INFID, March 03, 2004
INFID's Short News Overview No. VI/6: February 25 - March 3,
2005
General News
Fuel price hiked
Nation wide protests on March 1 greeted the government's decision to raise fuel
prices but the expected large-scale demonstrations failed to materialize. The news
angered many poor Indonesians who depend on cheap fuel to earn a living and who
feared the hike could result in higher prices for basic commodities. But few took to the
streets, leaving it to university students who held small, largely peaceful protests
across the country. Heavy police presence - 13,000 police and other security forces
on alert in Jakarta -helped prevent the demonstration from turning violent.
The scenes were in sharp contrast to a massive protest in early 2003 that greeted
former President Megawati Sukarnoputri after she raised fuel and other utility prices.
The protests lasted for weeks and forced Megawati to roll back the price hikes.
The government has asked the public for their understanding, arguing that the price
hike is for the greater benefit of the nation as the move would eventually lead to
greater funding allocations for welfare programs, encourage more efficient fuel usage
and prevent fuel smuggling. Without the fuel hike –assuming an oil price of US$35 a
barrel – the government would have to spend up to Rp 60.1 trillion on fuel subsidies.
With the fuel price hike, fuel subsidies for the year would top Rp 39.8 trillion or Rp 110
billion per day.
The government claims the massive fuel subsidy benefits the rich more than the poor,
and that by cutting the subsidy and raising fuel prices it can redirect the money into
programs that will benefit those most in need. The government has said it will
compensate for the price hike by providing more direct assistance to the poor.
However, it was unclear how the money would be redistributed to the poor. Some
critics claim the government lacks accurate statistics on the number of poor in the
country, who they are and where they live. Even if the government had accurate data,
some critics still doubt the money and assistance would reach those it was intended
for.
President Firm on Planned Fuel Price Rises: http://www.infid.be/oil_sby.htm
Fuel prices hiked, sacrifices called: http://www.infid.be/oil_hiked.htm
Govt aims to redirect oil subsidy to the poor: http://www.infid.be/oil_redirected.htm
Biting the bullet: http://www.infid.be/oil_btb.htm
Legislators Warn of Monetary, Political Crisis: http://www.infid.be/oil_legislators.htm.
Sources: AT 02/03, BI 02/03, JP 01/03, AP 01/03
US-RI Military Ties
The United States has decided to resume training members of the Indonesian armed
forces suspended since 1992. On Feb. 26, the US State Department announced that
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice determined that Jakarta had cooperated with the
FBI's investigation into the murders of two American schoolteachers during an
ambush in Indonesia's Papua province. Congress had set this as a condition on
Indonesia's participation in a U.S. military training program, which is generally viewed
as a first step in lifting a ban on military-to-military ties between the two countries.
Indonesia welcomed the decision, saying that it opened the door to a new era
between the nations. Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said the decision shows
Washington's recognition of the government's efforts to reform the Indonesian Military
(TNI). Separately, foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the resumption
of the full International Military Education and Training (IMET) program was a
recognition of the progress Indonesia had made in democracy.
Human rights groups condemned the decision.
"The (move) is a setback for justice, human rights and democratic reform,'' said John
Miller, spokesman for the New York-based East Timor Action Network. ``The
Indonesian military's many victims throughout the country and East Timor will
recognize this policy shift as a betrayal of their quests for justice and accountability.''
"This shows the United States places its strategic interests ahead of human rights
concerns,'' said Hendardi, a prominent human rights lawyer in Jakarta. ``I don't
understand what they mean when they say Indonesia has made progress on human
rights issues, because that's not what's happening here.''
Indonesia's participation in the program has been essentially on hold since 1992,
when the Indonesian military launched a bloody crackdown against pro-independence
protesters in East Timor.
The sanctions were further tightened in 1999, after the Indonesian army was accused
of killing about 1,500 people in East Timor in an unsuccessful bid to prevent the
territory from gaining independence.
The ban was effectively written into law by the US Congress in 2002, when US
lawmakers insisted that generals in Jakarta were blocking an investigation into the
killing of two US school teachers in Indonesia's Papua province.
Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Soedarsono announced on March 2 that he
would visit the United States for talks with high-ranking officials on issues including
the reinstatement of a U.S. military training program in Jakarta. Meetings are planned
next week with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice as well as members of Congress, Juwono said.
"Insya Allah (God willing) I will also meet with (Senator Patrick) Leahy," a leading
opponent of the restoration of full-scale military ties between the United States and
Indonesia, Juwono told reporters.
US Criticized for Resuming TNI Training: http://www.infid.be/military_resumed.htm
Rights-US: Scepticism Over Renewed Military Ties With Indonesia:
http://www.infid.be/military_scepticism.htm
Embracing Military Ties: http://www.infid.be/military_ties.htm.
US back in step with Indonesia: http://www.infid.be/military_step.htm.
US Slams Indonesia's Human Rights Record: http://www.infid.be/hr_slam.htm.
Sources:AFP 27/02 28/02, AP 28/02, DPA 02/03
ADB Country Governance Report
Amid growing public discontent over the lack of progress in punishing those involved in
corruption, a new study says that because corruption is largely systemic, or
institutionalized, the key to solving the problem is to reform the system and improve
governance.
While the report by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) does not
discuss the effectiveness of law enforcement as the weapon of choice by successive
governments since 1998 in fighting corruption, it says law enforcement agencies and
the judiciary are among the state institutions most prone to corruption, and thus must
be the first to be reformed.
Indonesia, according to the Country Governance Assessment Report has an
unfinished and somewhat daunting reform agenda.
The report underlines the need to reform the regulatory system, the management of
public finances, the civil service, the police, the Attorney General's Office and the
judiciary.
The grim implication of the report, while not stated, is clear: no amount of law
enforcement will be sufficient to stop corruption as long as the system itself allows or
even encourages corruption in the various state institutions.
The report's conclusion is also clear: completely overhaul the civil service and reform
the police, the Attorney General's Office and the judiciary.
Country Governance Assessment Report:
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/CGA/CGA-INO-2004.pdf or
http://www.infid.be/CGA-Indonesia.pdf
Source: JP 25/02
Regional News
Aceh
Letter from Damien Kingsbury, Adviser to the GAM Delegation, CMI Helsinki peace
talks, explaining the Free Aceh Movement's (GAM's) position:
Your article quoting the Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, on the CMI Helsinki peace talks
aimed at securing a political settlement to the Aceh conflict reflected some confusion
over the Free Aceh Movement's (GAM's) position.
To clarify, GAM is not proposing that it be given government over Aceh, as suggested
by Kalla. Rather, GAM is proposing that there be local elections contested by local
parties, and that it stand in those elections. Such elections would require modification
of the existing law, which only allows national parties or individuals to stand for
election in Aceh.
On the question of "Special Autonomy" versus "Self-Government", Coordinating
Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto is quite correct to
note that, reflecting the untenable status quo, the term "Special Autonomy" carries
too many negative connotations to be acceptable to GAM.
As to the detail of the "Self Government" proposal, this will be put forth at the Third
Round of the Helsinki talks in April.
It should also be noted that there are numerous examples of "Self Government"
around the world and these have often been found to be workable political solutions to
similar types of problems. On this, I think we all hope that a political sollution will be
agreed to, and are working to that end.
Does GAM Want Independence or Self-Government?:
http://www.infid.be/aceh_self.htm.
Source: JP 01/03
Papua
A human rights and advocacy group in the Indonesian province of Papua has won the
Pacific region's human rights award for its work in defending the rights of people in
Papua province.
The Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy received the award from the
Fiji-based Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT).
New Zealand's High Commissioner to Fiji, Michael Green, who presented the awards,
says Elsham's work exposes powerful institutions to unaccustomed scrutiny.
He says it can be difficult and dangerous work but Elsham's persistence has earned it
a reputation as a key source of information on human rights violations in the province.
Elsham has devoted much of its time to exposing the alleged atrocities perpetrated by
TNI. Last month the group said it had evidence that linked the military to the August
2002 murder of two Americans and an Indonesian near the huge Freeport gold mine in
Papua. Indonesia and the US have blamed the killings on an alleged separatist named
Anthonius Wamang. Elsham has suggested Wamang was recruited by TNI.
RRRT was established in 1995 as a project of the United Nations Development
Program and now provides training, advocacy, technical support and policy advice on
human rights throughout the Pacific region.
Sources: PCW 01/03, LN 02/03
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AP Associated Press
AT Asia Times
BI Bisnis Indonesia
DPA Deutsche-Press Agenteur
JP The Jakarta Post
LN Laksamana.Net
PCW Pacific Media Watch
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