INFID, May 13, 2004
INFID's Short News Overview No. V/13: May 7 - 13, 2004
Election News
Presidential Election
Six presidential candidates will compete in July's presidential election. The incumbent
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, her new deputy Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader
Hasyim Muzadi; and the pairing of Vice President Hamzah Haz and communications
minister Agum Gumelar were the last to submit their credentials to the commision on
May 12. One day before the registration closed, the National Mandate Party (PAN),
Golkar Party and National Awakening Party (PKB) presidential and vice presidential
candidates signed up with the General Elections Commission (KPU).
Amien Rais and former minister Siswono Yudohusodo, supported by PAN and several
new parties that failed to meet the electoral threshold, registered with the KPU with
the optimism that they would fare well in the polls.
Golkar's presidential and vice presidential candidates Gen. (ret) Wiranto and
Solahuddin Wahid, whose candidacy was announced earlier in the day, arrived in the
afternoon to meet with the KPU members and submitted all the necessary
documents.
PKB presidential and vice presidential candidates Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and
Marwah Daud Ibrahim registered right after the Golkar candidates left the registration
room. Gus Dur said that should the KPU disqualify him for poor health, he would quit
politics. The KPU requires all candidates to undergo a medical checkup, including an
eye test, a policy widely criticized as discriminatory against the disabled.
Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla were the first presidential and
vice presidential aspirants to register on May 10. Supported by the Democratic Party,
the Crescent Star Party and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party, the pair have
been tipped as strong contenders.
The KPU is expected to complete the verification of the candidates credentials by
May 22 and publicly announce the eligible candidates on the same day. The draw will
be conducted the following day.
Of all the presidential and vice presidential candidates, five have links to the largest
Muslim organization NU: Abdurrahman Wahid, Solahuddin Wahid, Hasyim Muzadi,
Hamzah Haz and Jusuf Kalla, while three are retired military generals: Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, Wiranto and Agum Gumelar.
There have been demonstrations in several parts of the country against an apparent
military comeback in the political sphere following the nominations of a number of
retired generals as presidential candidates.
Profile of Indonesian Presidential Candidates:
http://www.infid.be/election_candidates_profile.htm.
Sources: JP 12/05 13/05
General News
IMF Report on Indonesia
The International Monetary Fund on May 9 lauded Indonesia's progress in economic
reforms but also said that, for a sustained higher growth, the country needs further
efforts, such as banking reforms.
Public Information Notice: IMF Concludes 2004 Article IV Consultation with Indonesia:
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2004/pn0451.htm
Source: DJN 09/05
Arrest Warrant for Wiranto
A U.N.-backed court issued an arrest warrant on May 10 against Gen. Wiranto over
the 1999 violence in East Timor. The warrant comes more than a year after Wiranto
was indicted by prosecutors for the East Timor Serious Crimes Unit and less than a
month after he won the presidential nomination of the Golkar party.
"The issuance of the Wiranto warrant is an important step in our continuing efforts to
bring justice to those responsible for the violence against the civilian population of
East Timor in 1999," said Serious Crimes Unit special prosecutor Nicholas Koumijan
in a statement.
Wiranto has consistently denied committing any human rights violations and says an
Indonesian judicial panel found him innocent of such accusations. He called the
allegations "character assassination" and said his lawyers would address it without
elaborating. Wiranto's campaign team said it was unconcerned by the warrant, the
effectiveness of which was in doubt. The warrant has not been forwarded to Interpol -
the International Criminal Police Organization and Indonesian authorities have already
said they will not cooperate with the court in Dili.
Human rights groups, which have long demanded he be brought to trial for war crimes,
hailed the move against the retired general. "This will create a stumbling block and be
a source of humiliation for Wiranto," said Hendardi from Indonesia's Legal Aid
Association. "It's great news for us," said Hendardi.
However, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda and several members of the
House of Representatives shrugged off the warrant.
"It (the warrant) has no international jurisdiction, including on Indonesia. So why we
should make a fuss about it," Hassan said during a hearing with House Commission I,
which oversees security and foreign affairs on May 11. The foreign minister also said
that the East Timor Serious Crimes Unit (SCU), which indicted Wiranto last year and
sought the arrest warrant, was not established by the United Nations. According to
him, the SCU may issue 1,000 warrants but they would not affect Indonesian citizens.
Effendi Choirie, a House member from the National Awakening Party (PKB), called on
the government to reject any warrant that would bring any Indonesians to a foreign
court. "Wiranto is an Indonesian citizen, and if he makes a mistake he must be tried
in Indonesia," he argued.
Longuinhos Monteiro, East Timor's prosecutor-general, has distanced himself from the
arrest warrant saying that the case needed revision and he had lost faith in the UN
staff who helped compile it. Sources in East Timor believe Dr Monteiro's sudden
change of heart has followed heavy pressure from senior figures in East Timor's
Government, which seeks good relations with Indonesia.
Arrest warrant for Wiranto: http://www.infid.be/eastimor_wiranto.htm
Sources: AP 10/05, Reuters 10/05, JP 12/05, SMH 13/05. TA 13/05
Makassar Incident
A National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) team found indications on
May 11 of human rights violations in an incident in which dozens of police officers
stormed the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar, South Sulawesi, early
this month.
"Preliminary evidence shows strong indications of human rights violations in the
incident," said M.M. Billah, a member of the fact-finding team.
However, he could not give details on the preliminary findings as the team was still
investigating the brutal May 1 attack, which injured 65 students including two who
sustained gunshot wounds.
Billah and another team member Hasballah M. Saad met UMI leaders and the student
advocacy team for the incident. The students urged Komnas HAM to ensure that the
perpetrators be tried in an ad hoc human rights court over the incident. According to
them, the decision of National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to fire South Sulawesi
Police chief Insp. Gen. Jusuf Manggabarani and three other top officers over the brutal
attack was still not adequate. However, Billah said the dismissals should be
responded to positively and stressed that the attackers should be tried in a civilian
court.
The attack was launched after students, who were protesting the rearrest of terror
suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in Jakarta, took a policeman hostage.
South Sulawesi Police has named at least 22 officers as suspects in the incident but
only 10 will stand trial in a civilian court on charges of violating Articles 351 and 170
the Criminal Code. On May 10, the Makassar Police disciplinary committee removed
three high-ranking officers in South Sulawesi from their posts for their roles in the
attack, and ordered that they be detained for 12 days to 17 days. Earlier last week,
the same committee also ordered the detention of 12 other low-ranking police officers
over the incident.
Police Brutality at Makassar's Student Demonstration:
http://www.infid.be/police_makassar.htm.
Source: JP 12/05
Regional News
Aceh
May 10
Maj. Gen. Paiman said Indonesian police plan to send Swedish prosecutors a laptop
allegedly belonging to an Aceh rebel they claim contains military orders from the
movement's exiled leader in Stockholm. Jakarta has asked Sweden to take legal
action against several senior members of the Aceh separatist movement currently
living in exile in Stockholm. The Indonesian government claims the men ordered terror
attacks here as part their 27-year campaign for an independent Aceh, a province on
the tip of Sumatra island.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) said it had agreed to ensure the safe transfer of around
100 civilians, including RCTI cameraman Fery Santoro, from Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) rebels who have been holding them hostage for almost a year. TNI spokesman
Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said the military troops in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh,
had been ordered to hold their fire ahead of the planned release on May 13.
May 11
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari said fierce fighting has left four suspected
rebels and a soldier dead in separate clashes in Aceh province.
Human rights sacrificed to security in Aceh: http://www.infid.be/ai_asa_may11.htm.
Sources: AP 10/05 11/05, JP 11/05
Maluku
A grassroots reconciliation movement offered on May 6 more facts that could shed
light on the true identity of the snipers blamed for fueling fresh violence in Ambon,
Maluku, which has so far killed 38 people.
Non-governmental organization, the Peace Building Institute, said the snipers, who
are continuing to sow fear among Ambon residents, were using Styer SSG-69 rifles,
which are widely used by sniper units of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National
Police sharpshooters.
"The Styer SSG-69, which can hit a target up to one kilometer away with deadly
accuracy, is common in both the military and police," director of the institute, Ichsan
Malik. He refrained, however, from actually pointing the fingers at the TNI or police,
saying that further investigation would be needed to reveal the true identity of the
snipers.
TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Syafrie Syamsuddin said earlier that the mystery snipers
were using weapons stolen from a police armory during an infamous raid in Ambon in
2000.
Ichsan, a political scientist with the University of Indonesia, said the weapons stolen
from the warehouse had a range of up to 200 meters only, while the ones being used
by snipers were accurate up to one kilometer away.
He also said that the snipers were skilled marksmen, as shown by the fact that
victims were shot in the forehead, heart or between the eyes.
Fellow activist Abubakar Riry said the weapons being used by the snipers were
similar to those used by antisniper units formed by the former Pattimura Military
commander, Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela, in 2000. "What happened to these units after a
new military commander was installed to replace Tamaela is still not clear," said
Abubakar, the former leader of a militia group defending a Muslim neighborhood in
Ambon.
Both Ichsan and Abubakar agreed that what sparked the renewed violence in Ambon
was not the rally by the separatist Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM) to commemorate
the 54th anniversary of the proclamation of the South Maluku Republic (RMS) but
rather the killing of three persons by the snipers.
WCC calls Indonesian government to end violence in Maluku:
http://www.infid.be/ambon_wcc.htm
National Peacekeeping Force Needed to Prevent New Clashes in Ambon:
http://www.infid.be/ambon_peacekeeping.htm
Source: JP 07/05
Papua
Indonesia Urgent measures needed to ensure justice for victims of human rights
violations in Papua, Amnesty International Public Statement 7 May 2004:
http://www.infid.be/papua_ai_statement.htm
The Papua Report 2004, The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights -
Indonesia Support Group: http://www.infid.be/papua_rfkmchr.htm.
Abbreviations
AP Associated Press
DJN Dow Jones Newswires
JP The Jakarta Post
SMH Sydney Morning Herald
TA The Australian
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