INFID, September 7, 2006
INFID's Short News Overview No. VII/19: September 1-7, 2006
Debt & Poverty
Batam police say no to Anti IMF/WB activists
NGOs plan to organize International Peoples Forum (IPF) from September 12-18 in
Batam to counter IMF and World Bank annual meeting in Singapore on September
19-20 may not take place as they failed to get support from the local police.
Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Sutarman said businesspeople investing heavily
in Batam had sent a letter to the police to express their objections to the NGOs' plan.
There are at least 60 foreign investment companies operating at the 300-hectare
Batamindo Industrial Estate as a result of close cooperation between the Indonesian
government and its Singaporean counterpart.
Opposition also is coming from an unexpected quarter: their local counterparts and
other groups. The latter, including the Independent Political Watch (IPW), Cinta Anak
Negeri, the Marginal People Forum, DPD Formasda, GP 27 Juli, Mapan, BP7KR and
youth group Pemuda Pancasila, made their opposition to the event public by jointly
placing a half-page, ad in Tribun Batam daily on Monday Sep 4. In the ad, they argued
a big gathering of NGO activists would undermine the investment climate on the
island, which was recently declared a special economic zone, with support from
Singapore.
Related articles:
Anti-WB/IMF Protestors Have Nowhere to Go: http://www.infid.be/anti_nowhere.htm.
News Feature: Activists urged to be creative at giant banking event:
http://www.infid.be/batam_creative.htm.
Local NGOs give cold shoulder to forum: http://www.infid.be/cold_shoulder.htm.
Foreign, local NGOs firm on Batam protest:
http://www.infid.be/batam_foreign_local.htm.
Batam police say no to finance meet protesters:
http://www.infid.be/batam_say_no.htm.
Source: JP 6/9 7/9
Govt says no bond buybacks this year
A recently bullish market has made it too expensive for the government to buy back
treasury bonds, a minister says.
"The government does not see it as necessary to immediately do a buyback,"
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati says in a budget report submitted Tuesday to
the House of Representatives.
The government had been planning on buying back as much as Rp 1 trillion (US$109
million) worth of treasury bonds maturing between 2006 and 2009, as part of efforts to
refinance the country's bond debt. Bond prices, however, have recently risen to
above-par, premium levels, Sri Mulyani said, while the government still must repay Rp
7.61 trillion in bonds due in October. The report says it would be better for the state
budget if the government simply repaid the bonds it had planned to buy back later at
their par price.
The government will continue keeping the bonds' financial burden in check, Finance
Minister Sri Mulyani said, through refinancing schemes, including bond swaps to
further extend their maturity and lower their yields.
Regarding the country's foreign bilateral debts, the government supports repaying
ahead of schedule the $7.8 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund, as well as
seeking debt swap agreements with creditor countries. Sri Mulyani said the payment
of half of the IMF debt earlier this year had resulted in savings on annual interest
payments of up to $600 million.
Source: JP 6/9
Japan focuses assistance on eight Indonesia's eastern provinces
The Japanese government has focused its assistance through the Official
Development Assistance (ODA) Task Force on six Indonesia's eastern provinces,
comprising six provinces in Sulawesi and two others in Maluku. The head of the
Indonesian office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Nobuhiko
Hanazato, disclosed on Aug 31 the eight provinces to be given priority consist of
North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Gorontalo,
Maluku and North Maluku.
Japan's assistance program for poverty alleviation in South Sulawesi has been
implemented after the signing a memorandum of understanding between ODA Task
Force and the South Sulawesi administration here on May 2006. The implementation
of the poverty alleviation program supported by Japan`s assistance is under the
coordination the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).
Hanazato was visiting here in connection with the plan for the construction of
Trans-Sulawesi highway from Maros regency to Parepare regency in the province,
which was proposed by the the Public Works Ministry in 2005, and the development
of Mamminasata (Maros, Makassar, Sungguminasa, Takalar) metropolitan region. The
development of the Mamminasata metropolitan region, including the construction of a
road network, which has been underway since 2005, is part of the poverty alleviation
program in South Sulawesi.
Source: Antara 1/9
Civilian Supremacy
Govt Says TNI Trials Need Time
Although the government has agreed that military personnel should be tried for
misdemeanors in civilian court, it is not likely to happen anytime soon. Defense
Minister Juwono Sudarsono said on Sep 6 that due to the complexity of the issue, the
government would not be ready to have soldiers stand trial in a civilian court in the
next two or three years, as demanded by legislators.
"We do respect the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree and the military
law (mandating that soldiers also should be tried in civilian court), but the reality is
that the legal infrastructure is not ready for its implementation," Juwono said after a
meeting with the House special committee on the amendment of the military tribunal
law.
Juwono said the government was studying whether a transitional law would be needed
to facilitate the handover of a military tribunal to a civilian court.
"Another option is whether we will be given a period of two or three years before the
amended law come into effect."
He said the transition period was necessary because civilian courts were unprepared
to try military personnel.
Source: JP 7/9
U.S. Steps Up Military Cooperation with Indonesia
The US government will increase its military cooperation with Indonesia by 25 percent
beginning next year, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Marshal Djoko
Suyanto said after a meeting with his American counterpart, General Peter Pace, in
Jakarta. Under the enhanced military cooperation the number of types of education
and training programs would be raised from 120 to 170 in 2007, Djoko said on Sep
5.The military cooperation which is based on the International Military Education and
Training (IMET) project will include technical and counter-intelligence subjects as well
as master`s degree program.
Activities under the expanded military cooperation can be participated in by personnel
of the Indonesian Army, Marines and Air Force.
Djoko said Indonesian military personnel taking part in the program would study at
various US educational institutes and receive scholarships from the US government.
The increased military cooperation, he said, was a follow-up to a dialog on bilateral
defense cooperation held last August in Jakarta.
Actually, he said, Indonesia and the US had three military cooperation schemes,
namely IMET, Foreign Military Finance (FMF) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
Unfortunately, there were not enough funds to implement the other two cooperation
schemes, the Indonesian military chief said.
Source: Antara 6/9
Russia agree to provide credits for defense projects
Foreign Ministry's director for Central and East European Affairs, Hamirzan Pohan
said the Russian government had agreed to provide US$1 billion in state credits for
various defense projects in Indonesia such as the purchase of main defense
equipment (Alutsista).
The government would disburse the credit which carried an interest rate of 2-3 percent
with a grace period of 15-20 years after it consulted its parliament, he said.
Source: Antara 1/9
General News
KPK: 1,000 regional councillors implicated in corruption cases
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Taufiequrrahman Ruki estimated
about 1,000 members of all regency and provincial legislative councils throughout the
country were corrupt. Ruki said some councillors might end up involved in corruption
out of simple ignorance of the regulations governing their jobs.
"They have to have a better understanding of their function and role, so they will not be
easily enticed by bad influences. They also might not be aware their activities are not
in line with existing regulations," Ruki said at a commission workshop at the West
Java Legislative Council building.
Ruki said regional legislative councils should serve as executors of regional
administration policies, while at the same time representing the interests of the
people.These roles, he said, are translated into three functions -- legislation,
budgeting and supervision. Ruki added that successfully playing these roles was vital
to improving the welfare of people.
There are 20,069 councillors at the regency level throughout the country, and 3,163 at
the provincial level..
Source: JP 6/9
Media 'dumbing down for profit'
Local media organizations are shirking their role as a governmental control to focus on
populist topics, a seminar concluded on Sep 5. Yopie Hidayat, chief editor of Kontan
business tabloid, said media were now focused firmly on satisfying market tastes for
profit.
"Take the rampant blood and violence we now see on TV. But print media is no
different, either. Take a look at the high number of gossip and lifestyle or sex-themed
tabloids," he said in a seminar held by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).
It is also obvious, he said, that the media were now being used by various interest
groups, including for political causes.
Media also are confused about defining the public interests that they should uphold.
"On the issue of rice imports, for instance, and which side the media should be on,
they aren't even aware. They don't even understand the technical problems and
situation so instead of using the control function, they become the mouthpiece of a
certain side."
Business survival is one thing, but the inability to come up with a quality product is
another.
Leo Batubara from the Association of Newspaper Publishers said media marketers fell
into a trap of uniformity in their products.
"Local media go against the marketing principle of making your product different. They
have the same source, the same headlines, the same content."
Articles consist of mere "talking news", with comments strung together.
"There is no answer to the problem, and the articles are not comprehensive.
Journalists are too lazy to go deeper."
It might contribute to the low readership of newspapers, he added, with one
newspaper read by 42 people here. Malaysia has a ratio of one to eight and India one
to 12.
Media related article:
Journalists say no to global code of conduct:
http://www.infid.be/journalists_say_no.htm.
Overdose of cultural sensitivity can kill you: http://www.infid.be/cultural_overdose.htm.
Media leaders to discuss global challenges:
http://www.infid.be/media_conference.htm.
Source: JP 6/9
Police name 9 suspects on mudflow in Sidoarjo
National Police Chief Gen. Sutanto said on Sep 4 the police have named nine
suspects over mudflow in Sidoarjo regency, East Java for their failure to protect
environment when carryingout gas drilling. He said that the East Java police had
questioned 67 witnesses before naming the nine suspects in the mudflow, which have
buried four villages.
"They have been accused of violating ... article 42 of Law No. 23 on environment
management," he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying while meeting with
The House of Representatives' Commission III for environment affairs.
The nine suspects are Slamet Riyanto, Rahenood, Willem Hunila, Edi Sutriono,
Slamet BK, Subie, Imam Pria Agustino, Yenny Nawawi and Nur Rochmat Sawolo.
They are persons, who are responsible forgas drilling by PT Lapindo Brantas Inc.
The mudflow, which began slowly on May 29 -- which is why the company initially
played it down -- is becoming bigger each day. It now spouts 50,000 cubic meters of
hot mud a day, submerging rice fields, factories, in four villages, and making 10,000
villagers homeless. The problem grows when the mud submerged the turnpike linking
Surabaya and the eastern part of East Java. The closure of the turnpike caused
massive traffic jams, delaying travel and deliveries.
Related article:
NGOs warn Lapindo, govt: http://www.infid.be/ngos_warn_lapindo.htm.
Source: JP 4/9
NGOs call for independent commission to investigate Munir assassination
The investigation into the assassination of human rights defender Munir has reached a
dead end even though former Garuda Airlines pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto has
been convicted for the murder.
Non-government organisations (NGOs) are therefore calling on the government to form
an independent commission to investigate the Munir case. The commission must
have broader powers than the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF) that has already been
disbanded.
The call was made by dozens of NGOs including the Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Indonesian Environment Forum
(Walhi), the Independent Journalist Association (AJI) and the Institute for Public
Research and Advocacy (Elsam). The groups said that the investigation was never
finished properly and many irregularities need to be straightened out.
"[What is needed is] An independent teams like the Corruption Eradication Team
(Timtas Tipikor)", said Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid at the Kontras offices on Jl.
Borobudur, Jakarta, on Sep 4. Hamid explained that the independent team that they
are proposing would follow up on the findings of the TPF. With broader powers it is
hoped that the team will be able to force the police to investigate the Munir
assassination in accordance with procedures.
Read more: http://www.infid.be/munir_ngos_call.htm.
Related articles:
HRW Press Release: No Justice Two Years After Munir's Death:
http://www.infid.be/munir_no_justice.htm.
AHRC Open Letter: Government must come clean on murder of Munir:
http://www.infid.be/munir_clean.htm.
Source: INS 5/9
Women seek greater political clout to fight fundamentalism
After wrapping up a national gathering last week, women's rights activists say they
are planning to educate themselves politically and seek a bigger role in
administrations and local legislative councils. The activists argue women can no
longer stay at home and trust their husbands or male relatives to fight for their rights
and welfare, pointing to the issuance of several sharia-inspired bylaws in various parts
of the country as proof.
"We need more women representatives because those gender-biased sharia bylaws
are actually the products of male domination in local administrations and councils,"
women's activist Zohra Andi Baso of Makassar, South Sulawesi, said.
She noted that in the South Sulawesi regencies of Takalar and Enrekang, which had
no women on their legislative councils, the local administrations easily enacted
ordinances to regulate what women wear.
Since regional autonomy was put into place in 2001, at least 23 sharia-inspired
bylaws have been adopted in five provinces in this predominantly Muslim country.
Supporters argue the measures reduce social ills and bolster morality. The trend has
caused alarm among some Muslims and members of other religions, who fear it could
increase Islamic fundamentalism.
Read more: http://www.infid.be/women_fundamentalism.htm.
Source: JP 5/9
Aceh
ADB to accelerate housing reconstruction in Aceh and Nias
ADB has signed agreements with five international organizations to accelerate its
program to build houses in earthquake and tsunami affected Aceh and Nias. Housing
remains a top priority for the international community and the Badan Rehabilitasi dan
Rekonstruksi (BRR), the Government agency coordinating the overall reconstruction
program, following the December 2004 tsunami disaster and the March 2005
earthquake. The five agreements will involve the construction of about 2,700 new
houses and rehabilitation of 900, to be completed by September 2007. The
agreements, worth about US$25 million, were signed with Muslim Aid of the UK, Help
eV and German Agro Action (DWHH) of Germany, Cordaid of The Netherlands, and
the United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UN-HABITAT). The houses will be
built in Pidie, Simeulue, Biruen, and Nias.
Read more: http://www.infid.be/adb_accelerate.htm.
Aceh related news:
Seeking Aceh's New Leaders: http://www.infid.be/aceh_new_leaders.htm.
Source: ADB 1/9
Papua
Abepura defendants end trial boycott
After refusing to attend the three previous sessions, seven defendants being tried over
a deadly March 16 clash with police in Abepura attended their trial on Wednesday
Sep 6 at the Jayapura District Court. The seven arrived at the court under heavy
security and were greeted by prosecutors. Jayapura Prosecutor's Office head Jabaik
Haro Munthe accompanied the defendants from Abepura prison to the court.
"There is a good intention on the part of the defendants, so there is no need for
security officers to act excessively," said Aloysius Renwarin, one of the defendants'
lawyers. Commenting on the defendants' earlier demand for written assurances from
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tommy Yacobus and Jabaik guaranteeing their safety,
Aloysius said they had dropped the issue.
"We will just do what they want," he said.
The seven defendants refused to appear in the same court on Wednesday Aug 30,
Friday Sep 1 and Monday Sep 4, after one of them was assaulted by a police
officer.Unlike previous sessions, there were no police officers in the courtroom during
Wednesday's hearing.
Papua related article:
ICG Report: Papua: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/asia/indonesia/b53_papua_answers_to_frequently_asked_questions.pdf.
Source: JP 7/9
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AP Associated Press
INF Indoleft News Service
JP The Jakarta Post
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