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on INFID XIII Conference: www.infid.be/conference/. INFID
Related Issues Debt A team
of International Monetary Fund officials has arrived in Jakarta to review
Indonesia’s progress in implementing economic reform programs. The team is
expected to stay for more than a week reviewing the government’s latest
letter of intent (LoI) to the Fund. Compliance with the terms of the LoI is a
prerequisite for the Fund’s disbursement of loans under the US$5 billion
reform program. Finance minister Budiono said on July 31 that talks on the
draft of the 2003 state budget would be the priority on the agenda. He did
not provide details, but analysts have said it would mainly focus on
macroeconomic indicator targets for next year and the budget deficit target. The
government is aiming to slash the state budget deficit to 1 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP) from estimated 2.5 percent this year. The government
said that further reductions in subsidies and pumping up tax revenue to help
offset huge budget spending, particularly on debt repayment, would be
inevitable. This would probably draw strong opposition from legislators. Meanwhile,
Indonesian Central Bank (BI) Governor Syahril Sabirin said on July 29 that BI
was trying to negotiate for more lenient conditions in the planned
multibillion dollar currency swap agreement with Japan, China, and South
Korea. BI wants the currency swap deal not to be tied to IMF program. Sources: AA 31/07, JP 30/07 01/08 Legal
Reform As the
Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) is starting, the
Indonesian military (TNI) and the National Police have maintained their
opposition to the ongoing constitutional amendment process and are calling
for a return to the (unamended) 1945 Constitution. TNI chief Gen. Endriartono
Sutarto said on July 30 that the amendment process had deviated from its
original purpose and that "the TNI and the National Police will support
any decision made at the upcoming Annual Session, slated to run from Aug. 1
through Aug. 10, including the possibility of issuing a decree providing for
the reinstatement of the 1945 Constitution if this was considered the best
choice for the country". If the current amendment process proceeds
smoothly, the TNI/Police factions will be scrapped from both the House of
Representatives and the Assembly in 2004. The TNI’s official position to the
amendment process was disclosed to the public only days after the Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU)- the country’s largest Muslim organisation –revealed its stance
opposing the amendment of Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution and supporting
direct presidential elections. However, Vice President and United Development
Party (PPP) Chairperson Hamzah Haz said his party would continue to fight for
the inclusions of sharia law. Political
activists also disagreed with the current amendment process, but apparently
for different reasons. They said the process should have involved the people
and not let all the decisions be made by the politicians in the Assembly. They
demanded an independent constitutional commission, with full authority to
draft a new constitution. An NGO coalition, headed by the Centre for Electoral
Reform (CETRO) said that the existence of the commission would not be a
threat to the authority of the MPR as the draft would be presented to the MPR
for approval. Should the MPR reject the draft, the entire electorate would
have to be given a chance to have the final say through a national
referendum. The campaign failed to get MPR support. Sources: JP 29/07 30/07 31/07 General
News Powell’s
visit US
Secretary of State Colin Powell will be visiting Indonesia on August 2. He
will meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Cabinet official including
Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Analysts said the visit was
likely to focus on Washington’s push for closer ties with the Indonesian
military in a bid to forge more effective co-operation between the two
countries in the war against terrorism. Powell should urge accountability by
Indonesian military, .a major human rights organisation said. Human Rights
Watch wants Powell to make clear that US support for Indonesia will be
strictly conditioned on human rights progress. More
information on Powell’s visit and Indonesian military: Powell
should urge accountability by Indonesian military: www.infid.be/powelmilitary.html The
Indonesian military and ongoing abuses: www.infid.be/militaryabuses.html. Sources: DJ 31/07, HRW 30/07 Tommy
Soeharto The
youngest son of the former Indonesian president Soeharto was convicted on July
26 of masterminding the murder of the Supreme Court justice who sentenced him
to prison for corruption. A panel of five judges sentenced Tommy Soeharto to
15 years in prison, as the prosecutors had demanded. Tommy, who was not
present during the verdict, denied any involvement in the murder. Tommy’s
attorneys said they would appeal their client’s murder conviction but
conceded it will be difficult to overturn. Indonesians
welcome the verdict but say he should have received the death penalty. Tommy
seems to cheer the verdict too. "I feel a little bad but what can I
do?", Tommy says, smiling. Tommy is jailed in Cipinang, where most cells
are dirty and overcrowded. But his seven metres by 2.5 metres cell is
spotless and carpeted, complete with 21-inch television, crisp bed linen and
flush toilet. It has an entrance hall, an area for his bed and a separate
bathroom. Tommy
is the first Soeharto family member to be put on trial. Sources: TG 27/07, Reuters 26/07 27/07 30/07, AP 26/07 29/07, Kyodo
26/07, WSJ 29/07 Regional
News Aceh Aceh
exiles on July 21 proclaimed independence from Indonesia in Stavanger,
Norway. Justice Party leader Hidayat Nurwahid said in the Stavanger
Declaration it was agreed that Aceh would embrace a democratic system. Its
capital city would be Kutaraja now known as Banda Aceh, its prime minister
Teungku Malik Mahmud, and its foreign minister, Zaini Abdullah. The
procalamtion determined amongst other things that the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) was the Acehnese National Army. Meanwhile,
councillors from five regencies in Aceh met with Security Minister Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss the possible establishment of a new province. The
five regencies represented by the councillors are Southeast Aceh,
Blangkejareun, Singkil, Central Aceh and Tamiang. Basrah Hakim, who led the
councillors, told Susilo that the five regencies intended to form a new
province called Leuser Antara as they had not been "infiltrated"
yet by the separatist Free Aceh Movement. It is not clear who initiated the
meeting. Indonesia’s
military chief said on July 30 that the problems in Aceh should be resolved
through dialogue but that separatists must drop their call for an independent
state. The government, which has labelled GAM a "terrorist"
organisation, has said it is considering imposing a civil emergency in its
efforts to end the violence. Sources: BWM 26/07, JP 27/07, Reuters 30/07, AFP 30/07 Maluku A bomb
exploded in Ambon on July 27, badly injuring 21 people. No one took the
responsibility for the blast and there was no arrest. Vice President Hamzah
Haz said the bomb blast was aimed at disrupting the Assembly meeting in
Jakarta while Security Ministers Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned of act of
provocation. Christian residents of Ambon suspect soldiers and not their
former Muslim enemies were behind the bomb blast, which exploded at a
traditional market in a mainly Christian area. Local newspapers reported that
the bomb contained cables and batteries, indicating some level of expertise. Ambon
military spokesperson Major Heri Suhardi dismissed the possibility that the
military could have been involved in the bombing. Sources: Reuters 30/07, AFP 30/07 Abbreviations AA
AFX Asia Stichting TitanE |