INFID
INFID | TAPAK Ambon | AKUI
| PosKo Zwolle | Diverse Artikelen
INFID News Civil Society Grand Strategy On Oct. 17 INFID together with 8
other NGOs grouped in GAPRI (Anti Impoverishment Movement on Indonesia)
launched a civil society grand strategy against impoverishment in a national
dialogue at Hotel Santika, Jakarta. The grand strategy offers four main
points of improvement to the government-sponsored Interim of Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP):
Bali Memorial Evening
INFID Related Issues
Following the postponement of a CGI meeting from the
end of this month to early next year, the Indonesian government plans to
lobby the three main donors of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI),
namely the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Japan. Finance Minister
Budiono said he expected the meeting to take place next month. He pointed out
that the government felt it necessary to solicit support of CGI donors to
Indonesia’s national development, following the October 12 bombings in Bali. Two days after the bombings, Co-ordinating Minister
for Economic Affairs still said that the Indonesian government had no plans
to change the schedule or agenda for its meeting with the donor countries
grouped in the CGI despite security and economic concerns arising from the
bomb blasts. The postponement is meant to give the Indonesian government the
opportunity to re-evaluate its economy in the wake of the Bali tragedy. But
according to Boediono, the postponement will give the government a problem
because the CGI loan commitment should be included in next year’s draft state
budget, which must be completed by the end of this year. Sources: APA 18/10, AA 15/10 General News Anti-Terror Decree Under intense pressure from western countries
President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Oct. 18 signed two government regulations
on fighting terrorism. The two regulations in lieu of laws on antiterrorism
confer wider powers on the security forces to conduct investigations into
alleged terrorist. The decree authorises a life sentence or death by firing
squad for anyone who commits and or plans an act of terror and or organises
others to do so. The decree allows the police to detain a suspected terrorist
for a period of six months for questioning and prosecutions without any
official charge being brought. It also gives the investigators the authority
to go through personal mails and parcels, and to tap telephone conversations
or other forms of communication, with the actual tapping being permissible
for a period of up to one year. Topo Santoso of the University of Indonesia said on
Oct. 20 that the regulations would serve as a powerful means to crack down on
terrorist activities, but the judiciary needed to maintain tight control of
the regulations’ execution to minimise rights abuses. Topo said various
categories of terrorist acts, a broader power for law enforcers and
intelligence to take specific measures and the inclusion of a retroactive
principle were the crucial points that would make the rulings effective. Meanwhile, human rights organisations expressed
apprehension that the decree could be misused. "We’re very concerned
that these enhanced powers for the police could lead to abuses, especially
with prolonged arbitrary detention," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington
director for Asia at Human Rights Watch. Human rights activist Hendardi and
legal expert Rudi Satrio said the regulations would be ineffective in
fighting terrorism as it would be easily used to arbitrarily arrest people
and political enemies, as happened during the tenure of former president
Soeharto. Before the bombings, Sidney Jones, Indonesia project
director at the conflict-resolution organisation International Crisis Group,
has said there are serious concerns over the extent to which the military may
be given a role in fighting terrorism. She said that any anti-terrorism
legislation had the potential for alarming people because "the word
terrorism is so loaded, and most anti-terror laws are designed to be
harsher" than ordinary law. Two largest Indonesian Muslim groups, Nahdlatul
Ulama and Muhammadiyah, backed the new anti-terrorism regulations but warned
the security forces not to use the law carte blanche against all Muslim
radicals in Indonesia. Sources: WP 19/10, BBC 18/10, JP 21/10, ST 22/10 Radical Muslim Cleric Arrested Police have arrested a radical Muslim cleric,
Abubakar Baasyir who is accused of links to terrorism after he failed to
leave hospital to answer a summons for questioning. Baasyir was formally
arrested in a hospital in Solo. Baasyir is not a suspect in the bomb blasts
that killed at least 190 people. But the slaughter prodded Jakarta into
action against Muslim extremists. Singapore and Malaysia accuse Baasyir of
terror links. Baasyir has been identified by US and Asian intelligence
officials as the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, a radical Southeast Asian network
suspected to be linked to al-Qaeda network. Some Indonesian human rights
groups, Muslim organisations and government officials fear widespread anger
over the arrest of Baasyir. But former president Abdurrahman Wahid, a leader
of Nahdlatul Ulama, declared his support for the move, saying the cleric
should have been arrested long ago. "I believe that Baasyir is a
terrorist," he said during a recent radio interview. Baasyir denies
knowing any al-Qaeda operatives. Sources: WP 22/10, AFP 19/10, ST 22/10 IMF on Bali Tragedy The International Monetary Fund believes that the
Bali carnage will not affect Indonesia’s economic growth. The Fund
representative in Jakarta David Nellor said that the national budget review
was only necessary for the tourism sector that would be affected in short
term. Nellor obviously does not share the same opinion with the Fund’s
director. IMF Director Kenneth Rogoff had previously said that the impact of
the Bali tragedy would be affecting Indonesia’s and the region’s economic
growth. Source: BI 23/10 Links Compilation of media coverage and statements on the
Bali bombings: http://www.infid.be/bali_tragedy.htm Abbreviations AA AFX-Asia AFP
Agence France-Presse APA Asia Pulse/Antara BI Harian Bisnis Indonesia ST The Straits Times WP Washington Post Stichting TitanE |
||||||
|
|