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INFID Related Issues US Military Aid A US House of Representatives
subcommittee passed a foreign aid bill on Sept. 5 that eases restrictions on
military training aid to Indonesia. The House Appropriations Foreign
Operations subcommittee approved a US$16.55 billion foreign aid bill for the
next fiscal year which starts on Oct. 1. The Senate Appropriations Committee
passed its version of the bill in July, but has not reached a full Senate
vote. The bill reinstates the
International Military Education and Training funds for Indonesia’s military,
which were curtailed in 1999 following massacres in East Timor. Supporters of
the program said it sends a positive signal to Indonesia as the US is
courting allies in the war on terrorism. Critics said Indonesia’s military
has not demonstrated reforms needed to get back into the program. Source: Reuters 05/06 General News Indonesian workers need your
support! The following statement was issued
by the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) on Sept. 9,
2002: "At the end of this month the
government of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-President
Hamzah Haz together with the People Representative Assembly plan to ratify
two draft laws on labour called the Industrial Dispute Settlement Act (PPHI)
and the Labour Protection and Development Act (PPK). Rather than improving
conditions for Indonesian workers this legislation will legalise repression
and violations of workers' rights. …" For complete statement and how you
can support: http://www.infid.be/fnpbistatement.html. Stop ministers from travelling Ministers’ visits are generally
useless to handle disasters, Government Watch co-ordinator Farid R. Faqih
said. Farid said that the travel and accomodation expenses for the visiting
ministers by far exceeds the value of the humanitarian relief given to the
tens of thousands displaced workers temporarily sheltered in Nunukan, Borneo.
According to him, the ministers’ visits are mostly like tourists’ sojourns,
they deliver the humanitarian relief and go home, without even having the
opportunity to ensure that the relief has been given to the needy. More than 10 ministers and
officials with ministerial rank have visited Nunukan. The humanitarian relief
gathered has reached US$1.55 million. Source: JP 11/09 US Embassy in Jakarta closed The US Embassy in Jakarta and the
consulate general in Surabaya closed to the public on Sept. 9 until further
notice because of a threat of attack, US State Department spokesperson
Richard Boucher said. He said that they had received credible and specific
information that the American embassy in Jakarta and consulate in Surabaya
were at risk of terrorist attack. The closure of the US Embassy over a
terrorist threat shows al Qaeda is far from defeated, US Ambassador to
Indonesia Ralph Boyce said on Sept. 10. But he later said that there was a
"pronounced lack of clarity" between al Qaeda-linked groups
operating in Indonesia and militant Islamic individuals operating on their
own. On Sept. 9 Indonesian Mujahidin Council members staged a protest at the
Jakarta embassy, calling the US the true terrorist on the global scene. Vice President Hamzah Haz on Sept.
11 expressed regret over the temporary closure, saying it will give Indonesia
an unfavourable image. He said Indonesia has always done its best to ensure
the safety of foreign representative offices and their envoys and expected
them to reopen the offices soon. The shimmering threat of
Indonesian radicalism: http://www.infid.be/indonesianradicalism.html. Sources: Reuters 09/09 10/09, DJN
10/09, JP 11/09 Sutiyoso re-elected Despite outrage and opposition
from thousands of demonstrators from various organisations and student
groups, incumbent Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso was re-elected for the 2002-2007
term on Sept. 11 by 47 of the 85 councillors. About 9,000 protesters gathered
outside Jakarta legislative assembly prior to the gubernatorial election. The
demonstrators said Sutiyoso must not be re-elected because of his gross
incompetence and involvement in corruption, human rights abuses and organised
crime. Sutiyoso was supported by
President Megawati Soekarnoputri who had earlier instructed legislators from
her Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to cast their votes for him. PDI-P
is the biggest party in the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD)
with 30 councillors. Vice President Hamzah Haz said on
Sept. 12 that the re-election of incumbent Governor Sutiyoso was a result of
a democratic election process and therefore must be respected. Sources: JP 12/09, KCM 12/09, AP
11/09, LN 11/09 Akbar Tandjung new chairperson of
AIPO Just days after his conviction,
parliament speaker Akbar Tandjung not only remains free but has also
travelled to Hanoi to led the delegation of Indonesian legislators to the
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO). On Sept. 11 he even got
elected to take over the presidency of AIPO from the outgoing Vietnamese head
of the regional body, Nguyen Van An. International observers attending the
conference criticised the election of Tandjung, saying it has destroyed the
credibility of AIPO. "It’s a shame, both for AIPO and Indonesia", a
western parliamentarian said. AIPO consists of 8 member countries that have
parliamentary bodies out of 10 member countries of ASEAN. Meanwhile, in the country pressure
is mounting for Akbar Tandjung to quit his post as parliament speaker. A
group of legislators are now gathering support for Akbar’s suspension,
claiming to have secured 70 signatures. The petition to unseat Akbar could
result in a vote of no confidence against Akbar if more than half of the 500
House members sign it. However, the public remains unconvinced that the
current campaign will lead to the unseating of Akbar given that political
horse-trading terminated an earlier move to set up an inquiry into Akbar’s
case. It was PDI-P that buried the motion to investigate Akbar, though in the
beginning it had been supported by many PDI-P legislators. As for Golkar,
Akbar’s party, they have to support him. Political analyst Andy Mallarangeng
said that Akbar had made it clear to his party colleagues that if he went
down, so did they. A lesson from Akbar: http://www.infid.be/lessonakbar.html. Sources: Kompas 12/09, Reuters 07/09,
SCMP 11/09, JP 12/09 Regional News Aceh The Indonesian government proposes
two possible dates for peace talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM): either
at the end of September or early October. Chief security minister Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said that the government had also submitted a draft of a
peace agreement to GAM and the Switzerland-based Henry Dunant Centre, which
has brokered peace talks between Indonesian government and GAM. The peace talks were undermined
last week when separatist rebels attacked a convoy carrying provincial
governor Abdullah Puteh. While there have been attacks on police and military
officers in the past, this was the first against a high-ranking official in
years. Aceh Backgrounder: http://www.infid.be/acehbackgrounder.html. Sources: JP 07/09 10/09, ST 07/09 Maluku The bomb explosion on Sept. 5 that
killed four young women in Ambon was not linked to a long-running religious
conflict but the work of provocateurs, Vice President Hamzah Haz said. Three
Christians and a Muslim were killed in the blast, Police said. Hamzah also
blamed unnamed foreign forces for continuing violence between Muslims and
Christians in the province. Christian leaders have said foreign Islamic
fighters have joined the Muslim side. Muslim groups accuse migrants from
Maluku who are living in the Netherlands of channelling money and arms to
Christian fighters. On Sept. 8 unidentified gunmen
shot and killed three Muslim women on a beach in the island of Saparua,
setting off riot that killed a Christian in the provincial capital. Police
investigators, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko Danu Ardiyanto said,
discovered standard military bullet cartridges at the site of the gunfight. Many
have said soldiers and police are taking sides in the conflict. Sources: Reuters 06/09, AP 06/09
08/09, JP 10/09 Abbreviations AP Associated Press Stichting TitanE |
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