INFID, February 10, 2004
INFID's Short News Overview No. VI/3: February 4-10, 2005
INFID Related Issues
G7 News
The Indonesian government welcomed the G7 group of industrialised nations decision
to freeze the debt payments of countries affected by recent Tsunami until the end of
2005 without interest payments for the period. Head of the National Development
Planning Body (Bappenas) Sri Mulyani said that the government would study the
scheme in details.The G7 in its communique said that it will bring the agreement to
the meeting of the Paris Club of creditor countries. The Paris Club in its meeting on
Jan. 12 called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to complete an
assessment of the reconstruction and financing requirements of the countries affected
by the tsunami disaster, including Indonesia, which then will be discussed in the Club
meeting in March.
Links:
Finance ministers from the world's seven richest nations agreed in principle to write off
up to 100 percent of the debts of the world's poorest countries but remained deeply
divided on the best way to do it.
G-7 Backs Debt Plan For Poor Countries U.S. Disapproves of European Approach:
http://www.infid.be/debt_plan_g7.htm.
The International Monetary Fund is preparing a report on the potential sale of a portion
of its gold reserves in a move that would help fund debt relief for poor countries but
could unsettle the markets by threatening a drop in the price of gold.
IMF looks at gold sale options for debt relief: http://www.infid.be/debt_relief_sale.htm.
The failure that has marked the end of the summit of G7 Finance Ministers on 4th and
5th February had to be covered up with empty declarations. The final communique is
just another step in a direction that has already shown itself to be far wide of any real
intention to totally cancel debt.
All talk and no action – the G7 has no intention of cancelling debt:
http://www.infid.be/G7-All-Talk-No-Action.pdf.
Sources: BI 8/2, FT 6/2, WP 6/2, CADTM
Links
Tsunami Tragedy and CGI: In Need of Partnership without Conditionalities (INFID
Position Paper for the CGI Meeting):
http://www.infid.be/Position-Paper-CGI-Jan2005.pdf
Letter to the Co-ordinating Minister for Economy Aburizal Bakrie as the Chair of the
CGI meeting, January 2005: http://www.infid.be/Letter-Bakrie-180105.pdf
Letter to the Chancellor of Exchequer Gordon Brown, January 24, 2005:
http://www.infid.be/Letter-Brown-240105.pdf
General News
New Information Ministry
Lawmakers on Feb. 7 questioned the move by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
to create a new Ministry of Communications and Information. They fear the new
ministry could become a powerful and repressive institution -- like its namesake under
former president Soeharto -- which would undermine the hard-fought freedom of the
press in the country.
Last week's presidential decree upgrades the Office of the State Minister of
Communications and Information into a portfolio ministry that also absorbs the
responsibilities of the Directorate General of Postal Affairs and Telecommunications.
The directorate was previously under the Ministry of Transportation.
State Minister for Communications and Information Sofyan A. Djalil assured the
Commission the new structure of his ministry would not revive the repressive ministry
of information during the New Order regime. Sofyan emphasized that Suharto's
ministry was established during an authoritarian regime, while the current body was
set up in a democratic era.
Communication expert Roy Suryo applauded the government's move to set up a
ministry of communications and information, saying it would help simplify the chain
the bureaucracy in establishing new electronic media. The new ministry will have the
authority to issue licenses and determine the frequency of new radio and television
stations, thus removing the overlapping functions that currently exist between two
ministries; that of the transportation ministry -- sometimes called the communications
ministry -- and that of the Office of the State Minister for Communications and
Information, researcher Roy Suryo said on Feb.6.
Expert applauds new info ministry: http://www.infid.be/press_criminal_code.htm
Sources: JP 6/2, 8/2
New Criminal Code
The government's draft of the new Criminal Code contains numerous articles that
could threaten press freedom. The draft, which was completed last month and handed
to the President before it is debated by the House of Representatives, contains no
fewer than 49 articles that critics say endanger press freedom. The current Criminal
Code, a legacy of the Dutch colonial government, has been criticized for allowing the
criminalization of the press.
The draft of the new Criminal Code maintains harsh penalties for journalists and those
in the media business, including Article 212 which spells out a 15-year jail sentence
for the dissemination of any information that undermines the state ideology Pancasila.
In addition to jail terms, journalists could face fines of up to Rp 3 billion (US$326,000)
and a ban from all journalistic activities. Journalists would also face punishment for
offending the president and vice president, the heads of state of neighboring countries
and state bodies, races or groups, and religious groups.
Drafted by a panel of experts, the revised laws would also set environmental
protection standards and punish human rights violations and terrorism. But they would
also impose penalties on unmarried couples who kiss in public, while permitting
police raids on the homes of those suspected of living together out of wedlock.
Offenders caught kissing in the open could be jailed up to 10 years and fined as much
as 300 million rupiah ($33 000) under new penalties.
Some legal experts have criticised the draft, saying the state should not repress
citizens' freedom of expression or interfere in their private lives. But justice ministry
official Abdul Gani Abdullah insisted the proposed laws were in line with popular
wishes.
New Criminal Code could still threaten free press + Public Kissing, A Crime?:
http://www.infid.be/press_criminal_code.htm.
Source: JP 7/2, PA News 5/2
New Regional Elections Rules
The government is altering the rules on how regional elections should be carried out in
the resource-rich provinces of Aceh and Papua, a move which some say undermines
the special autonomy status of the two regions and the independency of the election
process.
The changes are seen in the final draft of the government regulation on direct regional
elections. The draft is expected to be approved by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono in the near future.
The people of various regions in the country are expected to turn out to vote in June
for their regional leaders, in what will be the country's first direct regional elections.
More than 200 leaders of regional administrations -- including mayors, regents and
governors -- will soon end their terms.
Smita Notosusanto, the chairwoman of the Center for Electoral Reform (CETRO),
warned that the government must not degrade the autonomy power it has given to
both Aceh and Papua as this could cause a backlash from the local people, some of
whom have long campaigned for the sovereignty of the provinces.
CETRO and a number of non-governmental organizations and some KPUDs have filed
for a judicial review of Law No. 32/2004 on regional administration in a bid to change
the rules of regional elections. They consider the law is against the Constitution as it
fails to guarantee the fair and impartial principles of regional elections, due to the
strong involvement of the government in the process.
Government 'undermining' Aceh, Papua autonomy:
http://www.infid.be/autonomy_undermined.htm.
Source: JP 7/2
Regional News
Aceh
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expects a second round of peace talks with
separatist rebels from the tsunami-devastated Aceh province to take place at the end
of this month, the Financial Times reported.
The talks last weekend failed to bring about a formal truce between the warring
parties, but they pledged to refrain from hostilities during the ongoing emergency aid
operations in Aceh. Previous ceasefires have failed with both sides accusing the other
of bad faith. The last truce between them broke down in May 2003 and the Indonesian
army launched an offensive to end the insurgency.
Yudhoyono said the agenda would include discussions on how to implement an
Indonesian offer of special autonomy for the province, an amnesty for rebels and what
form monitoring of any settlement would take.
However, Yudhoyono said during a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on
Feb. 4 that Indonesian government would not allow any international involvement in
solving the Aceh problem. He responded to the earlier statement made by a UN
spokeperson who said that former US president Bill Clinton, who was appointed as
special envoy for tsunami relief, was also tasked to help solving the Aceh conflict.
Yudhoyono said that Kofi Annan has ensured the Indonesian government that
Clinton's mandate is limited only to the reconstruction of devastated areas and ensure
that the international community remains engaged for the long term, not the solution
of Aceh conflict.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to drop its plan to set up a special authority
for Aceh (BOK). Vice President Jusuf Kalla said this kind of authority only exists in
empty, underdeveloped areas, like Batam used to be. He said Aceh already had
functioning local governments.
RI welcomes Clinton's appointment: http://www.infid.be/aceh_clinton.htm
It's Now or Never for Jakarta to Win Over Aceh:
http://www.infid.be/aceh_now_never.htm.
Government scraps Aceh Authority Board plan:
http://www.infid.be/aceh_bok_scrap.htm.
Sources: AFP 5/2, Kompas 7/2, JP 5/2
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AP Associated Press
BI Bisnis Indonesia
JP The Jakarta Post
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