Paras Indonesia, November, 30 2005 @ 10:27 pm
SBY's Internal Crisis Group On Sidney Jones Flip-Flop
By Roy Tupai
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been praised for allowing American human
rights advocate and terrorism expert Sidney Jones back into Indonesia, saying her
latest expulsion was a mistake, but members of his administration are continuing to
give vague and contradictory explanations for why she was banned from entering the
country.
The case reveals a lack of cohesion within the government, as the president said the
reasons for the ban were irrelevant, whereas several officials claimed it was necessary
because Jones poses a security threat.
Jones is the Southeast Asia project director of the International Crisis Group (ICG)
and has visited Indonesia regularly since the 1970s. She was first expelled from the
country in June 2004 by the administration of ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri
after her insightful reports angered then-state intelligence czar Hendropriyono.
Yudhoyono's administration in July 2005 quietly allowed Jones to re-enter Indonesia
with a new work permit/residency visa. But upon returning to Jakarta airport on
November 24 after a brief visit to Taiwan, she was informed that she was barred from
entering the country for a year. She said she was given no explanation, apart from
being told the ban was mandated in a letter that took effect on October 7.
Immigration spokesman Supriatna Anwar later said Jones was "dangerous" and could
"disturb public order".
Yudhoyono, who was traveling abroad last week, apparently first learned about the
ban from media reports and subsequently ordered that it be lifted because it was
"irrelevant".
"The president has ordered that the ban against Sidney Jones be lifted… The
reasoning is that the reason for the ban is no longer relevant," presidential spokesman
Andi Mallarangeng was quoted as saying Tuesday (29/11/05) by Agence
France-Presse.
"The president made this conclusion after asking the minister for justice and human
rights [for comment] and after looking at existing files," he added.
Mallarangeng implied the Immigration Office had mistakenly banned Jones because it
had not updated its records. He said Yudhoyono had asked Justice and Human
Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and
Security Affairs Widodo Adisutjipto about Jones after reading news of her expulsion in
the press.
"He asked what the reason was and it come [sic] back that it was a reason adopted
by the last government. After being reviewed, this is not relevant anymore," the
spokesman was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"If it's not relevant, then there's no reason for doing that. Unfortunately the record [in
Immigration] has not been updated," he said.
Written Order?
Justice and Human Rights Ministry spokesman Taswem Tarib on Tuesday said the
ban could not be lifted until the president had issued a written order. "If there is a
presidential instruction, then it must be carried out at once. But the problem is that
we have not received the instruction in writing," he was quoted as saying by detikcom
online news portal.
Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Yuri Octavian Thamrin said the government had
reviewed and lifted the ban on Tuesday. "The status has been reviewed and the ban
has been lifted as of today," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
He defended the government's refusal to tell Jones why she had been barred from
entering the country. "In normative terms the state does not have to give the reason
for banning someone from entering its territory," he said.
It remains to be seen whether hardliners in military intelligence were behind the ban in
an effort to intimidate rights activists and embarrass Yudhoyono.
Support & Defense
Indonesian legislators and human rights activists had protested the ban, pointing out
that it would further tarnish Indonesia's image and make Yudhoyono look like former
dictator Suharto. They also said the reports by Jones were a help, not a hindrance, to
Indonesia.
"This is a yellow light for democracy in Indonesia," Muhammad A.S. Hikam, a
member of the National Awakening Party (PKB), was quoted as saying by AFP.
"The ban, without an accompanying explanation, will make the international
community see that Indonesia is not consistent in its reforms, especially on human
rights," he said. He expressed concern the government might similarly claim that
local pro-democracy and rights activists also pose a threat to security.
Fellow legislator Jefrey J. Masie of the Prosperous Peace Party (PKS) said the ban
must be immediately reviewed because Jones has been a big help to the Indonesian
government.
His words were echoed by Usman Hamid of the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras). "These reports are essentially good input for fighting
terrorists. So the government must explain the ban and the expulsion of this foreigner.
Because the accusation [of being a national security threat] has disturbed NGOs and
civil society. Attitudes like this really don't belong in a democracy," he was quoted as
saying by detikcom.
Asmara Nababan, executive director of the Institute for the Studies of Democracy and
Human Rights, also expressed concern over the government's failure to precisely
explain what Jones had done wrong. "What the government has done at this time is
follow the same methods of authoritarian governance that were often carried out by
former president Suharto," he said.
Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin on Monday defended the ban, saying intelligence
and police information had concluded that Jones was a threat to national security
because her comments were capable of swaying public opinion on terrorism.
Chief security minister Widodo Adisutjipto also defended the ban, saying Jones had
been denied entry because of her "attitude".
"We have received input from our representatives abroad about her attitude. Our
officials and others in the government's Clearing House discussed this and decided to
refuse her entry from Indonesia due to this attitude," he was quoted as saying by The
Jakarta Post.
The Clearing House - a government committee comprising officials from the Foreign
Ministry, State Intelligence Agency, Indonesian Defense Forces, National Police and
Immigration Office - deals with applications from foreigners seeking permission to visit
"restricted" regions", such as those prone to conflict.
'Positive Attitude'
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda on Wednesday said the ban had been lifted
because the government felt Jones had adopted a more positive attitude toward
Indonesia.
"The ban was just revoked yesterday because the government considers Sidney
Jones has had a positive change in attitude," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with members of parliament's Commission I
on foreign affairs and security, he said this "change of attitude" could be seen in the
researcher's latest reports on Indonesia.
"And evidently the presence of this foreign citizen is not detrimental to national
security. The ban was not permanent," he said.
Legislator Arif Mudatsir of the United Development Party (PPP) questioned the lack of
cohesion among cabinet in issuing the ban. He pointed out that Jones has been
allowed back into Indonesia since July 2005 following her first expulsion last year.
"Furthermore, the president was startled by the ban," he said.
Golkar Party member Yuddy Chrisnandie also criticized the government's poor
coordination.
Wirajuda responded by claiming the Foreign Affairs Ministry did not know exactly why
the ban was issued. He said his ministry was not involved in the decision because the
process of banning a foreigner does not require wide coordination.
"In the process of issuing visas, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is indeed involved in the
Clearing House forum. But if it is a matter of a ban, we are not involved," he said.
Wirajuda said he suspected the latest ban on Jones was imposed by the Immigration
Office because its paperwork concerning the original ban might not have been
updated.
Coming Back
Jones, who is expected to return from Singapore to Jakarta on Thursday or Friday,
said she was delighted the ban had been lifted. "I got a call from a senior government
official saying 'basically no problem, all we have to do is wait a couple of days to get
everything processed through immigration and then you're home free'," she was
quoted as saying by Reuters.
"Isn't it great?... I'm absolutely delighted. They asked me to wait a couple of days to
make sure that all the messages get through to immigration... This is the shortest
expulsion on record," she was quoted as saying by AFP.
The Financial Times commented that the move to allow Jones back "marks a bold
step in a country where passive half-measures more designed to save face than
resolve anything often greet bureaucratic bungles and the actions of hardliners. It is
likely to be held up by some as a sign of Mr Yudhoyono's ability to spur change in the
world's largest Muslim nation and deliver on promised reforms."
Copyright (c) 2005 - PT Laksamana Global International. All rights reserved
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