In light of Wiranto's appointment and the upcoming round of executions, some took to social media to air their frustrations with Jokowi.

After two years, i have to say there's no hope that @jokowi will take care any human right case or stop death penalty. No hope. – febriana firdaus (@febrofirdaus) July 28, 2016

How can we work for human rights when you appointed human rights violator in charge of human rights abuse cases. https://t.co/MCLbH42WnL – Alnick (@Alnickmnathan) July 27, 2016

Jokowi may not be personally corrupt, but his utter disrespect for human rights, lack of vision & spine, amounts to national negligence. – Daniel Ziv (@DanielZiv) July 27, 2016

To many, it appears as though Jokowi's dedication to defending human rights is tenuous at best, and nothing more than political rhetoric.

Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/07/indonesia-human-rights-jokowi/

1965 anti-communist purge

Indonesia's 1965 genocide is a global affair

New Mandala - July 28, 2016

It may not be legally binding, but the International People's Tribunal on Indonesia's mass violence carries enough moral and political weight to warrant action. Saskia E Wieringa, the Tribunal's chair, outlines why.

On July 20, 2016 a video of presiding judge Zak Yacoob reading out the major conclusions of the International People's Tribunal on the 1965 Crimes Against Humanity in Indonesia (IPT 1965) was shown in five places across the world – Jakarta, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Frankfurt, Phnom Penh and Stockholm. At the same time the video was accessible on the Tribunal's website.

The original plan of the coordinators was to hold an event in Jakarta in which the final statement would be read out live in the presence of the witnesses who had attended hearings in The Hague from 10 to 13 November 2015. However in light of Indonesia's present campaign against the so-called 'revival of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI)' this was considered to be too risky. While it is only the army and related militias who are claiming this 'revival', the threat they pose to anybody they associate with it, is only too real.

The International People's Tribunal found Indonesia guilty of crimes against humanity in the systematic killing of between 400,000 and 600,000 people. Those killed were not only leaders and members of the Communist Party in 1965, but also belonged to affiliated associations or were strong supporters of President Sukarno. In addition, the tribunal found that Indonesia was guilty of other crimes against humanity including slavery, involuntary disappearances, sexual violence and a campaign of hate propaganda inciting such crimes. These crimes are not only punishable under international customary law and other conventions, such as the Rome Statute, but also under Indonesia's domestic laws, including the Human Rights law No. 26 of 2000.

The simultaneous launch of the Tribunal's finding in various locations also signals that Indonesia can no longer claim that the mass murders and other crimes against humanity committed by, or with the help of, the army in 1965 and subsequent years are just internal affairs in which the outside world should not meddle. Indeed, the judges decided that this was a case of genocide, as a national group had been exterminated in part, with a great social impact upon society as a whole. Genocide is a global affair, and countries are required to prevent and punish such actions, whether carried out in war or in peacetime.

This is exactly what did not happen when the extermination campaign of leftist people in Indonesia was underway. While the army was slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocent, unarmed people the rest of the Western world looked on with approval. There is abundant proof, and the final report of the IPT judges cites some of this, that embassies reported on the mass killings. Foreign reporters too denounced the Indonesian killings; CL Sulzberger, writing in The New York Times referred to it on 13 April 1966 as 'one of history's most vicious massacres... rivalling in scale and savagery... Turkey's Armenian massacres...Hitler's Jewish genocide...' and other such atrocious events which have received much more international attention.

The judges thus considered whether several states could be seen to have acted complicity with the Indonesian military. The research report presented to the judges and the prosecutors provided evidence of the complicity of three states – the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. In all three cases the judges concluded that the government of these states were fully aware that mass killings were being carried out, and that in various ways they supported the army in their extermination campaign. The US provided lists of people who had to be killed, as well as small arms and communication equipment. The UK and Australia, already engaged in a low intensity military conflict with Indonesia, extended their propaganda in support of the hate propaganda spread by the Indonesian army inciting the mass killings.

It is likely that many more countries were fully aware of what was going on in Indonesia, but their cases were not considered. Researchers in Austria, Germany and The Netherlands are at present searching their countries' archives to determine their governments' level of awareness of the mass killings in Indonesia.

As a non-formal process staged by human rights activists, the International People's Tribunal can impose no sanctions nor start criminal proceedings. Yet it does carry political and moral weight. The governments of Indonesia and the three countries mentioned above pointedly ignored the invitations extended to them to attend the hearings in November 2015. But it is a blemish on the moral standing of the international order that cannot be erased. Subsequent documents and research reports will continue to focus attention towards it.

The findings of the IPT 1965 are already having an impact in Indonesia. The then coordinating Minister for Security, Luhut Panjaitan, reacted as if stung by a foreign wasp and declared that Indonesia has its own domestic mechanisms. It does indeed.

Apart from the Human Rights Law mentioned above, it has two national commissions, on women's rights and on human rights in general, which produced reports in 2007 and 2012 respectively. However both reports were ignored. The IPT 1965 final report calls for the full implementation of its recommendations.

Minister Luhut Panjaitan reacted to the IPT 1965 hearings in November 2015 by calling a national symposium in April 2016, where for the first time victims of army brutality could speak out in safety, surrounded by generals defending the atrocities of the Suharto Regime. This again sparked the present army campaign against the supposed revival of the PKI. But the genie is out of the bottle. All eyes are now on the President. Will he apologise in his Address to the Nation on 16 August?

After all a promise in his presidential campaign was to deal with the 'events of 1965'.

[Saskia E Wieringa is an honorary professor at the University of Amsterdam and the chair of the International People's Tribunal on the 1965 crimes against humanity in Indonesia. This article is a collaboration between New Mandala and Policy Forum – Asia and the Pacific's leading platform for policy debate and analysis.]

Source: http://www.newmandala.org/indonesias-1965-genocide-global-affair/

Government reminded to resolve 1965 massacre independently

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) has reminded the government to resolve the 1965 communist purge without the intervention of any external party.

Lemhanas governor Agus Widjojo said on Tuesday that the ruling of the International People's Tribunal (IPT) on the 1965 crimes against humanity (IPT 1965) should be used as a reference, however, Indonesia must maintain its independence in solving the tragedy. "[The ruling] is good to remind officials that we have a debt that we need to pay with our own hands."

He asserted that while the tribunal result would potentially have political repercussion, especially internationally, it was not legally binding for Indonesia as the IPT did not have any official jurisdiction.

Agus, who also served as team chairman of the National Symposium in April, an official event to seek reconciliation for the 1965 mass killings, said the team had submitted the symposium result and was now waiting for the government to take further action to resolve the country's dark past.

With the result announced on July 20, the tribunal found that Indonesia had committed acts of genocide during the mass killings that reportedly claimed half a million lives, most of whom were related to the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/govt-reminded-to-resolve-1965-massacre-independently.html

Komnas HAM takes IPT verdict into consideration

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Jakarta – Unlike other government institutions, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has warmly welcomed the International People's Tribunal's (IPT) verdict finding the state of Indonesia guilty of crimes against humanity in 1965.

The verdict stated that the state committed nine crimes against humanity, including massacres, forced disappearances, enslavement and sexual abuse. The commissioners said the verdict, read out in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, had some similarities to findings of the commission, except the part about genocide.

"We should not consider the IPT verdict as intervention in Indonesia's internal affairs. We should be thankful instead because the international community paid attention to the case," Komnas HAM commission Nurkholis said on Monday.

Komnas HAM chairman M. Imdadun Rahmat said the rights commission had submitted seven cases of human rights violations to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for investigation, six of them related to past human rights cases, including the one in 1965. He said further that testimonies from 499 witnesses were solicited during an almost four-year investigation it conducted from 2008 to 2012.

"However, none of reports submitted to the AGO have ever been processed. We have always faced a deadlock because there was different interpretations of the law between Komnas HAM and the AGO," he said.

He added that the different perceptions of the commission and the AGO included the approach of the law. The commission believed the case should be approached through the law on human rights violations, but the AGO insisted it was a civil case. The different perceptions has prolonged the process of settlement of human rights abuses.

"Indonesia still doesn't have a comprehensive concept in solving past human rights cases, therefore efforts by the parties were not synchronized," Nurkholis said, while citing that attempts to dig up burial plots of victims of the 1965 tragedy were not backed by the law.

The now non-active Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) would have helped to resolve the issue as it was aimed at settling human rights cases, Imdadun added, referring to a body that was dissolved by the repealing of a law by the Constitutional Court in 2006.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, however, said that reestablishing the KKR was unnecessary because the government had taken steps to solve the case, referring to a symposium held by the Office of the Coordinating Political, Law and Security Affairs Minister in February.

Office spokesman Efendy added that the verdict might cause internal conflict in the country and demanded that the issue be toned down.

A group that advocates for victims of the 1965 purge visited the Komnas HAM office on Monday to report the IPT verdict on the purge, which was believed to have claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people allegedly linked to the now-defunct Indonesian Communism Party (PKI).

In its ruling, the IPT suggested the Indonesian government apologize and provide reconciliation and rehabilitation for the victims.

Monday's visit was also meant to seek support after many high-ranking officials dismissed the verdict. The administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who during the 2014 presidential election campaign pledged to resolve cases of past human rights violations, has announced that the verdict was not legally binding and urged the public to refer only to the recommendations of the National 1965 Symposium issued in April.

Komnas HAM commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said the commission would continue to fight for justice for victims, and emphasized that although the verdict was not legally binding, it was morally binding.

"Although we heard the verdict on Wednesday, we just received the official document today. We need time to evaluate it before taking further steps," Roichatul said, adding that the rights commission would visit the AGO to discuss the matter on Tuesday. (fac)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/komnas-ham-takes-ipt-verdict-consideration.html

Sexual & domestic violence

Nation to end child violence, marriage

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2016

Panca Nugraha and Suherdjoko, Mataram/Semarang – Indonesia on Saturday celebrated National Children's Day (HAN) with a renewed commitment to stop violence against children and to reduce the number of child marriages in the country.

The commitment was adopted in a declaration that was jointly read out by 19 regents and mayors during the celebration at Sangkareang Square in Mataram city, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Saturday. The event was attended by Cabinet ministers and more than 3,000 children from across the country.

In her speech, Woman Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise said the celebration highlighted three main issues, namely sexual violence against children, child marriage and child prostitution.

"Child sex offenses, child marriage and child prostitution are violations of a child's rights to grow and to live a decent, useful and dignified life. The Children's Day celebration this year should provide momentum to end them all," she said.

Quoting data, she said in 2006 more than 24 percent of marriages in Indonesia were early marriages involving children. NTB was among the highest in terms of its child marriage rate. That is why the 2016 Children's Day celebration was centered in that province, she added.

Yohana said children were national assets who had to be well taken care of and protected. Children had to be prepared as early as possible so they would become superior people with strong characters, a mastery of science and technology and a sense of competitiveness and grow to become agents of changes in the future.

The Children's Day celebration, she added, would become an important moment to revive the people's concern and their participation in fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities to respect and guarantee children's rights.

During the celebration, the Indonesian Child Forum, comprising children from across the country, read out the Voice of Indonesian Children 2016, which among other things demanded protection from all forms of sexual crimes and child marriages, as well as exploitation and discrimination.

Representatives of the forum also handed 11,000 anti-smoking letters to Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani, who was there representing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

One of the letters read out during the celebration demanded the President sign the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and free Indonesian children from cigarette smoke.

Meanwhile, Puan said that this year's Children's Day celebration, which took the theme of 'Ending violence against children', was conducted by considering various events and incidents experienced by some Indonesian children over the last few days.

"The theme has to be an inspiration for all of us that our children need guarantees and protection for their right to grow and live a quality life as the nation's future generation," Puan said.

Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java, the Women Journalists Network (JJP), comprising 30 print and electronic journalists, celebrated National Children's Day by performing a mini-drama on children's issues in front of the Prince Diponegoro Statue on Jl. Pahlawan.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/25/nation-end-child-violence-marriage.html

Political parties & elections

Watchdogs propose votes lower threshold, more electoral districts

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Jakarta – Against the majority belief that a higher electoral threshold will streamline the number of political parties represented in the legislative assembly – the House of Representatives – an election watchdog has instead proposed a much lower threshold for future general elections.

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a watchdog has suggested the electoral threshold be reduced to 1 percent from 3.5 percent. It is of the opinion that a lower threshold will ensure greater democracy as it will accommodate small political parties.

National coordinator of the People's Voter Education Network (JPPR) Masykurudin Hafidz said increasing the threshold percentage would be counterproductive to the value of democracy, in a sense that an election had to provide space for society's minority elements besides the majority.

Under the current system, parties with a total vote count that does not pass the minimum threshold cannot be considered for the national legislature. As a result, voters who cast their votes for small parties would not be considered in the process.

"As an example, the votes cast by voters living in eastern Indonesia, who usually have to travel for days to reach polling stations (TPS) just to cast their votes, will waste their time [if they vote for small parties] and would not be accounted for because of the threshold," he said.

He further said that the idea of big political parties wanting to increase the threshold appeared to be just an attempt by them to marginalize small parties.

"Instead of blocking the path of small parties, political elites from big parties should reflect on themselves and ensure that their party's platform really embraces the people's interests," Masykurudin said.

Earlier, several party elites announced their desire to increase the threshold, in a bid to raise competitiveness among parties and simplify the multi-party and party faction system at the House to make the decision-making process more efficient. Nasdem Party chairman Surya Paloh, for example, has announced on the party's official website that the threshold percentage should be raised to 7 percent.

A researcher at the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Heroik Pratama, argued that current intense deliberations and prolonged decision making in the House was because of the lack of influential party factions, adding that fewer political parties did not necessarily mean a more efficient legislature.

Besides, Pratama further went on, the current electoral districts had failed to ensure candidates adequate time for campaigning to familiarize themselves and their programs to their constituencies because the areas they had to cover were too vast.

"We suggest that the number of electoral districts be expanded from 77 to 121. It will also encourage politicians to understand better their constituencies before representing them in parliament," he said.

He also said reducing the number of contested seats to only between three and six in each district would provide more competitiveness among parties and their proposed candidates. Under the current system, contested seats in each electoral district could number between three and 10.

Deputy Chairman of Perludem Khoirunnisa Nur Agustyati said increasing the electoral threshold was not a relevant mechanism to deciding party representation in the House. She cited that during the 2014 general election, 10 parties had earned national legislative seats, a slight increase from nine parties in the elections of 2009, although the threshold was increased to 3.5 percent from 2.5 percent.

Earlier, political analysts have argued that a country ideally should have between three and five political parties with two big ones to help make a government strong and effective, as is the case of the US, UK and Australia. An effective government comes from a strong election-winning party in the House, and not from a ruling coalition, the analysts said. (fac)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/watchdogs-propose-votes-lower-threshold-more-electoral-districts.html

Surveys & opinion polls

Jokowi's approval rating improves amid doubts

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2016

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Nearly two years after taking office, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's approval rating has improved from last year, despite doubts over the administration's performance.

A survey released on Sunday by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) found that 67 percent of 1,027 respondents were satisfied with Jokowi's performance in his nearly two years in office. Thirty percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied.

However, the improved approval rating was still lower than his rating of 75 percent found by SMRC in October 2014.

The survey also found that 72 percent of respondents in the survey, conducted between June 22 and June 28, said they believed in Jokowi's leadership, while 22 percent expressed doubts in Jokowi's leadership skills.

Thirty-two percent of respondents would vote for the President if an election was to be held today, while 9.4 percent would vote for Jokowi's 2014 election rival, Prabowo Subianto. The President's predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, would gain votes from 2.6 percent of survey respondents.

Jokowi's charm appeared to have worn off last year, with the public beginning to express dissatisfaction over his lackluster performance, with SMRC's survey released in last October having found that only 52 percent of the 1,220 respondents believed that Jokowi had done a good job during his first year in office. Jokowi's approval rating at that time was lower than the 66 percent gained by Yudhoyono after his first year in office in 2005.

At that time, SMRC also found that fewer respondents thought Jokowi had good leadership skills, or 62 percent of respondents in October last year from 75 percent in October 2014.

However, the survey also found that the public had taken into account the government's lack of achievements in providing more affordable basic necessities, reducing the number of poor people and the unemployment rate, as well as in creating jobs.

Only 26 percent of respondents said Jokowi's administration had ensured affordable basic necessities. The remaining 29 percent said the government's performance in that sector had worsened, while 44 percent said the government had not made any changes to improve conditions.

"Therefore, although his performance is considered [by the public] as positive, his administration should pay extra attention to efforts to reduce poverty, create more jobs and ensure basic goods are affordable to the public," SMRC program director Sirojudin Abbas said.

A number of observers have previously urged Jokowi to focus on implementing more comprehensive and strategic development measures, instead of making sporadic moves every time a problem occurs, as a good development agenda needs balanced and real results in terms of input, processes and outcomes.

Only 38 percent of respondents believed the economy had improved, while 34 percent of respondents said they had seen no changes, and 22 percent said economic conditions had worsened. Yet, 55 percent believed next year's economy would improve, 20 percent said they would not see any changes and 8 percent believed in a worse future.

The survey results were released amid speculation that a Cabinet shake-up was imminent, as a number of ministers had shown a lack of coordination almost a year since Jokowi carried out his first reshuffle.

However, presidential spokesman Johan Budi has insisted that Jokowi, who is evaluating his ministers, "is focusing on how to bring welfare to the people and improvements in various sectors".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/25/jokowi-s-approval-rating-improves-amid-doubts.html

Environment & natural disasters

Police drop fire cases in West Kalimantan

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2016

Pontianak – West Kalimantan Police will not prosecute a company and three individuals allegedly involved in four cases of land and forest fires in 2015, citing a lack of evidence.

Local police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suhadi SW confirmed recently the legal process involving the four cases had been terminated. "Following a preliminary investigation we came to the conclusion that there is not sufficient evidence to build those cases," Suhadi said.

In total, 35 cases of land and forest fires occurred last year, four of which allegedly involved companies and the remaining 31 involved individuals. Suhadi did not reveal the identity of the companies and the individuals.

Meanwhile, West Kalimantan has been free from haze as of July because of a lower number of hotspots compared to last year. In the January to July 2016 period, authorities detected 43 hotspots, which were far fewer than the 378 hotspots found in the same period last year.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/25/island-focus-police-drop-fire-cases-w-kalimantan.html

Health & education

YLKI claims cartel behind fake-vaccine scandal

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2016

Jakarta – Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairman Tulus Abadi has called on the government to further investigate the fake-vaccine case, saying that a pharmaceutical industry cartel was behind the distribution of the counterfeit vaccines.

According to him, the cartel profited from the expensive imported vaccines, and the government should have assigned state-owned vaccine producer Biofarma to manufacture the vaccines instead of importing them.

"They counterfeit the imported vaccines because of the expensive price, while imports are not enough to meet the local need," Tulus said as quoted by kompas.com in a discussion on the counterfeit drugs and vaccines in Jakarta on Sunday.

Biofarma is a globally-acknowledged vaccine manufacturer that has exported its pharmaceutical products to 130 countries. "We have a prominent state-owned enterprise, so why do we import vaccines? I believe there is a cartel behind this," Tulus said.

Currently, Biofarma's serum production is limited to generic vaccines, which usually gives recipients a fever as a side effect. The imported vaccines are infused with anti-fever formula.

Tulus speculated that the pharmaceutical industry cartel had been operating in the country for years, especially as Indonesia still depended on imported raw materials for drug ingredients. "The raw materials are 100 percent imported," he said. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/25/ylki-claims-cartel-behind-fake-vaccine-scandal.html

Graft & corruption

KPK wants authority to investigate private-sector corruption

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – The chair of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has called for the commission to be given the authority to investigate corruption in the private sector; its investigation authority is currently limited to cases involving more than Rp 1 billion (US $76,274) and implicating government officials.

KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said 23.79 percent of the 496 corruption cases the antigraft body had handled so far had involved private entities. Corruption cases involving government officials ranked first, accounting for 26.01 percent of the total.

"If we want to carry out a 'mental revolution', we need to do go all out. The rate of corrupt practices in the private sectors is also pretty high," he said during a discussion at the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on Monday.

Agus revealed that the KPK had recently conducted a visiting study to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in Singapore, learning that around 90 percent of CPIB cases related to the private sector, and that the CPIB handled cases involving as little as 10 Singaporean dollars (US$7.36).

"An Indonesian domestic helper was found drunk in a subway station. A security guard demanded that she pay 30 Singaporean dollars in exchange for not reporting her to the police. She only had S$10, which she gave to the guard, who accepted it," said Agus.

At home, the Indonesian worker told her employee of what had happened. "Her employee reported it to the CPIB and it processed the case," he said.

The KPK later found from its studies that in Hong Kong, 80 percent of corruption cases involved the private sector while in Malaysia, the proportion of corruption cases involving bureaucrats and private entities was 50-50. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/KPK-wants-authority-to-investigate-private-sector-corruption.html

Terrorism & religious extremism

Terrorism Law revision continues despite criticism

Jakarta Post - July 31, 2016

Erika Anindita Dewi, Jakarta – The House of Representatives insisted on Friday that it would continue to discuss the revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law despite a heated debate on the inclusion in the draft revision of an official role for the Indonesian Military (TNI) in combating terrorism.

The chairman of the House's inquiry committee on the Terrorism Law revision, Muhammad Syafi'i, said the fierce debate on the military's counterterrorism role would not affect the discussion of the draft revision because the House's political party factions were still able to create changes to the draft revision.

The committee is still on schedule to meet with the government's team for a hearing to discuss input for changes to several articles of the draft revision, he went on.

"The committee still has a chance to agree, to provide an addendum, to revise or to totally change the draft revision submitted by the government. We don't need to return it to the government because in principle, the House has decided to accept the draft revision," Syafi'i, a Gerindra Party politician, told The Jakarta Post on Friday evening.

He further explained that the committee had recently completed working visits to Poso in Central Sulawesi, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara and Surakarta in Central Java to garner suggestions for the revision.

Before the recess started on Friday, all political party factions on the committee began to compile a list of problems, and the committee will continue deliberating after the recess.

Syafi'i said the committee aimed to conclude the revision by December this year, adding, however, that he could not guarantee the deadline would be met.

As earlier reported, a committee member advised the House to "return the Terrorism Law draft revision" to the government given the sharp difference of opinion among different branches of government regarding the role of the TNI in fighting terrorism.

TB Hasanuddin from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) suggested the House return the draft revision to the government before beginning discussions on it.

He said the draft revision seemed "incomplete" and that the government should "coordinate all stakeholders to have one voice" on the proposed draft revision. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/31/terrorism-law-revision-continues-despite-criticism.html

House urged to issue regulations on military's counterterrorism role

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Rights watchdog Imparsial has urged the House of Representatives to pass specific regulations on the Indonesian Military's role in counterterrorism operations, but exclude such provisions from a permanent Terrorism Law.

"If we combine matters pertaining to law enforcement and war model systems into one [terrorism] law, there will be a problem. The military should have their roles covered in a separate law," Imparsial director Al-Araf said on Monday.

Regarding the drafting of the specific regulations, he said, the details of the military's rules of engagement in non-military operations should based on the mandate of Tap MPR No. VII/2000 on the roles of the military and National Police. These include the military's role in antiterrorism operations, which was already covered by Article 7 of Law No. 34/2004 on the military, he added.

Al-Araf said the military's ability to be involved in counterterrorism operations had been made clear by Operation Tinombala, in which military personnel were deployed to assist the police in hunting East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) guerillas based on the authority given by the prevailing law. Therefore, he said, there was no need for the government to include the military's role in counterterrorism initiatives in the terrorism bill.

The House of Representatives' special committee on the deliberation of the draft revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law is mulling a proposal to insert articles on the military's role in counterterrorism measures. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has said the government hopes the deliberation will be finished by August. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/house-urged-to-issue-regulations-on-militarys-counterterrorism-role.html

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Rival Bali gangs attend training

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Denpasar – Despite mounting demands from Bali residents for the disbandment of mass organizations as a result of their involvement in acts of violence, the police are training them to help safeguard the island.

The training is being held for 35 members of the island's three biggest rival gangs, namely Laskar Bali, Baladika Bali and Pemuda Bali Bersatu. Taking place at Denpasar Police headquarters, the four-day training officially started on Monday morning with classroom theory sessions.

The training will continue with practical exercises on the police station field. "We give them 50 percent theory and 50 percent practical," Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Hadi Purnomo said.

Hadi Purnomo said during the training the gang members would learn techniques and strategy on how to safeguard their areas, including welcoming people. "How to make guests [tourists] happy, not make them afraid? Always smile," Hadi Purnomo said.

The gang members will also receive martial arts training. Hadi Purnomo said they needed such training as many clashes between the gangs had caused fatalities.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/island-focus-rival-bali-gangs-attend-training.html

Freedom of religion & worship

Muslim group calls for tolerance after mob burns down North Sumatra temples

Jakarta Globe - July 31, 2016

Jakarta – The country's second-biggest Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, has called for greater religious and racial tolerance in North Sumatra following the burning down and destruction on Saturday of several Buddhist houses of worship by enraged mobs in the city of Tanjung Balai.

No casualties were reported in what the youth association of Muhammadiyah called an intolerable incident that could harm Indonesia's religious and ethnic diversity.

"I call on local religious and ethnic leaders to make everyone understand that the true strength of the Sumatran people is tolerance and respect for diversity," association chairman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said on Saturday (30/07).

Saturday's incident began when residents reportedly got angry at a woman of Chinese descent who allegedly protested against a mosque using loudspeakers to broadcast calls to prayers and recitals in front of her home in Tanjung Balai. The situation quickly escalated as provocations circulated on social media against the woman.

Security has been amped up at monasteries and temples in the city to prevent further incidents, with authorities agreeing to hold immediate meetings with religious and other local leaders to reinstate public harmony.

"I have instructed members of our youth association there to speak with local groups to prevent more religious and racial conflicts," Dahnil told the Jakarta Globe.

According Dahnil, North Sumatra has always been known for its religious and racial tolerance and high respect for diversity. "There is no place for ethnic arrogance in Indonesia, including in North Sumatra," Dahnil said.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/muslim-group-calls-tolerance-mob-burns-north-sumatra-temples/

Land & agrarian conflicts

Activists, fishermen urge new minister to halt reclamation project

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2016

Jakarta – Activists and fishermen voiced on Friday their concern over newly appointed Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan's plan to review the Jakarta Bay reclamation project, which they assumed would be continued.

"We've seen that currently, the government takes the side of the investors," the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice's (KIARA) deputy head for information management, Parid Ridwanuddin, said.

He said it was better for the government to improve the quality of life of people who lived around Jakarta Bay, in which many of them were still illiterate, rather than continuing to push forward its infrastructure development plan.

With more optimism, Iwan, a representative of the Traditional Fishermen's Association, said he expected Luhut to completely halt the reclamation project to protect the source of the traditional fishermen's livelihood as they used to go fishing in the area where artificial islets were set to be built in the project.

On June 30, Luhut's predecessor, Rizal Ramli, decided to temporary halt the development of Islet G, one of 17 islets being or to be developed as part of the reclamation project in Jakarta Bay.

He argued the islet's development endangered the environment and maritime traffic as it was being built in between shipping lanes. (wnd/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/activists-fishermen-urge-new-minister-to-halt-reclamation-project.html

Walhi challenges reclamation project on Losari Beach

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2016

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Local residents and activists will continue to challenge land reclamation around Losari Beach, South Sulawesi, after a court rejected a lawsuit against the issuance of a permit for the project.

"The panel of judges did not have an environmental perspective," Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) executive director Nur Hidayati said after a hearing on Thursday.

She emphasized that Walhi did not talk about the direct impacts from the reclamation project, but the long-term impacts in the future.

The Makassar State Administrative Court (PTUN) on Thursday turned down a lawsuit filed by Walhi against the South Sulawesi governor for the issuance of the permit to reclaim areas on the province's famous waterfront, to be developed into residential and commercial areas.

Presiding judge Tedi Romyadi said the permit granted to PT Yasmin Bumi Asri would not cause pollution or damage the environment around the site, as claimed by Walhi. The lawsuit, therefore, was considered formally flawed.

"[The panel of judges] declares the lawsuit was not accepted and the plaintiff has to pay court expenses of Rp 2,963,500 [US$225.23]," said Tedi, who is also head of the Makassar State Administrative Court.

One member of the judging panel, Joko Setiono, had a dissenting opinion.

In its lawsuit, Walhi said the permit issued by the governor on Nov. 1, 2013 for the reclamation project would trigger pollution and environmental damage in the reclaimed area, including to the ecosystem, coral reefs, mangroves and flora and fauna. Locals would also lose their source of livelihoods.

The reclamation permit was initially granted to PT Yasmin Bumi Asri but last year part of the area, spanning around 100 hectares, was handed over to Ciputra Surya Tbk. for the development of a business center, hotel and luxury residential complex.

The remaining 57 ha were handed over to the South Sulawesi administration for the development of the Center Point of Indonesia (CPI), comprising a state guesthouse, convention building and open green area.

Citing an explanation from an expert witness during trial, Tedi said environmental damage had been done before the reclamation occurred.

"Before the reclamation, the environment in the area, including the coral reefs, was already severely damaged," said Tedi, adding that according to the expert witness, there was no mangrove forest at that time but only some mangrove trees.

He added that of the 157 ha area, some 20 ha had been reclaimed, saying the reclamation had not polluted the area.

Walhi promptly rejected the ruling and said it would appeal to the South Sulawesi State Administrative High Court.

The group also expressed its objection to the panel of judges, who left the courtroom immediately after reading out the verdict, without providing the plaintiff or its lawyer a chance to respond.

Nur Hidayati said the lawsuit was filed because the environment had to be preserved and grassroots communities, especially in coastal areas, had to be given space.

Hundreds of people from coastal areas around the reclaimed location who attended the trial similarly rejected the court's ruling. They expressed support for Walhi to continue with the lawsuit.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/29/walhi-challenges-reclamation-project-losari-beach.html

Community defy forced evictions amid divisive political climate

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – "This is disobedience," said Sukarti, 40, a resident of the demolished Pasar Ikan area in North Jakarta. Her expression hardened when she said that.

Her life has been turned upside down after a forced eviction occurring in Pasar Ikan, a settlement that is part of Kota Tua that spans across North and West Jakarta. The reason for the eviction was "Kota Tua's Revitalization," as a city administration eviction notice stated.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said in May that he planned to make Kota Tua pedestrian friendly so visitors could walk the 2 kilometers from Fatahillah Square in West Jakarta to the Maritime Museum, next to Pasar Ikan, in North Jakarta.

The city is to widen walkways and make Jl. Tongkol a parking hub. Ahok has targeted for the initial phase of the revitalization project to finish within a year, using funds collected from developers that had to compensate the city administration for increasing their building-floor coefficient permits. The project is estimated to cost Rp 270 billion (US$20.49 million).

To make way for this revitalization, the city evicted more than 400 families in Pasar Ikan. Ahok said they did not have land ownership certificates and their squalid conditions bred tuberculosis.

The city administration offered two low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa) as a relocation option for Pasar Ikan residents, one in Marunda in North Jakarta and another in Rawa Bebek, Pulo Gebang, in East Jakarta. Both are located about 25 km from their original homes or a one-hour trip by car, without traffic.

In the eviction's aftermath, Sukarti's family moved to a small boat along with four other families. Eight adults and 12 children crammed together there because they refused the rusunawa offer.

After about two weeks, the health of her malnourished daughter started to deteriorate, compelling the family to build a makeshift wooden shack on the Pasar Ikan ruins. They scavenged for wood planks and nails to build the shack. It has one window overlooking the sea and the boat that was their home for two weeks is parked outside.

The city administration later offered the family a unit in Kapuk rusunawa, which is closer than Marunda and Rawa Bebek. Only her daughter, Eka Juanti, 21, took the offer. Sukarti again refused because her youngest child, a junior high school student, goes to school in nearby Luar Batang.

The Pasar Ikan residents that have been resolute in their defiance to the eviction has attracted the support of political groups, who have taken to the area with their flags. These political groups are what netizens label "Ahok haters" for their opposition against the governor, a Protestant of Chinese descent.

Those who side with the governor say the "relocation" was a humane measure as the rusunawa is clean. "It even has a sitting toilet, not a squatting one," they said on social media. Netizens have waged a bitter cyber war over the evictions.

Ahok is campaigning to remain governor in next year's elections. His political enemies include Islamic hard-liners, who quickly jumped on the wagon to defend evictees in Pasar Ikan. On the other hand, his supporters insisted that the way the administration handled the evictions was acceptable.

Pasar Ikan residents are aware their plight has been politicized, yet they are open to any group willing to assist them.

Musdalifah, a new member of the Jakarta Urban Poor Network (JRMK) dismissed the rumors about rising negative sentiment against Chinese-Indonesians after the eviction. "No. It's just rumors, we welcome anyone as long as they support us," said Musdalifah.

The ruins now have several large tents and wooden shacks erected, where poles bearing flags of different political groups wave in the air. Musdalifah's family live in one of the tents, donated by Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo, who endorsed Ahok as running mate of then governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for the city's gubernatorial election in 2012. Ahok later left Gerindra, purportedly souring the relationship ever since.

Musdalifah's tent provides shelter to eight families or 25 adults and children. The floor of her tent is the rubble from demolished homes.

"We sleep next to each other like fish being dried in the sun," Musdalifah said, laughing. She just recuperated from typhoid last week, she said. They made a public toilet from the remnants of someone else's toilet. One tent has their own public toilet, and each family is entitled to one toilet cubicle.

On July 20 this year, the residents marched to the State Palace requesting a meeting with President Jokowi. Twice during his gubernatorial campaign in 2012 and later in his presidential campaign in 2014, Jokowi promised to help legalize urban kampung as long as the residents could prove they had lived there for more than 20 years.

There is footage documenting their march last week that shows Jokowi with his trademark checkered shirt, talking in 2012 to the urban poor and then promising he would not allow them to be evicted but rather have their neighborhood upgraded. The urban poor cheered when they heard his promise.

Musdalifah wanted the slum-upgrading program in her neighborhood. She said the residents had gone to the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) to file for a citizen lawsuit. "Our hope is to have our neighborhood rebuilt here. But if that's not possible we want the city administration to compensate our land and property," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/community-defy-forced-evictions-amid-divisive-political-climate.html

Governance & administration

Who's who in the new corridors of power

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

"An old soldier never stops fighting," Wiranto once said. This sentence rings true as on Wednesday, the retired Army general, was appointed as coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, replacing Luhut Pandjaitan.

Wiranto is known as a military figure with a high-flying, but extremely controversial, career. Born to a poor family in Yogyakarta on April 4, 1947, Wiranto graduated from the National Military Academy in 1968.

Twenty years later, he was appointed as a key aide to then president Soeharto from 1987 to 1991. This was a prestigious position during the New Order regime. Afterward, his career took off as he was picked to serve in many strategic positions in the military. Finally, he held the top position as the commander of the Indonesian Military (then ABRI, now TNI) from February 1998 to October 1999.

At the end of the New Order and the beginning of the reform era, the country underwent a transition from presidents Soeharto to Habibie. At that time, Wiranto served as the defense and security minister concurrent with his role as ABRI chief.

The reform era was a time of great turbulence in the country. Wiranto, as ABRI chief, was therefore implicated in kidnappings and other abuses conducted by the Army. He was also allegedly involved, at least indirectly, in human rights violations in the Trisakti and Semanggi I and II shootings of student activists in 1998.

During the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid he was dismissed from his position as defense and security minister in 2000 amid allegations of human rights violations in East Timor.

Prosecutors say he played a key role in facilitating severe human rights abuses by the military during Indonesia's violent withdrawal from East Timor (now Timor Leste) during which more than 2,000 Timorese died. However, he has repeatedly denied all charges against him.

UN and domestic groups have accused Wiranto of committing crimes against humanity. He was also included in the list of suspected war criminals and was prohibited from entering the US.

Despite his controversial history, however, he has sufficient charm and charisma to earn him a limited amount of electoral support. He has made several attempts to get into the State Palace, running in the 2004 presidential election, unsuccessfully, as Golkar's candidate.

After that, he formed the Hanura Party with several retired Army generals and has served as the party's chairman. In the 2009 presidential election, Wiranto ran for vice-president as Jusuf Kalla's running mate.

In 2014, Wiranto tried to run for president again with running mate media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo but failed to garner enough support from other political parties to nominate himself. Hanura later joined with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to nominate then presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. His political efforts finally paid off, to a certain degree, on Wednesday when he was finally able to return to the Palace in his role as close aide of Jokowi, with his dark past presumably behind him. (win)

Sri Mulyani

New Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is not only the most senior woman at the World Bank, she is, according to Forbes magazine, one of the world's most powerful women. She is also a mother of three.

These facts speak louder than words about her qualities. The reform-minded "iron" lady, who calls herself "tough", earned her reputation when leading the finance ministry from 2005 to 2010, during which she was known for instigating bureaucratic reforms, including at the deeply entrenched tax office by setting up a new code of ethics and set of sanctions.

Sri Mulyani opposed calls for the closure of the Indonesian Stock Exchange to halt a nosedive in shares of Bumi Resources, partly owned by politically-wired tycoon Aburizal Bakrie. She also imposed a travel ban on a number of coal-mining executives after a dispute over the companies' reluctance to pay government fees.

Her efforts in pushing through reforms may have earned her enemies or yielded dislike in some parties. In 2010, she stepped down from her post amid a heated bailout scandal of Bank Century, in which she became the target of an opposition campaign accusing her and former vice president Boediono of abusing their authority during the Rp 6.7 trillion bailout. Sri Mulyani joined the World Bank in 2010. Prior to departing to Washington DC, in a public lecture at the RitzCarlton Hotel in Jakarta, she said in her speech: "I'll be back."

And back she is. Six years on, she will be faced with challenges that include a weak economy that has grown less than expected and complicated state revenue collection efforts at a time when Jokowi's administration needs a hefty amount of funds to push through infrastructure projects.

At the World Bank Sri Mulyani was respected as someone whose understanding of clients' needs shaped strategy for a better and bigger World Bank Group, said Jim Yong-kim, the Bank's president. "I have personally come to rely on Sri Mulyani for her wise advice and insightful counsel, and I will greatly miss her voice on the Senior Management Team," Jim wrote in an official farewell letter. – JP/Prima Wirayani and Esther Samboh

Archandra Tahar

While the condition of Indonesia's oil and gas sector remains grim as a result of plunging energy prices, one long-time player may be able to spruce things up.

Boasting degrees in mechanical and marine engineering, 45-year-old Archandra Tahar, served as president of Houston-based offshore technologies and consulting company Petroneering before being summoned by Jokowi to take on the mantle of energy and mineral resources minister.

Archandra received access into Jokowi from his friend, PDI-P rising-star politician Darmawan Prasodjo – a key member of Jokowi's 2014 presidential campaign team.

Archandra has spent more than 20 years in the oil and gas sector, with stints as principal at Horson Wison Deepwater and as principal and president of the Asia Pacific department for AGR Deepwater Development System.

Furthermore, he holds several international patents in offshore fields. Archandra's background is expected to be reflected in his commitment to bringing in new technology in order to increase oil and gas production, and to ensure energy security in the future. "Three things we hope to focus on in the energy and minerals sector is first, technology as the backbone, second, human resources and third, we must make the process more accountable," he said after his inauguration ceremony.

Oil and gas exploration in particular, has suffered under low commodity prices.

Industry players await with bated breath the changes Archandra may bring with him. Executives of Pupuk Indonesia Energi (PIE), a subsidiary of state-owned fertilizer firm Pupuk Indonesia Holding Company (PIHC), for example, expect that the new energy minister could help reduce the high price of gas, which is the biggest expense of the fertilizer industry.

According to Petroengineering's website, Archandra's company has worked with state oil and gas firm Pertamina, BP and ExxonMobil. – JP/Fedina S. Sundaryani and Grace D. Amianti

Budi Karya Sumadi

Spending his entire career as a professional, Budi Karya Sumadi has been brushing shoulders with Jokowi since the latter served as governor of Jakarta between 2012 and 2014.

Prior to his appointment as transportation minister, Budi, 59, served as president director of state airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II for a little more than a year.

He recently found himself in the media spotlight in regards to the high-profile expansion of Terminal 3 at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country's largest and busiest airport. The operation of the terminal, initially slated to be launched in June, has been delayed after it failed to secure a greenlight from the then Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan due to a number of technical hurdles.

After securing his degree in architecture from Gadjah Mada University, also Jokowi's alma mater, Budi started his career as an architect at the Jakarta-based construction firm Pembangunan Jaya in 1982.

Since then, he has dedicated himself to the property business for more than 25 years. He assumed the position of president director of publicly listed Pembangunan Jaya Ancol in 2004 and served in that position for nine years. Other companies where he has held board of director positions include Jaya Garden Polis, Jaya Real Property and Jaya Land.

One of his career highlights was in the Jakarta provincial administration-owned Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), where he served as president director from 2013 to 2015. During his time in Jakpro, Budi supported Jokowi's regreening and city park construction programs in Pluit Dam, North Jakarta, while the latter served as governor.

Commenting on his new position, Budi said that his long experience as a professional would help his leadership at the Transportation Ministry.

"We are talking about technicalities, like those related to human resources and finance, which I'm already familiar with," he said. He also revealed that the President had asked him to improve the country's connectivity and manage transportation operators. – JP/Farida Susanty

Enggartiasto Lukita

Born 64 years ago in the West Java city of Cirebon, Enggartiasto "Enggar" Lukita is a property businessman and a veteran politician, having served in the Golkar Party for over three decades.

In 2013, Enggar jumped ship to the NasDem Party and has become a key member of the relatively young party. Following Jokowi's inauguration as the country's seventh president, Enggar was rumored to join Jokowi's Cabinet as one of his economic ministers despite his alleged involvement in the 1999 Bank Indonesia liquidity support scandal.

Lawyer Petrus Selestinus, coordinator of the Indonesian Democracy Defense Team, accused Enggar in 2014 of receiving funds from Bank Bali graft convict and fugitive Djoko S. Tjandra. Petrus still to this day maintains Enggar received the funds, which he said were detailed in Djoko's dossier.

"President Jokowi should review and reconsider Enggar. [The President] cannot be surrounded by people who are potentially involved in graft," Petrus said.

Others who were implicated in the case include former House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto, now Golkar Party chairman, who was quickly acquitted of all charges.

Enggar has repeatedly denied the accusations and claims an audit by multinational service network PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) supports his position.

Despite the accusation, Enggar has remained untouched and has been a NasDem Party lawmaker since 2014. Enggar, who graduated from the English department at the Bandung Teacher Training Institute (now the Indonesian University of Education), has built up a successful real estate and property business.

He started his career in the industry in 1977 as a staffer to a director at PT Bangun Tjipta Sarana, where just two years later he was promoted as the company's head of personnel.

He continued to pursue his career in the company until he became president director in 1986. Enggar would continue his reign as president director in a number of companies, namely PT Supradinakarya Multijaya Group, PT Citrasari Inti, PT Kartika Karisma Indah and PT Kemang Pratama.

In his capacity as Golkar politician, Enggar has served as lawmaker for four terms from 1997 to 2014, during which time he served on various commissions, including those overseeing defense, foreign affairs, agriculture, maritime affairs, forestry and transportation. – JP/Dewanti A. Wardhani

Eko Putro Sandjojo

National Awakening Party (PKB) politician Eko Putro Sandjojo was chosen to be the villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration minister, replacing his fellow politician Marwan Jafar.

Eko is no stranger to Jokowi's administration. He had previously served in Jokowi's transition team shortly after Jokowi was elected President in 2014. The team was tasked with preparing a smooth transition from then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Jokowi.

Eko was born on May 21, 1965, in Jakarta. He graduated from the Polytechnic University of Indonesia and pursued a Bachelor's degree at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, US, in 1991, majoring in electrical engineering. He received a Master's of business administration from the IPMI International Business School in 1993. After graduating, he worked at PT Indonesia Farming from 1994 to 1997 as a general manager.

Besides currently serving as a general treasurer of the PKB, Eko has also held strategic positions in various companies.

In 1997, he joined a publicly listed agribusiness company PT Sierad Produce and became its president director from 2005 to 2006. Then he moved to PT Humpuss, a publicly listed shipping firm owned by former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra. He became the company's president director in 2007. Next, he went back to Sierad and served as the firm's president director in 2009. (win)

Muhadjir Effendy

Muhadjir Effendy officially replaced Anies Baswedan to become the culture and education minister.

Muhadjir was born on July 29, 1956, in Madiun, East Java. The former rector received his bachelor's degree from IKIP Malang in 1982. Afterward, he earned his master's degree from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) majoring in public administration in 1996. In 2008, he received his PhD in military sociology from Airlangga University, in Surabaya, East Java.

He has also done a short course in military and defense studies at the Pentagon, the US, and a short course on higher education management at Victoria University, Canada.

Muhadjir started his career at the Muhammadiyah University in Malang (UMM) as an intern. He rose slowly in his career to become a lecturer and later assistant to the rector in 1984.

In 1996, he was elected as UMM's vice rector before finally being appointed as rector in 2000. Muhadjir has served as rector for three periods from 2000 to 2004, 2004 to 2008, and from 2008 to February this year.

Besides having worked as a lecturer for the School of Social and Political Sciences in UMM, he was also a lecturer for the School of Education at the State University of Malang (UM).

Not restricting himself to the education field, Muhadjir was also known as an active columnist who often wrote on topics related to religion, education, politics and the military in mass media, scientific journals and books.

Books that Muhadjir has written about educational or military affairs include University and Students Life in 1989, The State of Education in 1992, Equilibrium Society: Walking the Changes in Balance in 2002, Humanity Paedagogy: A Multidimensional Reflection in 2004, Military Professionalism in 2008, and Military Character and Profession: A Phenomenology Study in 2009.

Muhadjir has also been active in the management of several institutions such as serving as the chairman of Muhammadiyah, chairman of the Central Agency for Private Islamic Universities Cooperation (BKS-PTIS), chairman of the Association of Families of Indonesian Islamic Students (KB PII) in East Java, and vice chairman of the Indonesian Association for the Development of Social Sciences (HIPIIS).

Muhadjir was also a member of the expert council of the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) and a member of the board of the East Java Regional Research. (win)

Airlangga Hartarto

An engineer by training, Airlangga has successfully paved his way through Indonesian politics as a part of the Golkar Party, the country's oldest and second-largest political party.

Airlangga, 53, is the son of Hartato Sastrosoenarto, who served as a minister for former president Soeharto for three consecutive terms, 15 years in total. His father, also an engineer, served as industry minister for two terms and then later became the coordinating production and distribution minister. Airlangga was undertaking his third consecutive term as a Golkar Party legislator before his appointment as Industry Minister. Earlier this year, it was thought by many that the father of eight would run as a candidate for the party's chairmanship. Ultimately, the chairmanship was won by former speaker of the House of Representatives, Setya Novanto.

In his second term as a legislator in the 2009-2014 period, Airlangga chaired House Commission VI overseeing industry, trade, investment and state-owned enterprises. During his tenure, he introduced the 2014 Industry Law.

Airlangga received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Gadjah Mada University in 1987. Although he failed to complete his master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Airlangga later went on to receive two master's degrees from Monash University and Melbourne University.

Airlangga is the first and currently only Golkar Party representative in Jokowi's Cabinet. House Speaker Ade Komaruddin, a Golkar Party member, said Airlangga was "the right man for the job". JP/Dewanti A. Wardhani

Asman Abnur

Asman Abnur, a senior National Mandate Party (PAN) politician, has replaced Yuddy Chrisnandi as the administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, with the main task of reforming bureaucracy and managing civil servants.

Asman was born in Pariaman, West Sumatra, on Feb. 2, 1961. He completed his primary and secondary education in Riau province and moved to Padang to study for his undergraduate degree in economics. After finishing his bachelor's degree, he moved to Surabaya, East Java, to pursue a master's degree at Airlangga University until 2004.

Asman is a prominent businessman. He has experience developing a wide range of businesses including several gas stations, a number of restaurants, pharmacies, fitness centers, banks and money changers.

Given his business background, he has been entrusted with various positions, including chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in Batam. Currently, he manages his business activities in Batam, Singapore and Jakarta.

Asman started his political career in 2001 as a city councilor in Batam. A few months later, he was elected deputy mayor of Batam from 2001 to 2004. He chaired the investigation team of the Batam Free Trade Zone (FTZ) from 2000 until 2004.

Asman was elected to the House of Representatives, representing Riau, in 2004 and was appointed vice chairman of House Commission XI for the period of 2004 to 2009. At the same time, he served as general treasurer for PAN.

Since 2014 he has served as deputy chair for House Commission X for education and sports.

The Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that Asman was well experienced to deal with the bureaucracy. (win)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/who-s-who-new-corridors-power.html

Luhut's role as 'prime minister' annoyed many

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Rendi A. Witular and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – "As a soldier I have no objection following any orders assigned," was the reply Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan conveyed to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo when the latter told him of his new, less prestigious posting as coordinating maritime minister late on Tuesday.

After leaving the State Palace without posing any questions to Jokowi about his new assignment, Luhut received a call from Vice President Jusuf Kalla who told him that he had no prior knowledge of Jokowi's plan to have him rotated.

A source with knowledge of the affair said Kalla needed to make the phone call to clear things up, as he was concerned Luhut might have suspected him of organizing a plot to have his role reduced.

Although Luhut already had personal ties to the President, as he had been his business partner since early 2000, it was not until early this year that Luhut's influence rapidly expanded.

Luhut, a senior Golkar Party politician, was the key person pushing for the passage of the Tax Amnesty Law and its implementation. He also lobbied for the highly decorated but junior officer, Gen. Tito Karnavian, to lead the National Police.

Luhut is credited as well with convincing the Golkar Party – the second biggest after Jokowi's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – to join the ruling coalition camp.

Luhut's maneuvering had ensured stability in the House of Representatives, the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Economic issues are also included as Luhut's cup of tea, as he often talks about the property business and problems in the government's recent economic reform packages.

Luhut's close relationship with Golkar chairman Setya Novanto, coupled with his extensive connections with leaders of other political parties, business conglomerates, the TNI and the police, have notably provided him with capital he could eventually use to dominate the Cabinet.

His growing influence has not only reduced Kalla's clout, but also drawn the attention of Luhut's political and business rivals, Gen. (ret.) Hendropriyono, the former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chairman.

Hendropriyono has close ties to both Kalla and PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, who happened to have a bitter history with Luhut.

Attempts to have Luhut's influence clipped were already apparent when Jokowi installed Hendropriyono's son, Diaz, and former counterterrorism czar Comr. Gen. (ret.) Gories Mere as his special staff for intelligence affairs. Gories works for Hendropriyono's consulting firm.

To the annoyance of Kalla, many politicians and journalists have labeled Luhut as "prime minister" or even "the real vice president".

"Perhaps Jokowi and Kalla are worried that Luhut's growing influence is no longer healthy for the Cabinet, although they may have acknowledged Luhut's outstanding performance," said Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti.

In response to his rotation, Luhut said he had no objections to the President's decision. "The President has decided and I am taking a new role as maritime minister," he said.

Luhut's ministerial portfolio covers the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Transportation Ministry, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and the Tourism Ministry.

Luhut will have the authority to oversee Jokowi's signature project, the construction of new power plants to generate an additional 35,000 megawatts of electricity, the expansion of Indonesia's marine infrastructure and the construction of Indonesia's first high-speed railway.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/luhut-s-role-prime-minister-annoyed-many.html

Business community rolls out red carpet for Sri Mulyani

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – The return of World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister, replacing Bambang Brodjonegoro, has boosted confidence across all stakeholders in the nation's economy, including one former foe, business tycoon and senior politician Aburizal Bakrie.

"With Sri Mulyani as finance minister, the country's economy can be managed better," Aburizal, who played a major role in forcing her resignation as finance minister in 2010, said.

Sri Mulyani served as finance minister during the 2005-2010 period under the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. But she was forced to leave the Cabinet after nearly all political parties, including Aburizal's Golkar Party, demanded her resignation, ostensibly because of her alleged involvement in the Bank Century bailout scandal. However, many of them were also angered by her concerted efforts to reform the ministry, especially the taxation directorate general.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi B. Sukamdani recalled how the association and Sri Mulyani worked together very well during the 2008 financial crisis.

"Her ability to translate macroeconomic conditions and communicate them to us in the real sector was better [than that of outgoing minister Bambang]," Hariyadi said.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had repeatedly urged her to return home and last month the President eventually convinced her that the government needed her in reviving the country's poor economic performance. Businesspeople had long been expecting her to lead the strategic ministry, Hariyadi added. The double act of Sri Mulyani and Darmin Nasution, as coordinating economic minister, was what the association had expected.

Hariyadi highlighted Sri Mulyani's previous prudent steps in composing the state budget as beneficial for businesspeople. The current state budget, he said, aimed at too high a tax-revenue target, which hurt businesses.

He expressed the hope the new minister would provide more stimulus and unclog bureaucracy bottlenecks instead of issuing policies that could hamper business growth.

Sri Mulyani said in her speech during a handover ceremony at the ministry's office on Wednesday that she would establish strong coordination among ministries in composing next year's state budget, which is in the deliberation process at the House of Representatives.

This was to ensure the budget could be an instrument for stimulating the country's economy and could improve Indonesia's economic fundamentals. Indonesia's economy grew by 4.79 percent last year, the slowest in six years. It expanded by just 4.92 percent in this year's first quarter, lower than the government and economists' expectations.

"I will look in detail at revenue and government spending," she said. "The state budget must be drafted synchronously and in line with the government's aims of reducing poverty, creating jobs, boosting the economy and lowering wealth discrepancies."

She also emphasized that the government's tax amnesty program was not a standalone objective but was a part of a comprehensive fiscal policy and prudent state budget.

Bank Central Asia (BCA) economist David Sumual applauded Sri Mulyani's cautious measures, saying managing expectations was essential amid the ongoing volatility in the global market.

The British Chamber of Commerce (Britcham) and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Indonesia (Kocham) welcomed the move and pinned high hopes on the new finance minister.

"The return of the highly respected Ibu Sri Mulyani and the shift of Pak Tom Lembong are extremely positive," Britcham executive director Chris Wren said.

He added that his office's wish-list for the new team would include better coordination and communication of policy across government.

OCBC Bank economist Wellian Wiranto said the thoughtfully choreographed reshuffle should further cheer the market, calling the new economic team a "dream team".

He warmly welcomed Sri Mulyani, saying her previous market-friendly policy stance, now strengthened with a global aura, would be a big plus for Jokowi's economic reform agenda.

"On top of that, the reshuffle both showcases and further strengthens the President's political foundation. Enough seats were given to new political allies, without sacrificing too much professionalism in the Cabinet," he wrote in a research note.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/business-community-rolls-out-red-carpet-sri-mulyani.html

Doubts loom over new Cabinet line-up

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Protracted speculation over a Cabinet reshuffle is over after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced his new appointees for 13 ministerial posts. However, whether the new Cabinet lineup can help the President govern more effectively is another debate.

Political experts have said the new composition is only a political accommodation, shown by whom he has kicked and picked in the shake-up. Therefore, they are afraid the new Cabinet will go no further and contribute far below expectations.

"The reshuffle shows more political compromise rather than performance evaluation. Indeed, it's too early to predict whether they will give a better performance than the previous Cabinet, but I suspect that it's only the way to provide space for his new supporters," said Gun Gun Heryanto, a political communication expert with Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, referring to the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN). "So, don't expect too much," he added.

With the two parties having jumped ship to support Jokowi, he has provided ministry seats to accommodate both.

The Hanura Party was forced to see two members, Saleh Husin and Yuddy Chrisnandi, kicked out from the Cabinet to provide seats to Golkar's Airlangga Hartarto, as industry minister, and PAN's Asman Abnur, as administrative and bureaucratic reform minister.

However, Hanura chairman Wiranto is now entrusted with leading the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, replacing Luhut Pandjaitan, who has been reassigned as coordinating maritime affairs minister.

The swap, Gun Gun said, was only a game of chess, which then sacrificed the posts filled by professional or non-political party members, like Anies Baswedan, Rizal Ramli and Sudirman Said. "Politically, kicking out professionals is less risky because they have less political backing," he said.

Gun Gun added that among the names on the new Cabinet list, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was the most encouraging one amid the country's discouraging economic conditions, replacing Bambang Brodjonegoro, who now helms the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).

The World Bank managing director's return is expected to carry the country to a better economic level on account of her experience and proven commitment.

Siti Zuhro, a senior political analyst with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the second Cabinet shake-up was full of political bargaining, thus it would be a difficult task ahead for Jokowi to gain control over his coalition.

"To make it work, Jokowi must be able to take control and be firm, so that no ministry will run individually like in the previous Cabinet," Siti said.

She also pointed out that a high number of parties in a coalition did guarantee a smooth-running government. Looking back to former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's coalition, which accommodated many parties but was faced with difficulties in running his programs.

Political researcher Arya Fernandes of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), however, projected that the new Cabinet would strengthen the political consolidation because Jokowi now held 70 percent of the legislative body, although he did not deny that it would not be easy to manage a "fat Cabinet" because some parties might have contradictory opinions.

"But the reshuffle shows that Jokowi himself wants to avoid polemic in the government coalition," Arya said.

Opposition Gerindra Party executive Desmond J. Mahesa accused Jokowi of having broken his promise to provide fewer political appointees in his Cabinet. "It may be preparation for his team to lead the country for five more years," he said.

"But whether the new Cabinet is more effective depends on Jokowi. The biggest challenge is to ensure that the Tax Amnesty Law is implemented well. It he can't do so, then all these ministers will mean nothing," he added.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/doubts-loom-over-new-cabinet-line.html

AG secures job by capitalizing on executions: Watchdog

Jakarta Globe - July 28, 2016

Jakarta – H.M. Prasetyo has continued to secure his position as attorney general despite President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet reshuffle due to his tenacity to execute drug convicts, Hendardi, chairman of political watchdog Setara Institute told Suara Pembaruan on Thursday (28/07).

"[Attorney General] Prasetyo, who lacks any [significant career] achievements, continues to capitalize on the executions [and the president's apparent zero tolerance policy on the issue] to mask his shortcomings in anti-corruption enforcement and resolving human rights violations," Hendardi said.

Prasetyo, according to Hendardi, was in panic over the cabinet reshuffle as plans for the executions were already underway.

"The future of human rights is hardly [promising given that we have] an attorney general who has no interest in human rights. Moreover with [newly appointed] Chief Security Minister Wiranto, it is almost certain that Jokowi's campaign and promises on human rights would be hard to fulfill," Hendardi added.

Misguided priorities

"[On an] evaluation of law enforcement process, drug eradication and penitentiary management should be the main priorities instead of taking the lives of death row convicts, which ultimately does not have any deterrent effect," Hendardi said.

Hendardi strongly condemned capital punishment saying that it is against basic human rights and its enforcement is a violation of the Indonesian constitution.

"I refuse and condemn [capital punishment] and I urge the government to scrap death penalty sentences from the Indonesian legal system," Hendardi said.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ag-secures-job-capitalizing-executions-watchdog/

Education minister reshuffle slammed

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2016

Jakarta – The replacement of education minister Anies Baswedan for Muhadjir Effendy, chairman of Muhammadiyah's education and research department, may be the biggest upset in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's long awaited second cabinet reshuffled on Wednesday morning (27/07).

Education observer Doni Koesoema said Anies was removed for political reasons, rather than his performance, and he should've been given more time to complete his vision.

"I have seen that this is not about merit, but politics. Mr. Anies started various internal reforms and public programs, initiating anti-bullying programs with the spirit of Pancasila, unity in diversity. It is not about performance," Doni told Suara Pembaruan on Wednesday.

Doni said he has great expectations for Muhadjir – the current rector Muhammadiyah University in Malang – to continue the work of the ministry under Anies.

The ministry, under Anie's leadership, established a string of reforms including the popular school supervision program which saw the public become involved in creating child-friendly schools through anti-violence and anti-bullying policies.

Doni said the program is a strong foundation to form better schoolyard and education cultures to address diversity. Muhadjir is expected to focus on classroom issues, particularly the much-maligned 2013 curriculum.

"Even though Anies had revised it, in fact, I have seen very little changes [in the practice]," Doni said.

The Indonesian Teachers Union also said the change could cause problems with programs.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/education-minister-reshuffle-slammed/

Sri Mulyani returns

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – After exiling herself abroad to serve as the World Bank's managing director and chief operating officer in 2010 due to the Century Bank bailout uproar, Sri Mulyani Indrawati has made her comeback to the Indonesian Cabinet as finance minister.

Her return seems to be against all odds, as she was heavily attacked by members of the Indonesian political elite due to the 2008 scandal, which, according to former Democratic Party Anas Urbaningrum, benefited the ruling party at that time.

The Democratic Party found its strongest opponent in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's reign. Until now, relations between the two parties has remained strained.

But now, Sri Mulyani's name has been announced by PDI-P-backed President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, replacing Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro who will now helm the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

The 53-year-old woman was born into a well-educated family in Bandar Lampung. Her father Prof. Drs. Satmoko and mother Prof. Dr. Retno Sriningsih are emeritus professors at Semarang National University.

This is her fourth time serving in ministerial offices. In the 2004-2005 period she led Bappenas, before she became finance minister from 2005 to 2010. She was caretaker coordinating economic minister during the 2008-2009 period.

Her departure from the Cabinet in 2010 was preceded by confrontations with politician cum businessman Aburizal Bakrie, who was then Golkar Party chairman. She refused to declare that Bakrie's Lapindo oil-rig mudflow was a natural disaster nor allocate funds from the state budget for compensation to residents of the affected areas in 2006.

In October 2008, she tried to revoke the stock suspension of Bakrie-owned coal giant Bumi Resources on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Before the suspension, the company's share price nose-dived more than 85 percent in just three months.

In the new politically "accommodative" cabinet, which includes Golkar party figure Airlangga Hartarto as the new industry minister, the tax amnesty program is Sri Mulyani's first important task, where she must, once again, put herself between businesspeople and the state's interests. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/sri-mulyani-returns.html

Indonesia president puts ex-general, popular World Bank leader in cabinet

Reuters - July 27, 2016

Gayatri Suroyo and Eveline Danubrata, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo pleased market reform advocates by bringing home the World Bank's managing director to be finance minister and upset human rights activists by naming a controversial ex-general as security chief.

The surprise appointments of Sri Mulyani Indrawati atop finance and Wiranto as coordinating minister for politics, law and security were part of a wider-than-expected cabinet reshuffle in which the trade, energy, transport and industry ministers were also replaced.

"I am aware that the challenge keeps changing and it needs quick action from us," Widodo told reporters at the palace, adding that unemployment and income inequality must be addressed and the cabinet needed to work "more quickly, more effectively".

The addition of Indrawati to the president's economic team lifted financial markets, with stocks up more than 1 percent and the rupiah strengthening 0.4 percent against the dollar.

"Sri Mulyani's appointment is a game-changer because it restores a certain amount of investor confidence and means having a steady hand on the tiller with a solid record as a reformer," said Paul Rowland, a Jakarta-based analyst.

In 2010, Indrawati joined the World Bank after serving as both Indonesia's chief economic minister and finance minister under then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Crisis management

Indrawati, who has a Ph.D in economics from the University of Illinois and is not a member of a political party, won praise for successfully managing Indonesia's economy through the 2008 global financial crisis.

"The president wants a dream team to manage economic policies so that we can accelerate (growth). He needs Sri Mulyani," said David Sumual, chief economist for Bank Central Asia.

Indonesia's economic growth is expected to improve only slightly in the second quarter from 4.92 percent in the first three months of this year. The finance ministry has forecast full-year GDP of around 5.2 percent in 2016, up from 4.79 percent last year.

Bambang Brodjonegoro, the finance minister that Widodo appointed in 2014, has been shifted to head the country's national development planning agency.

The change in finance ministers comes just after Indonesia launched a tax amnesty it hopes will bring home billions of dollars that Indonesians have parked overseas.

Widodo also surprised many by announcing Wiranto as his new chief security minister, reassigning his close adviser Luhut Pandjaitan to be chief maritime minister.

'Very old guard'

Wiranto, army chief when strongman Suharto quit amid protests in 1998, was indicted by a United Nations panel over the bloodshed surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote, when about 1,000 people died. The former general has denied any wrongdoing in East Timor.

"He is part of the very old guard of Suharto's New Order," said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia director of Human Rights Watch. "This is really bad news for human rights."

Analysts viewed Wiranto's appointment and others as politically motivated, as the president looks to consolidate support from parties keen to join the ruling coalition.

Wiranto controls Hanura, "a party which has supported Jokowi from the get-go, and one way of seeing this is for the president to secure its continued support," wrote Wellian Wiranto, economist at OCBC.

The president also welcomed the second-largest political party, Golkar, into the cabinet by appointing Airlangga Hartarto as industry minister. Golkar, which was in opposition to Widodo when he was elected in 2014, played a key role in getting the president's tax amnesty bill passed this year.

Other major cabinet changes included the re-assignment of Thomas Lembong from trade minister to investment chief. Arcandra Tahar, an executive at Texas-based offshore engineering firm Petroneering, was appointed energy and mining minister, replacing Sudirman Said.

[Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor, Wilda Asmarini, Nilufar Rizki, Cindy Silviana, Agustinus Beo Da Cost, Hidayat Setiaji; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Richard Borsuk.]

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-politics-energy-idUSKCN1062TI

Wiranto replaces Luhut as security minister

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appointed former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Wiranto as coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister in his second Cabinet shake-up on Wednesday, replacing Luhut Pandjaitan, who was moved to become coordinating maritime affairs minister.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said President Jokowi had entrusted the post to Wiranto because the latter had been well-tested and was experienced in resolving various assignments, especially during the transition period from the New Order to the Reform era in the late 1990s.

"[During that time] he served as a defence and security minister and was the TNI commander that oversaw the Indonesian government transition process. He also once served as coordinating political and security minister," Pramono said at the State Palace on Wednesday.

Wiranto's appointment is likely to draw concerns as the United Nations and several human rights groups have gathered evidence that the retired military general played a key role in facilitating severe human rights violations by the TNI during Indonesia's withdrawal from occupied East Timor in 1999.

More than 2,000 East Timorese were killed in violence under his watch, and 500,000 were forced into displacement. Wiranto continues to deny the charges.

Wiranto was one of 12 new ministers appointed in the second Cabinet reshuffle since Jokowi took office. In his remarks on Wednesday, Jokowi said he wanted the new Cabinet to work more solidly and in a more unified way than the previous one.

"The spirit of the Working Cabinet reshuffle is to strengthen the government's work performance, in which all Cabinet members can work in a team that is solid and unified," said Jokowi in a press conference after the announcement of the Cabinet reshuffle at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/wiranto-replaces-luhut-as-security-minister.html

Indonesia names controversial former general Wiranto as security minister

South China Morning Post - July 27, 2016

A controversial former military chief accused of atrocities during Indonesia's brutal occupation of East Timor was appointed top security minister Wednesday, with activists calling it a step backwards for human rights.

Wiranto, named to the powerful post in a cabinet reshuffle, was among senior officers indicted by United Nations prosecutors over gross human rights abuses during the 24-year occupation of tiny East Timor.

Around 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed, mainly by Indonesian forces and their proxies, or to have died of starvation and illness during the occupation, which occurred during dictator Suharto's three-decade rule.

Markets however cheered the appointment of prominent reformist Sri Mulyani Indrawati, currently a World Bank managing director, to the post of finance minister – six years after she resigned from the same job after coming under attack from conservative forces in the government.

Wiranto's appointment was met with disappointment by rights activists. President Joko Widodo, who took power in 2014, was the country's first leader from outside the political and military elites and it was hoped the influence of the old guard would wane under his leadership.

"It is a setback," Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said. "The message might be that Jokowi [Widodo] is not going to be as progressive as before in pursuing his human rights agenda." Widodo was likely trying to balance his unwieldy ruling coalition, said Keith Loveard, a senior risk analyst at Jakarta-based Concord Consulting.

Wiranto's Hanura party, a small partner in the coalition, lost two other ministers in the shake-up, which saw 13 changes to the cabinet and was the second reshuffle under Widodo.

Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, was head of the armed forces when the Indonesian army and paramilitaries went on a bloody rampage in East Timor after it voted to become independent in August 1999. The country formally became independent in 2002.

Vote caused violence, Wiranto testifies

Wiranto and other military men were indicted for crimes against humanity in 2003 by a UN tribunal but successive Indonesian governments have ignored its findings. He denies any wrongdoing and has never faced court over the atrocities.

He replaces Luhut Panjaitan in the key role of chief security minister, overseeing five ministries including foreign, interior and defence.

Observers suggest Panjaitan caused concern among the military elite and Islamic groups by taking unprecedented steps to probe a bloody 1960s purge of communists and their supporters.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung defended the appointment of Wiranto, describing him as "tested and experienced". He has previously held the posts of defence and security minister.

Despite the claims against him, Wiranto has managed to retain a prominent position in public life. He has been a presidential candidate in two elections and in 2009 was the running mate of Jusuf Kalla, the current vice president.

It was Widodo's latest controversial appointment to the top echelons of the security establishment. He also faced criticism for making hardline ex-general Ryamizard Ryacudu defence minister.

Panjaitan moved to the post of coordinating minister for maritime affairs, still a key job at a time when Indonesia is at odds with China over the South China Sea.

Indrawati previously held the finance minister post in 2005-10 and won praise for battling corruption and keeping Southeast Asia's biggest economy on track. But she eventually resigned after facing attacks over a controversial bank bailout. The Jakarta stock market was up 1.2 per cent following news of her comeback.

Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/1995600/wirantos-resurrection-indonesia-names-controversial-former

Jokowi's new Cabinet announced

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has announced the composition of his new Cabinet after Wednesday's reshuffle, saying that the shake-up aims to create a more efficient Cabinet.

The transferred and newly appointed ministers – as follows – will be inaugurated at the State Palace at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

1. Luhut Pandjaitan becomes coordinating maritime affairs minister
2. Bambang Brodjonegoro becomes the head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas)
3. Sofyan Djalil becomes agrarian and spatial planning minister
4. Thomas Trikasih Lembong becomes head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM)
5. Wiranto becomes coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister
6. Sri Mulyani becomes finance minister
7. Eko Putro Sandjoyo becomes villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration Minister
8. Budi Karya Sumadi becomes transportation minister
9. Muhajir becomes culture and education minister
10. Enggartiasto Lukita becomes trade minister
11. Airlangga Hartarto becomes industry minister
12. Archandra Tahar becomes energy and mineral resources minister
13. Asman Abnur becomes administrative and bureaucratic reform minister

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/jokowis-new-cabinet-announced.html

Parliament & legislation

House ends sitting period with poor feat

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2016

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – There are many ways to examine the performance of an institution; the most commonly practiced is through quantitative performance evaluation.

The House of Representatives ended its fifth sitting period of the year on Thursday. Yet, there is not much to show for its legislative performance, having only passed three bills into law during the sitting period.

The tax amnesty, regional election and patent bills lawmakers finished deliberating and passed before they closed the sitting period on Thursday, leaving the 43 other bills in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) to be deliberated before the end of the year.

Earlier this year, the House listed 40 priority bills for the 2016 Prolegnas, four of which have been passed into law.

They were the Public Housing Savings (Tapera) Law; the Fishermen, Fishing Pond Farmers and Salt Farmers Protection and Empowerment Law; the Disability Law; and the Financial System Crisis Prevention and Mitigation (PPKSK) Law.

The House added 10 more bills in June to the Prolegnas list. The 10 additional bills included the sexual violence eradication bill, the amendment to Law No. 5/2014 on civil servants, the palm oil bill, the second amendment to Law No. 23/1999 on Bank Indonesia (BI) and the second amendment to Law No. 21/2011 on the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

The House's sluggish performance in the fifth sitting period has drawn criticism from many quarters, including the Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi). The legislative watchdog has blasted the House for its performance.

"The lack of productivity may result in them not reaching their target this year," Formappi executive director Sebastian Salang said.

In the fourth sitting period, the House failed to pass any bills. The highest achievement was in the third sitting period, when the legislature passed four bills. Ensuring quality, Sebastian said, was not an excuse for slow performance.

The dozen of bills on the priority list are also deemed as too ambitious. Sebastian believes it is impossible for the House to pass all of them by the end of this year. "It's too ambitious. The have to change their strategy, otherwise the public will always scrutinize and criticize them," he added.

Gerindra Party lawmaker Muhammad Syafi'i worries that the Terrorism Law revision, a bill on the priority list currently under deliberation, will not be finished this year, on account of to its complex substance.

"We should not rush it [terrorism bill deliberation] because the bill is very sensitive. We must be careful with the deliberation process," Syafi'i said recently.

House Speaker Ade Komarudin, who previously expressed optimism that the lawmakers could reach the target, seems to have softened his stance, saying that it would depend on the performance of each commission. "We'll try [to make it]. We'll see later," Ade said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/29/house-ends-sitting-period-with-poor-feat.html

Jakarta & urban life

Limited space opens door to shoddy burial business

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2016

Indra Budiarim Jakarta – In densely populated cities, a lack of space will always be a problem, with many forced to pay high costs for decent abodes. In Jakarta, the issue not only affects the living but also the dead.

Based on data from the Jakarta administration, around 100 city dwellers pass away per day, with cemeteries fast running out of space. With its Muslim-majority population, cremation is not the answer that many people are looking for.

The condition of cemeteries in South Jakarta suggests there is a sepulture crisis in the capital that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

South Jakarta Parks and Cemeteries Agency head M. Iqbal said about 10 percent of spaces were still available at 18 cemeteries in the municipality. He said the problem had forced him to treat "expired graves" as new burial plots by moving corpses a few inches and putting new bodies into the graves.

In Jakarta, graves need to be extended by a deceased person's family member every three years. "Upon failing to extend for six years, the grave will be considered expired," Iqbal said.

The issue of overcrowded graveyards has been used by some to create an underground yet lucrative business. Over the past two weeks, the Jakarta Parks and Cemeteries Agency has found at least 53 graves without corpses, with another 376 also suspected to be empty.

Agency head Djafar Muchlisin said civil servants who worked at cemeteries had for years run side businesses, offering vacant burial plots that appear to be occupied to residents for prices far higher than the official fee of Rp 60,000 (US$4.60) to Rp 100,000.

"Since May, at least 48 civil servants have been punished for carrying out such practices," he told The Jakarta Post recently. "We will continue to crack down on fake graves to eradicate this kind of practice."

Achmad Amir, head of a community unit in Menteng, Central Jakarta, said some residents in his area had paid Rp 1.7 million to secure burial spots for relatives at short notice. However, he said things had changed recently.

"Since Ahok took office, the administrative fees are much lower," he said, referring to Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama.

Despite the situation, Djafar said Jakarta residents should not be worried about grave availability as the city still had "copious amounts of land".

Djafar said that only 385 of 596 hectares at 67 public cemeteries in the city were occupied, leaving around 211 ha of available space. However, he admitted that only 48 ha of the space could be used immediately as the rest was still being prepared.

"And don't forget, we are still expanding the land so we can accommodate more," Djafar said. He added that the practice of grave stacking had been in place for years, but emphasized that it was only approved under strict conditions, including that the two corpses were related.

Nonetheless, like other metropolitan cities, Jakarta is inching closer to full capacity every day and land expansion will not be able to meet the demand for burial space forever.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/limited-space-opens-door-to-shoddy-burial-business.html

Ahok strongest candidate: Survey

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Jakarta – A recent survey has revealed that Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama is the strongest contender for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.

The results of the survey, conducted by Indo Barometer on behalf of the Golkar Party, could be inconclusive because 54.9 percent of respondents had not decide for whom they would vote.

Indo Barometer executive director M Qodari said surveyors asked two types of questions: close-ended and open-ended.

He said in the open-ended question, respondents were required to answer a question about their choice, without mentioning the name of a candidate, while in the close-ended question, respondents were given the names of potential candidates. "The results are not so different," said Qodori as reported by kompas.com on Thursday.

In the open-ended question, 35 percent of respondents said they would vote for Ahok, 2.5 percent for former justice and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and 2 percent for Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, while 54.9 percent of respondents had not made a decision.

For the close ended-question, 47.3 percent of respondents said they would vote for Ahok, 7.1 percent for Yusril, 6.3 percent for Risma, 4.1 percent for businessman Sandiaga Uno and 2 percent for former deputy defense minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

In the closed ended-question, 20.8 percent had not made a decision, while 5.4 percent did not answer the question. The survey was held from July 15 to 21, involved 800 respondents from across the city with a margin of error 3.6 percent and a confidence level of 95 percent. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/ahok-strongest-candidate-survey.html

Ahok decides to run on party ticket

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Agnes Anya, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama is set to hold meetings with the country's largest political organization, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), after eventually deciding to run for the 2017 gubernatorial election on a party ticket.

Ahok announced his decision on Wednesday during a halal bihalal (a post-Ramadhan gathering) with his volunteer group Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) and the three parties that have officially declared their support for his candidacy, namely the Golkar Party, the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party.

"We have to appreciate the parties and Teman Ahok. It is a final decision. I will run on a party ticket," he said. The decision, he added, was taken after he witnessed the group teaming up with the parties to collect a million copies of identity cards in a bid to secure a place for him in the election.

"There were many party members silently taking part in collecting the IDs. Moreover, when Teman Ahok asked for a written endorsement, the parties responded quickly by immediately making the announcement letters," Ahok added. "I really see how the parties respect the youngsters in Teman Ahok and vice versa."

However, gaining the support from the three parties, who together have more than 22 seats on the City Council, the minimum number for a party or group of parties to nominate a candidate, doesn't seem to have been enough for Ahok.

Ahok indicated that he was interested in securing an endorsement from the PDI-P, a party that has 25 seats on the council, and he indicated that he planned to soon meet personally with the party's chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The most certain thing is that I will see Bu Mega for halal bihalal. Since Lebaran, I have not met her," said Ahok, claiming that many senior PDI-P members actually endorsed him and had taken part in collecting IDs for him.

He refused, however, to mention the names of those PDI-P members he claimed as supporters. The governor added that his lobbying moves with the PDI-P would be supported by the three parties.

Asked whether he would stick with his initial plan to pair up with Heru Budi Hartono, who is currently the head of the Jakarta Financial and Asset Management Board (BPKAD), Ahok said he still welcomed the chance to team up with anyone, including his current deputy governor and PDI-P member Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

Many surveys, including the most recent poll conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), placed Ahok far ahead of the other names mentioned to the public as rivals, such as former minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Surabaya Mayor and PDI-P candidate Tri "Risma" Rismaharini and businessman Sandiaga Uno.

The SMRC survey stated that Ahok would probably win the election even without the support of the PDI-P.

As Ahok is likely to receive support from the PDI-P, his rivals will probably come from the Gerindra Party, the second biggest party in Jakarta. It was reported earlier that the party would team up with the Prosperous Justice Party to nominate former Jakarta Military Commander Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

Following the declaration of a party ticket, Teman Ahok is willing to work together with the parties to ensure Ahok's victory, even if it means the organization has to set aside its initial desire for an independent ticket, said the group's spokeswoman Amalia Ayuningtyas.

"For the sake of the public, we have to set aside our ego [for an independent ticket] and the decision has been made. Hopefully, this is the best path for a better Jakarta," Amalia said. Previously, Teman Ahok insisted that Ahok had to continue his fight on an independent ticket.

Separately, the chairman of Golkar's Jakarta chapter, Fayakhun Andriadi, revealed that his party was "a bit surprised" to find Ahok choosing such a coalition. Nonetheless, Golkar said it would support any measure taken by Ahok for the election, including Ahok's choice for a running mate.

"We will support anyone he chooses, even if he chooses a broomstick," Fayakhun said, adding that the cooperation between Teman Ahok and the parties showed that political moves in the country had become "modern and unusual".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/ahok-decides-run-party-ticket.html

UN urges Jakarta to listen to its people

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Corry Elyda, Surabaya – Developing urban areas is never an easy job for the government, let alone local administrations, due to the complication of problems and issues, including those involving residents.

However, many stakeholders at the UN Third Habitat Preparatory Committee (PrepCom3) have stressed the importance of involving residents and not leaving anyone behind in the development of a city.

UN Habitat's research and capacity development director, Eduardo Moreno, said during a discussion on Monday that any improvement in the city needed to respect the rights of the residents, including those living in slum areas.

"This is the position of the UN. If they are to be removed, they need to follow proper and lawful process," he said. He added that if they were concentrated in low-cost apartments, they would be isolated.

"A good city is one with a good density where different people live together, as much as possible. Middle class with rich and poor and the middle class so they are not separated," he said.

The Jakarta administration has been relocating slum dwellers or those lacking deeds to low-cost apartments without holding proper talks with the residents.

According to research by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), the city administration carried out 113 evictions in 2015, with 8,315 families evicted and more than 6,283 businesses affected.

The research also shows that 84 percent of the respondents said they were not included in any discussions before they were evicted.

The city plans to evict more people and relocate them to low-cost apartments this year. Previous reports by The Jakarta Post show that many people relocated to apartments experience income loss and their daily needs increase.

Moreno said it was essential for the city administration to pay extra attention to its poor residents. "Fulfilling their needs is a fundamental human rights perspective. If the administration does not take care of them, it will create social problems in the future," he said.

Separately, Somsook Boonyabancha, currently the secretary-general of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, said people were often involved in development projects.

"People usually see whether they can fit or unfit to the development, not vice versa," Boonyabancha said at a different forum at the UN PrepCom3, which is being held in Surabaya from Monday to Wednesday.

She said that kind of development would create a bigger gap, especially if the key player was a private entity. "The private sector is supposed to be the tool, not the social architect. We often use the contractor to become the architect," she said.

She said all stakeholders should consider people the important development actor. "We also need a new creative financial system to support people who live in a kampung," she said, adding that they should not live in "boxes".

Public Works and Public Housings Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said cities in Indonesia could be inspired by Surabaya.

"The Kenjeran Beach project is an example of improvement without eviction. Sanitation was upgraded and the market was converted into a fish center," he said.

PrepCom3, attended by around 3,500 representatives of UN member states, is the last opportunity for UN member countries, local governments and other stakeholders to give input on a new urban agenda to be proposed at the third UN Habitat conference.

The next phase of the conference will take place in Quito, Ecuador, in October. PrepCom3 is the final round after PrepCom1 and PrepCom2 were held in New York in 2014 and Nairobi in 2015, respectively.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/un-urges-jakarta-listen-its-people.html

Armed forces & defense

Indonesian, Australian air forces hold joint exercise

Antara News - July 28, 2016

Pekanbaru, Riau – Five F-16 fighter planes based at Air Squadron 16 Fighting Falcon, Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base in Pekanbaru, Riau will be participating in the joint exercise called Pitch Black 2016 which will take place in Darwin, Australia. The planes with 62 personnel –- 12 pilots and 50 crew members and technicians –- were seen off by Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base Commander, First Marshal Henri Alfiandi, here on Wednesday. He asked all personnel to stay secure and return to their home base safely.

"Stay safe and secure, check and re-check the details of each preparation so that the exercise proceeds safely and smoothly until you all reach back the home base," the Commander said.

The joint exercise involves Australia, the United States, Indonesia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Canada. It will take place for one week starting August 1, 2016.

The aircrafts and personnel have departed for the Iswahyudi air base before flying to Eltari air base in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

Henri said the planes and the personnel would not immediately fly to Australia as they have to wait for a flight slot to be provided by the Australian military.

The Roesmin Nurjadin air base in Pekanbaru has two air squadrons. In addition to Air Squadron 16, which was inaugurated in December 2014, the air base also has Air Squadron 12 equipped with Hawk 100/200 fighters.

Source: http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/105943/indonesian-australian-air-forces-hold-joint-exercise

State defense program explained to ulemas

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Pekalongan – The Defense Ministry will team up with ulemas (Islamic leaders) to help introduce the state defense program to all Muslims.

The ministry jointly arranged a three-day international meeting gathering 58 ulemas from around the world to pass on the concept of the state defense program to their followers starting on Wednesday.

The gathering also saw around 1,500 members of the country's largest Islamic organization, Nahdatul Ulama, attending.

"We must work together with the ulemas because it's clear that the concept of state defense is in accordance with religious teachings," said Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu.

In his speech during the opening ceremony, Ryamizard made it clear that the state defense program was not military training.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/national-scene-state-defense-program-explained-ulemas.html

TNI holds joint exercise with USPACOM

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) are holding a week-long joint exercise in Jakarta. The exercise, codenamed Gema Bhakti 2016, will be held until Tuesday next week.

"The joint exercise this time is meant to increase cooperation between the TNI and USPACOM in handling national disasters. This exercise is also meant for information and experience sharing between the two countries," assistant to the TNI chief for military operations, Maj. Gen. Agung Risdhianto said in a speech written for the opening ceremony of the joint exercise at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Central Jakarta. The speech was delivered by his deputy Commodore Harjo Susmoro.

Agung expressed hope that the joint exercise could be used as a forum to increase mutual trust between the two countries and the two institutions, while maintaining mutual respect.

"At the end, hopefully we can achieve the shared goal of close coordination between both our countries and institutions," Agung said. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. John Hillyer of USPACOM said Gema Bhakti 2016 was a joint military exercise at the operational level that was not focused on details, but had been constructed to translate strategic guidelines into operational guidelines so that they could be used in the efforts to produce effective responses.

Hillyer said further that participants in the joint exercise came from various backgrounds so that the organizers needed to draw up general guidelines for its implementation.

"The general guidelines include the procedures, called Multinational Force Standing Operating Procedures, which function as the general guidelines for all countries in planning and organizing joint operations in multinational contingencies worldwide," he said,

In all 136 participants are involved in this year's Gema Bhakti joint exercise, including 79 personnel from the TNI, 54 participants from USPACOM and three Indonesian civilians from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI). the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/national-scene-tni-holds-joint-exercise-with-uspacom.html

Criminal justice & legal system

Execution law needs further review

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2016

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – As a country that has championed the upholding of human rights, it needs to further review its implementation of the death penalty and whether if it is still needed.

Criminal law experts say that the death penalty should be a special punishment, not a general punishment, so that judges will still have two more options apart from capital punishment and life sentences – or 20 years' imprisonment.

Then, the judges' final decision should be based on a lengthy case review and in consideration of convicts' legal efforts.

Muzakir, criminal law expert with the Indonesia Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta, Central Java, said on Friday that the country should not execute people without any comprehensive, transparent and legal process, because the arbitrary decision to impose the punishment violated the Constitution.

If the death sentence became a special law, Muzakir added, the judges would have options to lessen the punishment if convicts could prove their reformed character.

"There should be many reasons to support the punishment and the implementation should be strict. Moreover, [judges] have to ensure that convicts have the opportunity for legal recourse, such as filing an appeal or for clemency, and the completion of these processes," Muzakir said.

However, he emphasized that the nation still needed such a punishment, otherwise it might open the door for more extraordinary crimes, such as drug smuggling.

The House of Representatives is currently deliberating the revision of the Criminal Code, where capital punishment has become one of the most debated articles. Many rights activists have called on the legislative body to remove the death penalty from the law, as it violates human rights and, purportedly, has no impact on reducing the drug trade.

Law expert Ganjar Laksamana Bondan from the University of Indonesia (UI) said the death penalty was still relevant in Indonesia, but the implementation must be restricted. Moreover, law enforcers and judges should be more careful in sentencing the penalty.

"The punishment cannot be arbitrarily imposed. But if it's omitted from our law, it means we open the door for extraordinary crimes," Ganjar said.

Deliberation of Article 88 of the Criminal Code's revision is still in deadlock as lawmakers are split on whether the death penalty should be a general or special punishment.

United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker Arsul Sani said the punishment could still exist but the government should also build a review team to audit all cases before imposing the death sentence.

"The team may consist of officials from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) or from the LPSK [Victims and Witnesses Protection Agency]," Arsul said.

However, NasDem Party politician Taufiqulhadi objected and said such a team was not needed as it would interfere with the judges' independence. "Technically it's not allowed to let any individual or team get involved in the decision-making process of judges," Taufiqulhadi said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party lawmaker Benny Kabur Harman said the death penalty should be omitted from the law as it was not an effective deterrent for drug rings. Moreover, no data proved that drugs smuggling cases were falling after the government's two rounds of executions.

"It's not effective. It's better for us to comprehensively debate whether to keep the law or not. If we have to have it, we should at least limit it to only certain crimes," Benny said. However, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung seemed to neither support nor oppose the idea, but signaled that there might be a time for such deliberation in the future.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/execution-law-needs-further-review.html

Executions carried out amid heavy rain, lightning

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2016

Agus Maryono and Margareth S. Aritonang, Cilacap/Jakarta – It was a grim scene in the early hours of Friday as officers prepared for the executions of death row convicts on the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan in Cilacap, Central Java.

Mortician Suhendro Putro said there was a heavy downpour and lightning prior to the executions. "It was really horrifying. The rain was very heavy with lightning. It was also very dark. Never has an execution been so terrifying like that before," Suhendro told The Jakarta Post on Friday afternoon.

He said rain started to fall over Nusakambangan at 11 p.m. on Thursday. At 12:46 a.m., he said, he heard gunshots. Some 15 minutes later, the bodies of four executed inmates were handed over to the team of morticians and religious clerics.

"The police handed over the bodies to us for washing. They were all dead [and then we] stitched up [the bullet holes] and treated [the bodies] with formalin," Suhendro said.

He added that there were 24 personnel in the team tasked with taking care of the bodies. "We, from Catholic and Javanese Christian churches, took care of three bodies. The body of Freddy Budiman was taken care by the clerics' group because he was a Muslim," said Suhendro, adding that Freddy's body was the first to be handed over to the team.

He said it took about one-and-an-half hours to prepare the bodies, before they were ready to be placed in coffins. He said it took a relatively short time because of the large number of personnel available. They had previously prepared to take care of 14 bodies.

"At first we did not believe it because as far as we knew there would be 14 bodies. It turned out to be true," said Suhendro, adding that only four of 14 prepared ambulances were used.

Head of the correctional division of the Law and Human Rights Ministry's Central Java office, Molyanto, who was on Nusakambangan during the executions, shared a similar story, saying the site of the executions was horrifying.

In relation to the number of inmates executed, Molyanto said he had no idea why the change had occurred. He said the decision was under the authority of the Attorney General's Office (AGO). "Our task was making sure that Nusakambangan was ready for the executions," he said.

Suhendro and Molyanto were not the only people left puzzled about the situation. The spiritual mentors and lawyers of the convicts were also surprised by the turn of events.

Catholic priest Antonious Nugroho Bimo Prakoso, a spiritual counselor for Merri Utami, told the Post he learned that Merri was spared from execution after the AGO's deputy attorney general for general crimes, Noor Rachmad, told a press briefing shortly after the executions that only four of the 14 convicts were killed.

Antonious said all counselors were asked to assemble around 11 p.m., when prison guards called out the names of Freddy Budiman, Seck Osmani, Humprey Eijeke and Michael Titus. "We, the counselors for those whose names were not mentioned, were asked to leave," Antonius said.

He added that he and the other counselors could only guess at what was happening because they were not given any information. "We were assuming that the executions would take place in batches. We were holding our breath to see if more names were called out. But they were not."

Like Antonius, Ricky Gunawan, the lawyer for Eijeke, also said he was fully informed of what had happened after the executions were carried out.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/executions-carried-out-amid-heavy-rain-lightning.html

Executions of Budiman, Osmane and Jefferson illegal: ICJR

Jakarta Post - July 29, 2016

Jakarta – The executions of three of four death row inmates that were shot dead by firing squad in Batu Prison on Nusakambangan island on Friday breached the 2010 Clemency Law, a legal expert says.

"We received information that three out of the four convicts had requested clemency," Erasmus Napitupulu from the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said Friday.

The three convicts are Indonesian Freddy Budiman, Senegalese Seck Osmane and Nigerian Humphrey Jefferson. Budiman filed an appeal a day before his execution, Osmane on Wednesday and Jefferson on Monday.

According to the 2010 Clemency Law, death row convicts cannot be executed if they or their relatives appeal for clemency and the president has not rejected it. A Constitutional Court ruling in June scrapped a clause within the law that the request for clemency could only be made a year after conviction, meaning the condemned could request a presidential pardon anytime.

Attorney General Prasetyo previously said that it was too late for the death row convicts to file for clemency, referring to the article in the law that had been scrapped by the court. That article is not legally binding anymore, Napitupulu said. (wnd/ary)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/29/executions-of-budiman-osmane-and-jefferson-illegal-icjr.html

Indonesia carries out midnight executions

Sydney Morning Herald - July 29, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Cilacap – Four convicted drug offenders were executed in Indonesia in the early hours of Friday morning but the lives of another 10 were spared in a shock eleventh hour reprieve.

Three Nigerians – Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke, Seck Osmane and Michael Titus Igweh and Indonesian Freddy Budiman – were killed by firing squad at 12.45am in the middle of torrential downpours. It is not clear why the execution of the other ten prisoners did not proceed.

"Of course there are considerations for it," was all Deputy Attorney General for Crimes, Noor Rachmad would say. He said those who had been executed had filed for judicial reviews twice and both were rejected.

Human rights groups and lawyers had fought to persuade President Joko Widodo to postpone the executions, claiming there was evidence of torture, corruption, bribery and miscarriages of justice.

In the hours before the executions it emerged former Indonesian president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie had appealed to President Joko Widodo to save the life of Pakistani textile worker Zulfiqar Ali, saying evidence pointed to his innocence. Mr Habibie also called for a moratorium on the death penalty.

Mr Ali's lawyer, Saut Edward Rajaguguk, said that prosecutors did not give him reasons for the postponement. "Thank God, my client can still breathe," he said.

Mr Ali's wife, Siti Rouhani, who had almost collapsed when she was informed of her husband's execution on Thursday morning, said she was very grateful for the last minute reprieve. "Thank God the Indonesian Government still listens to our voices,'" she said.

"We don't know what will happen next because I was not allowed to meet with my husband. I hope he will be fine because I took all his clothes including his oxygen tank."

Amnesty International said some of the cases were emblematic of systemic flaws within the Indonesian justice system.

The lead up to the executions – on the penal island of Nusakambangan known as Indonesia's Alcatraz – provoked noticeably less international outrage and media coverage than those last year, which included Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

The condemned all came from countries that also impose the death penalty which insiders admitted gave them less leverage in fighting for their citizens' lives.

However Pakistan battled to save Mr Ali, who was never found with drugs in his possession and was allegedly framed by Indian national Gurdip Singh.

Mr Ali, who says he was tortured when he was arrested in 2004 resulting in long-term health problems, was moved from hospital days before the execution. He was in a wheelchair and needed to wear an oxygen mask the day of the executions according to a friend who visited him on Thursday.

After families farewelled their love ones for the last time on Thursday, the condemned spent their final hours with spiritual counsellors before being tied to a stake and killed by firing squad. All 14 had been moved into isolation cells ahead of the executions.

A vigil was held outside the presidential palace on Thursday night to protest against the executions, although most Indonesians support the death penalty for drug offences according to opinion polls.

The government insists they are a necessary deterrent in the war against drugs, with officials regularly citing statistics that 40 to 50 people die from drug-related causes a day.

"It is an action to stop the rapid spread of drug in Indonesia – today Indonesia has become the main destination in the Asian market," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir.

However the number of drug use cases actually increased after last year's executions – up 4.2 million in June 2015 to 5.9 million in November 2015.

At a speech on July 22, Reprieve Australia president Julian McMahon, who represented Chan and Sukumaran, said the logic of executions was to appear tough and merciless for political gain.

He said Indonesia had saved 285 of its own citizens on death row overseas in the last five years, including drug offenders.

Eight of the prisoners slated for execution on Thursday were from Nigeria – Michael Titus Igweh, Frederick Luttar, Eugene Ape, Seck Osmane, Okonkwo Nonso Kingsley, Ozias Sibanda, Obina Nwajagu and Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke.

Four of these had been arrested on a fake passport, causing confusion in Indonesia as to their true nationality.

The four Indonesians originally slated for executions were former migrant worker Merri Utami, drug kingpin Freddy Budiman, Agus Hadi and Pujo Lestari.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein said he found it "deeply disturbing" that Indonesia was the most prolific executioner in South-East Asia. "Indonesia recently revealed it had budgeted for another 30 people to be executed next year.

Amnesty International said the executions by the Indonesian authorities was a deplorable act that violated international and Indonesian law.

"Any executions that are still to take place must be halted immediately. The injustice already done cannot be reversed, but there is still hope that it won't be compounded," said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International's Director for South East Asia and the Pacific.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesia-carries-out-midnight-executions-20160728-gqg7wx.html

Indonesia death row 10: Last-minute reprieve, but for how long?

Sydney Morning Herald - July 29, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Cilacap – The fate of 10 death row prisoners who were saved from the firing squad in Indonesia just minutes before the executions took place remains unclear, with the country's attorney-general refusing to confirm if they have won a permanent reprieve.

Just four of the planned 14 executions proceeded on the Central Javan island of Nusakambangan – known as Indonesia's Alcatraz – in the early hours of Friday morning, despite all 14 prisoners being notified on Tuesday that they had just 72 hours to live.

Three Nigerians and one Indonesian were killed at 12.45am on July 29, despite human rights groups and lawyers claiming that at least one – Nigerian Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke – may have been innocent.

Harrowing stories have emerged of their families – who were waiting in a tent on the island to identify the bodies post-execution – seeing early reports on television that all 14 had been killed.

The TV stations later updated this to suggest some executions may not have gone ahead, but it was not until the spiritual advisers returned from the killing fields two hours later that the families learned who had been saved.

On Friday, Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo offered his condolences to the families and countries of the four people executed. "Prosecutors are only following the order of the law," he said.

Earlier this week Mr Prasetyo confirmed 14 drug offenders would be executed unless the list changed. However on Friday he said 10 executions were postponed following a review involving the police, consular representatives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others.

"The postponement was done after a comprehensive review... to avoid errors both judicial and non-judicial," he said. "The executions for the rest of those on death row will be determined later at an appropriate moment."

Human rights groups and lawyers had fought to persuade Indonesian President Joko Widodo to postpone the executions, claiming there was evidence of torture, corruption, bribery and miscarriages of justice.

The day before the executions former Indonesian president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie appealed to Mr Joko to save the life of Pakistani textile worker Zulfiqar Ali, saying evidence pointed to his innocence. Mr Prasetyo would not be drawn on whether Mr Habibie's intervention had influenced the president.

Pakistan had also exerted considerable diplomatic pressure to save Mr Ali, who was never found with drugs in his possession and was allegedly framed by Indian national Gurdip Singh, whose life was also spared on Thursday.

Pakistan's deputy head of mission in Jakarta, Zahid Raza, welcomed the reprieve but said the details were still unclear. "It was a combined effort by everyone concerned with a human life that contributed to this," he said. "We don't know if it is a full pardon or they want to do a review of the case."

Executed Nigerian Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke gifted his watch, gold-rimmed glasses and diary to his lawyer, Ricky Gunawan from the Community Legal Aid Institute, who has barely slept over the past week as he fought to save his clients from the firing squad.

The watch went missing but Mr Gunawan has the glasses and diary, which is inscribed with the lyrics: "Nothing can separate/even if I ran away/Your love never fails" from the song "Your Love Never Fails" by Jesus Culture.

"Another dark day for us," the Community Legal Aid Institute tweeted after the death of Mr Eleweke.

The institute had also represented Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, who was executed last year despite having schizophrenia

"Jeff is now happy not to live in a corrupted world," Mr Gunawan told Fairfax Media. His other client, former migrant worker Merri Utami, was among those saved.

A spiritual counsellor who accompanied one of the prisoners said there was confusion surrounding why only four people were taken to the killing fields.

"It turns out there was a change of plan. Then it's only four." He said all four were blindfolded and tied to stakes before being shot.

"Many of them were ready spiritually but they were all asking for justice with their legal cases," the spiritual counsellor told Fairfax Media.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesia-death-row-10-lastminute-reprieve-but-for-how-long-20160729-gqgnn9.html

RI pressed to abolish death penalty

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Anggi M. Lubis and Agus Maryono, Jakarta/Cilacap – Pressure is mounting ahead of the executions of at least 14 drug convicts to be carried out later this week, as international organizations and foreign countries call on Indonesia to put off using the death penalty, which they say has tainted Indonesia's reputation as an emerging democracy.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo confirmed on Wednesday that 14 people – including convicts from Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe – had been put in isolation on the Nusakambangan prison island off Cilacap, Central Java, and would be executed this week.

The executions will be the third round under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, after the country put 14 drug convicts, mostly foreigners, to death in two groups in 2015, to much international outrage.

The upcoming executions are no different, with a number of foreign missions in Indonesia and international rights organizations having conveyed their concerns about how the planned killings might lead to Indonesia committing miscarriages of justice.

EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Guerend said that if the executions were indeed confirmed, the EU would come out with a statement as it does worldwide, including about countries with which it has friendly relations.

The EU, he said, was against the death penalty as a matter of principle and was in favor of a worldwide abolition of the death penalty and the EU is calling on all states and all members of the international community to abolish the death penalty or to implement a moratorium on the death penalty.

"Indonesia is a strong democracy and Indonesia is, in many respects, a model in this part of the world. We believe that Indonesia should strongly consider joining the vast majority of countries, 140 out of 190, that have abolished the death penalty," he said.

Among the convicts to be executed is Pakistani Zulfiqar Ali, whom an investigative team from the Law and Human Rights Ministry had concluded might be innocent.

For Pakistan, which still applies the death penalty, the concern is different, said Pakistani Ambassador to Indonesia Aqil Naseem.

Pakistan restored the death penalty last year after a terrorist attack in a public school that claimed the lives of 150 children. Only terrorists will be hanged in Pakistan now and while Naseem respects Indonesia's legal system, his main concern is the unfair trial of Ali.

Amnesty International believes that Jokowi would put his government on the wrong side of history if he proceeded with a fresh round of executions, said the group's Southeast Asia head Josef Benedict.

British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said in a recent interview that he did not think the death penalty had helped Indonesia's standing in the world.

"Does Indonesia want to be seen alongside China and Iran, or does it want to be seen alongside 130 countries, developed and developing and emerging economies, giving up on the death penalty?" he asked.

"We have miscarriages of justice in the UK, in the US, all over the world. If there's some risks that innocent lives may be taken, I don't think that is acceptable."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed alarm at the planned executions.

"The increasing use of the death penalty in Indonesia is terribly worrying and I urge the government to immediately end this practice, which is unjust and incompatible with human rights," he said in a statement.

As the executions are imminent, information has spread that the State Palace has sent letters to the Attorney General's Office to cancel the executions of Ali and Indonesian Merri Utami. Calls to presidential chief of staff Teten Masduki to confirm the information were not answered.

Meanwhile, preparations at the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, for the executions of 14 convicts have been completed. All equipment and property needed for the executions were sent there on Wednesday.

"All has been prepared, including security personnel. About 1,500 people have been deployed to secure the execution area so the process can run smoothly," Cilacap Police spokesman Adj. Comr. Bintoro said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/ri-pressed-abolish-death-penalty.html

Anguish as Indonesia fast-tracks execution of 14 death row prisoners

Sydney Morning Herald - July 28, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Cilacap – Family members of 14 death row prisoners wept and one was close to collapse after learning the largest mass killing of convicted drug felons in Indonesia would take place on Thursday night – 24 hours earlier than expected.

Authorities have told the families of 14 prisoners on death row that their loved ones will die 24 hours earlier than planned.

Lawyers and embassy staff were also grim-faced as they emerged from the prosecutor's office in Cilacap on Thursday after being informed the deaths of the eight Nigerians, four Indonesians, one Indian and one Pakistani were just hours away.

The executions were proceeding despite nine of the condemned filing last-minute clemency pleas and pressure to postpone the executions amid growing evidence that some of those facing the firing squad could be innocent.

"This is just insane, it should be tomorrow," said the director of the Community Legal Aid Institute, Ricky Gunawan, who was filing clemency pleas on behalf of Indonesian woman Merri Utami and Nigerian Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke.

Human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said at least three of those facing the firing squad – Mr Eleweke, Ms Utami and Pakistani textile worker Zulfiqar Ali – may have received wrongful judgments. "In the name of justice, they deserve a retrial," Dr Mulya said.

He said many had not lodged clemency pleas until the 11th hour because that would be to admit guilt and they insisted they were innocent. "This third round of executions is the largest number of people ever executed in Indonesia's history – it's unprecedented," Dr Mulya said.

The sister-in-law of Michael Titus Igweh, who alleged police had applied electricity to his genitals to force him to confess to heroin possession, said his final request had been to see his wife and family for the last time. Soldiers and police arrive at Cilacap, the port of departure for Nusakambangan, where the executions will take place.

However she said Mr Igweh's wife was in West Africa and would not arrive in Indonesia until Friday – hours after her husband was killed.

"Yesterday I met Titus and he was angry and upset," Nila said. "He said: 'What kind of justice is this? What kind of country is Indonesia?'"

Nila said she had chosen to sacrifice her last-ever visit to Mr Igweh in order to tell his story to the media: "At this time I believe there are two things that can help Titus, one is God and one is the media. If that was the last time to see Titus, then so be it."

The wife of Mr Ali, Siti Rouhani, nearly collapsed as she left the prosecutor's office in Cilacap and then wept into her phone. She told Fairfax Media a prosecutor had called her that morning asking what she would like done with her husband's body on Thursday night.

A former senior government official told Fairfax Media that ex-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had ignored the findings of an internal investigation that found Mr Ali was an innocent victim of conspiracy.

On Thursday morning 17 ambulances – 14 containing coffins – were ferried to Nusakambangan, known as Indonesia's Alcatraz, where the prisoners will be strapped to wooden posts and shot dead by a firing squad.

Police leaked grisly details to the media about the logistics of executions, including the size of the coffins, which were as long as 190 centimetres for some of the Africans.

They said 198 executioners would be deployed, 140 guards, 70 equipment personnel and a 16-person sterilisation team.

Each convict would require chains, a padlock, white aprons, a head cover, a pole, a chair, a marking sticker, a plastic bag for their belongings and scissors.

Ms Utami's daughter, Christa, clutched a pink pillow and wiped away tears as she told Fairfax Media she had been able to fulfil her mother's final wish – meeting her grandson for the first time.

"I feel happy she got to hold him and kiss him. Looking at her isolation cell made me think of how comfortable my life is compared to the way my mother had to end her life. I want more time to do everything with my mother, but in reality these are the facts – we have to say goodbye."

Ms Utami, a former migrant worker in Taiwan, was arrested at Jakarta airport in 2001 with 1.1 kilograms of heroin in her handbag, which her then boyfriend had given her.

"My mother was a victim," Christa said. "She had no idea what was in the bag. She was not a drug dealer, she was just an unwitting courier."

Ms Utami did not learn that a judicial review into her case had been rejected until this week, even though the court document was stamped August 2014.

Christa said that had she been informed of the court's decision earlier, she would have applied for presidential clemency. Now it was too late.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/anguish-as-indonesia-fasttracks-execution-of-14-death-row-prisoners-20160728-gqfw31.html

Amnesty International condemns third round of executions

Jakarta Globe - July 27, 2016

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will put the Indonesian government on the wrong side of history if he proceeds with the third round of executions, Human rights watchdog Amnesty International cautioned on Wednesday (27/07).

Amnesty International made this statement in light of recent reports that several death-row inmates have been moved to the notorious Nusakambangan Prison in Central Java. At least 14 death-row inmates have been confined on the notorious execution island since Sunday evening, including ten foreign nationals.

It is generally understood that death-row inmates are moved to Nusakambangan Island days before they are executed by firing squad. They are held in isolation and receive counseling from religious guides, while the government fulfills their last wishes.

Josef Benedict, Amnesty International's director of campaigns for Southeast Asia and Pacific, said the organization is concerned that some of the prisoners facing the firing squad were convicted in manifestly unfair trials and have not yet exhausted all avenues of appeal, including submitting a clemency request to the president.

"President [Jokowi's] era was supposed to represent a new start for human rights in Indonesia. Sadly, he could preside over the highest number of executions in the country's democratic era at a time when most of the world has turned its back on this cruel practice," Benedict said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a report published last year, Amnesty found that in 12 cases defendants were denied access to legal counsel at the time of their arrest and at interval periods thereafter. Some claimed they were subject to torture and other ill-treatment while in police custody and were forced to "confess" to their alleged crimes. However, allegations of torture and forced confessions were reportedly never investigated further by the authorities.

According to Amnesty, Pakistani authorities have called on their Indonesian counterparts to halt the execution of Zulkifar Ali, a Pakistani national and textile worker, who had reportedly described how he was tortured in custody and spent more than a decade on death row for a drug offence.

During his pre-trial detention, he was reportedly refused the right to contact his embassy and was not permitted any access to a lawyer until approximately one month after his arrest.

"As the case of Zulkifar Ali shows, international law has been repeatedly violated in death penalty cases, from the time of arrest to trial and at the [appellate] stage. Regardless of what we think of the death penalty, no one must have their life decided on the basis of such flawed proceedings," Benedict said in the statement.

It appears that limited access to legal aid also occurred in the case of fellow death row inmate Merry Utami, a 42-year-old Indonesian woman who was sentenced to death in 2003 after being arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and found in possession of 1.1 kilograms of heroin.

Adriana Venny of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, or Komnas Perempuan, said Merry and her lawyers are still in the process of requesting a pardon from President Jokowi as the copy of the 2014 Supreme Court ruling was delivered only days before Merry was moved to Nusakambangan Prison.

Last year, despite repeated pleas for mercy from foreign governments and international organizations, Indonesia executed 14 people for drug trafficking – among them citizens of Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Nigeria.

Only Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso of the Philippines received a stay of execution last year after Maria Kristina Sergio, who allegedly planted drugs in Veloso's luggage, gave herself up to that country's police. Veloso will not be in the next round of executions.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/amnesty-international-condemns-third-round-executions/

Internal investigation found Pakistani facing execution in Indonesia is innocent

Sydney Morning Herald - July 27, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Cilacap – Fears that innocent people will be killed in Indonesia's looming executions are intensifying, with a former senior government official revealing an internal investigation he conducted into a condemned Pakistani man suggested he was innocent.

The former director-general of human rights in the Ministry of Law, Hafid Abbas, said an investigation he had conducted more than a decade ago was never acted upon by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"The report found Zulfiqar Ali was a victim of conspiracy and was innocent," Dr Hafid told Fairfax Media.

Fourteen death row prisoners from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, India and Indonesia were on Tuesday told they had 72 hours to live.

The brother of Australian Andrew Chan, who was executed in April last year, has told Fairfax Media he has had sleepless nights ahead of the latest round of executions, expected around midnight on Friday. "I really hoped that this day would not come around again," Michael Chan said.

"I think that... what is about to happen again is pretty distressing for all families involved and I totally understand what they are going through. I just hope there is some intervention from the president to see that the legal system is flawed and he has the power to fix it and be the leader he should be."

The mother of Myuran Sukumaran has written to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, begging for mercy for those facing the next round of executions. "Please don't let those families go through what we have gone through," Raji Sukumaran writes in the letter, her second to the Indonesian president.

"I can't help but think of the last days I had with my son as we struggled to say goodbye... we were all so scared and so sad, we never got to say all we wanted to say. You are the only person who has the power to stop another execution.

"I hope you understand the desperation, anxiety, hurt and the burden you will inflict on to the families of the people you send to their death." Mrs Sukumaran sent the letter written in Indonesian to the Indonesian embassy on Wednesday.

Pakistani textile worker Zulfiqar Ali was sentenced to death in 2005 for possessing 300 grams of heroin. However his case was among those Dr Hafid was tasked with investigating after a World Bank report raised concerns about the rule of law in Indonesia.

Dr Hafid said that after a comprehensive internal investigation, which included visiting Pakistan, he told the former president he believed Mr Ali was innocent and his case should be reviewed.

However the report was never acted on and Dr Hafid said he was worried that Mr Ali was now facing execution: "The death penalty is the point of no return when you kill an innocent person".

Dr Hafid said he was available at any time to brief Mr Joko on the report, in the hope that Mr Ali's execution might be postponed.

Human rights monitor Imparsial is also pleading with Mr Joko to remove Mr Ali from the execution list. They said he had been tortured by investigators after he refused to pay a bribe and was sentenced to death even though he had never been caught with drugs in his possession.

Mr Ali was arrested on the testimony of Indonesian national Gurdip Singh, who was arrested with heroin at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport in 2004. However Gurdip, who is also facing execution on Friday, later retracted his statement, saying it had been forced by police and Mr Ali was innocent.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that while there were no Australians in the current round of executions, she had reiterated Australia's stance to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi at the ASEAN meeting in Laos on Monday. "Australia has consistently stated its opposition to capital punishment," Ms Bishop said.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo confirmed 14 people would be executed, including drug kingpin Freddy Budiman and former migrant worker Merri Utami.

"Everybody has been isolated," Mr Prasetyo was quoted saying by detik.com. "Hopefully there will be no obstacles. When everything is already at the final stage we will not procrastinate."

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/internal-investigation-found-pakistani-facing-execution-in-indonesia-is-innocent-20160727-gqf1ys.html

Executions imminent in Indonesia as spiritual advisers told to be ready

Sydney Morning Herald - July 26, 2016

Jewel Topsfield – The spiritual advisers who will spend the final hours of life with those condemned to die in Indonesia's next round of executions have been told they will be carried out around midnight on July 29 to 30.

Fairfax Media understands around 16 convicted drug felons could be killed including foreign citizens from China, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. "We were told just today of the execution date, it's the 29th of July," a source told Fairfax Media..

Amnesty International and Indonesian human rights groups have called for an urgent moratorium on the executions, and for retrials that comply with fair standards, citing disturbing incidences of torture, coercion, corruption and unfair trials in the cases of many of those on death row.

Pakistani deputy ambassador Syed Zahid Raza has also issued a statement saying the embassy had approached officials to convince them its citizen, Zulfiqar Ali, had not been given a fair trial.

Zulfiqar was on Monday transferred to the execution island of Nusakambangan from the nearby port town of Cilacap, where he had been in hospital for two months for illnesses he claims are partly related to the torture he suffered when arrested in 2004.

Vigils will be held outside the Indonesian consulate general in Melbourne at 7pm on July 26 and the Perth consulate general at 5pm on July 27.

Three of those expected to be executed this week – Zulfiqar and Indonesians Agus Hadi and Pujo Lestari – were among 12 death row prisoners named in last year's Amnesty International report Flawed justice: Unfair trials and the death penalty in Indonesia.

"Amnesty International found in the... cases documented in this report that the defendants did not have access to legal counsel from the time of arrest and at different stages of their trial and appeals; and that they were subjected to ill-treatment while in police custody to make them 'confess' to their alleged crimes or sign police investigation reports," the report said.

Four Chinese men who were found guilty of drug trafficking after a 2005 police raid on a meth lab in Banten are also expected to be executed.

However co-accused Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, who was slated to be executed in April last year but won an eleventh-hour reprieve, has once again been spared.

"It's a relief, it's reassuring, but the fight is not over yet. And I can't possibly celebrate knowing that the relatives of the inmates to be executed will suffer," Mr Atlaoui's wife, Sabine, told Le Republicain Lorrain.

Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo said on July 13 that no convicts from the United States, Europe or Australia were on the list to be executed this year.

Tellingly, given the international backlash sparked by last year's executions in countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and Brazil, all foreigners included on this year's list come from countries that also enforce the death penalty.

A source told Fairfax Media the four Chinese to be executed – Chen Hongxin, Gan Chunyi, JIan Yuxin and Zhu Xuxiong – would not have a spiritual counsellor with them during their final hours.

"They don't believe in religion, they are atheist, they believe in one person, Mao Zedong, the Chinese communist leader," he said.

"They were asked if they believed in God, they said religions are made by people, they created statues, idol and asked everybody to worship it. One of them take a photo [of Mao Zedong] out, put it on the wall, and they all stand up straight before it."

Families of the Chinese men are expected to arrive in the port town of Cilacap, the gateway to Nusakambangan. on Wednesday or Thursday.

Others on the execution list include Nigerians Eugene Ape, Seck Osmane, Michael Titus Igweh, Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke and Obinna Nwajagu and Indonesians Freddy Budiman and Merri Utami.

[With Karuni Rompies and Amilia Rosa.]

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/executions-imminent-in-indonesia-as-spiritual-advisers-told-to-be-ready-20160726-gqdvox.html

Jokowi told to cancel execution plan

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Margareth S. Aritonang and Agus Maryono, Jakarta/Cilacap – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been urged to cancel the planned executions of drug convicts and review his capital punishment policy as authorities prepare for executions on Nusakambangan prison island, Cilacap, Central Java.

Pakistani Zulfiqar Ali, one of the death row convicts, was transferred on Monday to a secluded prison on the island from a nearby hospital, where he had been treated for cirrhosis since May.

Zulfiqar, 52, was picked up from the hospital at around 11 a.m. to be put in an isolated cell ahead of the third round of executions expected to take place this week. According to dossiers, Zulfiqar's deteriorating health was the result of torture allegedly committed by security personnel during detention.

He was transferred to the secluded prison despite criticism over the treatment of drug convicts. "Zulfiqar has been treated unfairly since he was arrested in 2004," Zulfiqar's lawyer, Saut Edward Rajagukguk, said on Monday.

Married to an Indonesian, Zulfiqar was arrested at his house in Bogor, West Java, where he had been living since he moved to Indonesia around the year 2000. Police arrested Zulfiqar based on a statement from Gurdip Singh, an Indian national who was arrested on allegations of heroin possession at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Aug. 24, 2004.

During police questioning, Gurdip said he got the heroin from Zulfiqar. At the time, Saut said, police officers allegedly tried to negotiate Zulfiqar's release by asking for money. "Unfortunately, he had no money at that time, thus the police refused to let him go and instead moved him to a jail and tortured him."

Not only was Zulfiqar allegedly tortured until he confessed to supplying 0.3 kilograms of heroin to Gurdip but he was also reportedly not provided with a qualified interpreter during his trial at the Tangerang District Court and denied a lawyer.

During his trial, Gurdip retracted his statement against Zulfiqar, telling the panel of judges that Zulfiqar and his wife Ginong Pratidina were innocent and that he was forced by the police to connect the heroin to Zulfiqar. The court, however, ignored Gurdip's statement and went on to sentence Zulfiqar to death in June 2005.

The Pakistani Embassy in Jakarta confirmed on Monday that Zulfiqar was among convicts set to face the firing squad.

The Attorney General's Office's (AGO) decision to transfer Zulfiqar to an isolated cell approaching his execution was also criticized by human rights advocates.

"President Jokowi vowed to uphold human rights during his presidential campaign. His grand vision of Nawacita also puts an emphasis on respecting human rights. Imposing the death penalty is absolutely against human rights," said Al Araf, executive director of human rights watchdog Imparsial.

Al Araf said the revelation of a number of judges involved in graft cases showed that the country's judicial system was corrupt.

"Insisting on executing convicts despite a questionable judicial legal system is deadly. Pak Jokowi must review the legal proceedings of death row convicts because it will be too late to do so when they have been killed," he added.

A similar call has also come from the Jakarta-based Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat). Ricky Gunawan of LBH Masyarakat said Nigerian Humphrey Jefferson, who confessed to heroin possession in 2003, faced an unfair trial.

"Delaying the execution is the wisest thing to do," Ricky said. "It's time for the government to review its policy."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/jokowi-told-cancel-execution-plan.html

'They electrocuted me' says Indonesia's death-row prisoner nearing execution

Sydney Morning Herald - July 24, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Amilia Rosa, Karuni Rompies – A Nigerian man facing imminent execution in Indonesia tearfully told a court that police electrocuted his genitals to force him to confess to possessing heroin.

Michael Titus Igweh is among several prisoners on death row whom lawyers and human rights groups are frantically lobbying to save from the firing squad amid claims they were tortured and their legal cases riddled with corruption, errors and miscarriages of justice.

"I was constantly beaten, and my genitals electrocuted until I was helpless," the clothes importer, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for possessing 5.8 kilograms of heroin, told the Tangerang District Court in May. "In fact, I was threatened to be shot."

Sources have told Fairfax Media the third wave of executions in Indonesia could be held within days. It is understood the Nigerian and Pakistani embassies have now been notified that their nationals are among those to be killed.

Indonesian Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo reiterated on Friday the executions would be "soon" and would include Indonesians and possibly a woman. Mr Prasetyo had earlier said prisoners from Nigeria and Zimbabwe would be among those targeted.

Indonesian human rights group Imparsial said an anti-death penalty coalition would present the staff of Indonesian President Joko Widodo with a list of about seven death row prisoners who had faced unfair trials and miscarriages of justice.

"It is very dangerous to carry out executions when the legal system is fragile and riddled with corruption, error, manipulation and collusion," Imparsial executive director Al Araf said.

The anomalous cases to be brought to the president's attention include that of Pakistani textile worker Zulfiqar Ali, who was sentenced to death in 2005 for possessing 300 grams of heroin, and Indonesian imported flour seller Christian, whose lawyer said he was wrongfully arrested and tortured.

Mr Ali's lawyer, Saut Edward Rajaguguk, said the Pakistani embassy and Mr Ali's wife had been notified that his client would be included in the third round of executions.

But he said the case against Mr Ali was absurd. "Zulfiqar Ali was not arrested red-handed carrying 300 grams of heroin at Soekarno-Hatta airport. He was arrested about three months later when spending time in Puncak with his girlfriend."

Mr Saut said the man caught with the drugs, an Indian national, had named Mr Ali as the owner when he was being beaten by police in the airport office. However he later retracted this during Mr Ali's trial.

"Zulfiqar Ali was also beaten up by police when he was arrested and forced to confess the drug was his. He was asked for money by the police but refused and so the case continued."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court last week rejected an application for a case review into the case of Mr Igweh, the Nigerian clothes importer who claimed his genitals had been electrocuted.

His lawyer, Sitor Situmorang, told Fairfax Media that Supreme Court judges should try cases based on the law and not to achieve popularity or appear tough. "We accepted Michael's case because we saw it had merit. Out of the many requests from prisoners on Nusakambangan, we only took this," Mr Sitor said.

He said Mr Igweh's conviction was based on the testimony of two alleged accomplices, Marlena and Izuchukwu Okoloaja, who died in police custody and could therefore not testify in court.

"We believe Marlena and Okoloaja gave Michael's name just so the police would stop torturing them," he said. "They were healthy when they were arrested, they had no history of illness, they all just suddenly died while in police custody. We all know what that means."

In a further ominous sign the executions could be just days away, prison visits have this week been suspended to the penal island of Nusakambangan, where the prisoners will be strapped to wooden posts and shot in a field.

Fourteen drug offenders were executed in Indonesia last year, including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, sparking an international backlash. However the Indonesian government insists executions are necessary to combat a so-called drugs emergency.

"The public want it to be done soon," Attorney-General Prasetyo said on Friday. "We are getting more informed now and can see how drugs have affected our younger generation. We could just lose a generation."

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/they-electrocuted-me-say-indonesias-deathrow-prisoners-nearing-execution-20160724-gqcm73.html

Mining & energy

Bickering threatens Jokowi's signature power project

Jakarta Post - July 27, 2016

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – A brouhaha implicating state power company PLN has exacerbated the already complicated environment for investors participating in the government's 35,000 megawatt (MW) power-generation project, intended as the signature legacy of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

The development of renewable energy and greater participation of private contractors in the project, amid PLN's already strained financial capabilities, will be particularly impacted by the row between Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said and PLN president director Sofyan Basir.

Sudirman once again vented his frustration at Sofyan last week, accusing him of ignoring ministerial instructions.

Earlier this year, Sofyan rejected the ministry's regulation on the floor price for electricity produced by micro-hydro power plants, which are owned by many politically wired businessmen.

Sofyan argued the company would suffer huge losses unless the government allocated the necessary subsidies because PLN was required to buy the electricity at a price of Rp 1,560 (12 US cents)-Rp 2,080/kWh but to sell it to consumers at between Rp 450 and Rp 1,350/kWh.

The opposition came as the company, Indonesia's biggest state company by assets, is in the process of offering the micro-hydro projects to private investors.

Micro-hydro accounts for around 1,971 MW of the 35,000 MW project. Although it remains small, the project is required to cover remote locations throughout the country.

Sofyan said the company would soon meet with several economic ministers to discuss an economically viable price for the renewable energy. He said the company would comply if there was a compromise in terms of getting subsidies.

"We will specifically meet with the new and renewable energy director general to discuss the subsidy budget. This is something that we must have or else PLN could be under pressure from the lack of subsidies," he said in a hearing at the House of Representatives late on Monday.

Sofyan denied allegations that PLN would pull out from its commitment to develop renewable energy-based power plants as it was merely trying to improve company efficiency and profitability as demanded by the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry.

By regulation, the PLN president director has two direct superiors: the energy and mineral resources minister for policy and the SOE minister for performance, with the latter having the authority to dismiss or retain the boards of directors and commissioners.

The government has issued several regulations to increase the sale of electricity in order to lure independent power producers (IPPs), who are in total set to develop 25,068 MW of the program.

Despite opposing the price for micro-hydro, PLN has agreed to the prices for solar electricity recently issued by the ministry of $0.14 to $0.25 per kWh as the government agreed to provide subsidies of up to Rp 1.5 trillion for the purchase of 5,000 MW.

"We've agreed with the price but we will still need to regulate the electricity capacity of the solar power plants as they are intermittent and won't be operating all day," PLN corporate planning director Nicke Widyawati said.

Aside from the micro-hydro issue, the ministry and PLN have been at odds over the complicated bidding for IPPs, causing investors to question whether the government was serious about the 35,000 MW project.

Sofyan unilaterally terminated in April the tender for the coal-fired 2 x 1,000 MW Jawa 5 power plant in Serang, Banten, the biggest project of the wider 35.000 MW project, citing problems of "good governance".

Several IPPs have also protested at the obligation to deposit 10 percent of the project value, as stipulated by PLN, because not many private electricity companies have full investment funds prior to financial closure.

The Association of Private Electricity Producers (APLSI) has concluded that the complicated procedures and land-acquisition issues make it impossible for the project's target to be reached by 2019.

"It is easy to say the program will be completed by 2019. How many of the signed 10,000 MW power purchase agreements [PPAs] will reach financial closure this year? The construction of a 10,000 MW plant takes 4.5 years. Just calculate it yourself; if it goes past 2019 then maybe we can reach it in 2020," APLSI advisory board member Heru Dewanto said.

According to PLN data, only 170 MW worth of power plants in the program had started operation by mid-July. The remainder are still under construction or in the procurement and planning stage.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/27/bickering-threatens-jokowi-s-signature-power-project.html

Economy & investment

BI expects 5.2% growth in Q3

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2016

Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has predicted the country's economy will grow by 5.2 percent in the third quarter of 2016 as government spending is projected to increase.

"We forecast Indonesia's economic growth in the third quarter will stand at 5.2 percent, so economic growth will be 5.09 percent for the year," BI governor Agus Martowardojo told journalists in Jakarta on Friday.

The central bank projected Indonesia's economic growth would stand at 4.94 percent in the second quarter of this year, a slight increase from the first quarter, which stood at 4.92 percent.

Based on BI's assessment, Rp 128 trillion (US$9.7 billion) of capital flowed into the country as of July 22.

Agus further said funds expected to arrive from the implementation of the tax amnesty program would hopefully help the country's economy grow better, especially in 2017.

"As instructed by the President, the funds coming from the tax amnesty program will be used to finance productive sectors," Agus said. (vny/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/bi-expects-5-2-growth-in-q3.html

New minister seeks private sector participation

Jakarta Post - July 30, 2016

Farida Susanty, Jakarta – On his second day in office, newly appointed Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi pledged to make it easier for private businesses to get more involved in the transportation sector.

Budi, who replaced Ignasius Jonan, argued that more private participation would help realize President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's vision of improving the country's connectivity and boost the efficiency of the state budget.

"To make the state budget more efficient, I want to attract as much private sector participation as possible. The state budget can serve as a stimulus that, when combined with the private sector, can fund more projects," he said on Friday.

The ministry expects to prioritize private investments over those of state-owned firms and in so doing, reduce the use of the state budget by public companies.

The priority of private investment comes about following the government's decision to cut spending for several ministries due to weak tax revenue collection.

The Transportation Ministry saw its spending slashed by Rp 3.75 trillion (US$286.39 million) in the revised 2016 state budget. The amount of its foreign loans was cut as well by Rp 1.8 trillion, leaving the ministry with a spending allocation of Rp 42.85 trillion in the revised 2016 state budget.

The government hopes infrastructure development will be able to spur economic growth in the country, even though the state budget can only cover 30 percent of the projects.

Jonan previously initiated moves to attract private sector investment to build public ports by revising a government regulation. Companies will be able to operate the ports for a certain period, but will be required to hand them over to the government by the end the period.

The minister also talked about the reactivation of railways in West Java and his plan to boost the ministry's budget spending, which stood at 28 percent as of July 21, lower than targeted 31 percent for that period.

Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) secretary general Tengku Burhanuddin stated his association did not really expect a major breakthrough from the ministry, while the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) chairman Adrianto Djokosoetono said his organization predicted that the new minister would just continue with existing programs in land transportation.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/30/new-minister-seeks-private-sector-participation.html

Indonesia urged to combat logistics, transportation sector monopolies

Jakarta Post - July 26, 2016

Jakarta – Indonesia needs to take measures to combat state-owned enterprise monopolies in the logistics and transportation sectors to create a healthy business climate, the Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ALFI) has said.

ALFI chairman Yukki Nugrahawan Hanafi said Monday in Tangerang, Banten, that state airport operator Angkasa Pura and state port operator Pelindo had started to provide logistics services, which did not fall under their purview. Angkasa Pura I, for example, had established a logistics subsidiary, namely Angkasa Pura Logistik, Yukki said.

"The impact is huge. In ALFI alone, there are 3,612 logistic companies that might be affected by this action," Yukki said, adding that existing unfair competition regulations had yet to stop the cartels.

Business Competition Supervisory Agency (KPPU) head Syarkawi Rauf acknowledged that the Rp 25 billion (US$1.9 million) fine had not been able to halt monopoly practices in Indonesia. "To create a deterrent effect, we shall impose a fine bigger than Rp 25 billion. It might be up to 50 percent of the cartel's revenue," Syarkawi said. (vny/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/indonesia-urged-to-combat-logistics-transportation-sector-monopolies.html

Central Java expected to become next shoe production center

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2016

Jakarta – Central Java will soon become the next shoe production center in the country after East Java and Banten, following the planned establishment of a new Converse shoe factory in Salatiga by the end of this year, which is expected to provide jobs for thousands of local people.

The American branded shoes will be produced by PT Selalu Cinta Indonesia (SCI), a subsidiary of the Karet Murni Kencana (KMK) Group. It is currently building a new shoe factory in the Central Java town, with an investment of at least US$50 million. The construction, which has been underway since January, is scheduled for completion in October.

KMK Group vice president Erry Sunarli said the new factory could employ 3,000 to 5,000 workers, while the company's five current factories in Banten employ about 17,000.

"The maximum capacity of the new factory is 1 million pairs of shoes per month. However, in the first phase, we only aim to produce about 300,000 to 500,000 pairs of shoes," Erry said at one of the company's factories in Banten recently.

Currently, the KMK Group produces 1.2 million pairs of Nike shoes per month, 300,000 pairs of Converse, 100,000 pairs of Hunter Boots and 100,000 pairs of Eagle through its subsidiaries.

Except for Eagle, almost all of those products have been exported to the US, Canada, South America, Australia, Europe and several Asian countries such as Japan, China and Taiwan. The annual export value reaches about $200 million.

Erry said the company's plan to build the factory in Salatiga was intended to cut production costs, since there the regional minimum wage is only Rp 1.3 million ($99) a month, far below the Rp 3.1 million in Banten.

"We have been competing hard with Vietnam, where the production cost of a pair of shoes is $1.50 lower than here," Erry said.

In 2015, Indonesia's monthly average minimum wage was $123, higher than its competitors in labor-intensive manufacturing countries like Vietnam ($118), Bangladesh ($68) and India ($77).

Vietnam attributed 38 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) growth between 1990 and 2013 to labor productivity growth, while Indonesia, over the same period, attributed 36 percent.

Marga Singgih, the head of domestic business development at the Indonesian Footwear Producers (Aprisindo), said that, indeed, shoemakers had started to expand their businesses to some regions in Central Java that had lower minimum wages.

As Salatiga was close to Tanjung Mas Port in Semarang, he said the KMK Group would find no trouble exporting its products overseas. Besides, he said the establishment of a new factory would excite the local economy in and around Salatiga.

"The locals could benefit from the new factory because thousands of its workers would at least need to buy lunches from local street traders. Workers from Banyumas or Kudus would also need to rent rooms in Salatiga," he said of the multiplier impact of the operation of the factory on the local economy.

However, Erry also recognized some obstacles as the company needed to train new workers at the beginning before the factory could be fully utilized. Hence, he planned to collaborate with several colleges to prepare the human resources, including the Satya Wacana Christian University (UKSW) and the Yogyakarta Academy of Leather Technology (ATK).

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Saleh Husin said the government would fully support the expansion in order to foster employment in Central Java. He even planned to ban the export of raw leather, support the establishment of a raw material center in East Java and facilitate export financing through the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI).

According to the Industry Ministry, the export of footwear and other leather products totaled 469,257 items in May, a 2.91 percent increase year-on-year and a 3.37 percent increase month-to-month. (vps)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/25/c-java-expected-become-next-shoe-production-center.html

Banking & taxation

Assets of almost Rp 1 trillion declared in amnesty

Jakarta Post - July 28, 2016

Jakarta – The government announced on Tuesday that it had recorded Rp 989 billion (US$75 million) of declared assets in its tax amnesty program.

Of the amount, Rp 735 million came from domestic declarations while Rp 253 million was from offshore assets declarations, said Finance Ministry head of policy harmonization and analysis Luky Alfirman.

As much as Rp 23.7 billion of penalty payments were booked from the declarations while 82 tax amnesty statement letters were submitted to tax offices. "However, there has been no asset repatriation as yet," Luky told journalists.

He said the public was enthusiastic about the program as seen in full-house dissemination events in Surabaya, East Java and Medan, North Sumatra. As many as 3,200 calls had also been received by the tax amnesty call center during its eight days of operation. "The enthusiasm is higher than our Sunset Policy program in 2008," he added.

The government is aiming to book Rp 165 trillion of penalty payments, Rp 3 quadrillion in domestic assets declarations and Rp 1 quadrillion in asset repatriation during the amnesty program, which runs until next March. – JP/prm

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/28/economy-brief-assets-almost-rp-1t-declared-amnesty.html

Tax amnesty brouhaha gets to Singapore

Jakarta Post - July 25, 2016

Grace D. Amianti and Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – A heated exchange of claims has emerged between Indonesian and Singaporean officials, revolving around Singapore's alleged attempts to prevent Indonesians from repatriating their funds and joining the tax amnesty program.

According to testimony from Indonesian businesspeople, top state officials have claimed that the Singaporean government and its banks are taking measures to prevent Indonesian citizens' funds from leaving the country, such as by cutting tax rates, offering zero percent interest on loans and even Singaporean citizenship.

However, the Singaporean government has refuted Indonesia's claims, stating that neither the neighboring state nor its banks have attempted to offer Indonesian citizens incentives to keep their assets in the country.

"Recent claims that Singapore is implementing policies to 'thwart' Indonesia's tax amnesty program are untrue," the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta told The Jakarta Post in an email.

Indonesia's tax amnesty program, which will run until next March, is expected to see Rp 1 quadrillion (US$76 billion) repatriated in exchange for low penalty rates of between 2 percent and 10 percent.

Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said last week that he believed Indonesian taxpayers with assets parked in Singapore, where many wealthy Indonesians have stashed funds for years, would repatriate all their assets, saying that "our taxpayers are nationalists who love Indonesia more than other countries".

Bambang reportedly said he was "not afraid of Singapore, which is just a small country", prompting Singapore's Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam to voice his objections on social media.

"I don't understand why there is this constant attempt to put us down and taunt us," Shanmugam said in a Facebook post on Saturday. "Yes, we are a little red dot. We may be small. But we are respected and successful. And our people lead meaningful lives. And we don't live in fear of anyone else."

He wrote that Singapore had maintained a strong friendship with Indonesia for the last 50 years, cooperating on many matters, and that both countries had benefited from these good relations. "But every now and then, someone in Indonesia will tell us that we should know our place, a little red dot," he added.

A previous report said Rp 3.14 quadrillion in Indonesian funds were parked abroad to evade taxes, and that Singapore was among preferred destinations, according to government data. There are 903 accounts in Singapore under the names of Indonesian businesspeople, the data said.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan Roeslani was among businesspeople who had been allegedly "privately approached" by a fund manager from Singapore regarding incentives in the form of higher interest rates for funds stored in the city-state.

"They will increase interest rates in the hope that their Indonesian clients will only declare their assets and, instead, cancel their plans to bring their money back to Indonesia," Rosan told the Post on Sunday.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani mentioned a recent Singaporean lender OCBC Bank advertisement offering a "July 2016 promotion" for an interest rate of 4.88 percent on three-month Singapore dollar time deposits. However, it is not specifically addressed to Indonesian businesspeople keeping their assets in Singapore.

"This kind of effort is not enough, because, in fact, they are excited to apply for the amnesty and repatriate their assets," Hariyadi said.

As of Friday, the fifth day of the tax amnesty program's full implementation, Rp 400 billion had been declared, mostly onshore funds, according to tax office data. (mos)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/25/tax-amnesty-brouhaha-gets-singapore.html

Analysis & opinion

Courting Papuan people

Jakarta Post Editorial - July 26, 2016

Relations between Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono and Papua have been fairly close, with the sultan of the country's only ruling monarchy opening his arms to people from the easternmost province, many of whom come to the city to pursue an education.

Moreover, the sultan has repeatedly shown a commitment to protecting Papuan people when they are in trouble.

For his inclusive, tolerant views and efforts to promote respect for diversity, the sultan earned the Pluralism Award in 2014, which was conferred to him in Sentani, near Jayapura, the capital of Papua. No doubt the sultan contributes a lot to the preservation of the country's heterogeneity and the DNA of this nation, something that sadly eludes many other regional and national leaders.

It was therefore quite surprising when Hamengkubuwono made a statement that went beyond his characteristic behavior, concerning a recent conflict between Papuan students and locals. The sultan asked any Papuan students who supported or aspired for an independent state in Papua to leave Yogyakarta, in response to tensions brewing because of a plan from a group of Papuan students to take to the streets in a show of support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's (ULMWP) bid for membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) on July 15.

Security authorities and members of community groups preempted the move, besieging dozens of Papuan students at a dormitory. The incident escalated into more widespread anti-Papuan sentiment, with many boarding house owners across the city openly refusing to accept Papuan students.

The National Commission on Human Rights sent a team headed by Natalius Pigai, who is a Papuan, to resolve the conflict, by holding talks with the sultan, among other things. Of course the sultan's statement, which was made just a day after he met with Pigai, sparked controversy.

In a city like Yogyakarta, where traditions are well maintained, words from the sultan are still considered an order. Fears have been rife that his statement would justify a move to expel Papuans from Yogyakarta, a city long known for its hospitality and tolerance. God forbid reports of a crackdown on Papuans, which would shatter the city's bedrock of civility.

Apparently in anticipation of a widespread anti-Papuan movement, the students opted to leave Yogyakarta and return home to continue their studies, which has not only exaggerated but also exacerbated the problem.

As a leader, the sultan holds the responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of his people. Repeated tensions between Papuans and locals may, however, have sapped his patience and prompted him to draw a line separating the migrants.

Like other rulers, the sultan has unfortunately exercised power to stifle freedom of thought, although Papuans, like other Indonesian citizens, have the right to live anywhere in the country regardless of their views.

The sultan should invite Papuan representatives for talks before it is too late. His endeavors to address local tensions could serve as a model for a comprehensive solution to the Papua issue.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/26/courting-papuan-people.html