INFID, 26 November 2003
INFID's Short News Overview No. 157: November 21-26, 2003
INFID News
New Links!
The selected papers of the 13th INFID Conference are now available online:
http://www.infid.be/publication.html.
Want to know about the 2004 Elections? Visit: http://www.infid.be/election.html.
SNO
There will be no SNO next week. The next SNO will be sent out on Dec. 11.
General News
House approves creation of 24 new regencies
A plenary meeting of the House of Representatives endorsed on Nov. 20 13 bills on
the creation of 24 new regencies in 13 provinces into law.
The 24 regencies approved include Kolaka Utara, Kolaka Utara, Bombana and
Wakatobi in the province of Southeast Sulawesi, Sumbawa Barat (West Nusa
Tenggara), Lingga (Riau), Tojo Una-una (Central Sulawesi), Melawai and Sekadau
(West Kalimantan), Minahasa Utara (North Sulawesi), Supiori (Papua), Samosir and
Serdang Bedagai (North Sumatra), Oku Timur, Oku Selatan and Ogan Ilir (South
Sumatra), Dharmasraya, Pasaman Barat and Solok Selatan (West Sumatra), Lebong
and Kepahiang (Bengkulu), Aru Islands, Western Seram and Eastern Seram (Maluku)
and Bener Meriah (NAD).
In the meeting, led by senior politician Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, each faction hoped
that the formation of the new regencies could shorten the chain of bureaucracy so that
development in the regions could be accelerated.
Source: JP 20/11
Bill on Religious Tolerance
A draft bill on "religious tolerance that would hand the government far greater powers
to regulate religious affairs is soon to be tabled in parliament. The bill only reconises
five religions and seeks to outlaw inter-religious marriage and inter-religious adoptions,
and prohibits people from attending religious ceremonies of a different faith to their
own. It also stipulates that places of worship can be established only with the
permission of the government.
Indonesia's mainstream Muslim bodies such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah
have rejected the bill, but it is backed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, as well as
the peak Islamic authority, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
director of the non-governmental organization Imparsial, Munir, expressed strong
criticism against the bill, claiming that the government seems intent on interfering in
the personal freedoms of its citizens. According to Munir, this trend of over-regulation
can be seen in the amendments to the 1945 Constitution, the Laws on Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam, the draft revision of the Criminal Code and the Laws on the
National Education System.
Controversial Articles:
Article 8 Paragraph 3: "The dissemination of religious teachings may not be aimed at
converting followers of other religions". Paragraph 4: "The dissemination of religious
teachings may not be accompanied by force or dissuasion, or gifts, in order to convert
followers of other religions".
Article 9 Paragraph 1: "Any religious assistance from abroad extended to individuals
or religious organizations must first gain approval from the government".
Article 10 Paragraph 2: "The commemoration of religious holidays must be adhered to
in principle by followers of each individual religion".
Article 12 "Any attempt to establish a place of public worship must first gain
permission from the government".
Article 17 "Every person is prohibited from deliberately proselytizing in public,
endeavoring to gain public support to follow an interpretation of religious teaching and
from carrying out religious activities which resemble mainstream religious activities
but which deviate from the main teachings of that religion".
Article 16 Paragraph 1: "A child may only be adopted by people of the same religious
denomination as one or both parents of that child".
Article 15 "Marriage can only be carried out between couples of the same religion".
Article 18 Paragraph 1: "Whosoever violates Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 may be
sanctioned or warned by the relevant authorities to cease these acts. If these acts are
continued, the convicted party could face a maximum 3 years in prison".
Article 1 Paragraph 1: "Religion constitutes the religions followed by Indonesian
citizens, namely Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism".
Source: AFR 26/11, Tempo No 12/IV
KPK
The Coalition of the Judiciary Observers has lashed out at the committee selecting
candidates for seats on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), for choosing
figures with questionable track records. Asep Fajar Purnama of the coalition said at
least half of the 40 candidates who qualified for the next selection stage were known
to have close relations with allegedly corrupt high profile figures or convicts.
One of the qualifiers, Asep said, is a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, who is now
representing House Speaker Akbar Tandjung in his appeal to the Supreme Court.
Akbar was convicted of graft and sentenced to a three year prison term by the Central
Jakarta District Court, a verdict which has been upheld by the Jakarta High Court.
The selection committee had earlier promised to refuse candidates linked with
corruption cases, or who were suspected corruptors. Asep said the selection
committee had failed to listen to the public. Moreover they seemed to lack the
motivation to check candidates' records.
Last week, 40 out of 218 candidates vying for posts on the commission, passed the
second screening. Their names were published for public scrutiny. (See
http://www.kpk.or.id/daftarcln2.htm for the list)
According to Law No 30/2001 on the Corruption Eradication Commission, the KPK
executive board must be inaugurated by the President by Dec. 27, this year. The
government has taken more than two years to form the anticorruption commission.
Many critics say this is a reflection of its lackluster fight against corruption.
Uniting Against Corruption: http://www.infid.be/uniting_corruption.html.
How RI Can Be a First World Nation: http://www.infid.be/ri_first.html.
Corruption in Indonesia: Is It Cultural?: http://www.infid.be/corruption_cultural.html.
Source: JP 21/11
Regional News
Aceh
November 20
The European Parliament condemned the extension to military rule in Aceh and called
on Jakarta to revive peace talks with separatist rebels. In a joint resolution, members
of the European Union assembly also urged the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to
lay down its arms and "pursue its cause through the democratic process".
November 21
Indonesia's military commander in Aceh Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono said that
beating rebels is acceptable as long as they're not seriously hurt, but denied
persistent allegations his troops are torturing civilians.
November 22
The government military chief of Aceh province, Major General Bambang Darmono,
was replaced by Brigadier General George Toisutta. Sutarto said earlier this month
that the decision to reassign Darmono was part of a "routine military reshuffle." But a
military source said that the main reason behind the transfer was due to the death of
eight army special forces soldiers during a botched rehearsal for a military anniversary
parade in Lhokseumawe last month. Munir, coordinator of the Jakarta-based Impartial
human rights group, said Darmono was also being punished for failure to achieve
promised rebel arrests.
Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said foreign election monitors won't be
welcome in Aceh during 2004 polls.
November 26
Human Rights Watch released a report on Aceh: "Aceh Under Martial Law: Muzzling
the Messengers: Attacks and Restrictions on the Media". The report will be available
soon at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/indonesia1103/.
Sources: AFP 20/11 22/11, AP 21/11 22/11
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AP Associated Press
JP The Jakarta Post
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