INFID, July 16, 2004
INFID's Short News Overview No. V/18: June 18 - July 16, 2004
INFID News
Ten People's Agenda to Attain Justice
Indonesian NGOs and individuals issued a joint declaration called 'Ten People's
Agenda to Attain Justice', urging the pro-democracy elements to bundle their forces in
fighting the nation's illness.
The Ten People's Agenda was made public amid the presidential election. The
declaration could serve as an assessment tool for the voters in deciding which
candidates they would vote for, Binny Buchori, Executive Director of INFID said. "But
it was primarily meant to remind the new government on the most basic issues that
need immediate attention," she said. Binny also said that the signatories hope that
the ideas laid in the declaration could also serve discussion materials by other NGOs
and CSOs in evaluating and monitoring the next government.
(The complete declaration is in Indonesian and is available upon request. The
Executive Summary is available in English and can be found at:
http://www.infid.be/statement_10agenda.htm).
INFID Statement
Amidst the tumultuous election campaign for the direct election of the president and
the vice president that tends to produce empty promises, two important events
escape the public attention they deserve: the completion of the PRSP (Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper) document on May 28th 2004 and the Mid-term Meeting of
the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) held on June 2nd 2004.
The completion of the PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper)/ SPKN document
appears to be merely driven by the urge to meet the self imposed deadline at the end
of May 2004 as set in the Presidential Decree No 5 year 2003. This in turns indicates
the lack of interest on the side of the Government of Indonesia to ensure a
comprehensive participatory process thereby producing a meaningful poverty
alleviation strategy.
Complete statement: INFID's Comment on the Mid Term CGI Statement June 2, 2004
about PRSP: http://www.infid.be/statement_2004_cgi_prsp.htm.
Job Vacancy
The closing date for application for the Executive Director position has been extended
to July 31, 2004. For further information please see the previously posted vacancy
announcement at: http://www.infid.be/vacancy.htm
Election News
It's SBY vs Megawati
With the first round of voting completed, Indonesians now face a choice between the
incumbent, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and her former security minister,
SusiloBambang Yudhoyono (SBY), to lead them until 2009.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the clear frontrunner in the presidential election, but
analysts said he remains in a vulnerable position.
Read our selection of articles discussing the prospects of the last two candidates at
http://www.infid.be/election_news.htm.
Al-Zaytun Election Annuled
The General Elections Commission (KPU) decided on July 15 to allow over 11,000
registered voters at the Al-Zaytun Islamic boarding school in Indramayu regency,
West Java, to recast their ballots in the presidential election. The decision was made
after the KPU, the West Java General Elections Commission, the Indramayu General
Elections Commission and the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) agreed
that over 13,000 of the 24,825 people who cast their ballots at the boarding school in
the July 5 presidential election did not have local identification cards or letters from
their local poll committees giving them approval to vote at the boarding school.
The West Java Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) reported on July 6 alleged
irregularities in the number of voters who cast their ballots at Al-Zaytun Islamic
boarding school during the presidential election. The sharp increase in the number of
voters at Al-Zaytun's polling stations favored Golkar Party candidates Gen. (ret)
Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahid. Committee head Egypt Sudrajat said his staffers
found the number of voters at the school located in Indramayu, West Java, increased
by up to five times the number of students and residents living nearby. Adjat said his
committee members saw people arriving at the boarding school in groups on July 5,
on board more than 300 private cars, trucks and buses. As many as 24,794 of the
voters supported Wiranto and Solahuddin, six supported Megawati Soekarnoputri and
Hasyim Muzadi, 21 voted for Amien Rais and Siswono Yudohusodo, 16 voted for Gen.
(ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and two voted for Hamzah Haz and Gen. (ret) Agum
Gumelar.
Sources: JP 07/07, 16/07
General News
Mining in Protected Forest Allowed
The House of Representatives has endorsed a controversial government regulation in
lieu of law that allows a number of mining firms to resume operations in protected
forests.
After a fierce debate, 131 legislators decided to support the endorsement of the
regulation into law, while 102 legislators voted against.
The vote was taken despite the fact that a majority of the nine factions in the House
opposed the measure. Those opposing the endorsement were the National Awakening
faction, the Reform faction, the Crescent and Star faction, the TNI/Police faction, the
Indonesian Nationhood Unity faction and the Daulat Ummah faction.
The other factions -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's party), the Golkar Party and the United Devvelopment Party factions --
agreed to the endorsement.
Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa said that he was happy with the House's decision as
it had finally put an end to protracted disputes between the government and a number
of mining firms whose operations had to be halted following the enactment of Law No.
41/1999 on forestry. The government had so far always argued that a decision to ban
mining operations in protected forests would prompt the mining companies to file a
legal suit with an international court of arbitration.
The decision sparked public protests, and suspicions that government officials had
accepted bribes to help finance the election campaigns of certain political parties.
Longgena Ginting, the executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi), said a coalition of NGOs would soon file a complaint with the Court in a bid to
have the regulation annulled on the grounds that it was repugnant to the 1945
Constitution.
Sources: JP 16/07, AP 15/07
Regional News
Aceh: Abdullah Puteh
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has declared Aceh Governor Abdullah
Puteh a graft suspect for allegedly marking up the price of a Russian assault
helicopter the Aceh administration bought in 2001, causing the state to lose some Rp
4 billion (US$440,000).
Puteh admitted on July 15 that no tender was held for the purchase of a
Russian-made helicopter in 2001, but denied suggestions that he had violated any law
in the deal.
Puteh said that Presidential Decree No. 18/2000 allowed him to award a project
without public tender. Presidential Decree No. 18/2000 requires a transparent bidding
process for any government project or procurement of goods valued at more than Rp 5
billion. However, it allows local administrations to skip the procedure in case of
emergency, including natural disaster, or if the project deals with "sensitive materials"
such as explosive.
Puteh said Aceh legislature members approved the purchase of the helicopter in a
plenary session because "we need a strategic vehicle that enables us to carry out our
duties in monitoring a territory as vast as Aceh".
His case is a litmus test for the incumbent President, who is seeking re-election in
the Sept 20 presidential election run-off, to prove her sincerity in fighting corruption.
Analysts say the President's apparent reluctance to replace Mr Abdullah would only
hurt her bid for re-election.
The President has been criticised for poor handling of graft cases. A probe by a
similar corruption body into a graft accusation concerning Attorney-General M.
Rachman two years ago was ended, apparently with the President's lack of support.
Despite a formal order by the KPK to suspend the Aceh governor, Ms Megawati has
appeared reluctant to take action against him, citing the absence of a regulation on
suspending heads of regional administrations.
An Uphill Battle: http://www.infid.be/corruption_jp1407.htm.
Sources: ST 15/07, JP 16/07
Aceh: Ladia Galaska
The House of Representatives is throwing its weight behind the controversial Ladia
Galaska road project despite an outcry from environmentalists.
"It's clear that the project has been planned in the interests of the Aceh people as it is
based on requests from 20 regents and 20 municipal council speakers in the
province," said Karimun Usman, the chairman of House Commission IV's resettlement
and infrastructure subcommittee on July 14. Karimun said the project was needed to
open up isolated rural areas and to improve the economic lives of people in Aceh. The
government argues that the 470-kilometer road, which will link the west and east
coasts of the province, will stimulate economic activity in the province's western
coastal areas.
Environmentalists in Indonesia and abroad are concerned about the adverse effects of
the project as it will run through 100.16 kilometers of protected forest, and cut through
1.5 kilometers of conservation forest, including the Leuser Ecosystem.
Studies show that every kilometer (0.6 mile) of road through a forest results in the
destruction of between 400 hectares (988 acres) and 2,400 hectares of forest area,
said Zainal Abidin of the Network for Forest Conservation.
The network's campaign coordinator Hasjrul Junaid predicted that 5,000 people in 500
villages would lose their lives within 10 years to disasters such as flash floods and
landslides if the project goes ahead through the hilly region.
Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim has criticized the five-year project worth 1.2
trillion rupiah (146 million dollars) and has proposed alternative routes to avoid the
conservation area, which is almost the size of Belgium.
Environmentalists say the roads would threaten wildlife and damage the water supply
from the area, which is home to Sumatran rhinos, orangutans, tigers and elephants.
European Union Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom in February visited the
EU-funded conservation project. She expressed alarm that the roads could spell
disaster for the zone covering 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres).
Sources: AFP 14/07, JP 15/07
Papua: Act of Free Choice
The recent declassification of documents by the U.S. National Security Archive
pertaining to the 1969 referendum on Papua has put this Indonesian westermost
province in the spotlight.
The documents revealed that the United States supported former dictator Suharto
when he incorporated West Papua into Indonesia in 1969 after a self-determination
vote later dismissed as a sham. The documents, released by the independent
Washington-based National Security Archive (NSA) on July 9, show that
Washington's Cold War courtship of General Suharto, was considered a much higher
priority than a plebiscite on independence.
The Indonesian government has brushed aside any questions about the legitimacy of
the 1964 UN-sponsored self-determination vote in Papua, saying current standards
should not be applied to past events. Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesman Marty
Natalegawa said the disclosure would do nothing to change the status of Papua as
part of Indonesia. He said the self-determination vote was carried out by the UN and
supported by the international community, and the release of an old document did not
change the legitimacy of the ballot.
Indonesia's 1969 Takeover of West Papua Not by "Free Choice":
http://www.infid.be/papua_free_choice.htm.
U.S. Sacrificed Papua to Court Suharto: http://www.infid.be/papua_sacrificed.htm
Spotlight on Papua: http://www.infid.be/papua_jp_14704.htm.
Sources: AP 10/07, JP 12/07, AT13/07
Papua: army cleared of death of US teachers
Nearly 18 months after the FBI began investigating the Indonesian military's part in an
attack in August 2002 on a group of schoolteachers that left two Americans dead, the
US Attorney-General, John Ashcroft, has charged a Papuan man with the murders. A
grand jury indictment unsealed on June 24 in Washington charges Anthonius
Wamang, 32, with two counts of murder, eight counts of attempted murder and nine
counts of causing injury.
The indictment accuses Wamang of being a leader of the Papuan separatist
movement, OPM, and made no mention of the suspected involvement of the
Indonesian military.
United States officials are now debating when they might be able to resume military
aid to Indonesia. A senior US official says the departments of State and Defence are
discussing when to go to Congress to request that funding for the training of military
officers be resumed.
Indonesia has expressed its hope to resume military cooperation with the United
States.
The decision vindicates the Indonesian military following allegations they were involved
in the ambush, said foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa. "All sorts of
charges have been levelled against Indonesia, and the TNI (military) in particular,
about their alleged involvement in the killings.
"To have now the US attorney general indict a leader of the so-called Free Papua
Movement in the killings is obviously a source of great satisfaction and a vindication of
a sort."
Natalegawa said he hoped the "perpetrators of this dastardly act can be quickly
captured and brought to justice."
Sources: AFP 25/06, AP 24/06, SMH 26/06, AFR 27/06, FEER issue cover-dated
22/07
Links
Transcript of an IMF Book Forum, Does the IMF always prescribe fiscal austerity? Are
targets too tight? : http://www.imf.org/external/np/tr/2004/tr040608.htm.
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AFR Australian Financial Review
AP Associated Press
AT Asia Times
FEER Far Eastern Economic Review
JP The Jakarta Post
SMH Sydney Morning Herald
ST The Strait Times
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