Black May 1998: 12th Commemmoration

Canadians Committed to Ethnic Voice in Indonesia (CCEVI) in collaboration with Southeast Asia Group, Asian Institute, University of Toronto invite all of you to attend a memorial service in commemmoration of Black May 1998 in Indonesia.

Date: May 29, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Venue: 108 N - Seminar Room North House
Munk School of Global Affairs
1 Davonshire Place, Toronto, ON M5S 3K7

Sheri Gibbings, a PhD candidate of Department of Anthropology of the University of Toronto will present a talk titled "Violence, Order, and Talk: A Saat in Yogyakarta, Indonesia."

Abstract
There has been considerable interest in discussing the rise of inter-communal violence in Indonesia, especially religious and ethnic violence. With few exceptions this literature discusses the role decentralization has played in producing conflict in Indonesia. Another part of this literature has examined the changing role of paramilitary, vigilante and militia groups since the fall of the New Order. Most of these authors agree that since the collapse of the New Order in 1998 there has been less state sponsored violence but an increase of violence and conflict by paramilitary, criminal and vigilante groups that are largely independent from the state. Yet with this democratization of violence in post New Order Indonesia, under what conditions does the state claim the right to use violence? When does the state claim a monopole of the legitimate use of violence and security in this era of increasing privatization of violence?

This talk will explore a relocation of 800 street vendors in Yogyakarta where both the government and street vendors use the threat of violence. I am interested in a particularly tense moment, a few months before a government planned relocation. I argue that this apprehensive moment, assumes a similar structure and feeling evoked in moments such as elections, and as what has been described as a saat in Bahasa Indonesia. I describe how this saat, a possible moment of violence, has its own structure and vocabulary and occupies a space between “actual” and “possible” violence, and how this space generates unique and very powerful structures of feeling, narratives and talk around violence. The narratives associated with this saat are powerful because they are imagined in relation to other incidents of violence in the past and present. In this way, I argue that the talk of violence had a pervasive and persuasive hold over those involved in the relocation because it drew on other abnormal moments from the past, which placed this moment also outside the “normal” and the everyday and to surpass the exigencies of the local and the present.


Further information and RSVP, please visit: http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventId=9096

Mungkinkah Terulang Lagi?

Sabtu, 15 Mei 2010 | 03:52 WIB
Oleh: Salahuddin Wahid (Wakil Ketua Komnas HAM 2002-2007; Pengasuh Pesantren Tebuireng)

Dua belas tahun berlalu sejak Tragedi Mei 1998, salah satu tragedi kelam yang pernah menimpa kita. Total ada 1.338 orang tewas dan 92 wanita Tionghoa mengaku diperkosa walaupun sampai hari ini masih disangkali negara.

Warga yang tidak mengalami mungkin sudah banyak yang melupakan peristiwa keji itu. Akan tetapi, bagi korban dan keluarganya hal itu akan tetap ada dalam ingatan walau ada yang bisa memaafkan. Apalagi, perjuangan keluarga korban untuk memperoleh keadilan tidak mendapat perhatian memadai dari pemerintah.

Kita pun sudah melupakan siapa yang harus bertanggung jawab dan apa penyebab timbulnya kerusuhan itu. Komnas HAM melakukan penyelidikan pro justicia kasus tersebut pada 2003 dan menyerahkan laporan ke DPR dan Kejaksaan Agung. Akan tetapi, sampai saat ini tak ada langkah tindak lanjut apa pun.

Penyelidikan Komnas HAM mengungkap fakta bahwa peristiwa itu tidak terjadi tiba-tiba dan kebetulan, melainkan dipersiapkan dengan matang oleh kekuatan yang berpengalaman dan tahu persis apa yang harus dilakukan. Pelaku di lapangan juga bukan sembarang orang, mereka terlatih dan mampu secara fisik dan mental. Tim Komnas HAM tidak mampu mengungkap siapa kekuatan di balik kerusuhan itu. Hanya Kejaksaan Agung yang bisa mengungkap lewat penyidikan.

Tak bisa disalahkan kalau banyak pihak menduga mereka yang punya pengalaman, kemampuan, dan terlatih itu terkait dengan militer, seperti oknum TNI, desertir, atau tentara bayaran (kalau ada). Namun, kita gegabah kalau menuduh oknum TNI sebagai dalang atau pelaksana kerusuhan itu tanpa bukti.

Dugaan keterlibatan

Walau sudah menduga apa jawabannya, mengikuti pikiran kritis yang agak liar, dalam sebuah diskusi tidak resmi beberapa tahun lalu saya memaksakan diri bertanya kepada seorang mayor jenderal TNI yang pada 1998 aktif di lembaga intelijen TNI. Apakah betul tidak ada oknum TNI yang terlibat dalam tragedi itu? Mengapa intelijen TNI tidak mampu mendeteksi potensi kerusuhan itu?

Mayjen tersebut tentu membantah ada oknum TNI yang terlibat, tetapi mengakui bahwa intelijen TNI dan Bakin tak mampu mendeteksi atau kecolongan. Pihak perencana dan pelaksana itu lebih unggul dibandingkan dengan lembaga intelijen dan kita tidak tahu apakah lembaga intelijen yang sekarang sudah jauh meningkat.

Lalu saya tanyakan apakah betul kesimpulan berikut: kalau tidak ada oknum atau desertir TNI yang merencanakan dan menjalankan kerusuhan itu, mungkinkah ada pihak lain yang punya kepentingan, kekuatan, dan kemampuan juga melakukan kerusuhan yang sama?

Artinya, jika suatu waktu pihak itu merasa sudah tiba saat yang tepat untuk melakukan tindakan keji (lagi) dan ada kebutuhan memaksa, maka pihak tersebut akan bisa melakukan dan pihak intelijen kita tidak mampu mendeteksi.

Sang Mayjen tidak menyetujui kesimpulan saya, tetapi jawabannya tidak meyakinkan. Maka, tidak ada salahnya saya mengangkat masalah itu kepada masyarakat. Mungkinkah kerusuhan terulang lagi pada masa depan? Apakah faktor sosial-politik- ekonomi memicu pihak pelaku kerusuhan? Apakah faktor semacam itu kini sudah tampak gejalanya? Mungkinkah kita menengarai dan mewaspadai pihak yang berpotensi melakukan?

Kita perlu mengungkap semua teka-teki itu bukan hanya mencari siapa yang bertanggung jawab, tetapi lebih kepada upaya mencegah terjadinya kembali kerusuhan keji itu. Dengan demikian, sangat layak kalau kita mendorong Kejaksaan Agung agar menyidik kasus Mei 1998 dan kasus-kasus terkait. Presiden, yang pada 2005 sudah berjanji kepada orangtua korban kasus Trisakti, perlu mendesak Kejaksaan Agung untuk menyidiknya.

Jangan kecolongan lagi

Situasi sosial-ekonomi- politik saat ini belum dianggap bisa memicu kerusuhan. Kekecewaan rakyat memang meningkat, tetapi jauh di bawah kondisi tahun 1998. Kita harus selalu mewaspadai perkembangan dan jangan sampai kecolongan lagi. Ketidakpercayaan kepada aparat penegak hukum harus ditanggapi dengan langkah nyata memperbaikinya.

Akan tetapi, kalau ada kerusuhan lagi, apakah keturunan Tionghoa kembali jadi sasaran? Amy Chua, profesor dari Yale University, mengakui ada kemungkinan cukup besar, seperti diungkapkannya dalam buku World on Fire, How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, 2003. Menurut dia, keturunan Tionghoa selama pemerintahan Orde Baru telah mengalami aneka kebijakan: ganti nama, larangan memakai bahasa Tionghoa, larangan merayakan Imlek, dan larangan menganut agama orang Tionghoa. Kekerasan Mei 1998 membuktikan bahwa kebijakan itu gagal.

Lebih lanjut, Amy Chua menganalisis, kelompok minoritas Tionghoa adalah kelompok market-dominant minorities yang kaya raya berkat sistem ekonomi pasar. Ini yang menimbulkan rasa iri hati dari kelompok mayoritas yang miskin. Ketidakpuasan itu ditambah kekurangmampuan dan kurangnya kapasitas kepolisian menjaga keselamatan pihak yang membutuhkan sehingga memperberat situasi.

Oleh karena itu, perlu dijalankan kebijakan ekonomi yang betul-betul memihak rakyat, khususnya di daerah perkotaan yang amat rawan dihasut dan berpotensi ikut-ikutan terlibat dalam kerusuhan. Pendekatan Pemprov DKI dan banyak kota besar lain, seperti penggusuran terhadap pedagang tradisional demi kepentingan pemodal yang umumnya kalangan Tionghoa jelas seperti menumpuk jerami kering yang mudah terbakar. Pemerintah kota besar bisa belajar dari Wali kota Solo yang bersedia berunding lebih dari 50 kali dengan pedagang untuk mencari kesepakatan merevitalisasi pasar tradisional.

Jakarta's Appointment of General Challenged in Court

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 04, 2010

An article from Yati Andriyani, KontraS, Indonesia

INDONESIA: Jakarta's appointment of general challenged in court

The democratic transition in Indonesia is still hampered by a number of government policies. Civil supremacy, law enforcement and human rights are not priority issues for the government in drafting these policies. This is true even of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, even though it is considered reformist.

There has been no resolution to many cases of severe human rights violations that occurred during Soeharto’s authoritarian regime from 1965 to 1998. In fact, some policies can potentially hamper efforts to encourage accountability from parties involved in violence, including the military.

In January, the Indonesian government again made a decision that defies the values and spirit of human rights and the rule of law. The president appointed Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, an army officer with a poor track record on human rights violations during Soeharto’s regime, as deputy defense minister. The president also appointed other officials including Dr. Ir. Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo as deputy minister of national development planning and Dr. Fasli Jalal as deputy minister of education.

Sjafrie’s appointment shocked human rights and democracy activists, as well as victims and victims’ families, as he is a high military official considered responsible for human rights violations in May 1998, before and after Soeharto’s fall.

During the kidnapping and forced disappearances of activists in 1997-1998, and the violence against civilians at Trisakti and the riots that followed in May, 1998, Sjafrie was commander of Kodam Jaya, as well as second in command after Gen. Wiranto in a security operation called Mantap Jaya III in the same period. The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) mentioned Sjafrie’s name in the context of command responsibility in its investigation report.

A number of victims and the families of people who were kidnapped or disappeared during those events, assisted by legal counselors from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Jakarta Legal Aid, Imparsial and the Setara Institute, have taken legal action to have the presidential appointments revoked. Their case was filed in Jakarta on April 5.

In their petition, the complainants point out that the presidential decree contradicts a number of laws and is detrimental to victims of human rights violations.

It is contradictory to victims’ right to a fair trial and to the principles of truth and justice. The appointment of Sjafrie violates the principle of equality before the law for the complainants who are currently involved in legal processes at the Supreme Court. However, their complaint may face complications because there is no direct connection between the results of state investigations and the appointment of Sjafrie as deputy defense minister.

The complainants also point out that the presidential decree is detrimental to the prevention of future violence by the military. Indonesia has passed a law aimed at preventing institutions including the national police and the State Intelligence Agency from misusing violence. The law orders the establishment of a Human Rights Court to demand accountability for acts of violence, to enable legal proceedings to prevent recurrence, and to correct any wrong behavior of the state apparatus and in political activities.

Finally, the complainants state that the presidential decree violates a national law on the establishment of laws and regulations, which demands respect for humanity, the protection of human rights, and equal worth and dignity for every citizen of Indonesia.

This civil litigation is being enacted to prevent impunity on the part of the military and the government during the process of democratic transition, for which civil supremacy, law and human rights are prerequisites. The presidential decree is detrimental to the victims' efforts to achieve justice through the Human Rights Court, as well as threatening the future of democracy, which requires accountability from the perpetrators of human rights violations and military reforms.

The article was also published on UPI Asia Online.


(Yati Andriyani works for the Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), in Jakarta as head of Impunity Watch and Fulfillment of Victims’ Rights. ©Copyright Yati Andriyani.)

Amnesty International USA Open Letter to President Obama on Indonesia

March 2, 2010

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare to travel to launch the US–Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, Amnesty International would like to bring to your attention the human rights situation in Indonesia and urge you to press President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for meaningful human rights improvements. Failure to do so would send the wrong signal: that the United States is not concerned about human rights in Indonesia.

While in Indonesia, we strongly urge you to meet with human rights defenders and the families of victims of state abuse, especially those civilians who were killed during the 1965 political turmoil. We also urge you to publicly state what role human rights will play in the US–Indonesia Comprehensive partnership and emphasize that human rights will play as important a role as trade and security. Please commend Indonesia’s leadership role in creating the human rights body in ASEAN. Encourage President Yudhoyono to continue Indonesia’s active role in this body and offer to assist their work.

Even though Indonesia has come a long way over the years in its respect for human rights, much needs to be done to protect the basic rights of Indonesian citizens. We would like to highlight our human rights concerns.


Address the Problem of Impunity

Major human rights abusers go unpunished in Indonesia. One clear example is the failure of successive Indonesian governments to bring the late military dictator Suharto to trial for the roughly half-a-million to a million people who were killed in 1965. He was also never held to account for the death of around 100,000 East Timor people. This is one of the main reasons why impunity is a serious problem in Indonesia to this date.


Make Reform a Centerpiece of US–Indonesia military cooperation

US – Indonesia military cooperation should ensure the development of a professional security force in Indonesia and should be linked to bringing those involved in human rights abuses to face trial. Of special concern are recent attempts to engage the Special Forces group “Kopassus.”

Request: Any US–Indonesia military cooperation should be linked to genuine security sector reform, including bringing “Kopassus” officers involved in human rights abuses to trial.


Stoning to death for adultery

A new Indonesian bylaw endorses stoning to death for adultery and canning of up to 100 lashes for homosexuality. This local Islamic Criminal Code was passed by the Aceh Provincial House of Representatives in September 2009.

Request: Urge the Indonesian authorities to repeal this law.


Release Political Prisoners

Indonesian authorities continue to use repressive legislation to criminalize peaceful political activities. Violations of this right are particularly severe in areas where there has been a history of pro-independence movements such as Maluku and Papua.

• Former civil servant Filep Karma and student Yusak Pakage are serving prison sentences of 15 and 10 years respectively for peacefully raising the Papua flag.
• In June 2007, 22 men were arrested in Maluku province for unfurling the ‘Benang Raja’ flag, a symbol of South Maluku identity, after performing a traditional dance in front of President Yudhoyono. All have now been sentenced to jail terms between seven and 20 years.

Amnesty International considers the above “Prisoners of Conscience” and demands their immediate and unconditional release.

Request: We urge you to demand their immediate release before you arrive in Indonesia as a mark of good will. We are confident that President Yudhoyono will take your request seriously.


Protect Human Rights Defenders

We appreciate your recent meeting with Human Rights Defenders at the White House and urge you to highlight the protection of human rights defenders in Indonesia. We are concerned that the Indonesian legal system is being used to intimidate human rights defenders rather than to ensure that they are able to carry out their important work.

For example, human rights defender Usman Hamid is the subject of criminal defamation proceedings due to his involvement in the campaign for justice for the late Munir Said Thalib, who was murdered by poisoning in September 2004. In addition to Mr. Hamid, at least six other human rights defenders faced criminal defamation charges in 2009 for their work: Emerson Yuntho, Illian Deta Arta Sari, Gatot, Suryani, Dadang Iskandar, and Itce Julinar.

Request:

1. We urge you to press President Yudhoyono to ensure that human rights defenders are not targeted through criminal defamation suits or by any other means.


2. We also urge you to call upon the Indonesian government to identify those at the highest level responsible for Munir’s murder and publish the report of the fact-finding team.

Establish Complaint Mechanism for Police Abuse

Despite the current reform process to make Indonesian National Police more professional and respectful of human rights, criminal suspects living in poor and marginalized communities, in particular women and repeat offenders, are disproportionately targeted for a range of human rights violations.

Request: Urge President Yudhoyono to initiate steps to set up an independent complaints mechanism that can receive and deal with complaints from the public.


Prosecute Those Responsible for Disappearances

In September 2009, the Special Committee on Disappearances 1997–1998 of Indonesia’s House of Representatives urged the government to create an ad-hoc human rights court to try those responsible for enforced disappearances.

Request: Urge the Authorities to take immediate steps to create an ad-hoc human rights court.


Allow Freedom of Religion

Blasphemy law: Several laws and regulations continue to be discriminatory towards freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Article 156(a) of Indonesian Criminal Code, enacted under a 1965 Presidential Decree, makes ‘blasphemy’ a crime punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment. Amnesty International is aware of at least eight people who are currently in prison under this law.

The Ahmadiyya community continues to face intimidation and attacks. In June 2008, a joint ministerial decree instructed the Ahmadiyya community to either declare that they are not Muslims or discontinue declaring their faith.

Christian groups also face restrictions on worship and evictions. In one case, at least 1,400 Christian students were evacuated from their Setia college campus in July 2008 when it was attacked by villagers allegedly linked to the Islamic Defenders Front. There have been no arrests in relation to the attack.

Request: Urge the Indonesian authorities to allow freedom of religion.


Mr. President, Amnesty International urges you to take this opportunity to ensure that steps are taken to improve human rights in Indonesia. While in Indonesia, we strongly urge you to speak publicly and meet with human rights defenders and families of victims, especially those civilians who were killed during the 1965 political turmoil. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director

Film on Aceh's Dual Disasters

An invitation from YCAR (York Centre for Asian Research):


Humanitarian Disasters

The Canadian Film Premiere of 'Hidden in the Limelight of the Tsunami: Aceh's Silent Disaster'
A film by Arno Waizenegger (Cologne) and Jennifer Hyndman (York)
Tuesday, 2 March 2010 | 6 to 7pm | 102 Accolade East Bldg. | York University, Keele Campus


When it comes to disasters, international aid agencies and the international news media find themselves entangled in a complex relationship of mutual dependency. Due to what is sometimes called the 'CNN effect' and the rapid transmission of images and new, the media hugely affects the shape of the global aid landscape.

The film at hand explores how aid agencies adapt to particular media environments in disaster settings and how this impacts their priorities and performance in delivering humanitarian assistance where it is needed.

These issues are probed using the example of Aceh, the Indonesia province that was the highly publicized scene of the extraordinary well-funded 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In contrast, the underfunded 'silent' disaster in Aceh resulting from protracted violent conflict between the Indonesia government and the Free Aceh Movement, was largely invisible.

Highlighting recent trends in the modern operandi of international news media and the aid industry, this case study indicates that transparency, independence and accountability are key principles that can avert the disparities between humanitarian disasters. silent emergencies may not be tsunamis but human life is nonetheless at risk.

For more information, contact Jennifer Hyndman at jhyndman@yorku.ca.

Please join us!

Request for Effective Aid for Indonesian Earthquake Victims

An earthquake with 7.6 on Richter scale hit West Sumatera on September 30, 2009 at 17:16 hours Western Indonesia Time. The source was said to be originated at 57 km northwest of Pariaman, with 71 km in depth. It triggered other natural catastrophic disasters that claimed thousands deaths and missing persons. On October 2, 2009, CCEVI sent the letter to the Prime Minister (cc to Michael Ignatieff) about sending effective aid for these earthquake victims. On the same day CCNC also sent the letter to the PM as a token of support and solidarity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October 2, 2009

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

Re: Emergency Aid for Earthquake Victims in Padang and the West Sumatra Region

Canadians Committed to Ethnic Voice in Indonesia (CCEVI) is a registered, non-profit organization whose members consist of concerned individuals committed to promoting human rights in Indonesia. We are writing you today, on behalf of our members whose families and friends are earthquake victims, to request that government emergency aid be provided in an effective and efficient way.

CCEVI appreciates the Government of Canada's willingness to offer humanitarian assistance, and asks that you consider the following to ensure aid effectiveness:

Financial aid should be channelled through local non-government-organizations that are directly involved with the crisis and day-to-day activities on site. If this is not possible, we encourage Canada to channel funds through Canadian international development and relief agencies in Indonesia. We strongly recommend that aid not be channelled through government agencies at the local, regional or national levels. Emergency aid should be allocated for efforts to save lives, provide medical treatment as well as temporary evacuation from the disaster zones. Long term financial aid should be coordinated with the local authorities responsible for disaster recovery and rehabilitation of their areas.

We thank you in advance for your favourable response and action to help the victims.

Respectfully yours,
Marcus Kwee & Nancy Slamet
Co-chairs of CCEVI

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October 2, 2009

Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

By fax and by email

Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

Re: Request for Emergency Aid to the Victims of Earthquake in Indonesia

I am writing on behalf of the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) to urge the Canadian Government to provide generous aid to the victims of earthquake victims in Padang and the West Sumatra Region of Indonesia. The 7.9 Richter scale earthquake which struck the region on Wednesday was followed by a powerful aftershock on Thursday. We would urge our Government to provide generous humanitarian aid to the affected region by funding humanitarian aid agencies and local non-governmental groups to ensure that donations are directed to those in need.

Canada has recognized expertise in disaster relief. For example: Canadian manufacturers could provide pre-fabricated housing and water sanitation systems and community-based groups that could assemble medical teams and medicines. At the community level, CCNC is supporting appeals from local community and diaspora groups such as Canadians Committed to Ethnic Voice in Indonesia (CCEVI). We believe that Canadians will support and appreciate a generous aid response from the Canadian Government.

If we can be of further assistance to your officials, please contact our Executive Director Victor Wong at (416) 977-9871.

Sincerely,
Colleen Hua
National President

cc. Hon Bev Oda
Hon. Jason Kenney
Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Hon. Alice Wong
CIDA
CCEVI

******************************
Victor Wong
CCNC Executive Director
national@ccnc.ca
(416) 977-9871 (tel)
CCNC: www.ccnc.ca
PanAsian Network: www.ccnc.ca/panasian
Health Equity Council: www.healthequitycouncil.ca
No To Hate: www.notohate.ca

Guilty: Aung San Suu Kyi or the Burmese Junta?

As appears on the network of Avaaz.org: The World in Action and to those that sign up for Climate 2020: Real Talks, Real Target!

It's time for the world to put the Burmese generals on trial. Avaaz is launching a call for the UN Security Council to investigate the regime for crimes against humanity -- a judgment of guilt could lead to prosecution of top generals by the International Criminal Court.

Over the next two months the UK and the US hold the powerful Presidency of the United Nations Security Council - both President Obama and Prime Minister Brown have spoken passionately about Burma, so now is our best chance in years to get the Security Council to act.

Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced today, but it's the Burmese generals who jailed her who have committed the real crimes. Join the call for justice for the Burmese people by signing the petition to put the generals on trial.

Take action now, sign the petition!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Avaaz:

Dear friends,

Today, the ailing Nobel laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another year and a half in detention by a Burmese kangaroo court.

Suu Kyi's treatment is just the tip of the iceberg of the brutality of the Burmese regime -- spanning 40 years of murder, torture, mass rape, and slave labour.

It's time for the world to put the Burmese generals on trial. Avaaz is launching a call for the UN Security Council to investigate the regime for crimes against humanity -- a judgment of guilt could lead to prosecution of top generals by the International Criminal Court. Click below to join the call and see a mock up of a banner that we plan to drop in front of the UN calling for action:



Over the next two months the UK and the US hold the powerful Presidency of the United Nations Security Council - both President Obama and Prime Minister Brown have spoken passionately about Burma, so now is our best chance in years to get the Security Council to act.

But the US, UK and other Council members are still dragging their feet -- concerned about challenging China, a key sponsor of the Burmese regime. If a global outcry demands it, they will try harder to get China to agree, as happened when the Council decided to allow prosecution of another China-sponsored regime in the case of Darfur, Sudan.

Calls for investigation and prosecution of the Burmese Generals have been growing. The pressure is building on Obama and Brown as already dozens of US and British legislators have called for an inquiry. And a recent Harvard University report by top global jurists reveals that the UN has already quietly documented the forced recruitment of tens of thousands of child soldiers, more than one million refugees and internally displaced persons, numerous cases of killings and torture, mass rape and the forced displacement of 3,000 ethnic minority villages -- as many as reported in Darfur. Let's join them in this call to hold the regime to account:



The Avaaz community has stood with and supported the Burmese people through cyclone Nargis, through the massive repression of democracy activists in 2007, and this year over 400,000 of us have called for the release of political prisoners. Today, if enough of us act together, we have a chance to call upon the highest body under international law to finally end the tyranny. Sign the petition and send this on to friends and family to send a clear message to the UN Security Council that the world expects them to lead:

With hope,
Alice, Ricken, Brett, Graziela, Paula, Paul, Pascal and the whole Avaaz team.

Sources:

• For the politics behind the guilty verdict visit: BBC News - Asia Pacific.
• Read the Harvard report here.
• For a United Nations Official's appeal to the Security Council visit: New York Times - Opinion.
• See the Sudan Commission of Inquiry process here.
• For the UK MPs call for Commission of Inquiry visit: UK Parliament.
• For the US Senators call for a Commission of Inquiry visit here.

Want to support Avaaz? We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated online team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva.

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

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To contact Avaaz, please write to us via the webform at http://www.avaaz.org/en/contact. You can also call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US) or +55 21 2509 0368 (Brazil).

An Open Letter to Japanese Emperor and Empress

Their Imperial Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan
c/o Consulate-General of Japan in Vancouver
800-1177 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6E 2K9

By Fax: 604-687-2236

July 9, 2009

Your Imperial Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan,

We are writing to you as some representatives of groups of Canadians that make up the rich diversity of this country: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and European. We hope you enjoyed your visit to Eastern Canada, and we would like to extend you our warm welcome to Vancouver, Canada’s gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.

With so many immigrants from all parts of Asia, we believe that Canada is an ideal place from which to promote peace and understanding among the Asia-Pacific nations. For example, Japanese-Canadians, along with people from other cultural heritages, have been working to raise awareness of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Here in Vancouver, one of the first Article 9 groups outside of Japan raised funds to send Canadian delegates to the world’s first Global Article 9 Conference held in Chiba, Japan.

As Canadians with Asian connections, we also work together to heal the wounds of Japanese aggressions in the Asia-Pacific region before and during the Second World War, and to learn from the history of devastating wars to create a peaceful future together. For example, every year a group of Canadian educators travels to China and Korea to learn about the history of the Asia Pacific War (1931-1945), including the Nanjing Massacre and Japan’s military sex slavery system. A group of Canadian students also travels to Japan every summer to learn about the history of atomic-bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and these educators and students share their learning with the wider community when they return. Our aim is never to foster bitterness toward a specific country or group of people; instead, our goal is to create an environment for open-minded learning that transcends national borders and cultural differences.

While our educational activities have been well-received among communities in Canada, Asia and beyond, we have witnessed many non-reconciliatory responses from Japan to the global community’s efforts to help bring healing and justice to the war crime victims of this tragic chapter of history. The Japanese Parliament has yet to pass a resolution that fully admits and apologizes for Japan’s responsibility for the loss and suffering of the victims of the Asia-Pacific War, or to pass laws that stipulate compensation to those victims.

Canada is among the nations that are concerned with these issues. On November 28, 2007 the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a motion urging the Japanese government to take full responsibility for the involvement of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the system of forced "comfort women”, to offer a formal and sincere apology to these women, and to continue to address those who are affected in the spirit of reconciliation. Although Canada as a nation has not been perfect in addressing its own past wrongdoings, one of Canada’s achievements in this regard has been the compensation of Canadians of Japanese ancestry who were interned during the Asia-Pacific War. We would also like to see such redress offered Japanese government to the Canadian POWs captured in the Battle of Hong Kong and to the victims of China, Korea, the Philippines, and all the other countries and regions where Japan’s military committed war crimes. We would also like to see Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution remain as it is, as we and many people in Asia see Article 9 as Japan’s pledge to the world never again to engage in wars of aggression.

Your Imperial Majesties, we are aware and appreciative of how much you have demonstrated a commitment to peace and history issues. For example, your paying tribute to the Korean victims’ monument when you visited Saipan in 2005 was considered a gesture of reconciliation. When you visited China in 1992, you also expressed regret for the suffering that Japan brought to China during the Asia-Pacific War. Your words were a positive step toward healing a historical wound. Your 1993 visit to the Okinawa sites where tens of thousands of civilians died in the war was also appreciated by many people throughout Japan and beyond. We would like to appeal for your continued efforts to help bring healing and justice to the victims of atrocities committed by Japan before and during the Asia-Pacific War, and for your for support of the endeavours to keep Article 9 intact in the spirit of peace.

Thank you for your attention to our letter, and again, we would like to sincerely welcome you to Canada’s West Coast. We hope you will enjoy the beautiful sunshine, ocean and mountains of our land, and the rich and dynamic communities of our multicultural society.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed by the following organizations)


Thekla Lit
Co-chair, Canada ALPHA (Association for Learning & Preserving the History of WWII in Asia)

Satoko Norimatsu
Founding Director, Peace Philosophy Centre

Ellen Woodsworth
President, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, Vancouver

Tatsuo Kage
Member, Human Rights Committee of Japanese Canadian Citizens Association

Fernando P. Salanga
President, Philippine War Veterans & Ex-servicemen Society of BC

Jane Ordinario
Chairperson, Migrante-BC

Beth Dollaga
Chair, Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights

Kevin Sung,
Director, Korean Drama Club Hanuree


Some related reference materials
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the National Constitution of Japan that prohibits an act of war by the state. The Constitution came into effect on May 3, 1947, immediately following World War II.

The official English translation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution reads:

“ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.”

Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Asia-Pacific War (1931-1945) have also been described as an Asian Holocaust These war crimes include:-
• Mass killings
• Human experimentation and biological warfare
• Use of chemical weapons
• Preventable famine
• Torture of POWs
• Cannibalism
• Slaved labor
• Military sexual slavery system
• Looting

The Asian Holocaust is often compared to the Nazi Holocaust. The historian Chalmers Johnson, president and co-founder of the Japan Policy Research Institute, an organization promoting public education about Japan and Asia, has written that:

It may be pointless to try to establish which World War Two Axis aggressor, Germany or Japan, was the more brutal to the peoples it victimised. The Germans killed six million Jews and 20 million Russians [i.e. Soviet citizens]; the Japanese slaughtered as many as 30 million Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indonesians and Burmese, at least 23 million of them ethnic Chinese. Both nations looted the countries they conquered on a monumental scale, though Japan plundered more, over a longer period, than the Nazis. Both conquerors enslaved millions and exploited them as forced labourers—and, in the case of the Japanese, as [forced] prostitutes for front-line troops. If you were a Nazi prisoner of war from Britain, America, Australia, New Zealand or Canada (but not Russia) you faced a 4% chance of not surviving the war; [by comparison] the death rate for Allied POWs held by the Japanese was nearly 30%. (Chalmers Johnson, Looting of Asia, 2003)


Note: The press conference was held in the morning of July 9, 2009 to propagate the above Open Letter by multi-ethnic organizations in Canada.

Refleksi Tragedi 13-15 Mei 1998 - Kapan Ada Keadilan untuk Korban?

Para korban dan keluarganya pasti belum bisa melupakan Tragedi 13-15 Mei 1998 di Jakarta. Meski sudah 11 tahun berlalu, tragedi itu tetapmenjadi misteri yang menyisakan elegi bagi para korbannya.

Memang keberadaan negeri ini sudah lama kehilangan makna. Bagi para korban HAM, negara sudah lama absen. Ketika tragedi kelabu itu terjadi, tangisan, teriakan, dan jeritan frustrasi para korban tidak pernah didengar oleh negara, oleh pemerintah waktu itu, pemerintah yang menyusulnya kemudian sampai pemerintah di era sekarang.

Memang sudah dibentuk Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia berdasarkan UU No 39/1999 tentang HAM dan UU No 26 Tahun 2000 tentang Pengadilan HAM. Menurut Komnas HAM, telah terjadi perkosaan secara masal, sistematis, biadab, dan keji terhadap para wanita etnis Tionghoa di tengah kerusuhan 13-15 Mei 1998 di Jakarta. Pemerintah Habibie juga sudah membentuk Tim Perlindungan Wanita terhadap Kekerasan, juga ada Tim Gabungan Pencari Fakta yang dibentuk pada 23 Juli 1998. Rekomendasi kedua tim tersebut tidak pernah ditindak-lanjuti. Jadi, sampai sekarangpara pelaku Tragedi Mei itu tak satu pun yang ditangkap atau diadili.


Komnas HAM Tak Berdaya
Komnas HAM yang dulu atau sekarang telah berupaya memanggil para mantan jenderal yang dianggap mengetahui atau bertanggung-jawab atas beberapa kasus pelanggaran HAM masa lalu, tapi pemanggilan itu selalu gagal. Polemik antara para mantan jenderal dan Komnas HAM pun tak terelakkan. Semisal Menhan Juwono Sudarsono malah balik "menggugat" kewenangan hukum Komnas HAM.

Pernyataan Menhan (yang mewakili pemerintah) menunjukkan bahwa sesungguhnya komitmen pemerintah menegakkan HAM masih kecil, sementara iklim politik masih didominasi spirit anti-HAM. Padahal, pengungkapan kasus pelanggaran berat HAM yang terjadi di tanah air seperti "TragediMei 1998" memerlukan komitmen dari pemerintah. Tanpa ada komitmen dan good will langsung dari presiden, kasus tersebut bakal terkubur.

Para pelanggar HAM, apalagi dari kalangan militer, sudah bisa dipastikan akan menolak dituduh sebagai penanggung-jawab pelanggaran HAM dengan beragam argumentasi dan rasionalisasi. Mereka akan mengatakan bahwa kesalahan terletak bukan pada diri mereka.

Yang menyedihkan justru ada rasionalisasi bahwa para korban HAM dalam peristiwa 13-15 Mei 1998 itu tidak pernah ada, karena tidak pernah bisa dibuktikan. Apalagi, jika dikaitkan dengan perundang-undangan pemerkosaan di negeri ini. Bagaimana membuktikan bahwa korban sungguh diperkosa?

Seperti dikatakan advokat senior Surabaya, Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, dalam beragam kesempatan bahwa setiap kasus yang terindikasi melibatkan militer, seperti Tragedi Mei, tidak pernah akan bisa diselesaikan dengan memuaskan. Artinya, para pelaku tetap bisa menghirup udara kebebasan. Tak ada keadilan bagi para korban. Hal ini juga terjadi pada kasus pelanggaran HAM lain, mulai Peristiwa 1965 dan Tragedi Mei 1998.


Rekonsiliasi Sejati
Meski demikian, penulis menganjurkan para korban Tragedi Mei untuk berani memaafkan, meskipun memaafkan bukan berarti harus melupakan. Harus selalu dicari ruang untuk mengingat peristiwa buruk seperti Tragedi Mei 1998. Dengan demikian, usul islah atau rekonsiliasi jangan pernah diabaikan meski ada yang bertanya untuk apa rekonsiliasi.

Tentu ada beberapa hal yang perlu dilakukan agar rekonsiliasi terwujud. Pertama, harus diakui adanya pelanggaran berat HAM dalam Tragedi Mei1998. Itu berarti ada pelaku yang harus bertanggung-jawab. Kedua, keadilan harus ditegakkan. Artinya, pelaku harus mendapatkan sanksi hukum. Dengan demikian, luka hati korban dan keluarganya mendapatkan pemulihan. Setelah proses hukum ditegakkan, antara korban dan pelaku harus diupayakan perdamaian, supaya kebencian dan dendam tidak hidup terus sepanjang tujuh turunan.

Uskup Desmond Tutu, ketua Komisi Kebenaran dan Rekonsiliasi Afrika Selatan, menulis bahwa rekonsiliasi sejati mengekspos kekejaman, kekerasan, kepedihan, kebejatan, dan kebenaran, bahkan terkadang dapat memperburuk keadaan. Ini adalah perbuatan berisiko. Meski begitu, pada akhirnya akan ada pemulihan nyata setelah menyelesaikan situasi yang sebenarnya. Rekonsiliasi yang palsu hanya dapat menghasilkan pemulihan palsu (lihat buku: No Future Without Forgiveness, 1999).

Akhirnya untuk negara dan pemerintah, sekali lagi hutang-hutang pada para korban harus dilunasi. Tocqueville (1805-1859) mengingatkan: "Karena masa lalu gagal menerangi masa depan, benak manusia mengelana di tengah kabut". Kabut dari peristiwa gelap masa lalu itulah yang harus disingkap negara demi keadilan pada para korban, termasuk korban Tragedi Mei.

Selama orang terus mencari alasan guna lari dari tanggung jawab terhadap para korban HAM dan kekuasaan negara memberi perlindungan terhadap sikap pengecut ini, sehingga para pelaku terus menikmati impunitas diatas derita para korban HAM, negeri ini tetap akan susah mencapai masa depan. Sebab, pelanggaran HAM di masa silam selama terus dibiarkan justru menjadi kabut yang menghalangi perjalanan bangsa ini ke depan.

Kabut itu harus disingkap dan para korban dijamin mendapatkan keadilan yang setimpal. Dengan demikian, kita bisa menyongsong masa depan tanpa ada yang dikorbankan lagi.

Oleh: Mustofa Liem PhD, Dewan Penasihat Jaringan Tionghoa untuk Kesetaraan
Dimuat di: Jawa Pos (Rabu, 13 Mei 2009)

Justice for Munir Said Thalib (1965-2004)

Following is a statement written by Usman Hamid (Director of KontraS in Jakarta), following the recent announcement by the Supreme Court that they have rejected the prosecutor’s appeal against the acquittal last December of Muchdi (the former Deputy Head of Intelligence who was accused of planning the murder of Human Rights Defender Munir in 2004). Usman’s statement reviews the Muchdi trial and highlights some of the procedural shortcomings during the trial.

Justice for Munir Said Thalib (1965-2004)

Summary
There is no case more central to the security of human rights defenders in Indonesia than the 2004 murder of the prominent human rights lawyer Munir. That case is now at risk of collapse. On December 31, 2008, a former senior intelligence official was acquitted on all charges following a trial marked by the systematic retraction of prior sworn statements by key witnesses, and by the presence of organized groups seeking to influence the trial. The acquittal, after 6 months under appeal to the Supreme Court, has bring a setback. The Supreme Court can't accept prosecutor's appeal.

This situation indicates:

The Indonesian justice system is not yet able to effectively prosecute senior officials with powerful connections, due to weak prosecution capacity and witness intimidation.

State bodies, in this case the State Intelligence Agency, have not sufficiently reformed and continue to threaten the security of human rights defenders.

If these conditions are to change, a successful resolution of the Munir case is essential. Such a resolution will require the full support of Indonesia 's leadership, which depends in turn on sufficient domestic and international pressure. The international community particularly the United Nations Special Procedures can play an essential part in seeking information, more progress and urging the Indonesian leadership to ensure that:

1. The Indonesian National Police continues their investigation until the case of Muchdi, and anyone else responsible for planning and ordering the murder, has been successfully resolved.

2. The Attorney General's Office assigns a professional and committed prosecution team that can submit an effective appeal of the Muchdi verdict. The AGO should also investigates the apparently coordinated retraction of prior statements by witnesses during the trial.

3. The State Intelligence Agency cooperates fully, especially by making available those witnesses who refused to appear at previous hearings, namely the agent Budi Santoso and Deputy Director As'ad Said Ali.


I. General Overview
On December 31, 2008, the South Jakarta District Court found Muchdi Purwopranjono not guilty on all charges in the murder of Munir. Muchdi, a former commander of the army's Special Forces branch and later a senior Deputy at the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), is the fourth person to be prosecuted in connection with Munir's death, but the first to be charged with planning or ordering the murder.

Munir, a leading human rights defender in Indonesia, was murdered while travelling from Jakarta to Amsterdam on September 7, 2004. So far the Indonesian court has convicted two persons: Pollycarpus, a pilot for Garuda Airlines and also an agent of the State Intelligence Agency and Indra Setiawan, former Executive Director of Garuda, a state-owned company. Both were convicted for their complicity in the murder of Munir: Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and Indra Setiawan was sentenced to one year for facilitating Pollycarpus' access to Munir on the flight; a second Garuda employee was acquitted. During these trials, Indra Setiawan testified that he met Muchdi and received a request both verbally and by a letter from the intelligence agency to assign Pollycarpus to the same flight with Munir.

The acquittal of Muchdi was a setback not only for the case, but also for the enforcement of human rights and the protection of other human rights defenders more broadly. Impunity is pervasive in Indonesia, and for such cases the justice system needs public pressure and support, domestically and internationally, to be able to work properly. Since the fall of the authoritarian Soeharto regime in 1998, no high-ranking military officer has been successfully prosecuted for a human rights abuse. Moreover, Muchdi was the first person to be tried for planning and ordering this crime. The trial was therefore a crucial step to reach the mastermind of the assassination.

On January 12 prosecutors filed their appeal of the Muchdi decision directly to the Supreme Court. That court is expected to consider the case later this year.


II. Crucial Problems

1. Police and Investigation
Although the murder investigation was initially slow to get going, under Bambang Hendarso Danuri, who has since been promoted to chief of the Indonesian National Police, the Criminal Investigation Department made a remarkable effort. New evidence was gathered and new witnesses were interrogated, including several staff members of the intelligence agency. This evidence and witness testimony were used in the trial of Pollycarpus (during the Supreme Court's case review) and of Indra Setiawan. However, there remains important evidence that the police could not obtain, such as the content of the more than 40 calls from the Pollycarpus' phone to Muchdi's phone. This raises a big question on the integrity of the Indonesian police force, since they were assisted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to uncover the conversation of the phone connections.

Within the CID, the police still maintain special task force for the investigation of Munir's case, as they still believe that there is another important mastermind behind the assassination. However, their investigation very much depends on the Supreme Court's decision. Questions remain about whether other high-ranking intelligence oficers, including those at the highest levels, were involved in the plot.

2. The Attorney General’s Office and the Prosecution
Although the Attorney General's Office has good relations with the victim (Suciwati) and with KASUM (the NGO coalition for the Munir case) by having regular meetings, we are quite disappointed by the prosecutor's indictment of Muchdi. First, they focused on proving Muchdi's motive for the assassination, which was very difficult in a murder involving abusive state power. Second, the prosecutor failed to bring key witnesses before the court from the intelligence service that could prove the official relationship between Pollycarpus and Muchdi. Third, they could do nothing in response to the witnesses from the intelligence service that at trial withdrew their previous sworn testimony from the investigation dossier, even though the police have confirmed that there was no torture, intimidation, or psychological pressure during the interrogations. Moreover, during the interrogation process, those witnesses were accompanied by the State Intelligence Agency's lawyer.

3. The Judiciary and the Trial
Despite the fact that his trial had several flaws, the evidence presented against Muchdi is compelling. The verdict handed down on December 31, 2008, was a controversial decision. The decision did not consider a number of aspects of the case, /inter alia/: 1) the court did not consider that the nature of a crime of conspiracy involving an intelligence agency can not be handled through the conventional method normally applied to a criminal case; and 2) the panel of judges also did not focus on the legal, formal, and substantive value of the evidence submitted in the court, including the testimony of the defendants and the witnesses who retracted their statements to the police. During the court proceedings, the panel of judges noted the difference between the prior statements and the current testimony. They warned the discrepancies would be noted in the Transcript of Proceedings (consistent with Article 163 of the Criminal Procedure Code) and reminded the witnesses of the maximum punishment if they give false testimony. However, the judges did not order the arrest of witnesses or recommend their prosecution under the laws relating to false testimony (Article 174 paragraph (1) and (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code).

The panel of judges accepted into evidence a deleted letter recovered from Muchdi's computer, from the intelligence agency to Garuda ordering Pollycarpus’ assignment to corporate security (which later enabled him to travel on Munir's flight). However the judges found that the letter could not prove that Muchdi had abused his authority. The judges also recognized the evidence that Muchdi had met Garuda's executive director, Indra Setiawan, to give him the letter, but not that it proved Muchdi's involvement in the assassination. The court also didn't take into account the previous decisions on Pollycarpus and Indra Setiawan.

The other serious problem with regard to the trial is about the telephone communication between Muchdi and Pollycarpus. The judges accepted the Call Data Record (CDR) as evidence, but found that it could not prove who was communicating and what the content of the calls was. The judges accepted the defense argument that Muchdi's telephone could have been used by someone else. However, it is hard to believe that Muchdi, a senior deputy of intelligence service, regularly allowed his mobile phone to be used by someone else.

4. Lack of Support from the President and lack of Cooperation of State Intelligence Agency
The other party who could be blame for the recent development of this case is the President himself. Soon after it was revealed that Munir died because of being poisoned, President Yudhoyono called the case as a "test of our history." However, he did not back up this statement with strong action. He created an independent fact finding team (TPF), but failed to order the State Intelligence Agency to cooperate with the team. He also didn't push BIN to make their agents and officers testify when called, including a key witness transferred to Pakistan and then Afghanistan. This failure relates to the broader lack of civilian oversight of the agency.


III. Other Problems

Muchdi mobilized several groups of thugs or militias, some of them using nationalist or religious sentiments, to intimidate Munir's supporters in the court, including Suciwati. Those groups have a violent history dealing with civil society organizations.

Following his acquittal Muchdi announced that he would file criminal defamation suits against four human rights defenders: Usman Hamid (KontraS), Suciwati (Munir's wife), Poengky (Imparsial) and Hendardi (Setara Institute), all of whom gave testimony during the trial. So far he has filed complaints to the police only about Hamid.

Usman Hamid
Director of KontraS (Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence)
Executive Secretary of KASUM (Committee of Action and Solidarity for Munir)

Black May 1998: 10th Commemoration

Nancy sent the invitation of the 10^th commemoration of May 1998 tragedy in Indonesia to the network…

Dear CAGI, ASNT, SI and fellow activist friends,

I hope that this message finds you all well, and that you're all enjoying this beautiful spring weather.

This year is the 10^th anniversary of the May 1998 riots in Indonesia during which thousands were killed and many women and children were raped. Although a decade has passed, we are still seeking justice for these horrific crimes.

I'm writing to invite you to attend a memorial service and panel discussion on Thursday, May 15^th at 7pm in the Debates Room of Hart House at the University of Toronto. This event will feature a presentation by our guest speaker from Indonesia, Eddie Lembong. He will talk about the 1998 riots and the ongoing challenges that Chinese-Indonesians face in the country. Eddie will be joined by other presenters who will engage in a conversation with him about these issues.

On Friday, May 16^th at 6:30 pm, you are invited to join Eddie and others for dinner at the Scarborough Grand Seafood Restaurant.

Please see the attached flyers for more details.

I look forward to seeing you at these events & ask that you kindly circulate this invitation to your networks.


The content of the flyer:

Canadians Committed to Ethnic Voice in Indonesia (CCEVI) presents:
Drs. Eddie Lembong
Founder of PT Pharos Indonesia, Perhimpunan INTI, Yayasan Nabil

1998 – 10 days that shook Indonesia
2008 – Still Searching for Justice

“Life long learning doesn’t only enrich and slow down dementia, but also extends the horizon and wisdom of life. Reading is an effective way of learning.”

May 2008 marks the 10^th anniversary of the 12-14 May 1998 Indonesian tragedy where riots took place in cities across the country. Many people were burned alive and at least 66 women and children, mainly Chinese Indonesians, were raped. This has resulted in the resignation of the late President Suharto and the downfall of his New Order administration.

In 1999, less than one year after the internationally condemned anti-Chinese riots took place in May 1998, Eddie Lembong founded Perhimpunan INTI (the Chinese-Indonesian Association). It became clear from the May ‘98 tragedy that the racial divide between Chinese and native Indonesians, inherited from the colonial period, is an impediment to the nation’s progress and development. From generation to generation the Indonesian Chinese have suffered various forms of discrimination and violence.

Perhimpunan INTI is also conscious of the fact that a compounding factor to the Chinese Indonesian dilemma is the prevalent perception among the Indonesian people that Chinese Indonesians are not contributing their fair share in commitments and obligations toward the nation.

Eddie Lembong, a Nation Builder and Philanthropist, Respected Academic and Visionary, is going to share opinions with us in discussion with other panelists.


Public Events Program

“Remembering May 1998, Understanding the Present,
Paving the way for a better Future”

The integration of Chinese–Indonesians into a Multicultural Indonesia: Towards a Solution

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
2:00 – 4:00 PM
Press Conference
CCNC Board Room, 302 Spadina Ave., 5th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 2E7

Thursday, May 15, 2008
7:00 – 10:00 PM
Memorial Service followed by Panel Discussion:
1998: 10 days that shook Indonesia
2008: still searching for Justice
Hart House, Hart House Circle, entrance from Wellesley St. or College St.
Closest TTC: Museum Subway Station

Friday, May 16, 2008
6:30 PM
Dinner Together with Mr. Eddie Lembong
Scarborough Grand Seafood Restaurant, Dragon Center, 23 Glen Watford Dr. Unit 9, North East Midland & Sheppard.
Ticket $30 / person. Ticket can be purchased from Jason Liang (416) 856-2128; Seh Ching Wen (416) 888-8119; Ayrini Undyantara (416) 494-2844

Visit our websites: www.ccevi.org or www.ccevi.webs.com – e-mail: ccevi@hotmail.com

Inspiration: Maria "Ivo" Butet

I met an inspiring woman about a week ago. She introduced herself as Ivo – although with Butet as her middle name I’m sure she’s a Batak. It was a job-related meeting but we soon could talk like we’ve met long before this meeting.

She started her career as an accountant with Arthur Andersen (AA). What she did and experienced after AA are what really inspired me. She joined World Vision – an International NGO – and was stationed in Wamena, West Papua, after 3-year stint with AA. I repeatedly asked her what the key factor that made her chose World Vision and Wamena. She said, at first she didn’t know, it seemed just like a spur of the moment. But, only much later she realized that it’s the need to empower the local people in remote areas that enabled her to make this firm decision. (One day in the lift of BNI 46 Tower, when she’s still working for AA, she heard comments from two Caucasian expatriates behind her that said something like this: “These Indonesians only have Pentium 1 intelligence but they demand Windows XP.”) This was the trigger that put that fire in her heart – the burning fire to prove that Indonesians will not stay underdeveloped (and stupid) for the rest of their life.

She spent 6 years in Wamena and 3 years in Nias (during tsunami recovery). And below I listed down the things that caught my attention, provoked more thought, or just downright silly….


On Modern Gadgets
She said she didn’t miss television, radio, mobile phone (with the text messaging capability), internet (with e-mailing capability), computer, electricity, and the clubbing while she was in those remote areas. She only used her mobile phone to be functioned as clock or alarm. Furthermore she said, “If we can’t send message or report through e-mail, we still can use fax machine. Even if we don’t have fax machine we can still send our letters via post office. Right?” Stuj sek deh! *smile* I asked her how soon she could cope with the silence in the remote areas compared to the hustle and bustle of the big city like Jakarta. She said that it’s no big deal for her. Wow! (I guess only a few number of people miss Jakarta’s baseline decibel. It’s too overwhelming.)


On Poverty
There she could experience the other spectrum of poverty. In most urban areas in the big cities we see many slums, beggars, street kids, and other types of poverty caused by urban development such as lack of access to education, health care, economic network, etc. Yet, in Wamena it shows different spectrum – people that are not aware that they are manipulated and cheated. Their stone-age life and culture are preserved mostly for the sake of tourism.


On Casual Sex
After the October 6, 2000 incident, Wamena was left with unbalance proportion of men and women. After three months the authority felt that the male group couldn’t suppress their sexual need anymore. Then, they flew in prostitutes from other cities – as far as East Java to come to Wamena. The atmosphere was tensed with competition – gimana enggak – if around 1,000 men had to compete for around 400 women. Well, it’s easy to predict that it’s the fertile field for HIV/AIDS and other STDs.

PSK (Pekerja Seks Komersial) or prostitutes are as young as 10-year old girl. The local pimps usually gather the young prostitutes (usually around 10 to 17 years old) in their houses and expose them to a lot of X-rated movies. Then, these pimps ‘coach’ the girls how to seduce and satisfy their clients. The special-treated clients usually are politicians, members of parliament, or bureaucrats within the province or other territories. Such casual approach on intimacy is another seed of HIV/AIDS outbreak – and yet the local politicians and bureaucrats never approve any HIV/AIDS survey. Thus, we cannot find the real statistics about HIV/AIDS and other STDs in Wamena. *sigh*

These young girls know pretty well how to apply their rates among different target groups. If you’re somebody that they respect then they offer the intimacy for you for free. If you’re one of their friends, then you could pay them for around IDR 2,000. (My goodness!) But, if you’re politicians, member of parliaments, or bureaucrats the pricing is around IDR 500,000. The sad part of this whole situation is that these girls think that this casual sex is OK, as natural as the air they breathe. Then again, the HIV/AIDS campaign of Abstinence-Faithful-Condom is hardly successful in the area. *sigh*


On Tribal War
Hatred and vengeance are kept alive from generation to generation. So, tribal wars are still common. Is it fair to expect the local people that are pretty much live in stone-age culture to make quantum leap and adopt modern live smoothly – while at the same time we would like them to preserve their stone-age life and culture as one of tourist attractions to the land of Papua?

In Papua people can see the meaning of true man (manusia sejati) – where hatred, anger, sadness, happiness, disappointment, etc. are bluntly exposed. It made me recall the movie titled Apocalypto. The winner of any war is treated as hero within their tribe – a young girl is usually presented as trophy for this hero in the ceremony.


On The Wild Nature and The Old Way
Wamena is located in the grand valley of Baliem River, or famously called Baliem Valley (Lembah Baliem). The Baliem Valley’s altitude is about 1,420 meters above sea level and was once dubbed Shangri La. The incredibly lush and fertile valley is surrounded on all sides by towering peaks of 2,500 to 3,000 meters. High mountains surrounded Baliem Valley is usually overwhelming for new comers. Had been living deep down the remote areas had sharpened her connection to the mother earth. She always asked the local people when there were any environment or weather changes she observed around her. For example, the calmness and eerie silence always precede the ice frost that would sweep the valley, the earthquake would usually recede within the count of thirty, etc. She said see saw the most beautiful night sky there... the dark sky that are full with stars.

The Papuans already knew about family planning, not via contraception though. A man (husband) is not allowed to live with his wife after she delivers their baby. The separation usually takes two years during which the man (husband) can ‘marry’ other woman.


Cute Experiences
When I labeled them as cute experiences, I literally meant cute. *smile*

Can you imagine:

• the clothes that you just washed and left dry outside could disappear in minutes?
• the clothes, TV, and radio that you kept inside a locked room could disappear?
• when you woke up in the morning you had to play tug-of-war with someone outside the window that seemed very keen to possess your blanket?
• your lost jet pump was offered to you by someone within the same day?
• that you need to specify what you want in details? (Maksudnya kalo mau barter paku dan kaca dengan kayu dan batu maka harus dikatakan dengan jelas bahwa kayu dan batu harus dibawa ke tempat kita. Kalo nggak, ya anda ambil kayu dan batunya ndiri di hutan. *smile*)

On Aceh
Aceh was so exotic to the outside world until tsunami tragedy opened up the door for the outside world to land their feet on its soil and meet up face-to-face with the local people. Organizations ‘compete’ to put Aceh on their donor list as it could raise their prestige. She said she had the trouble to see so many expatriate-activists that were stationed for the reason other than the noble act of helping local people. Aceh people are rich and proud of themselves. Jadi susah untuk menerima masukan orang lain. Although the elite Moslem clerics fight to have Islamic law – known locally as Syariah Law – as Aceh foundation for local government law, it’s actually not widely supported by the majority of Aceh people. She said one of her colleague, a local Aceh woman, voiced her concern about it. On one occasion, a Peter Pan show in Aceh, female spectators were separated from male spectators. What irritated her was that all women were required to wear hijab while the men could enter the show as they pleased – ibaratnya kalo cowo mo buka baju atau telanjang dada ya boleh-boleh aja, tapi para cewe musti tertutup baju dari kepala sampe kaki. Aceh society is unique – the ruling elite limit the opportunity for women in many social aspects despite their historical realm that the women are the backbone of their society.


She said four NGO workers from World Vision survived plane crash – Garuda Indonesia flight GA 200, a Boeing 737-400 plane – that carried 133 passengers and seven crews at around 7AM at Yogya on March 7, 2007. Jokingly she said that’s because World Vision’s activists are protected by ‘invincible power’. They have experienced countless miracles… kalo belum waktunya, ya nggak akan mati.

When I kept repeating how great and terrific what she’s done, she said that nothing’s great and terrific about it. She made the choice freely and went through it without regret. She said she measured her success in those two areas by the level of local people empowerment after she or her team leave the remote areas. She was successfully coached the local Nias people to handle World Vision’s day-to-day administrative activities.

Indonesia need more people like her…. orang yang kagak hanya mikirin dirinya sendiri. Tops deh pokoknya! *smile*

Poso on the Edge

I read this news from ICG (International Crisis Group) on Poso. The conflict that started in 2000 (a year after similar conflict erupted in Ambon) doesn't seem to end. Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu accused of masterminding the 2000 riot between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia were executed by firing squad at an undisclosed location in the island nation’s Central Sulawesi province September 22, The Jakarta Post reported. And, yet, the vicious circle of violence has not stopped with the death penalty execution of these three men. It is strange in a small city where everybody knows each other and the concentration of policemen and army has been so heavy after the prolonged violent conflict can't bring the "real" perpetrator to the court.

My friend Ulla, who experienced the impact of the third Poso incident said that nobody seemed to anticipate that the violent incident would come their way - since the community bonding was so tight and close. It's sad that there is some power behind this never-ending conflict that has taken so many lives and has robbed the peaceful future of its local people.


INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT
Jihadism in Indonesia: Poso on the Edge

Jakarta/Brussels, 24 January 2007: Recent police raids in Poso with high casualties may have just given Indonesia’s weakened jihadi movement a new boost.

Jihadism in Indonesia: Poso on the Edge,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, follows the 22 January police action in the Central Sulawesi city that left sixteen people dead, including one policeman. The paper examines how a neighbourhood in Poso became a stronghold of the terrorist organisation, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and how a small group of men managed to terrorise the city for three years before their identities became known. The government’s new determination to crack down on violent jihadi networks in Poso is welcome, but Poso must not become the new cause celebre for the country’s mujahidin.

“There were already indications that the suspects and their sympathisers were portraying police operations as a fight against thoghut – anti-Islamic forces – in an effort to enlist other mujahidin from outside their own group”, says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group’s South East Asia Project Director. “From Monday’s raid alone, they now have at least fifteen men they will almost certainly claim as martyrs”.

Just after dawn on 22 January, Indonesian police moved in on a quiet residential street in Poso to arrest a group of men, most of them local members of JI wanted for a range of bombings, beheadings, and drive-by shootings. At the end of the day, one policeman and fifteen others – most but not all of them mujahidin – were dead, and several more on both sides wounded. Some two dozen men were arrested as they tried to flee, and police operations are continuing.

These events, following eight months of efforts to persuade the suspects to surrender and a similar but less lethal 11 January raid, suggest several new risks. One is that jihadis will try to take the anti-thoghut war beyond Poso, targeting police elsewhere. Another danger is that the JI faction that considers bombings of Western targets wrong and Noordin Mohammed Top, South East Asia’s most wanted terrorist and the man believed to be behind some of Indonesia’s deadliest bombings, a deviant, will see this jihad as legitimate. Finally, it is possible some of the fugitives might try to join forces with Noordin in Java.

The Indonesian government should step back and look at how to address the broader causes of ongoing violence in Poso. The government needs to set up an independent fact-finding body composed of civilian officials, military, police, NGOs and religious leaders to examine grievances left over from Poso’s communal conflict that reached its height in 2000-2001. It should also set up a body to document the needs of those still displaced and work out an employment program to absorb the local mujahidin.

“The long-running jihad in Poso has changed, it seems, from revenge attacks against local Christians to a war against the police”, says Robert Templer, Director of Crisis Group’s Asia Program. “Even if the remaining suspects are arrested, no one should be complacent that the violence in Poso is over.”

Just after dawn on 22 January, Indonesian police moved in on a quiet residential street in Poso to arrest a group of men, most of them local members of JI wanted for a range of bombings, beheadings, and drive-by shootings. At the end of the day, one policeman and fifteen others – most but not all of them mujahidin – were dead, and several more on both sides wounded. Some two dozen men were arrested as they tried to flee, and police operations are continuing.

These events, following eight months of efforts to persuade the suspects to surrender and a similar but less lethal 11 January raid, suggest several new risks. One is that jihadis will try to take the anti-thoghut war beyond Poso, targeting police elsewhere. Another danger is that the JI faction that considers bombings of Western targets wrong and Noordin Mohammed Top, South East Asia’s most wanted terrorist and the man believed to be behind some of Indonesia’s deadliest bombings, a deviant, will see this jihad as legitimate. Finally, it is possible some of the fugitives might try to join forces with Noordin in Java.

The Indonesian government should step back and look at how to address the broader causes of ongoing violence in Poso. The government needs to set up an independent fact-finding body composed of civilian officials, military, police, NGOs and religious leaders to examine grievances left over from Poso’s communal conflict that reached its height in 2000-2001. It should also set up a body to document the needs of those still displaced and work out an employment program to absorb the local mujahidin.

“The long-running jihad in Poso has changed, it seems, from revenge attacks against local Christians to a war against the police”, says Robert Templer, Director of Crisis Group’s Asia Program. “Even if the remaining suspects are arrested, no one should be complacent that the violence in Poso is over”.

Contacts:
Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) 32 (0) 2 541 1635
Kimberly Abbott (Washington) 1 202 785 1601
To contact Crisis Group media please click here

*Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org

The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation covering over 50 crisis-affected countries and territories across four continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.

Other links on Poso:

• The Facts & Truth of the Poso Conflict from Indonesia Watch

Post-conflict Poso: Consumed by hate, divided by faith from The Jakarta Post

Our Story on Munir will be Aired...

That's the title on NS' e-mail to a group of people that support and have made this thing happen. Here is the detail of this good news:

Dear friends and colleagues,
I am very happy to announce that The Global Village radio report on Munir that so many of us worked on will be aired next week on CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

The first show will be aired on CBC Radio One on January 25 at 8pm EST, and the second on CBC Radio Two on January 27at 6:30pm EST. For those of you in Indonesia, it can be heard on the internet at http://www.cbc.ca/globalvillage/ on January 26 at 8am and January 28 at 6:30am (I believe that you're ahead of Eastern Standard Time by 12 hours). It is a very short piece (just 3 minutes or so), but I hope that it captures the main messages of the campaign for justice being led by Suciwati, Kontras, Imparsial and so many other human rights activists and organizations. The report includes parts of my interview with Suciwati and with Endah Widiastuti, a young musician based in Jakarta. As you all know, The Global Village programme on CBC features "news through music", so the songs written in tribute to Munir by Endah and other Indonesian musicians (Iwan Fals and Segorames) will be played during the report. The solidarity of these and other artists is highlighted in this piece.

Thanks again to all of you who made this radio report possible. A special thanks to Suciwati, Usman, Rusdi, Mufti, Endah, Elisabeth and all the friends and family who worked hard behind the scenes to help make this happen.

With warm regards,
NS

... I'm glad, very glad indeed that this radio report on Munir will be aired on Canadian national radio (CBC) next week *smile*. While NS here there were a lot of people would go the extra mile to help her just so she could make it to the interviews, took the "ambience" during the Munir's Memorial gathering around HI, or converted the audio piece to the USB. Dear friend, we made it! Of course we have decided to donate the honorarium the CBC has paid us to do this report to help cover the costs of Suciwati and Usman's lobbying and advocacy visit to Canada. This will be a CCEVI contribution towards this important visit.

When I told one of my friends why I was so busy during that time and always re-scheduled our meeting... she later asked, "I'm concerned about it too. I wish I could join you. And, why did you do it?" I said, "Munir had done a great thing for us, for Indonesia... it's a pity if I was given the opportunity and I didn't do anything. Don't you think so?"

Like Mother Teresa said... do small thing with great love and care. Well, it's just my small contribution to the country that I love-to-hate and hate-to-love, like a drop in the ocean... Imagine lots of drops and we could make a huge wave *smile*.

Thank you, NS, for your admirable spirit!