December 1, 2015 edition
Participation in national defense training has led to the deaths of two citizens, Daniel Vicil Pardamean Tambunan and Dyah Umiyarti Purnamaningrum.
Daniel was an Atma Jaya Catholic University student in Jakarta. Dyah was a transportation ministry employee. Both died while participating in the national defense program. Dyah fainted while learning to march in formation at the Grati Marine Corps Combat Training Center in Pasuruan, East Java. The cause of Daniel's death remains unknown.
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November 24, 2015 edition
THE International Peoples' Tribunal, held in Nieuwe Kerk, the Netherlands, two weeks ago to address human rights violations committed in Indonesia during the violent events of 1965-1966 might have been nonbinding. It did, however, help bring some of the atrocities committed 50 years ago out of the shadows and into the light.
Several witnesses told stories of being tortured for supposed links to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Some said the abuses were even ordered by members of the armed forces.
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November 17, 2015 edition
HOUSE of Representatives (DPR) members continue to try and slip an allocation into the State Budget for renovating the DPR building. A similar plan was scrapped in 2011, but when discussions for the 2016 State Budget plan began in August, it was put back on the table. Though it was rejected by the government, at the end of October, an allocation of Rp740 billion for renovations suddenly surfaced in the 2016 State Budget plan approved by the DPR.
The proposal to renovate the DPR building was reportedly made based on Law No. 10/2011 on cultural heritage. Achmad Dimyati Natakusuma, Deputy Chairman of DPR Internal Affairs Body denies that the heritage law was the basis of the plan. "It is based on the need to support amenities and infrastructure so that DPR members can enhance their work," he said.
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November 10, 2015 edition
THE draft of the presidential decree on the Indonesian Armed Forces' (TNI) Organizational Structure has caused quite a commotion. A number of activists are concerned that the regulation would only give rise to a concept that is reminiscent of the Old Order era. In the old days, almost everyone was familiar with the Dwifungsi ABRI (the dual function of the Indonesian Armed Forces). In the presidential regulation draft there are three articles some consider to be 'horrifying' because they regulate the stretching of the military's authority. According to articles 4, 5 and 6, the TNI's duties would not only comprise defending and upholding the sovereignty of Indonesia's territoriestheir duties would also extend to matters of security as well, a task that has traditionally been the role of the police.
There are those that worry that, should the regulation be implemented, the military would be put in direct contact with civilians, since its roles would overlap with those of the police. There have been instances in the past where contact between the people and the military ended bitterly. For example, last Tuesday in Bogor, a member of the armed forces shot an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver in the head. It was actually a trivial matter: the man was upset because his car was sideswiped by the ojek driver.
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November 3, 2015 edition
THE public is disappointed with Joko Widodo's and Jusuf Kalla's performance this year, as was indicated by polls from various survey institutions. They hope that Jokowi would create change began to fade as the year wore on, and his inability to assemble a cabinet free of political appointments has not helped.
Perhaps his cabinet's multiple party backgrounds frustrates the ability to build cohesion to solve pressing problems. Issues such as a weakening of the rupiah, price increases in commodities, slow growth and a rise in poverty are battering Jokowi's reformist reputation.
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October 27, 2015 edition
FREEPORT will have been mining in Papua for nearly half a century when its permit ends in 2021. Recently, the government asked the US-based company to increase its investment to US$18 billion, or approximately Rp250.3 trillion.
The Indonesian government claims it receives only a small portion of Freeport's profits in the form of royalties, dividends and taxes. Freeport, meanwhile, says 60 percent of its earnings goes to the government. In the last 22 years, they claim to have contributed around Rp214.76 trillion.
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October 20, 2015 edition