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INFID News INFID Conference Information on the forthcoming
INFID XIII Conference: http://www.infid.be/conference/ INFID Annual Lobby 2002 An INFID lobby team will be
arriving in Europe on June 30. The team is scheduled to visit London, Paris,
Brussels, the Netherlands, Bonn and Berlin before leaving the continent on
July 13. The background papers of the lobby visit are available at http://www.infid.be/lobby2002.html. SNO Questionnaire Reminder: If you have not done so,
please return the completed form to infid@infid.be as soon as possible. Your reply is expected
at the latest on July 2, 2002. INFID Related Issues Democracy Just days after MPR Speaker Amien
Rais said democracy should play second fiddle to military force when dealing
with religious conflict, President Megawati Sukarnoputri has said voting is
alien to Indonesian culture. On June 14 Megawati lamented that legislators in
DPR and MPR frequently make decisions by voting rather than by deliberation (musyawarah).
Indonesia’s parliament for decades made decisions based on consensus through
deliberation, but opted for voting following the fall of Suharto in May 1998.
Under Suharto, legislators rarely voted on any issues. They simply agreed to
just about anything that the president wanted. Megawati said although
legislators prefer voting to deliberation, voting does not belong to the
culture of Indonesian people. Critics claim that many legislators’ voting
preferences depend on how much money they are paid to either support or
reject any given issue. Military Reform Debate rages over plans to remove
military legislators from the House before the scheduled removal in 2009 by
granting them voting rights. On June 18 political observer Hermawan Sulistyo
of LIPI that the military did not belong in the House and that they should
vote like any other citizens. Military observer Lt. Gen. (ret.) also urged
the military to accept their voting rights. The general election bill
recently submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs demands the military and
the national police to take the ballot and give up their seats in the House
and the Assembly by 2004. The military has signalled its reluctance to accept
the voting rights and give up the seats. Previously Gen. Sjafrie said the
military has no desire to be involved in ‘day to day politics’ but it should remain
"involved in the interests of the state". Military spokesperson
Sjafrie Syamsoeddin argued that giving police and the military voting rights
for the next election while allowing them to run as political candidates
contradicted the Constitution, creating legal inconsistencies. He and
outgoing armed forces commander Widodo argued that more time was needed to
prepare members of the armed forces to understand their democratic rights. Earlier,
senior TNI officials had warned of dangerous cracks within the military if
soldiers were given voting rights. "They shouldn’t be calling themselves
a national military if they think mere voting rights would threaten their
unity," Hermawan remarked. General News Working Accidents Four workers died everyday in
Indonesia during 2001, said Joko Sungkono, operating director of the
state-run social insurance company PT Jamsostek. In the year, there were
104,000 cases of working accident reported, claiming 1,768 lives. These poor
implementation of safety and healthcare programs in working environment seem
to remain poor. In the first quarter this year, there have been 22,449 cases
of working accident killing 300 workers. The government holds annual national
ceremony at the presidential palace to remind workers and employers about
working safety. It is not helpful, said an analyst who declined to be named. "The
employers attend the ceremony only to shake the president’s hand and bring
home the picture to be hanged on the office wall, telling that they have met
the president," he said. Cabinet Reshuffle On June 15, Vice President Hamzah
Haz stressed that a decision to conduct a cabinet reshuffle is the
prerogative right of the President. Megawati could go ahead with the
reshuffle as long as it is based on "careful and thorough
considerations", he said. The executive board of PDI-P has called for
State Secretary/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo to be replaced. He is seen
as maintaining the practices of the New Order regime and providing protection
to Suharto and his cronies. On June 14, chairperson of the PDI-P faction in
parliament Roy B.B. Janis said Megawati would not object to ejecting Kesowo
if there is a suitable candidate to replace him. In addition, Janis
suggested, Megawati should also consider replacing members of the cabinet’s
economic team because they bow to the demands of the IMF. Noted scholar
Nurcholis Madjid called Kesowo a liability to President Megawati and
suggested Megawati to "seriously" consider removal of Kesowo from
his post. Parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung said, "Changing cabinet
members is the most viable alternative to improve the government’s
performance." Shopping Trip Critics accused President Megawati
of being more intent on shopping than on nation-saving diplomacy. They
referred to the recent Megawati’s two-week visit to Europe. In Rome,
Indonesian delegation was seen shopping in one of Rome’s most expensive
arcades while attending a world summit on hunger. Her four-day visit to
Britain was also criticised. "The idea for the trip came from the palace
and we had to find things for her to do in London to make it look
official," a senior Indonesian diplomat said. Megawati is also visiting
Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia where, the diplomat said, bilateral
relations were "not exactly pressing". On earlier trip to China,
Megawati spent two days in Hon Kong, which were alleged to be focussed on
shopping. Each trip includes a large entourage of ministers and friends, led
by her husband, Taufik Kiemas. On June 13 prominent Muslim
scholar Nurcholis Madjid said that Indonesian leaders were lazy, weak and not
serious about running the state. The country, he said, is administered by
people who indulged themselves in pleasure they did not yet deserved. Regional News Aceh Nasri Zamzam, a councillor with
the Muslim-based United Development Party, was shot dead by gunmen on June
13, making him the second legislator killed in the week. On June 12, Taslim
Jalil from the Star and Crescent Party was shot and killed by suspected
rebels. GAM denied they were involved and accused the army of the murder,
saying it was a propaganda by Jakarta to put the blame on GAM. Co-ordinating
Minister for Security and Political Affairs has told troops and police to
intensify security operations against the rebels. The military is ready to
carry out a military operation if it is deemed necessary to resolve the
conflict in Aceh, Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said
on June 19. He stressed that the conflict was a state problem, not a military
one, but military was committed to taking part in efforts to restore
security. There are currently 21,000 military personnel in Aceh while GAM’s
estimated strength is about 1,700. More than 12,000, mostly civilians, killed
in the conflict since 1976, including more than 600 this year alone. Abbreviations DPR House of Representatives GAM Free Aceh Movement IMF International Monetary Fund JP The Jakarta Post LN Laksamana.Net LIPI Indonesian Institute of
Sciences MPR People’s Consultative Assembly PDI-P Indonesian Democratic Party
Struggle SCMP South China Morning Post ST The Straits Times Xn
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