INFID
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Title
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Short News Overview.
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No
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94
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Period
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7 June 2002 – 13 June 2002
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INFID News
Questionnaire
INFID’s Short News Overview will
soon reach its No. 100 issue. It means we have been visiting you once a week
for about two years. It is not a long period, but it is exactly the reason
why we want you to fill in this questionnaire, before it gets another digit
while nobody is actually reading it! Started with only a handful subscribers
within the INFID’s circle, the SNO has reached almost 200 subscribed-readers
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The questionnaire is attached in this issue. Please fill in and return the
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INFID 13th Conference
The 13th INFID Conference will take place in Yogyakarta on September
30 October 02, 2002. For information about the conference please visit:
www.infid.be/conference/.
INFID Related Issues
Debt
Indonesia has renewed its
agreement with the IMF until December 2003. Finance Minister Budiono said
that he and the central bank governor Syahril Sabirin had signed the letter
of renewal ‘some time ago’. Last week National Development Planning Minister
Kwik Kian Gie described the IMF as the country’s new colonial master whose
policy prescriptions interfered too much in Indonesia’s economy. MPR speaker
Amien Rais and Vice President Hamzah Haz agreed with Kwik and demanded an end
to the agreement when it expires on November 22. Economic Minister Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro Jakti seemed to disagree, calling all people not to blindly attack
and criticise the IMF. He urged all elements of the country to respect the
multilateral institutions such as IMF and World Bank since such bodies represented
political systems of hundreds of established countries.
Analysts however believed that the anti-IMF cries was merely aimed at helping
President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s party maintain support among the country’s
Muslims. They did not believe that Megawati’s Cabinet had even contemplated
to end the IMF deal.
Indonesia: Anti-IMF Rhetoric Tailored for Muslims: http://www.infid.be/antiimf
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia deputy governor Aulia Pohan said that the steering
committee of the London Club had in principle agreed to delay payment on a
total US$1.3 billion of loans. The steering committee comprises of Bank
of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, BNP Paribas, Commerze Bank Achstien Gesselschaft,
Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. And Mizuho Corp. In April
Indonesia won approval for the rescheduling of US$4.5 billion in loans from
the Paris Club.
Sources: AFP10/06, ST 11/06, JP
10/06, 11/06, DJ 10/06, Bl 10/06, SA 05/06, FI 11/06
General News
TNI/Police
TNI will likely thrash earlier
outlined defence concept and stick to its previous policy of maintaining
internal security. Following the separation of the TNI and the National
Police in 2000, the MPR issued Decree No. VII/2000, assigning domestic
security responsibilities to the police and mandating the TNI to defend the
country from possible external threats. Director General of Defence Strategy
at the Ministry of Defence, Maj. Gen. Sudrajat, said TNI headquarters was of
the opinion that in the near future Indonesia would not face any external
security threats, while at home, “it faces serious domestic threats,
including terrorism, illegal migrants and piracy.” As a consequence, the TNI
is expecting the government to increase the defence budget by about 10
percent in 2003 on the grounds that maintaining domestic security requires
high-capabilities on the part of military as well as the National Police, he
said. Should it be approved, the TNI will get a defence budget of over US$1.1
billion next year.
Sources: JP 11/06, KCM 11/06
Regional News
Maluku
On June 11 Vice President Hamzah
Haz visited Soya for around 30 minutes and donated US$11,000 for the
reconstruction of the 450 year-old church burned down during the April
28 attack on the Christian village. Later in the day, Hamzah toured a school
and medical clinic run by a controversial Islamic paramilitary group. He met
with Laskar Jihad members at the Al-Fatah mosques, during which meeting some
Laskar Jihad activists surrendered their home-made weapons. Sociologist
Thamrin Amal Tomagola of the University of Indonesia said: “The trip is
actually not necessary. It will only serve Hamzah Haz’s own political
benefit.” Mr. Haz was accompanied by about 80 officials and politicians. Travelling
with him were national police chief General Da’i Bachtiar, Resettlement and
Infrastructure Minister Soenarno, Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil
Munawar, Health Minister Ahmad Sujudi and the president’s military secretary
Maj. Gen. Tubagus Hasanuddin. Habib Rizieq Shihab of the Front for the
Defenders of Islam (FPI) was also reported to have taken part in the visit. The
FPI is accused of making violent raids on nightspots and gambling parlours in
Ambon and considered by many as a hardline Muslim group. But Mr. Haz insisted
that Mr. Shihab was not a hardliner.
Sources: JP 11/06, 12/06, BN
11/06, SCMP 12/06
Papua
The grave of murdered Papuan
independence leader Theys Eluay was vandalised on June 7. The local police
said they were still investigating the matter to find the culprit. On the
same day Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ratyono rejected any suggestion that
non-Papuan troops be withdrawn from the province. He said any military
intelligence operation should not be seen as a human rights violation since
“it was done for the sake of our national interest”. Asked if the murder of
Theys had something to do with military operations, Ratyono said: “It’s
difficult to go into details over that issue, but he was a separatist leader,
wasn’t he?”. Meanwhile police at Sorong in the west of the province have
banned the periodical Tabloid Laskar Jihad- published by the well-organised
and well-financed Islamic militia group Laskar Jihad- from the town and the
surrounding areas. Local district police chief, Adjunct Senior Commissioner
Faisal Abdul Nasser said the biweekly tabloid contains reports which could
spark disputes between religious groups.
Sources: JP 08/06, AFP 10/06
Poso
Following the recent bus bombing
and murder, four joint TNI/Brimob companies will be deployed to the Poso
region by the end of June. The blast on June 5 killed four people and injured
14 others. Investigators were still uncertain about who was behind the
bombing, but witnesses and officials revealed that most of the passengers
killed or wounded were Christians. On June 9, a Christian man was murdered,
which further increased tension in the region. Poso district military
chief Lieutenant Colonel Kurnia Dewantara said officials found “strong
indications” the blast was the work of outsiders. Christian leaders refused
to speculate on suspects but they called on authorities to remove
Laskar Jihad fighters from the island since “both the Christian and Muslim
community are exhausted with violence.” The Java-based group denied any
involvement, insisting its mission in Poso was to bring peace. Meanwhile,
leaders of neighbouring South Sulawesi, one of Indonesia’s most devout Muslim
regions, oppose plans by suspected Islamic militants to operate in the
province. South Sulawesi recently banned the Foundation for Islamic Wal
Jumaah Mission (Yamisa), which was recruiting members by offering to pay them
Rp400,000 a month and local office-bearers Rp12 million a month. South
Sulawesi government and community leaders fear the organisation, which bears
similar name with a foundation that raises funds for Laskar Jihad, when
allowed to operate will create social unrest even violence as was witnessed
in the neighbouring Maluku province.
Sources: BWM 11/06, AP 07/06, AFP
07/06, ST 08/06
Abbreviations
AFP Agence
France Presse
AP Associated
Press
Bl Bloomberg
BN BBC
News
BWM BBC
Worldwide Monitoring
DJ Dow
Jones
FI Financial
Times
JP The
Jakarta Post
MPR People’s
Consultative Assembly
SCMP South
China Morning Post
ST The
Strait Times
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