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INFID News Two new joint statements are
available on our website. The first is a joint statement voicing deep concern
on the proposed impunity for Soeharto, http://infid.ngonet.be/abolisiuntuksoeharto.html. The NGO Coalition for Democracy views the plan
to give abolition as a betrayal to the democratic ideals. There are three
basics arguments against the plan. Firstly, though Soeharto is admittedly
ill, he has never been medically stated as having mental disturbance or so
physically sick he has lost his sanity to deliver his opinion or to
understand the charge against him. Secondly, it is not true that the trial of
Soeharto will threaten the very survival of the nation state and the
government. In the contrary, it will illuminate the dark way the nation has
gone so far, towards a better future. Thirdly, the crimes charges are not
limited to corruption issues, but, and most important, also include crimes
against humanity. No abolition should ever be granted to person charged with
this crime. The second is a joint
end-of-the-year note by twenty Indonesia-based NGOs on Megawati’s
administration, available at http://infid.ngonet.be/catatanakhirtahunbersama121.html. The statement questions the seriousness of
Megawati’s government to continue the process of reformasi and to
separate itself from the New Order regime. Besides a general remark on the
government inability to mobilise all the nation’s component to get out of the
economic crisis and to maintain law and order, the statement points out four
issues of concern in particular: Human Rights, Women and Gender Equity,
Environment and Natural Resources, and Social and Economic Justice. The
statement then recommends eleven items for Megawati to work on. Both texts are currently available
only in bahasa. The English version will be uploaded at once when the
translation is ready. Apologies to those who do not read Indonesian. On January 3, 2002 INFID staged a
demonstration rejecting the impunity for Soeharto in front of Hotel
Indonesia. There were about 50 people involved including NGO activists and
noted political observers such as Arief Budiman, HS Dillon, Arbie Sanit,
Bambang Warih and Faisal Basri. INFID Board Meeting is scheduled
to take place on February 4-7, 2002 in Jakarta. INFID Related Issues Debt Co-ordinating Minister for
Economic Affairs Dorodjatun Kuntjoro Jakti said after a cabinet meeting on
Dec. 27, 2001 that Indonesia would not face the same fate as Argentina
because it was facing different economic difficulties and was taking
different solutions to deal with its problems. He said Argentina, with a
population of just 37 million, had a foreign public debt of some US$130
billion while Indonesia, with a 210-million-strong population had some $70
billion in public debt. He added that while both were heavily indebted
countries, they had different debt structures. The bulk of Argentina's debt,
some 95 percent, was obligatory and largely privately syndicated, unlike
Indonesia's debt, which comes from international loans. With the Argentine
currency pegged to the dollar, its export competitiveness will suffer greatly
because of the dollar's appreciation, while Indonesia had, on the contrary,
benefited from greater competitiveness and a larger variety of products,
Dorodjatun said. Dorodjatun reaffirmed the government's commitment to honour
its obligation to repay its huge debt and would not follow Argentina's move
to halt payments of its debt. The new Argentinean administration declared on
Dec. 23, 2001 that it was halting payments on its public debt, which stand at
$132 billion, the biggest default in history. Argentina's economic turmoil
started when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided last week to
suspend a stimulus package intended to bail out the country's already
evaporating economy. The failure of Argentina to meet the required target of
zero deficit was the reason behind the fund's decision to suspend its $1.3
billion in loans. More on the Indonesia’s
‘not-so-grim’ debt problem: Indonesia’s debt: No end in sight http://infid.ngonet.be/debtnoendinsight.html Source: JP 28/12 Free Trade The beginning of this year is not
only marked by the excitement of introduction of Euro. A new trade agreement
involving Indonesia and five other South East Asian countries was also
launched on the very first day of this year, though, unlike the European
case, few people were even aware of its existence. ASEAN Free Trade Area
(AFTA), has marked the first step toward the formation of a common market in
the region uncelebrated. There has been no single public announcement before
or after its launching. Economic minister ignored it and President Megawati
did not even touch on the issue in her New Year’s speech. Economists warned a
lack of publicity about AFTA has given rise to public distrust of the
benefits of trade liberalisation. Local business community was in general
negative about AFTA. More stories on AFTA: http://infid.ngonet.be/afta.html Source: JP 02/01 General News Buloggate II Good news for Indonesia’s
stuttering democratisation process, bad news for House Speaker Akbar Tandjung.
Akbar, also chairman of the former ruling party Golkar, had been named a
suspect in the US$ 3.9 million scandal involving the funds of State Logistic
Agency (Bulog). The announcement on Akbar's new status was made by Attorney
General MA Rachman in his year-end report on his office's performance. The
decision was taken after the Attorney General's Office received on Jan. 6 the
go-ahead from President Megawati to investigate Akbar as a suspect. Megawati
gave her approval in response to a request filed by the office on Jan. 1.
Rachman contended that his office had arrived at the decision after state
prosecutors had found no proof that Bulog money had been used as claimed by
Akbar, namely to supply more than 16 million packages of rice, instant noodles
and soy sauce to poor people in five provinces in Java in March and April
1999. Akbar, who was then state secretary in president B.J. Habibie's
administration, contended that he had merely acted upon an order from the
former president to supervise the humanitarian deliveries. He claimed that he
had not received the Bulog money, but merely witnessed the handover of the
checks from Bulog officials to executives of the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation,
which he claimed had been appointed to carry out the food distribution
project. His accounts, however, are in contradiction with statements made by
the then Bulog's deputy chief of finance Achmad Ruskandar, who told
prosecutors that he handed over the checks directly to Akbar. Also, Raudlatul
Jannah chairman Dadang Sukandar made a contradictory statement, saying that
he did not receive the money. He claimed that the money was transferred
directly from Bulog to his contractor, Winfried Simatupang. Media reports
alleged that Akbar had lied about the matter, and in fact had channelled the
funds to his Golkar Party executives to finance the 1999 general election
campaign. In addition to Akbar, the Attorney General's Office has also named
former Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan, Ruskandar and Dadang as suspects in the
misuse of the non-budgetary Bulog funds. Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
(KAPP-HAM) urged Akbar to resign from his position as the House Speaker,
arguing that maintaining his position will influence and hamper the
investigation process. Speaker of People’s Consultative Assembly Amien Rais
also urged Akbar to resign. He said that though there was no regulation
stipulates Akbar should resign or quit temporarily, he must consider the
moral aspect of his status besides the legal one. Vice President Hamzah Haz
thought otherwise as he took a grip on the legal aspect. He said that there
was no need for Akbar to resign or quit temporarily since he was only a
suspect and there has not been any guilty verdict from the court. The
legislators at the House of Representatives expressed mixed reaction over
this matter. A.M. Fatwa from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Muhaimin
Iskandar from the National Awakening Party (PKB) asked Akbar to resign or
quit temporarily while Tosari Wijaya from the United Development Party believed
that the performance of the House would not be affected with Akbar’s status.
Akbar himself rejected the calls for him to resign. Sources: JP 08/01, KCM 08/02 Environment The merger of the Office of State
Minister for the Environment (Meneg LH) with Environmental Impact Management
Agency (Bapedal) was viewed as a setback and reduced the function of Bapedal
as a technical agency dealing with environmental development. Executive
Director of the Indonesian Friend of the Earth (Walhi) Emmy Hafild said that
the merger had ignored the country’s law hierarchy as the two were set up by
higher level of laws. Emmy argued that the decision had further weakened the
position of environmental sector instead of strengthening the function of the
environment office as argued by the government. Senior Researcher and founder
of Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) Achmad Santosa also
disagreed with the annexation of Bapedal into Meneg LH, saying that it was
not according to the normal practice, had no strong ground, and seemed
unnatural. He further said that the law and historical views did not support
the merging of the tasks and authorities of Bapedal and Meneg LH into a
single State Minister institution. Santosa also said that the fact that the
merger was wrapped with presidential decrees (Keppres) went against higher
level of law (UU & PP) of which the two found their legal grounds. A
coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) wrote to President
Megawati Soekarnoputri requesting her to annul the presidential decrees. The
NGOs doubt the policy to empower the ministry will not meet the government
expectations. They believe the state ministry deals only with policy not
practicalities and therefore is not equipped to deal with Bapedal's functions
as the supervisor and law-enforcement body. The NGOs also urged the president
to order State Minister for Environment Nabiel Makarim to make a
comprehensive analysis on how to empower his office. In his defence, Nabiel
argued that the fusion would not weaken its office but instead would give it
both co-ordinating and implementing functions -- something that cannot be
found in other state ministries. Nabiel said on Jan. 8 that the "state
minister office plus" was an innovative policy of the government which
is in line with the regional autonomy era. Source: TI 09/01, Kompas 08/01, JP
10/01 Human Rights News Military Tribunal Attorney General spokesperson
Mulyohardjo said that the trials of military and police officers accused of
slaughter and forced deportations in East Timor in 1999 scheduled on Jan. 15
was almost certain to be postponed again. Indonesia's Ad-Hoc Human Rights
Court - which will hear cases of military atrocities - was initially
scheduled to open Dec. 1. However, it was postponed until Jan. 15, because
Megawati had not chosen the tribunal's judges. Now, a week before the first
case is supposed to start, Megawati still has not selected the judges. Human
rights activist Johnson Panjaitan said it appeared that army generals were
pressuring Megawati not to allow the trials to go ahead as they were afraid
of facing justice. Megawati has strong ties with the army and as a matter of
fact it was the army that backed her constitutional takeover of power from
former president Abdurrahman Wahid six months ago. Previously Megawati has
been accused of reconciling with powerful human right abusers and ignoring
their past records in the end-of-year report card from the country’s human
rights advocates. Megawati on Dec. 29 called on the country’s soldiers to be
firm in carrying out their job and not to be worried about accusations of
human rights abuses. "Armed with the soldiers' oath and existing laws,
carry out your duties and resposibilities in the best possible manner without
having to worry about human rights abuses," Megawati said, in a speech
at a ceremony marking Army Day. "Do your job without hesitation,"
she said. Sources: AFP 29/12 07/01, AP 08/01 Abbreviations: AFP:
Agence France-Presse Stichting TitanE |