[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 9/20/05 (Part 2 of 2)

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- A parade of cliches
- Aceh's rebels give up guns, warily
- Indonesian Military Begins Aceh Withdrawal
- Newmont trial should go ahead: Indonesian court
- Four injured in fresh Poso blast
- An Optimist Abroad: When the Waves of Colonialism and Tsunamis Are Gone
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The Jakarta Post.com
Editorial
September 20, 2005
A parade of cliches

With unrealistic bravado, some are actually applauding the outcome of the
just-concluded United Nations summit involving some 170 world leaders, and
the resulting document aimed at making the 60-year-old organization more
representative and better able to meet 21st century challenges.

We do not agree.

The gathering could have been the most important since the UN's formation
in 1945, but sadly it became another powwow filled with double speak. This
shows just how far this cherished body has strayed from the realities of
the world.

The concluding document may be satisfactory to meet the challenges of the
20th century, but certainly not of the 21st. Perhaps we were all hoping
for too much when earlier this year UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan first
made a call for world leaders to introduce sweeping reform at this month's
general assembly meeting.

In the end, the meeting only affirmed global perceptions that the UN has
turned into a convention of humbug and diplomatic aristocracy.

We could not agree more with former Australian foreign minister Gareth
Evans -- a member of the UN panel who drafted the original reform concept
-- who described the meetings as "a depressing parade of cliches".

The highbrow rhetoric and pomp ceremonies in New York cannot conceal the
reality that an opportunity has been missed to make the UN more relevant
to contemporary society.

Others might argue that progress was made, but this is not the time to
celebrate incremental steps forward. What was sought was a breakthrough in
the poverty and development agenda, the security agenda and the UN's
internal management.

In the end, on almost all issues, delegates adopted a fairly
self-interested position on the key subject questions.

The ensuing debate only reinforced the belief that developed countries
were not ready to fully accept developing states on an equal political
footing and were using the UN as a means to create new positions of
privilege.

Nowhere was this more evident than in United States Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's remark on the pivotal issue of UN Security Council
expansion when she said that "developing countries" deserved greater
representation.

On the simple task of defining "terrorism", the meeting failed miserably.
Instead it choose to defer to more talk on concluding a comprehensive
antiterror convention, which has been in discussion for some eight years.

On targets to reduce global poverty, as prescribed by the Millennium
Development Goals for 2015, it became increasingly evident that the
much-needed developmental assistance promised was contingent upon
conditionalities of trade and market access.

One reason the meeting ended the way it did was, perhaps, because such an
important global agenda was left to the purview of diplomats alone. They
in turn treated the process as they would any document that needed to be
passed: With haggled principles, pretentious posturing and a scorecard
based on a quid-pro-quo attitude.

Civil society did not pay enough attention to these issues when the voice
of the people was needed. We are now paying dearly for our negligence.

The UN belongs to every citizen of the world. More than any other
international body, other than our own respective national governments, it
is the single most influential force shaping global politics.

Without it we are left with global chaos, international corporate
exploitation, or the American hegemony -- none of which is an inviting
prospect.

There is still hope for change, if civil societies around the world speak
as one on the need for a more compassionate and representative UN.

Major powers may still have veto powers -- especially on the UN Security
Council -- but an overwhelming majority of the 191-member UN General
Assembly comprise developing states. Change is possible.

And possible now -- if citizens of Asia and Africa can only unite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christian Science Monitor
September 19, 2005 edition
Aceh's rebels give up guns, warily
-- Some 800 Indonesian troops pulled out of the war-weary province Sunday
after rebels began to disarm.
By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Lhue and Banda Aceh, Indonesia – For Mahfud and Jaafar, two former
Acehnese fighters, life after the rebellion has left time for quiet
afternoons like this one, sipping coffee in a cafe.

The two men entered into the ranks of civil society last Thursday morning,
joining dozens of other rebel soldiers in a convey of vehicles to the
provincial capital Banda Aceh. At a sports field watched by civilian and
military officials and jostling reporters, they handed over a batch of
weapons and ammunition to international monitors to be counted,
catalogued, and destroyed.

For the war-weary province of Aceh, it was a crucial early step in a peace
accord signed last month between the Indonesian government and separatist
rebels who first took up arms nearly three decades ago. The accord calls
for GAM, as the rebels are known, to surrender the rest of their 840
weapons and demobilize 3,000 fighters by year's end. At the same time,
Indonesian soldiers and paramilitary police from outside the province are
to fully withdraw - some 800 troops left Sunday - clearing the way for
elections next year in an autonomous Aceh.

Despite Indonesian quibbles over the quality of GAM's weapons - some
appeared homemade and barely functional - the hand over went smoothly,
augering well for the new deal. Some combatants raised their guns in a
show of bravado for the cameras while others looked pensive and somber as
the firearms were cut into pieces by an electric saw.

Now tough questions are being asked over the fate of battle-hardened
fighters like Mahfud and Jaafar as they return to their villages and to
civilian lives. Their smooth reintegration into society may hinge on the
development of trust between both sides and a belief that this time, after
two failed truces in the past five years, peace is really here to stay.

"We must build trust, but this is difficult after 30 years of conflict.
Both sides are hurting, and it's not easy to solve this overnight," says
Kamaruzzman, a civilian GAM negotiator who was released from jail last
month under an amnesty for around 1,400 rebels accused of treason.

Amnesty, money, and maybe land
In the Aug. 15 accord, Indonesia pledged to support the demobilization of
GAM guerrillas with compensation packages and new livelihoods. A cash
stipend is promised to excombatants, and land grants are also being
considered. Foreign donors that are already funding aid projects in Aceh
for survivors of last December's catastrophic tsunami have quietly offered
their support.

GAM members are required to register with authorities to qualify for state
support, but few have done so, possibly fearing reprisals if the peace
process fails. Monitoring officials say this was expected and would
eventually turn around.

"As confidence further strengthens, we expect the names of the 3,000
fighters to be handed over to [the mission] for the purposes of
registration so they can receive their entitlements," Peter Feith,
director of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, told reporters.

Young, unemployed men
Without an adequate support system, observers warn that restless ex-GAM
fighters could become a thorn in Aceh's side. Some are skeptical of the
time frame for providing farmland and housing given the strain on
resources post-tsunami.

"Anytime you have a large pool of unemployed young men sitting around
doing nothing, that's a potential problem. Especially after a conflict
like this," says a Western aid worker.

GAM officials say that many fighters went back and forth between the
villages and their jungle camps during the conflict, making it easier to
return home. They deny that rebels who collected community "taxes" in the
past to fund their battles could turn to petty crime, and argue that GAM
has renounced violent struggle.

"GAM's weapons have served their duty to defend Aceh's dignity. It's time
to let them go," chief representative Yusuf Irwandi told reporters after
Friday's hand over.

Back at the village cafe, Mahfud hasn't given much thought to his future.
Ten years ago, he secretly joined the rebels living in the green foothills
that frame this lush river valley, a GAM stronghold. Last month, after the
peace accord was signed in Finland, his district commander sent him back
to Lhue where he spends most days idling with his comrades.

Motoring around Banda
In recent weeks, they have tested out their new freedom. They rode their
motorbikes into Banda Aceh and visited the tsunami-scoured shoreline.
Indonesian soldiers no longer patrol this village or stop vehicles that
enter, to the relief of residents who complain of frequent abuses during
the period of emergency rule that ended this year.

As the village celebrates the return of its sons, though, some are asking
what they will do next.

Mahfud's mother says that her son used to work on the family's land but
hasn't offered to help her since he returned home.

"I can't tell him what to do. He's a grown man.... He used to be a farmer
but now he doesn't know how," says Cut Rayuek, during a break from rice
harvesting.

Jaafar, a quick-witted man with darting eyes and a buzz cut, says that
it's too early to make any plans since the peace process isn't a done
deal. "Everything depends on our leaders and what they tell us. If we're
free to make a new life, that's fine," he says.

His mother, Junaida, says she prayed every day for Jaafar's safety during
his three years in the jungle. She lost another son to the struggle, and
endured military raids on her home in search of rebels.

Now she's hoping for her own reward. "He's grown up now, so he should
support his mother," she says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OhMyNews.com
Indonesian Military Begins Aceh Withdrawal
After rebels hand over weapons, the military begins reduction of troops
©2005 D. Kootnikoff

Eight months after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the Indonesian
province of Aceh, a long-awaited peace broke out in the region. It was on
Aug. 15 that a peace accord between GAM (Free Aceh Rebels) and the
Indonesian government was signed in Helsinki, Finland, bringing an end to
29 years of conflict.

Under the International Crisis Group (ICG) sponsored agreement, on Sept.
18 Indonesia withdrew some 800 troops from the province. The government
plans to step-up the pace to include four battalions, or more than 6,000
soldiers by the end of this week, with eventual plans to cut security
forces in the province by half.

This follows the rebels' decommissioning of arms last week. From Sept.
15-17 GAM began the first phase of the handing over of its weapons to the
European-led Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM). During this first phase, GAM
members handed in over 250 weapons, according to the AMM.

Aceh, a province of about 4.2 million located at the northern tip of
Sumatra, has endured a conflict that has killed approximately 15,000
people, mainly civilians, since 1976. Devoutly Muslim and rich in natural
resources such as natural gas, timber and coffee, Aceh is poised to reap
substantial economic rewards if the deal holds. According to Sidney Jones,
project director for the ICG, the deal has "a better than 50 percent
chance" of success.

In dramatic scenes in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh Sept. 15,
rebels drove up in motorcycles and trucks brandishing their automatic
rifles and machine guns. Raising them over their heads in front of a crowd
of journalists and local citizens, they promptly handed them over to
members of the AMM who then put the weapons under brand new white BOSCH
electric saws to be sliced into pieces. The remaining fragments are to be
made into works of art.

The agreement between the Indonesian government, AMM and GAM states that
the rebels would hand over 840 weapons in total. That would still leave
some in the hands of rebels. Sofyan Djalil, Minister of Communication and
Information, told TEMPO magazine, "Between three to four GAM members might
have only one weapon between them," unlike the Indonesian military (TNI)
where all personnel have one weapon each.

While visiting Aceh two weeks after the peace accord was signed, I was
forced to take a trip over rough, mountainous terrain across the province
from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh. A trip that took only three hours before the
tsunami, takes nine hours today because the original road has not yet been
repaired.

Along the way, my minivan was stopped repeatedly by TNI soldiers
brandishing automatic rifles. Some soldiers hopped in the van for a ride
or asked for cigarettes or sweets. I was seated in the front seat and as
soon as I was spotted the soldiers broke into wide smiles and waved us on.
Had I not been present who knows what could have happened. I was told that
money often exchanged hands at these stops. After the signing of the peace
accord, innocent civilians should not be subjected to unwarranted searches
or delays.

After more than six months of difficult negotiations, a major breakthrough
occurred in May when the GAM rebels dropped their longstanding demand for
complete independence. In return, the government of Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono agreed to grant rebels an amnesty and hand over greater autonomy
of the province's economy.

Another concession was to allow GAM into the political mainstream by
allowing it to form political parties. However, this could be a potential
stumbling block. Such an arrangement requires changing Indonesia's
constitution and the consent of the House of Representatives. Members of
former president Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P), have already indicated their unwillingness to do so.

According to Teuku Risman, leader of the local Meulaboh Fishermen's Union,
some in the government would like to see the agreement fail. . "We are
still afraid of politicians outside of Aceh," he says. "Some politicians
have been made rich through the conflict," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newmont trial should go ahead: Indonesian court
Manado, 20 Sep 05 18:55  (AFP  )

An Indonesian court ruled yesterday that the pollution trial of a local
unit of US mining giant Newmont and its American president should go
ahead.

The court rejected defence arguments that the indictment was flawed.

“The defendant’s legal exception is hereby rejected and the trial shall
proceed with the examination of the case,” chief judge Ridwan Damanik
said.

The trial in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, was adjourned
until October 7.

Newmont Minahasa Raya, the Denver-based company’s Indonesian subsidiary,
and its president Richard Ness are accused of polluting Buyat Bay near a
now-defunct company mine in North Sulawesi.

The main charges are that Newmont Minahasa Raya illegally and
intentionally caused pollution and that Ness, who could face up to 10
years in jail if convicted, did nothing to stop it.

Villagers living nearby complained that waste pumped into the sea and the
air was responsible for neurological and skin complaints. Lawyers for
Ness, 55, and the company have accused police of failing to question
witnesses proposed by the defendant.

They also argued that there was no law in Indonesia making a company
president automatically responsible for corporate acts.

Newmont’s lawyer, Palmer Situmorang, said his client would appeal to North
Sulawesi’s High Court, asking them to rule on the merits of the case.

“The judges have ignored the substance of our exception,“ he said.

The trial will proceed regardless.

Newmont, the world’s biggest gold producer, has consistently denied the
charges, saying it disposed of toxins safely and that levels of mercury
and arsenic found around the mine were well within acceptable levels.

A World Health Organisation-backed report found no evidence of pollution,
but government tests showed high levels of toxins.

The government has also filed a civil lawsuit against Newmont seeking 1.24
trillion rupiah (130 million dollars) in damages. Both sides are
negotiating an out-of-court settlement.

Indonesia has risked efforts to improve its reputation as a safe
destination for foreign investment by prosecuting Newmont using what many
regard as inconclusive evidence.

Environmentalists have welcomed the trial, saying it sends a clear warning
to foreign investors to obey environmental laws.

Newmont’s operations in Buyat, 2,400 kilometers northeast of Jakarta,
ceased in August 2004, shortly before the first allegations of pollution
emerged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
September 19, 2005
Four injured in fresh Poso blast
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso

The peace was again shattered in the Central Sulawesi city of Poso on
Saturday night when a homemade bomb exploded injuring four people.

The bomb went off outside a house on Jl. Mongonsidi, Lawanga subdistrict,
Poso city, at 11:15 p.m., causing panic among members of the public, but
they nevertheless managed to assist the victims, taking the injured to
Poso General Hospital for treatment.

The victims -- Sinta, 44; Selvi, 28; Ical, 19; and Fudin, 24 -- suffered
only slight injuries caused by flying fragments and were released from the
hospital soon after receiving treatment.

The Central Sulawesi and Poso Police's bomb squad, led by Poso Police
chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Soleh Hidayat, arrived soon after the explosion
and immediately sealed off the area.

The motive behind the bombing is still unclear, Soleh said, but said it
bore all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack. Several witnessed have been
questioned by the police but no arrests have been made so far.

"I can't provide detailed information right now but I can say that it
looks like a terror attack was perpetrated on Saturday night," he said.

The bomb exploded just moments after revelers finished performing the
controversial Dero folk dance at a birthday party outside a resident's
house located opposite the residence of Poso regency secretary Awad
Alamri.

One victim, Fudin, said the alarm was first raised by another victim,
Selvi, who saw sparks coming out of a package. Fudin attempted to sound
the warning but the bomb exploded before people could flee.

The Dero dance is controversial in the region. Regularly performed in the
past during local ceremonies like weddings and birthday parties, as well
as harvest ceremonies, it was never performed in Poso between 1998 and
late 2004 following its prohibition by several hard-line Muslim groups.

The groups banned the dance, claiming it was haram (against Islamic
teachings), as it was performed by men and women holding hands. In
traditional Islam, only men and women who are muhrim (related and who
cannot get married), may hold hands.

Saturday's explosion was the first in Poso since newly elected Poso regent
Piet Inkiriwang and deputy regent Abdul Muthalib were officially installed
two weeks ago.

Poso has been a flash point of sectarian clashes between Muslims and
Christians that left over 1,000 people dead in two years of bloodshed up
to 2001.

Up to August of this year, at least four bombs -- two of them in Poso city
-- had exploded, with the bombings at Tentena market in May this year
being the deadliest in Indonesia since the Bali bombings of 2002 that
killed 202 people.

In May, two bombs ripped through the crowded market in the predominantly
Christian area of Tentena, killing 21 civilians and injuring 70 others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PopMatters.com
An Optimist Abroad: When the Waves of Colonialism and Tsunamis Are Gone
16 September 2005
-- After years of repression, Indonesia is experiencing a rush of energy
and enquiry usually associated with great shifts of national character.
by David Kootnikoff

Indonesia is a smorgasbord of cultures, laid out over an archipelago
encompassing no less than 17,000 islands with approximately 500 languages
and dialects and 300 ethnic groups. While "unity in diversity" adorns
Indonesia's coat of arms, conflict is never far from the surface.

>From a distance, terrorist bombings and last December's tsunami has
contributed to an image of a country dissolving into chaos. But in fact,
the opposite is happening: the people, mainly the young, are fighting to
keep it together. In a country where 26 is the average age and over 30
percent of the country's 225 million people are under 15, a youthful
dynamism is tangible. After years of repression, Indonesia is experiencing
a rush of energy and enquiry usually associated with great shifts of
national character.

Indonesia is indeed on a roll: along with the emergence of an indigenous
form of moderate Islam and the messy disentangling of human rights abuses,
Indonesian Pop Idol is huge and condom ads risqué. This is a country that
is at least trying to "ride the winds of change", to paraphrase Suzuki
motorcycle's recent ad campaign. And as the world's most populous Muslim
nation, it behooves the world to take note.

Jakarta
Jakarta. "The big durian", as it's called, a durian being a tropical fruit
that's hard and prickly on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. They
also have a putrid odor: imagine a septic tank dripping with sulfur on a
sweltering day. Hotels in this part of the world prohibit guests from
bringing this stink bomb onto their premises. Make no mistake; this
bulbous, porcupine of a fruit is an acquired taste.

But once accustomed to its flavour, the yellow, velvety flesh can prove to
be irresistible. Too bad the same can't be said for Jakarta. As the
capital of Indonesia, it's a city best sampled in small morsels before
venturing beyond to indulge in the feast that is the rest of the country.

Jakarta is a bit like Los Angeles; a hot, sprawling metropolis where
relief often comes from a trip to Plaza Indonesia, an air-conditioned
mega-mall. The city's equivalent to Rodeo Drive, this cathedral to
commerce sits in the middle of the city like a cool oasis in a landscape
of noxious fumes. Jakarta's public transport is also as comfortable and
reliable as a toothache, forcing anyone who can to drive something -
anything is better than riding Jakarta's busses or trains.

For a city of 10 million, there are four million motorcycles or scooters.
One of the most popular forms of transport is the bajaj, a motorized
rickshaw with three wheels, a driver in front and room for two in the
back. Maximum speed is about 40kms and their belching, lawnmower-sized
engines emit more pollution than a space shuttle at take off. But they're
dirt-cheap. A buck will pretty much get you anywhere you need to go in the
city, but negotiating a price is essential and expected.

My wisma (guesthouse) was in the Proclamasi neighbourhood, a 15 minute
bajaj ride southeast of Gambir, the main railway station. Across the
street, now a shaded park, was once home to the father of Indonesia's
independence, Sukarno.

Sixty years ago, on August 17 1945, immediately following Japan's
surrender to the allies, Sukarno proclaimed Indonesia's independence from
this very location. Rather than be a place of veneration as might be
expected, it's deteriorated into a dilapidated enclosure. Including a
statue of Sukarno and his comrade Mohammad Hatta, there is also a memorial
to his famous speech outlining Indonesia's state philosophy, Pancasila, or
five principles. These include the belief in one god, democracy, civilized
humanity, unity and social justice.

The reasons for this neglect are many and complex, but boil down to
Sukarno's mixed legacy. Responsible for the birth of a nation, Sukarno
sadly corroded into a decadent dictator who wielded power unflinchingly
for 20 years. Starting off as a democrat, he eventually lost patience with
it and introduced his own version of "guided democracy"; basically a
"father knows best" type of rule.

In 1965, with the help of the CIA who suspected him of sympathizing with
communists, Sukarno was replaced in a coup led by Suharto, another
dictator who was more brutal than decadent. Determined to rewrite his
predecessor out of the books as much as possible, his so-called "New
Order" regime maintained power for 33 years. Finally, in 1998, student
demonstrations precipitated his downfall and ushered in the current era of
reformasi (reform). Just last fall Indonesia enjoyed its first directly
elected presidential campaign.

One day I walked to the corner for a bite to eat where warungs, groups of
movable food stalls, are set up daily. They resemble barbeques, or hot
plates on wheels. For a people whose average annual income is less than
US$1000, the stalls provide cheap eats; US$2 dollars will buy a full meal.
Young chefs serve up such local delicacies as nasi goring (fried rice),
gado-gado (spicy mixed veggies in peanut sauce) and kelapa muda (fresh
coconut). I ordered the gado-gado and coconut.

The hodge-podge of patrons sitting out on wooden benches and tables under
the trees included bajaj and taxi drivers, local peddlers, office workers
and people from the kampong (neighbourhood). Some were dressed in
t-shirts, others in more formal attire, but no one was in shorts, except
me, the notoriously casual foreigner.

"The corner was our testimonial to freedom", sing the Last Poets on the
recent Common single, and this is what it felt like: a gathering of
generations rubbing shoulders and sharing gossip under banyan trees amidst
the gritty grime of the inner city. Not unlike the African Americans
Common referred to, these too are a proud, exuberant people who fought to
break the shackles of oppression — Dutch colonialism in this case — to
forge their own independence. It was such an embarrassment for the Dutch
that only this summer did their government formally acknowledge
Indonesia's Independence Day. Previously, they had recognized 1949, the
date they had allowed Indonesia to become independent. It never much
mattered to these people down on the corner: Sukarno and Hatta didn't need
anyone's permission to proclaim their independence.

Semarang
The Chinese have historically inhabited a very precarious place in
Indonesian society. No one knows exactly when they began to arrive on the
archipelago, but by the 15th century there was already a significant
number and their temples and communities were well established. By the
time the Dutch gained control of Indonesia in the early 17th century, the
Chinese were being exploited as middlemen between the indigenous
population and the colonial government. This created tensions and
institutionalized divisions that continue to this day.

Following Surharto's ascent to power in 1965, a bloody massacre engulfed
the country, claiming over 500,000 lives according to Amnesty
International, in what has been called one of the most overlooked
massacres of the 20th century. Many of the victims were Chinese, targeted
as scapegoats for being communists. Later, when Suharto was thrown out of
office, another rampage, albeit smaller but nonetheless brutal, occurred
in 1998. This time the Chinese were blamed for being capitalists, for
controlling over 80 percent of the Indonesian economy.

The city of Semarang in Central Java was the host this past August to the
600th Anniversary of a "Chinese Admiral who became a eunuch", Cheng Ho
(aka Zheng He). The celebrations were unique in that they were organized
by the Chinese Society with the full support of the government. Things
appeared to have turned around for the Chinese in Semarang, and the week
long festivities were heralded by some as an indication of a Chinese
cultural revival.

However, things are rarely that simple in Indonesia. The involvement of
the government had more to do with trade and finance: the current
administration of President Susilo Yudhoyono has already signed a number
of deals with Beijing and this event was as much an opportunity to attract
attention and investment from China as it was a cultural event. Cheng Ho
also happened to be a Muslim. Comprising roughly three percent of the
population, most Chinese in Indonesia either follow a form of Confucianism
or Christianity, and very few are Muslims. While visiting, I spoke to city
officials who believed the Chinese were minimizing the Admiral's Muslim
faith. "They're trying to turn Semarang into Cheng Ho city," said one.

A historian I spoke with acknowledged that the Chinese resisted
cooperating or mixing with Indonesia's indigenous culture and tended to
look to China for their traditions rather than create a hybrid with
Indonesian characteristics. A prominent human right's lawyer, Frans
Winarta, himself an ethnic Chinese, confirmed that a backlash was still
possible. "The hatred runs deep," he said. "We need to be careful."

Bandung
For Independence Day I decided to flee "the Durian" for the more
hospitable climate of Western Java's second city, Bandung. A three-hour
train ride southeast through landscapes of rice paddies and lush, rolling
hills, Bandung is renowned for its universities and telecommunications.
Sometimes called the "Paris of Java", it's also the heartland of the
Sundanese people who pride themselves on their easy-going nature.

Independence Day means parades, parties, food and lots of red and white,
Indonesia's official colours. One activity called panjai pinang involves
children climbing a tall greased poll in a race to the top for treasure
bags of clothes, books, and sweets. On Independence Day, every
neighbourhood across Indonesia, from Papua in the east to Sumatra in the
west, engages in this greasy ascent for booty.

Traditionally, Indonesian Presidents have used this day to offer prisoners
amnesty by reducing their sentences. This year was more controversial than
others as Yudhoyono chose to reduce the sentence of militant cleric Abu
Bakar Bashir, jailed for inspiring the Bali bombings, by four and a half
months.

Indonesia has a unique relationship to Islam. On the one hand, its secular
characteristics appear to defy academics such as Bernard Lewis who have
suggested that Islam requires that Allah be written into the laws of the
state. Indonesia prides itself on adopting the Islamic paradigm of ummah
wasat (the middle way) and officially scorns extremism.

However, like the US, there is a powerful conservative lobby that pushes
the government towards a discourse that makes it appear more religious
than it actually is. In Indonesia, this sometimes spills over into
reckless and harmful policy decisions.

Over a period of two months, a group led by the Islam Defender's Front,
lobbied the local government of Bandung to close down over 20 churches.
Some of these closures were done forcefully. When the news made national
headlines recently, officials backtracked, stating that the churches
lacked the necessary permits to remain open. Ordering an investigation,
Yudhoyono urged a rapid and peaceful settlement. However, nothing
involving the Indonesian bureaucracy can ever be done quickly. In the
meantime, the damage has been done.

Borobudur
Perhaps the best known site in all of Indonesia is the Buddhist stupa of
Borobudur. Dating from the 8th century, it's the largest of its kind in
the world. Like a small pyramid, it emerges from the surrounding jungle
beckoning a closer look. Ascending this tribute to Buddha is a remarkable
experience; one spirals clockwise among reliefs lining the walls to the
very top, or nirvana.

Once at the top, serene statues of mediating Buddhas, some contained in
bell-shaped latticed stupas, offer greetings with the enigmatic smile of
the Mona Lisa. From the air, the complex resembles a Buddhist mandala, a
path to enlightenment.

Bali
The island of Bali, roughly in the middle of the country, remains a
popular spot despite the 2002 terrorist bombings that claimed 202 lives.
The extraordinary festival of Nyepi (day of stillness), occurs annually
around March/April. A hybrid of Hindu and local animistic traditions,
Nyepi is the start of the New Year according to the local lunar calendar.
On this day, the entire island shuts down and nothing but emergency
services remain open. To avoid drawing the attention of evil spirits
believed to be circling overhead, people are to remain within their
property or risk being fined.

When I was present for the festival in 2001, I, of course, foolishly
dismissed these warnings as local braggadocio. My wife and I snuck in a
swim in front of our guesthouse and were completely alone. Later the next
day, I was pick-pocketed and lost my cash. Someone or something must have
witnessed our little indiscretion.

In the weeks leading up to the day, every neighbourhood fashions their own
giant monster from foam, paper and clay. "Ogoh-ogoh", the name for this
comical figure, appears on display in various twisted shapes around the
island. The night before the day of stillness, hundreds of Ogoh-ogoh's are
paraded through Bali's streets, accompanied by gamelans and drums, before
being set alight in ritual bonfires.

Aceh
The Asian tsunami, the worst natural catastrophe of recent times, claimed
over 150,000 lives in the northern Sumatra province of Aceh alone. Today,
the pace of reconstruction is falling far short of expectations.

While in the main city of Banda Aceh, I met a young man of 25, Akbar, who
vividly recalled the darkness of that morning on 26 December. The "cobra
wave" threw Akbar out of his bed and eventually swallowed him up. Rising
to a height of over 20 meters, it carried him amidst the carnage of his
city until he was able to grab hold of a tree branch and watch as the wave
subsided.

Akbar lost eleven family members that day, including his father. Today he
works as a taxi driver and is studying nursing in the hope of earning
enough to rebuild his home.

How could this be, I wondered, after all the donations and assistance that
had poured in from around the world? The fact is, relief work, the
delivery of tents and essential services, is relatively routine and easy
compared to reconstruction. Aceh is at the reconstruction stage now and
all the human variables, such as bureaucratic red-tape and corruption, are
conspiring against any quick recovery for locals such as Akbar.

On 15 August, a peace accord between the local rebels, GAM (Free Aceh
Movement) and the Indonesian government, was signed in Helsinki, Finland.
So far, it has produced a cessation of fighting that has consumed the
province from 1976, claiming up to 15,000 lives.

For all its destruction, the tsunami helped produce the atmosphere for
this deal. Overwhelmed, both sides sought out a resolution with "dignity"
in its aftermath. Sponsored by the International Crisis Group (ICG),
headed by former Finnish President Martii Ahtisari, the peace has created
an air of cautious optimism among the locals who have for too long been
caught in the middle.

To observe how things looked on the ground, I decided to drive to
Meulaboh, also struggling with reconstruction after it, too, was decimated
by December's tsunami. Once a three and half hour drive, 250kms south from
Banda, Meulaboh is now only accessible by a rough, mountainous road that
cuts across the province, taking about nine hours. A hellish way to
travel, it proved to be a good chance to observe how the military was
responding to the peace accord.

I tucked myself into the front seat of the minibus, beside a young Muslim
girl dressed in a khimar (headscarf) who ended up vomiting four or five
times over the course of our journey. Luckily for me, the driver had
prepared black plastic bags for such a situation and my neighbour
displayed an impeccable sense of timing and accuracy.

Over the course of the drive, we passed over 20 military checkpoints, and
were stopped at least 10 times. This shouldn't be occurring. Under the
terms of the peace deal, civilians posing no threat shouldn't be subjected
to unwarranted stops and searches. Many times, the soldiers openly
brandished machine guns and asked for cigarettes or snacks. They even
hopped inside for a free ride on two occasions. Whenever they spotted me,
a foreigner, their cool attitude immediately changed into a gregariously
warm smile. Who knows what would have happened had I not been there.
Before the peace deal, money reportedly exchanged hands at these
checkpoints.

Meulaboh is a fishing village and when the fishermen struggle, the local
economy suffers. Due to the slow pace of the reconstruction and their
close proximity to the sea, many fishermen still remain homeless and face
an uncertain future.

I spoke to the head of the local fisherman's union, Teuku Risman, and he
expressed frustration that his members still have not received the aid or
materials necessary to even begin returning to normality. "The people the
government and NGO's hire engage in corruption," he said, "we need an NGO
for fishermen."

NGO's maintain a large presence in Meulaboh and there is still a
significant amount of relief tents providing shelter. The day-to-day
bustle of life happens right next to large square plots of barren land,
where untold numbers had to be buried in mass graves to prevent the spread
of disease during the immediate weeks following the tsunami.

I walked out to the beach, about 3kms from the center of town. After two
or three blocks, the buildings began to reveal their scars and skeletal
frames until nothing but a few tattered, abandoned tents remained amidst
the rubble. I crossed a wooden footpath between the sandy beach and a once
residential area, and noticed a human femur bone lodged in the fetid mud.

A curious pall hung in the air despite the blue sky and warm breeze. Even
the few surviving palm trees conveyed despair, their branches frayed into
contortions of mourning. I'd been to other such locations where the loss
of life had been overwhelming and relentless: Cambodia's killing fields,
Hiroshima, Dachau. Despite the obvious differences between a human made
atrocity and a naturally caused catastrophe, a similar sense of darkness
inhabits these areas. Creeping up from the earth, it sucks all peripheral
detail away, reducing the moment to a pinpoint of sensation until only a
lead-heavy silence remains.

I took a deep breath, exhausted and drained, and listened for the roar of
the surf. I couldn't fathom the numbers of dead, instead focusing on the
face of Akbar back in Banda. As he had gazed out on the Indian Ocean, his
expression changed from bitterness to determination in the blink of an
eye. Recalling that subtle flash, as easily overlooked as the sun on the
tide, the sound of the waves returned and I continued on.