TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEWS & ISSUES
* Activists hail Indonesia’s inclusion on rights
body
* Governent allocates 3 trillion for
infrastructure fund
* Hundreds flee from active Merapi volcano
ACEH
* Foreign monitors to stay in Aceh until September
* In Aceh, Islamic law seen as key to rebuilding
society
* Bireuen residents demand ratification of Aceh
law
* Don’t let the Acehnese down again, government
told
* Aceh students open coordination post to monitor
draft law
* ’Creation of new provinces in Aceh unnecessary’
WEST PAPUA
* Two dead after residents, police clash in Papua
* Avoiding the real West Papua
* Papuan woman ’forced’ to demand daughter’s
return
* Papua woman should be allowed into Australia,
activists say
* Human rights groups send letter to PM protesting
new laws
* Papuan activist ’stabbed to death’
* Papuan students desperate to flee ’murderous’
military
* Liberal MPs rebel over asylum
* Lawmakers confirm report of pollution at
Freeport
* West Papuan flag raised outside Indonesian
embassy
PORNOGRAPHY & MORALITY
* Drop pornography bill, House told
* Anti-pornography law activists distribute comic
at parliament
* Woman takes Tangerang mayor to court over bylaw
RECONCILIATION & JUSTICE
* Days of waiting, a day filled with hope
* Mothers worn out by lags in Trisakti tragedy
process
LABOUR ISSUES
* Labor unions, business groups agree to end
ongoing dispute
* Indonesia, Malaysia ink MOU on protection of
workers
* Hanafi Rustandi: Standing up for workers’ rights
* Outsourcing still ’slavery’ to unions
* Trade group plans legal action against unions
* ’Protesters voiced real concerns’
* Labor law are necessary for protection of
workers
* Kalla reported for stirring up rally
STUDENTS/YOUTH
* Student movement in total slump
* Politics, activism lose appeal for students
CORRUPTION/COLLUSION/NEPOTISM
* Activists want Soeharto in court
* Moves to clear Suharto’s name spark outrage
* Godfather of corruption Suharto stays above the
law
* Antigraft body staying out of Soeharto case
* Corruption charges dropped against Suharto
* Indonesia must continue fighting war on graft:
World Bank
REGIONAL/COMMUNAL CONFLICTS
* Makassar violence highlights ethnic tension in
city
* Makassar calmer after student protests
* Makassar tense as students threaten ethnic
Chinese
* Villagers fight off police to protect Poso
suspect
LOCAL & COMMUNITY ISSUES
* Hundreds of schools in Jambi unusable
* Bogor commuters run amok as trains delayed
* Land dispute turns violent
GENDER ISSUES
* Lampung supplying women for sex trade: Activist
* Women’s commission urges revision of Criminal
Code
OPINION & ANALYSIS
* Breaking the Jakarta code
* State secrecy bill stinks
* Pramoedya Ananta Toer: Indonesia’s greatest
novelist
BOOK/FILM REVIEWS
* Book Review: Fear and reporting in Indonesia
NEWS & ISSUES
Activists hail Indonesia’s inclusion on rights
body
Jakarta Post - May 11, 2006
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta — Activists in Jakarta
welcomed Indonesia’s election to the newly
established United Nations Human Rights Council on
Wednesday and called for the government to further
improve rights protection in the country.
Calling the election a success, noted human rights
campaigner Todung Mulya Lubis said Indonesia’s
election showed the international community
appreciated the country’s commitment to improving
human rights. "(However) the government must take
concrete action (on human rights) otherwise it
will lose credibility," he told The Jakarta Post
here Wednesday.
At a Tuesday session, the UN General Assembly
elected Indonesia along with 46 other nations to
the council, which replaces the old UN Human
Rights Commission. Sixty-seven countries competed
for the 47 places on the council.
Winning 165 votes from a total of 191 delegates at
the session, Indonesia won the second-highest
number of votes in the council’s 13-member Asian
section, after India with 176 votes.
This achievement, Todung said, should drive the
Indonesian government to deal seriously with
unresolved human rights abuse cases in Papua,
Poso, Aceh and Jakarta. "We must not work half-
heartedly," he said.
Fellow rights campaigner Rafendy Jamin said he
hoped Indonesia’s membership on the UN council
would encourage ministers here to a greater
understanding of human rights issues. "The
election (of Indonesia) to the UN council is not
only the business of the foreign ministry. It
should encourage all institutions to respect human
rights values," he told the Post.
Rafendy suggested the government welcome UN
special rapporteurs into the country to examine
its human rights protections. "The government
seems to have closed its door to UN special
rapporteurs," Rafendy said.
Non-governmental group Migrant CARE urged the
government to prove its commitment to human rights
protection by working to improve the conditions of
migrant workers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said the
election of Indonesia to the council meant the
country was shouldering more responsibilities. "We
are now responsible not only for domestic human
rights protection, but also for the issue in the
international sphere," Desra said.
Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN in
Geneva, Makarim Wibisono, would deal with the
day-to-day affairs of the council, he said.
Governent allocates 3 trillion for infrastructure
fund
Jakarta Post - May 15, 2006
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta — The government is setting
aside at least Rp 3 trillion (some US$300 million)
in funds from this year’s state budget to help
kick off financing for infrastructure development
around the country, in partnership with private
investors.
The funds will be used for the direct financing of
several planned infrastructure projects, and as a
guarantee for others that will be financed by the
private sector, the Finance Ministry’s Director
General of the Treasury, Mulia P. Nasution, told
reporters Friday.
"Consider it an initial pool of working capital
for infrastructure development,“he said.”It’s
the government pitching in to the projects’
financing, even if it’s just a small percentage of
the necessary funds. With this, we hope private
investors will be assured of our commitment (to
the projects) and be attracted to participate
more."
Mulia explained that the government will set up a
revolving fund for infrastructure development with
the Rp 3 trillion, and expects to be able to
support the financing of at least three or four
major infrastructure projects this year.
The use of revolving funds is a common scheme in
financing major infrastructure projects. It works
by pooling the minimum required capital for a
project’s initial construction. As the project is
then offered to other investors, and revenues from
user charges are derived in the process, the fund
is then replenished to pay for other projects.
Part of the Rp 3 trillion will also be allocated
as insurance for several projects carried out by
private investors, Mulia further explained.
Mulia did not elaborate on the projects, however,
or how much will be allocated for the revolving
fund and the guarantee fund, respectively. Since
the money is to be taken from the state budget,
the move will first have to be discussed with the
House of Representatives’ finance commission
during the budget’s usual half-year assessment and
revision schedule.
According to a government estimate, Indonesia
needs at least $145 billion in the five years
ending in 2009 to develop its infrastructure, the
lack of which has hampered the country’s economic
growth. Because embezzling from infrastructure
projects is common, many of the country’s vital
roads, ports and power plants have deteriorated
from poor quality and maintenance, also affecting
the economy.
The cash-strapped government may be able to
provide only 20 percent of the necessary funds,
pinning its hopes on private investments for the
remaining financing. It held an Infrastructure
Summit last year offering 91 projects worth $22.5
billion to investors.
Progress has been slow, however, with investors
taking up fewer than half of the offered projects
amid lingering doubts about Indonesia’s investment
climate. The recent high inflation and high
interest rates have also been unfavorable for
investments in the infrastructure sector.
This has prompted the government to issue a
package of policies to accelerate infrastructure
development and improve the investment climate.
These include simpler land-acquisition procedures,
as well as fiscal incentives and risk-sharing
schemes for infrastructure projects.
Hundreds flee from active Merapi volcano
Associated Press - May 13, 2006
Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta — Indonesian authorities
on Saturday ordered the immediate evacuation of
thousands of people who for weeks have refused to
heed the ominous rumblings of Mount Merapi and the
burning lava oozing from its mouth.
Hundreds of people began fleeing the 9,700-foot
peak after authorities put the area on highest
alert, having observed two days of steady lava
flow. Bambang Dwiyanto, the head of the region’s
volcanology center, said an eruption may be
imminent.
"Because there has been constant lava flows that
cause hot gases, we have raised the status to the
highest level," Dwiyanto said.
The crater had been relatively quiet for years
until it began rumbling and spewing clouds of
black ash a few weeks ago. On Saturday, experts
recorded 27 volcanic tremors, said Ratdomo Purbo,
who heads an observation post on Merapi. He said
the mountain belched clouds of hot ash at least 14
times over the course of the day. Lava flows had
reached nearly a mile down its slopes, he said.
Officials were using buses and trucks to relocate
women, children and elderly to shelters set up in
schools and government buildings elsewhere on the
densely populated Central Java province.
Many people had already been evacuated from homes
closest to the crater, but thousands who live
further down the mountain had refused to leave.
Officials have said as many as 7,000 people
remained to be evacuated.
Even after Saturday’s warning, some farmers
insisted on staying, reluctant to leave previous
livestock and crops. “We will not leave soon,”
said one cattle farmer who declined to give his
name.
Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in
Indonesia, part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — a
series of fault lines stretching from the Western
Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. Many
people who live in the mountain’s shadow believe
that spirits watch over the peak and will warn
them of an eruption.
Although most Indonesians are Muslim, many also
follow animist beliefs and worship ancient
spirits. Often at full moons, people trek to
crater rims and throw in rice, jewelry and live
animals to appease the volcanoes.
Merapi last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing
cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About
1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.
The volcano is about 20 miles from the Yogyakarta,
a city of 1 million, and about 250 miles southeast
of the capital Jakarta.
ACEH
Foreign monitors to stay in Aceh until September
Agence France Presse - May 12, 2006
Banda Aceh — The European Union has agreed to
extend the mandate of a peace monitoring mission
in Indonesia’s Aceh for three months until
September, the mission said Friday.
Indonesia had requested an extension for the Aceh
Monitoring Mission (AMM), composed of personnel
from the EU and five regional states, to enable it
to oversee local elections in August.
The AMM which was due to leave Aceh on June 15
will now depart “no later than 15 September,” it
said in a statement.
"The parties to the Helsinki MoU (memorandum of
understanding) are aware that this extension must
be the last one," it said, referring to the deal
thrashed out between rebel separatists and Jakarta
signed in Finland last year. "Consequently, it is
now incumbent upon the government and the
parliament of Indonesia to ensure that the Law on
the Governing of Aceh is enacted as soon as
possible," it said.
Parliament is currently debating the law, which
will provide the province with wide-ranging
autonomy and pave the way for elections in line
with the peace deal. The government has already
missed a tentative deadline of March 31 for
passing the law, but officials have said they
hoped it would pass this month.
Under the peace pact, prompted by the devastating
2004 tsunami which killed 168,000 people in Aceh,
the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) agreed to drop
its demand for independence in return for partial
self rule, ending three decades of conflict.
Nearly 200 monitors were initially stationed in
Aceh after the pact was signed last August, but
about 100 left in March when the mission was
scaled back.
In Aceh, Islamic law seen as key to rebuilding
society
Associated Press - May 10, 2006
Scott Neuman, Jantho — Head in hands and tears
welling in her eyes, Syarifah Binti Jauhari says
she knows what she did was against the will of
God: She tried to support her family in the
tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh by selling
liquor.
But 10 months in jail — a sentence imposed under
newly enforced Islamic laws — is more than the
mother of five can bear. “My family needs me,” she
said, noting that her husband is ill and her
youngest child only 3. “I miss them so much.”
Aceh faced the brunt of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami
that killed more than 131,000 in the province
alone — out of a total of 216,000 dead from the
storm across Asia — and many here believe the
catastrophe was an act of divine vengeance against
a people who had strayed too far from religious
piety.
For them, implementing Shariah law was a way of
putting things right and appeasing Allah. Others
feel adhering to strict Islamic traditions is key
to restoring the moral and social fabric that was
swept away by the massive waves.
But Jauhari, who has seen her family only twice
since she was locked up five months ago, is
bitter. She said the rules appear to be enforced
arbitrarily and without regard to personal
circumstances. And, that women are targeted more
frequently than men.
"I was the family breadwinner, I was the only one
making money," the 36-year-old said, noting that
her husband was a heavy drinker who quit only
recently after he became sick. And while other
women also have been arrested for selling liquor
— since drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam —
Jauhari has so far received the harshest sentence.
“This is not justice,” she said in an interview in
the warden’s office, wiping away tears with her
white traditional headscarf, or jilbab.
The federal government agreed to allow Sharia law
in Aceh four years ago as part of a peace
settlement to end three decades of separatist
conflict in this religiously conservative corner
of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim
nation.
But the province only began enforcing the laws
last year after Islamic scholars and villagers
started putting pressure on authorities, said H.
Ziauddin Ahmad, deputy of the Shariah office in
the provincial capital Banda Aceh. In the chaos
that followed the tsunami "people were looking to
us for guidance," he said.
The Shariah courts — long already engaged in
matters of marriage and property — began meting
out criminal punishments ranging from public
floggings with a rattan cane for unlawful contact
between unmarried men and women, to imprisonment
for gambling or selling alcohol.
A special police force now roams the streets in
patrols aimed at putting down behavior deemed
offensive to Islam: Since the tsunami, some 150
cases have been heard. "Women in tight clothes are
the Devil!" warned one recent banner displayed in
the heart of the capital.
For those facing Shariah charges, justice is swift
and certain. There are no lawyers, and no right to
face accusers. Investigations typically take no
more than a month and the courts have a nearly 100
percent conviction rate. That’s because the cases
are solid, Shariah authorities contend.
Ahmad describes the need for at least two male
witnesses or four women to bring a trial — the
Quran recognizes that "a woman’s power of
observation is not as good as a man’s," he
explained.
In perhaps the most celebrated Shariah case —
known locally simply as “Romeo and Juliet” —
authorities nabbed an unmarried couple for
displaying their affections in the open. Romeo
endured 12 lashes on the back, Juliet got nine.
The sentences were carried out before a public
audience at a local mosque and administered by a
white robed and hooded figure.
But by standards of Quranic Shariah, caning is a
relatively mild measure, and authorities say they
have no intention of enforcing the more severe
punishments, such as stoning and amputations.
Some people argue authorities are being too
lenient. "I don’t think caning is enough. Seven
times, what’s that? Nothing," said Yuniar, a 23-
year-old woman who, like many Indonesians, uses
only one name.
“But Shariah has helped,” she said, sitting with
her 2-year-old daughter in a Banda Aceh park.
"Before you could see in the market everywhere
that women were wearing tank tops and tight jeans,
but not now."
Others note that justice is being unevenly
distributed. "We feel that Shariah is directed
mainly at women and the poor," said Sufriyani
Ayub, staff media officer for Flower Aceh, an
organization working to economically empower
women.
She said her organization supports Shariah "in
principle," but in almost the same breath added
that those opposed to the changes — especially
women — are afraid to speak up. They don’t want
to be accused of being un-Islamic, others note.
Ayub especially objects to the humiliating aspect
of the public punishments, explaining that when
Shariah police round up women for not wearing
jilbabs, "they put them in a truck and parade them
around town for everyone to see."
As for Jauhari, the imprisoned mother of five, the
shame of her incarceration is the least of her
worries. "The only concern I have is how to raise
my children. I don’t care what anyone else
thinks," she said.
[Associated Press writer Febry Orida contributed
to this report from Banda Aceh.]
Bireuen residents demand ratification of Aceh law
Aceh Kita - May 11, 2006
Halim Mubary & Armia AM, Bireuen — Thousands of
Bireuen residents from the 17 sub-districts that
make up the regency, inundated the grounds of the
Bireuen Grand Mosque on Thursday May 11 to hold a
peaceful action to oversee the Draft Law on Aceh
Government (RUU-PA). A similar action was also
held in Lhokseumawe.
The action, which was initiated by the Aceh
Referendum Information Center (SIRA), was aiming
to garner support from the people of Bireuen to
oversee the RUU-PA.
Protesters began entering the city of Bireuen at
around 9am causing traffic jams for around 20
minutes on inner-city roads such as the route
between Banda Aceh and Medan and Jl. Gayo.
The departed from their respective sub-districts
using dozens of trucks, motorbikes and private
vehicles. The protest which concentrated at the
Bireuen Grand Mosque included speeches from a
number of SIRA leaders. They also put up a number
of banners and posters demanding that the Acehnese
version of the RUU-PA that was submitted to
Jakarta by the Aceh Regional House of
Representatives be ratified immediately.
In one speech, SIRA leader Faisal Ridha invited
all members of Acehnese society to firmly unite in
overseeing and struggling for the RUU-PA in
accordance with the wishes of the Acehnese people.
"Let us together maintain the peace process that
is still incomplete in this year by urging the
RUU-PA special committee to ratify the law as soon
as possible and not by discarding the articles
within it, that in the end could damage the
Acehnese people themselves", Ridha told the
thousands of protesters.
Meanwhile Anwar Ebtadi, the field martial for the
action, said that the protest was held as a part
of the momentum to safeguard the results of the
Helsinki agreement as contained in the Helsinki
Memorandum of Understanding and its draft that is
currently being mulled over by the House of
Representatives so that it does not deviate from
its target. "Because, if the RUU-PA is weakened
significantly, then it will mean the same thing as
injuring the feelings of the Acehnese people", he
said speaking to Aceh Kita.
The protest, which ended with the afternoon call
to prayer, was also attended by representatives of
the Aceh Monitoring Mission for Bireuen district.
According to Ebtadi, a similar action was also
held on the same day in Lhokseumawe — also to
oversee the RUU-PA.
Not campaigning for independence
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the SIRA presidium
council, Muhammad Nazar, said that the protest,
which was initiated by SIRA, was not campaigning
for or demanding independence, but only to oversee
and demand the immediate ratification of the
Acehnese version of the RUU-PA.
Nazar said that if the RUU-PA that is eventually
ratified does not pay heed to the wishes of
Acehnese society, there is a good possibility that
the law will be rejected. "I am certain that if it
is not in accordance with the people’s wishes and
cuts into the authority of the Aceh government,
there is a good possibility it will be rejected by
the people and GAM [Free Aceh Movement]", said
Nazar when speaking with Aceh Kita on Wednesday.
The former political prisoner who was once
incarcerated in the Malang Correctional
Institution in East Java, said that SIRA now has a
program to oversee the peace process and the
deliberations of the RUU-PA and is not campaigning
for Acehnese independence. "With regard to the
peaceful actions held by the public, they are to
demand the immediate ratification of the RUU-PA.
And these actions are taking place everywhere",
said the former lecturer from the Ar-Raniry State
Institute of Islamic Studies in Banda Aceh. [dzie]
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Don’t let the Acehnese down again, government told
Jakarta Post - May 10, 2006
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta — Efforts to achieve a
lasting peace in Aceh could be spoiled should the
government and the House of Representatives
backtrack in the yet-to-be-passed bill on Aceh
governance, an observer and a politician warn.
A political researcher from the Institute for
Studies on Democracy and Civilian Rights, Agung
Widjaya, said the Acehnese people wanted their
aspirations accommodated in the bill.
"The Acehnese are now consumed by optimism that
the bill on Aceh governance will accommodate their
demands. Jakarta should not spoil this, because it
will only breed a stronger resistance movement in
the future," Agung told a discussion Tuesday
organized by the Partnership on Governance Reform
group.
Agung, who has spent much of his time building a
grassroots democratic network in Aceh, said in
spite of such optimism there was a deep-seated
suspicion among the Acehnese that they were still
being manipulated by the central government.
"An allegation that members of the House of
Representatives Special Committee on the Aceh
governance bill have taken bribes and the fact
that a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will be appointed to
head a working committee in the Pansus, only
strengthens this suspicion," he said.
The PDI-P faction has from the outset opposed the
deliberations on the bill currently before the
House. The committee has already completed
discussions on 70 percent of the bill, substance-
wise, and is expected to wrap up the deliberations
soon.
Acehnese lawmaker Farhan Hamid of the National
Mandate Party (PAN) said many Acehnese based their
suspicions on several issues where they believed
the government had backslid on key policies that
granted special rights to the province.
"The administration of president Abdurrahman Wahid
produced a law that gave Sabang Island off the
western tip of Aceh special status as a free trade
zone, but later there was a decision to diminish
this status and now Sabang is only being made a
free port," Farhan said.
There were numerous other cases where the
government was reluctant to grant special rights
to Aceh as mandated by the law, he said.
To prevent such a reversal in policy from
recurring, Farhan said the committee and the
government needed to formulate clearly defined
provisions on Aceh’s special status.
"There are already laws that will contravene
provisions in the Aceh governance bill, such as
the laws on ports, fisheries and forestry," Farhan
said.
Aceh students open coordination post to monitor
draft law
Aceh Kita - May 9, 2006
Banda Aceh — Students from the Aceh Democratic
Network (Jaringan Demokrasi Aceh, JDA) opened a
coordination post at the Banda Aceh City Park on
Tuesday May 9 to guard the Draft Law on Aceh
Government (RUU-PA)
Students at the post have erected banners
demanding the immediate ratification of the
Acehnese version of the RUU-PA. In addition to
this, they have also laid out a white cloth to
collect signatures in support of the ratification
of the draft law.
Many members of the public have also listed their
complaints over the issue on the white cloth. The
spokesperson of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was
also seen adding his signature on the petition.
Rusli Sulaiman, one of the Banda Aceh residents
who took part in the signing, said he hopes that
the House of Representatives (DPR) will soon
ratify the draft law and that it will accommodate
the wishes of the Acehnese people. "I urge [the
DPR] to immediately ratify the RUU-PA", said
Sulaiman who is a former member of the Banda Aceh
Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) after
adding his signature to the petition.
In Sulaiman’s view, the increasing delays in the
ratification of the draft law are creating
uncertainty over the draft. "This is truly ironic.
Is there an an attempt to slow it up, so that it
will continue to fail (to be ratified)“, he asked.”We hope that the DPRD has not been lulled to
sleep by the Jakarta’s gentle enticements", he
said.
The post coordinator Rahmat Djailani meanwhile
said that the post — that is located in front of
the Great Baiturrahman Mosque — was established
to garner the wishes and support of the Acehnese
public over the RUU-PA. "The white cloth that we
have prepared, can be used by the public to convey
their wishes", said Djailani when speaking with
Aceh Kita.
When the cloth has been filled with signatures and
comments, it will then be handed over to the DPR
in Jakarta. "This will also be an attempt on our
part to pressure Jakarta, so that the RUU-PA is
ratified as quickly as possible in accordance with
the wishes of the Acehnese people", added the
general secretary of Aceh Student Solidarity for
the People (SMUR).
Student say they will keep the post open until the
draft law is ratified. [dzie]
[Translated by James Balowski.]
’Creation of new provinces in Aceh unnecessary’
Jakarta Post - May 9, 2006
The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) will have its
term extended until August pending completion of
deliberation on a bill on Aceh government which
will provide the legal basis for the first direct
elections ever held in Aceh.
AMM chairman Pieter Feith spoke with The Jakarta
Post’s Tiarma Siboro and Dwi Atmanta on the
current political affairs in the province, nine
months after a peace deal was struck to end three
decades of conflict there.
Question: How do you see the implementation of the
Aceh peace accord, especially the reintegration of
former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels into
society?
I think it is going very well. The government has
been very generous in making it work with
financial support for the ex-GAM combatants,
prisoners and victims of the conflict. Our
assessment is that the whole process is moving
forward, and a lot of ex-GAM combatants are taking
part in civil society and the local economy, and
they have given up the armed struggle.
Now, the economy is still weak in Aceh, you must
understand that. There is still unemployment, and
of course, there is a level of destruction after
the tsunami. But that is not part of the peace
process; that is something that needs to be
addressed as part of the reconstruction, and the
European Union is providing assistance together
with the local and international community to help
ex-GAM combatants find new jobs.
How do you think the government and the local
administration should deal with job opportunities
for ex-GAM members?
The government has to facilitate an economic
climate, whereby jobs can be created. I think
training is very important. We train people to
have new skills. The government is also expected
to provide farmland and people will get the
opportunity to try and start small businesses.
And I think that it is very important also that
the elections are being held and that the new
government will then have the responsibility of
overcoming all of the issues.
The AMM has invited a Swedish legal advisor to
review some pending cases regarding amnesty for
GAM members. How is it going?
Yes, they — the (Swedish) judge, Malik (Mahmood),
who represents GAM, and Minister (Hamid)
Awaluddin, who represents the government — have
started working. There are about 65 cases of
disputed amnesty, some obvious problems. Hopefully
we can solve them by the end of June. We have to
look at each case individually. We have to see if
amnesty is possible in cases where the inmates are
ex-GAM operators.
The condition for amnesty corresponds to the
presidential decree issued on August 29 (last
year). You know that being a ex-GAM combatant is a
criteria for amnesty. Basically, people who were
not committed to GAM activities will not be
awarded amnesty. Worse yet, if they committed
terrorist acts, then the minister will not grant
them amnesty. Actually, I think we can reduce the
list of disputed cases in the agreement between
the government and the GAM, and if that is not
possible, I will have to take a decision.
Do you think that debate over the bill on Aceh
government at the House of Representatives may
affect the upcoming election and the future of
peace in Aceh?
I regret that it (the deliberation) takes so long.
I think it would be better if it could be
concluded because it should be our aim to exit. I
think people are very nervous about our service
being extended. But you know that our presence
must be extended because the law has not been
established. I hope the legislature can conclude
the bill quickly, so that we can hold the
elections no later than August.
I think the process is going well so far. It again
confirms that the future of Aceh lies firmly
within the Republic of Indonesia and they (the
government and the GAM) are happy with that.
There is an article in the bill that allows for
the creation of new provinces in Aceh. What is
your comment?
The MOU states that Aceh’s borders correspond with
the border agreement of June 1956. So, I agree
with the government that the creation of new
provinces will not be a helpful response. And I
think it will more important to develop a
democratic environment in the election of governor
and the local legislature.
But to create new provinces, what would be the
purpose of that?
I had a discussion with people who are behind this
and there is a feeling of neglect (of the peace
accord) among the Gayo people or some in highland
areas, but you can’t improve that by other means
or by creating a new province. At this moment, I
think it would not be helpful. It would be against
the MOU. Such a policy will be decided by the
elected legislature, though I don’t see why it is
necessary. A policy on the creation of new
provinces has been established in Papua, has it
brought a positive development? So, let’s think
twice.
The demand for new provinces in Aceh surfaces as
not all Acehnese support GAM’s struggle.
Let’s be positive. Let’s be reasonable. We have
democracy, and it works very well. Everybody
should be very proud.
If there would be a GAM governor or a GAM vice
governor, will that make people very nervous?
If the majority of the Acehnese support GAM, they
will vote for GAM. I think as long as there is a
discussion area, as long as GAM remains within the
Republic of Indonesia and as long as there is no
doubt that they will continue staying within the
Republic of Indonesia, I think we have to be
positive.
I know there are people who criticize the MOU, who
are not happy with it, but we have to see that the
ongoing peace process in Aceh is a unique
opportunity, so we have to think in a positive
way.
WEST PAPUA
Two dead after residents, police clash in Papua
Associated Press - May 15, 2006
Jakarta — Two people were killed and six injured
Monday after police clashed with villagers
defending a district chief charged with corruption
in Indonesia’s Papua province, police said Monday.
Police were questioning 139 people after the
violence in Wamena, the capital of the mountainous
district of Jayawijaya, said Col. Kartono
Wangsadisastra, a police spokesman.
A mob of about 200 indigenous Papuans attacked
police and prosecutors after hearing they planned
to detain David Hubi, a district chief who has
evaded a summons for trial six times.
Wamena is about 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles)
east of the capital, Jakarta.
About 200 indigenous Papuans attacked police and
prosecutors after hearing that authorities planned
to detain David Hubi, a district chief who has
evaded a summons for trial six times.
Police opened fire on the crowd after they were
attacked with arrows, daggers and other
traditional weapons, Kartono said.
“The clash was inevitable,” he said. "All the
victims were civilians and hit by bullets." Police
were holding 111 men and 28 women at a local
police station.
Avoiding the real West Papua
Melbourne Age - May 15, 2006
Scott Burchill — The arrival of 43 West Papuan
asylum seekers in northern Australia earlier this
year pressed the pause button on the cosy
relationship struck recently between political
elites in Canberra and Jakarta.
Despite their common opposition to separatism in
West Papua, both governments bungled their
responses to this latest challenge to bilateral
goodwill.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono believed a
quiet phone call to Prime Minister John Howard
would circumvent Australia’s formal processes for
assessing refugee claims. How could the Indonesian
embassy in Canberra have offered such misleading
advice to its Government?
The Australian Government thought it could grant
temporary protection visas to 42 West Papuans
because they faced "a well-founded fear of
persecution", without discussing serious crimes
that were still being committed in their province
after Indonesia’s alleged transition to democracy.
Predictably, civilian “reformers” in Indonesia
feigned outrage and fanned the flames of
nationalism to reassure “hardliners” in the
parliament and military that their commercial
privileges in West Papua weren’t under threat.
Canberra offered to reprise offshore processing,
both to dissuade West Papuans from leaving the
province — politically and physically — and to
placate Jakarta.
Despite the crisis-like atmosphere generated in
some media circles, these actions should be seen
as perfunctory responses by two governments with
the same political objective. To the extent that
there is a minor diplomatic disruption over the
issue, both sides will soon get over it.
More interesting are the strategies devised by
those faithful servants of state power in
Australia who habitually defend Indonesia against
charges that it mistreats its citizens. Their task
is two-fold. To divert attention from the source
of the problem — continuing human rights
violations and political repression in West Papua
perpetrated by the Indonesian military (TNI). And
to avoid asking the only question that needs to be
posed — what do the West Papuans want?
The most popular approach is to blame the
messenger. According to Paul Sheehan in The Sydney
Morning Herald, the problem is a result of "yet
another intervention by Australian ideological
activists“, including”the Greens and the
ideological left“who”continue to wage
ideological war on Indonesia“. If not for this”insurgency-mongering“, the”patient, low-profile
effort by the Australian Government to obtain...
better governance for the people of Papua" might
have succeeded.
If Canberra has been trying to help the West
Papuans, its efforts have certainly been low
profile. Some might say subterranean. Few, if any
West Papuans have noticed them, though they
understand that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
and Prime Minister John Howard are more committed
to West Papua’s retention within Indonesia than
they are. If Sheehan believes people are risking
their lives to leave the territory at the urging
of their Australian supporters, rather than
fleeing TNI violence and repression, his brain has
been captured by the Jakarta lobby.
In similar need of de-programming is Gerard
Henderson (also in The Sydney Morning Herald), who
manages to comment on the issue without even
mentioning Indonesian state terrorism in West
Papua — a bit like discussing the Israeli-
Palestinian dispute without referring to the
occupation of the West Bank. He implies that TNI
crimes are fantasies of the Greens and "the
extreme left". For conservatives such as
Henderson, concerns about human rights abuses
constitute “megaphone diplomacy” and "symbolic
politics".
Unlike Sheehan and Henderson, Greg Sheridan in The
Australian has noticed something unsavoury in the
territory, although his admonition that "Indonesia
hasn’t ruled West Papua very well" won’t deny him
another friendly chat with Yudhoyono. He also
blames the messengers with his claim that
"outsiders who encourage an independence movement
will only be encouraging people to get themselves
killed". How this could happen in a democracy is
not explained, nor does he consider present death
rates and oppression in West Papua a subject
worthy of examination or comment.
In a turgid commentary, Sheridan’s stablemate,
Paul Kelly, also thinks the issue is "the moralism
and resentment of Indonesia entrenched in our
appeasement mind-set", rather than the violence of
the Indonesian state. At the comic end of the
Murdoch empire, Andrew Bolt accuses "fat-bottomed
’Free Papua’ critics“of a”Noble Savage fantasy“and”Indonesia bashing", for raising concerns
about the treatment of West Papuans. In Bolt’s
view, Indonesia is about to fragment, so no
sympathy should be shown to asylum seekers who
“slid ashore on Cape York” and were subsequently
granted protection visas by "some anonymous
Immigration Department official". If it wasn’t for
the “meddling” Greens, there would be no issue.
The problem, apparently, isn’t the crimes. It’s
their exposure. Or perhaps its our ethical
shortcomings. According to Indonesia expert Ed
Aspinall, "advocates of the Papua cause need to
examine their motives to ensure they are not also
partly acting on the basis of unexamined fears and
prejudices". Support for freedom and opposition to
killing and torture in West Papua is apparently
incomprehensible and merely evidence of an
indifference to the plight of those outside the
province.
Even more bizarre is Amanda Vanstone’s claim that
“separatism is a toxic cause” and evidence of
“racist sentiment”. Stigmatising people who are
fleeing what her own department agreed was
persecution is a very confused and shameful act,
to put it mildly. To display an ignorance of how
the modern political world has been shaped is just
embarrassing.
State terrorism in West Papua is immoral, illegal
and should be immediately terminated. It is the
primary source of separatism in the province.
Diverting attention from the crimes to those who
want them stopped may please both governments but
it only ensures that the abuses will continue.
[Scott Burchill is senior lecturer in
international relations at Deakin University.]
Papuan woman ’forced’ to demand daughter’s return
ABC Lateline - May 11, 2006
Reporter: Steve Marshall
Tony Jones: Lateline can reveal disturbing claims
tonight by a Papuan woman who says she was forced
by Indonesian intelligence officers to make a
public statement — or be killed.
When a boatload of Papuan asylum seekers arrived
in Australian territory in January, among them was
a little girl called Anike Wainggai. Not long
after, the girl’s mother Siti Wainggai appeared on
Indonesian TV, claiming her daughter had been
taken to Australia against her will and demanded
she be returned to the Indonesian province of
Papua.
Soon after making this statement, Siti Wainggai
disappeared and hasn’t been heard of — until now.
The ABC’s Papua New Guinea correspondent Steve
Marshall has Siti Wainggai’s exclusive story.
Steve Marshall, reporter: Siti Wainggai believes
her life is in danger. The Indonesian military,
she claims, wants her to shut her up —
permanently.
Siti Wainggai, Papuan asylum seeker (translation):
I have been followed by certain people who have
been paid to carry out the plan to kill me, and I
was forced to do certain things they wanted me to
do.
Steve Marshall: When Siti Wainggai’s estranged
husband Yunus Wainggai and her daughter Anike fled
by boat to Australia last January seeking refugee
status, Ms Wainggai says she was summoned to the
Papuan capital of Jayapura.
Indonesian intelligence officers wanted a quiet
word. She says the intelligence officers forced
her to sign a prepared statement demanding the
return of her daughter and then coerced her into
acting out a tearful plea in front of the
Provincial Governor.
Mrs Wainggai, what do you think would have
happened to you had you refused to make these
statements?
Siti Wainggai: They said if I refuse, certainly I
will be killed.
Steve Marshall: Siti Wainggai says she was then
forced to repeat the performance on Indonesian
television. The Indonesian Government seized on Ms
Wanggai’s initial statement and threatened court
action in Australia to have the little girl
returned to her mother.
But bizarrely, there was never any question of
custody. Ms Wainggai was living with her family at
the time, as she had recently separated from her
husband, and she had not seen her daughter for
several months.
The intelligence officers also offered her a large
cash bribe and told her that she would soon be
heading to Jakarta to meet Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Miss Wainggai claims the
intelligence officers told her she would have to
weep before the President so that her child would
be sent back to her quickly.
Feigning interest in the bribe, Ms Wainggai told
the officers she would take the money the next
day, when they intended escorting her to Jakarta.
But Ms Wainggai never kept her appointment with
the Indonesian intelligence service, and promptly
went into hiding. At great risk, she then escaped
by boat to neighbouring Papua New Guinea, where
she now lives in fear of Indonesia’s retribution.
Siti Wainggai: I am afraid, because the police
might see me and they will send me back to
Indonesia. So I am always staying in the house all
the time, because I am afraid.
Steve Marshall: And it’s just not just the PNG
authorities she’s scared of. Ms Wainggai is sure
that the Indonesians are also on her trail.
Siti Wainggai: They are sending their own people
to look for me.
Steve Marshall: Despite her fears, she is
convinced she has done the right thing by fleeing
Indonesia.
Siti Wainggai: I am happy that I have come out of
Papua and my husband and my daughter are in
Australia. I don’t want to return to Jayapura and
Indonesia.
Steve Marshall: Instead of demanding the return of
her daughter, Siti Wainggai now dreams of joining
Anike in Australia. Siti Wainggai’s plea appears
to have come too late. A bill introduced in
Parliament today would see all future boat
arrivals processed in offshore detention centres
and even if they are found to be refugees, they
will still be resettled in a third country.
Steve Marshall, Lateline.
Papua woman should be allowed into Australia,
activists say
Australian Associated Press - May 12, 2006
Lloyd Jones, Port Moresby — A Papuan woman who
says she fled to PNG after Indonesian intelligence
officers forced her to plead for her daughter’s
return from asylum in Australia should be granted
a protection visa by Canberra, Papuan independence
activists say.
Australian Nick Chesterfield of the pro-
independence West Papua National Authority said
today Canberra should grant her a protection visa
immediately and resettle her in Australia.
"We would like the Australian government to do the
right thing and let her be with her family, she
needs protection immediately," he said.
Asked what the government was doing about the
woman’s case, Prime Minister John Howard told
reporters in Sydney that "it’s important that we
allow the normal processes to operate and it’s not
for us to do (anything) other than follow
Australian law" as had been done with other Papua
asylum seekers.
Siti Wainggai said she was summonsed to the city
of Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua
where intelligence officers forced her to sign a
prepared statement demanding the return of her
daughter, ABC TV reported. Her young daughter
Anike and the child’s father, Herman Wainggai,
were among a boatload of 43 Papuans who arrived at
Cape York in January from Papua seeking refugee
status.
Canberra’s granting of protection visas to 42 of
the asylum seekers angered Jakarta which withdrew
its ambassador from Australia in March.
Siti Wainggai, who is separated from her husband,
appeared on Indonesian television stating her
daughter was taken to Australia against her will
and that she should be returned to Papua.
But she has now told ABC TV she was forced to sign
a prepared statement demanding her daughter’s
return and to make her statement public. "They
said if I refuse then certainly I will be killed,"
she said.
Wainggai later fled by boat to PNG where she is in
hiding and fearful of retribution by Indonesian
authorities. "I’m being followed by certain people
who have been paid to carry out the plan to kill
me," she said.
Wainggai said she was happy her daughter and
husband were in Australia and hoped to join them
there. A Melbourne refugee lawyer is currently
advocating on Wainggai’s part to have her granted
protection in Australia.
Human rights groups send letter to PM protesting
new laws
Agence France Presse - May 12, 2006
Kylie Williams, Canberra — International human
rights groups have lodged a formal protest over
Australia’s tough new immigration laws in a letter
urging the government to adopt humane refugee
policies toward Papuans.
A group of 47 rights organisations, including
Human Rights Watch and the International
Immigrants’ Foundation, wrote to Prime Minister
John Howard protesting that the new laws
contravene an important refugee convention to
which Australia is a signatory.
"We, the undersigned organisations, protest in the
strongest terms possible your government’s
announced plan to seek national legislation
extending the ’Pacific Solution’ to anyone
intercepted attempting to enter Australia by boat
without a visa,“the letter said.”As described by officials of your government,
many of the plan’s components we believe are in
violation of the 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees, to which Australia is a
party."
The groups also call upon the Australian
government to uphold refugee conventions and
recognise the plight of Papuan asylum seekers.
"We call upon your government to uphold its
obligations under the Refugee Convention, to
recognise the plight of Papuans suffering
brutalisation on your doorstep, and to adopt
humane refugee policies in keeping with the widely
recognised principles of the Australian people,"
the letter said.
The controversial new laws, which a number of
moderate Liberal MPs have sought to soften, began
their passage through parliament yesterday.
Under the changes, all asylum seekers landing
illegally on the mainland will be sent to offshore
detention centres in Nauru or Papua New Guinea’s
Manus Island to be processed.
The rights groups said it was obvious that the new
laws were aimed at Papuan asylum seekers. "This
discriminatory proposal is especially aimed at
denying refuge to those fleeing persecution in
West Papua and seeking asylum in Australia," the
letter said.
In March, Australia granted temporary protection
visas to 42 asylum seekers from the separatist
Indonesian province of Papua, a move which has
badly soured relations with Indonesia.
The Papuans arrived on Cape York in January and
despite landing on the mainland were taken to
Christmas Island while their asylum claims were
assessed.
Papuan activist ’stabbed to death’
The Australian - May 11, 2006
Cath Hart and Samantha Maiden — A Papuan student
activist was allegedly stabbed to death by
Indonesian police after he was caught trying to
flee to Australia along with 21 other students
last month.
As the Howard Government faces a backbench revolt
over proposals to force all asylum-seekers who
arrive in Australia by boat into offshore
detention centres, new claims have been made of
brutality in the strife-torn province.
The latest allegations, which were aired on SBS’s
Dateline last night, follow the diplomatic rift
between Jakarta and Canberra over the protection
visas given to 42 Papuans in March.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, who will
table the new legislation today to force all
boatpeople who arrive in Australia into offshore
processing centres, is expected to confirm the
Government will send the controversial reforms to
a Senate inquiry.
Documentary maker Mark Davis took eyewitness
accounts for the program from Papuans, who said
many more were planning to flee to Australia.
Three Papuans were detained last weekend after
they were found near Boigu Island in the Torres
Strait in a boat waving an independence flag.
"There will be more — these people are either
dead or 10 years in prison, so they’re going to
come here," Davis said. The group of 22 students
cast off in a boat on April 20, but their vessel
sank after a pursuit by two Indonesian police
vessels.
The survivors claim the police stabbed to death
Benediktus Dimi while he was in the water. "He was
stabbed here and here," a survivor called Melianus
said, pointing to his arm and the left side of his
chest.
“He was stabbed by the military, just like that,”
another survivor said. Indonesia police claim Mr
Dimi drowned and was not killed.
Papuan students desperate to flee ’murderous’
military
Radio Australia - May 10, 2006
Reporter: Steve Marshall
Mark Colvin: Few issues are more sensitive for
Australian foreign policy than the Indonesian
province of Papua, the western half of the island
that also contains Papua New Guinea. Yesterday,
three Papuans landed on an island in the Torres
Strait after fleeing their homeland. Three months
ago, 42 asylum seekers from Papua landed on
Australian shores and were granted temporary
refugee visas.
Tonight our correspondent Steve Marshall takes us
into Papua where he found students desperate to
get to Australia to escape from what they describe
as an “abusive and murderous” Indonesian military.
(sound of Melanius Pigai speaking)
Steve Marshall: Crouched in a small hut near the
Papuan capital Jayapura, student Melanius Pigai
tells me a disturbing story. He explains how he
and 20 other students tried to flee Papua at night
onboard boats bound for neighbouring Papua New
Guinea.
(sound of Melanius Pigai speaking)
“We went to a boat and boarded it,” he says. "Then
after we started, the navy started to chase us.
They were chasing us, and then the boat sunk and
then we swam our separate ways. Some people
drowned. There was one person who was killed. He
was stabbed by the military. He was stabbed by the
military," he says.
Steve Marshall: Indonesian authorities denied the
boat chase and described the death as accidental
drowning.
Other students told me similar stories of
Indonesian soldiers intent on revenge. They claim
the military is hunting down Papuan students who
took part in the protest last march over the huge
Freeport gold and copper mine.
The mine is one of Indonesia’s biggest export
earners has been a focal point of discontent among
Papuans for decades. Papuans have long accused
Freeport of environmental vandalism and complicity
in human rights abuses. Five Indonesian security
officers were killed in the protest.
According to the Brussels-based think tank, the
International Crisis Group, the Indonesian
military responded with a violent crackdown.
(sound of Melanius Pigai speaking)
Melanius Pigai says some students were arrested,
others were killed, shot, cut up or sliced up.
Free West Papua activist Nick Chesterfield says we
have every reason to believe Mr Pigai’s account.
Nick Chesterfield: There is constantly the threat
of arbitrary arrest and detention. It doesn’t
matter if you have got anything to do with
independence activities. Just the mere fact that
your Papuan is cause enough for the Indonesian
military to arrest you, usually without charge,
beat you and butcher you, which quite regularly
results in murder.
Steve Marshall: Melanius Pigai and his fellow
students were trying to get to Australia. They
were hoping to be granted refugee status, as are
the 42 Papuans who reached Australian shores in
January before being granted temporary bridging
visas.
In response to Indonesian anger over the visas,
the Australian Government has effectively slammed
the door shut on any more asylum seekers. From now
on, all new boat arrivals will be processed
offshore. Even if they are found to be refugees,
Australia will send them to a third country for
resettlement.
Papuan activist Jonah Wenda says despite
Australia’s change of rules, it will remain a
prime destination for asylum seekers, such as the
three Papuan men who turned up on an island in the
Torres Strait yesterday.
(to Jonah Wenda) Jonah Wenda will the change in
rules stop you sending people to Australia?
(sound of Jonah Wenda speaking)
“No, they will never stop us,” Jonah Wenda says.
"We will continue to come to Australia and I
believe grassroots people and even some in the
Parliament will support this," he says.
This is Steve Marshall in Papua for PM.
Liberal MPs rebel over asylum
Australian Financial Review - May 10, 2006
John Kerin and Tracy Sutherland — The Prime
Minister has faced a party-room backlash over
planned migration zone changes designed to
discourage Papuan asylum seekers, as three more
were intercepted on a small island in the Torres
Strait.
In an at times heated debate, up to 16 people
spoke about the government’s plans to introduce
legislation next week that would mean anyone who
arrives illegally by boat would be sent to
offshore detention centres. Under the changes,
asylum seekers landing on the mainland would be
sent to centres in Nauru or Papua New Guinea’s
Manus Island.
At least five Liberal MPs spoke against the bill,
including one who opposed it outright. The revolt
was led by Liberal backbencher Petro Georgiou, who
was understood to be concerned the changes meant
the party was going back on hard-won concessions
made last year that ended the detention of women
and children.
"The sort of comment was, ’I cannot support this
bill’," a party spokesman said. He said Mr Howard
was willing to discuss the bill, but not to change
its basic tenets.
Earlier, Mr Howard told the party room Australia
had to handle the rift with Jakarta very carefully
or risk the Balkanisation, or break-up, of
Indonesia.
Labor’s immigration spokesman, Tony Burke, who
accused the government of kowtowing to Indonesia
when it flagged the changes, said yesterday the
government had not thought the plan through.
"This was the wrong position to take... it only
takes one government senator to cross the floor
and this legislation can be stopped," Mr Burke
said.
The three Indonesians were in detention after
being found at Boigu Island, Immigration Minister
Amanda Vanstone said. "The three men, who had
travelled on a small, unpowered native boat, were
intercepted by immigration officials at Boigu
Island on May 6,“she said.”Early indications are that they arrived from
Papua New Guinea after having previously crossed
from the Papua province of Indonesia."
As Boigu was one of the thousands of islands
excised from Australia’s migration zone last year,
the three had been classified as offshore entry
people, she said. If they sought protection, they
would not be processed in Australia and were not
entitled to make an application under the
Migration Act. "They are currently on Horn Island
and are in good health," she said.
The decision this year to grant temporary
protection visas to 42 of the 43 Papuans sparked a
row with Jakarta, which recalled its ambassador
and accused the government of giving support to
the troubled province’s pro-independence movement,
which the government denied.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
promised the Papuans would be free of persecution
if they were returned. But Australia granted them
three-year protection visas.
Lawmakers confirm report of pollution at Freeport
Jakarta Post - May 11, 2006
M. Taufiqurrahman and T.B. Arie Rukmantara,
Jakarta — The tailing system used by PT Freeport
Indonesia in its operation in Timika, Papua, has
caused severe damage to the environment, a House
of Representatives-sanctioned team says,
confirming earlier similar findings.
The team, formed by the House working committee on
Freeport to investigate the US-owned firm’s
operation, said that rather than resorting to a
more environmentally friendly system, the mining
giant simply disposed of its hazardous waste in
nearby streams.
"As a result of this method, tailings are
scattered randomly in various locations, forming
small islands. When they reach the beach front on
the Arafuru coast, they bond strongly with the
mangroves there," team member Sony Keraf said
Wednesday.
The six-member group, headed by Catur Sapto Edy of
the National Mandate Party, returned from Timika
on May 7 after conducting a three-day inspection
at the Freeport mine.
Sony, a former environment minister under the
Megawati Soekarnoputri administration, said
million tons of hazardous waste had caused severe
destruction to the Arafuru coastline.
"The tailings have reached the surface and the
water there has turned black with a silver sheen.
Compared to this, what Newmont has done is
nothing," Sony said, referring PT Newmont Minahasa
Raya, an Australia-based mining company which the
police accuse of polluting Buyat Bay in North
Sulawesi.
Newmont disposed of hazardous waste from its mine
site into Buyat Bay, although the company argues
the disposal methods were safe and sanctioned by
the government.
The Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) environmental
group estimates Freeport tailings in the area
amount to around 800 million tons.
Another environmental group, Greenomics Indonesia
said Tuesday that Freeport should restore the
ecosystems in a 43,000 hectares of river basin
areas in the Minajerwi, Kamura, Otakwa Blumen
regions.
These wetlands are connected to the Otomona River,
where the company dumps thousands of tons of its
tailings every day.
Greenomics estimates repairing the ecological
damage to the rivers would cost the company around
US$7.5 billion based on current international
standards.
The House team also criticized Freeport’s book-
keeping, saying for many years it was not
transparent. As a consequence, the government and
the public never had information about how much
Freeport had profited from its mining activities
in Papua, Catur said.
"For 30 years now, Freeport Indonesia has been
secretive about how much minerals they have
exported or how much money they have reaped from
the mining activities," Catur said.
The team suggested there should be an independent
audit of the Freeport operation because the firm’s
current auditor, PT Sucofindo Indonesia, was on
the company’s payroll. "How can there be an
independent audit if the surveyor is paid by
Freeport," Catur said.
For years, audit reports produced by Sucofindo had
been the primary information source for the
government about Freeport’s operational
activities, he said.
The team called for the Supreme Audit Agency to
inspect the company, also scrutinizing Freeport’s
community development program, security system,
human rights record and environmental policies.
Freeport has repeatedly said the company complied
with all of the country’s environmental
regulations.
West Papuan flag raised outside Indonesian embassy
Green Left Weekly - May 10, 2006
Alex Bainbridge, Sydney — Sixty supporters of
West Papuan self-determination held a flag-raising
ceremony outside the Indonesian consulate in
Maroubra on April 30.
Joe Collins from the Australia-West Papua
Association told the gathering that such symbolic
protests in West Papua have landed some people in
jail for 15 years and others have been shot.
Damien Lawson from the Greens urged those present
to organise similar protests in their local
neighbourhoods to highlight the broad sympathy
among Australians for the West Papuan people’s
right to self-determination.
Pip Hinman from the Socialist Alliance recalled
the solidarity Australians showed for East Timor’s
right to self-determination, saying that the same
would happen for West Papua. She added that many
Indonesians strongly opposed the Indonesian
government’s militaristic policies in West Papua.
PORNOGRAPHY & MORALITY
Drop pornography bill, House told
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Wearing colorful traditional costumes, around 500
activists demonstrated outside the House of
Representatives on Thursday, demanding lawmakers
abandon their deliberation of the pornography
bill.
The protesters said the bill endangered freedom of
expression and put Indonesia’s diverse cultural
traditions at risk. During the demonstration, they
released hundreds of balloons painted with anti-
bill slogans into the air.
The protesters said they planned larger more-
flamboyant actions in the future. "This is just a
warm-up rally — we expect far more people to
protest the bill at future events," rally
coordinator Henry Pardede said.
Anti-pornography law activists distribute comic at
parliament
Detik.com - May 10, 2006
Indra Subagja, Jakarta — There are many ways to
oppose the Draft Anti-Pornography and Porno-action
Law (RUU APP). Aside from demonstrations,
opposition to the law can also flow from comics.
There is a picture of a person bathing, there is
also one of a person kissing. Hmmm...
The black-and-white comic was handed out by
representatives of the Unity in Diversity Alliance
(Aliansi Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, ABTI) when they met
with Regional Representatives Council (DPD)
members at the House of Representatives (DPR) on
Wednesday May 10.
In addition to an explanation of the reasons for
opposing the law, the 13 page comic titled "As
pornographic as pornography is, the RUU Porno is
more pornographic", also contains various kinds of
pictures critical of the law.
For example there is a person bathing in a river
with the writing "Be vigilant of bathing in the
river because it violates the RUU Pornography".
There is also a picture of a woman playing sport
wearing short trousers with the writing "Playing
sport in a public place and exposing the thighs
will incur the RUU APP".
In addition to this there is also a picture of a
pedicab driver urinating in the open with the
writing "Urinating just anyplace means exposing
the sexual organs in a public place and facing a
jail sentence because it violates the RUU APP".
Then again there is a picture of a woman and a man
who want to embrace and kiss in a public place.
Ups! But don’t thing its just nothing. It turns
out the pair are husband and wife. Under the
picture it reads "Kissing and embracing your own
husband is a pornographic act".
Uniquely, the comic, which is a creation of Eko
Nugroho, can be pirated and distributed as widely
as possible among the public.
Seeking support from the DPD
In addition to handing out the comic, the ABTI
representatives also sought support from the DPD
over the draft law. "We are asking that the DPD
struggle for and convey [our] wishes because the
RUU APP will give rise to national disintegration.
Up until now the voice of DPD has not be heard",
said one of the activists, Yeni Rosa Damayanti.
Damayanti also held up a magazine with the
photograph of a Papuan women wearing traditional
clothing but with her chest blacked out by the
sensor. “This is an insult to culture”, she in a
fiery outburst of emotion.
In response, DPD speaker Ginandjar Kartasasmita
declared that the DPD’s position on the draft law
is still being discussed in a plenary meeting. "We
have not yet taken a position. We are only
accommodate [different views] and seek a solution.
We will convey our friend’s wishes. Whatever the
outcome this republic cannot be deemed uniform",
said Kartasasmita. (aan)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Woman takes Tangerang mayor to court over bylaw
Jakarta Post - May 9, 2006
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang — Lilies Lindawati is
keeping to a pledge to settle the score with those
who publicly humiliated her by branding her a
prostitute.
The 34-year-old pregnant wife of an elementary
school teacher, who was arrested on the street by
public order officers enforcing a prostitution
bylaw, has filed suit against Tangerang Mayor
Wahidin Halim at Tangerang District Court.
"The suit was filed at the court on May 1. We will
begin proceedings if the two parties fail to reach
an amicable settlement through mediation," judge
Pastra Yosep Ziraluo, who will preside over the
trial, said Monday.
Pastra said his fellow members of the panel of
judges — Permadi Widiyatno and Bambang Irawan —
have asked Lilies’ attorney and the plaintiff to
try to reach an out-of-court settlement.
Lilies’ lawyer Yulianto told The Jakarta Post that
his client was the victim of wrongful arrest and
suffered public humiliation from being labeled a
prostitute. The former restaurant worker is
demanding Rp 500 million (about US$53,000)
compensation from the mayor for material and other
losses.
The resident of Dadap district was picked up along
with 26 other women by public order officers while
waiting on the sidewalk for a public minivan on
Feb. 27. The women were held overnight before
being tried in a misdemeanor trial held in public.
The trial, with no defense lawyers accompanying
the women, were held at city hall in conjunction
with the celebration of the municipality’s 13th
anniversary.
Lilies, who repeatedly protested her innocence,
could not show her identity card nor she could
present her husband or members of her family to
testify on her behalf. Lilies argues she did not
possess a cellular phone to call her husband, and
the public order officers assumed she was a sex
worker merely because she had makeup in her bag.
Judge Barmen Sinurat dismissed her explanation and
fined her Rp 300,000. She was held in custody
because she could not pay the fine and was
released three days later.
Wahidin responded to the suit by saying it was her
right to claim she was innocent and pursue the
matter through legal channels. "This is the risk
that we face as a consequence of the
implementation of the government’s function," he
told the Post.
Despite mounting criticism of what some consider a
morality crusade, Wahidin also said he would
continue pursuing his vision of clearing Tangerang
of the sale of alcohol, prostitution as well as
other social vices.
“We will go ahead and punish all offenders,” he
said. "The regulations is not of my own making,
but merely the wish of the people, as represented
by the municipal council." The municipal council
endorsed the contentious 2005 bylaw on Nov. 21
last year.
A coalition of several non-governmental groups,
Kantif, has filed a request for judicial review of
the ordinance in the Supreme Court.
Separately, head of the municipal administration
legal department Erlan Rusnarlan said he could not
comment on the lawsuit filed by Lilies because he
was "busy preparing answers to the judicial review
request as ordered by the Supreme Court".
RECONCILIATION & JUSTICE
Days of waiting, a day filled with hope
Kompas - May 12, 2006
Windoro Adi — "We are grateful that the
government has finally acknowledged our fallen son
a hero of reformasi. They did not die in vain",
said Hiratetty, the mother of Elang Mulia Lesmana
at a press conference at the Trisakti University
campus on Monday May 8.
Elang, Hafidhin Royan, Hery Hartanto and
Hendriawan Sie were the four students shot dead by
security forces on the grounds of the Trisakti
campus on May 12, 1998. The shooting that
afternoon triggered mass anger against the New
Order regime and precipitated the riots in and
around Jakarta on May 14 that culminated in the
resignation of former President Suharto on May 21.
The Jakarta riots left the capital city in flames
— not to mention those who died.
The wave of reformasi changed the Indonesian
political constellation, including the “fate” of
the activists and politicians that struggled for
reformasi together with students. Amien Rais, who
even became known as the Father of Reformasi, was
chosen to be the speaker of the People’s
Consultative Assembly (1999-2004), KH Abdurrahman
Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri were chosen as
president and vice president respectively.
For the activists that struggled to bring down the
authoritarian power of Suharto however, life has
changed little, including for the parents of the
four Trisakti students that were shot dead. It was
not until last year that President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono bestowed the Dedicated Service Award on
the four, a dedication affirmed in Presidential
Decree Number 057/TK/2005 dated August 9, 2005.
At the press conference on Monday, Karsiah Sie,
the mother of Sie, admitted to being proud of the
acknowledgment and award from the government.
However it is as if accountability for the death
of the four students — cut down in a hail of hot
lead by security forces — is yet to be realised.
"We are tired, to this day it has been as if the
government and the DPR [House of Representatives]
have never been serious about investigating and
solving this case. Eight years have now passed. We
are tired of promises, particularly from the DPR",
said Hiratetty.
In fact the people’s movement to bring down the
New Order regime had emerged four years before
Suharto’s downfall, that is during the wave of
democratisation that swept through Eastern Asia.
"The democratic movement in Myanmar with Aung San
Suu Kyi-nya inspired the pro-democracy movement in
Indonesia", says Budiman Sudjatmiko, one of the
founders of the People’s Democratic Party (PRD)
who was also jailed by the New Order.
The wave of democratisation started with demands
to revoke a packet of five political laws(1). The
abolition of this packet of laws was frequently
articulated by PRD activists and other elements of
the movement. The PRD — who at that time were
called the People’s United Democracy — was
launched by a number of activists including Sugeng
Bahagyo, Dita Indah Sari and Widji Thukul. Thukul
was a poet who disappeared [and is presumed dead]
and was never able to enjoy the fruits of the
reform that he struggled for.
According to Sudjatmiko, the change from the PRD
into the People’s Democratic Party was declared on
April 15, 1996. Aside from the PRD, other groups
also surfaced in 1995 struggling to breakdown the
rigidity of the New Order political system
included the New Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI
Baru), the New Indonesian Christian Party
(Parkindo Baru) and the New Masyumi.
Daniel Dhakidae in the book Indonesian Political
Parties, Ideology, Strategy and Program (1999)
says that the blow delivered by the PRD and the
Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) were able
to create an opportunity for wholesale change to
Indonesia’s political map and political party
politics. They tore down the regime’s basis of
legitimacy. "The two became the pioneers, the
trail blazers, [taking] the world of modern
Indonesian party politics towards the changing
century" wrote Dhakidae.
The resistance by youth activists was confronted
by repression from the New Order. A number of PRD
activists including Sudjatmiko, were charged with
masterminding the Jakarta riot that followed an
attack by security forces on the central offices
of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) on Jl.
Diponegoro that became known as the July 27
incident(2). They were charged with committing
acts of subversion and incarcerated in a number of
jails across Indonesia. Likewise, PUDI leader Sri
Bintang Pamungkas was also jailed. They were only
released after Suharto resigned and was replaced
by Vice President B.J. Habibie.
Many of these student and party activists have now
gone their own ways. Sudjatmiko, who was able to
continue his studies at the University of London
immersing himself in the field of politics and
economy and international relations at Cambridge
University through a scholarship from the Ford
Foundation, has now joined the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He also
heads up a research institute.
Former PRD general secretary Petrus Haryanto now
manages a small publishing business. Dita Sari is
now the chairperson of the PRD and is also active
in labour organisations. Thukul’s fate remains
unknown having vanished along with a number of
other activists(3).
Sudjatmiko still dreams of the ideals he held when
he established the PRD which are far from the
realities that exist now. "I imagined the downfall
of the New Order, like the classic downfall of
dictators in other countries, but it never
happened“, he says.”There was no Lustrasi(4) like
in Czechoslovakia, no transnational justice. I
realise that the dreams I had when I participated
in founding the PRD turned out not to be [so] easy
[to realise]", he says.
The fruits of reformasi
The coalition of student and people’s
organisations that occupied the DPR and the city’s
streets were one of the factors that caused the
fall of Suharto.
Prasetyantoko and Wahyu Indriyo in their book The
Student and Democratic Movement in Indonesia
(2001) say that student groups had an awareness of
the poor relationship between the state and
society. Initially, the resistance that came to
the surface was a cultural resistance, both in the
form of artistic offerings as well as a more open
lifestyle. Within a short period this resistance
changed into political activities that bore fruit.
Reformasi indeed succeeded in two ways: there were
those who benefited and those who were hurt. Some
of the demonstrators are now sitting sweet as
people’s representatives at the parliament
building in Senayan. Several times now they have
witnessed the parliament’s gates being broken down
by demonstrators. Other demonstrators chose to
continue to build a bases in rural areas and play
a very small role. Some were simply allotted the
role as job seekers or the followers political
parties. There are also those who have now become
commissioners of companies or legal attorneys.
The lives of the families of the Trisakti,
Semanggi I and Semanggi II victims have also
changed little. Ho Kim Ngo (56), the mother of the
late Yun Hap, a University of Indonesia student
who was shot dead during the Semanggi II incident,
is now languishing. "Yeah, above all I want to
work, [I’m] old. At most just washing, shopping
for vegetables. Just looking after the house",
said the woman who has given birth to three
children.
This afternoon, Wednesday May 5, she and the
Tionghoa Association (Chinese Association) intend
to visit Yun Hap’s grave in Pondok Rangoon, East
Jakarta. "The plan is to go to Hendriawan Sie’s
grave at the same time. [We’ve] been doing this
every year", said Ngo.
Now she lives with her two children, Yun Yie and
Ling-Ling, in their own house in the Tanjung Duren
area of West Jakarta, after years of only being
able to rent accommodation.
Martini, the mother of the late Sigit Prasetyo, a
student of the Indonesian Administration
Foundation who was killed in the Semanggi I
incident, is increasingly busy working with her
husband, Asih Widodo, to find additional income as
they are currently building a new house in the
Tanah Kusir area.
Martini will do any kind of job, working as a
housekeeper, looking after children and the
elderly or running a laundry service. Her husband
is no less busy as a freelance construction
worker.
Hiratetty is still alone after her husband who was
affectionately known as Pak Boy died after a
protracted illness. She now lives in a house with
her two daughters and is still a member of the New
Indonesia Party.
Karsiah Sie, works at a cooperative near the
Trisakti University. This afternoon she is busy
arranging a supply of goods for the cooperative.
"Later on this afternoon, I have an appointment to
be interviewed by a journalist from a television
station. It’s customary, [I’m a] regular at each
commemoration of Reformasi Day", said Karsiah.
Sumarsih (54), the mother of the late BR Norma
Irmawan, formerly a student of the Atma Jaya
Catholic University that was shot in the Semanggi
I incident on Friday November 13, 1998, is dressed
simply in black — a colour that contrast with her
hair which has turned almost entirely white. She
is also persisting with demanding responsibility
from the state for the Trisakti and Semanggi I and
II killings. Sumarsih, who won the Yap Thiam Hien
Award even threw eggs during a protests at a DPR
plenary meeting that was debating the DPR’s
position on Trisakti and Semanggi.
The group of families of the victims of the May
riots(5), who have obtained the assistance Kontras
(the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence), are trying to survive the difficulties
of their lives. Some of them have tried to open
small shops together, making snack food and
pouches for cell phones. "Most of them are
families of the victims of the May riots at the
Jogya Department Store in Klender", said Kontras
coordinator Usman Hamid.
They and the activists and people who served to
bring down the New Order are now waiting out the
days and waiting in hope. The hope is the coming
of justice. And, they who are enjoying the fruits
of reformasi cannot of course forget those who
were left behind. It would not be proper if those
who are enjoying the fruits of reformasi suffer
amnesia. Likewise also for the ordinary people. It
may be appropriate to scrutinise what was written
by Milan Kundera in the book The Book of Laughter
and Forgetting. "Humanity’s struggle against power
is humanity’s struggle against forgetting.
Including being forgotten by the forces that do
not want to deal with the past!" (Budiman
Tanuredjo)
Notes:
1. The five repressive political laws were passed
in 1985. They allowed only three recognised
political parties; banned party activity from
villages and small towns; allowed the government
to appointment of 575 non-elected members (75
representing the military) to the People’s
Consultative Assembly (MPR); imposed a single
state-defined ideology on all social, political
and cultural organisations; and give the state the
right to intervene in the internal affairs of
organisations.
2. July 27 - Following Megawati Sukarnoputri’s
popular election as chairperson of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) in 1996, the Suharto
regime, who feared a PDI lead Megawati (who could
draw upon the tremendous popularity of her father
Sukarno, the founding president of Indonesia)
might threaten the state party Golkar’s dominance
in the upcoming 1997 elections, sponsored a rebel
PDI congress in Medan, North Sumatra, and
succeeded in replacing her with their own pro-
regime candidate, Suryadi. Following weeks of
protests and the occupation of party’s
headquarters in central Jakarta by pro-Megawati
PDI supporters, on July 27 paid thugs backed by
the military attacked and destroyed the PDI
offices resulting in the death of as many as 50
people. Popular outrage at the attack sparked
several days of mass rioting and violent clashes
with police which was blamed on the People’s
Democratic Party, who’s members were hunted down
and arrested as the masterminds behind the riots.
3. Between 1997 and 1998 as many as 14 pro-
democracy activists were abducted by members of
the elite special forces Kopassus. After extended
periods of detention — in many cases the victims
were severely tortured — most were released
although four remain missing and are presumed
dead. In April 1999, 11 low-ranking Kopassus
officers were tried by a military court for the
kidnappings and given sentences of between a year
and 22 months in prison, although six of them were
allowed to remain in the army.
4. Lustrasi - Laws prohibiting government
officials of certain levels from a previous regime
from holding office or being nominated for
election for five years.
5. May 1998 - Following by the fatal shooting of
student protesters in Jakarta in May 1998, mass
rioting broke out resulting in the death of as
many as 1 thousand people eventually leading to
the overthrow of Suharto.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Mothers worn out by lags in Trisakti tragedy
process
Jakarta Post - May 10, 2006
Jakarta — For the mothers of two Trisakti
University students who were killed on May 12,
1998, there is no justice, because those who
ordered officers to open fire on their children
remain free.
Karsiah Sie and Hiratetty — respectively the
mothers of the late Hendriawan Sie and Elang Mulia
Lesmana — said Monday they were "tired of the
long and monotonous process of pursuing justice."
Both attended a gathering to mark the beginning of
a week of Trisakti tragedy commemorations,
representing parents of the two other students
killed, Hafidhin Royan and Hery Hartanto.
"As a human being and a mother, the outcome of the
long investigation will never be enough,"
Hiratetty commented on the slow and virtually
stagnant investigation carried out by the
government-sanctioned Joint Fact Finding Team,
which comprises military and police
representatives, officials and activists.
The results of the first stages of the
investigation were discussed by the House of
Representatives, which later issued a
recommendation the shooting be classified as a
minor human rights violation.
“That’s what hurts the most,” said Karsiah. "But
at least our sons have become known as reform
heroes and not just as troublemakers and looters."
Four Trisakti students were killed during a heated
demonstration inside the campus in West Jakarta in
1998. The shooting triggered widespread students
rallies and social unrest, which led to the
resignation of former president Soeharto.
"Trisakti has been doing the best it can to pursue
justice for our sons, but if the government is
still like this, then what else is there to
expect," said Hiratetty.
Hiratetty said that each year’s commemoration was
crowded with people vowing to see the case through
to the end. "We receive the same fruitless
promises on each May 12," said Hiratetty.
Employed by a university cooperative, Karsiah
simply commented, "After eight long years, where
is the evidence the promises are going to be met.“”All of us (the parents) share the same loss," she
said."My only son is more precious to me than all
the riches of the world."
LABOUR ISSUES
Labor unions, business groups agree to end ongoing
dispute
Jakarta Post - May 15, 2006
Jakarta — Representatives from the business
sector and labor unions agreed Friday to jointly
find the best ways to improve the business climate
by holding an official national bipartite meeting
in June.
Relations between the two parties had been tense
since violence broke at out recent labor union
rallies rejecting planned revisions to the 2003
Labor Law.
The labor unrest has caused a number of foreign
buyers to postpone orders. The Indonesian Employer
Association (Apindo) claims industries lost Rp 850
billion due to the first rally on May 1.
After an informal meeting between the business
associations and labor unions, the head of the
Indonesian Prosperous Workers Confederation,
Rekson Silaban, said both parties agreed that
concerted efforts were needed to bring about an
economic recovery.
"The upcoming bipartite meeting aims to find out
the main problems that unions and businesses
face," he said. As for labor unions’ stance on the
2003 law, Rekson said, they reject any kind of
revision.
He said a team consisting of representatives from
labor unions and business associations had been
set up to arrange the meeting and determine the
agenda.
Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association
(Apindo) Sofyan Wanandi said the recent labor
rally had hit the business climate hard. He said
the discussions would cover ways to improve the
overall business climate in Indonesia, including
the protracted dispute over the planned revision
of the Labor Law.
Sofyan noted various business sectors such as
electronics and textile industries had experienced
a 30 to 40 percent drop in the first four months
of this year.
The Indonesian Footwear Association, as previously
reported, said that after the violent second rally
on May 3, European buyers postponed repeat orders
until the labor unrest subsided.
Indonesia, Malaysia ink MOU on protection of
workers
Jakarta Post - May 15, 2006
Abdul Khalik, Nusa Dua — Indonesia and Malaysia
on Saturday signed a long-discussed memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on the protection of
Indonesian migrant workers, especially domestic
workers, in Malaysia. The agreement was signed on
the sidelines of the Developing Eight (D-8) Summit
in Nusa Dua, Bali.
The agreement was signed by Malaysian Internal
Affairs Minister Ahmad Mohd. Radzi and Indonesian
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman
Suparno. The signing was witnessed by President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
A series of discussions and meetings led up to
Saturday’s signing, including a meeting between
Yudhoyono and Abdullah in Bukittinggi, West
Sumatra.
Erman said the MOU would provide a legal basis for
the protection of Indonesian workers in the
neighboring country, helping to prevent abuses of
the workers and guaranteeing their rights.
"The agreement shows both governments have the
intention to protect the rights of domestic
workers. The MOU stipulates the rights and duties
not only of the workers, but also of the
recruitment companies both in Malaysia and
Indonesia," he said.
Radzi said he was pleased the countries had been
able to reach an agreement on protecting domestic
workers, adding that he and his family employed
maids from Indonesia.
"This MOU will provide standard protection for
Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia," he said.
The countries reached this agreement during Vice
President Jusuf Kalla’s visit to Malaysia in late
March. The MOU is considered an important step
toward dealing with the physical abuse and unfair
treatment of Indonesians employed in the
neighboring country.
Approximately 300,000 Indonesians are working
legally in Malaysia, most as domestic helpers.
Many Malaysians choose to employ Indonesians
because they are cheaper and are considered more
compliant than domestic workers from other Asian
countries, such as the Philippines.
The MOU requires Malaysian employers to sign
contracts with Indonesian workers before they
begin work. The contract should specify the
salary, rights and duties of the workers.
Employers are then required to submit a copy of
the contract and their contact details to the
Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia. Employers must
also obtain permission from Indonesian
representatives in Malaysia if they want to take
their domestic workers out of Malaysia.
All of the costs relating to the recruitment
process are to be borne by employers, including
registering the workers in Malaysia’s foreign
workers compensation program.
In the event of a dispute, Malaysian authorities
will intervene in the case.
Although the MOU is comprehensive enough to
protect most of the workers’ rights, the
mechanisms for punishing employers who fail to
adhere to the articles in the agreement are
unclear. The MOU also fails to touch on the issue
of the civil rights of workers, including the
right to form or join unions.
With the signing of the agreement, Indonesia and
Malaysia have two legal instruments that protect
the rights of Indonesian migrant workers. The
countries signed a formal agreement on workers in
May 2004.
Indonesia has signed similar agreements with
Kuwait, Jordan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Erman said with the signing of the MOU, the
government could be more active in assisting
Indonesian workers facing legal problems in
Malaysia. Meanwhile, Radzi promised Malaysia would
build schools and provide teachers for thousands
of children of Indonesian workers who are
currently unable to attend school in Sabah, East
Malaysia.
Hanafi Rustandi: Standing up for workers’ rights
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta — At a ceremony to
mark World Labor Day (May 1) at Jakarta
International Container Terminal (JICT), Tanjung
Priok port, Indonesian Seafarers Association (KPI)
chairman Hanafi Rustandi took the microphone and
shouted loudly: "Stop speaking and down your
tools." The noise stopped abruptly. All activities
at the port were halted. Thousands of workers
bowed their head while ships, container cranes and
trucks switched on their headlamps and blew their
horns for 10 minutes.
"The strike lasted just 10 minutes but it has been
effective. We may lose 10 minutes but our
employers and the government suffer billions of
rupiah in losses. Someone may call it sabotage but
we have the right to (strike) and it is part of
our bargaining power," he said, winning applause
from his audience.
Hanafi, also a representative of the International
Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) in Indonesia,
was behind the recent strike of container truck
drivers who protested the imposition of value-
added tax on trucks operating at major ports in
Java and Sumatra.
The government acceded to the drivers’ demand of
phasing out the tax and eliminating illegal
charges at ports.
He was also the brains behind a strike last year
of state-owned flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia’s
flight attendants and of state train company PT
Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI). Again, the
government had no alternative but to improve labor
conditions at the state enterprises.
Hanafi, who looks far younger than his 60 years,
did not previously like the idea of deploying some
350,000 ITF workers in the massive labor rally,
despite his strong opposition to the government’s
plan to revise the labor law.
"That was because, like most workers in the
manufacturing and service sector, relatively
uneducated stevedores, seamen and truck drivers
could not easily be controlled if they got aroused
at a rally." Hanafi has been dubbed Indonesia’s
Lech Walensa, after the Polish unionist who led a
labor movement that toppled the Communist regime
and which took him to the presidency in the 1990s.
He was proud of the strong solidarity among
workers and the peaceful rally inside the port
thanks to close coordination by junior unionists.
In leading the labor movement in the
transportation sector, Hanafi has preferred
collective bargaining to staging massive rallies
that had the potential to be hijacked by non-labor
interests.
"We have to use their bargaining power in
bipartite negotiations with managements in
fighting for their interests. It is more effective
and democratic to put them and employers in an
equal position." The government and employers,
said Hanafi, could no longer adopt a cheap labor
policy in the reform era to attract more foreign
investors, as had happened in the past.
"It would be better for the government to
eliminate rampant corruption and red tape in the
bureaucracy, revise the investment and tax laws,
repair damaged infrastructure and enforce the law
to provide certainty for workers.
"Insya Allah, foreign investors will come and
invest here." Hanafi, who worked as a mechanic on
cargo vessels for PT Djakarta Lloyd until 1976,
cofounded KPI in 1973 with other senior seafarers.
After undergoing trade union training for a year
at Cylde Cameron College in Australia in 1976, he
was appointed as an ITF liaison officer in
Indonesia.
In his capacity as secretary-general of KPI, he
launched a series of training programs for junior
unionists and workers in the transportation sector
to improve their skills in their workplaces and in
collective bargaining with their employers.
Under his leadership, the seamen’s union networks
well with ITF and their counterparts in developed
countries. So far, a total of 400 junior unionists
have been trained to improve their skills so that
they are paid in accordance with international
standards.
At home, he has encouraged all trade unions in the
air, sea and land transportation sectors to
improve their bargaining power in preparing
collective labor agreements (PKB) with management.
He said stevedores had yet to sign a PKB with ship
owners and port authorities because they were
retained by port cooperatives on contracts and
paid on a daily basis. "Stevedores are paid Rp
35,000 per day but are employed on average 15 days
a month," he said.
Asked what his monthly income was, Hanafi said KPI
paid him well because the trade union was well
organized and strong financially. It had 35,000
members who paid about Rp 20,000 (about US$2) a
month for their membership while the management
contributed up to (Rp 150,000) per worker per
month.
KPI has contributed 0.5 percent of funds collected
from seafarers to ITF. "All unionists and staff
are paid well," he said, adding he who was
reelected to the top position in 2004, with his
tenure valid until 2008.
Hanafi, born in the West Java town of Tasikmalaya
in 1946, admitted to having “lost” his beloved
wife with whom he has three children, because he
spent almost all his time with workers.
"Upon my return from an ILO meeting in Geneva and
an ITF gathering in London in 1997, she had left
me a letter asking for a divorce. My children knew
something was wrong in the relationship and
accepted the divorce. I couldn’t do anything to
salvage our marriage because it was a matter of
personal commitment. My wife remarried, and I did,
too."
Outsourcing still ’slavery’ to unions
Jakarta Post - May 11, 2006
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta — Allowing the
outsourcing of jobs would lead to a form of
“modern slavery” and only create more insecurity
among white-collar workers, the country’s labor
unions say.
Speaking at an International Labor Organization-
sponsored workshop here Tuesday, Syukur Sarto of
the Confederation of All-Indonesian Labor Unions
and Rekson Silaban of the Confederation of
Prosperous Indonesian Labor Unions said the
government and employers would not win any
concessions from workers over the new employment
legislation.
Although workers realized they and employers have
“different perceptions on job outsourcing”, unions
would continue to oppose its implementation in all
businesses, Syukur said.
He said the current labor law already allowed for
limited outsourcing to help businesses in
uncertain economic times.
Rekson said job security had been low for workers
since November’s steep increase of fuel prices.
Allowing increased outsourcing of jobs would only
make their futures more uncertain, he said.
"Outsourcing may be accepted only if its
implementation is regulated rigidly, the minimum
wage level is upgraded and social security
programs are revised to protect dismissed and
retiring workers," he said.
Less restrictions on labor contracts and
outsourcing are two contentious issues in the
draft revision of the 2003 labor law. The proposed
changes to the law have triggered strong
opposition from workers nationwide during the past
two months, with unions staging huge protest
rallies in Jakarta on May 1 and 3 to reject the
draft.
Hassan Abdurrahman, the deputy chairman of the
Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo), said
outsourcing was vital if Indonesia wanted more
efficient and competitive industries.
"The globalization of manufacturing has led to
massive job redistribution around the globe and
it’s unstoppable. Even the US has created a law
forbidding federal states from outsourcing certain
jobs to other countries, but the legislation was
found to be unworkable," Hassan said.
The country had already benefited from
outsourcing, winning many manufacturing contracts
from multinational corporations in Britain and the
United States, he said.
China and India, the world’s two most populous
countries, have become international centers for
production subcontracted by companies in high-wage
countries.
Apindo chairman Sofyan Wanandi said the
association and three labor union confederations
would hold bipartite meetings this week to seek a
win-win solution to the standoff, despite a
temporary “ceasefire” announced by the government.
"The matter is mainly between employers and
workers. The meeting scheduled for Friday aims to
seek breakthroughs to the deadlock," he said after
the workshop’s opening ceremony.
Trade group plans legal action against unions
Jakarta Post - May 10, 2006
Jakarta — Associations representing a number of
labor-intensive industries, hard hit by the recent
labor unrest and intimidation of their workers,
are demanding tougher law enforcement measures
against illegal actions by unions that have the
potential to damage the country’s economy.
One business association says it is planning to
sue the labor unions involved.
Indonesian Footwear Association secretary-general
Yudhi Komarudhin told The Jakarta Post that the
violent labor rally on May 3 had made a number of
European investors postpone placing repeat orders
until they saw whether the labor unrest would
subside.
"Up until June, we were actually receiving
additional orders for shoes from the European
countries to replace supplies from China and
Vietnam. However, due to the recent unrest, they
have postponed placing more orders," said Yudhi.
Indonesia’s shoe industry now has a big
opportunity to increase exports to Europe after
the European Union imposed antidumping measures
against Vietnam and China, whose combined annual
shoe sales to Europe previously reached US$2.4
billion.
"Companies from Italy, Britain and France have
confirmed that they will postpone orders due to
the May 3 incident," he said, without giving the
value of the canceled orders. "Local investors who
are interested in putting their money into the
shoe industry are now also hesitant about
proceeding with their plans."
Ernovian G. Ismy, the secretary-general of the
Indonesian Textile Producers Association, voiced
similar concerns, saying that he had received
reports from foreign investors in the textile
fiber industry of employees being forced to down
tools by union activists.
"We have received reports about such illegal acts
from factories in Bandung, West Java." He added
that on May 3, 120 factories had to close, with
each suffering losses of up to Rp 18 billion ($2
million). He also said that because they had been
forced to close, some of the factories would have
to delay deliveries.
"Some other firms have had to ship their
deliveries by air in a last ditch attempt to meet
delivery deadlines. Of course, this costs them a
lot more." He added that failures to deliver on
time would result in penalties being imposed by
buyers.
Yudhi said that the footwear association had
received reports that five shoe producers had been
forced to halt operations during the labor
protests on May 1 and 3, causing them some $1.5
million in losses.
Elsewhere, Ernovian told the Post that his
association planned to sue the labor unions
responsible for the intimidation of workers at a
number of factories. "We are calculating the total
losses resulting from this intimidation. We are
working together with the Indonesian Employers
Association in bringing our actions," he said.
Indonesia’s total exports of textile products
increased by 10.5 percent from $7.6 billion in
2004 to $8.4 billion in 2005. The association says
that exports will further increase to $9 billion
in 2006.
Meanwhile, in the case of shoe exports,
Indonesia’s earnings increased from $1.38 billion
in 2004 to $1.5 billion in 2005. For 2006, the
association is targeting $2.9 billion in exports,
including exports worth $2.4 billion to Europe.
’Protesters voiced real concerns’
Jakarta Post - May 10, 2006
Without justifying the destructive behavior
exhibited in last week’s labor protests, many
people think the protesters’ demands were
reasonable. How can the workers build stronger
political bargaining power to fight for their
rights and how can the government and employers
accommodate them? The Jakarta Post asked some
people about this issue.
Bambang Aria Wibawa, 28, works for a manufacturing
company. He lives in Bekasi: It is the politicians
who said the labor protests were smeared by
political interests. For the workers themselves,
the rally was an expression of real worries and
concerns.
The government has taken the easy way out in
trying to create a better investment climate by
revising the Labor Law in favor of businesses. The
main problem, and the most difficult one to solve,
is the high-cost economy. Systemic reform is
needed here, instead of putting the nation’s most
vulnerable people under pressure.
Muammar Ali, 23, is a college student who lives in
Depok: I am not trying to justify the violence,
but accumulative pressure from the companies
(demonstrators work for) — both financially and
legally — triggered the ugly events of last week.
It was also an expression of their disappointment
at knowing the government — supposedly their last
resort — had somehow betrayed them.
That is why they do not trust the tripartite forum
or any sort of discussion they are excluded from.
It is just very unfortunate that the ones who have
to deal with the laborers’ rage are low-ranking
officers.
Labor law are necessary for protection of workers
Jakarta Post - May 10, 2006
B. Herry-Priyono, Jakarta — On Sunday night,
April 30, I was still stranded in Aceh (Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam) when I turned on one of the
television channels and heard a chilling warning
to shoot on spot any protesters committing
violence and vandalism. It was the eve of Labor
Day, the night when many labor organizations were
making last-minute preparations for the next day’s
rally.
While I was still musing on that warning, a
question came to my mind. Would that sort of
warning also be applied to business tycoons? Say,
"any business tycoons who wreck forests or steal
from the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Fund will be
shot on spot"? Certainly not! Of course, even in
the land of amok, no violence is to be dignified.
That is true not only for the act of vandalism in
the recent local elections in Tuban, East Java,
but also for the violent incidents during the
labor protests on May 3, 2006.
But why is the rule applied to workers but not to
business tycoons? This is a fact of how policing
is conducted discriminately on the basis of the
power of purse, and that is how this country is
run. It then seems that "government... is in
reality instituted for the defense of the rich
against the poor, or of those who have some
property against those who have none at all". Are
these the words of Marx or Lenin? No! They are the
words of Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations.
There is indeed something farcical about how the
plight of the poor is treated in this republic.
And this is how the aftermath of the violent
incidents during the labor protest on May 3, 2006
have enfolded. As is widely known, the air is now
marred with a series of exchanges between the
President’s office and the opposition. While the
former indicated that political rivals instigated
the violence during the rally on May 3, the latter
refuted the accusation as a way of deflecting the
issue.
The point is not whether the violence was
instigated — to hunt down the instigators is part
of hunting down the perpetrators of violence.
Rather, what is at stake is that, like many
problems concerning the plight of the poor in this
country, the roots that make workers go to the
street will again disappear from sight. What is
tragic is that this process is often greatly
assisted by the media. In their day-to-day job of
running after headlines, the media are much more
interested in the gimmicks of the politically
famous. Says a poignant Swahili proverb, "whether
the elephants make love or make war, it is the
grass that suffers".
So, perhaps there is a virtue to returning to the
issue, the workers’ demand that the government not
slash further their already minimum levels of
welfare. And that is what makes them doggedly
defend the 2003 Labor Law. It is easy from the
high podium of a seminar at a comfortable hotel to
accuse workers of being ignorant of the country’s
need to attract investors. Such an accusation is a
form of ignorance, for most workers are by no
means unaware of the dilemma, as often assumed.
Why do they address their demands to the
government? This question may sound trivial, for
it is simply stating the obvious, that the
government is in charge of public affairs. But,
what if under the pressure of economic
globalization, the government’s policy wings are
increasingly clipped by the powers of investors?
Indeed, this last point is evident in the current
state of the political economy.
That leaves us with one thin hope. The workers’
demands are addressed to the government because it
is the government, or at least its legislative
wing, that is in charge of law formulation. This
point is of course highly normative, and any issue
that concerns law could not be other than being
normative. Otherwise, law loses its raison d’etre.
From the first moment of its inception, the
construction of labor laws was a normative
project, whose agenda was to redress the
asymmetric relations between employers and
workers. That is true both with the onset of labor
laws in Indonesia in the early 1900s or with those
in Western Europe in the 19th century.
Labor law concerns labor precisely because it aims
to protect workers from the caprice of their
employers. Bluntly put, labor laws are a form of
affirmative action with a quite deliberate bias in
favor of workers.
Of course, no thoughtful persons will see this
affirmative action as something that can be
separated from the other factors, for instance,
the investment climate or economic growth. But the
inseparability of affirmative action for workers
from the investment climate or economic growth
does not cancel out the centrality of affirmative
action for workers itself.
As much as the subordinate position of workers
does not disappear simply by establishing
“industrial cooperation” between workers and
investors, so does the affirmative action for
workers not lose its centrality simply by putting
it in the wider context of economic growth or the
investment climate.
Where does this point lead us? While it is
virtuous to put labor law in the wider context of
economic growth and the investment climate,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government
should not lose sight of the reason why the Labor
Law is there in the first place. To reiterate the
point, when it falls short of affirmative action
for workers, labor laws loses their raison d’etre.
Then the present government as the guardian of the
Labor Law also loses its reason for being there,
at least for most workers.
The above point seems crucial, as the expansion of
free-market economy in this country, while
virtuous, also has its downside. It is the growing
power of money in politics: The weaker the
purchasing power, the lower the access to policy
making.
On this count, the financial clout of investors is
of course no match for workers. But this is simply
another way of saying that the ground is ripe to
perpetually reduce the political influence of the
workers.
After toiling day after day in sweat, workers need
the Labor Law for affirmative action.
[The writer is a lecturer at the Graduate Program
of the Driyarkara School of Philosophy, Jakarta,
and holds a PhD from The London School of
Economics]
Kalla reported for stirring up rally
Jakarta Post - May 9, 2006
Jakarta — A student organization has reported
Vice President Jusuf Kalla to police for inciting
violence at the May 3 labor rally.
The Muslim Students Association said Kalla
breached Article 335 of the Criminal Code on
improper conduct. "Jusuf Kalla made irresponsible
statements, which urged the workers on," the
association’s chairman, Didi K. Safari, said.
The vice president was quoted on May 2 by mass
media as saying the planned revision of the 2003
Labor Law would proceed, if five state
universities made positive recommendations.
According to the association "the workers lost
faith in the House of Representatives’ promise it
would press the government to cancel the revision,
which saw them returning to the streets in anger."
The association urged Kalla to issue a public
apology for his “ill-timed” statement.
STUDENTS/YOUTH
Student movement in total slump
Jakarta Post - May 14, 2006
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta — Eight years after
bringing down an authoritarian regime, the once
thriving student movement is now in disarray.
No longer having a common enemy to unite their
struggle, the movement is now deeply fragmented
and can no longer produce a coherent platform. It
is capable only of launching random attacks on the
establishment.
And while eight years ago rallying students were
given free lunches by sympathetic bystanders, what
they get now is public scorn whenever they hit the
streets and block traffic.
The absence of an authoritarian regime has
prompted some student groups to join the power
struggle, allowing themselves to be corrupted
along the way.
The role of these student groups became clear when
they took part in campaigns to topple the
country’s former presidents, from B.J. Habibie and
Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid to Megawati
Soekarnoputri.
These groups have relied on their “patrons” —
former student activists who accumulated their own
personal clout — for logistical support and in
turn they backed whatever agenda was promoted by
their patrons.
The patron-client relationship prevails and there
is no critical discussion about any political
agenda, which is dictated from above. "All
discussion is completed at the elite level," a
former student activist told The Jakarta Post.
Other groups have taken a more coordinated effort.
Certain religious-leaning student movements have
aligned themselves with the country’s fastest
growing political parties. These movements, which
continue to build their networks on university
campuses throughout the country through piety-
oriented study clubs, have won the hearts of many
students.
On the opposite side, there are also leftist-
leaning student groups like City Forum (Forkot)
which still earnestly attempt to channel popular
demands. These groups, perennially dealing with
logistical problems and dwindling membership, have
been the most vocal in speaking out against the
fuel price hikes, unchecked privatization and low
wages.
Recently, Forkot brought dozens of residents who
live near to high-voltage power lines in West Java
to the capital for a hunger strike.
Formal student organizations on campuses like
university student senates and student councils
have fared the worst. A lack of ideological
discussion within these organizations seems to
have rendered them helpless in the face of ever-
changing political and social issues. Complicating
matters, the appeal of consumerism, especially in
Jakarta, has lured many students away from
activism.
Jakarta, however, is not the only city to see
student movements hit the wall. "Even in
Yogyakarta, the bedrock of the student movement,
they are in retreat," political analyst Hermawan
Soelistyo told the Post.
Hermawan, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences, is familiar with student movements as
he has had a hand in organizing students in the
period approaching the downfall of the New Order
regime.
The only place where students are admired for
their activism, Hermawan said, is in Makassar,
South Sulawesi. "Students there are still united
by a common enemy, Jusuf Kalla. There has been
constant resentment against him, even before he
was Vice President," he said.
This however does not explain last week’s
students’actions in Makassar. They rallied against
Chinese Indonesians following the arrest of one
Chinese Indonesian who was arrested and charged of
torturing his maid to death.
La Ode Ridaya Ngkowe, a former Yogyakarta-based
student leader, said that what was needed was a
reorientation of the direction the student
movement should now take.
"Such a reorientation is possible only when
students seriously ponder their ideological
choices. You know the 1998 student movement was
born out of intense discussion that started in the
early 1980s," he told the Post.
Politics, activism lose appeal for students
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Jakarta — There are only a few post-graduate
students having dinner at around 7 p.m., in a
cafeteria in a state university in Depok, some one
hour south of Jakarta.
Ujang, a food vendor in the cafeteria recalled,
"Four or five years ago, students still spent
their nights here, engaged in discussions or
simply playing bridge, "Not to mention those
involved in late night meetings,“he added.”Nowadays, this place empties out even before
maghrib (dusk)." University cafeterias, student
body meeting rooms, as well as dormitories, were
the silent witnesses of progressive student
movements in 1998.
Eight years later, their silence is more a sign of
how things have changed. "It is a classic problem.
Less and less people want to be involved in
student organizations and activities," University
of Indonesia student executive body chief Azman
Muammar said.
"School fees are getting higher and most students
are just interested in getting through university
fast,“he added.”The rectorate has also slashed
(the maximum) study period to only six years." For
the majority of students, the May 1998 rallies are
only a part of history, not a part of their lives
nor interests.
"That is exactly why we have to move more
strategically. Our focus should be our core
academic competence in dealing with issues in
society," Andi Tirta, chairman of the UI
engineering school student council.
"Social and political issues should be handled by
those from related schools, while we discuss,
through seminars, things like power rates and
alternative energy," he said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia Christian University (UKI)
student activists face different problems. "The
college authority subtly represses activists,
especially those concerned with social and
political issues," said an economics student at
the university, who requested anonymity. "That is
why we moved off campus." The member of student
organization Forum Kota (Forkot) said this
condition meant students were less aware of what
was going on in society.
Similar problems occur at different universities
in Jakarta. Jakarta State University (UNJ) student
council head Akmal Diky Hujatul Islam said that,
although his organization had implemented programs
to enlighten students on political and social
issues, the response was lukewarm.
The student council inserted in its annual
freshmen orientation program sessions on the
history of the student movement, as well as those
on how to manage and coordinate a movement.
"Everything is included, from the technical side
of organizing a rally to how to select and build
up an issue," he said.
He said that although freshmen had undergone the
program, those interested in involving themselves
in social and political affairs were still a
minority.
"The majority of students only come for classes
then return home. Without knowing what is going on
in society,“he said.”While some others are only
interested in having fun." Diky blamed such
ignorance on the high number of contact hours.
Meanwhile, Lamgiat Siringoringo, former chief of
Atmajaya University’s campus bulletin Viaduct,
said the college authorities had not supported
student movements.
"The rectorate does not want to know. They just do
not want to take responsibility,“said Lamgiat.”All of this is the price of the struggle." Trying
to reach students who were not familiar with the
1998 movement was also a bit pointless, he said.
“They have been disconnected from history.”
CORRUPTION/COLLUSION/NEPOTISM
Activists want Soeharto in court
Jakarta Post - May 15, 2006
Tony Hotland, Jakarta — The government’s decision
to drop graft charges against former president
Soeharto has been slammed by anticorruption and
human rights groups, which say the ailing former
strongman could still be tried in absentia.
They say the decision to drop the charges,
announced Friday by the Attorney General’s Office,
is an insult to justice and will set a bad
precedent for future efforts to stamp out
corruption in the country.
Berlin-based Transparency International Indonesia
(TII) said the prosecution of Soeharto remained
necessary to produce legal certainty in the case,
before the state considered pardoning the former
president on health grounds.
The corruption watchdog, the board of which
includes prominent Indonesian lawyer-cum-activist
Todung Mulya Lubis, said the decision was
inappropriate because, according to the Criminal
Code, such a move meant the case was closed
because of a lack of evidence and/or the absence
of a crime.
TII said that to prevent this decision from
becoming another precedent for legal impunity for
the rich and powerful, the government must
confiscate all of Soeharto’s wealth believed to
have been amassed through corruption.
Senior lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution has a similar
view. "The legal process in Soeharto’s case is
important to see that a moral standard and the
values of truth and justice are upheld. The
government should continue the legal process, if
necessary through an in absentia trial to declare
whether or not Soeharto is guilty of anything," he
said.
Buyung said the government also should take into
account the fates of the thousands of people who
were victimized by the policies of the Soeharto
regime. "I hope the elites will not only see
Soeharto’s services to the country and his poor
health, but also the fact that many victims died,
their graves unmarked and their families still
pursuing justice," he said.
Lucky Djani of Indonesian Corruption Watch said
the decision to drop the charges against Soeharto
marked the end of the national drive against
corruption. Like Soeharto, whose prosecution was
halted due to ill health and his past services to
the nation, other high-profile criminals could use
similar excuses to escape justice, Lucky warned.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation said the
courts had the power to force Soeharto to stand
trial, as part of the principle of equality before
the law.
The Presidium of the Indonesian Youth Congress,
which was set up by a number of different youth
organizations in 1999, said halting the
prosecution of Soeharto violated the spirit of
democracy, and that an in absentia trial was the
most feasible option.
Longtime Soeharto critic Amien Rais said the
country needed closure in this case. "It
(Soeharto’s case) has been discussed over the past
eight years. There should be no more delays in
settling this case once for all," he said.
The former People’s Consultative Assembly speaker
suggested that Soeharto be tried in absentia to
give witnesses the opportunity to testify against
the former president. Then the judges could
deliver a verdict, determining Soeharto’s legal
status. "After the verdict, the President could
grant a pardon, clemency or amnesty," he said.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh and Supreme
Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan have both
dismissed the idea of trying Soeharto in absentia,
saying the former president does not qualify for
an in absentia trial according to regulations
governing such proceedings.
An in absentia trial, the two said, is possible
only when the suspect is physically absent as a
show of resisting the law, such as fleeing abroad.
Moves to clear Suharto’s name spark outrage
Associated Press - May 13, 2006
Jakarta — For 14 years, Murad Aidit lived in a
penal colony on the jungle-covered Indonesian
island of Buru with 12,000 other suspected
communist sympathizers.
Sent into exile under the orders of long-ruling
dictator Suharto, he was never tried for any
crimes, never knew if he would leave the island
alive. He was finally freed in 1979. But now, he
fears his last chance for justice may be slipping
away.
Indonesia’s government announced Friday it was
dropping corruption charges and is reportedly
considering an official campaign to “rehabilitate”
the name of the ailing Suharto, who was ousted
from power in 1998 after a brutal 32-year rule.
Recuperating from colon surgery and stricken by a
series of strokes, Suharto’s deteriorating health
was cited by prosecutors as the reason for
dropping charges that he embezzled a staggering
US$600 million from the country’s coffers before
being forced out of office by nationwide riots and
student protests.
Doctors said Suharto had regained full
consciousness Saturday. He remained in a Jakarta
hospital, where he has been treated for the last
week and a half.
Critics allege Suharto, 84, is feigning illness
and should be brought to trial, or tried in
absentia.
“Suharto is the architect of my suffering,” said
Aidit, 85, who was released from Buru only after
the United States pressured Suharto to close down
the penal colony. "To drop the charges against him
really hurt us,“he said.”But he will be tried by
history."
Suharto’s opponents say embezzlement is not the
worst of the former strongman’s crimes. They say
Suharto, one of the world’s longest-ruling
dictators, should be charged in connection with at
least 500,000 political killings, mostly of
communists and left-wing government opponents.
Some put the figure closer to 1 million.
Hundreds of thousands of others are said to have
been thrown into prison without trial. "Suharto
was the mastermind of massacres that left an
estimated 1 million people dead across Indonesia
and East Timor," said Carmel Budiardjo, a former
political prisoner who now runs the London-based
Indonesian human rights group TAPOL.
"He must not be allowed to go unpunished because
millions of his victims still endure continued
discrimination and suffering," she said, referring
to former prisoners, exiles and their families.
Justice, opponents say, is taking a backseat to
political expediency.
Suharto, who has kept a low profile since his
ouster, continues to carry substantial political
clout. Many government leaders served — and
profited — under him, and powerful members of the
bureaucracy and military want to see his name
cleared.
It was not immediately clear how that might be
achieved, though a presidential declaration was
seen as a possible start.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was a
general in the army under Suharto, was expected to
make some sort of announcement on the
rehabilitation issue after he returns from a
summit of developing Muslim nations being held
this weekend on the resort island of Bali.
But while senior officials have expressed support
for clearing Suharto’s name, Yudhoyono has
expressed concern that any move to do so would be
highly divisive. "The waves of opposing and
supporting voices are getting higher and this
could lead to conflict," he told a news conference
before leaving for Bali on Friday.
The moves to clear Suharto’s name also come almost
eight years to the day after the killing of six
students when police fired on thousands of
protesters in the riots that led to Suharto’s
downfall. Indonesian television showed videos of
those riots throughout the day Saturday.
Some of Suharto’s critics have called for him to
apologize to the country, or return money he
allegedly stole, in exchange for the case being
dropped.
A day after the charges were dropped, public
reaction remained subdued. A small group of
demonstrators gathered outside Suharto’s residence
soon after the announcement, some carrying posters
reading “Bring Him To Trial,” but no incidents
were reported. No significant protests were held
Saturday, a national holiday.
[Associated Press writer Ninik Karmini contributed
to this report.]
Godfather of corruption Suharto stays above the
law
Paras Indonesia - May 15, 2006
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s cornerstone
policy of combating top-level corruption was badly
dented after the Attorney General’s Office dropped
graft charges against former dictator Suharto in
view of his poor health.
Yudhoyono is Indonesia’s sixth president and the
fourth since Suharto was forced to step down amid
massive social and economic upheaval in May 1998.
He has by far been the most determined to tackle
endemic corruption, but more still needs to be
done, such as cleaning up the crooked judiciary
and bureaucracy. Letting Suharto off the hook may
be sending a message to other corrupt officials
that graft conducted while in service to the
nation will be tolerated.
Corruption and legal uncertainty are seen as the
major impediments to attracting badly needed new
foreign investment, although government officials
in recent weeks have been claiming that reducing
labor rights, such as severance pay, is the key to
greater investment and national prosperity.
Fans of Yudhoyono argue that the Suharto case is a
one-off, as his administration has overseen the
jailing of numerous prominent figures for
corruption, including Suharto’s half-brother
Probosutedjo and suspended Aceh governor Abdullah
Puteh.
Some observers say it was inevitable that Suharto
would never be brought to justice on account of
the nation’s culture of deference to authority
figures, so the government should instead try to
appease critics by going after Suharto’s children
and cronies accused of corruption.
Anti-corruption groups have accused Suharto and
his family of amassing anywhere from $9 billion to
$35 billion during his 32 years in power. The
former president, who was only ever charged over
the embezzlement of some $600 million from state
charities, has also been accused of responsibility
for human rights abuses that left more than
500,000 people dead.
Suharto was formally declared a corruption suspect
in August 2000 but escaped trial after his lawyers
and doctors claimed that a series of strokes had
left him irreversibly brain damaged.
The Attorney General’s Office last month announced
it would re-examine his health to see if he could
be brought to court, as he had appeared healthy
and mentally alert at occasional family gatherings
and reunions with old cronies. But on May 4,
Suharto was hospitalized for intestinal bleeding
and later underwent colon surgery. He is still
recovering and underwent a minor follow-up
operation on Thursday night to aid his digestion.
His hospitalization prompted his many sycophants
within the political elite to begin clamoring for
the corruption charges to be dropped on
humanitarian grounds.
Case closed, mostly
Yudhoyono’s response to the demands was
characteristically indecisive and revealed cracks
within his government. State Secretary Yusril Izha
Mahendra on Thursday announced that a meeting
between the president, senior legislators, the
attorney general and Supreme Court chief on late
Wednesday had concluded the case against Suharto
should be dropped because of his poor health and
service to the nation. He said the attorney
general would soon issue an order declaring the
investigation over.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng
immediately denied that Yudhoyono had made any
decision on the case. Mahendra responded the
following day by saying he knew more about the
matter than Mallarangeng. He also presented
Yudhoyono with a draft decree for the
“rehabilitation of Suharto’s name”. He said the
decree would also rehabilitate the reputation of
founding president Sukarno, who was overthrown by
Suharto in 1966 and spent his final years under
virtual house arrest.
Yudhoyono on Friday declared he would postpone
making any decision until “the appropriate time”,
claiming he wanted to avert potential conflict
between Suharto’s supporters and opponents.
It was standard Yudhoyono talk, indicating that
his military advisors might have been urging him
to end the legal process against Suharto, whereas
others had no doubt cautioned that such a move
could undermine his high-profile war on corruption
and damage his popularity.
Just hours after Yudhoyono stated he was sitting
on the fence and not saying anything, the buck was
passed to Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh to
announce the Suharto case was axed.
He said an independent team of doctors appointed
by his office had met with Suharto’s own medical
team on Thursday to discuss the prospect of
putting him on trial and "the results are not
good". The buck was then passed further, with
Saleh saying the prosecutor in charge of the case,
South Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office head Iskamto had
on Thursday issued a letter of order canceling the
investigation (Surat Ketetapan Penghentian
Penuntutan — SKPP), so the case was "closed by
law“due to the defendant’s”permanent illness".
Saleh said the case could be reopened if there are
new developments, such as Suharto being declared
fit for trial. "His status is legally free.
However, he is not entirely free. This [SKPP]
could be lifted again if there are other reasons.
The only reason at the moment is his health. If
the doctors say he’s healthy, it [an
investigation] could be put forward again," he was
quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
He then tried to explain why Mahendra had broken
the news of the decision to drop the case a day
before other officials or any final statement from
Yudhoyono. "The SKPP had actually been finished
yesterday [Thursday] and I sent it on to the state
secretary. But I did not yet know whether or not
the president had read it. We eventually confirmed
the letter had arrived, so I have just announced
it now. That’s the rule."
Saleh said that despite the dropping of the
corruption charge, his office was considering
pursuing a civil lawsuit against Suharto in an
effort to recover state funds allegedly embezzled
from charities under his control. He said the
results of an audit conducted in 2000 showed that
Suharto’s alleged embezzlement of seven
foundations had robbed the state of $419 million
and Rp1.3 trillion ($149 million).
He denied that Yudhoyono had ordered him to issue
the SKPP, saying the Attorney General’s Office has
the authority to stop or postpone an
investigation, whereas the president has the final
authority to determine whether Suharto should be
absolved or granted amnesty.
Yudhoyono had admitted that Suharto is unlikely to
be brought to court and said justice could be
served if his foundations, at the center of the
case, were to be taken over by the state.
One of Suharto’s lawyers, O.C. Kaligis, said his
client’s foundations and assets cannot be touched
or further investigated because the case is now
closed. He expressed gratitude to the government
and the Attorney General’s Office for dropping the
corruption case "because Suharto has become very
feeble in his old age and is really sick".
Criticism & disunity
The announcement that Suharto would not be
prosecuted came on the eighth anniversary of the
May 12, 1998, shooting by state troops of four
students at the end of a pro-democracy rally at
West Jakarta’s Trisakti University. The shooting
was followed by organized mass riots that left
more than 1,000 people dead and hastened Suharto’s
resignation.
In keeping with the national tradition of covering
up the truth behind momentous political events,
the government has refused to try senior generals
over the Trisakti killings because parliament has
ruled the incident did not constitute a grave
violation of human rights.
Student protesters on Friday attempted to march to
Suharto’s residence on Jalan Cendana in Menteng,
Central Jakarta, but were held back by police. The
students demanded Suharto be tried and called for
justice for the Trisakti victims.
Separately, senior political analyst Arbi Sanit of
the University of Indonesia said the contradictory
statements made by Yusril Mahendra and Yudhoyono
on the Suharto case indicated a lack of unity in
the government. "The government is not unified.
This is not a coalition government, but a
government of conspiracy. If the government were a
coalition, then its senior members would share the
same platforms. But now the platform between SBY
and the people around him is different," he was
quoted as saying by detikcom.
He said Vice President Jusuf Kalla had demanded
the legal process against Suharto be stopped and
Mahendra later leaked the tentative ruling of the
Attorney General’s Office because both had
benefited in the past from Suharto’s patronage.
Mahendra is Suharto’s former speech writer, while
Kalla is a successful businessman and chairman of
Golkar Party, Suharto’s former political vehicle.
Prominent lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution opted to
criticize Yudhoyono, accusing him of meddling in
the judiciary by discussing the Suharto case with
Saleh and Supreme Court chief justice Bagir Manan.
He said Saleh and Manan had behaved
unprofessionally by agreeing to discuss a case
that was still ongoing, so both of them should
resign for allowing the president to undermine the
judiciary’s independence.
"If the president had wanted to intervene in the
case, he should have exercised his right to grant
Suharto amnesty or abolish the charges against
him,“said Buyung.”But don’t have the case
stopped like this."
Former People’s Consultative Assembly speaker
Amien Rais said the decision to stop the case
would tarnish Indonesia’s international image. He
said Suharto should be tried in absentia and then
pardoned if his family hands back much of its
wealth to the state.
Human rights activists agree that at the very
least Suharto should have to surrender ill-gotten
wealth to the state and apologize for his
wrongdoings.
Suharto’s lawyers counter that he already
apologized to the nation in his brief resignation
speech of May 21, 1998. "For the people’s
assistance and support during my term to rule this
Indonesian nation and country, I would like to say
thank you and apologize for any mistakes or
shortcomings on my part," he said. In a rare
interview later that year, he denied allegations
that he had stashed billions of dollars in
embezzled state funds abroad, saying he did not
have a single cent in a foreign account.
Former student activists Eka Saputra and Nur
Kholis on Sunday said Suharto must be brought to
justice for the sake of law enforcement and the
nation’s history. But they acknowledged he was
likely to go the grave without being tried.
"Suharto must be punished. When he goes to the
grave then he will be punished. God will certainly
give him a difficult punishment in the hereafter,"
said Saputra, adding that Suharto’s children and
grandchildren should be brought to court.
Kholis, who now heads the Legal Aid Foundation’s
chapter in Palembang, South Sumatra, said that
after Suharto dies, authorities may become
sufficiently bold to investigate his corruption
cronies.
Thanks or no thanks? still critical
Mahendra said Suharto expressed gratitude to
Yudhoyono upon being informed the government was
planning to drop the corruption case against him.
"I told Mr Suharto about what the government is
preparing and he told me to extend his gratitude
to SBY," he was quoted as saying by state news
agency Antara after visiting Suharto at Pertamina
Hospital on Thursday.
Suharto was apparently feeling less chatty when
his lawyers informed him of the same news. "Not a
single word came from him because he is still in
critical condition," lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon
was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.
Mahendra acknowledged that Suharto was unable to
say much because he remains weak after surgery. "I
just visited Mr Suharto on his sick bed after the
operation. He is still very weak and can speak
only a few words in succession and has difficulty
breathing." Doctors on Sunday said Suharto’s
health was improving although he was still in a
critical condition and receiving blood
transfusions.
Parliament speaker Agung Laksono visited the
hospital but said Suharto was sleeping. "I dared
not wake him up. It’s better that he rests," he
was quoted as saying by detikcom.
"The doctors his condition was better but still
critical. He still has a cough because of a lung
infection," he said, adding it was fitting the
legal process be stopped because Suharto was old
and senile and had served the nation well.
Antigraft body staying out of Soeharto case
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Jakarta — With growing support from politicians
to halt the prosecution of former president
Soeharto, the Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) says it is up to President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono to decide on the case.
"We leave it to the President. In making this
decision he must certainly involve the public
through legislative leaders," commission deputy
chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas told The
Jakarta Post on Thursday night.
He said if the case against Soeharto was dropped
it would not “significantly affect efforts” to
fight corruption in the country. "It’s an
extraordinary case," Erry said.
A source at the independent antigraft commission
said, "The KPK can accept this if the decision on
Soeharto does not halt the corruption
investigations into his cronies." Meanwhile, human
rights and antigraft activists have insisted the
legal process against the ailing former strongman
go forward.
Activists said Soeharto could be tried in absentia
if he was unable to stand trial because of his
health. They did not rule out the possibility of a
pardon for the former president if he was found
guilty.
"It is the President’s prerogatives to forgive him
(Soeharto). But the President should first allow
legal authorities to complete the legal process
against him," Usman Hamid from the Commission for
Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras)
said Thursday.
Hendardi, from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human
Rights Association, said from a legal standpoint
it would be possible to try Soeharto in absentia.
"If Soeharto is not strong enough to stand trial,
his case must still be taken to court, even
without his physical presence," he told a news
conference Wednesday.
The joint press briefing was attended by activists
from several other non-governmental organizations,
including Indonesian Corruption Watch, Human
Rights Watch Group, Imparsial and the Indonesian
Legal Aid Foundation.
However, Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan
said Soeharto could not be tried in absentia
because it would violate regulations. An in
absentia trial is allowed only when a suspect is
physically absent as a show of resisting the law,
such as fleeing abroad, he said.
"Soeharto is here, but he is physically unable to
stand trial. Let’s not get into technical
squabbles; let’s be logical. We should see
objectively whether the man can stand trial,"
Bagir said Thursday.
Usman from Kontras said before the government
decided to pardon Soeharto, it should consider the
fates of victims of human rights abuses that took
place during his 32-year autocratic regime.
He suggested the government set up an ad hoc
special team to identify victims across Indonesia
and provide them with some form of compensation.
"Many victims are living in economic hardship due
to Soeharto’s unjust policies. And it is the
responsibility of the current government to help
them," he said.
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Mustafa
Kamal said the prosecution of Soeharto remained
necessary to determine whether or not he was
guilty, after which the government could consider
giving him a pardon. "Simply granting a pardon
isn’t an option because that would leave problems,
and it would set a bad precedent for future
cases," he said.
People’s Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur
Wahid, who attended a meeting late Wednesday
between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
leaders of legislative and legal institutions,
said there was no decision yet on whether to drop
Soeharto’s case. "It’s not true that the
government has decided to halt the corruption
probe into Soeharto. The meeting was only to seek
input," said Hidayat, who is a former PKS leader.
On Wednesday the Assembly said Soeharto should
issue a public apology over the excesses of his
regime and hand over his cash-rich charitable
foundations to the state before the government
considered closing his case.
Corruption charges dropped against Suharto
Associated Press - May 12, 2006
Eric Talmadge, Jakarta — Corruption charges
against ailing former Indonesian dictator Suharto
have been dropped, and he is a “free man,”
Indonesia’s attorney general announced Friday.
"Now Suharto is no longer a defendant, he is a
free man," said Attorney General Abdul Rahman
Saleh.
Suharto, 84, is currently in the hospital in
Jakarta, where he has undergone colon surgery.
Doctors say he is in frail health, and Rahman
indicated his inability to stand trial was behind
the decision to drop the charges.
"Our conclusion, after hearing the statement from
the doctors, is that Suharto’s condition is
getting worse," Rahman said in his announcement.
Rahman added, however, the case could be reopened
if “new developments” were found — suggesting
that Suharto could still be tried if his health
improves.
Rahman also said prosecutors were still
investigating a total of 3.4 trillion rupiah
(US$392.5 million) allegedly collected by seven
fundraising foundations controlled by Suharto.
Suharto was ousted after 32 years in 1998 amid
student protests and nationwide riots. In 2000,
prosecutors charged him with embezzling $600
million, but he never saw the inside of court
after his lawyers argued that a series of strokes
had left him with irreparable brain damage.
Dropping the charges has been hotly debated
recently. Rahman’s announcement came just hours
after Indonesia’s president said he decided not to
drop the case, citing what he said was public
anger over the proposed move.
"The waves of opposing and supporting voices are
getting higher and this could lead to conflict,"
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told an early morning
media conference. "I have chosen to shelve this
problem... until the right time."
On Thursday, State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra
— appointed by Yudhoyono to investigate the
Suharto case — said the government intended to
drop charges and take steps to “rehabilitate” his
name.
In recent days, the plan to drop the case has been
front page news in Indonesia and has drawn much
editorial comment for and against the move, but
there have been no threats of large
demonstrations. A few dozen protesters had
gathered outside Suharto’s home Friday, but no
incidents were reported.
Suharto, whose regime was widely regarded as one
of most corrupt and brutal of the late 20th
century, still has many powerful supporters in the
government, parliament and military who want his
name cleared.
Some people have called for Suharto to apologize
to the nation, or return money he allegedly stole,
in exchange for the case being dropped. Others
allege that he is feigning illness, and should be
brought to trial or tried in absentia.
Doctors say Suharto — who has been hospitalized
at least four times since 1998 — is weak, but
recovering well from his latest operation,
performed after he was diagnosed with intestinal
bleeding.
Critics say that the $600 million embezzlement
case represents only a tiny fraction of the money
he and his family stole. They also say Suharto
should be charged in connection with at least
500,000 political killings during his regime,
mostly of communists and left-wing government
opponents. Suharto has kept a low profile since
his ouster.
[Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos in
Jakarta contributed to this report.]
Indonesia must continue fighting war on graft:
World Bank
Jakarta Post - May 9, 2006
Hera Diani, Jakarta — Indonesia may have
progressed in controlling corruption during the
past two years, but it should continue its efforts
or risk lagging behind other countries, an expert
warns.
World Bank Institute global programs director
Daniel Kaufmann said Monday that Indonesia had
moved from 16th position from the bottom of the
institute’s global corruption index in 2002 to
about 40th from the bottom in 2004, among the more
than 200 countries the bank rated.
According to the index, the country has also made
progress in several governance indicators — the
rule of law, government effectiveness, political
stability and “voice and accountability” — from
1998 to 2004.
Despite this, Indonesia was still ranked among
institute’s “red alert” countries, Kaufmann told a
seminar on corruption here. "While the progress is
not negligible, Indonesia needs to continue
improving its governance, as no other country
wants to stay at the bottom," he said.
Kaufmann said countries like Indonesia needed to
honestly question efforts that had failed to
improve governance. Focussing only on bureaucratic
corruption, attempting to end graft by
overregulation, creating excessive anticorruption
agencies and blaming graft on history, culture or
legal issues — all were ideas that should be
reevaluated, he said.
Increased transparency was essential to
controlling corruption, he said, and there were 10
criteria that needed to be met by the country to
improve its graft “scorecard”.
These included the need for the public disclosure
of the assets and incomes of candidates, public
officials, politicians, legislators and all of
their dependents. Political campaign contributions
by individuals and firms, campaign expenditure,
and the results of parliamentary voting also
needed to be made public, he said.
The government needed to effectively enforce
conflict of interest laws, separating business,
politics, the legislative branch and government.
It should also publicly blacklist firms found to
have bribed officials and effectively enforce laws
governing the freedom of information, he said.
Other important reforms involved fiscal/financial
transparency; e-procurements (Internet
transparency and competition); creating a
transparent, streamlined regulatory framework,
corruption surveys and governance monitoring.
World Bank Jakarta official Joel Hellman said the
country’s Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK)
was on the right track by continuing to prosecute
corrupt officials. "But the committee needs to get
serious and strategic with the issues (of
corruption)," he said without elaborating.
Kaufmann said it was important to explode myths
surrounding good governance; that it was a luxury
only rich countries could afford and that it took
generations for governance to improve.
"A number of emerging economies, including the
Baltics, Botswana and Chile have shown that it is
possible to reach high standards of governance
without yet having joined the ranks of wealthy
nations,“Kaufmann said.”There are also
improvements exhibited by some African countries
in a short period of time."
REGIONAL/COMMUNAL CONFLICTS
Makassar violence highlights ethnic tension in
city
Jakarta Post - May 15, 2006
Andi Hajramurni, Makassar — Peace has returned to
Makassar following protests triggered by a
housemaid’s death at the hands of her Chinese-
Indonesian employer, but there’s still an uneasy
feeling in the air.
The reactions of residents and students have made
many city residents, especially Chinese-
Indonesians, feel uneasy. Chinese-Indonesians are
a minority population numbering around 30,000 out
of the city’s around 1.2 million residents.
Over the history of their 400-year presence, there
have been several conflicts pitting Chinese-
Indonesians against the native population.
The latest was in 1997. It was triggered by the
murder of a girl, Anni Mujahidah, by a Chinese-
Indonesian man, Benny Karre, who was suffering
from a mental disorder. Soon after learning of the
murder, residents went on a rampage — killing
Benny and then moving on to other targets. They
attacked and set fire to residences and stores
belonging to the city’s Chinese-Indonesians, and
some took advantage of the week-long chaos by
looting.
Last week, Wandi Tandiawan’s abuse of his two
maids in Makassar, resulting in the death of one,
20-year-old Hasniati, reignited the fire. Locals
and students went to the streets to protest the
killing.
A student activist, Ibnu Hajar of the Alauddin
State Islamic University in Makassar, claimed the
protest reflected students’ disappointment with
the alleged unfair treatment of locals by
Chinese-Indonesians. "They (the Chinese-
Indonesians) are newcomers, but they act however
they like toward locals. We hope this case will
make them behave properly toward locals, many of
whom work as maids in their houses," Ibnu charged.
Another student activist, Maulana, of Makassar
State University, claimed the protest was a
spontaneous act of solidarity aimed at pressing
the police to thoroughly investigate the case
instead of making "a backroom deal with the
suspect".
He claimed Hasniati was the third abuse victim. He
said the previous cases had caused conflicts in
the city and the students did not want such
clashes to happen again.
"We don’t want this case to develop into a racial
issue that might trigger another conflict. That’s
why we want the police to handle the case
thoroughly and transparently," Maulana said.
The fear of such incidents has left its mark on
Chinese-Indonesians in Makassar. Some prefer to
limit their interactions with locals. Others trust
high fences for protection.
This was not the case some 400 years ago, when
Chinese-Indonesians first came to the city as
traders and migrants, blending in with locals and
other foreigners.
But the good relations turned sour when Dutch
rulers implemented a policy of division in 1935.
The policy split Makassar residents into three
groups — locals, Europeans, and easterners,
including Chinese, Indians and Arabs.
Each was placed in different parts of the city:
locals in the south and in the northern outskirts,
Europeans in the city center, and easterners in
the north. The easterners were given easy access
to the bureaucracy for purposes such as buying
land that had belonged to the locals.
A sociologist from Makassar-based Hasanuddin
University, Muhammad Darwis, said the unfair
treatment became the root of the locals’
discontentment toward the Chinese-Indonesians, who
slowly came to control the economic sector. The
feeling was like a time bomb ready to explode, he
added, especially since the local government
nowadays also tends to keep its doors open for
Chinese-Indonesian businesspeople.
Darwis, who has conducted a study of social
interaction between the Chinese and Makassar’s
Bugis people, said exclusivity among the Chinese-
Indonesians was among the factors that could be
blamed for their lack of interaction with the
locals.
"Apart from their exclusivity and inability to
interact with locals, there is also social
jealousy since the Chinese-Indonesians, who are
not as populous, control the economy and are
favored by the administration." He said the locals
are an open community who can tolerate
differences.
But several Chinese-Indonesians said their
exclusivity is born out of the situation, since
they are busy with their businesses and still feel
frightened by the previous incidents targeting
them.
"We’re traumatized by past incidents because
Chinese-Indonesians were always blamed and became
the target of the locals’ anger," said Yonggris,
secretary of South Sulawesi United Communication
Forum.
He said historically, Chinese-Indonesians are not
exclusive by nature since they are traders who
need to interact with their customers.
He admitted they could not reach the grassroots of
the local culture, however, since there is a
tendency among locals to see them as not being
entirely Indonesian citizens.
"All of us, both locals and Chinese-Indonesians,
should look hard at ourselves to see what’s really
going on, why there’s disharmony among us. But we
really hope that we can be accepted as Indonesian
citizens by the locals. Let’s open up. If there’s
a crime committed by a Chinese-Indonesian, it’s
not related to his ethnicity. Please don’t
generalize it and make us the target of anger,"
Yonggris said.
Makassar calmer after student protests
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Andi Hajramurni, Makassar — The South Sulawesi
capital of Makassar is returning to normal despite
rallies staged by students following the death of
a domestic helper allegedly after being tortured
by her Chinese-Indonesian employer.
Many shops in the downtown area, owned mainly by
Chinese-Indonesians, remained open Thursday.
Others opened their shops for only part of the day
over fears that they may be vandalized during
student rallies.
Hundreds of students threatened Wednesday to
launch a sweeping operation against Chinese-
Indonesians in Makassar within 48 hours if the
police failed to investigate the death of the
domestic helper and to charge the arrested
suspect, Wandi Tandiawan.
The students, who claimed to represent an alliance
of native Indonesians, raised their demands with
the Makassar Police under the watchful eye of
hundreds of police personnel.
Police began to remove the road block Thursday
along Jl. Gunung Latimojong, where the suspect
lives.
Police were seen only in the business district,
residential areas where Chinese-Indonesians lived,
and junctions through which the protesters passed.
Chinese-Indonesians have been the target of those
who claim to be native Indonesians since the New
Order government possibly because they often enjoy
greater prosperity and because of their dominance
in the country’s economy.
Racial tensions rose in Makassar in 1997 when mobs
set fire to buildings following the murder of a
child by a Chinese-Indonesian.
At the Alauddin State Islamic University Makassar,
students staged a rally at the campus by burning
tires and giving speeches along Jl. Sultan
Alauddin. A similar rally was also held by
students of Muhammadiyah University.
During the demonstration, the students expressed
concern over earlier anarchic student protests.
"Our action is peaceful. We condemn the anarchic
actions of certain groups," said an unidentified
student. The students also reminded the people not
to be easily provoked by groups who wanted to
create unrest in Makassar.
Meanwhile, the regional police of Makassar
continued investigating the case, by questioning a
number of witnesses and holding a reconstruction
of the crime at the scene.
Makassar Mayor Ilham Arief Siradjuddin denied
Thursday that there was an exodus of Chinese-
Indonesians from Makassar following the death of
the domestic helper and the subsequent protests.
"We have verified the reports and there wasn’t any
exodus at all. They were worried, but they did not
leave Makassar," Ilham said. Ilham urged the
public to view the incident purely as a criminal
case and to leave it to the police.
A similar call was raised by chairman of the
National Unity Communication Forum Anton Obey, who
acknowledged that businessmen visiting Makassar
had been forced to shorten their stay. "There
isn’t any exodus. Where will we go? We do not have
any other country except Indonesia." he said.
Anton also admitted the recent incident had raised
fears among Chinese-Indonesians that Makassar
would be hit by riots again. "Please don’t
generalize any problem. It is a coincidence that
the suspect is a Chinese-Indonesian, but it
doesn’t mean that all other Indonesians of Chinese
descent have to bear the burden of his mistake,"
he added.
Makassar tense as students threaten ethnic Chinese
Jakarta Post - May 11, 2006
Jakarta — Hundreds of students are threatening to
launch a sweeping operation against Chinese-
Indonesians in Makassar, South Sulawesi, within 48
hours if the police fail to investigate the death
of a maid after she was allegedly tortured by her
Chinese-Indonesian employer.
Some 1,000 students, who claimed to represent an
alliance of native Indonesians, raised their
demands with the Makassar Police on Wednesday,
under the watchful eye of hundreds of police
personnel.
The students caused massive traffic congestion in
the city and forced some stores, which had earlier
reopened after closing Tuesday due to growing
protests, to close their premises.
The protest was triggered by Saturday’s death of
domestic helper Hasniati, 20, after she was
allegedly tortured by her Chinese-Indonesian
employer Wandi Tandiawan.
The students’ spokesperson, Maulana, urged the
police to thoroughly investigate the case, impose
a heavy penalty on Wandi Tandiawan and reject the
presence of Chinese-Indonesians in the city.
The students said that if the police failed to
enforce the law within the next 48 hours, they
would conduct a sweeping operation against
Chinese-Indonesians.
Despite the threats, security remained under
control, although several students pelted stones
at stores, forcing some stores to put up signs
that the store “belongs to native Indonesians” or
“belongs to native Muslims”.
They also forced Chinese-Indonesians they stopped
outside the Association of Islamic Students (HMI)
in Makassar to give a speech on Hasniati’s death.
"I have no idea about the dead victim. I’m a
Makassar-born Indonesian citizen," A Liong, a
Chinese-Indonesian, told Antara.
Apart from the students, dozens of other
protesters, including students and residents from
Hasniati’s native village of Sinjai, also arrived
at the police station to get a close look at the
suspect.
The protesters expressed distrust for the police
who claimed the suspect was suffering from a
mental disorder, the same excuse used during a
1997 abuse case against another housemaid by her
Chinese-Indonesian employer which had also
triggered unrest in the city.
"This time, it’s the same. The suspect, Wandi
Tandiawan, who tortured Hasniati until her death
and (injured) her friend Nurbaya, is said to be
suffering from a mental disorder. So we want to
get a close look to see whether or not he is
really insane," a protester, who was not named,
was quoted by Antara as saying.
Deputy chief of Makassar Police, Adj. Sr. Comr.
Budi Susanto, met the protesters, saying the
police have examined the suspect and would process
the case transparently. "The students are
permitted to monitor the investigation conducted
by the police," Budi told Antara.
Earlier, Makassar Police Chief Sr. Comr. Kurniawan
said the suspect was scheduled to undergo
psychological tests Wednesday.
Several community leaders, including those from
South Sulawesi’s Indonesian Ulema Council, the
Communication Forum for National Unity and the
police, met Wednesday with the families of
Hasniati and Nurbaya.
In the meeting, the participants condemned Wandi’s
actions and demanded that the police thoroughly
investigate the case while at the same time,
maintaining security and order in the city.
Villagers fight off police to protect Poso suspect
Jakarta Post - May 11, 2006
The National Police appealed Wednesday to
villagers in Lawangan to give up a man accused of
masterminding the 2005 beheadings of three
Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
"How can we do an investigation if the citizens
prevent us from doing our job," National Police
spokesman Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said.
Anton said a suspect, Taufik Badahu, was being
protected by people in his village of Lawangan,
who attacked police officers trying to capture him
on Monday and Tuesday.
He said when two members of the police
counterterror squad visited Taufik’s house Monday
to arrest him, several local residents called for
help and banged on power poles to alert their
neighbors.
Around 100 people ran out of their houses and
attacked the two policemen, injuring one of them,
Anton said. During the incident, the locals also
burned the policemen’s two motorcycles.
On Tuesday, a team of officers led by Poso Police
chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudy Sufahriadi visited
Lawangan village on a second attempt to arrest
Taufik. This time, local residents threw rocks at
their cars and the team retreated.
Anton said Tuesday’s statement by National Police
chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara
that police had arrested Taufik was incorrect.
Taufik along with another suspect, Hasanuddin, are
alleged to have masterminded the beheadings of the
three girls and the 2004 murder of Helmi Tobiling,
the wife of a soldier. Police arrested Hasanuddin
in Palu on Monday.
The police said a total of six men, including
Hasanuddin, had been arrested for their alleged
roles in the two separate incidents.
Anton said the police planned to use persuasion
rather than force to capture Taufik. However, he
said police would take action against all the
villagers who had attacked officers doing their
duty. "We hope that citizens will not be provoked
by irresponsible people wanting to take advantage
of the situation," he said.
LOCAL & COMMUNITY ISSUES
Hundreds of schools in Jambi unusable
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Jambi — Up to 3,464 out of about 16,499
elementary school classrooms throughout Jambi are
so badly damaged they are unable to be used, an
official said.
"The damage has disrupted classes as most of them
cannot be used any longer," Hendri Mashyur, a
member of the Jambi Legislative Council, said,
adding that classrooms in 4,289 other schools were
slightly damaged “This is an example of neglect,”
he said.
The damaged classrooms has resulted in 14,269 out
of 443,961 elementary school students failing to
pass the required test to go on to the next grade
in the 2004/2005 school year, he said. By
comparison the number of students who failed the
end of year tests in 2003/2004 reached only 9,681,
he said.
Hendri said that this reflected the poor condition
of education in Jambi, which was also worsened by
the fact that 6,000 out of a total of 6,485
teachers in the province were not qualified to
teach.
Bogor commuters run amok as trains delayed
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Theresia Sufa, Bogor — Bogor train station and
several shops inside the station became easy
targets Thursday morning when commuters, who were
waiting for the economy train to Jakarta, turned
nasty upon hearing news of further delays.
The commuters were left stranded on three economy
trains — scheduled to leave the station at 5:21
a.m., 7:02 a.m., and 7:20 a.m. — without
explanation, and tempers ran high by the time an
announcement was made at 7:30 a.m., but, again,
with no explanation for the delays.
The waiting passengers quickly became a mob,
grabbing stones and blocks of wood from the train
tracks, smashing office windows and public
facilities, including a Dunkin’ Donuts shop inside
the station. No one was hurt in the incident.
"The passengers were probably already late for
work and became impatient and disappointed by the
delays," the head of the Greater Jakarta division
of train company Kereta Api (KA), Fating Setiawan,
said.
He said the delays were caused by a faulty railway
switch on one of the tracks. Bogor station master
Zaenal Abidin was not in the office when the
incident happened, and was unavailable for
comment.
The mob calmed down after 20 minutes when an
economy train finally departed for Jakarta. Ten
minutes later, Police came on the scene.
“These kinds of delays happen all the time,” Ahmad
Karim, an economy train passenger who works in
Tebet, South Jakarta, said, adding that passengers
were sick of inconsistencies in the train
schedule. "What’s worse, officials didn’t say why
the delays happened or how long we were supposed
to wait," another passenger, Wachid, said.
Fating said the incident would serve as a warning
to the company to lift its game. "We will try to
improve the maintenance of our equipment, and make
sure our officials are more responsive to
complaints".
Land dispute turns violent
Jakarta Post - May 11, 2006
Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung — Dozens of
residents of Riau Silip village, Bangka regency,
attacked people and equipment Tuesday over a land
dispute.
The residents set fire to a car, motorcycle and
heavy equipment owned by agricultural company PT
THEP. They also vandalized the local government
office. Bangka Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr.
Sudarsono confirmed the incident to Antara on
Wednesday. He said the residents accused the
company of expanding its operations onto 28
hectares of land owned by the people of the
village.
Three of the company’s employees were injured in
the incident and taken to hospital for treatment.
Riau Silip district chief Basuni expressed regret
over the attack on his office. "The district
office belongs to the government. Why did the
protesters damage it?" he was quoted by Antara.
PT THEP spokesperson Rohana denied the company had
trespassed onto the villagers’ land.
GENDER ISSUES
Lampung supplying women for sex trade: Activist
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung — Lampung
province is no longer just a transit point for
human trafficking, but has become a supplier of
women for the sex trade in Batam, Malaysia,
Singapore and Hong Kong, according to an activist.
Women’s Advocacy Commission executive director
Siti Noor Laila said the province’s high
unemployment rate and a lack of awareness of the
problem had caused the province to become one of
the main suppliers of sex workers after North
Sumatra.
"And the number (of women being trafficked) is
likely to increase this year. In 2005, there were
13 known human trafficking victims from Lampung,
while 20 victims have already been found between
January and May of this year. And these are just
those who have been rescued. The number of cases
that has gone unnoticed could number in the
hundreds," Laila said Tuesday.
She said traffickers used a number of different
methods to lure victims. One of the most common
methods is for traffickers to pose as employment
agents recruiting women to work overseas.
Some of the victims are sent overseas to Malaysia,
Singapore or Hong Kong, while many others are
trafficked to Batam in Riau Islands province, via
Jambi and Bengkulu provinces, Laila said.
Lampung Manpower Office deputy head Haryo Satmiko
said an unemployment rate of 57.22 percent in
Lampung, or at least 500,000 people out of work,
made many women eager to find jobs overseas,
putting them in danger of being targeted by human
traffickers.
Haryo said the public had to become more aware of
the proper procedures for working overseas to
avoid falling victim to traffickers. He said many
of the people looking to work overseas had little
education or experience and were easy prey for
middlemen.
Supervision of migrant workers is also slack and
cases of document forgery rampant, he said. "The
number of (trafficking) victims from Lampung is
considered high. People must be informed of the
dangers of human trafficking, which is a violation
of basic human rights," Haryo said.
Lampung Women’s Empowerment Bureau chief Elya
Muchtar said Lampung’s geographical position as a
buffer area for Jakarta made it more liable to
human trafficking.
Elya said more than 100 trafficking cases had been
discovered in Lampung, but many more went
unnoticed because crooked agents sought their
victims directly, sometimes going door-to-door in
Bandarlampung city and South Lampung, Tanggamus,
East Lampung and Tulangbawang regencies. The
agents usually target women between the ages of 13
and 30 from poor families.
"Many of the trafficking victims who end up in
Batam come from Lampung. But they don’t have
Lampung ID cards, but rather IDs from other areas
to conceal their identities," Elya said.
The Lampung provincial administration is trying to
fight back, including educating the public about
the dangers of the trade and issuing a decree on a
2005-2009 action plan to combat human trafficking.
The administration also has formed a human
trafficking task force, comprising representatives
of the government and related agencies.
Authorities and organizations have been able to
rescue some of the women caught up in the trade.
The Women’s Advocacy Commission is currently
handling a trafficking case in Panjang,
Bandarlampung. "We have placed the victim, CN, 14,
in protective custody. She was held captive and
raped. She was able to escape before being sent to
Batam to be sold," Laila said.
And at the end of last year, police in
Bandarlampung rescued 24 girls who were to be
trafficked to Batam. Unfortunately, for every girl
and woman rescued, there are many more who
disappear into the sex trade.
Women’s commission urges revision of Criminal Code
Jakarta Post - May 12, 2006
Jakarta — The National Commission on Violence
Against Women is seeking a revision of the
Criminal Code Procedures (Kuhap) to make them more
gender-sensitive.
Speaking at a discussion on violence against women
at the Sahid Hotel in Jakarta earlier this week,
commission chairwoman Kamala Chandrakirana said
the State Ministry for Women’s Empowerment should
be at the forefront in pressing for legislation
that was not biased against women.
Kamala singled out the code’s articles on rape,
which require women to prove a sexual assault with
a medical report in which the presence of sperm is
essential evidence.
"It means that there has to be penetration,
whereas the international standard rules that
attempted rape is already a punishable crime," she
said.
The discussion also involved visiting City
University of New York law professor and
International Women’s Rights Law Clinic director
Rhonda Copelon. Copelon said that under
international law, it was not necessary to present
evidence of rape in the courtroom during the
trial.
"In many cases in Indonesia, however, women are
blamed if they do not present evidence. Many rape
cases here could turn victims into defendants
because they cannot bring the evidence to court,"
she said.
If national laws failed to address women’s
interests, Rhonda, said, instances of human rights
abuses and violence against women could be made
into international cases.
"We can bring charges under the International
Criminal Code (ICC). But the ICC usually only
takes on special cases," Rhonda said. Victims
could also take try to take advantage of the
principle of universal jurisdiction, she said.
This jurisdiction allowed a human rights violator
from one country to be tried in another country,
she said.
Publicity played an important role in taking human
rights violators to court. "The mass media have a
very important role to keep reporting violence
against women to build public opinion," she said.
Komariah Emong, a professor at Bandung Padjadjaran
University’s School of Law, said the government
had yet to fulfill its obligations to protect
victims of violence. "The government does not seem
to be aware that it is responsible for helping
victims recover physically and emotionally after
experiencing violence" she said.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Breaking the Jakarta code
Melbourne Age - May 15, 2006
Damien Kingsbury — The recent Indonesian ban on
academic contact with Deakin University over the
West Papua issue is the latest shot in a wider
political battle. But that battle is not with
Deakin, or even Australia. The real battle is
within Jakarta.
Based on alleged support for West Papuan
independence by Dr Scott Burchill and me, Deakin
University has been informed that Indonesian
institutions must cease working with it. The
instruction came from Indonesia’s Department of
Education, although it conforms closely to similar
efforts by its State Intelligence Agency.
A list of Australian academics, politicians,
activists and institutions claimed to be in favour
of West Papuan independence compiled by the agency
was leaked in late April. Some of those
identified, such as activist groups, are formally
in favour of West Papuan independence. Others have
simply expressed concern over continuing human
rights abuses in West Papua, and the questionable
way West Papua was formally incorporated into the
Indonesian state in 1969. Some have just called
for a negotiated settlement.
This most recent attack on Australian individuals
and institutions can be seen as part of the
diplomatic fallout over Australia’s acceptance of
42 West Papuan asylum seekers.
The Australia-Indonesia row over West Papua and
the identification of Australian individuals and
academics is not really about Australia, or indeed
over the prospect of West Papua achieving
independence. As is widely acknowledged, West
Papua is highly unlikely to achieve independence
in the foreseeable future.
The dispute is more about the place of West Papua
in Indonesia’s internal politics. This is a subset
of a broader contest between proponents of
Indonesia’s process of gradual reform and those
wishing to turn back the political clock.
To illustrate, one respected Australian academic
on Indonesia noted that the recent bans were as
bad as or worse than bans imposed under
Indonesia’s authoritarian New Order. Indeed, to
find a parallel, one would have to go back to
1986, to the dispute after the publication in The
Age and The Sydney Morning Herald of an article on
President Soeharto’s corruption.
There was no doubt that Soeharto was angry with
the publication of his corrupt activities. But
studies of that issue have since noted that
Australia was used as a whipping boy in a dispute
between Soeharto and his then military commander
in chief, General Benny Murdani.
In the present situation, the dispute in Jakarta
is primarily over reform of the Indonesian
military (TNI) and the retention of the military’s
effective independence from government. In
particular, for a military that is at best only
one-third funded by the Government, West Papua is
a key source of TNI legal and illegal income. The
intelligence agency is associated with the TNI’s
intelligence organisation.
This is also a contest of wills, especially after
the failure of the TNI’s opposition to a
negotiated settlement to the conflict in Aceh, in
which it also had substantial economic interests.
Some observers have noted that the TNI has been
depoliticised in recent years. It has lost its
representation in the Indonesian legislature.
However, it continues to dominate security policy,
such as bans, which are formally an immigration
matter. Beyond its continued influence on daily
politics, the TNI’s real power has always lain in
its distribution throughout the archipelago. This
continues to locate the TNI close to the recently
devolved sources of economic power, and it has
hence fiercely resisted attempts to reduce its
distribution.
Despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s
criticisms of Australia, which can be primarily
seen as playing to an Indonesian audience, he
wants to bring the TNI under civilian authority.
That is the main game. Attacks against Australia
generally and individuals and institutions in
particular are thus collateral damage in an
internal Indonesian battle.
[Damien Kingsbury was an adviser to the Free Aceh
Movement in the 2005 Helsinki peace negotiations.
Ostensibly for commenting on the Aceh conflict, he
has been banned from entering Indonesia since
December 2004.]
State secrecy bill stinks
Jakarta Post Editorial - May 15, 2006
The House of Representatives is scheduled to
deliberate a number of important bills, including
the long-awaited Freedom of Information Bill. This
bill was first proposed in November 2001 by the
previous members of the House, but languished in
the legislature until last July when it was
revived. Many observers wonder why it has taken so
long for the bill to be passed into law.
Two months ago, the government asked for a five-
year grace period once the bill becomes law. This
before lawmakers had even begun to deliberate the
bill. If the grace period is granted, the law
would not come into effect until 2011, or two
years after the end of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono’s current term.
Why delay such an important tool for fighting
corruption when combating graft is one of the
government’s stated priorities? Has the govern-
ment lost steam? The whole episode is confusing.
Is it possible that the government is afraid of
information? When uncertainty still shrouded the
bill in February 2002, the government hastily
prepared the State Secrecy Bill, in what looked
like an attempt to counter the bill on freedom of
information. It is difficult to shed the
impression the government is reluctant to support
the information bill. Why? It is not clear. What
is clear is that the State Secrecy Bill can be
used to silence critics, especially in its current
form, with no clear definition of what exactly
constitutes state secrets. It looks like a
tug-of-war is taking place between the public’s
interest and the state’s interest, where the
information bill favors the first.
Once the bill on state secrecy becomes law, it
will make it very difficult to investigate certain
scandalous cases. And there is no shortage of
irregularities that should be investigated.
We are not against protecting state secrets. The
question is how to package this need into law. In
truth, the protection of state secrets does not
require a separate law, having already been
incorporated in the Freedom of Information Bill.
This allows clear guidelines on what constitute
state secrets.
The world is moving in the direction of more open
information, as more and more countries adopt
freedom of information laws. There are valid
reasons why Indonesia must join this trend. The
country has just emerged from a 32-year
dictatorship that caused much suffering for the
people. There is an urgent need to throw off the
mind-set nurtured under this system.
It is an uphill battle since the current
bureaucracy is a legacy of the New Order
administration, notorious for its close and
repressive political culture. The Freedom of
Information Bill can help break up this culture.
Cultivating a culture of providing information to
whoever wants or needs it is, therefore, a logical
step.
Moreover, controlling the bureaucracy is more
urgent than controlling the people. History shows
that state secrets are more often than not leaked
by the bureaucracy or the powers that be. A number
of high-profile cases come to mind. One example,
when the rupiah crashed in 1998, who profited the
most? Another reason for ensuring greater access
to information is the irony that information
concerning public interests is not easy to come
by. Can anyone obtain bid documents for public
projects, for example, as is the case in
neighboring countries? Can anyone obtain data from
government ministries with ease? It is not
difficult to obtain secrets in this country, as
long as you have cash. This must change, unless
the government wants to maintain the closed
political culture of the New Order regime. That
would be a betrayal of the people who put their
trust in the hands of President Yudhoyono.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer: Indonesia’s greatest
novelist
Green Left Weekly - May 10, 2006
Max Lane — Scores of activists and young writers,
as well as family members, were at the Karet Bivak
cemetery in central Jakarta on April 30. Many were
crying, tearful. The loss was felt greatly, a
burden. But they rallied their spirits to also
sing songs of struggle to farewell the man who
they had just laid to rest: Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
They sang the Internationale and they sang that
most moving of all songs that grew up during the
struggle against the 1966-98 Suharto military
dictatorship: Darah joang ("Blood of the
struggle").
The acclaimed author and democracy campaigner had
died that morning after suffering a week or more
of declining health. He had been taken to the
emergency ward of a major Jakarta hospital and was
then moved to an intensive care unit. Finally he
asked to go home, to stay in the family house in
the Jakarta suburb of Utan Kayu.
On the third day at home, after pushing aside the
tubes and equipment that got in his way, he asked
for another of his beloved kretek cigarettes. He
passed away at 9.15am that morning.
Indonesian custom requires that burial takes place
as quickly as possible after death, Pramoedya was
buried later in the afternoon. Those who had
received news of his death via text messages and
could get there, did so.
Already there are plans in Indonesia for
activities to commemorate Pramoedya’s life and
work. Here in Australia, the Inside Indonesia
magazine is planning a special issue around
Pramoedya.
Many Australians know Pramoedya primarily from his
novel This Earth of Mankind, which I translated in
1980. Many people still send letters saying how
much they enjoyed reading it or how their lives
may have been changed by it. Others are familiar
with its sequels — Child of All Nations,
Footsteps and House of Glass. The first novel in
the series is now in its 15th printing in the
United States. The novels have been widely adopted
into all kinds of courses in world literature in
US universities.
In Indonesia itself, all of Pramoedya’s books are
still formally banned, although the state seems to
be turning a blind eye to the fact they can easily
be found in the major bookshops.
Pramoedya was 81 years old when he died. He was a
literary and political figure whose presence in
Indonesian political and cultural life had lasted
for more than 40 years. As a young man, he had
taken up arms against the Dutch colonialists, had
been captured and spent two years in prison. While
in jail, he wrote some of his early well-known
short stories which were set in the midst of the
violent upheaval of an anti-imperialist
revolution.
After the armed struggle ceased in 1949 and the
Netherlands accepted Indonesia’s independence,
Pramoedya became one of the country’s most
prolific writers. He was stirred by the injuries
that people suffered as a result of their
involvement in the revolution, at others’ hands or
at their own.
His orientation began to develop further as the
country moved towards the end of its first decade
of independence. His stories began to bring out
the realities of failed social change, of injuries
to humanity flowing from the stubbornness of
corruption and injustice in spite of the country
having won independence. Pramoedya’s stories in
the collection Tales from Jakarta ring with a
disappointed and cutting humanity.
From the late 1950s, he began a new journey,
posing the question: Why had political
independence not delivered the justice and
prosperity for which so many had given their lives
in the revolution? Pramoedya joined millions of
others who were steadily rallying to the cry: The
revolution is not finished!
He threw his political support behind President
Sukarno, whose political legacy Pramoedya embraced
for the rest of his life, and who was then leading
the movement to rally people behind this cry. Tens
of millions eventually joined under this banner,
joining the Communist Party, the Nationalist Party
or other, smaller, parties or one of the many mass
organisations rallying to the call.
Pramoedya worked with the Peoples Cultural
Network, which soon had thousands of members and
also the Bintang Timur (Eastern Star) independent
left newspaper. He gave his support to this
movement in more than one way. He buried himself
in the work of hunting out the origins of
Indonesia’s cultural problems, finding them in a
characterless elite with no backbone, with an
inward-lookingness and a too-quick abnegation
before authority. But he also sought to uncover
the source of dynamism of the new Indonesian
culture, the source of the revolutionary energy
exploding in the 1960s as every kind of art and
literature began to burgeon. Where did that come
from?
Among other things that influenced Pramoedya,
Maxim Gorky’s essay The People Must Know Their
History stirred him. From the late 1950s,
Pramoedya became Indonesia’s first self-taught
full-time historian. No source was alien to him —
government documents, diaries, what a barber knew
about his long-term customers (among whom was
perhaps a political figure), the daily newspapers,
detective novels. Pramoedya was even the first
historian in Indonesia to use tape recordings of
oral histories, borrowing a tape recorder — then
a rare piece of equipment — from a friendly small
business.
Pramoedya became a prolific essayist in Bintang
Timur, writing hundreds of essays on history and
politics. His unique contribution to helping
finish the revolution was interrupted in October
1965 when he was arrested along with hundreds of
thousands of others. The right-wing of the army,
under the command of General Suharto, seized
power, making use of a failed attempt by left-wing
officers to seize control of the army.
The Suharto coup marked the interruption, for
nearly 40 years, of the Indonesian national
revolution. More than a million workers, peasants
and other left-wing activists were killed. Tens of
thousands were imprisoned for one or two years and
another 20,000 — including Pramoedya — were
imprisoned for 14 years without charge and without
trial.
Fourteen thousand prisoners were sent to the
barely inhabited and barren island of Buru in
eastern Indonesia, where they were forced to build
their own barracks, clear the savage land with
their own bare hands and start their own
agriculture.
Many died in the initial years. It was in these
demoralising years that Pramoedya began to draw on
the memory of his work to tell the story of a 14-
year-old Javanese girl, Sanikem, sold by her
money-grubbing father to a Dutch plantation owner
as a concubine and how this young girl transformed
herself into a women of strength and capacity,
Nyai Ontosoroh — far superior to that of her
coloniser — and how she educated the first
generation of Indonesian revolutionaries. The
story inspired the prisoners and helped restore
their morale.
Later when he obtained a typewriter and was
allowed to write, Pramoedya churned out eight
novels, a play and scores of essays while on Buru
Island. When he was released in 1979, he was not
supposed to publish. Such activities were illegal
for former political prisoners. But Pramoedya, and
two other former prisoners — Joesoef Isak and
Hasyim Rachman — defied the dictator Suharto and
began publishing Pramoedya’s prison novels,
starting with This Earth of Mankind, based on the
story of Sanikem and Nyai Ontosoroh. This was
followed by the other great historical novels
Child of All Nations, Footsteps and House of
Glass. All are available in Penguin book editions.
Then came Pramoedya’s novels set in the prequel
period to these four novels — Arok and Dedes, a
story of rebellion set in the 13th century, and
Arus Balik, an epic novel of maritime politics set
in the 16th century. These were his greatest
works, explaining the origins of the Indonesian
revolution, with more than half of them translated
into more than 50 foreign languages. These later
works were an expression of Pramoedya’s commitment
to finish the revolution after his release from
prison in 1979.
In the last 20 years of his life, Pramoedya
repeated again and again in speeches and
interviews the same call to Indonesia’s younger
generation — the revolution is not finished. He
joined the small radical Peoples Democratic Party
(PRD) to emphasise this meant political commitment
and joining a political organisation. He never
tired of saying that reformasi (reform) was not
enough. What was needed was “total revolution”.
In the soon-to-be-published long interview with
Pramoedya, entitled Exile, he makes his stance
clear: "Capitalism is the same everywhere. Its
only purpose is to make as high a profit as it is
allowed to. I believe in each country’s right to
self-determination but, in reality, such rights
are not being honoured. Everything is determined
by big business, even the fate of nations. Can the
present situation change without a revolution? It
can’t. There has to be a revolution!"
BOOK/FILM REVIEWS
Book Review: Fear and reporting in Indonesia
Asia Times - May 13, 2006
[In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of
Chaos by Richard Lloyd Parry. Reviewed by Scott B
MacDonald.]
Since the upheaval of the Asian financial crisis
in 1997-98, Indonesia has been a country on the
move — the old authoritarian regime of Suharto
was pushed from power, democratic government has
taken root and the economy has been stabilized.
East Timor departed from Indonesia and a peace
settlement is in place in the formerly deeply
troubled province of Aceh.
Although far from perfect, Indonesia’s development
since the late 1990s has been largely within the
confines of a representative political system and
a capitalist economy. Part of Indonesia’s
experience over this period has been captured in
Richard Lloyd Parry’s In the Time of Madness:
Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos.
If you are looking for a depiction of Indonesia in
the late 1990s, when the old order of Suharto’s
authoritarian regime was coming to an end and
societal upheaval ruled, this book is for you,
though none the positive developments are
discussed.
Parry, who wrote for The Independent and now works
for The Times of London, made a number of forays
into Indonesia from Japan. Through Parry’s eyes we
are taken into the murderous jungles of Borneo,
where Dayak tribesmen were seeking to drive out
the Madurese by ethnic cleansing, into Jakarta’s
universities during the drive to oust Suharto, and
into the turmoil of East Timor, seeking its
independence from Indonesia. Parry makes the point
early on: "This is a book about violence, and
about being afraid."
One could add that Parry also is fascinated by
what he found in Indonesia. As he states,
"Although I prided myself on deploring violence,
if it should — tragically — break out, I wanted
to witness it for myself." Indeed, deeper in the
book (and deeper into Indonesia’s heart of
darkness), he notes: "In Borneo, I saw heads
severed from their bodies and men eating flesh. In
Jakarta, I saw burned corpses in the street, and
shots were fired around and toward me."
The climactic last part of the book deals
extensively with East Timor and the bloody rear-
guard actions taken by the Indonesian-supported
militias in seeking to overturn the popular vote
for independence. It is in East Timor where the
author comes to terms with being afraid, yet
carrying out the responsibility to report the
injustice of what happened.
The fear theme permeates the book, both on a
personal level (as Parry opts to depart from East
Timor after several brushes with death) and with
Indonesians. One encounter is most notable, when
Parry asked an Indonesian carpenter named Jamari
what he fears. The man answered: "We are afraid
that 1965 will happen again. We’re afraid that if
we speak out, somebody will come and take us away
during the night, and perhaps they will kill us."
An abortive left-wing military coup in 1965 led to
a successful right-wing counter-coup and the rise
of General Suharto as the country’s undisputed
leader.
Parry also has a solid grasp of the issue of magic
that permeates Indonesian society, especially in
the rural areas. Here again he touches upon the
fear of dark magic and the ability of Suharto,
long at the helm of his country, to use that fear
to help keep order.
While this reviewer enjoyed Parry’s opus, it is
not without flaws. It helps to have some prior
knowledge of Indonesia’s history and society prior
to reading. While some explanation is given to the
turn of events, some explanations are brief.
Sadly, we are left with the image of Indonesia as
a place of darkness, smoldering under the tropical
sun and the puppetmasters in Jakarta.
As Parry states: "It was a thrilling time. Like
many people... I was experiencing self-conscious
flushes of excitement at the momentous of it all.
A struggle was taking place between something old,
murderous and corrupt and something new." Can it
be that Indonesian history from 1965 to 1998 was
old, murderous and corrupt, nothing more? And what
was the “something new”? Could it be that
Indonesia is struggling to create a more open,
democratic society in the post-Suharto era? These
are lingering questions when one finishes Parry’s
book.
Some have compared In the Time of Madness to Aidan
Hartley’s The Zanzibar Chest, another book focused
on the journalist dealing with a modern heart of
darkness. Parry’s book is an echo of Hartley’s,
which deals with family history, colonialism,
barbarism and current affairs. Both books leave
you with a sense of sweaty griminess and a Joseph
Conrad-like vision of the world. (Conrad’s Heart
of Darkness was published in 1902 and looks at
genocide, repression and imperialism by the
Belgians in the Congo.)
That said, Hartley’s Africa has fallen into far
harsher times than Parry’s Indonesia, and the
Southeast Asian nation has made some advances in
terms of the standard of living and its effort in
forming a more open political system. Indonesia is
hardly Africa, though similar problems afflict
both regions.
And Hartley’s personal adventures are given some
degree of clarity — his relationships are
explained, his likes and dislikes covered, and his
turn to drugs and alcohol understandable
considering the nature and pressures of his work.
Parry makes brief mention of a bypassed love and
proposal of marriage among other personal musings.
The criticisms of his book are minor. In the Time
of Madness is well worth reading, especially for
anyone interested in the events that shook
Indonesia during the late 1990s. At the same time,
one should not entirely write off Indonesia’s
history through Parry’s lens of a murderous,
corrupt place, seemingly without any hope.
One of the points worth noting is that change did
occur: Suharto was forced out of office, and the
country has gone to the polls more than once since
1998, finally having the option of directly
electing a president. All the same (and this is
why In the Time of Madness is worth the read),
many of the problems of corruption and fear remain
in post-Suharto Indonesia, making it one of Asia’s
more interesting points on the map.
In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of
Chaos by Richard Lloyd Parry. New York: ISBN:
0802118089. Grove Press, 2005. Price: US$24; 315
pages.
[Scott B MacDonald is senior managing director at
Aladdin Capital and a senior consultant at KWR
International.]