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Indonesia & East Timor News Updates - September 26, 2011

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Jakarta rapes bring calls for renewed efforts to combat sexual assault

Jakarta Globe - September 25, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti -- In the wake of the rapes of two female passengers on public transportation in recent months, the National Commission on Violence Against Women said the government had a long way to go in meeting its responsibility to protect citizens.

The commission, also known as Komnas Perempuan, outlined recommendations on Friday that ranged from improving security for women on public transportation to toughening the way sexual assault is treated under the Criminal Code.

Andy Yentriyani, head of public participation at the commission, said the legal system did not provide sufficient protection for women against sexual assault.

"[The law] is insufficient, because sexual assault is categorized as a social misconduct. Hence, it is dealt with in a moralistic way as opposed to a serious crime," Andy said.

"In one clause, [the penalty] can be 12 years. In another, it can be two years, eight months," she said. "For children, it is only classified as abuse, which reduces the degree of seriousness."

Sexual assault is not a specific crime under Indonesian law, and is only treated as an "unpleasant act," with an accordingly mild law enforcement response. Komnas Perempuan hopes to fix this with new legislation.

"Hopefully in 2014, we will have a good draft text to amend the law on this," Andy said. "Not just a definition of the crime, but provisions on rehabilitation of victims, because no matter how long one waits, a victim is not necessarily going to be rehabilitated. This is because the stigma of rape can persist."

Komnas Perempuan's data shows that from 1998 to 2010, a quarter of 295,836 total cases of violence against women involved sexual assault. Every day, 28 women are sexually assaulted in Indonesia, the agency said.

In the two widely reported recent cases, the perpetrators were public transportation drivers. This revelation brought widespread calls for better screenings and additional security.

"Right now, the focus is on how law enforcers are handling these cases, so there is an impression that the nation is truly serious about dealing with cases of violence against women," Andy said. "But we need improvements in our transport system."

Andy said the investigations of the two recent cases showed a troubling information gap.

"It's puzzling when the police say they find it difficult to track down the perpetrators, yet the victim herself has already said she recognized them, including the driver, because he has a regular route," Andy said.

"If things continue this way, there will be a suspicion that the police aren't serious."

She called for a comprehensive review of public transportation to prevent assaults -- one focused on making a real, long-term impact, not just scoring political points.

"And not just because the media is paying attention to these cases," she said. "The solution is not to allocate special women-only spaces, such as on trains, because there is no guarantee that segregation will prevent assaults," said Andy.

She also voiced concern that if a woman was assaulted while traveling in a mixed space, she could be accused of looking for trouble.

"It also feeds into the idea that men can't control themselves," she said. "That assumption is just as bad as the assumption that women's actions or dress are the cause of violence against them."

GKI Yasmin congregation still under siege in Bogor

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2011

Theresia Sufa, Bogor -- Members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) congregation clashed with officers from the Bogor Public Order office who prohibited them from conducting their Sunday service on the sidewalk in front of their sealed church building.

Members of GKI Yasmin have been forced to hold their service on the sidewalk since the Bogor Municipal Administration sealed their church last year.

"We had no other choice. With the church now sealed, this is the only place where we can perform our Sunday service. Why don't they allow us to?" one member of the congregation said.

He said that members of the congregation had not broken any laws by staging their religious service at the site.

An official from the Bogor Public Order Agency, Ayep Ruhiyat, said the congregation should not perform their rituals on the sidewalk as it could disrupt order in the area. But after a tense argument, the officers relented and allowed the congregation to hold a mass at the location.

GKI Yasmin has been threatened with eviction by the Bogor Municipal administration as well as locals who have questioned the legality of the church.

Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto has been consistent in his refusal to reopen the church despite a Supreme Court ruling which upheld the legality of the church.

In July 2006, the Bogor city administration decided to revoke the building permit for the church.

The Supreme Court issued a ruling on Dec. 9, 2010, overturning the Bogor administration's request to uphold a lower court decision to close down the church.

The Bogor administration later decided to revoke the building permit for the church in March this year, arguing that there had been an error involved in the application for the permit.

On Sunday, Diani held a meeting with the top city officials in a government building across from the besieged building, but did not make efforts to meet members of the GKI congregation or respond to questions from local journalists.

Meanwhile, an organization calling itself the Bogor branch of Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami), said it had given the city administration a one-week deadline to evict the GKI Yasmin congregation from its current location.

"By Sunday next week, the city administration should have relocated all members of the congregation," Forkami member Abdul Halim said, as quoted kompas.com.

Abdul said that the government had already provided a new location for GKI Yasmin and that its congregation had no reason to perform their service on the sidewalk. "[The mass on the sidewalk] is disturbing the public order," he said.

Separately, GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging reiterated the church's demand for the Bogor administration to abide by the Supreme Court ruling. Bona denied the Bogor administration's claim that the church had forged signatures from local residents when it sought approval to construct the church.

Bona said that the administration should have protected members of the congregation instead of pushing them further to the edge. "The solution to this problem is actually very simple; reopen the church and let us perform our religious service here," he said.

Bona said that the congregation would continue holding their sidewalk mass until they were allowed to get inside the church building. "We have received many threats. Some say they want to burn the church down, but we still stand firm," he said.

Earlier this month, the executive board of the Islamic Student Association (HMI) submitted a document detailing the dispute between the GKI Yasmin church and the Bogor administration to the Vatican's president of the papal council for interreligious dialogue Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.

HMI said that many religious disputes in Indonesia were in fact engineered or fueled by political parties.

Police, BIN criticized for bomb attack failures

Jakarta Globe - September 26, 2011

Ezra Sihite, Farouk Arnaz, Hangga Brata, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman -- A politician has criticized Indonesia's intelligence agency's for failing to prevent a suicide bomber from striking a church packed with worshipers in Solo, Central Java, over the weekend.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin, deputy chairman of House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I, which oversees security affairs, said police and National Intelligence Agency (BIN) had failed.

"Intelligence should have predicted that the bomb would explode," Tubagus said of Sunday's attack that killed the bomber and wounded 28 churchgoers at the Bethel Injil Sepenuh church in Kepunton, Solo.

Tubagus said he believed internal problems within the organizations allowed the bombing to occur. He said he would support President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono if he ordered an internal investigation and ensured the results were released to the public.

Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung, also of the opposition PDI-P, was also critical of the organizations, describing their preventative actions as "very weak." He said the nation was obliged to protect all its citizens, including minorities.

Counterterrorism officials have linked Sunday's suicide bombing at a church in Solo to a deadly clash in Ambon earlier this month.

An officer with Densus 88, the police's elite counterterrorism squad, said on Sunday that early analysis indicated the motive for the attack on the Kepunton Bethel Church Indonesia, which killed the bomber and one other person, "is connected to the Ambon incident and the perpetrator is likely from the same radical groups that we know today."

"This is an act of vengeance," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Ambon clash on Sept. 11 erupted after rumors spread by text message that a Muslim man killed in a traffic accident had been murdered by Christians. Seven were killed in the ensuing clash and thousands fled the city.

Separately, a source with the Solo Police's bomb squad told the Jakarta Globe that the suspected bomber appeared to be about 35 years old and that the scene was similar to a suicide attack in April carried out by a man named Sharif, who detonated a bomb at a police mosque in Cirebon, West Java.

"His head was still attached to the body and his stomach burst. His organs were hanging slightly out. He had no beard, almost similar to the case of Sharif," the investigator said.

Sharif has been linked to the radical Tawhid wal Jihad network, believed to have been led by suspected terrorist Sigit Qurdowi before he was gunned down by police in May.

Police suspect Sigit was also involved in the bombing of a church and a police station in Klaten, Central Java, in December 2010.

In a televised address on Sunday night, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirmed the links to the Cirebon incident.

"The investigation so far shows that the suicide bomber was a member of a terrorist organization in Cirebon, the same group that carried out the [mosque bombing in April]," he said.

He urged police to crack down on the terror cells in Cirebon and Solo. He also called on the authorities to treat all indications or threats of terrorist acts seriously.

"I've also asked for an internal investigation of the police's actions, because I've been told that the intelligence unit was given a warning and the police chief had instructed all police forces [to be on alert]," he said.

"Don't ignore any information whatsoever. You have to be responsive and take steps to prevent things like this from happening."

He also stressed that the bombing could never be justified on religious grounds. "Evil doesn't have anything to do with religion or ethnicity. Evil is evil, terrorism is terrorism," Yudhoyono said.

Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam, the National Police spokesman, said police would deploy personnel to stand guard at all churches across the country in the wake of the bombing.

Witnesses said the bomber browsed jihadist Web sites at an Internet cafe 200 meters from the church before the bombing.

Harun, an operator at the Solonet cafe, said the man was there from 8:37 a.m. until 10:56 a.m. "About 15 to 20 minutes after he left, we heard the blast," Harun said.

He said the man's browsing history showed he had viewed a video of Osama bin Laden, titled "Dying a Martyr is Man's Greatest Aspiration," on the jihadist site arrahmah.com.

Rina Kristiningsih, another operator, said the man left his bag behind when he left. She said when she jokingly asked if he had a bomb in there, "he suddenly left in a hurry, but I didn't think anything of it at the time."

Other witnesses reported seeing a man pacing back and forth in front of the church shortly before the blast. In addition to the two fatalities, 22 churchgoers were reportedly injured in the attack.

Nathan, a congregation member, said he heard a loud bang at 11:30 a.m., just as churchgoers were leaving the service. He said he was inside the church when the blast occurred and saw several people lying severely injured near the entrance.

Slamet Effendy Yusuf, deputy chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, condemned the attack as going against Islamic teaching.

He said with inter-religious tensions running high in some areas, he was worried "about the possibility there are people who might try to exploit this."

Slamet called on authorities to work more closely with moderate Islamic organizations as a way of keeping a finger on the pulse of popular Islamic sentiment.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-biggest Islamic group, called on followers of all religions to not be baited by those trying to foment inter-religious strife.

Theo Sambuaga, chairman of the Golkar Party leadership board, condemned the bombing. "It was an act of violence meant to terrorize and repress believers, destroy harmony, scare the people and challenge the authority of the state," he said.

Don't blame us for Solo blast, says intelligence chief

Jakarta Globe - September 26, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman -- Facing heavy criticism for failing to anticipate Sunday's suicide bombing in Solo, State Intelligence Agency chief Sutanto has asked the public to stop blaming the agency and judge it fairly.

Sutanto said that intelligence agencies always shoulder a large burden of blame following terror attacks, but rarely received due credit for attacks they stopped.

"Other countries might not be able to prevent even one single threat," Sutanto said. "We have [prevented] some threats, [but] missed this one. All officials have been working hard, and it should be noticed."

Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, deputy head of House Commission I overseeing defense, agreed that the State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, had achieved significant results in thwarting acts of terror.

Agus also sought to put some of the blame on law enforcement agencies, whom he said often disregarded BIN warnings. He said that BIN officials had warned authorities about the potential for conflict in Ambon, which saw a series of sectarian clashes this month that left seven dead.

"The information had been given to the authorities to prevent it, but it was ignored and the conflict broke out," he said.

"The problem is that other institutions might not be quick in responding to information from the intelligence agency," Agus said. "So don't only blame the [BIN] with its limited power."

Sunday's blast has prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to push for a speedy adoption of a long-delayed and controversial intelligence bill that would give BIN officers the power to wiretap and extensively investigate suspected terrorists.

The still-in-progress bill, however, is not likely to grant intelligence agents the power to make arrests. "So, if there's a bomb that explodes, don't blame the intelligence agents, unless we're giving them the power to arrest," Agus said.

Bomb found in front of Ambon church: Police

Jakarta Globe - September 26, 2011

Farouk Arnaz -- Another homemade bomb was found in front of a church in Ambon on Monday, one day after a deadly blast in Solo and following two earlier explosions in the Maluku capital.

"This is in a series of bombs that we found there [in Ambon]," National Police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said on Monday. "The latest one today is in front of Maranatha church," Anton said. "All are homemade bombs, they are all similar. So the maker is the same."

On Thursday, a roadside bomb exploded in Karang Panjang, Ambon, according to police. That was followed by another blast on Saturday at the city's Mahardika terminal. No one was hurt in either explosion. Anton declined to speculate whether the bombs in Ambon were linked to the Solo suicide bomber.

However, the Jakarta Globe spoke to an anonymous source from the Anti-Terror Task Force who said that an early analysis appeared to link the attacks, and that they were revenge for the deadly sectarian violence that broke out in Ambon on Sept. 11.

House says intelligence bill will be passed soon

Jakarta Globe - September 26, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman -- In the wake of Sunday's bomb attack in Solo, the House of Representatives is saying that it is optimistic that a controversial and much-delayed intelligence bill will be passed soon.

The bill, originally scheduled for passage in June, has faced numerous delays as lawmakers, the administration and intelligence officials have tried to resolve differences over contentious issues such as wiretapping.

Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, from House Commission I overseeing defense and the head of the intelligence bill's working committee, said that crucial points regarding wiretap authority, coordination between intelligence agencies and powers to arrest have been agreed upon by the legislature and administration.

"We're optimistic that the bill will be finished before this current sitting period is over, or in some weeks ahead," Agus said.

The House and government have agreed to give the authority to wiretap to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), but with restrictions. The two bodies have also decided not to grant BIN officers the power to arrest suspects, but they will be granted greater access to information.

"So, they [BIN officers] have the right to sit at the side of the law enforcement to listen," Agus said. But he added that intelligence officers would not be able to order law officers to arrest suspects.

Another hotly contested point -- who would coordinate activity between various intelligence groups -- would go to the BIN, he said.

After Sunday's suicide attack in Solo, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the public need not worry about the intelligence bill granting authorities excessive power.

"There is worry over it being used excessively, but it happens in all countries," Yudhoyono said. "We need to learn from previous experience that we don't want to be repressive, but that fair trials should be presented in our country."

Group wants Freeport to pay higher royalties to government

Jakarta Globe - September 26, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho -- A local NGO is urging the government to propose contract renegotiations with Freeport Indonesia to force the company to pay proper royalties for its mines.

During a meeting with Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung on Monday, Gunawan, a coordinator for the Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice (IHCS), said he had filed a lawsuit in the South Jakarta District Court regarding Freeport's contract, known as Kontrak Karya.

The court ordered mediation between the parties. "Now we want the government and the House to use mediation to force Freeport management to renegotiate the contract," Gunawan said.

Gunawan said that the government and the House should renegotiate and make Freeport pay a royalty of 3.7 percent of its production since 2003 and commit to paying the same percentage for future production.

"It is clear in the Constitution that natural resources should be managed for the benefit of the people," Gunawan said. "The government and the House should fight for this."

IHCS estimated that Freeport should have paid around Rp 2.2 trillion ($256 million) since 2003.

"Actually, a royalty at 3 to 4 percent is very low in comparison to other countries," Gunawan said. "In African countries, the royalty is around 5 to 8 percent. Even Venezuela is drafting a law to get the royalty above 50 percent."

Ray Rangkuti, director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA) urged the government to temporarily close Freeport's mining operations during the renegotiation process.

"As long as it is in Indonesia, it has to comply," Ray said. "During the negotiation, please close it down. Don't let it operate until the debt has been paid and renegotiation completed."

Thousands of workers at Freeport-McMoran's gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia began a monthlong strike in mid-September demanding higher wages in line with those received by Freeport workers in other countries.

KPK to resume investigation into lawmakers accused of graft

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta -- Defying requests from lawmakers to be shielded from graft probes, the antigraft body will continue to question leaders of the House of Representatives' budget committee regarding alleged bribery in the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesman Johan Budi said on Sunday that the KPK needed information from the committee's leaders as individuals, but not as a committee.

"We have never questioned the duties, functions or authorities of the budget committee. It's not something that we want to know about. The summoning was really related to the [corruption] case that we are investigating," Johan told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The KPK is currently working on a bribery case centering on a resettlement infrastructure project under the ministry.

Businesswoman Dharnawati allegedly arranged to distribute Rp 1.5 billion (US$171,000) in bribes for two ministry officials, Dadong Irabarelawan and I Nyoman Suisnaya, to accelerate the disbursement of a Rp 500 billion project in Manokwari, West Papua.

Johan said the investigation had revealed the roles of the four committee leaders in the case.

In questioning the witnesses, he said, the investigators should pose formal questions such as what were their positions in the committee, how they worked, what their responsibilities were, and whether they were acquainted with the graft suspects. "The budgeting authority-related questions were not all that the investigation covered," said Johan.

Committee chairman Melchias Marcus Mekeng and his deputies, Tamsil Linrung, Mirwan Amir and Olly Dondokambey, were questioned last week by KPK investigators over the high-profile bribery case as the anticorruption commission suspected the committee of demanding so-called "commitment fees" from the company that won the contract worth Rp 73 billion ($8.32 million).

The budget committee later announced that they would suspend the deliberation of the 2012 state budget, arguing that their budgeting function had been targeted by the KPK.

Melchias said that the committee would suspend deliberations on the 2012 State Budget until the law enforcement bodies including the KPK promised not to question them over their budgeting authority.

KPK chairman Busyro Muqoddas said he and the committee did not feel threatened by the House's demand. "I only pity the citizens who would suffer for the late budget disbursement," he said.

House Deputy Speaker Anis Matta said that the KPK was only looking for the committee's mistakes. "It's just a trumped-up charge," said the Prosperous Justice Party politician on Saturday.

The House might not be able to pass the 2012 state budget into law in October as scheduled if the committee goes actually boycotts the budget deliberations. A House meeting will be held at the beginning of this week to discuss the problem.

Not all lawmakers disagreed with the KPK's investigation. Golkar Party lawmaker Harry Azhar Azis said the budget committee's refusal to deliberate the budget was against the 2009 Law on Legislative Bodies.

"The budget committee has authorities in deliberating the state budget. It doesn't make sense that they have to boycott the deliberations simply because they are upset about the questioning of the committee leaders by the KPK," he said.

National scene: Walhi rejects oil palm as legal forestry plant

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2011

Bengkulu -- The Bengkulu chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) rejected a recent government ruling to classify oil palm as a forestry plant as it would expand plantation areas in forests.

Walhi activist Barlian said that most of production forests in Bengkulu had already been destroyed due to illegal logging and forest expansion.

"We are sure that they would plan oil palms on the deserted forest areas because [the ruling] has made it legal," he said on Sunday as quoted by Antara.

Walhi recorded that several palm oil plantations have expanded into forest areas since 2007. "One company opened 2,000 hectares areas inside the forests," said Barlian.

Activists hold prayer for farmers

Jakarta Post - September 26, 2011

Desy Nurhayati, Denpasar -- Environmental activists and university students held a mass prayer and art performance on Saturday to mark National Farmers Day, in protest over what they called unfair agricultural land conversion in Bali.

The protest rally, held in front of the Bali governor's residence, was a reflection of the deteriorating condition of Bali's environment due to massive agriculture land conversion by investors who have disadvantaged traditional farmers, the protesters argued.

Recent data showed that conversion of agricultural land reached around 800 to 1,000 hectares during the last one year. The land was converted into residential and tourist facilities.

"We hold this interreligious mass prayer to reflect on ourselves concerning environmental problems, especially those related to agriculture in Bali," said Indra Udayana, leader of the Ashram Gandhi Puri "Chhatralaya".

The participants included members of Bali Environmental Forum, Walhi, Frontier, students of Udayana University and Indonesian Hindu University, Indonesian Muslim Student Union (PMII), Anand Krishna Center, and Ashram Gandhi Puri "Chhatralaya".

They also dedicated their action to traditional farmers in Dompa, Jimbaran, whose land was unfairly taken over by investors to build Bali International Park, according to event coordinator Dharmoko.

"The investor who acquired the land deceived the farmers by giving them falsified land certificates and only gave them a small amount of compensation. They also threatened to evict the farmers," he said, quoting media reports.

However, since the land has been acquired, no construction project has been undertaken, and the land has been abandoned for many years. "Thus, the investors hampered the farmers' access to a better livelihood, and inflicted losses on the state."

This is a violation of the Agrarian Law that stipulates the land which has been abandoned for years should be taken over by the state and distributed for agricultural interests, he said.

Dharmoko accused the provincial administration and the council of siding with investors by approving the construction of Bali International Park on the abandoned land.

In their protest, they reaffirmed their opposition to the construction project and urged the Bali administration and the council to pass a moratorium on development that damaged the environment while finding a solution to the environmental problems on the island, especially the water crisis.

"The administration has also failed to enforce the Agrarian Law as we are still seeing abandoned agricultural land everywhere being unfairly taken over by investors," Dharmoko said.

Asia Pacific Solidarity Network (APSN)
Email: jamesbalowski@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net