|
Fak Fak Regency, 23 January 2002
Elsham Fak Fak coordinator, Yance Hara (aged 35), has received two phone calls from callers who do not like to be identified. The first call came in on Sunday (20/1) around 12.30 daytime. A man with Papuan accent was heard on the line " are you the one who struggle to uphold justice and truth in Fak Fak?", the man asked. " Right", answered Yance. The caller then threatened " you have to provide the right information, otherwise be careful."
At 06.00 on Tuesday (21/1) the same caller again reiterated his threat by saying " Do not inform or spread news on events taking place in Fak Fak."
ELSHAM Papua so far regards this terror has some bearing on the reports ELSHAM Papua made on the activities of Satgas Merah Putih or Red and White Task Force/ Militia on 20 January.
Kapolres AKBP Drs. Pasaroni (Head of Fak Fak Police) when contacted by Elsham Papua, stated that AB (aged 40), who is from Seram island in Maluku, was arrested due to carrying a number of hand made rifles and a tape on Mujahiddin warriors (film showing documented wars against the Christians in Maluku).
An Elsham Papua source within these Red and White Militias and Mujahiddin warriors told of the current sentiments circulating among these Muslim warriors that there are no remorse of any kind regarding the seizures of their hand made weapons/ guns. They said they still have more weapons in their possession more than what the Police took. They can make more. They are now reported to be ready to launch attacks on Christian settlements in the not too distant future in/ around Fak Fak area
Jihad militias appeared in Fak Fak in August 2001 numbering an estimated 100 members. They were trained to use weapons, warfare, and on anti-sharp weapon magic. A number of primary school children were also involved in these trainings. A number of local government officials and members of local House of Representatives are known to have supported these causes. Their actions are mounting in the wake of 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York.
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
South China Morning Post: INDONESIA
VAUDINE ENGLAND in Jakarta The militant Muslim group Laskar Jihad has sent at least 100 of its Islamic warriors to Papua to join a Jakarta-backed militia to fight against Papuan independence, a human rights group claims. The Church-backed rights group Elsham says Laskar Jihad has been called in to the city of Fak Fak to help train the East Merah Putih militia, an anti-independence gang.
The group, based outside the capital, Jayapura, had earlier alleged that anti-independence militias were being fostered in far-flung parts of the province by parts of the armed forces in order to stoke conflict and punish anyone advocating independence. A source said the claims were believable. "We are only just across from the [Indonesian province of] Maluku where Laskar Jihad have been busy killing Christians with military help," a long-time foreign resident of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) pointed out. Most Papuans are Christian, which may give Laskar Jihad a pretext for participating in the conflict over Papuan desires for independence.
Elsham says one of its activists who lives in Fak Fak has received death threats after telling police about a Laskar Jihad training camp, which police later raided. Laskar Jihad denies any presence in Papua. The Islamic group has sent hundreds of its young men to Maluku in the past two years, claiming to assist their Muslim brethren with health and education. Witness reports and film footage show they readily engaged in fighting Christians there, sometimes with military assistance. The Maluku war has left about 8,000 people dead. Laskar Jihad has also been active in the sectarian conflict in Central Sulawesi, where hundreds have died and many more have been displaced. In both cases, security sources say the fighting had appeared to be dying down when Laskar Jihad appeared to restart it.
Laskar Jihad denies any links to regional or other militant groups such as al-Qaeda and maintains it is only defending the faith. Christian groups believe their intent is to de-Christianise Indonesia. The armed forces have been accused of paying and assisting Laskar Jihad for their own ends, but they deny backing any unlawful activities. Highlighting Jakarta's refusal to countenance talk of independence in Papua are the sentences requested for three leading advocates of dialogue on the subject. Prosecutors want the secretary-general of the separatist Papuan Presidium Council and two other presidium members to serve time in prison for betraying the country. A similar case against presidium leader Theys Hiyo Eluay was dropped after he was murdered.
Media Indonesia, 27/1/2002 15:38
WIB
DENPASARA (Media): Indonesia sebagai bangsa yang besar dan berdaulat, seharusnya dapat bersikap lebih tegas untuk menolak segala bentuk imperialisme baru, yang banyak dilakukan negara-negara maju terhadap negara dunia
ketiga.
Penegasan itu disampaikan Ketua Pimpinan Pusat (PP) Muhammadiyah Din Syamsudin kepada wartawan, usai menghadiri
penutupan Tanwir (Sidang Tahunan Muhammadiyah di Denpasar, Minggu, menanggapi eforia seruan perang terhadap terorisme.
BACA AKTUAL LAINNYA
Menakertrans: TKI Gelap 'Mbludak' jika Malaysia Kurangi TKI LegalPemerintah harus Buka Ruang Dialogis bagi Konflik SARALaksamana Sukardi Bantah Tim Ekonomi Kabinet PecahAngie: Saya Merasa Cocok dengan Gisella DulkoEmpat Negara Hapus Sejumlah Kategori TPT Kena KuotaPekan ini Menperindag Keluarkan Tata Niaga Eskpor TimahKadin Prediksi Pengangguran 50 Juta Orang pada 2002 Arbit: Partai Kecil hanya Jadi Benalu Politik Indonesia Tanwir sampai pada satu penilaian bahwa sekarang ini ada ketimpangan dunia yang berpangkal pada globalisme, yaitu paham yang memberikan tafsir subyektif terhadap globalisasi untuk kepentingan adi kuasa," ungkapnya.Dengan kata lain, penyelesaian perang terhadap terorisme itu adalah kepanjangan dari ide imperialisme baru apalagi jika hal itu tidak disertai bukti-bukti yang kuat.Karenanya, Indonesia baik pemerintah maupun rakyatanya, harus tegar dan tegas menolak segala bentuk imperilaisme yang bertolak dari globalisme, kata Din
menegaskan.
Sementara itu, Ketua Umum PP Muhammadiyah Ahmad Syafii Maarif mengemukakan, upaya melawan segala bentuk imperialisme merupakan perjuangan panjang yang mau tidak mau harus dijalani.
"Istilah imperialisme baru, bukan lagi hal baru tetapi sudah terjadi sejak lama dan menjadi perjuangan jangka panjang panjang. Oleh sebab itu, Muhammadiyah menganjurkan pentingnya dialog peradaban secara jujur pada tingkat global,"
ucapnya.
Dialog peradaban itu, sebaiknya juga diikuti dengan penghilangan berbagai perilaku politik adikuasa yang mengarah kepada hegemoni dan konflik antarperadaban yang menghancurkan masa depan umat manusia, tambah Syafii.Terkait hal itu,
Muhammadiyah mengajak semua pihak di dunia internasional untuk segera mengakhiri sebagai praktek kekerasan dan imperiliasme baru di yang menyebabkan rakyat di negara-negara Islam seperti Palestina, Afghanistan, Irak, Khasmir dan Libya, menderita.Upaya ke arah itu, menurut Syafii, telah ada dengan akan diadakannya pertemuan senator Amerika Serikat dengan utusan dan tokoh nasional dan agama dari 160 negarapada 7 Februari mendatang, untuk melakukan doa bersama."Itu berarti, pihak AS sendiri yang merupakan adikuasa sekarang menyadari cara-cara penekanan terhadap
bangsa - bangsa lain tidak bisa diteruskan," katanya.
Muhammadiyah juga mengajak Umat Islam seluruh dunia, untuk mempercepat proses pencerahan itu secara terus-menerus, pencerahan dan pencerdasan. "Karena, kalau Umat Islam itu mengalami nasib sial, diteror, ditembak itu harus dilihat pula kenungkinan adanya kelemahan atau pembusukan dari dalam antar-umat Islam sendiri," ujarnya.Pendek kata, umat Islam hendaknya tidak hanya menyalahkan orang lain tetapi juga melihat kepada dirinya sendiri, agar dapat menghadapi kekuatan dunia ini, dengan duduk sama rendah, berdiri sama tinggi, demikian Syafii. (Ant/OL-01)
By Jerry Norton
JAKARTA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The United States wants to return to full military cooperation with Indonesia but it must first match words with action in accounting for the violence in East Timor, U.S. Admiral Dennis Blair said on Tuesday.
Washington slashed military ties after pro-Jakarta militia, many supported by the Indonesian army, went on a killing spree in East Timor when the territory voted for independence in 1999.
The United States lifted an embargo on sales of non-lethal military items after initial support from Indonesia in the war on terrorism, but other restrictions remain.
"A higher level of cooperation would be in the interests of both our countries," especially given the anti-terrorism campaign, but depended on military reform linked to the East Timor issue, said Blair, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific.
He also cautioned against counter-insurgency tactics so harsh they generate more rebels than the number of militants they destroy.
"Heavy-handed military tactics against insurgencies not only create international censure, but also are counterproductive -- they build local resentment ... increase support for insurgency and terrorism, and undermine public trust," Blair said in a speech to Indonesian military and police
officers and civil servants.
CONFLICTS EAST AND WEST
Jakarta faces conflicts at both ends of its sprawling archipelago -- armed separatists in the resource-rich province of Papua in the east and Free Aceh (GAM) rebels on the northern tip of Sumatra island near the strategic Malacca Strait.
"You don't want to create more members of GAM than you remove," Blair said in answer to a question.
He was in Indonesia on a two-day visit that included meetings with President Megawati Sukarnoputri, ministers and officers in which the U.S.-led war on terrorism was a major topic.
Blair -- whose own command takes in operations across more than 100 million square miles and includes over 300,000 military personnel -- said he saw a growing awareness in Indonesia "that force alone is insufficient to quell insurgency without political accommodation, respect for human rights and local economic development."
However, that view is not universally shared. Others say influential Indonesian elements still support harsh military measures to counter the Papua and Aceh rebellions.
The United Nations estimates more than 1,000 people were killed in the wake of East Timor's vote for independence but none of the military officers blamed for inciting the killings have been brought to trial.
Blair said the United States was "ready to resume the full range of bilateral cooperation, when the military reforms which the (Indonesian armed forces are) undertaking ... reach maturity" Establishing accountability in East Timor through actions like court martials would be the key measure of that, he said.
"CONVINCED OF SINCERITY"
In his talks with Indonesian officials and military commanders Blair said he was "convinced of their sincerity and their commitment to reform but I also have not seen that sincerity translated into actions which give a full explanation and then accountability" for what happened in East Timor.
While U.S. laws linked to progress on that issue prohibited full military cooperation with Indonesia, Blair told a news conference after the speech that didn't apply to the war against terrorism, and praised Indonesia's actions on that front.
Indonesia has been critical of the U.S. bombing in Afghanistan but has also condemned the September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon and cooperated with the United States in the sharing of intelligence, moves to stop money laundering, and other areas.
Blair refused to be drawn on specifics of whether he thought terrorist groups like Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda were operating in Indonesia but said clearly Indonesia has to be concerned about the possibility given its size and past links of some Indonesian groups to Afghanistan.
Blair also said many nations had offered to participate in a Malacca Strait patrol, in cooperation with patrols of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, to ensure terrorists could not attack shipping there.
"In fact we are allocating some navy assets to protect certain shipping that's important to us as it goes through these waters," he told reporters.
Blair's Indonesian visit was part of a regional swing that has already taken him to Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. He was to leave on Tuesday for India.
Politik
Selasa, 29 Januari, 2002 4:02:57 PM
Jakarta - Ketua Komisi I DPR Ibrahim Ambong mensinyalir adanya gejala global yang menyudutkan Indonesia melalui tuduhan-tuduhan keterlibatan WNI dalam kegiatan terorisme internasional.
`Kami menangkap ada gejala setiap minggu atau setiap bulan harus ada target satu atau dua orang WNI menjadi tersangka dalam tuduhan terorisme internasional,` katanya di Gedung DPR/MPR Jakarta, Selasa.
Sinyalemen itu dikuatkan dengan adanya sejumlah kasus keterlibatan WNI dalam kegiatan terorisme internasional di sejumlah negara. `Di AS sudah ada (WNI yang dituduh terlibat jaringan terorisme), kemudian di Filipina dan Malaysia atau seterusnya juga sudah mulai tampak gejala serupa,` katanya. Selain itu, di Indonesia sendiri sudah ada tudingan terorisme bercokol di Poso dan sejumlah daerah rawan konflik lainnya.
Hukum dan Kriminal
Senin, 28 Januari, 2002 5:11:00 PM
Jakarta - Kapolri Jenderal Pol Da`i Bachtiar mengatakan, hasil sementara penyelidikan Polri terhadap kemungkinan adanya jaringan Al Qaeda di Indonesia menujukkan belum ada indikasi jaringan terorisme internasional pimpinan Osama bin Laden itu di Tanah Air.
`Kami masih terus melakukan penyelidikan. Kami melakukan berbagai upaya menarik berbagai informasi dengan berbagai kasus di Indonesia, seperti kasus di Poso, Maluku, dan Aceh. Semua sedang dipelajari apakah ada kaitannya. Sampai sekarang belum ada,` katanya dalam rapat kerja dengan Komisi II DPR di Jakarta, Senin.
Menyinggung pemanggilan dan pemeriksaan terhadap Ketua Dewan Syuro Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia Abu Bakar Ba`asyir, Kapolri mengatakan, pemanggilan tersebut dalam konteks penyelidikan.
24 December - New anti-terrorism measures in some States could violate human rights, a senior UN official has warned the Security Council, according to a document released today at UN Headquarters in New York.
“There is evidence that some Governments are now introducing measures that may erode core human rights safeguards,” cautioned Bacre Ndiaye, the Director of the New York Office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his address to the Security Council’s counter-terrorism committee, which was set up by Council resolution 1373 (2001). The text of the speech, delivered earlier this month, was annexed to a letter from the committee chairman to the Council President.
Mr. Ndiaye warned that the misapplication of the resolution could lead to unwarranted infringements on civil liberties. "In some countries, non-violent activities have been considered as terrorism, and excessive measures have been taken to suppress or restrict individual rights, including the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, freedom from torture, privacy rights, freedom of statement and assembly, and the right to seek asylum."
Noting that this result was "clearly not the aim" of the Council when it passed resolution 1373, Mr. Ndiaye stresses the need to ensure that "such unintended and undesirable consequences of the global effort against terrorism are avoided."
"On our part," he said, "the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is committed to advising Governments on the content of human rights standards in the light of international norms and jurisprudence that may be relevant in the context of anti-terrorism measures."
|
|
Hukum dan Kriminal
Senin, 28 Januari, 2002 5:11:00 PM
Jakarta - Kapolri Jenderal Pol Da`i Bachtiar mengatakan, hasil sementara penyelidikan Polri terhadap kemungkinan adanya jaringan Al Qaeda di Indonesia menujukkan belum ada indikasi jaringan terorisme internasional pimpinan Osama bin Laden itu di Tanah Air.
`Kami masih terus melakukan penyelidikan. Kami melakukan berbagai upaya menarik berbagai informasi dengan berbagai kasus di Indonesia, seperti kasus di Poso, Maluku, dan Aceh. Semua sedang dipelajari apakah ada kaitannya. Sampai sekarang belum ada,` katanya dalam rapat kerja dengan Komisi II DPR di Jakarta, Senin.
Menyinggung pemanggilan dan pemeriksaan terhadap Ketua Dewan Syuro Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia Abu Bakar Ba`asyir, Kapolri mengatakan, pemanggilan tersebut dalam konteks penyelidikan.
January 22, 2002
Muslim infiltrators 'training Papuan militia' By Lindsay Murdoch Herald Correspondent, Jakarta A militant Muslim group blamed for killing hundreds of Christians in the Maluku islands has infiltrated the Indonesian province of Papua, where its fighters are training pro-Jakarta militia, human rights activists claim.The group, Laskar Jihad, had sent more than 100 of its armed fighters into the Papua district of Fak Fak, and was operating military training camps there, said a spokesman for the human rights group ELSHAM, based in the Papuan capital, Jayapura.
Indonesian authorities in Fak Fak were backing the training that Laskar Jihad fighters had been giving members of the East Merah Putih (Red and White) militia, the group said.ELSHAM said yesterday that one of its activists who worked for the Government in Fak Fak and his family had been repeatedly threatened with death after he told police about a Laskar Jihad training camp that police raided last month. Explosives, hand-made weapons and poisonous arrows had been confiscated, ELSHAM said.A Papuan police spokesman in Jayapura confirmed yesterday that two or three people would appear in court on charges relating to the raid.Laskar Jihad, originally based in Java, is Indonesia's largest and most violent Muslim group. It has sent hundreds, if not thousands, of fighters to the Malukus over the past two years to join a jihad against Christians.More than 5000 people have been killed in the conflict.United States intelligence officials have been quoted as saying Laskar Jihad is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorists.
The Afghanistan-trained Laskar Jihad leader, Jafar Umar Thalib, denies any link with al-Qaeda. He says that last year he turned down an offer of financial backing and an alliance from a bin Laden aide.A spokesman for Laskar Jihad in Jakarta yesterday denied the group had a presence in Fak Fak.The Papuan police spokesman said that several weeks ago a man who had arrived in the town of Sorong from the Malukus had been arrested carrying 10 bombs. Police have not linked the man to the Laskar Jihad.Indonesia is coming under increasing pressure to crack down on militant Muslim groups because US and Asian diplomats say there is growing evidence of al-Qaeda cells active in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Intelligence officials in Singapore say the leadership of Jemaah Islamiah, a group accused of targeting US interests and the Australian embassy in Singapore, is based in the Indonesian city of Solo.But Indonesian police have said they lack the evidence to charge the outspoken Jemaah Islamiah leader, Abu Bakar Bashir.
Meanwhile, the commander of Indonesia's Kopassus special forces, Major-General Amirul Isnaeni, has challenged police statements that evidence points to the involvement of Kopassus soldiers in the assassination of Papua's flamboyant independence leader, Theys Eluay.Mr Eluay was found dead in his car on November 11 after attending a Kopassus function in Jayapura.
Sunday, January 27, 2002. Posted: 17:29:20
(AEDT)
Blasts and gunshots could be heard in the riot-torn eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, hours after two government ministers visited it to assess peace efforts.The Antara news agency says the blasts and the gunfire were heard in several areas overnight but there has been no reports of casualties.
The incidents took place only hours after senior Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and senior Welfare Minister Jusuf Kalla, ended a day's visit to evaluate peace efforts.Mr Yudhoyono met public figures involved in the search for peace, to review the state of emergency imposed on Maluku and North Maluku provinces.Fighting between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku islands has left more than 5,000 people dead.Nearly 500,000 people have become refugees since violence first erupted in Ambon in January 1999.
Laskar Jihad, a paramilitary Islamic group, has been blamed for the worsening conflict. Its militants began arriving in large numbers in May 2000, apparently unhindered by security forces.
Fakfak 24 Januari 2001 Kehadiran Laskar Jihad di Fakfak berawal dari Satgas Merah Putih yang dibentuk sebagai tandingan Satgas Papua setelah menguatnya keinginan rakyat Papua pisah dari NKRI setelah tercetus refomasih di Indonesia 1998. Idealisme kedua kelompok ini jelas sangat berbeda. Jika Satgas Papua hadir
di Fakfak untuk mendukung kegiatan penduduk pro Papua Merdeka. Maka satgas Merah putih hadir di Fakfak untuk mempertahankan NKRI, selain itu latar belakang sejarah masa lalu dimana diangkatnya 9 raja asal Seram yang diknal dengan 9 daerah pertuanan di jaziria Onin Fafak. 9 pertuanan ini mulai tergusur di era refomrasi setelah warga pribumi mengambil kembali hak kesulungan mereka yang diberikan kepada 9 pertuanan itu. Keraguan lain adalah mereka kuatir bila Papua Merdeka, mereka akan merasa sebagai penduduk minoritas di Papua.
Perjalanan selanjutanya kedua kelompok inj hidup saling bermusuhan. Satgas Merah Putih merasa di atas angin karena di ‘beck up’ kuat pihak militer dan juga di dukung oleh anggota legislative dan sejumlah pejabat birokrat di Pemda seperti Ismail Bauw (58th), Musa Kamudi (45th), Salasa
Namudat(48th), Kasim Weripi(40th) dan Mohjad Rengen (37th), Hamid Rengen (32th), Mohaji Weripi (45th). sehingga mereka merajalela bertindak
sewenang - wennag terhadap penduduk pro Papua Merdeka. Mereka melakukan tindakwan sewenang-wenang seperti sweping atribut Papua merdeka dan melakukan penganiyaan penduduk pro Papua merdeka dan juga sering melakukan pawai masal keliling kota Fakfak.
Ketika terjadi demonstrasi menurunkan bupati suparlan Pasambuna tahun 1999 satgas Merah Putih berikat kepala dengan kain merah dan berteriak Allahu akbar… Allahu akbar. Demikian pula dengan peristiwa desa Wayati tahun 1999 dimana rumah masyarakat dijarah habis dan bendabenda suci umat Katolik seperti Salib Yesus dipatahkan, Rosario dirusak dan dilemparkan ke laut, kemudian
gambar - gambar kudus wajah Yesus disobek.
Serangan itu melibatkan Satgas merah putih, pasukan Brimob dan Kostrad, menysul bupati Fakfak Drs. Wahidin Puarada dianiaya warga karena dinilai menganggu warga yang sedang ibadah Minggu. Pagi. Ketika itu Sastgas Merah Putih dipersenjatai dengan beberapa senjata Otomat milik Aparat, memasuki
rumah - rumah penduduk yang sudah dikosongkan dan menyiram beras dengan minyak tanah, mencampur beras dengan sabun rinso, beras dikencing serta beberapa kios milik masyarakat dijarah habis. 49 orang dianiaya berat dan ditahan di Polsek kemudian di lepas kembali.
Ketika meletus pertikaian di Ambon banyak pengungi dari Bugis, Maksar, Ambon dan Seram memilih mengungsi ke Fakfak karena Fakfak merupakan derah mayoritas muslim. Laskar Jihad yang keseharian tampil mengenakan jubah putih panjang peliahara jambang, dan memakai kain sorban di kapala persis
seperti bos Al Qaedah Osama Bin Laden.
Di Fakfak mereka melatih Satgas Merah Putih tentang tehnik merakit Senjata, tehnik membuat panah beracun, tehnik perang, ilmu bela diri dan ilmu anti senjata tajam. Tidak tangung-tangung anak-anak usia Sekolah Dasar juga dilibatkan dalam latihan
mereka. Sumber ELS-HAM menyebutkan bahwa mereka Laskar Jihad hadir di Fakfak sejak bulan Agustus 2001.
Anehnya aparat tidak pernah berinisiatif untuk membubarkan mereka.
Sebenarnya mereka melakukan persiapan pada bulan Agustus adalah karena mereka berniat menyerang warga Papua yang mencoba memperingati 1 desember 2001, maka pada tanggal 2 Desember 2001 sejumlah panduduk Papua Merdeka mengosongkan rumah-rumahnya masing-masing, tapi sebelumnya warga pro Papua
merdeka diperingatkan Kapolres Fakfak untuk tidak boleh mengumpulkan massa melalui suratnya kepada ketua Lembaga Musyawarah Adat Fakfak 12 November 2001. Ahmad Bau (40) ditangkap karena menyimpan satu peti senapan rakitan, panah beracun, tombak parang, pisau 10 buah granat dan 100 butir peluru yang kini tersimpan di Polres Fakfak setelah mendapat laporan dari relawan ELS-HAM.
Indikasi dijadikannya Fakfak sebagai pintu utama masuknya Laskar Jihad di Papua adalah pernah dimuat dalam laporan di web side Laskar Jihad tahun dimana Laskar Jihad mentargetkan Papua sebagai daerah sasaran kedua setelah Ambon-Maluku. Karena Laskar Jihad menganggap penduduk Papua masih kafir.
Laskar Jihad di Fakfak diperkirakan mencapai mencapai 100 lebih orang.
Mereka paling banyak di desa Tanama karena daerah ini merupakan camp latihan mereka, sisanya tersebar di daerah
mayoritas muslim sebagai telah disebutkan di atas, sejuah ini ELS-HAM belum mengetahui siapa yang
mensuport dana kepada mereka. Namun yang jelas menurut Mohaji Weripi tokoh laskar jihad di desa Tanama yang di kutip relawan ELS-HAM di desa Tanama 2 Desember 2001 menyebutkan bahwa mereka Laskar Jihad di Fakfak punya jaringan sampai ke Jakarta.@
The Straits Times, November 28, 2001
Frustrated by the poor progress, the Senate wants more conditions
placedown, Jakarta to qualify for military help
By Susan Sim - INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT
JAKARTA - Frustrated that a seemingly unrepentant Indonesian military is still being given carte blanche authority to abuse human rights in Aceh and engage in illegal logging, among other sins, American lawmakers are already threatening to curtail the limited re-engagement initiated by the US military.
US President George W. Bush and his generals may be eager to keep Jakarta in the fold of his global counter-terrorist coalition in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks on America.
Not so the US Senate, which last month passed a Bill detailing three more conditions for Jakarta to meet to qualify for US military assistance and training.
The Senate version of the Foreign Operations Appropriation Bill for 2002, which is not yet law pending reconciliation with milder language used by the House of Representatives, requires Jakarta to demonstrate 'commitment to civilian control of the armed forces' by requiring the military to audit and report all its sources of income and spending.
The Indonesian government will also have to allow the United Nations and other human-rights workers and observers 'unimpeded access to West Timor, Aceh, West Papua and Maluku', as well as release political detainees.
These are in addition to six conditions imposed by Congress last year demanding accountability for the murder of three UN workers, including one US citizen, in West Timor, and the razing of East Timor in 1999.
There is universal agreement that Jakarta has made poor progress in these areas, although there are different schools of thought on how to encourage compliance.
US Pacific Commander Admiral Dennis Blair, stopping by Indonesia on his swing through the region to foster greater multilateral efforts against terrorism, yesterday made his annual call on Indonesian generals to clean house while holding out the prospect of more aid.
US forces can now work with the Indonesian Defence Force (TNI) in multilateral missions, such as the campaign against terrorism, or joint patrols in the Straits of Malacca to protect the shipping lanes from pirates and terrorists.
But mere pledges by Indonesian leaders to reform the military were not enough.
'I am convinced of the sincerity to reform, but I have not seen that sincerity translated into action. It is a case of turning the intention into investigations... court martials,' he told the National Resilience Institute, a military think-tank, yesterday.
Accounting for the actions of the military in East Timor was the primary legal criteria for resumption of fuller cooperation.
But, in a marked divergence in views with US lawmakers, he insisted that Aceh 'was not part of the criteria'.
Safeguarding Indonesian territorial unity necessitated military action, he noted.
Yet, Aceh could soon be the new benchmark, with human-rights groups ratcheting up pressure on Congress in recent months to punish Jakarta for military abuses in Aceh and Irian Jaya.
A Senate committee report recommending the tougher language in the new appropriations Bill noted that more than 1,000 people, mainly civilians, had died in Aceh so far this year.
Reflecting growing frustration and anger among American lawmakers, and the international donor community in general, with Jakarta's seeming disinterest in delivering justice and instituting rule of law, some clearly feel a more punitive approach is now necessary to ram the message home.
Not surprisingly, the Senate now also wants to take on 'illegal logging, prostitution and contraband smuggling' that the TNI is allegedly involved in, hence the demand for full financial audit reports.
Also clearly uneasy with the Bush administration's efforts to re-engage the TNI, lawmakers are insisting on regular consultations.
'It is the committee's understanding - that the purpose of this modest effort to re-engage with the Indonesian military is to encourage reform.
'If, over the coming year, there is no convincing indication that the military is moving forward with serious reforms, even these limited activities could be curtailed,' the Senate report warned.
BBC Worldwide Monitoring
December 7, 2001, Source: Kabar Irian News web site in Indonesian 5 Dec
01
For the last week rumours circulating about the Laskar Jihad in Biak have made Christian and Muslim residents restless and cautious. The rumours were saying that the Laskar Jihad had been carrying out activities at the mosque near the airforce headquarters but had been driven off and moved to a local high school (STAB) mosque. Chased away, again they finally shifted to the
Mandouw mosque. The contact office of the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights (ELS-HAM) inquired about the presence of the Laskar Jihad with the Mandouw village head, Dimara, as to whether the Laskar Jihad was conducting activities at the Mandouw mosque. Dimara stated that in his official capacity in the village of Mandouw he had called on Christian and Muslim leaders in Mandouw to check the rumour that the Laskar Jihad had come into the village but the report that he received did not state that they had been in the Mandouw mosque.
Meanwhile, the results of investigations of the ELS-HAM office stated that the rumours of jihad troops had been obtained from refugees from Maluku and North Maluku and from security authorities. Not long before Leny Maylisa, the head of the Kristus Raja Angkasa Indonesian Christian Church Community, reported to ELS-HAM the figure of 300 members of Laskar Jihad being
in Biak, saying that he had obtained this figure from Bambang Rumeo, a member of the Airforce
(TNI-AU) Intelligence Section in Biak.
Irrespective of the veracity of the rumours concerning Laskar Jihad presence in Biak, what is of interest is that when the rumours began to circulate in Biak, youth who were the children of police and military retirees from the Christian community in Biak swiftly and aggressively formed a Christian unit as a counterpart to the Laskar Jihad. The youth approached Dekcy Smas,
a member of the Biak police who was also head of the Independent Youth Union (Irepema) and Alfius Rumbrapuk, coordinator of the ELS-HAM office in Biak, but Alfius firmly rejected the idea of forming a Christian force in the Biak Numfor district when asked.
It is known that the children of police and military retirees have an organization called Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM). In the Puncak Jaya- Wamena district the PPM is the same as the Red and While pro- Indonesia militia Task Unit and often conducts security patrols with the security authorities.
|
