INFID, June 29, 2006
INFID's Short News Overview No. VII/12: June 24-29, 2006
Debt & Poverty
Small business growth could reduce poverty in Indonesia: World Bank
Small businesses, which employ millions of Indonesians, could become major
engines of economic growth in this cash-strapped country and help reduce poverty,
the World Bank has said. Indonesia's 15.7 million small enterprises make up more
than 90 percent of all businesses and employ up to 60 percent of the workforce,
outside agriculture, but their growth is hindered by access to credit and poor
infrastructure, the World Bank's Indonesia director said in a report released on June
28.
"Lack of access to credit, poor roads and unreliable electricity top the list of concerns
faced by micro and small enterprises," Andrew Steer said in a press release
accompanying the report.
The World Bank argues in its study that outside major cities, small enterprises "could
become important engines of pro-poor growth if the right policies are in place."
Whilst large firms, such as those in manufacturing absorb up to 40 percent of the
available workforce in the urban areas, in rural areas the largest employers are small
enterprises, says the Bank.
"Moreover, micro and small enterprises tend to employ poorer people, so stimulating
growth in such firms tends to boost the incomes of the poor directly," the report said.
"And large firms are heavily concentrated in the major metropolitan areas and their
surroundings. By contrast micro and small enterprises are dispersed throughout the
country, so promoting the growth of these firms can also help to reduce inequality
between regions."
Read more: http://www.infid.be/wb_regional_impending.htm.
Related article:
Indonesia To Punish Local Govts That Impose Illegal Taxes:
http://www.infid.be/local_illegal_tax.htm.
World Bank: Indonesia's Regional Govts Impeding Economic Development:
http://www.infid.be/wb_regional_impending.htm
World Bank graft plan looks to work with countries:
http://www.infid.be/wb_graft_plan.htm.
WB underlines obstacles faced by small businesses:
http://www.infid.be/wb_small_business.htm.
For complete report and more information on rural investment climate:
http://www.worldbank.org/id/rica
Source: AFP 28/06
Huge amount of regional development funds remain idle at BI
The government is concerned that a staggering Rp 43 trillion (US$4.5 billion) worth of
development funds disbursed to regions is lying idle in the central bank, telling
regional administrations to spend it for the public's benefit. Finance Minister Sri
Mulyani Indrawati said the stagnant status of the funds, now effectively part of Bank
Indonesia's money-market instruments, contradicted the government's recent efforts
for higher economic growth through more development spending.
Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah recently said that about Rp 40 trillion
of disbursed regional development funds had eventually found their way back as
investments into the central bank's SBI promissory notes. This is seen as merely
creating additional costs for BI and the government in terms of the investments'
interest payments, instead of the economic benefits that the development funds were
supposed to generate.
Sri Mulyani urged regional administrations, particularly wealthy ones, to improve their
use of the disbursed funds for real sector development projects, as well as the DPD's
participation in addressing the matter to their constituents. She pledged the
government would continue improving related policies, particularly in formulating the
fairer, speedier disbursement of regional development funds, as well as helping local
administrations to increase their own revenue and better their fiscal management.
Read more: http://www.infid.be/funds_idle.htm.
Source: JP 28/06
Civilian Supremacy
Aceh rights violators from TNI to be tried in military court
Common crimes committed by members of the TNI (Indonesian military) in Aceh must
be tried in civilian courts. Unfortunately, the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA)
in fact seeking the opposite. Common crimes by members of the TNI will still be
processed in military courts.
This was conveyed by the ad interim director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
(YLBHI), Patra Zen, during a press conference at his office on Jl. Borobudur in Jakarta
on June 22. According to Zen, indications that general crimes by military personnel
will be tried in a military court can be seen from Article 154 of the draft law. Within
this article it states that crimes committed by TNI members in Aceh shall be tried in
accordance with prevailing laws.
"There in explicit terms it is clear that they will be directed to military courts. If [the
crime] is desertion it doesn't matter, but these are common crimes", said Zen.
Zen believes that this is an example of the inconsistencies by the members of the
House of Representatives (DPR) in the deliberations on military courts. According to
the Draft Law on the Military, they have rejected using the military courts to try
military officers who commit common crimes. But in the case of the RUU-PA, the
DPR members appear to be staying silent.
"It appears there are political interests. We are asking the RUU-PA Special
Committee at the DPR to explicitly say that all common crimes committed by TNI
personnel must be examined and tried in civil courts", said Zen.
Aside form military courts, there are other suspicious things in the draft law. One of
these is the whitewashing of past gross human rights crimes such as during the
period Aceh was declared a military operational zone [between 1989 to 1998]. "Many
things in the RUU-PA also go against the constitution and other laws", said Zen.
Related article:
Indonesian Military and Rights: http://www.infid.be/military_rights.htm.
Source: INS 25/06
General News
Statements during the Human Rights Council meetings
INFID Joint Statements on:
- Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: http://www.infid.be/js-disappear.pdf (June
27, 2006)
- Universal Periodic Review: Need for an in-country process for its effectiveness:
http://www.infid.be/js-upr.pdf (June 28, 2006)
Statement delivered by the Indonesian government during the high level segment:
http://www.infid.be/indonesia.pdf.
Statement by the Indonesian delegation on
- the Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled
"Human Rights Council": http://www.infid.be/26Indonesia.pdf.
- the Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled
"Human Rights Council" - Consideration of the report of the Working Group on the
Right to Development: http://www.infid.be/26pmIndonesia.pdf.
- the Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled
"Human Rights Council" - Consideration of the report of the open-ended Working
Group established with a view to considering options regarding the elaboration of an
optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights: http://www.infid.be/27Indonesia.pdf.
- the Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled
"Human Rights Council" (cont'd) - Consideration of the report of the intersessional
open-ended Working Group to elaborate a draft legally binding normative instrument
for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance:
http://www.infid.be/27pmIndonesia.pdf.
- the Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled
"Human Rights Council" -Universal periodic review mechanism:
http://www.infid.be/28Indonesia.pdf.
- the Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled
"Human Rights Council" (cont'd) - Review of mandates and mechanisms:
http://www.infid.be/28pmIndonesia.pdf.
State Secrecy Bill May Target Foreigners
The government wants the new state secrets bill to restrict foreigners access to
information that could threaten national security, the information minister said on June
26. Sofyan Djalil unveiled the proposal at a hearing with the House of Representatives'
Commission I on foreign affairs, defense and information. The minister declined to
elaborate on the contents of the bill, saying to do so could jeopardize national
security.
He said other democratic countries, including the United States, had passed similar
legislation. Sofyan noted the U.S. government was still refusing to release documents
relating to its alleged role in Indonesia's clampdown on communists in the mid-1960s.
"These documents that have been kept from the public for 30 years should be opened.
But the U.S. has repressed them permanently to ensure good relations with
Indonesia," Sofyan said.
He said the state secrets bill would make it legal for government officials to restrict
foreigners from accessing certain public information in Indonesia. Foreign individuals
and organizations could get information on customs procedures or taxes but would
not be given access to sensitive information, like that on intelligence operations here,
Sofyan said.
However, the minister said the government would make it easier for Indonesian
citizens and foreigners with permanent residence to access such information. He did
not explain how the government would stop Indonesian citizens and residents from
passing on this information to foreigners.
Read more: http://www.infid.be/state_secrecy_bill.htm.
Source: JP 27/06
Netherlands to grant RI US$28m for education project
The Netherlands government will finance an expansion of a project to improve
participation ofunderprivileged children in education and to supportdecentralization of
education management in eastern Indonesia. The agreement on the US$28 million
grant was launched in a ceremony attended by representatives from the Indonesian
government, the Netherlands embassy in Jakarta and the Asian Development Bank
(ADB).
"The grant will expand the Decentralization Basic Education Project (DBEP), for
which a US$100 million loan was approved in 2001 by the ADB," said a joint press
release issued by the three relevant parties.
Representing each party during the ceremony was Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia
Nikilaos van Dam, ADB Country Director Edgar A. Cua, and Indonesia's National
Education Minister Bambang Sudibjo.
The DBEP project has been implemented since 2003 by local governments,
communities and schools in all regencies of Nusa Tenggara Barat and Bali provinces,
and two regencies in Nusa Tenggara Timur. The grant from the Netherlands will
finance the expansion of the project into six additional regencies in NusaTenggara
Timur.
Source: JP 28/06
Indonesia to build nuclear power plant in 2010
Indonesia would start to build nuclear power plant in 2010 in Central Java province,
which targeted to complete in five years, Mines and Mineral Resources Minister
Pornomo Yusgiantoro said on June 28. Talking to reporters after meeting with Vice
President Jusuf Kalla and other ministers and officials from the energy sector at the
vice presidential office, Purnomo said that the government would begin to arrange the
building of the plant next year.
The capacity of the plant was targetted at 4,000 megawatts by 2025.
"The target would be reached gradually," he said.
The plant would be built in Gunung Muria in northern part of Central Java, according to
Pornomo. Indonesia's energy blueprint has stipulated that the country will have
diversification of energy sources, including nuclear energy.
Govt to speed up nuclear power project: http://www.infid.be/nuclear_project.htm.
Source: Xinhua 28/06
Papua
Police to take control of security at Freeport
The National Police will take over security at U.S.-owned mining company PT
Freeport Indonesia from the military beginning in July, an officer says.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tommy Jacobus said on June 24 that while the police
would be given the main responsibility for security at the gold and copper mine in
Timika, Papua, the Indonesian Military would maintain a presence in the area.
Tommy said the shift was based on a 2004 presidential decree on vital sites in the
country. Freeport was listed as one of 270 vital sites by the Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry, but is the only one that is not yet handling its internal security
independently. He said some 600 elite Mobile Brigade personnel were receiving
"cultural sensitivity" training in Jakarta to help prevent potential clashes with Papuans
as a result of cultural misunderstandings.
Tommy said that based on the presidential decree, the police would be deployed on a
six-month basis at the mine, with the possibility of their operation being extended if
necessary.
The security operation of the military, code-named Copper, ends in July, at which time
the police will take over. The police operation will be called Amole, a word from the
Amungme tribe meaning "welcome". The six-month operation will be led by Sr. Comr.
Robby Kaligis.
Read more: http://www.infid.be/freeport_police_takeover.htm.
Related article:
Military to Stay at Freeport: http://www.infid.be/military_stay_freeport.htm.
Source: JP 26/06
Indonesian Govt To Deport 2 US Citizens For Papua Action
Indonesia plans to deport two U.S. citizens after they were caught attending a
meeting with separatist sympathizers in the country's eastern Papua province, an
immigration official said June 28. The two men, who were traveling on tourist visas,
were detained on June 26 at a meeting of the Papuan Tribal Council in the region's
capital. The council peacefully campaigns for Indonesia's easternmost province to
become an independent country.
"We plan to deport them soon," immigration office spokesman Muhammad Indra said.
"We are going to call U.S. embassy officials to let them know of the plan."
Authorities have released no details about the two men's identities or what they were
doing at the meeting. But an immigration official on June 27 said that attending the
talks was a clear violation of the terms of their tourist visa.
International human rights groups claim at least 100,000 Papuans have died as a
result of military action by Indonesian forces dealing with the insurgency, though
clashes and killings in the province have dropped in recent years. Indonesia has
barred foreigners and reporters from visiting the region for much of the last four years,
but restrictions have been relaxed recently. Jakarta is very sensitive about foreign
support for Papuan separatists.
Related article:
What's wrong in Papua: http://www.infid.be/papua_what_wrong.htm.
Papuans 'tortured by police' in Jayapura: http://www.infid.be/papua_torture.htm.
Source: AP 28/06
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AP Associated Press
INS Indoleft News Service
JP The Jakarta Post
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