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Indonesia News Digest 45 – December 1-7, 2009

News & issues

Actions, demos, protests... Aceh West Papua Human rights/law Refugees/asylum seekers Labour/migrant workers Environment/natural disasters Health & education Bank Century inquiry Corruption & graft Elections/political parties Administration & government Media/press freedom Film & television Jakarta/urban life Economy & investment Analysis & opinion

News & issues

Violent rally organizers jailed

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2009

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Medan District Court on Thursday sentenced a former North Sumatra legislator and a journalist to a four-year jail term each and a youth leader to 10 years imprisonment for planning a riot.

Hundreds of protesters dispersed a plenary meeting at the provincial legislative building on Feb. 3 this year and mobbed legislative speaker Abdul Aziz Angkat, who had a fatal heart attack.

Prosecutors had earlier sought a 12-year sentence for the three defendants, the rally's organizers, but in the verdict read separately by the respective panel of judges, they were sentenced to lighter sentences.

Former North Sumatra legislative councilor Burhanuddin Radjagukguk and managing editor of the Sinar Indonesia Baru daily Viktor Siahaan were sentenced to four years each, while youth leader Jhon Haidel Samosir was sentenced to 10 years.

Presiding judge Yuferi F. Rangka said defendant Samosir had been proven guilty of striking Abdul Aziz Angkat.

Yuferi said based on testimonies from a number of witnesses, the defendant had hit Aziz when he was about to leave the VIP room at the legislature. Samosir together with the other defendants were in the VIP room pressing Aziz to sign a recommendation for the establishment of a Tapanuli province.

However, Aziz refused to do so and immediately went out the room. "Many witnesses saw Samosir hit Aziz when he was about to leave the room," said Yuferi, adding the defendant also chased after the victim when he was outside the legislative building.

In response to the verdict, Samosir said he would file an appeal on the grounds that the judges' decision was baseless. Samosir denied hitting Aziz. Unlike Samosir, Burhanuddin and Viktor said they would consider filing appeals.

Presiding judge I Ketut Sudira said Burhanuddin's role in the rally was as the secretary of the Tapanuli province founding committee who had agreed to hold the protest.

Sudira said based on facts and testimonies, the defendant was in the VIP room with the other main suspects to press Aziz to sign the recommendation to form the Tapanuli province after the crowd was able to besiege the council's plenary hall.

Sudira said the defendant at one point restricted the protesters from resorting to violence when they were inside the council plenary hall.

"The panel of judges has to consider Burhanuddin's efforts to prohibit protesters from acting violently, and should lighten his sentence."

Presiding judge Indrawaldi said the mitigating factors that lessened defendant Viktor's sentence were based on a number of witnesses saying the defendant had entered the room with petition supporters to cover news on the incident.

The testimonies were strengthened by an explanation from head of the local chapter Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), saying the defendant was at the council building to carry out his journalistic duties.

Viktor, who served as managing director at the SIB daily – owned by the family of Chandra Panggabean, also an instigator of the protest – was earlier charged by prosecutors with a 12-year sentence.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced former legislator Datumitra Simanjuntak to seven years in jail for masterminding the rally.

Prosecutors earlier demanded that the court sentence Datumitra to 12 years in jail.

Forbes publishes list of Indonesia's top 40 richest people

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2009

Forbes Magazine published on Thursday the 2009 list of Indonesia's 40 richest people. The owners of the Djarum group, Budi and Michael Hartono, still topped the list with estimated wealth of $7 billion.

The magazine wrote that investors were in love with Indonesia after the country's benchmark stock index rose 115 percent in local currency in the past 12 months – Asia's second best performer behind China's Shenzhen SE Composite.

It was no surprise that the wealth of Indonesia's richest people continued to increase. The collective worth of the nation's top 40 has doubled to $42 billion from $21 billion last year and is up $2 billion from its prior peak in 2007, the magazine said. Resources kings were prominent on the list. Low Tuck Kwong, owner of Bayan Resources, was a newcomer on the list after his stocks rose 474 percent in the last year.

Another coal billionaire, Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of the Golkar Party, improved his ranking after his holding in Bumi Resources increased in value.

The list: Indonesia's 40 richest people

1. R. Budi & Michael Hartono - US$7 billion
2. Martua Sitorus - US$3 billion
3. Susilo Wonowidjojo - US$2.6 billion
4. Aburizal Bakrie - US$2.5 billion
5. Eka Tjipta Widjaja - US$2.4 billion
6. Peter Sondakh - US$2.1 billion
7. Putera Sampoerna - US$2 billion
8. Sukanto Tanoto - US$1.9 billion
9. Anthoni Salim - US$1.4 billion
10. Soegiharto Sosrodjojo - US$1.2 billion
11. Low Tuck Kwong - US$1.18 billion
12. Eddy William Katuari - US$1.1 billion
13. Chairul Tanjung - US$990 million
14. Garibaldi Thohir - US$930 million
15. Theodore Rachmat - US$900 million
16. Edwin Soeryadjaya - US$800 million
17. Trihatma Haliman - US$750 million
18. Ciliandra Fangiono - US$710 million
19. Arifin Panigoro - US$650 million
20. Murdaya Poo - US$600 million
21. Hashim Djojohadikusumo - US$500 million
22. Kusnan & Rusdi Kirana - US$480 million
23. Prajogo Pangestu - US$475 million
24. Harjo Sutanto - US$470 million
25. Mochtar Riady - US$440 million
26. Eka Tjandranegara - US$430 million
27. Ciputra - US$420 million
28. Hary Tanoesoedibjo - US$410 million
29. Sandiaga Uno - US$400 million
30. Boenjamin Setiawan - US$395 million
31. Alim Markus - US$350 million
32. Aksa Mahmud - US$330 million
33. Sutanto Djuhar - US$325 million
34. Kartini Muljadi - US$320 million
35. Soegiarto Adikoesoemo - US$300 million
36. George Santosa Tahija & Sjakon George Tahija - US$290 million
37. Paulus Tumewu - US$280 million
38. Husain Djojonegoro - US$260 million
39. Bachtiar Karim - US$250 million
40. Kris Wiluan - US$240 million

Actions, demos, protests...

Students burn pictures of Yudhoyono, Boediono and Sri Mulyani

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2009

Students from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, took to the streets on Thursday, burning images of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to demand a thorough investigation into the Bank Century bailout.

The rally was monitored by police but the students were not stopped from burning pictures of Yudhoyono, Boediono and Sri Mulyani. The students demanded Yudhoyono and Boediono step down and Sri Mulyani to be arrested.

"Rp 6.7 billion would mean a lot if it were allocated for free education. Thousands of poor children in the country will be able to go to school," said a demonstrator.

Besides Hasanuddin University students, scores of students from Paulus Indonesia Christian University also held a rally in Makassar to demand the government to show more commitment to investigating the Bank Century scandal.

Watch out for traffic jams! Nine demos to colour Jakarta today

Detik.com - December 2, 2009

Mega Putra Ratya, Jakarta – A number of protest actions will colour Jakarta today with at least nine demonstrations expected to inundate various parts of the capital. Watch out for traffic jams!

According to the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre (TMC) website for Wednesday December 2, workers from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) and PT Uni Enlarge Industry Semarang employees will hold an action in front of the Chinatrush Bank offices at the Tamara Centre building on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman in South Jakarta and the Department of Labour and Transmigration on Jl. Gatot Subroto, also in South Jakarta.

Another action will be held by the Red-and-White Militia Joint Forum (FB-LMP) at the Constitutional Court building on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta.

Following this, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), the Indonesia Farmers Union (SPI), the Anti-Debt Coalition (KAU), the Action Study Circle for Indonesian Democracy (LSADI), Oxfam and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) will be protesting at the United States Embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

The next demonstration will be held by the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) at the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives DPRD building on Jl. Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta.

Then the Indonesian General Insurance Association (AAUI) will hold an action in front of the Government Goods and Services Procurement Policy Agency (LKPP), the SMESCO building on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta and the Finance Ministry's Capital Markets Supervisory Agency on Jl. Lapangan Banteng in Central Jakarta.

Meanwhile the Migrant Workers Defense Team (TPBMI) Alliance for Families of Indonesian Worker Victims and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) will be demonstrating at the Department of Labour and Transmigration on Jl. Gatot Subroto and the United Arab Emirates Embassy on Jl. Singaraja Block C4 in the East Kuningan are of South Jakarta.

A group calling themselves the Voice of Indonesia (SI, Solidarity Supporters of the Indonesian People's Mandate) will hold an action at the National Education Department offices on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman in Central Jakarta.

Then the Social Movement to Safeguard the People's Money (Gempur) will be demonstrating in front of the Vice Presidential Palace on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

Meanwhile the SPI will be protesting in front of the Department of Trade offices on Jl. Ridwan Rais in Central Jakarta.

Looking at the large number of protest actions today, the TMC Is appealing to road users to avoid or find alternative roads to the routes that will be used by demonstrators. (mpr/lrn)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Man arrested with molotov bombs outside Indonesian parliament

Jakarta Globe - December 1, 2009

A man was arrested carrying three molotov bombs during a rally in front of the Parliament Building at Jalan Gatot Subroto on Tuesday. The man was taken by Jakarta Police for questioning.

Police confiscated some items from the man, including three energy drink bottles that were filled with kerosene and a box of matches.

It was unclear if the man was a part of an activist group rallying in front of the Parliament Building to demand the House of Representatives (DPR) to use its inquiry rights in the Bank Century bailout investigation.

Meanwhile, the demonstrations are still continuing outside Parliament, with the number of participants increasing. One of the initiators of the call for the House to use its inquiry right, Maruarar Sirait from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction, came to greet those at the rally and to inform them about the developments in the plenary session.

The mass rally caused traffic delays on Jalan Gatot Subroto.

Aceh

Hope for lasting peace marks GAM anniversary in Aceh

Jakarta Globe - December 4, 2009

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Former rebels of the Free Aceh Movement celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the founding of their now-disbanded organization by holding mass prayers and providing meals for orphans of the 30-year civil conflict.

For the provincial capital and surrounding Aceh Besar district, the commemoration of the founding of the group, also known as GAM, took place at the grave of national hero Tengku Cik di Tiro at Meureue village, Indrapuri subdistrict. The event was attended by hundreds of former rebels, local villagers and orphans of the war.

During the proceedings, several members of the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) and lawmakers from the Aceh Party, the political party formed from GAM, underwent the peusijuek, a traditional purification ceremony.

Sofyan Dawood, a former GAM spokesman, told reporters that there were high hopes that the legislators elected in April's polls, from Aceh Party or otherwise, would work to improve the province.

"We can hope that Aceh in the future can be fought for in accordance with the Helsinki MoU," he said, referring to the 2005 truce between GAM and the central government. The deal put an end to three decades of armed conflict that killed about 25,000 people, most of them civilians.

According to Sofyan, several clauses of the agreement had yet to be implemented, including the issuance of a presidential decree on the separation of authority between the central government and Aceh, which provided Aceh's government with much of the impetus to fully embrace the peace process. He also said the Acehnese people hoped their lawmakers would enact laws and policies to benefit society.

"Hopefully GAM's anniversary can provide historical momentum to create a better future for Aceh," Sofyan said. "We hope for a more advanced and dignified Aceh in the future."

Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, who had recently returned from the hajj in Saudi Arabia, attended the ceremony at the offices of the Aceh Transitional Committee (KPA) in Lamreung village, on the outskirts of Banda Aceh.

Also present were DPRA spokesman Hasbi Abdullah, from the Aceh Party, and hundreds of former rebels. The KPA helps former GAM guerrillas assimilate into society.

Irwandi, who was also the last spokesperson for GAM before it disbanded, said the group's anniversary was commemorated in part to pray for the welfare of the Acehnese people and for eternal peace in the province. "In the future, Dec. 4 will become a historical date in Aceh and be celebrated annually," he said, without elaborating.

KPA spokesman Tengku Machsalmina said the anniversary was celebrated to honor GAM members who died during the conflict and the Acehnese who died fighting Dutch colonization. "The ceremony is a mass prayer, dinner and charitable event for the orphans of the conflict," he added.

KPA members across Aceh were told to hold a mass prayer in their respective areas, and not to raise the GAM flag or banners because Aceh had now achieved peace. During the conflict, flags were raised on GAM's anniversary.

"If anyone violates this, then he or she must be arrested and face court," Machsalmina said. So far, no incidents of flag- raising have been reported.

GAM was founded on Dec. 4, 1976, by Tengku Hasan di Tiro, the grandson of Tengku Cik di Tiro. Although Hasan, 84, was in the province, he did not attend any of the events.

West Papua

Rallies, arrests mark Papua's anniversary of 'independence'

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2009

Christian Motte & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – As rights activists rallied on Tuesday in Washington demanding the immediate release of two Papuan men on the fifth anniversary of their arrest for raising a separatist flag, 13 other activists were charged in Jayapura, Papua, for demonstrating.

Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were detained in late 2004 in Jayapura for displaying the Morning Star flag as part of a ceremony commemorating the 1961 declaration of Papuan independence. They were sentenced in 2005 to 15 and 10 years in prison, respectively.

Tuesday was the 48th anniversary of both the pro-independence Free Papua Movement (OPM) and the day the Netherlands recognized Papua's right to self-rule. Before its independence was recognized by the world, Indonesia incorporated the vast, resource-rich territory in 1969 after a UN-backed referendum held among a few hundred tribal leaders.

"The aim is to keep putting pressure on the Indonesian government to remind them we have not forgotten these two prisoners," Amnesty International regional director Folabi Olagbaju told Agence France-Presse as he led some 40 protesters outside the Indonesian Embassy in Washington.

"It is outrageous that the [Indonesian] government can arrest and imprison people at a nonviolent, peaceful protest for raising a flag," he said. "There needs to be freedom of expression, and they [the government] shouldn't be afraid of that. These two should not have spent a day in prison, much less five years."

Indonesian courts have handed down stiff penalties, including life sentences, to people caught with separatist symbols such as the Papuan flag.

Meanwhile, Papua Police Chief Brig. Gen. Bekto Suprapto said the 13 activists detained in Jayapura on Tuesday had disrupted public order. "They were charged, not because of the demonstration, but for refusing to disperse," he said on Wednesday.

The 13 were arrested as police dispersed about 40 activists who had gathered in Jayapura carrying posters with separatist symbols banned by the state.

Separately, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) said on Wednesday it would allow the police to take the lead in securing Papua, including in the legal process against the 13 activists arrested on Tuesday. "In a situation of civil order, which is in the hands of the police. The TNI will only assist them when needed," TNI Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said.

More than 170 people are currently imprisoned in Indonesia for peacefully promoting separatism in the country, most of them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to Human Rights Watch.

Women in Papua continue to suffer

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2009

Nurfika Osman – Women and their families in Papua are continuing to be forced out of their homes when their land is cleared for mining purposes and the government does nothing to stop this, the leader of the Papuan People's Assembly said on Wednesday.

"Women are forced to leave their homes. It hurts them so much because they depend on the land to live and eat, find materials for housing and to cook for their families," Hana Hikoyabi said, adding that military officers conducting the land clearing activities had been known to sexually assault Papuan women who refused to move out of their homes.

"They are raped by the military personnel and suffer deep trauma, which is not easily healed," Hana said. "The women's husbands leave them over this and for those who are unmarried, no man wants them."

She said that the government had failed to provide either trauma support or legal aid for these victims of violence and had not done enough to investigate the cases and punish the perpetrators.

"The local communities and the churches are our only helpers. The government does not listen. Nobody from the Women's Empowerment Ministry has helped to empower us in Papua," Hana said, adding that local communities collaborated with nongovernmental organizations to conduct regular visitations and discussions with the victims.

Sometimes the victims were reluctant to share their stories, she said, adding that the struggle for Papuan women was much more complex than women in other provinces because in addition to enduring incidents such as illegal detention, kidnapping or even displacement, their conditions were worsened by Papua's remoteness and the difficulties getting access to good education and development. "Women's rights remain abandoned in Papua," Hana said.

A resource-rich region that trails most other provinces in terms of development and welfare, Papua has been the scene of a low- level separatist insurgency since the 1960s.

Tensions between indigenous Papuans, settlers and security forces have been a fact of life in Papua since it was incorporated into Indonesia. Much of the conflict stems from a perception of injustice and discrimination by authorities.

Heidi Maeka, who works for a Women's Support Group in Poso, Central Sulawesi, another conflict region, said that women in these regions found it difficult to become economically independent.

"Many of them don't finish school and they lack the skills to support themselves and their families. They are unable, for instance, to write up a good proposal to start up a small business," Heidi said, adding that their business proposals were often rejected because, even though they might have good ideas, they could not express them in writing.

Her organization, she said, plans to set up an informal school in Papua to provide women with basic education and technical skills to sustain livelihoods, with help from the regional government and a number of nongovernmental organizations.

Police release 13 Papuans, activists appeal for dialog

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2009

Christian Motte – The police have released 13 Papuans who were arrested on Tuesday as they held a peaceful rally to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the pro-independence Free Papua Movement, the Papua Police chief said on Thursday.

"We have released them and have urged them instead to engage in dialog, on the condition that they will not hold illegal rallies. We have evidence against them for holding a rally without a permit," Brig. Gen. Bekto Suprapto said.

According to authorities, members of the riot police made Tuesday's arrests as they dispersed up to 40 activists who had gathered in the provincial capital Jayapura carrying posters of the banned Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence.

Supporters of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) celebrate the Dec. 1 anniversary of the Netherlands' 1961 recognition of Papua's right to self-rule. Indonesia incorporated the vast, resource-rich territory in 1969 after a UN-backed referendum held among a few hundred tribal leaders.

Agustinus Isir, a Papuan public figure, said on Thursday that rallies were held across the province on Dec. 1 in spite of the governor's ban on "mass mobilizations." The issue of Papuan self- rule, he said, will not fade with time and activists will continue to seek a dialog with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Another public figure, Simon Morin, echoed Isir's comments. "We want to safeguard unity through dialog focusing on nationalism," he said. "This will strengthen our mutual understanding."

Usama Yagobi, a human rights activist in Papua, said the province continued to be a tinder box of tension. Antipathy between indigenous Papuans, settlers and security forces has been a fact of life in Papua since it was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969. Much of the conflict, he said, stems from a perception of prejudices and injustices committed by authorities.

"An international dialog is a peaceful way for Indonesia and Papua to learn about the problems felt by Papuans, such as human rights violations, restrictions to freedom of speech and policies that are not beneficial to Papuans," Usama said.

Under Indonesian law, anyone who wants to hold a protest has to inform the police about the issue in question, the time of the protest, its location and the number of people who will take part.

There were no major incidents reported in Papua or West Papua on Tuesday. In Jakarta on Tuesday, dozens of Papuans demanded independence at a peaceful rally outside the Presidential Palace as police stood guard. The protesters carried a red banner reading, "Give back the sovereignty of the West Papua nation."

Papuan protesters held

Melbourne Age - December 2, 2009

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Protesters staged rallies across the restive Indonesian region of West Papua yesterday, marking the long and fruitless campaign of its Melanesian people to gain independence from Jakarta.

Organisers of the rallies said more than a dozen people had been arrested in the West Papuan capital of Jayapura after police dispersed the crowd by firing rounds of live ammunition into the air.

Martin Manggaprow, the co-ordinator of the Jayapura rally, accused police of beating protesters before arresting them. He said as many as 20 had been detained, including two women.

The protesters had planned to raise the banned Morning Star flag – the symbol of West Papuan separatism – at the home of their former leader Theys Eluay, who was murdered by Indonesian special forces in 2001.

"Two trucks of [mobile police] arrived at the site and around 60 of them got off the trucks and started opening fire into the air," said Mr Manggaprow.

Yesterday's protests occurred in Jayapura, Sorong, Manokwari, Abepura and Wamena and marked the 48th anniversary of a declaration of independence by indigenous West Papuans, then under the rule of the Netherlands.

Despite early support from Australia and many other countries for its independence, resource-rich West Papua was handed to Indonesia at the height of the Cold War in a deal to encourage the country to be pro-Western.

West Papuan police confirmed there had been arrests, saying the demonstrations were not authorised. No one had been charged.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have recently alleged systemic police abuses of West Papuans and the brutal suppression of peaceful political expression.

Protests in Washington to demand release of Papuan activists

Agence France Presse - December 2, 2009

Rights activists rallied Tuesday outside the Indonesian embassy in Washington D.C. demanding the immediate release of two Papuan activists on the fifth anniversary of their arrest for raising a separatist flag.

Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were detained in late 2004 in the Papuan capital of Jayapura for displaying the Morning Star flag as part of a ceremony commemorating the 1962 declaration of Papuan independence. They were sentenced in 2005 to 15 and 10 years, respectively.

"The aim is to keep putting the pressure on the Indonesian government to remind them we have not forgotten these two prisoners," Amnesty International regional director Folabi Olagbaju told AFP as he led the demonstration of some 40 protesters.

"It is outrageous that the (Indonesian) government can arrest and imprison people at a non-violent, peaceful protest for raising a flag... there needs to be freedom of expression, and they (the government) shouldn't be afraid of that," he said.

"These two should not have spent a day in prison, much less five years."

Indonesian courts have handed down stiff penalties including life in prison to people caught with separatist symbols such as the Papuan flag.

More than 170 people are currently imprisoned in Indonesia for peacefully promoting separatism in Indonesia, most of them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to Human Rights Watch.

Indonesia took control of Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, in 1969 after a vote among a select group of Papuans widely seen as a sham.

Papuans have long accused Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.

Focus on Indonesian Papua's alleged rights violations

Radio Australia - December 2, 2009

Indonesia's poorest province, Papua, is once again in the spotlight over its human rights record. Amnesty International has called for an investigation into what it's described as unchecked human rights violations by Indonesian police. In an open letter this week to the Chief of Police in Papua, the group says it has witness testimony of the deaths of two demonstrators and the beatings of others at the hands of police.

Accusations of police violence are not new in Papua, where Indonesian rule is resented by much of the native Melanesian population.

Presenter: Karon Snowdon

Speaker: Budi Hernawan, former Director of the Office for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia

Snowdon: The London based Amnesty International addressed its letter to the newly appointed Police Chief for Papua Bekto Suprapto. It's calling for an investigation into human rights abuses by his police force over the last year. Amnesty has joined forces with the Indonesian human rights group Kontras in accusing Indonesian police of unnecessary and excessive use of force against demonstrators, beatings and unlawful killings. They say there are credible witnesses of police killing two men – Melkias Agape who was shot in June and Abet Nego Keiya, whose badly beaten body was found dumped in April. The claims are the latest from Amnesty whose global report card on human rights in May this year contained similar accusations against security forces in Papua where long prison sentences are handed out to activists.

Budi Hernawan, the former Director for Justice and Peace with the Catholic Church in Papua says the situation calls for direct action by the government in jakarta.

Hernawan: Comprehensive thorough dialogue between Papuans and the national government not only to look at the issue of special autonomy but the whole issues of ongoing pattern of human rights abuses, political aspirations, natural resource management, poverty. So the wide range of issues in Papua.

Snowdon: Is there any sort of dialogue going on now between the people of Papua and the government in Jakarta, anything at all?

Hernawan: No. Papuans have been trying to engage in any discussion with the national government but so far there is no sign that the national government is willing to engage in any kind of discussion.

Snowdon: Papuans suffer not just at the hands of the security forces. According to Amnesty International Indonesia has the highest recorded maternal deaths in South East Asia. Most of the estimated 19,000 deaths every year occur in remote areas and among Indigenous People. Budi Hern awan says not since the time of President Abdurahman Wahid has any Indonesian leader shown a real interest in resolving Papuan concerns. He says Indonesia's signing of the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is meaningless.

Hernawan: I think its been an ongoing pattern of abuses and the last special report on torture reported to the US council earlier this year that the ongoing use of torture particularly and other issues are still there and not really addressed. And also in terms of people raising their voice, with raising the flag for example that's still a big issue. So the ongong pattern of impunity is still there.

Snowdon: There are no signs that the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is listening to the complaints of Papuans. But he has lots of mail to read. Last month members in the United States Congress wrote to him suggesting he establish a special international commission on Papua similar to the one which led to autonomy in Aceh. Significantly it added a commission was needed not just to discuss autonomy but basic rights like the provision of fresh water and better health care.

Kontras call for investigation into Abepura jail beating and riot

Detik.com - December 1, 2009

Nala Edwin, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is urging the government to investigate the beating of Buchtar Tabuni, a prisoner at the Abepura jail near the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura. The beating triggered a riot at the jail on November 26.

"We are also asking the DPR's [House of Representative's] Commission III [on law and security affairs] to immediately visit the Abepura jail to uncover the real facts," said Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid in a press release on Thursday October 1.

The beating was allegedly carried out by five people, namely Robi Korua, Samsul Bakri, Yancen Korwa, David Ongge and Theo Awii. "Together they overwhelmed the victim and beat Buchtar Tabuni inhumanely," said Hamid.

Central Highlands Students Association (AMPTI) General Secretary Markus Haluk meanwhile stated that this is not the first time that violence has occurred at the Abepura jail. A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Papuan non-government organisations found that there had been more than 20 cases of violence at the Abepura jail. "The treatment of prisoners is absolutely inhuman," he said.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar stated earlier that the riot at the jail started when Buchtar Tabuni, who is also a member of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM), was being detained by two members of the Indonesian military (TNI) and left in the care of the military prosecutor and police. A misunderstanding occurred that resulted in a riot, damaging the jail and leaving its windows shattered. (nal/iy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Indonesia arrests Papuans on 'independence day'

Agence France Presse - December 1, 2009

Jayapura – Indonesian police arrested 13 Papuans on Tuesday as activists demanded sovereignty at rallies to mark the 48th anniversary of Papuan "independence", a police spokesman said.

Riot police made the arrests as they dispersed up to 40 activists who had gathered in the main Papuan town of Jayapura carrying posters with banned separatist symbols, he said.

"We are questioning 13 people as they have broken the country's laws by holding a protest without a permit," provincial police spokesman Agus Riyanto told AFP.

In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, dozens of Papuans demanded independence at a peaceful rally outside the presidential palace as police stood guard.

They carried a red banner reading "Give back the sovereignty of the West Papua nation" and posters bearing the outlawed "Morning Star" Papuan national flag.

Scores of Papuans have been jailed and abused in Indonesian prisons for displaying the Papuan flag and other separatist symbols, a crime punishable by life in jail under Indonesian law, according to rights groups.

Pro-independence Papuans celebrate December 1 as a national day commemorating former colonial power The Netherlands' 1961 recognition of Papua's right to self-rule.

Indonesia has never recognised Papuan sovereignty and incorporated the vast, resource-rich territory in 1969 after a disputed UN-backed referendum held among a few hundred tribal leaders.

"We are not Indonesian people, we are a different race. We want independence. We will fight till the end to get our independence," one of protesters at the presidential palace shouted through a loud speaker.

"Under Indonesian rule we're becoming poorer and poorer and many of us have suffered torture and violence. The Indonesian government only exploits our rich natural resources but ignores our prosperity."

In Sentani town near Jayapura, more than 100 people took part in joint prayers at the home of slain pro-independence leader Theis Hiyo Eluay, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2001.

US-based Human Rights Watch said in June that torture and abuse of Papuan prisoners in Indonesia was "rampant" and should be investigated.

Three Papuan protesters – Roni Ruben Iba, Isak Iba and Piter Iba – were sentenced to between two and three years in jail for subversion earlier this month for raising a banner similar to the "Morning Star" flag.

Indonesian police detain Papuan protesters

Associated Press - December 1, 2009

Jakarta – Police detained several protesters flying outlawed independence flags on Tuesday during peaceful demonstrations against Indonesian rule in the restive Papua province, an official said.

At least two demonstrations in the provincial capital Jayapura marked the 48th anniversary of the Free Papua Movement declaring independence from Dutch colonial rule. Their claims were denied by the Dutch and later by Indonesia.

Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Bekto Suprapto told reporters that several men were detained for holding an unauthorized demonstration.

Police also confiscated several illegal Morning Star flags, symbols of an independent Papua, and leaflets advocating independence, Suprapto said. No charges have been laid.

Local media reports said about 30 people were detained in two separate locations in Jayapura. A report also said police fired shots, but that could not be verified immediately.

Human rights group Amnesty International urged authorities on Monday to investigate allegations of police killings and abuses in Papua.

The London-based organization released an open letter to Suprapto, alleging that police officers killed two men and beat dozens of demonstrators in custody since late last year.

Indonesian authorities – wary of secessionists – have cracked down on separatist protesters in the poor eastern province, where there is a small but resilient independence movement. Foreign journalists are barred from traveling to Papua.

Activists say more than 170 people are jailed in Indonesia for peaceful political expression, mostly in Papua and the province of Maluku, where there is also a separatist movement.

Earlier this month, three men were imprisoned for up to three years for raising the Morning Star. Another two men face up to 12 years in prison on similar charges.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has called for their release, saying imprisoning peaceful protesters undermines the country's democratic values.

Papuans raise outlawed flag despite ban

Australian Associated Press - December 1, 2009

Ilya Gridneff – Papuan activists have raised the outlawed Morning Star flag in defiance of Indonesia's hardline rule over the disputed territory.

Jonah Wenda, spokesman of the Military Council of the West Papuan Liberation Army, told AAP the activists risked arrest for flying the banned flag near Jayapura, Papua's capital, on Tuesday afternoon.

"The military has set up checkpoints across the province to stop people protesting or raising the flag. But the flag was raised in Abepura, about 15 minutes' drive from Jayapura.

"Police then pulled the flag down and broke up the protest, confiscated bush knives, and told everyone to leave. No one was arrested," he said.

Morning Star flags were also raised in Papua New Guinea, where thousands of Papuan refugees live after fleeing decades of Indonesian persecution and human rights abuse.

Small Flag Day ceremonies were held in Madang on PNG's northeast coast and Vanimo, the closest centre to the Indonesian border on PNG's northeast coast, Wenda said.

Flag Day goes back to 1961 when, under Dutch colonial rule, Papuans created a flag that was flown beside the Dutch tricolour for the first time on December 1.

Indonesia took control of Papua in a heavily criticised UN- sponsored vote in 1969. The Morning Star flag was later outlawed amid a long-running insurgency by poorly armed pro-independence guerrillas.

In November, three Papuans were jailed for up to three years for raising the banned separatist flag in Papua province. Another two men face up to 12 years in prison on similar charges.

In a statement, Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, called on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to release the men. "These prosecutions fly in the face of Indonesia's commitments to free expression," she said.

On Monday, Amnesty International's London office called for a probe into "a pattern of unchecked human rights violations by police" in Papua's Nabire district.

Parliamentary caucus rejects military command in West Papua

Jakarta Post - December 1, 2009

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – There is no need for the Indonesian Military (TNI) to set a territorial command in West Papua, says the Papua Parliamentary Caucus.

"Establishing a new military command in West Papua is not urgent. What is urgent is how to improve the wellbeing of Papuans," said caucus activist and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member, Paulus Sumino on Monday, in Jayapura, Papua.

He said that should the military command be intended to provide security for people, the government should not necessarily develop the military base, but should instead ensure that Papauns were empowered.

The government should also strengthen the role of the police and its intelligence capacity, he added.

Most importantly, Paulus said, is that the government should improve the quality of the existing Cendrawasih military command and the welfare of its personnel so they could carry out their jobs more professionally.

"I have seen that many soldiers assigned to remote areas are living in bad shape. So it's better to reallocate the funds for the establishment of a new military command to improve the welfare of the troops," he added

Earlier this month, newly inaugurated Army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. George Toisutta, said the TNI would set up two new military commands in West Kalimantan and West Papua in an apparent bid to revitalize its much-criticized territorial function.

The move was part of the military's tireless efforts to maintain state sovereignty over its large territory and "prevent any infiltration by foreign enemies", he argued.

"Should the government press ahead with its plan for a new military command in Papua, it will face resistance from the public, because it will just reopen old wounds resulting from military operations in Papua," said Julees Rimet Assa Ongge, a local human rights activist.

He called on the legislative councils in Papua and West Papua to oppose the new military command.

Human rights/law

11 residents treated after shooting in village riot

Jakarta Post - December 5, 2009

Khairul Saleh, Palembang – Eleven residents in Renggas village, Payaraman district, Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra, were wounded when members of the local police Mobile Brigade Unit and provincial police fired on them in an apparent attempt to quell a riot on Friday.

Three employees from the PTPN Cinta Manis Unit VII state plantation company sustained knife wounds and are currently being treated at a hospital in Palembang.

The clash, involving company security guards, assisted by police personnel, and residents of Renggas village took place at the District 6 plantation site of PTPN VII Cinta Manis.

Local resident and Ogan Ilir regency councilor Sonedi Ariansyah, 32, said the incident took place at around 9 a.m. on Friday when company security guards, assisted by around 60 police personnel, arrived at the District 6 plantation site, which surrounds Renggas village, to dismantle wooden border markings and wooden huts erected by villagers.

"Villagers who watched the incident then immediately told others. (A crowd gathered at) the location and a quarrel ensued. The police then fired shots (to break them up)," Sonedi said. "It is still unclear whether the police used rubber or live bullets," he added.

According to a victim in hospital, Wawan, 27, the clash had started because PTPN VII security guards refused to release a villager who they had detained earlier. "(The guards) removed the border markings that we had installed recently. We only demand the fulfillment of our rights," said Wawan.

The situation in the village was still tense on Friday evening after the violence. According to Sonedi, many Mobile Brigade personnel were still securing the site as enraged villagers tore down dozens of worker's barracks and set fire to a company tractor. PTPN VII spokesman Sony Purwanto declined to comment as company management was still assessing the incident.

He said he promised to publicize the details soon. "Sorry, I cannot comment right now, just wait until tomorrow," he said.

The violence is reminiscent of an incident two months ago when around 1,500 Renggas villagers felled and burned sugar cane crops at the PTPN VII Cinta Manis' District 6 site in an effort to seize a 1,529-hectare plot, which they believed was theirs.

They planned to use the land as a rubber plantation for their main source of living.

Public rally to pay off Prita's court fine

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2009

Nivell Rayda & Kinanti Pinta Karana – Just two days after she lost an appeal in the Banten High Court over a civil defamation suit brought against her by Omni hospital, Prita Mulyasari has been promised three-quarters of the Rp 204 million ($21,600) in damages she has been ordered to pay.

Former Industry Minister Fahmi Idris has offered to pay half of the damages, saying on Friday Prita could pick up the money from his office at any time as he saw her case as an "injustice."

Prita lost her appeal over a civil defamation suit brought against her by Omni International Hospital, which is now notorious for pursuing the mother of two through the courts over an e-mail she wrote to friends complaining about her care there.

Fahmi added that he and some friends were planning to raise money over the next three weeks to help pay off the balance.

Several Regional Representatives Council members also pledged funds at a meeting on Thursday and raised Rp 50 million, due to be delivered early next week to Prita's home in Tangerang, Banten, according to her lawyer, Slamet Yuwono. He added that the money would most likely be received next Tuesday.

"Prita is overwhelmed by the kindness of so many. She is so grateful. Pak Fahmi has offered and councilors have offered. Even private TV stations are raising funds for her," Slamet told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

"All this money will be put in a separate account and will only be touched should we lose the Supreme Court appeal. We intend to go all the way. When we win the appeal, all the money will be returned to the rightful owners."

Antyo Rentjoko, one of several bloggers nationwide supporting Prita, said a group of bloggers were accepting "coin donations to bring shame" to the hospital. "We plan to collect sacks and sacks of coins," Antyo said. "We don't care if we fall short. This is not an attempt to break a record."

Donated coins will be collected at two regular blogger meeting points: at Jalan Taman Margasatwa 60 in Jatipadang, South Jakarta, and Wetiga Restaurant in Mayestik, South Jakarta.

A lawyer for the hospital, Risma Situmorang, told Detik.com on Friday that if Prita apologized it was ready to drop all charges. "We don't want compensation, no matter how much it is. What we want is our doctors' good names to be restored."

A Health Ministry statement on Friday said it was forming a team to mediate between the two parties to help settle the case.

Witness protection agreement signed by rights groups, police

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Human rights groups this week were assured by the government that it would strengthen the security of persons who would come forward as witnesses to a crime.

A memorandum of understanding to provide protection to witnesses as well as victims of crimes was signed on Thursday by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) with the National Police and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK).

AH Semendaway, the LPSK chairman, said the agency guaranteed that witnesses, as well as victims, would be provided with the resources necessary to ensure their safety.

"This MoU is a cooperation among several institutions which aim to create a system that would ease the process of securing witnesses," Semendaway said. "This step is part of our commitment to protect the rights of not only witnesses but victims of crimes as well," he added.

Komnas HAM chairman Ifdal Kasim said that such a cooperation with the LPSK was an important step in the country's overall view on human rights. "The MoU will be very helpful for everyone, especially to the victims of violence and the various institutions who are helping these victims to cope with their situation," Ifdal said.

Zainal Abidin, who represents the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), said the MoU showed the LPSK's willingness to share its responsibilities with other groups.

"It's just not possible for the LPSK to achieve the results it wants if the agency works alone," Zainal said. "For example, they need the police to provide physical protection for witnesses and victims."

Under the agreement, Zainal added, the agency must also explain what kind of system it would carry out in protecting witnesses and strictly abide by a principle of confidentiality in crimes that involved the police.

International group rallies around Papanggo evictees cause

Jakarta Post - December 4, 2009

Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – A human rights organization has filed an amicus brief with a district court to support plaintiffs in a class action on forced evictions at Papanggo Ujung, North Jakarta.

The Centre on Housing Rights and Eviction (COHRE), a Geneva-based international group, and the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) also demanded Thursday a moratorium on evictions in Jakarta until the city administration could provide alternative housing solutions for evictees.

COHRE attorneys Bret Thiele and Hannah Neumeyer said the organization filed the amicus curiae (a brief filed by someone who is not a party to a case) on Oct. 7. Thiele said the brief would show the panel of judges their view on the legal and human rights aspects of the case.

The Papanggo residents, who were evicted without notification by the North Jakarta public order officers on Aug. 24 and Oct. 8 last year to make way for the BMW Park, filed a class action against the North Jakarta municipality in May this year.

According to the class action document, the residents began to occupy Papanggo in 1998, during the term of then Jakarta governor Sutiyoso. Sutiyoso had called for people to make use of idle land in Jakarta after the economy was hit by the Asian financial crisis.

During the eviction, the officers burned down houses of residents who had been living in the area for more than 10 years. Some 347 households were affected. In their class action against the municipality, the residents said they suffered total material losses of almost Rp 7 billion.

Neumeyer said the Indonesian government had ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2006, and that the international law was legally binding as national law had incorporated the international law into the domestic legal order. "Government agencies at all levels have the duty to respect, pro-tect and fulfill these obligations," she said.

"The obligation to protect means the government should ensure that third parties cannot interfere or limit the housing rights of the people. and the obligation to fulfill means the government needs to progressively work to make housing better," she said. She said there should be a moratorium on evictions. "Never ever should people be made homeless," she said.

The Jakarta administration carried out eight evictions in 2009, forcing 7,814 people out of their homes. The North Jakarta municipality has been the most active, carrying out four evictions this year. In 2008, the Jakarta administration carried out evictions in 16 areas in Jakarta, forcing out more than 7,000 people.

LBH Jakarta director Nurkholis Hidayat said the administration had yet to provide adequate housing for the poor in Jakarta. Public and private housing projects in East and West Jakarta have yet to be completed, he said.

LBH Jakarta lawyer Edy Gurning said these apartments were not affordable for the poor, with selling prices starting at Rp 144 million.

Edy also pointed out that the administration had allocated Rp 600 billion for public housing and Rp 300 billion for the public order agency that carried out evictions. "So the government allocates half the amount for building houses to tearing them down," he said.

Refugees/asylum seekers

Indonesia wants Tamil resettlement to begin next week

Australian Associated Press - December 4, 2009

Indonesia says it expects the 78 Tamil asylum seekers who spent almost a month on Australia's Oceanic Viking to start being resettled as early as next week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Australia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had almost finished assessing the Tamils' refugee claims. "The process, I believe, is almost complete," he said.

"Then they will move to the stage to find third countries who can absorb those who are classified as refugees. We are still waiting on the announcement to what countries these people will be resettled."

Australia picked up the Sri Lankans in international waters inside Indonesia's search and rescue zone in October and took them to the Indonesian island of Bintan. But the Tamils refused to leave the Australian vessel and enter Bintan's detention centre, sparking a four week standoff.

The Rudd government finally enticed them ashore with the promise of rapid processing and resettlement in a third country – most likely Australia. Under the special deal, the government promised that those assessed as refugees would be resettled within four to 12 weeks.

Next Friday marks four weeks since the first of the Tamils stepped ashore. Asked if Indonesia expected the resettlements to begin as early as next week, Faizasyah said: "We are very much hopeful that we can meet the commitment made earlier."

The head of the detention centre, Sugiyo, said the Tamils were still being kept separate from other detention centre inmates and were all "doing fine".

Labour/migrant workers

Female workers taking the brunt of job losses

Jakarta Post - December 2, 2009

The number of female employees and job seekers declined in the year to August 2009, the Central Statistics Agency's (BPS) Jakarta bureau announced Tuesday, at a rate not mirrored by male workers.

"The decrease in the number of working residents was dominated by women," said bureau head Agus Suherman.

The number of female workers decreased from more than 1,659,000 in August 2008 to around 1,605,000 in August this year, or a decrease of 54,000. The number of working men also decreased, albeit less sharply, by around 19,670, from 2,532,000 to 2,512,000 during the same period.

"The female labor force (and job seekers) decreased by 61,800, from around 1,916,000 in 2008 to around 1,854,000 in 2009," Agus said. The number of male workers and male job seekers also decreased, by more than 22,000, from 2,856,000 to 2,833,000 during the same period, he added.

The labor force is defined as residents above the age of 15 who are either working or looking for jobs. Those quitting their jobs and not applying for new ones are not included in the count.

Agus said the global economic crisis might be to blame for the drop. However, he added, more women might have chosen to remain jobless compared to the men.

"(The women) might have lost their jobs or experienced failure in their businesses, and so decided to become housewives or go to school instead," he said.

BPS Jakarta social statistics unit head Sri Santo Budi Muliatinah said most of the women exiting the job market were likely from the lower economic bracket. "Most of them probably worked in the informal sector," she said.

The statistics also revealed that the highest number of job seekers were vocational school graduates, amounting to 156,039 people. The number of job seeking high school graduates amounted to 146,198 people, while the number of job seekers with a university degree was 73,417.

Agus said that during the period from August 2008 to August 2009, several major companies had ceased operations or cut back on production due to the global downturn.

He added this was particularly true of companies dependent on imported goods for their production materials, which forced them into laying off workers. The weakened economy also had an impact on the informal sector, he said. (JP/dis)

Hundreds of workers reject new cigarette excise

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2009

Kudus – A group of at least 1,500 workers from cigarette companies in Kudus, Central Java, staged a protest Wednesday rejecting the new cigarette excise imposed by the government.

The demonstrators urged Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to resign for having issued the policy. "The finance minister does not support small cigarette firms," protester Eny Mariyanti said.

Ahmad Guntur, the chairman of the Indonesian Cigarette Industry Forum (Formasi), said small cigarette companies would see a 60 percent increase in their excise under the new policy. "It's too much for them," he said.

RI to ratify UN'S convention on migrant rights within 2 years

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2009

Anita Rachman – Indonesia will ratify the UN convention protecting migrant workers within two years, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar announced on Tuesday.

He said the government, which has delayed ratification of the 1990 convention despite having signed it in September 2004, was preparing the necessary regulations.

"Ratifying the convention means that Indonesia needs to ensure freedom of establishing labor organizations, insurance and legal aid for Indonesian migrant workers overseas," Muhaimin said.

"We are working on this. I can see that we will finish preparations on the regulations and budget within one or two years."

He added that his office needed to coordinate effectively with a number of other ministries over the matter, including the finance, foreign affairs and justice ministries.

Indonesia's continued delay in approving the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, has been slammed by rights organizations nationwide.

They have pointed out that ratification was crucial since the country had been sending workers overseas since the 1980s.

Wahyu Susilo, a public policy analyst for the advocacy group Migrant Care, stated that "one or two years" was too long, considering that many of the six million Indonesian migrant workers were experiencing physical, sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of their employers.

Ratification would provide a legal basis for migrant workers in settling disputes with employers and ensuring that their rights, including on matters of leave, working hours and pay, be met.

"The government needs to ratify it soon. It will really help our migrant workers overseas," Wahyu said.

A group of nongovernmental organizations had previously called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet to ratify the convention within the first 100 days of his new administration.

The People's Alliance for the 1990 Migrant Convention Ratification has argued that the measure would emphasize migrant workers' rights, including deportation for workers facing problems overseas and the right to retain their own documents, including passports. The group criticized the Manpower Ministry over the sluggish pace ofz ratification.

"All [14] destination countries [of our migrant workers] have not ratified the convention. But this was not the main reason for not ratifying the convention until today," Muhaimin said. "We need to prepare the regulations."

According to the People's Alliance, 42 countries had already ratified the convention, including Congo, Uruguay, Mexico, and the Philippines.

The alliance added that destination countries expected the countries sending workers abroad, including Indonesia, to show their commitment in protecting their workers, since talks over salary standards and protection of rights should normally be initiated by the country sending the workers abroad. Wahyu said that the government should have fought for both the domestic law and the UN Convention at the same time.

He was referring to the House of Representatives's decision last month to draft a bill to provide better placement and protection for Indonesian workers overseas.

Batam workers rally for fair wage and threaten to strike

Jakarta Post - December 1, 2009

Adli and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Batam/Malang – Around 3,000 workers from 200 companies operating in Batam staged a protest Monday, urging the city's mayor to set their minimum wage equivalent to the decent cost of living.

The protesters said they would go on strike to further push for their demand to be met by the mayor, Ahmad Dahlan.

The workers demanded that the 2010 minimum wage be set at Rp 1.275,000, which is the fair amount for the cost of living in the Batam industrial zone, Riau Islands province.

They rejected the wage of Rp 1.076,350 proposed by the city's Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) and the Rp 1.085,000 requested by the local manpower office. The current wage for Batam is Rp 1.045,000 per month.

The protest was organized by three labor unions – the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPMI), the Association of All-Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) and the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI).

"We demand the 2010 wage equal the fair living cost, otherwise we will exercise our right to go on strike, which will paralyze the production process," Batam's FSPMI leader Nurhamli said during the rally outside the city's municipal office.

He argued the living cost was currently quite high for workers in Batam, with at least 30 percent of their wages spent on housing rental fees. Their spending on transportation and consumption was also costly, Nurhamli added.

In response, Mayor Ahmad Dahlan said he could not meet the workers' demand as he had to also accommodate the aspirations of employers. "We should take into account how the global economic crisis has affected Batam's business climate."

In Malang, East Java, thousands of workers from small-sized cigarette companies rallied Monday outside the city's excise and customs office, opposing the planned increase of excise on tobacco next year.

They said the excise hike would threaten tens of thousands of jobs as it could cause their small-sized cigarette firms to collapse.

The Finance Ministry issued a 2009 decree to increase the tobacco excise early next year. Under the decree, the excise is increased by only between 3.5 percent and 5 percent for major cigarette companies, and between 15 percent and 42 percent for small-scale ones.

The Forum for Indonesian Cigarette Industry Community (Formasi), which organized the rally, said the planned excise increase was unfair.

Formasi secretary Johanes Paulus Suhardjo said the government should postpone implementing the decree until after it managed to ensure protection for small-sized cigarette companies.

The noisy demonstration disrupted classes at the SMK Negeri 3 Malang state vocational school located adjacent to the municipal office, forcing the school to send its students home early.

Environment/natural disasters

'Time is running out' for Sumatra's rainforest

Jakarta Globe - December 6, 2009

Arwa Damon – Driving through Indonesia's central Sumatra, it appears that all life on earth has been obliterated, like a scene from some apocalyptic movie.

The land is tinted a sick gray. Some parts still smolder. Twisted hulks of tree trunks take on abnormal shapes. It is nearly impossible to imagine that this was once lush tropical rainforest.

Nearby the rolling hills are covered in a sea of emerald green. But it is not a natural forest – it is a palm plantation.

In supermarkets worldwide products containing palm oil – soaps, chocolates, margarine and cosmetics – fly off the shelves. Most consumers have no idea these products contain palm oil, often labeled as vegetable oil, and even less of a clue that conservationists are singling it out as being one of the main driving forces behind deforestation.

Clearing forests for agriculture isn't exactly new, but palm is quickly becoming the crop of choice. It is fast growing with high yields, global demand now tops 40 million tons a year, and it's central to the economies of Malaysia and Indonesia.

But the rate at which Indonesia's natural forests are being torn down has made this tropical nation one of the world's largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Already, 85 percent of Sumatra's forests are gone and what is left is disappearing at an alarming rate.

"We are running out of time here. We are at the end of the tunnel," Peter Pratje, of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, said at an orangutan sanctuary in the heart of Sumatra. Sumatran orangutans are expected to be the first great ape to go extinct – due to the loss of their natural habitat.

"The problem is there is no second chance," Pratje adds. "If you shut down an ecosystem that is hundreds of years old you can't regrow it."

It is a reality that even the largest buyers and producers of palm oil acknowledge. Consumer products giant Unilever spearheaded a movement towards sustainable palm oil cultivation – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – which gathered palm producers, manufacturers and green groups to seek out a sustainable way to cultivate palm.

"If agriculture cannot be made sustainable then we as a food and home and personal care company are in trouble," Unilever Jan Kees Vis explained.

But critics like Greenpeace fault the RSPO's standards for being too weak and say that they cannot control their members. "If a company is doing deforestation and peat land destruction, we cannot say the company is sustainable," said Greenpeace activist Bustar Maitar.

At the moment, only 3 percent to 4 percent of globally produced palm oil is certified by the RSPO. It is a drop in the bucket now, but the RSPO expects the volume to double in the next year.

But that probably will not be enough to save Sumatra's forests. Conservationists say that it is time for companies to control their desire for more money, governments to start seriously enforcing forest protection laws and individuals consumers to take on responsibility and make lifestyle changes. For Sumatra, it might already be too late.

[Arwa Damon is an international correspondent for CNN.]

Indigenous communities are the key to climate deal

Jakarta Globe - December 4, 2009

Fidelis E Satriastanti – Indonesia has a lot to gain from a deal at Copenhagen on the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scheme. But its hopes of being the poster child for REDD will not work without the inclusion and participation of the country's indigenous communities, activists said.

Indonesia and other countries that stand to earn billions of dollars annually from REDD, such as Brazil and Congo, want the scheme to be part of any new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. While a new protocol is more likely to be agreed to next year rather than during Copenhagen, carbon credit sales through REDD could begin as early as 2013.

"But it is impossible to implement REDD if the country still does not include indigenous people's rights at the negotiating table," said Abdon Nababan, secretary general of Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, a Jakarta-based organization.

Mina Susana Setra, the group's director of international advocacy and foreign affairs, said they were demanding that any new agreement through the Long-Term Cooperative Action Working Group, which deals with mitigation efforts such as REDD, must adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as its framework. The group is also demanding "prior informed consent" about any carbon trading projects in forest lands where indigenous communities live, as well as involving them in any decision-making on policies related to their use.

Alliance officials said they were facing stiff resistance from some developed nations, in particular the United States, Canada and New Zealand, which have objected to including the UN declaration as part of any new agreements.

"Indonesia is the opposite of that, because we still acknowledge community rights here," Adbon said. "We also have at least 50 to 70 million indigenous people out of 222 million people in this country. So, those voices should be taken into consideration."

He said the central government, as well as local administrations, had little choice but to include indigenous communities in any plans to implement REDD if they wanted to avoid alienating them.

"Most intact forests in this country are managed by indigenous people, compared to the state forests, which have been mostly damaged through exploitation," he said. "So, the government should realize that they need all the help they can get from indigenous people."

Tri Tharyat, a senior official from the National Council on Climate Change, said indigenous people's rights have always been part of their negotiation position. "But the biggest challenge is coming from the US, which strongly objects to including human rights in climate issues," he said.

Furthermore, he said the UN declaration on indigenous people's rights was not a legally binding document. He said the Indonesian government should incorporate articles to protect indigenous people's rights in its national policies regarding REDD if there wasn't an international agreement.

In addition, Riza Damanik, secretary general of the Fisheries Justice Coalition, warned against Indonesia's oceans being included in any carbon trading scheme.

Last May, former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi told the World Ocean Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi, that Indonesia's oceans could absorb 66.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and coastal areas an additional 245.6 million tons.

The statement drew sharp criticism from civil society groups, which accused the government of laying the groundwork to commercialize oceans and coastal areas for financial gain, while neglecting the welfare of traditional fishermen.

Adding to the debate, Alan Koropitan, an ocean expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said last week that Indonesia's waters had much more potential to release carbon dioxide than absorb it, given that the country is tropical.

Riau villagers want forestry companies out

Jakarta Globe - December 4, 2009

Fidelis E Satriastanti – Residents of Teluk Meranti in Riau are seeking the expulsion of forestry industry companies operating in the district, claiming the companies have brought nothing by misery.

"We want our forests back," Yusuf, a chief of the Paliang tribe, an indigenous ethic group in Teluk Miranti district, said in Jakarta on Friday.

"My only mandate from local villagers is to convey their strong objections to the presence of these companies to the central government," he said, after being told at the last minute that his scheduled meeting with Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan had been canceled.

Located on the Kampar peninsula, Teluk Meranti has been in the media spotlight since October, when the environmental group Greenpeace established a site called the Climate Defenders Camp to protest against deforestation in the district by major forestry companies, including Asia Pulp and Paper and Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL).

Greenpeace activists staged two demonstrations in the area, which led to the deportation of 11 foreign activists and the arrest of 21 Indonesians.

The activists' actions included chaining themselves to excavators owned by APRIL, which has been granted a huge concession covering most of Kampar peninsula's 400,000 hectares, and to cranes owned by PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, a subsidiary of the Sinar Mas Group, at Perawang Port in Siak district.

Yusuf said villagers had struggled to earn a living since the companies arrived in the area.

"It's very hard for us farmers to make a living because there have been lots of disturbances since PT Arara Abadi started its operations in 1997," he said. "Tigers have been roaming around our village because there are no more intact forests," Yusuf said.

He added that more companies operating in the district would only mean more suffering for local residents.

Bustar Maitar, the Greenpeace Indonesia campaign manager for Southeast Asia, said the organization's campaigns in Kampar were a warning to the government to make sure that the same kind of destruction that has occurred in Riau would not be repeated in Papua, which has the only intact forest left in the country.

"Almost 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the country are coming from deforestation, with about 1.8 billion tons of carbon emitted by the opening up of peatlands," Bustar said.

"So, if the government really is committed to its international pledge on emissions cuts, it will need to stop all expansion into peatlands because they are releasing the most carbon dioxide [into the atmosphere]."

Logging moratorium 'impossible for Indonesia'

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia would find it impossible to impose a moratorium prohibiting companies from logging production and industrial forests, a study by Greenomics Indonesia says.

The study showed Indonesia needed at least Rp 75.2 trillion (US$7.5 billion) to compensate the potential losses from halting the logging of 110 production forest concessions (HPH) and 77 industrial forest concessions (HTI) across the archipelago.

"The potential losses from a moratorium on logging are too high. It is impossible to implement it," Greenomics executive director Elfian Effendi said on Wednesday.

Greenomics calculated the potential losses based on the price of wood to be logged from the HPH and HTI areas belonging to companies, which had secured government licenses to fell the trees until 2018.

Elfian said any forest moratorium would also have a follow-on effect because the HPHs and HTIs employ thousands of workers.

The 187 HPH and HTI companies, which operate across 7.58 million hectares of forest, plan to log 1.48 million hectares of forests up until 2018, providing an expected output of 79.69 million cubic meters of wood.

Indonesia has 120 million of hectares of forests, making it the world's third-most forested nation, and has long been under pressure from activists and the international community because of the country's poor forest management, which has led to high levels of deforestation and land degradation.

With the severe impact of climate change looming, calls for forest nations to impose moratoriums to preserve their forests have become louder.

Data from the Forestry Ministry showed around 1.8 million hectares of rainforest was cut down in 1997, with the figures jumping to 2.8 million hectares per year between 1998 and 2000.

Since then, clearance rates have remained high, at 1.08 million hectares.

Former state environment minister Rachmat Witoelar repeatedly lobbied for temporary logging moratoriums to deal with climate change.

The Greenpeace Indonesia and the Indonesia Environmental Forum (Walhi) have also campaigned for forestry moratoriums and have asked the government to stop issuing licenses for forest conversion.

The government has allocated 64 million hectares of natural forests as the forestry concession areas that can be legally logged.

Aceh administration is the only province that has imposed a logging moratorium prohibiting the felling of forest trees. However, Aceh's poorly-enforced moratorium policy has led to an increase in illegal logging to meet high demand for timber for reconstruction following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

The NGO Riau Forest Rescue Working Network (Jikalahari) has also asked Riau administration to impose moratorium over a number of forested areas, including on the 682,511-hectare Semenanjung Kampar area.

Indonesia to expand oil palm estates amid environmental concerns

Jakarta Post - December 3, 2009

Riyadi Suparno and Nani Afrida, Nusa Dua, Bali – Despite environmental concerns, Indonesia plans to continue the expansion of its much-contested oil palm plantations to cover a total area of 18 million hectares, from the current 9.7 million, to generate more employment and improve people's welfare.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa said on Wednesday that Indonesia would adopt "sustainable palm oil development" to ensure the expansion would not create more environmental problems.

"Sustainability is not an option, it's a must. Sustainability in the palm oil sector must cover all three aspects, social, economic and environmental," Hatta said after opening the 5th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference.

Hatta noted the government was committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020, and that such a target could only be achieved by establishing new oil palm plantations.

Therefore, he said, the government would implement stricter regulations on clearing land for oil palm estates, and would work to reduce forest fires and illegal logging.

Indonesia, currently the world's largest palm oil producer, is considered one of the biggest emitters of CO2 from land use. Environmental activists have singled out the development of massive oil palm plantations as one of the biggest contributors to the emissions.

Indonesia has a total 9.7 million hectares of land that have been licensed for oil palm plantations, 9.7 million hectares of which are already planted, while 1.8 million remain empty. Indonesia produ-ces 19.2 million tons of palm oil per annum.

In comparison, Malaysia has 4 million hectares of oil palm plantations, and produces 16 million tons. Unlike Malaysia, Indonesia has more land to use for plantations.

"Based on the land characteristics and the climate, we have a total 18 million hectares of land, including the existing 9.7 million hectares, which could potentially be used for palm oil plantations, without disturbing our forest preservation efforts," said Agriculture Minister Suswono.

Suswono also said that environmental concerns should not discourage the government, businesses and farmers from continuing to invest in the palm oil sector, noting that environmental concerns were exaggerated, while economic benefits were largely ignored.

"The emissions from opening new oil palm plantations are more in the form of CO2, and the oil palms to some extent absorb CO2. Compare that to methane emissions in the West, which are 23 times more dangerous than CO2," Suswono said.

In addition, the sector contributed US$12.4 billion in export revenue, the biggest outside the oil and gas sector, and employed 3.4 million households.

"But it doesn't mean that we ignore the environment. Ignoring the environment means we are committing suicide," he said.

Deputy agriculture minister, Bayu Khisnamurthi, said that Indonesia's palm oil sector was one of the booming sectors, and with the government's support and support from the banking sector, he predicted the country's output would double in the next decade to 40 million tons per year.

Agency keeping eye on fissure at Sidoarjo mudflow as land shifts

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2009

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – The Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Agency said on Wednesday that it was closely monitoring a 500-meter fault line that has appeared in the middle of the Lapindo mud pool in Sidoarjo, East Java.

"The fault line is an indication that the shifting of the land around the source of the mud flow is very dynamic," Achmad Zulkarnain, spokesman for the agency, also known as the BPLS, said on Wednesday.

The fissure, which appeared about six days ago, made it look like the wide expanse of mud contained by tall earthen embankments was now split in the middle with mud flowing towards the lower sector.

Zulkarnain dismissed concerns that the fault could undermine the strength of the embankment and endanger residents in the surrounding areas. "It formed gradually and did not just suddenly appear."

Although not dangerous, he said that the crack was hampering efforts to drain the mud into the Porong River.

"Due to the difference of levels, the mud flows to the northern side, which is lower, while the pumps are all on the southern side," Zulkarnain said.

To measure land subsidence around the Lapindo mudflow site, BPLS has focused on 15 spots to monitor along the fault. Observations seems to show a dynamic shifting of the underlying land.

The agency also said that the most consistent and extreme subsidence occurred in the area where a now demolished toll road overpass had stood.

Although the area had already been raised by 80 centimeters last year, Zulkarnain said that recent observation showed that "there is a 45 cm subsidence in the area."

The mudflow first began from a crack near an exploratory gas well owned by PT Lapindo Brantas, a Bakrie group company on May 29, 2006. It soon expanded into a mud lake, swallowing houses, factories and schools, leaving more than 15,000 people homeless.

Indonesian carbon trading 'too corrupt'

Australian Associated Press - December 1, 2009

Adam Gartrell – Australia and other countries should avoid carbon trading with Indonesia unless it cracks down on widespread corruption in its forest industry, a new report warns.

Human Rights Watch says Indonesian plans for a carbon trading market that could see polluters pay it to preserve its forests could be a good thing – but only after widespread forest industry corruption is addressed.

"There is a critical need for adequate safeguards to be in place to accurately monitor the actual logging rates and their legal compliance, and stop the flow of cash if forests are not protected," the report says.

"In the absence of safeguards, the carbon finance market will simply inject more money into an already corrupt system, shortcutting needed reforms and exacerbating the situation."

Slowing deforestation in countries like Indonesia, which still has vast swathes of carbon-absorbing forests, is seen as a potentially powerful weapon in the fight against climate change.

Indonesia could therefore benefit from a United Nations-sponsored proposal known as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), under which polluters could pay it to preserve its forest in exchange for carbon credits.

Australia has been a vocal supporter of REDD, committing A$40 million to help Indonesia implement it and develop a pilot project in Central Kalimantan. But Indonesia will be an unreliable carbon trading partner unless corruption is tackled, the report says.

"We urge countries, as well as private carbon traders, not to engage in carbon deals with Indonesia until there are further reforms in place that would provide these safeguards."

Forest industry corruption and illegal logging is costing the Indonesian government US$2 billion a year, the report says. More than half of all Indonesian timber is logged illegally, it says. Deforestation accounts for about 18 per cent of global greenhouse emissions.

Indonesian environment groups say REDD project misses point

Jakarta Globe - December 1, 2009

Fidelis E Satriastanti – Environmental nongovernmental organizations released a report on Monday accusing Australia of using a bilateral forestry project in Kalimantan to avoid reducing emissions at home while ignoring the welfare of indigenous peoples here.

The report "What a Scam – Australia's REDD Offsets for Copenhagen," from the Friends of the Earth Australia, the Indonesian Peasants Union (API) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said the project was only focused on gaining carbon credits from Indonesian forests that Australia would use to offset its greenhouse gas emissions.

The Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnerships project, a cooperation between AusAID and the Ministry of Forestry, is a pilot project that aims to demonstrate how the UN's Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries program (REDD) can contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change.

The project, for which Australia will provide 40 million Australian dollars ($36.6 million), started in 2008 and aims to reforest at least 100,000 hectares of degraded peatland in Central Kalimantan over five years.

"It is actually a way for the Australian government to justify relying on REDD to reduce their own emissions," said Teguh Surya, the head of advocacy for Walhi. "At the same time, Indonesia's government has consciously agreed to become Australia's carbon trash bin."

He added that the project violated the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples because it failed to acknowledge indigenous people living in the project area.

Elisha Kartini, an API researcher, said farmers and indigenous people do not oppose efforts to preserve nature and protect forests because their livelihoods depended on the health and sustainability of forests.

"It is the obligation of all countries, including Indonesia, to reduce their emissions and turn to low-carbon growth development," Elisha said.

She added that Australia needed to do the work of emissions reduction domestically instead of simply buying carbon credits from Indonesia.

"If Indonesia continues to take part in these kinds of mechanisms, then it would indicate that the government has no commitment to deal with climate change issue," she said. Elisha added that in practice, the REDD program had only marginalized people and hampered their control over their own lands.

Outsiders, rogue officials blamed for Riau forest loss

Jakarta Globe - December 1, 2009

Budi Otmansyah – Illegal loggers have in the past two years cleared as much as 3,000 hectares of forest around the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in Indragiri Hulu district, Riau, local residents said on Monday.

Darlis, 36, a resident of Pesajian village, Batang Peranap subdistrict, said most of the loggers came from neighboring provinces, and claimed they were backed by local government officials and police and military officers in the provincial capital Pekanbaru.

"Illegal logging activities have been going on for two years with local authorities just turning a blind eye to the activities," Darlis said. "This is despite the fact that the area is protected."

Observations by the Jakarta Globe on Monday found that the forest in the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park-Rimbang Baling area that connects Riau and Jambi had been severely damaged. Piles of logs ready to be transported were seen and the sound of chain-saws were heard along the corridor. At some locations, illegal loggers were burning stretches of forest.

"This corridor is used for transporting logs to pulp factories in Riau and Jambi and the cleared land is later planted with oil palms," Darlis said.

Samar, 47, who lives near a logging site, said the process for "buying land" in the area was simple. He said interested parties just called up local village chiefs, who readily issued land certificates.

"The transactions must involve someone from the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park Agency, because without a recommendation from the agency, village heads can't issue a land certificate," he said.

According to Samar, most of the people claiming land ownership in the area are police officers in the province. "Loggers earn little money after the land is cleared," said Samar, who claimed to have a 20-hectare palm oil plantation in the area.

Afdhal Mahyuddin, an activists from the Eyes on the Forest Foundation, said areas around Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park were home to protected animal species, including Sumatran tigers and elephants.

"Every year, about 70 elephants pass through these areas," he said. "If the forest is devastated, then conflicts between men and elephants will increase, which may result in casualties on both sides."

Health & education

How poor sanitation is putting a major strain on Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2009

Nurfika Osman – Poor sanitation habits have led to the large- scale contamination of the country's water supplies, which in turn has led to massive financial losses for the nation.

"Many people are not aware of the importance of sanitation," said Nugroho Tri Utomo, who heads the department overseeing drinking water and waste at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas). "They still defecate outside in the open and continue to throw garbage into rivers."

Utomo said sanitation remained a massive challenge for the nation, with most people lacking awareness of the importance of proper sanitation.

About 70 million people out of a population of 230 million defecate in the open, he said, adding that many houses do not have septic tanks, or if they have a tank, it is not cleaned regularly.

This kind of behavior, Utomo said, has played a major role in the contamination of some 75 percent of the country's drinking water, which is proving costly.

"The worsening contamination means more [chemical] substances are needed to purify the water, which in turn forces water tariffs up," he said.

But the biggest cost, he added, is in terms of health. "Indonesia lost Rp 57 trillion [$6 billion] in 2008 due to health problems brought about by poor sanitation," he said.

Diseases such as diarrhea, dengue fever, typhus and cholera are strongly correlated with low sanitation standards. "Medical costs and losses due to time off work related to poor sanitation are costing our country," he said.

Utomo said data from Bappenas showed that some 100 cities in the country had urban drainage management problems. He also said Indonesia trailed only China and India in terms of sanitation problems.

"Sanitation should be the concern of all parties because this is a problem that affects everyone," he said. "We need to commit to better sanitation."

Utomo said the country had only recently started to pay attention to sanitation, and that some regions were now allocating more funds to the issue.

"Some regions have increased their budgets for sanitation to 4 percent [of the total budget]," he said, adding that many regions continue to lag with sanitation barely getting 1 percent of the budget.

Only 11 cities have proper access to sanitation, he said. These cities are Medan, Jakarta, Bandung, Cirebon, Banjarmasin, Yogyakarta, Solo, Denpasar, Makassar, Balikpapan and Blitar.

In 2006, the country established an interdepartment ad-hoc committee named the Sanitation Development Technical Team (TTPS), consisting of Bappenas, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Housing, the State Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Public Works.

Jakarta will host a three-day national conference on sanitation beginning on Tuesday aimed at accelerating sanitation development to fulfill basic services for all the nation's citizens.

Thousands of people gather in Denpasar for commemoration

Jakarta Post - December 2, 2009

Wasti Atmodjo, Denpasar – Thousands of people gathered at Puputan Margana Square Tuesday to commemorate World AIDS Day, which falls every Dec. 1.

NGO activists, school students and even traditional market traders in Denpasar took part in the mass campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Hundreds of people marched through the city's streets, bus terminals, schools and traditional markets to hand out pamphlets and fresh roses to passersby.

Several government officials, including Denpasar Deputy Mayor I.G.N. Jayanegara and Denpasar Health Agency Head Luh Putu Sri Armini, held speeches to warn people of the risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. "Today we commemorate World AIDS Day to remind us of the epidemic and to prevent more people getting HIV/AIDS," Sri Armini said.

Bali ranks second behind Papua for the province with the highest rate of HIV/AIDS cases. The Indonesian HIV/AIDS Prevention Commission's (KPA) Bali office says the total number of people with HIV/AIDS in the province was 3047 in October 2009. Four months ago, the figure was only 2,647 people.

KPA Bali's Dr. Mangku Karnaya said last year that the number of people with HIV/AIDS on the resort island would likely reach 4,000 by the 2010. Official estimates put at 298,000 the number of people with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, but the real figures may be much higher.

Even with a rise in the number of new cases, the government remains optimistic it can bring down the rate of infections through serious efforts and close cooperation with various NGOs and the community.

The five provinces with the highest number people with HIV/AIDS are Papua, which accounts for 17.9 percent of the national figure, Bali (5.3 percent), Jakarta (3.8 percent), Riau Islands (3.4 percent) and West Kalimantan (2.2 percent).

NGOs have long warned of the ticking time bomb that the disease poses to the younger generation, and have called for a joint effort with the government, universities and communities to launch a national awareness movement to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Sri Armini said the Denpasar Health Agency handed out 6,000 pamphlets and red ribbons during Tuesday's campaign, which also involved the NGOs Gaya Dewata (a gay community), the Kerti Praja Foundation, the Rama Sesana Foundation and thousands of school students from across the city.

At Badung Market, Rama Sesana members provided market traders with free medical services and health counseling. "All members of the community, including traders, must be made aware of the HIV/AIDS danger," said foundation director Luh Putu Upadisari. "Prevention is always much better than cure."

Bali Students Against AIDS and Drugs chairman Ketut Sujana said other campaigns Tuesday were aimed at school students. "Most teenagers are physically and emotionally vulnerable to health threats, including drug use and HIV/AIDS," he said, adding that continued advocacy and education were required to alert students to the danger of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Bank Century inquiry

Bailout inquiry leader choices prompt alarm in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea – Howls of protest immediately followed the appointment on Friday of Golkar Party lawmaker Idrus Marham as chairman of the House of Representatives special committee investigating the bailout of PT Bank Century.

Critics said the appointment of Idrus, an ally of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and his three deputies raised serious concerns about whether the investigation would be conducted in good faith. The appointments were seen by many as a victory for the coalition of parties backing Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party.

Gayus Lumbuun from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Yahya Sacawiria from the Democratic Party, and Mahfudz Siddiq from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) were appointed Idrus' deputies.

Idrus vowed to dispel doubts over his leadership. "I'm ready for the chairmanship," he said. "All doubts are a challenge for me." "The public spotlight is really strong. If we play with the case, it would mean suicide," he added.

Idrus is Golkar's secretary general, and also close to Yudhoyono ally and Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie. Critics argued on Friday that his appointment would limit the effectiveness of the probe into the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout and the subsequent flow of funds, which some alleged ended up financing Yudhoyono's re-election campaign. He and the Democrats have denied the allegation.

Some analysts have said the House probe has now turned political, with the goal of undermining the government by unseating Vice President Boediono, who was governor of the central bank at the time of the bailout, and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Recordings of meetings indicate Boediono pushed for the bailout.

Gayus, one of the lawmakers who originally sought the creation of a House investigative committee, on Friday warned the public not to get its hopes too high. He said the 30-member committee would no longer be "objective" with Idrus at the helm.

PDI-P lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari questioned Idrus's alleged involvement in graft case involving rice imports from Vietnam in 2003. Idrus told the House he was never questioned in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, a dozen activists from a group calling itself the Petisi 28 held a protest inside the House building, demanding that lawmakers not place "a dark passenger" at the head of the committee, referring to Idrus having been against the committee from the start. They said he lacked the integrity needed to properly investigate the case. "We oppose Idrus Marham," group spokesman Masinton Pasaribu said.

Boni Hargens, one of the protesters, said hopes for an effective investigation had been dashed as Idrus had never pushed for the team's formation to begin with.

Sebastian Salang, chairman of Concerned Citizens for the Indonesian Parliament (Formappi), was quoted by Antara news agency as having said that the House's "image and honor" was at stake in the Century probe.

Lawmakers cannot avoid politics in Bank Century investigation

Jakarta Globe - December 5, 2009

Emmy Fitri – As Golkar's Idrus Marham, a friend of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was being voted in on Friday to chair the House of Representatives special committee to investigate the state bailout of PT Bank Century, political experts and anticorruption activists were raising concerns that little would be achieved given the legislature's less-than-flattering history.

Siti Zuhro, a political researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the committee had become an opportunity for the political factions in the House to attempt to improve their images in the fight against corruption, as well as their perceived commitment to the rule of law.

"But at the same time it has turned into a conduit for political bargaining," she said, adding that from the very beginning of the process to establish the committee, "the aroma of political power plays has been thick with who will get what if the probe continues."

The push to establish the committee was launched by members of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and individual members of political parties allied to Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, which was initially opposed to the move.

However, in the face of growing public outrage over the murky bailout and a damning – if limited – report from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) that as much as 40 percent of the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) in bailout funds was effectively illegal, the Democrats quickly climbed aboard, with the House overwhelmingly adopting the motion to establish the committee on Tuesday.

The Democrats were no doubt helped to arrive at their decision to support the probe amid the prominent roles of Vice President Boediono, the former central bank governor, and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in approving the bailout in 2008, as well as persistent rumors that part of the money managed to work its way into Yudhoyono's campaign coffers. Yudhoyono has rigorously denied any such claims.

Ardent cynics might very well say that a seat on the 30-strong committee could very well be a lucrative occupation given the money involved in the bailout and the wealthy client list of the former Bank Century, since renamed Bank Mutiara.

Investigating the case on behalf of the BPK, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) found irregularities in at least 59 transactions involving transfers from 44 personal and seven institutional accounts at Bank Century to 10 other banks. The value of those transactions totaled more than Rp 146.7 billion.

It is no secret that the House is plagued by corruption, including legislators demanding money or other gratuities from individuals who appear before various House commissions, with promises to go soft on them during questioning.

The various committees are also a good place to garner political power for use against political rivals.

The PDI-P, which is attempting to use the scandal to re-brand itself as a force for good in the war on graft, could use the investigation to help deflect attention from the role of party members in the corruption scandal involving the election of Miranda Goeltom as Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor in 2003.

On Thursday, former party member Agus Condro, who blew the whistle in the Miranda Goeltom case, gave the PDI-P a sharp reminder of the precarious line it is attempting to walk given numerous cases of corruption involving party members.

"Those who are connected with the flows of funds in the case of former Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom should not speak about corruption, much less about the Bank Century case," Agus was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

"It is illogical for those involved in corruption cases, and who are still being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK], to speak up and even act as if they had never done anything wrong," he said.

Political analyst Sulastio, director of the Indonesian Parliament Center, said he still maintained hope that the committee would produce results, despite a string of failures during the 2004-09 period.

"The public is watching and their image is at stake now," Sulastio said. "I think if they attempt to divert or cause the probe to fail, we can outdo them by gathering public support." He said the House must also guarantee that all hearings were open to the public.

There has also been much speculation that Aburizal Bakrie, a former senior cabinet minister under Yudhoyono and the current chairman of the Golkar Party, could attempt to benefit from the case by helping to engineer the ouster of Boediono, or Sri Mulyani or both – and offering himself as a replacement.

Aburizal and Sri Mulyani are known not to get along and have previously clashed over the business dealings of the controversial Bakrie conglomerate.

Sulastio said he could foresee a situation in which Boediono and Sri Mulyani would be forced to fall on their swords, as has been speculated.

As for the potential impeachment of Yudhoyono should any wrongdoing be established, Sulastio said the scenario was unlikely, particularly given an amendment to the 1945 Constitution allowing for the direct election of the president. "The People's Consultative Assembly is no longer the supreme body that appoints the president so they cannot unseat him," he said.

Fadjroel Rachman, an activist from the Anticorruption Civil Society Coalition, said he only had a 50 percent conviction that the committee would reap results.

"The remaining 50 percent is for the Corruption Eradication Commission. If the two can synergize there are more chances for disclosing the truth and bringing those responsible to justice," he said.

He said the coalition, founded by activists and scholars, had "zero tolerance for anyone trying to cover up the truth using their political power within or outside the House."

He said it was natural that political parties were preparing to propose candidates to replace the finance minister or vice president, given that "there will be vacant positions in the government if the truth is disclosed.

Indonesian lawmakers clash over chair of bailout investigation

Jakarta Globe - December 3, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea & Heru Andriyanto – Legislators have slammed an alleged behind-the-scenes attempt to position an ally of the president at the head of special committee to investigate the government's controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout of PT Bank Century.

Viva Yoga Mauladi, the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction secretary in the House of Representatives, confirmed that factional chairmen of political parties aligned with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party had met on Thursday night to discuss who would be appointed chairman of the investigative committee, with each party proposing one name.

"This is within PAN political ethics," Viva said. "Coalition parties should coordinate and communicate equally, including on the matter of committee chairman."

The Golkar Party had said that it would allow a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to chair the committee, given that the PDI-P initiated the move to form the special committee in the face of initial opposition from both the Democrats and Golkar.

That position changed on Thursday, however, with House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, from Golkar, saying the party would propose that its secretary general, Idrus Marham, chair the committee.

Priyo justified the reversal by saying the investigation could be seen as an extension of the rivalry between the PDI-P and Democrats, with a Golkar chairman providing a safe middle ground. He denied that a secret deal had been reached with the Democrats to propose Idrus, who is known to be very close to the president.

The prospect of Idrus chairing the committee brought immediate howls of protest from opponents who feared he would hamper the probe into the bailout and the subsequent flow of funds, some of which, it is alleged, was diverted into Yudhoyono's re-election campaign coffers. The allegations are strongly denied by Yudhoyono and his supporters.

Romahur Muzi, the United Development Party (PPP) faction secretary, said the appointment of Idrus would create new problems and public distrust. "A candidate from Golkar is a middle way, but appointing Idrus will only create an uproar," he said.

Priyo dismissed the objections, saying Golkar was "an independent party" that could not be influenced. He said the selection of Idrus was a party consideration and had nothing to do with the Democrats,.

Pramono Anung, a House deputy speaker from the PDI-P, said his party would flatly oppose the appointment of Idrus. "We want the chairmanship to be given to a credible and clean figure who is independent," he said.

Pramono said the PDI-P had proposed Gayus Lumbuun, who was one of the main instigators of the committee. "We will fight to place Gayus as chairman."

Despite some initial opposition to the creation of the committee, a seat on the body is now one of the hottest tickets in town, given the scandal is likely to involve a bevy of senior politicians and tycoons.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) released a damning report last week that said as much as 40 percent of the Rp 6.7 trillion bailout funds was effectively illegal, and also cited other wrongdoings that it recommended be investigated. The BPK said it could not trace the funds itself.

The proposal to probe the Bank Century scandal received a record 503 votes from the House's 560 lawmakers on Tuesday. The 30-member special committee is scheduled to be established today during the last session of the House before it goes into recess.

Indonesian lawmakers jostling for seats on bailout inquiry

Jakarta Globe - December 2, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea & Dion Bisara – A House of Representatives inquiry into the controversial government bailout of PT Bank Century overcame its first hurdle on Tuesday when an overwhelming majority of lawmakers backed it, as fierce jostling to join the team that will conduct the probe was already taking place.

The proposal received the votes of a record 503 of the House's 560 lawmakers at a plenary session. The 30-member House Special Committee is scheduled to be established on Friday, during the House's last session before it enters recess.

Political parties were already busy picking their representatives for the team on Tuesday. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party will have eight seats. The Golkar Party will have six seats and the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) five. The rest will be divided among smaller parties.

"We have to be on high alert, because there will be members who will join the committee to uncover the facts, but there will also be others who will join to hamper the investigation," said Maruarar Sirait, of the PDI-P, without elaborating.

The motion to form the team was initiated by lawmakers from Golkar and PDI-P. The Democratic Party's 148 House members signed on last, after the proposal had already garnered the signatures of more tha