[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 9/2/05

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- Fresh pressure on Indonesia to lift rates
- True freedom of religion
- Closures of churches
- MUI condemns action against Christian houses of worship
- Remembering Nurcholish as Indonesia's great teacher
- Taming terror the Southeast Asian way
- Lawmakers may deal Aceh peace agreement a blow
- The Situation In Ambon / Moluccas – Report No. 486
- Historic ceremony in Indonesia
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Financial Times (London)
Fresh pressure on Indonesia to lift rates
By Shawn Donnan in Jakarta
Published: September 1 2005 04:32

The latest data in Indonesia showed that inflation was higher than
expected in August, putting what is likely to be additional pressure on
the central bank to raise interest rates further in order to halt a sharp
drop in the currency.

On Thursday, the Indonesian statistics bureau announced that consumer
price inflation reached 8.33 per cent in the year through August, up from
7.84 per cent in July. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 8.17 per
cent. As the value of the rupiah falls further, the country will see
inflation intensify as it pays more for imported goods, including already
expensive crude oil supplies.

The rupiah has come under pressure in the past two weeks and reached a
two-year low on Tuesday, having lost as much as 20 per cent of its value
against the US dollar since August 15.

Analysts have blamed a loss of confidence in Mr Yudhoyono’s government and
Indonesia’s central bank for the slump.

The central bank moved to restore some of the market’s confidence on
Tuesday when it raised its key one-month rate by 75 basis points to 9.50
per cent and Mr Yudhoyono had promised to follow the move with the
unveiling of a policy package to support the rupiah Wednesday.

But his speech failed to lift the markets, as investors were disappointed
that he failed to outline a detailed plan to cut ballooning fuel
subsidies.

The Indonesian rupiah fell around 2 per cent to 10,450 against the dollar
early afternoon Thursday. According to dealers, the rupiah had dropped
around 5.9 per cent in earlier trading from its Rp10,200 to the dollar
close just prior to Mr Yudhoyono’s speech on Wednesday. The Jakarta Stock
Exchange also moved lower, losing 1.3 per cent on Thursday.

Mr Yudhoyono told reporters that he was not concerned about the weak
market reaction to his measures. “The market is dynamic. The policy will
not have instant impact,” he said on Thursday according to Reuters.

In his speech on Wednesday, the president explicitly said for the first
time his government would raise fuel prices and slash subsidies expected
to cost Jakarta Rp138,500bn ($13.2bn) this year.

But he left the timing of such a move up in the air, saying only that his
government would take the months of September and October to study the
situation and draft a compensation plan to ease the burden of fuel price
hikes on the poor.

Analysts said that meant Mr Yudhoyono would move on fuel prices in
November at the earliest. The president, they said, appeared to want to
wait for the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which this year is
due to end with the “Eid” holiday on November 3-4 in Indonesia.

However, Mr Yudhoyono said that he would only move if “things go smoothly”
with the government’s work in September and October and the remaining
uncertainty on timing had left investors annoyed, dealers said Thursday.

“The market was expecting that he would come out with a firm schedule –
when and by how much he will increase the fuel prices,” said one dealer
with a foreign bank in Jakarta.

“It was an anti-climax compared to policies that were announced by [the]
central bank,” said another dealer at a state bank, pointing to Tuesday’s
much-lauded move by the central bank to hike rates in defence of the
rupiah.

“The market hasn’t seen any concrete action [from Mr Yudhoyono] ... [The
speech] has created new uncertainty for the next two months.”

Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, said before the announcement that
it might be forced to review its positive outlook on Indonesia’s current
sub-investment grade credit rating if Mr Yudhoyono did not release a
“credible” plan to cut fuel subsidies.

It warned: “If there is continued lack of a comprehensive and timely
policy response, it may prolong pressure on the exchange rate, potentially
leading to more serious fiscal and external imbalances.”

The plan also appears to have deepened a rift between Mr Yudhoyono and his
chief economic minister, former tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, who did not attend
Wednesday night’s announcement after losing a battle to push for more
aggressive action.

People close to the government said Mr Bakrie had pushed for a September
increase in fuel prices.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
August 29, 2005
True freedom of religion
Uli Parulian Sihombing, Jakarta

This newspaper reported on Thursday Aug. 25, 2005 that 23 churches in
Bandung, West Java were forced to close by hard-line Muslim groups. The
Ahmadiyah worship facilities were destroyed in Parung Bogor and other
cities also. On the other hand, the law enforcement officers failed to
stop the closure or bring the violators to court.

The closure and destruction of places of worship and/or facilities are a
violation of the right to freedom of religion which are protected by the
1945 Constitution, article 22 of The Human Rights Act No. 30/1999.
International Human Rights Law also provides protection on the right to
freedom of religion, which is accordance with the International Covenant
On Civil And Political Rights (ICCPR).

Article 18 of ICCPR mandates the protection of the rights to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion.

The term of belief includes theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs.
The protection accorded by article 18 ICCPR is not restricted to
traditional religions or those analogous to traditional religions. The
United Nations Commission on Human Rights has expressed concern over the
tendency to discriminate against newly established religions or beliefs.

Similarly, it has also expressed concern that religious minorities may be
subjected to hostility from the dominant religious community.

According to General Comment No. 22 of the Commission, the right to
manifest religion covers a range of acts. It includes worship, which
involves building places of worship, the use of ritual formulas and
objects, the display of symbols, and the observance of holidays.

In addition, the right to observe and practice religion or belief includes
customs such as wearing distinctive clothing, conducting rituals
associated with certain stages of life, and the use of a particular
language of the group. Finally, it includes the freedom to choose their
religious leaders, priest and the teachers, freedom to establish religious
schools and the freedom to publish and distribute religious texts or
publications.

The freedom to manifest religion or beliefs may be subject to limitation
to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental
rights and freedom of others. However, no limitation can be imposed on
freedom from coercion to have or to adopt a religion or belief and the
liberty of parents or guardians to ensure religious or moral education.

The right under article 18 ICCPR includes the freedom to retain one's
religion or belief, and the freedom to change to another religion or
belief with an atheistic view. Article 18 (2) ICCPR prohibits compelling a
person to reveal his thoughts or to follow a religion or belief. The
prohibited acts include the use of threat of physical force or penal
sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to follow their religious
belief, to renounce their religion or belief or to convert.

Religious or belief organization or individual who is a victim of
violation of the right to freedom of religion could use an international
mechanism through the Commission or the ICCPR. Under the ICCPR, the
Commission has been established to monitor the compliance of the rights
recognized under the ICCPR. The Commission consists of eighteen
independent experts who are elected from the state parties of the
covenant.

The responsibilities of the Commission are consideration of reports
submitted by the states parties, the preparation of general comment and
examining communication from individuals alleging violations of any of the
rights contained in the covenant as provided by the first Optional
Protocol to the covenant.

If the victim should have exhausted all available domestic remedies and
the government fails to fulfill domestic remedies including a judicial
remedy, the victim could submit a complaint to the Commission or the
ICCPR.

Two cases of violation of the right to freedom of religion which are the
closure 23 churches in West Java and destruction of The Ahmadiyah's
worship houses and facilities in Indonesia, could be investigated by the
Commission or the ICCPR as well as Special Rapporteur On Religious
Intolerance if domestic remedies fails.

Local law enforcement officers should take progressive steps to guarantee
justice for these victims in order to avoid two cases that could invite an
international probe by the Commission, the ICCPR or Special Rapporteur On
Religious Intolerance.
-- The writer is Director Of The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute. He can be
reached at ulipid1 at yahoo.co.id.
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The Jakarta Post.com
Editorial
August 30, 2005
Closures of churches

The attacks and forced closures of churches throughout the country in the
last four years have reached an alarming level for Indonesian Christians,
both Protestant and Catholic. They see no sign that the government has the
capability -- and more importantly -- the political will to prevent, or at
least to minimize, the blatant betrayal of the 1945 Constitution, which
guarantees freedom of religion for all of the country's citizens.

In most cases, the government has rarely been serious about punishing
those who use violence to close down churches or silence moderate Muslims
who have different views from the extremist groups.

The government's attitude of not creating "unnecessary" problems with the
hard-liners that take matters into their own hands, was reflected by the
statement of Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni last week. He
said that the government would not prosecute the Muslim groups that closed
down at least 23 churches over the past year in West Java alone, but
instead asserted that the churches were built by "illegal congregations."

Many Protestants -- with a dozen or so denominations -- feel helpless
because it is nearly impossible to build a church, while still meeting all
the regulations required, even those that have been waiting for years to
get authorization. So in lieu of full authorization, many have decided to
plant churches without the official licenses because they were nearly
certain that they would never be granted such permits.

On the other hand, as reflected in the statements of the regional branches
of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) during the MUI national congress
last month, more Muslims seem to be alarmed by the threat of conversion
from Islam to Christianity and have vowed to take all necessary measures
to stop such conversions, including a clampdown on the aggressive
construction of churches in many places. Perhaps not many Muslims realize
there are over a dozen Protestant denominations, and each group wants to
set up their own churches no matter how small their number is.

There are general sentiments among many Muslims that the number of
churches are not equal to the number of Christians living in a particular
area where the churches are located. They suspect that is a result of
conversions to Christianity becoming the prime source of the construction
of more churches in many places in Indonesia.

"The phenomenon of the construction of churches in this province is most
disturbing," said a Jambi delegate at the MUI congress. While a delegate
from Cilegon in Banten province, expressed his pride at the achievement
that "there is not a single church in Cilegon to this day."

The minority groups often feel discriminated against by the state, while
the majority of Muslims often perceive that the minority groups --
non-Muslims -- control the country's economy, and that they are the
majority only in terms of quantity and not quality.

Many Christian denominations, however, have often fueled the fire that
threatens to burn them, as they openly proselytize to Muslims telling them
that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Learning how to behave ourselves
among our majority compatriots is also important to prevent conflicts.

We can no longer hide this bitter fact. It is ridiculous to conclude that
freedom of religion is becoming extinct in this country, but it is also
absurd to say that there are no interfaith problems here.

It is time now to stop pretending that Indonesia is a perfect model for
religious tolerance and that, "Indonesians are very tolerant against those
who have different faiths and that there is no problem of religious
freedom here." It is time to concede honestly that the people of this
nation are less tolerant now toward differences in religion. Only by
opening the wounds and diseases, together we can cure the illness. Let us
honestly concede that we have trouble in religious relations, because only
with an honest, open-minded attitude can we rid ourselves of the problems.

It is not enough just to involve prominent religious leaders in
inter-religion dialogs, because often an agreement will be reached on
paper. But the full and effective involvement of the grassroots people in
the dialog process is the only way to get more real exchanges of views.
Let them talk each other openly to find possible solutions, but still in
the constructive spirit of the citizens of Indonesia.

The people can be proud to be the world's third largest democracy after
India and the United States, as well as the nation with the world's
largest Muslim population, in which Islam is regarded as a model for
tolerance and moderation. Hopefully, we will not tarnish those things due
to impatience and a lack of respect for others who have different beliefs
and opinions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
September 01, 2005
MUI condemns action against Christian houses of worship
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has joined the chorus in condemning the
much-criticized forced closure of dozens of neighborhood churches in West
Java, saying that such acts were intolerable.

But the MUI has no plans to issue an edict against the violence.

MUI head Umar Shihab said on Wednesday that all actions or efforts that
disrupted religious activities were a form of violence, and as such could
not be justified.

"We really feel sorry and condemn these actions, and MUI has clearly never
tolerated such arbitrary things by taking the law into one's own hands,"
he said during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission VIII
on religion, social and women's affairs.

MUI, which had been recently criticized for issuing edicts against
pluralism, was commenting on the activities of radical Muslim
conservatives in forcibly closing Christian places of worship that were
not licensed by the authorities.

It was reported that at least 23 churches in the province had been
forcibly closed by mobs during the past year, which has led several
Christian and Muslim figures to call on the government to take legal
action against the so-called hard-liners.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla also condemned the actions and instructed the
police to take legal measures against groups taking arbitrary actions
without legal authority.

"It's clearly stated in the Koran that Islam does not tolerate or allow
violent acts, and this is a guide for Muslims in leading their lives,"
said Umar.

Thus, there was no need for MUI to specifically issue an edict banning
such acts of violence, he said, when asked if the MUI planned to issue
one.

However, the MUI did not agree with suggestions to retract the
controversial joint ministerial decree on the construction of venues to
host religious services, considered by many Christians to be an impediment
to the establishment of new churches.

According to the regulations formulated more than three decades ago, those
wanting to establish places of worship must first obtain approval from the
local community and local government.

"It (the decree) should be upgraded to become a law. But if there are
people or parties who are discontent over something that they feel runs
counter to the decree, they should report it to the police and not take
the law into their own hands," said Umar.

Separately, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar said
that there had been no closure of churches in West Java, saying that what
had occurred was the closure of houses that were functioning as churches.

"So don't say that churches are being closed down because such misleading
information will cause social instability," he said.

On a different issue, the MUI defended in front of the Commission VIII its
recent edicts that have been widely criticized because they are deemed to
stifle pluralism and progressive thinking.

"These liberal Islam movements do not use the Koran as their guide in
conducting and interpreting their lives, and they consider the Koran to be
irrelevant with current world developments, not final, thus can be revised
and renewed," said MUI's edict division head Ma'ruf Amin.

Therefore, he expected the House to support the edicts because they were
decided with the support of at least 30 Muslim organizations throughout
the country.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
August 31, 2005
Remembering Nurcholish as Indonesia's great teacher
Muhamad Ali, Manoa, Hawaii

Indonesians have felt the deep loss of one of their great thinkers.
Nurcholish Madjid, widely known as Cak Nur, was one of the country's most
influential thinkers who had been lauded internationally since the 1970s.
A wide range of labels have been attached to him: Reformist,
neo-modernist, nationalist, moderate, liberal, and most often the nation's
"great teacher" (guru bangsa). It is important to remember and appreciate
some of what Madjid taught at a time when we continue to be in need of
inspirational and enlightening ideas to solve this country's multitude of
problems.

At the base of his often elaborate ideas, Madjid kept emphasizing that it
was our mindset (ideas, ways of looking at things, thought paradigms) as a
people that needed to be reformed before anything else. The key concepts
that he tried to develop were modernization and secularization, pluralism,
nationalism, good governance and universal values.

In other words, Madjid saw that the nation's problem lay in the
wrongheadedness of the leaders and the people -- dangerous ideas like
traditionalism, fundamentalism, absolutism, sectarianism, corruption and
vested interest.

For Madjid, one had to free oneself from outdated and traditional values
and seek those that were oriented toward the future. Focus on the past and
excessive nostalgia had to be replaced by a forward-looking attitude. The
process of freeing the teachings and views of religion from the
traditional, closed ideas of the past involved such processes as
secularization, the encouragement of intellectual freedom and openness.

Secularization for Madjid was to make what was temporal stay temporal. He
saw that Muslims tended to make all things religious and sacred. He
thought that Muslims should distinguish -- among the values that they
considered Islamic -- between those that were transcendental and those
that were temporal. Muslims should always test and retest the truth of a
value in the face of material, moral, or historical facts, Majid said.

His famous catchphrase "Islam Yes, Islamic Party No" was intended to be
critical of the fact that the formally stated Islamic political parties
had failed to attract the majority of the Muslim community and had failed
to build positive and sympathetic images. He was also against the concept
of an Islamic State, which he considered unrealistic as well as
legalistic. What the nation really needed, said Madjid, was the
implementation of universal basic values such as social justice,
prosperity, and peace, rather than focusing on past and outdated ideas.

According to Madjid, Islamic ideas could best solve economic, political,
or social problems if they were adjusted, refreshed, renewed, and
organized in ways that they were in step with the realities of the present
age. The principal teachings of Islam about social justice and the care
and protection of the weak, the poor, and the oppressed, had yet to have a
practical application that was both dynamic and progressive. It was only
through the afreedom to think and to express opinions that the best ideas
and truths could be found.

Madjid believed that the idea of progress came from the notion that
humankind was intrinsically good, pure, and yearned for truth and
progress. A reactionary attitude stemmed from a pessimistic view of
history. Consistent with this idea of progress being openness, was a
readiness to accept and take values from whatever sources as long as they
contained truth.

Madjid saw modernization not as "Westernization" but as a form of
rationalization. He attempted to base his ideas in various and rich
primary sources in Arabic, English, and other languages, not to mention
the Koranic verses and the Prophet's sayings and deeds as well as
historical experiences.

Madjid endorsed nationalism, not for its chauvinist forms, but for its
positive and constructive forces in preventing sectarianism and sustaining
true unity. Nationalism shaped his Islamic thinking and his Islamic views
colored his nationalist views. His last speech in absentia on the eve of
the 2005 Independence Day celebrations was about how to revitalize
nationalism and pluralism.

Pluralism for Madjid was the acceptance of diversity as the work of God
and the historical necessity within Muslims and among different religious
and nonreligious communities. Madjid believed that there was a universal
truth, a common platform that transcended all religions and beliefs. He
shared the view of the Koranic commentator Abdullah Yusuf Ali who wrote:
"As God's Message is one, Islam recognized the true faith of other forms,
provided that it be sincere, supported by reason, and backed up by
righteous conduct."

Madjid always elaborated on his ideas, rather than simply sloganize.
Madjid saw it as important to explain issues and problems historically and
philosophically, but was also careful to ensure what he believed could be
justified by a strong theological basis.

Madjid was not only a great thinker; he was also a man of action. He spoke
humbly, moderately, elaborately, systematically, and clearly and never
raised his voice emotionally in speeches when he disagreed with others.
His active involvement in different Islamic, inter-religious, national,
and international movements only showed how seriously and wisely he acted
on what he thought was right.

As the nation's great teacher, his enlightening ideas have inspired many
politicians, intellectuals, academics, and the general public. When
leaders and their followers needed intellectual inspiration to help solve
national problems, they listened and read what Madjid had to say and
write.

Madjid has left us some invaluable legacies. He showed us that the big
challenge for this increasingly educated generation is for it to be
seriously critical of itself, to start reform from within, to develop a
renewed sense of morality by making use of a wide range of sources
wherever the truth be found, in order for all to live better in
prosperity, justice and peace.
-- The writer is a lecturer at the State Islamic University, Jakarta and
is a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Hawaii in Manoa under
the East-West Center Fellowship. He can be reached at
muhali74 at hotmail.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asia Times Online
Sep 2, 2005
Speaking Freely
Taming terror the Southeast Asian way
By Jonathan Ross Harrington

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers
to have their say.

In the wake of recent attacks in London, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and now once
again the Philippines, it is difficult to find current evidence of
strategic success in the "war on terrorism". Countries, particularly those
in the West, have yet to develop (or at least articulate) a plausible
strategy for undermining the capabilities and ideological appeal of
Salafist jihadi organizations (brands of extreme Islam such as al-Qaeda).
Hopefully, recent developments in Southeast Asia will reemphasize a
globally parsimonious strategy that, considering its theoretical
simplicity, has received insufficient attention.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) based in Mindanao, Philippines
and its neighboring islands and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in north
Sumatra in Indonesia are on the brink
of achieving peace with their respective governments, putting an end to
more than 60 years of combined insurgent activity. The resolution of these
conflicts is an important end-goal in and of itself; however, this
eventuality will aid the US and its allies when attempting to dismantle
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)and the Salafist jihadi network in Southeast Asia by
disentangling the agendas of local ethno-nationalist separatist groups
from that of the Salafist jihad.

Following the July bombing in Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair called
for a global conference on the threat posed by radical Islam - an
overwhelming problem to address and an impossible issue to resolve. The
networks/ideas that represent the sharp end of that spear are in many ways
irreconcilable. Granted, even al-Qaeda has a series of political demands,
but if secular states attempted to meet such demands the "criminal
optimism" [1] of their loftier goals would require the reversal of decades
of progress, global integration and structural shift.

When developing a more robust counter-terrorism strategy against radical
Islam it must incorporate political strategies - driven by nation-states -
to address local grievances rooted in issues such as
nationalist-separatist, socio-economic, minority representation, etc.
Unfortunately, the more "democratically challenged" states may naturally
be reluctant to engage decades-old separatists in an effort to make
headway against a blurred, yet interconnected Salafist jihadi threat
straddling their borders.

GAM, whose ties to JI are virtually non-existent (and are certainly not
ideologically cemented), have signed a peace accord with the government.
The organization relinquished its claim to absolute sovereignty and had
been met in kind by Jakarta with a troop withdrawal already underway.

In the Philippines, the MILF, which historically teases the government
with sentiments of peace, looks as though it may be serious this time. The
organization's strategic agenda had certainly been hijacked in past years
by Salafist forces outside the organization, but considering that the
Moro's real grievances rest with the Philippine government and not the
wider enemy of Muslim apostates and "Western colonialists", there is no
long-term basis for alignment with JI. April witnessed a resolution to the
critical issue of ancestral lands [2]; meanwhile, the MILF has recently
denounced JI - some believe as a prerequisite for achieving an equitable
peace and ensuring Western aid to the region in years to come.

So what does this mean for an already disjointed Jemaah Islamiyah? As
International Crisis Group Asia Director and JI expert Sidney Jones
observes, internal fracturing due to disagreements over strategic intent
and the utility of Bali-style terrorist attacks against Western interests
is dividing the organization. [3]

On the one hand a lethal, but greatly diminished core of operatives still
embraces al-Qaeda's ideology and seeks the creation of a Southeast Asian
Islamic super-state. On the other, the core of JI's Indonesia cell -
ideological inheritors of the Indonesian Islamic separatist movement (the
Darul Islam) - want to focus on developing a pure Islamic community in
Indonesia and believe that international terrorism undermines their
long-term goals. Regardless of direct ties between JI and the two
organizations, the secession of conflict will diminish JI's recruiting
capabilities as the "oppression" of regional Muslim populations is slowly
perceived to have lifted.

The bathwater in which JI once floated in slowly starting to drain. Local
conflicts, particularly those in the southern Philippines, provided JI
with a seemingly endless supply of weapons, safe haven, training
facilities and (most importantly) aggrieved Muslims. The localized
conflicts that JI so skillfully wove into a tapestry of temporary-Salafist
jihadism may be starting to unravel and return to their origins.

Organizational disarray, key arrests and opportunistic intent are all
converging to force this disintegration that could be further catalyzed if
governments effectively engage their political detractors. As conflict
zones become peaceful and organizations revert back to their more tangible
goals of domestic, political change, JI becomes diffused into smaller,
ad-hoc networks. It will no longer be able to rely upon uniform
instability in order to operate with impunity.

A conceptually simple strategy emerges from this situation: resolving the
political grievances of "traditional" insurgents will aid states in
attacking the irreconcilable agents of the global Salafist jihad.

The current situation in Thailand underscores the importance of finding
such solutions to these autonomy/identity/economic grievances. In the
southern Thai province of Pattani one is witnessing a decades-old
insurgency turn slowly away from its ethno-nationalist separatist roots
and toward the rhetoric of JI and al-Qaeda.

Anti-Western images are being invoked to an unprecedented degree, local
populations are beginning to claim a bond to their oppressed brothers of
the global ulema (community of Islamic scholars, eg Palestine, Chechnya,
etc), yet historically these organizations have been only concerned with
local issues.

The Thai government must not let another Mindanao or Aceh surface just as
a trend of peace seems to be taking hold. If Thailand is serious about
being a partner in the "war on terror" its first actions should not be the
repression of Malay-Muslims in the hopes of locating isolated (yet
dangerous) Salafist militants that may or may not be operating in Pattani,
it should be the initiation of a peace process with those willing to seek
political solutions. Such a strategy will drain the bathwater and expose
those who cannot be politically appeased.

We have not yet found a coherent strategy to fight the ideology of hate
that epitomizes the global jihad, yet over the decades Western/secular
countries have refined the political peace process. The campaigns of
organizations such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Free Aceh
Movement have in the past provided the requisite operating environment for
a Salafist jihadi network dedicated to attacking Western targets.

The current peace processes are positive signs that such an environment is
waning. What the West can do is to exert political pressure on other
states - in this case the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) - to strategically and cooperatively engage all of the nations'
aggrieved Muslim groups that seek political, rather than existential ends.
This is the region's best chance to counter JI and the West's best chance
to achieve tangible, strategic results in the "war on terrorism".

Notes
[1] J Bower Bell, The Dynamics of Armed Struggle (London: Frank Cass, 1998).
[2] Manila and Rebels Reach Agreement, BBC Online, 4/20/2005.
[3] Sidney Jones, New Developments within Jemaah Islamiyah, ISEAS,
7/5/2005. (webcast).
-- Jonathan Ross Harrington, Intelligence and Terrorism Analysis Group
(ITAG); Applied Marine Technologies Inc (AMTI)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
September 01, 2005
Lawmakers may deal Aceh peace agreement a blow
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government brushed aside on Wednesday any possibility of the Aceh
peace agreement faltering despite foreseeable political moves in the House
of Representatives that may keep the accord's details and principles from
actually working.

The hurdles, House legislators have said, could come as a result of the
many multi-interpretative points in the Memorandum of Understanding signed
with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Lawmakers are also upset that they were
excluded from the negotiations for the peace deal, despite many of the key
elements depending heavily on House support in order for them to
implemented.

"What happens if the House doesn't pass the bills that the government has
promised to GAM? Will the MOU break down and the GAM people return to the
mountains and resume their fight for independence?" Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Amris Hasan asked a hearing between
House Commission I on defense and foreign affairs and to several ministers
involved in the implementation of the peace accord.

Two previous peace agreements in 2000 and 2002 only lasted a few months
before breaking down.

A similar concern was expressed by Golkar legislator Happy Bone Zulkarnaen
who questioned the presence of a contingency plan if the MOU fell apart.

"The multi-interpretative and implicit elements in the MOU could disrupt
the implementation (of the peace deal), and the House has concerns over it
because we're being dragged into it yet we weren't involved in making it,"
he said.

Critics have claimed that many articles in the MOU were subject to
multiple interpretations, including the use of local flags and symbols,
forms of government in Aceh, local taxes and legislation.

But the government has insisted that both parties are committed to
implementing the MOU under the concept of the unitary republic of
Indonesia and the 1945 Constitution.

"We don't want to think this as a short-lived peace, and the nation will
have to do their best to make sure that this deal succeeds. We assume that
we all have similar interpretations of the MOU," Coordinating Minister for
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto said in response
to the legislators, who later concluded that both the government and GAM
needed to completely align all possible interpretations of the MOU.

The government and GAM have given conflicting interpretations over the
retroactivity status of the planned human rights tribunal stipulated in
the MOU.

Regarding the House challenge, Minister of Information Sofyan Djalil said
the government would exhaust all efforts to persuade the House factions to
endorse the bills required to implement the MOU, particularly those on the
governing of Aceh and revision to the special autonomy law for Aceh that
would allow local parties to contest elections in the province.

The new government arrangements in Aceh will require the House to seek
Aceh provincial government consent for all international agreements,
administrative measures and decisions that concern Aceh. House members
consider this requirement as undermining its power.

"The 1945 Constitution, the autonomy law, or the special autonomy law on
Aceh don't mention such a thing. The Constitution rules that the House has
the authority to pass laws that apply to all parts of Indonesia, including
Aceh," said PDI-P legislator Sutradara Gintings.

Sofyan admitted that the inclusion of the article was outside current
laws, but was agreed to due to fear among GAM people that policies on Aceh
would not reflect local aspirations.
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Crisis Centre Diocese Of Amboina
Jalan Pattimura 32 - Ambon 97124 - Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195   Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail crisiscentre01 at hotmail.com

Ambon, August 30, 2005
The Situation In Ambon / Moluccas – Report No. 486

1. Investigation On Bomb Explosion – Following the bomb explosion at the
Mardika Market, Ambon city, on August 25 – by which eight people were
injured – the police succeeded in arresting six suspects and uncovering a
store of seven kilograms of TNT, five kilograms of sulphur and 100 grams
of black powder, hidden on the attic of the house of a certain Arsyad, who
is considered as the mastermind of the bomb blast and is still on the
loose. Police said that some of the arrested persons were linked to a
local hardline Muslim group, believed to be involved in previous attacks
on police and civilians.

2. Planning To Build A “Maluku Tower” – The provincial government is
planning to erect a tall tower, to be called “Menara Maluku” near the
village of Alang, island of Ambon, at a cost of more that 25 billion
rupiahs (about US $  2,500,000.- ).

A number of prominent figures, including bishop P.C. Mandagi, do not agree
to this plan, since it seems to be a waste of money where so many people
in the Moluccas are still living in provisional quarters or otherwise
suffer economically following the Moluccas conflict, and where there are
so many other needs that should have priority, such as education and
medical care.

C.J. Böhm msc
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
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ABC/Radio Australia
Historic ceremony in Indonesia
Last Updated 01/09/2005, 21:50:58

Indonesia and East Timor have begun work to mark out their common border.

Workers drove the first piles into the ground in a ceremony attended by
Indonesian foreign minister, Hassan Wirayuda and his East Timorese
counterpart, Jose Ramos Horta.

Mr Wirayuda and Mr Ramos Horta put their signatures on a plaque attached
to one of the piles at Motaain in Batugade district.

Border markers are considered crucial to promote security in the area and
improve social and economic interaction between the two neighbors.

Indonesia and East Timor share a land border that has remained porous
since the tiny one-time Portuguese colony separated from Indonesia six
years ago.

In April the two countries signed an historic border agreement, clarifying
96 percent of the frontier.