CONTENT

* Three police officers killed in clash with Papua
* Indonesia protesters kill police officers
* Police make arrests for Papua hotel attack
* Activists want more details on Rice’s visit
* Rights groups blast Rice for defending military
ties
* Golkar first to back independent candidates in Aceh
* Aid group suspends some tsunami operations
* Government states porn bill must target materials
* ’Bill sees women as sources of sin’
* Balinese reiterate opposition to pornography bill
* Labor Law revisions protect employers at cost of
workers
* Pro-government figures stack ’TVRI’ supervisory
board
* ’Suspicious’ offer from House Speaker
* Poso robbers linked to religious attacks
* Horta ’saddened’ by upholding of jail term on
militia boss
* More than 6% growth needed to reach development
goals -
* East Timor daily media review

---

Three police officers killed in clash with Papua
protesters

Sydney Morning Herald - March 16, 2006

Three policemen have been killed in clashes with
protesters in Papua demanding the closure of a giant
mine run by America’s Freeport-McMoran Cooper & Gold
Inc. AFP also reported two protesters were killed.

Papuan police spokesman Kartono Wangsadisastra said
students from the province’s main university pelted
policemen with stones to stop them from opening a
roadblock to an airport that serves provincial
capital Jayapura.

"Three officers have died. They suffered from
injuries from punches and stones," he said, adding
police tried to break up the protest by firing
teargas and rubber bullets.

On Wednesday, one person was shot by an arrow hours
after anti-Freeport protesters tried to storm a five-
star hotel in Timika, the nearest town to Freeport’s
Grasberg mine.

There have been sporadic protests against the
Grasberg mine in recent weeks, both in Papua and
Jakarta. A road blockade by mostly illegal miners
shut down operations for four days last month.

The protesters have been demanding the closure of the
lucrative mine, believed to have the world’s third-
largest copper reserves and one of the biggest gold
deposits.

The Freeport operation has been a frequent source of
controversy in Indonesia, with issues ranging from
its impact on the environment and the share of
revenue going to Papuans and the legality of payments
to Indonesian security forces who help guard the
site.

Illegal miners often enter mining areas in Indonesia,
a sprawling archipelago that is the world’s fourth
most populous country with huge metal deposits such
as copper, gold and tin.

---

Indonesia protesters kill police officers

Agence France Presse - March 16, 2006

Jayapura — Protesters beat three police officers to
death Thursday during a violent demonstration to
demand the closure of a US-owned gold mine in
Indonesia’s Papua province, police and witnesses
said. At least 19 people were injured in clashes.

Two members of the police paramilitary unit and a
regular officer were killed, said Col. Kertono
Wangsadisastra.

An Associated Press reporter saw protesters corner
two of the officers and beat them with sticks and
stones while hundreds demonstrated near a major
university in the provincial capital of Jayapura.

Police fired tear gas, wielded batons and chased and
attacked several protesters, who threw stones at the
approaching officers, an Associated Press reporter at
the scene said. At least 19 people were injured, many
with gunshot wounds, two hospitals reported.

It was the third day of violent protests against the
mine run by the New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan
Copper & Gold Inc. "We want Freeport to close because
it has not given any benefits to the people of Papua.
In fact it’s made them suffer," said Kosmos Yual, one
of more than 200 protesters.

There have been several rallies in recent weeks
against the gold mine — said to be the world’s
largest — both in Papua and in the Indonesian
capital Jakarta.

Freeport, which pays millions of dollars in taxes and
funds scores of community projects close to the mine
in central Papua, was forced to temporarily shut the
facility last month after demonstrators blockaded it.

Papua is home to a popular separatist movement that
has been brutally repressed by Indonesian security
forces. The mine is often held up by independence
supporters as a symbol of the unfair division of
resources between the capital and Papua.

---

Police make arrests for Papua hotel attack

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura — Mimika Police on
Wednesday arrested 15 people for an attack on the
Sheraton Timika Hotel in Timika, Papua, on Tuesday,
and are searching for five more suspects.

The 15 people arrested were among a group of
protesters who have blocked off one of the roads
leading to the Freeport gold mine in Timika for the
last several days to protest the American mining
giant’s activities in the province.

During the arrests, two police officers suffered
arrow wounds when the suspects attacked them with
traditional weapons.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Kartono S. told The
Jakarta Post on Wednesday the police officers were
attacked as they attempted to arrest 20 people
suspected of involvement in the hotel attack.

He said police fired warning shots after they came
under attack and were able to arrest 15 of the
suspects, with the remaining five suspects managing
to flee.

"Currently the checkpoint (on the road to the mine)
is clear, there are no more residents there and the
police are on guard," he said.

He said the 15 suspects were arrested for the attack
on the hotel and the possession of dangerous weapons.
"They’re currently being questioned at Mimika Police
Headquarters," Kartono said.

The two wounded police officers are being treated at
Mitra Community Hospital in Timika. Hospital deputy
director Antonius Darmono said the two officers were
admitted about two hours apart with arrow wounds.
Darmono told AFP one of the officers underwent
emergency surgery to remove an arrow from his chest.

Those responsible for the attack on the Sheraton
smashed up four buses and set a car alight. They were
expressing their anger over the operations of
Freeport. The hotel’s guests, including members of
the Papua provincial council and the Papuan People’s
Assembly (MRP), had to be evacuated.

The attack forced the councillors and MRP members to
cancel a visit to the Freeport mine to gather
information ahead of a planned special session on
March 22 to decide Papua’s stance on Freeport’s
operations in the province.

"It’s likely there will be no special session because
we have no information to discuss because we didn’t
get to the mine," councillor Abdul Hakim told the
Post in Jayapura.

Eleven councillors and 18 MRP members staying at the
hotel were on a five-day working visit to Freeport’s
mines in Tembagapura and Timika in Mimika regency.
The trip was to gather information following
widespread protests demanding the closure of
Freeport’s mines over allegations of environmental
damage and complaints that the company’s operations
failed to benefit Papuans.

"We went to Freeport to gather data following
protests demanding Freeport’s closure... but we
didn’t get there because people blocked the road and
attacked the Sheraton hotel where we were staying,"
Abdul said.

In Jayapura, members of the Papua’s People Fighting
Front, led by Arnold Omba, blocked a road outside
Cendrawasih University in Abepura, demanding
Freeport’s closure and the withdrawal of soldiers
deployed to secure the mine.

The protest, which began at noon, completely blocked
off the street, causing long traffic jams. The only
vehicles allowed to pass were ambulances, and that
only after protesters checked to determine whether
the vehicles were carrying sick people.

---

Activists want more details on Rice’s visit

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta —
Strong words from human rights activists and grumbles
from lawmakers greeted US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice on the second day of her two-day
visit to the country on Wednesday. Rights activists
questioned whether Rice had sought Indonesian support
for the signing of a Bilateral Immunity Agreement
(BIA) during her trip to Jakarta.

Under the agreement, all American citizens — be they
members of the US military corps, diplomats or
businesspeople — would enjoy immunity from
prosecution by the International Criminal Court
(ICC).

Activists grouped in the Human Rights Working Group
said the government should publicly disclose all it
had discussed with Rice during the visit.

The group said if Rice had asked Indonesia to sign a
BIA and the government had acquiesced, this would
"endanger our public interests, democracy, justice,
and human rights values“.”Should the government give the nod to the agreement,
we are worried that we (Indonesia) will never ratify
the Rome Statute, which is considered a vital
foundation for countries once ruled by authoritarian
regimes to move toward democracy," Usman Hamid, the
coordinator of the National Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence, said. The Rome
Statute rules on the establishment of the ICC.

The United States has come under fire worldwide for
its failure to respect human rights in its treatment
of prisoners of in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. The US-
led invasion into Iraq has also drawn condemnation
and protest from international rights groups, which
have demanded the superpower withdraw its troops.

The immunity agreements are apparently aimed at
ensuring American troops are shielded from possible
prosecutions in the ICC over the Iraq invasion.

Separately, dozens of legislators refused to attend a
meeting hosted Wednesday by the Indonesian Council on
World Affairs, which featured Rice as the keynote
speaker, in protest against what they said was
“ambiguous” US foreign policy. Only 10 out of 40
legislators invited to the event showed up.

"The US only gives empty promises to Indonesia. They
promised to supply military spare parts and equipment
(to Indonesia) last year, but to date this has not
materialized," said legislator Djoko Susilo of the
National Mandate Party (PAN), who was among those who
boycotted the meeting.

Another legislator, Permadi of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle said he did not attend
the event because "I don’t want to listen to a US
lecture about democracy."

Several legislators who attended, meanwhile, were
dissatisfied with how the event was run. House of
Representatives deputy speaker A.M. Fatwa criticized
the heavy security measures at the venue and
complained about the seating detail, which put him in
the last row.

"I was told to arrive at 7.30. After the lengthy
procedures, it turned out that she (Rice) didn’t come
until two hours later. This is too much," he said.

---

Rights groups blast Rice for defending military ties

Associated Press - March 15, 2006

Jakarta — Human rights groups criticized US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday for
restoring full military ties with Indonesia, saying
the army remains a threat to the country’s young
democracy.

"The (Indonesian armed forces) remains a largely
rogue institution which commits human rights
violations without concern for the law," said a
statement issued jointly in Washington D.C. by four
nongovernmental groups.

The military was the main pillar of the 32-year
dictatorship of former strongman Suharto, who was
ousted amid massive pro-democracy street protests in
1998.

The United States cut all military ties with
Indonesia the next year after the army and its
militia proxies devastated East Timor during its
break from Jakarta.

Last November, however, Rice waived all restrictions
on military assistance, citing cooperation by the
world’s largest majority Muslim nation in the war on
terror.

Washington said that continuing to isolate the
Indonesian military was no longer in its strategic
interest.

"The administration’s abandonment of congressionally
imposed restrictions... rewards and encourages
continued human rights violations, impunity, and
corruption, thus undermining Indonesian democracy,"
the statement said.

---

Golkar first to back independent candidates in Aceh

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta — The Golkar Party,
the biggest faction in the House of Representatives,
has led the way in declaring its support for
independent candidates to contest direct elections in
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

The stance was revealed in a hearing Wednesday,
during which all factions unanimously expressed their
agreement to continue the deliberation of the bill on
the governance of Aceh.

Led by legislator Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, the session
was also attended by Information Minister Sofyan A.
Djalil, Home Minister M. Ma’ruf and Deputy
Chairperson of the Regional Representatives Council,
Sri Kadarwati.

Speaking on behalf of Golkar, legislator Abdul Gafur
told the hearing that independent candidates should
be seen as a form of affirmative action, which would
accommodate the participation of all Acehnese groups
in politics.

"Independents will be a type of affirmative action
that can ensure the participation of all Acehnese
elements in politics, while local political parties
have yet to be established," he said.

However, Golkar proposed that they should only be
able to run as independents, if supported by 3
percent of the overall population in Aceh, the same
requirement applied to political parties.

With 126 of 550 seats in the House, the Golkar Party
is the largest faction and is considered to be pro-
administration. It is now led by Jusuf Kalla, who is
the vice president and one of the key architects
behind the August 2005 peace pact between the
government and the then Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
which ended over 30 years of conflict in the
province.

The National Mandate Party (PAN), the United
Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party
(PKB) and the Democrat Party also offered full
support for further deliberation of the bill.

"The bill will ensure the protection of people with
differing views in the country. We don’t take the
position that some people have, who say the bill
would prompt other provinces to separate from
Indonesia," legislator Sayuti Asyatri of PAN said.

Democrat legislator Teuku Rifky Harsya said it was
time for the country to allow Aceh to exercise its
rights as past governments had been very
“centralistic” while applying top-down approaches in
the province.

Golkar said it was also ready to allow an allocation
of natural resources-based revenue, which is more
than the 3 percent proposed in the bill. "We
understand that the Acehnese need more money to build
the province, particularly after the tsunami," Abdul
Gafur said.

However, Golkar raised its opposition to the possible
establishment of a human rights tribunal in Aceh. "We
shall not root out something that has been happened
in the past," the legislator said.

The Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)
maintained its stance to reject the truce, but
announced that it was ready to deliberate the bill
for the sake of the Acehnese.

"We don’t reject peace in Aceh, we only expect a
lasting peace and prosperity for the Acehnese. They
don’t need an empty promise," legislator Sutjipto
said.

PDI-P rejected a clause in the bill that requires the
House to get approval from the Aceh legislative
council if the national legislature issues a policy
involving Aceh.

The special committee deliberating the bill is set to
meet Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono, who represents
Indonesia in the EU-led Aceh Monitoring Mission
(AMM).

During the peace talks in Helsinki last year GAM
dropped its demand of total independence in return
for a form of self-governance within the context of
the Republic of Indonesia.

Some parties, including former president Megawati
Soekarnoputri and her PDI-P, the military and the
police retired officer groups, as well as former
president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid have opposed
the bill, saying they fear a possible separation of
Aceh from Indonesia.

---

Aid group suspends some tsunami operations

Associated Press - March 16, 2006

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta — International aid group
Oxfam has suspended some of its tsunami-relief
operations in hard-hit Aceh province while it
investigates suspected financial irregularities
there, a spokesman said Thursday.

Relief organizations in Indonesia have pledged to
carefully audit their funds amid concerns that aid
dollars could be stolen by corrupt officials or
contractors in the country, which is rated as one of
the world’s most graft ridden.

Oxfam spokesman Douglas Keatinge said investigators
were probing irregularities involving "tens of
thousands of dollars" at one project office covering
the provincial capital Banda Aceh and surrounding
districts. He gave no more details on the nature of
the irregularities.

"Oxfam has taken the decision to temporarily suspend
part of our operational activities in Banda Aceh and
Aceh Besar while our auditors thoroughly review the
issue," he said.

He said that essential services such as water
trucking and rubbish collection would continue, but
other activities, including house building and job
creation schemes, would be put on hold in the region,
which was worst hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami. Oxfam’s
overall budget for Aceh is $30 million.

Its early disclosure about the irregularities is
unusual for an international aid organization, and
highlights the pressure relief groups are under to be
transparent about how funds are spent.

"Oxfam is committed to upholding the strictest and
most rigorous financial controls,“Keatinge said.”The temporary suspension of our operations will
allow us to be more accountable to the communities
that we work with, and ensure improved service
delivery in the future."

The tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake close
to Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, killed or left missing
at least 216,000 people in 11 Indian Ocean nations,
more than half of them in Aceh.

The scale of the death and destruction generated some
$13 billion in aid, the most generous global response
ever to a natural disaster.

Some corruption during major relief efforts is
inevitable, experts say, but Indonesia has been
praised for limiting graft in Aceh, chiefly by
establishing a government agency to oversee the
reconstruction process headed by a respected former
Cabinet minister.

---

Government states porn bill must target materials

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Jakarta/Denpasar/Surakarta — The government made its
position clear on the pornography bill on Wednesday,
stating the focus should be on limiting distribution
of obscene materials instead of criminalizing
personal conduct, particularly of women.

"The government believes the eventual anti-porn law
should be effective in protecting the nation from
excessive exposure to pornographic material, thus it
should touch more on how to regulate its
distribution," State Minister for Women’s Empowerment
Meutia Hatta Swasono said after accompanying
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a meeting with
the National Commission on Violence Against Women.

The special House committee deliberating the bill
recently said the vague definitions, particularly
defining “obscene” conduct, would be scrapped.

The bill has been criticized for imperiling the
rights of women, already under pressure from the
introduction of sharia regulations on dress and
public conduct in scattered areas of the country.

"We also ask... that women are treated fairly, it’s
as if they are blamed by the way they dress," Meutia
said, in a rare reinforcement of the government’s
stated policies toward equal treatment of women.

The minister said limiting the distribution of
materials considered obscene was essential to
protecting minors from exposure to potentially
harmful images.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle has been
most vocal in its opposition to the bill, sharing the
stance of women’s groups and the arts community.

In contrast, the Prosperous Justice Party is among
the few parties left in pushing for retention of the
contentious articles. The Islamic-oriented party says
the Criminal Code is inadequate in protecting minors
and in preventing what it considers the country’s
increasing moral degradation.

The bill’s proponents also dismiss claims that it
presents a monolithic value system for multicultural
Indonesia, and argue opponents ignore the aim of the
“greater good” of preventing sexual exploitation and
immorality.

On Wednesday, Bali Governor Dewa Made Beratha and
council speaker IBP Wesnawa stated their official
rejection of the bill and its deliberation. Artists
and activists have protested a number of times in the
province, including in a noisy, crowded hearing and
plenary session at the provincial legislative council
on Wednesday.

The governor said the future law "might put Balinese
cultural heritage and sacred religious objects in
danger of legal prosecution".

The governor was angered by the pursuance of a legal
grievance from a Muslim organization, the Majelis
Mujahidin Indonesia, who accused him as showing
separatist tendencies in his opposition to the bill.

In the Central Java town of Surakarta, at least 1,000
artists, students and activists protested the bill,
with about 500 tayub traditional dancers joining the
parade.

Murtdijono, the organizer and head of the Central
Java Cultural Center, feared the passage of the bill
into law would lead to moral crusaders patrolling the
streets unhindered.

"Members of militant groups will feel they have legal
grounds to act as they like toward artists and their
works due to a one sided interpretation, at a time
when law enforcement is very weak," he said.

---

’Bill sees women as sources of sin’

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

The pornography bill has drawn controversy because it
bans a number of acts, including kissing in public,
and could punish people for the way they dress. The
Jakarta Post asked people in the city for their
thoughts on the issue.

Anny R. Gultom, 58, is a housewife. She lives in
Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta: As a mother of five
and grandmother of three, of course, I support the
pornography bill and any regulation that can
guarantee a better future for the next generation.

Racy TV programs, magazines and tabloids are a
negative influence. Children should not be exposed to
such materials until they fully understand what it is
that they are seeing.

There is a fine line between pornography and art.
Some of the traditions we have could also be
challenged if the bill is passed.

How about women who wear kemben (bustier-like
Javanese traditional garment)? I think that, as good
parents, we should instill values in our children to
prepare them for the road ahead. They are bound to
come across different ways of thinking about
pornography. So, they need to have a solid point of
reference.

Husein Buntara, 56, is an entrepreneur. He lives in
Glodok, West Jakarta: Why bother to make a new law on
pornography? We already have a good one — it’s just
that it’s not being properly enforced.

I think the pornography bill degrades women and
denies them freedom of expression. Dancing or
dressing up could put them behind bars.

Utari, 29, is a freelance translator. She lives in
Depok: As a woman, I am strongly against the
pornography bill. Women are seen as sources of sin,
as if God created women to bring depravity to the
world.

To eradicate pornography, the government should
restrict access to it. For example, children should
not be allowed to buy adult magazines and movies with
content of a sexual nature should be screened late at
night. It is our responsibility to monitor what our
children grow up with.

---

Balinese reiterate opposition to pornography bill

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar — The room fell into an
uneasy silence as Satria Naradha, one of the most
influential community figures in Bali, made a point
to the visiting members of the House of
Representative’s special committee on the pornography
bill.

"Bali will never betray Indonesia, we will never
secede. Instead, we shall fight until the end any
group that is trying to subvert the nation into a
monolithic society based on the teachings of one
single religious belief,“he stressed.”If Jakarta and Aceh want to betray the republic (by
suppressing religious freedom and multiculturalism)
then we will let them go (from the republic). Bali
will not go away, we will fight to keep this nation
as a nation that respects religious freedom and
celebrates multiculturalism," he said.

Satria’s remarks were obviously aimed at the
pornography bill, a controversial document the
visiting legislators tried in vain to sell to the
Balinese.

The visiting legislators were obviously a bit shocked
by the statement. So far, Satria’s remarks were the
most pointed political position they had heard during
their three-day visit to Bali in early March.

The fact that the remarks were made by a man who owns
the influential Bali Post and Bali TV made them
politically impossible to ignore.

Born into a family of heroes — his mother was a
veteran of the War of Independence and his father was
one of the country’s first newspaper publishers — -
Satria has become the living embodiment of the
contemporary Balinese’s struggle to win the modern
world without losing their traditional cultural and
religious identity.

A main proponent of the Ajeg Bali, a cultural and
economic movement aimed at creating a Balinese-style
renaissance, Satria’s influence extends beyond the
modern wall of Denpasar. He commands deep respect in
the island’s rural areas and numerous Balinese
communities outside Bali.

His remarks also reflect the substantial paradigm
shift that has taken place recently among various
opponents to the bill on the island.

"Previously, many of us viewed the bill as a threat
to our interests, either to our tourist industry or
cultural freedom. Nowadays, the majority of us see
the bill as a grave threat to the interests of our
nation," a scholar, Ketut Sumarta, said.

Opponents believe the bill’s rigid and gender-
insensitive interpretation on pornography and its
ignorance of the nation’s colorful cultural and
religious heritage would inflict irreversible damage
on the fragile uniting fabric of the nation.

"Indonesia is a nation in waiting. We spent decades
to nurture the spirit of nationhood among hundreds of
the country’s ethnic and cultural groups. The bill
will damage that spirit and send this nation to the
edge of disintegration," Sumarta warned.

Separately, the chairman of the main movement opposed
to the bill, Komponen Rakyat Bali, I Gusti Ngurah
Harta, reminded that the unitary state of Indonesia
was founded on the noble principles of Pancasila and
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), which
reflected the founding fathers’ utmost respect for
the nation’s diverse sociocultural landscape.

"The bill, on the other hand, reflects and promotes
the moral and cultural values of only one group of
religious beliefs," he said.

The paradigm shift has convinced the Balinese that
the struggle against the bill is no longer a selfish
effort to save the island’s tourist industry or
cultural heritage, but an altruistic endeavor to save
the Republic of Indonesia.

"The struggle has been taken to another level, a
nobler one,“Sumarta said.”We will intensify our
contacts with other regions in Indonesia, such as
Papua and Yogya, to form a nationalistic coalition to
fight the bill," Ngurah Harta added.

Satria Naradha views this as a patriotic struggle.
"My ancestors sacrificed their lives to build this
republic. I and my fellow Balinese will not let this
sacred heritage be ruined by a small group of people
who want to impose their moral values on this
nation," he said.

At the end of the meeting, Satria once again shocked
the legislators by presenting them with unique gifts
— red-and-white flags of the Republic of Indonesia;
a symbolic gesture. "May these flags always remind
you of what this republic really stands for," he
said.

---

Labor Law revisions protect employers at cost of
workers

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta — It is pretty easy to
imagine what will happen to workers and their
families if the House of Representatives and the
government endorse amendments to the 2003 Labor Law
allowing companies to outsource not only additional
and/or temporary work, but also their core
businesses, and to recruit contract-based employees.

Workers will be paid less and they will likely lose
most of the benefits they currently enjoy under the
unamended law, including meal and transportation
allowances and social security programs. Remuneration
will be determined not by the companies that actually
employ workers, but by the companies that recruit
them.

Professionals will compete with expatriates for the
highest pay, skilled workers will seek jobs that
provide compensation in line with their skills, while
unskilled workers, who make up the majority of the
country’s workforce, will have absolutely no
bargaining power.

Contract workers will no doubt see their rights and
benefits disappear, under contracts written up by
employers who will naturally look after their own
interests first. Besides receiving no bonuses,
allowances for transportation, leave or health, or
vacation, workers are likely to be denied raises and
will have nowhere to turn in demanding improvements
in their working conditions.

Employers will hold all the power over contract
workers, being able simply to decide not to extend
the contracts for any reason.

The current law allows employers to outsource only a
part of their work to other companies, while the core
business must be done by permanent workers. It also
allows employers to extend labor contracts twice,
with the hope that contract workers will eventually
be promoted to permanent staff.

The government and the Indonesian Employers
Association have proposed about 50 changes to the
employment system in what they call an attempt to
repair the investment climate in the country and
attract more foreign investment.

Other proposed changes include the elimination of
service payments and a maximum limit on severance pay
for dismissed workers of three months’ salary.
Currently, employers pay a maximum of 14 months’
salary and severance payments for fired workers.

If the Labor Law is amended, fired workers and their
families will be powerless. The issue of severance
pay has been one of the most contentious during
deliberations of the proposed amendments by the House
and the government, pitting labor unions against
employers. Labor unions so far seem to have the
support of the legislature in blocking any amendments
that would make it too easy for employers to dismiss
workers.

The proposed amendments would certainly make it
easier for investors to do business here, but in the
end the changes could be counterproductive.

Outsourcing could affect worker productivity and
loyalty. Poor working conditions will discourage
workers from doing their best to help the companies
employing them. Employees will have no loyalty
because they will have “two masters” — their
recruiters and their employers.

The proposed revisions to the law will also affect
the industrial relations system, which now sees
employers and workers as partners. There will also be
no room for the two sides to reach collective labor
agreements where they establish their own rights and
obligations.

Making matters worse, labor unions and analysts are
skeptical the proposed amendments can improve the
investment climate and smooth the way for foreign
investors entering Indonesia. They have warned of
social and political instability if the 27 million
workers employed in the formal sector take to the
streets to oppose the amendments, as some 3,000 steel
workers did recently.

Critics say the government remains ignorant of the
true problems discouraging foreign investment here.
They say the government should take a close look at
the way it has treated potential investors, and
evaluate the security situation in the country over
the last seven years.

Complicated bureaucratic procedures have made it
costly and time consuming for investors to obtain the
necessary documents to set up companies. Corruption
and double taxation by the central and regional
governments of foreign investors further burden
businesses, adding to their production costs. And a
lack of legal certainty frightens off investors from
expanding their businesses in the country.

Of course, deregulation is necessary. The law must
absolutely be enforced and security must be ensured
for the sake of certainty for investors. Clean
governance and security guarantees are two of the
main conditions for making investors feel at home.

Indonesia should learn from China, which has
successfully deregulated industry, maintained
security and repaired its infrastructure to attract
foreign investors.

[The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.]

---

Pro-government figures stack ’TVRI’ supervisory board

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Jakarta — Opposition lawmakers and the independent
Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) doubted
Wednesday whether the new supervisory board members
of state broadcaster TVRI would be able to stay
neutral doing their jobs.

House of Representatives legislators selected Musa
Asy’airie, Retno Intani, Hazairin Sitepu, Abraham
Isnan, and Brig. Gen. (ret) Robik Mukav as supervisor
board members for TVRI after a two-day fit-and-proper
test for 14 candidates fielded by the Communications
and Information Ministry.

Sitepu and Mukav were both members of President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s campaign team in the 2004
presidential elections. Two others, Retno and
Abraham, were from TVRI, while Musa was a government
representative.

The board would be authorized to determine TVRI’s
general policies and to monitor the implementation of
TVRI’s work plan and budgetary spending. The board
would also have the authority to select, appoint and
fire the members of TVRI’s board of directors.

The newly appointed board members face tough
challenges; to fight rampant corruption and
restructure the disorganized management of the public
broadcasting agency. They are also supposed to ensure
the station does not become a government mouthpiece,
as it has been in the past.

In a report in October last year, Indonesian
Corruption Watch reported the management of the 43-
year-old television network to the Corruption
Eradication Commission. The group’s report detailed
an alleged Rp 15 billion markup in procurement
projects, TVRI’s inconsistencies in reporting its
advertising revenue and other “unusual” balance sheet
items.

Some legislators said they were not impressed by the
14 candidates proposed by the government. "Very few
are actually qualified for the job," National
Awakening Party legislator Muhammad A.S. Hikam told
The Jakarta Post. Hikam said corruption was
responsible for TVRI’s poor performance and had
become a “moral hazard” within the broadcaster,
spreading throughout its staff.

KPI head Sinansari Ecip said that with the
appointment of the five board members, TVRI would
again become a mouthpiece of the government. "The
board does not represent the public, but it
represents the government," he said. The government
should have coordinated with the KPI in the selection
of candidates, he said.

---

’Suspicious’ offer from House Speaker

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Jakarta — Lawmakers slammed Wednesday an invitation
by from House Speaker Agung Laksono for legislators
to participate in a launch of budget airline
AdamAir’s new flights in Singapore.

"(Participating in the event) could constitute a
conflict of interest," House transportation
commission member Afni Ahmad of the National Mandate
Party said Wednesday.

Agung, who is AdamAir’s commissioner, should publicly
explain why he had invited House members to the
launch in his capacity as speaker, Afni said.

AdamAir was recently brought to the attention of the
House’s transportation commission after one of its
aircraft was lost in the air for two hours last month
and had to make an emergency landing in Tambolaka,
East Nusa Tenggara.

An investigation into the incident has not yet been
released. Commission chairman Ahmad Muqawwam said
Agung had opened himself to allegations of abuse of
power by inviting lawmakers to the ceremony in his
capacity as House speaker.

"It wouldn’t be a problem if he invited us in his
capacity as AdamAir’s commissioner," Ahmad said.

---

Poso robbers linked to religious attacks

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2006

Ruslan Sangadji, Poso/Jakarta — Seven suspects
recently detained in connection with several armed
robberies in Poso, Central Sulawesi, were also
believed to be involved in a series of religiously
motivated attacks in the region, police said
Wednesday.

Police said the suspects’ links with the Islamic
terror group led by the country’s most wanted man,
Noordin M. Top, were still being investigated.

Six of the men were arrested on March 6 and 8 before
their alleged leader, Andi Makassau, also known as
Aan, was caught by the special counterterror squad
Detachment-88 on March 10.

Aan is believed to have masterminded several armed
robberies to fund terror attacks. Police said members
of the group believed their attacks were fa’i, or
legal, because they were committed against the
enemies of Islam.

Police said Aan was also believed to be involved in
attacks on a Poso market in November 2004 and the
Tentena market in May 2005.

"We suspect Aan’s group is connected with Noordin
because the loot from the robberies was allegedly
used to finance several terror acts, but we are still
investigating this," Central Sulawesi Police
spokesmen Adj. Sr. Comr. Rais D. Adam said.

Police investigator Sr. Comr Didi Rochyadi told the
detikcom news portal that Aan had "ordered the six
men to save 15 percent of their loot for a fa’i
operation".

Police were also questioning the seven in connection
with the bombing of a Hindu temple in Poso on March
10, which injured one person, and a bomb attack on
the Mahesa market in December last year, which killed
seven people and injured 56.

During the arrest of Aan and his followers, police
confiscated two revolvers and dozens of rounds of 38-
caliber ammunition.

They also seized two Mobile Brigade police uniforms,
which they said may have been used by Aan’s group in
its operations.

In Jakarta, National Police spokesmen Brig. Gen.
Anton Bachrul Alam said the evidence connecting the
seven men with terror attacks in Central Sulawesi was
mounting.

"We cannot reveal all the information we have, but we
are certainly collecting as much data as we can from
the members of these groups who have been arrested,"
he said.

---

Horta ’saddened’ by upholding of jail term on militia
boss

Lusa - March 15, 2006

Coimbra, Portugal — East Timor’s foreign minister
says that he is “very saddened” at the decision by
Indonesia’s top court this week to reinstate a 10-
year jail term on former pro-Jakarta militia chief
Eurico Guterres.

"I am very sad because again it is a Timorese who is
paying for all the others", Josi Ramos Horta told an
audience of students and teachers at Portugal’s
prestigious Coimbra University on Tuesday.

Guterres, ethnically East Timorese and ex-leader of
the notorious Aitarak militia, was given a 10-year
prison term by an ad hoc Jakarta court for war crimes
committed in Timor around the time of Dili’s 1999
independence vote.

His jail term was halved on appeal in 2003, but
reinstated Monday by the Indonesian Supreme Court.

He has remained at liberty in West Timor since his
original sentencing and is reported as having being
elected as a regional leader of one of Indonesia’s
main political forces.

The ex-Aitarak boss is one of only two among 18
people, both East Timorese, indicted by the Jakarta
ad hoc court to have had their convictions upheld.

"I run the risk of being criticized in Timor by NGOs
and by Amnesty International, but this is my sincere
and genuine opinion", said Ramos Horta on his unease
at the prison term handed down to Guterres.

Ramos Horta, who observers say could either enter the
race to become the UN’s new secretary general or
stand for election as his country’s president next
year, also called for the Dili Parliament to consider
an amnesty for convicted and imprisoned Timorese
militiamen.

"If it is not possible to punish the true culprits —
the Indonesian military — why should Timorese
militiamen be tried and sentenced?" asked Ramos
Horta.

---

More than 6% growth needed to reach development goals
– Alkatiri

Lusa - March 15, 2006

Dili — East Timor’s economy needs to grow by more
than 6% annually from 2007 if the new nation is to
meet the UN’s Millennium Development Goals by 2015,
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Wednesday.

At a briefing on the findings of the latest visit to
Timor by officials from the International Monetary
Fund, Alkatiri said his government hoped to achieve
the required GDP expansion through sustained social
and economic growth.

Boosted private and public investment will fuel
growth in coming years, said Alkatiri, adding that
public spending in the next state budget, coming into
force June 1, would reach a total USD 70 million
compared to USD 8 million in the current financial
year.

The Dili government’s budget plan is still under
preparation, said Alkatiri, adding that the proposals
forecast expenditure of over USD 200 million.

Budget support from Timor’s donor community will be
reduced in next year’s fiscal blueprint, as in
previous years, and this international assistance
will drop to only USD 10 million in the 2007 budget,
said Alaktiri.

A crucial factor to the success, or otherwise, of
Dili’s future macroeconomic performance and targets
will be the quality of work and services provided by
national firms contracted to build infrastructure
projects, the Timorese leader concluded.

---

East Timor daily media review

UNOTIL - March 15, 2006

F-FDTL members will not join PNTL

Minister of Interior Rogerio Lobato has rejected the
rumour that the more than 600 expelled F-FDTL
soldiers will join the PNTL, and has asked the public
to stop believing this rumour. Speaking to
journalists at his office on Tuesday, Rogerio stated
that if someone is not serving in the F-FDTL then
automatically they will not serve in the PNTL. He
said that it is very important that the media do not
take up the rumour, which will only contribute to
further confusion, as the policy of the Minister of
Interior is clear. He explained that the soldiers
have the right to leave the F-FDTL, but when
conducting recruitment the PNTL will be sure to take
note if any of those names appear in enrollment. (DN,
STL, TP)

Discrimination by president of NP: Sabino

Head of the PD Bench in the National Parliament
Mariano Sabino has complained that the President of
the Plenary Session in the National Parliament has
discriminated against the PD Bench by cancelling the
presentation of a report from the Quelicai Sub-
district branch of PD. Coordinator of the branch,
Agapito Ribeiro, Cabral was to read the report in
yesterday’s plenary session, the objective of which
was to refute claims by the village and sub-village
chief that PD had raised its flag in their village
without first informing the local community leaders.
According to Sabino, the President of the Parliament
is its spokesperson and the one who should facilitate
the work of the Parliament by allowing the MPs to
speak, as they are instruments of information. He
stated that by limiting the opportunities for MPs to
speak, the Parliament is also preventing the people’s
wishes from being voiced. (TP)

PMD will fight to include gender program in
curriculum

The Millennium Democratic Party (PMD) has stated that
it will fight to include gender teachings in the
school curriculum, to be taught at the primary,
secondary and tertiary levels, and also to become a
factor inherent in all institutions.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday, PMD
wishes to respond to the current reality by advancing
a change in Timor-Leste society. PMD has established
a 35 percent quota for women candidates for the
legislature, in support of women’s involvement in
politics. PMD considers women’s rights to be
fundamental, and they will continue to facilitate and
promote Timorese women via training and capacity
building. They maintain however that women who are to
become involved in politics must be well trained, and
able to problem-solve to become good leaders. (TP)

UNDP politicizes poverty in Timor

Head of ASDT party bench, Feliciano de Fatima Alves
also known as Mausiri, stated that UNDP report on
poverty in TL tended to politicize rather than
describing the reality of this country. It was
acknowledged that the people of Timor-Leste had faced
a very difficult situation after the referendum in
1999, however, after the establishment of the
transitional Government under the UN the situation
was neutralized and back to normal. "We are indeed
poor, but we don’t live under the poverty line. This
is proven by the fact that the people still live in
healthy conditions and no one is thin due to
malnutrition. In front of the shops and streets we
don’t find beggars as you find in other countries in
the world," Alves said. (STL)

Community considers police as enemy

Members of the community in Balide have complained
that an operation carried out by members of the
police on Sunday night did not follow standard
procedures. According to the people in the area,
police detained youths at random when a fight erupted
between two groups, Rumbia Kaikoli and Rebal
Mascarenhas. PNTL Commander, Paulo Martins said he
himself received complaints saying the police actions
were excessive because the community considers police
the enemy. He said that some members of the community
pelted the police when they arrived in the area. "If
police are considered the enemy, then imagine if the
police did not turn up. What would have happened? Now
the police show up and the people start throwing
rocks at the police car. How can it be?" Martins
asked.

According to Timor Post, the incident left two houses
damaged after a police officer supported the group
Rebal in damaging the house of a member of a one of
the rival groups. The owner of the house said that
although her son was involved, the police should have
just detained him rather than helping to destroy her
house. In the meantime, PNTL Commander Martins said
he has met with the two women who have claimed to
have suffered damage to their properties abetted by
the police during the melee. Martins added that if
the investigation proves any members of the police
behaved as accused, measures will be taken according
to the police disciplinary regulations. (TP)