No subject

a senior figure in the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) led by President 
Megawati Sukarnoputri; former Information Minister Yunus Yosfiah; former 
Attorney General Andi Ghalib, who joined the Islamic-based United Development 
Party (PPP); and incumbent Home Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno. 

The leading military figure from the class of 1966 is Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, 
Home Affairs Minister under B.J. Habibie. From the 1967 class, the leading 
figure is incumbent National Intelligence Chief A.M. Hendropriyono. He has 
close links with PDI-P as a member of the party’s advisory board. 

And last but not least, the prominent figure from the class of 1968 is former 
Armed Forces Commander under both Suharto and Habibie, General Wiranto. 

By retiring the six three stars from the class 1970, the constellation within 
the military circle is now dominated by the classes of 1973 and 1974. 

At Army headquarters, commander Ryamizard Ryacudu comes from the class of 1973, 
along with many of the regional commanders. The only remaining ‘senior’ is the 
incumbent Armed Forces Commander, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto. 

With the chance of a role in the politics through the military closing on them, 
the political generals had only two choices: go quietly into retirement, or 
join one of the political parties. 

The obvious choices are the three major parties, PDI-P, PPP and Golkar. 

Political analysts say the move is unlikely to dramatically enhance the 
generals’ chance of taking a major position in any of these parties, given that 
the three major parties are already the power bases for strong civilian 
leaders: Megawati herself at PDI-P, Amien Rais in the National Mandate Party 
(PAN), Tosari Wijaya in PPP, and Akbar Tanjung in Golkar. 

Tanjung’s enlistment of the retired generals will reinforce his position, but 
they will now have to perform well as party members rather than provide an 
instant answer to whether their support can keep the Golkar leader and 
parliament Speaker in his positions 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander of Indonesia's elite forces to be charged with rights violations  
Associated Press 
Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 13 

The commander of Indonesia's elite commando force will be charged with gross 
human rights violations for his alleged involvement in the massacre of 33 
protesters in 1984, the attorney general said Wednesday.  

Thousands of Muslim youth in northern Jakarta were fired on by soldiers while 
demonstrating peacefully against the arrest of some of their colleagues. 

Attorney General Abdul Rahman said Maj. Gen. Sriyanto, who now heads the army's 
Kopassus special forces unit, was in charge of army operations in the region at 
the time of the killings. 

Rahman told a parliamentary commission that Sriyanto would be charged along 
with 13 others, including two retired generals, early next year. He did not 
explain why it would take so long to file the charges. 

There was no immediate comment from the military and it was not possible to 
contact Sriyanto. 

In 2000, the National Human Rights Commission recommended 23 suspects, 
including Sriyanto, be tried for the killings. 

Kopassus members have been linked over the years with numerous human rights 
abuses. Earlier this year, several Kopassus members were named as suspects in 
the killing of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay in 2001. 

Indonesia's judiciary does not have a good track record of successfully 
prosecuting alleged military rights abuses. 
-- © 2002 Associated Press. All rights  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC Radio Australia News 
13/11/2002 23:14:44
Indonesian villager shot dead in botched police hunt 

Indonesian police have mistakenly shot dead a villager in their hunt for 45 
prisoners who fled a jail on Sumatra island earlier today. 

Angry villagers later burned down a local police station and shot an officer 
with a homemade gun in retaliation. 

Police reportedly mistook a crowd of residents in Sukadana village for inmates 
on the run and fired warning shots.

The officers fired shots at the villagers when they ran away in fright, killing 
one of them.

Lampung police spokeswoman Fatmawati says only one of the prisoners had been 
recaptured. 

Fatmawati says the inmates broke out of their cells while warders were handing 
out food for a pre-dawn meal, required during the Muslim fasting month of 
Ramadan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC Radio Australia News 
13/11/2002 23:14:32
Indonesians flee villages in volcano alert 

At least 5,000 people have fled their homes near a volcano in Indonesia's West 
Java province which is emitting smoke and mudflows. 

At least six out of eight craters of the 2,600-metre Papandayan volcano began 
emitting white and black smoke on Tuesday and are now spewing mudflows, known 
as lahar, into the Cibeureum river.

At least 18 homes in two villages had been destroyed by the mudflows, which 
covered about 43 hectares of rice fields in one village.

Officials have set up four emergency medical posts to help the villagers. 

The refugees took shelter in a mosque, a sport stadium and a local provincial 
government office in Cisurupan.

Along with an alert status, authorities have closed an area of seven kilometres 
from the peak of the volcano.

Papandayan has had three recorded eruptions, with the last one in 1942.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC Radio Australia News 
13/11/2002 22:13:51
Hopes for ceasefire agreement in Aceh 

The Indonesian government hopes to sign a 'cessation of hostilities' agreement 
with separatist rebels in Aceh later this month. 

A government negotiator says the agreement was ready for signing.

The proposal calls for an immediate end to hostilities. 

It says both sides, along with a third party, will form a joint committee to 
monitor security, investigate violations and take appropriate action including 
pre-arranged sanctions to restore calm when violations occur. 

Foreign monitors who will observe the proposed ceasefire have reportedly begun 
arriving in Aceh this week. 

Reports indicate a two-week long government siege of a Free Aceh Movement base 
had led the rebels to rethink their position in support of a peace deal. 

About 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the Free Aceh 
Movement (GAM) began its independence struggle in 1976.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
November 14, 2002
Govt talks peace but continues siege in Aceh 
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe

A government negotiator has called on the government and the Free Aceh Movement 
(GAM) to cool down as military personnel tightened their siege on a rebel 
headquarters at Cot Trieng village in North Aceh.

Wiryono Sastrohandoyo said on Wednesday that the government was ready to sign a 
landmark peace agreement with GAM, but warned that the siege could seriously 
affect the plan. 

"When the guns are not silent, diplomacy is silent," Wiryono told The Jakarta 
Post. 

The government, according to Wiryono, had proposed Nov. 23, or the 17th day of 
the fasting month of Ramadhan, as the new date for the signing of the peace 
agreement, but GAM has yet to respond to the proposal. 

The government had wanted to sign the peace accord before the fasting month 
started on Nov. 6, but GAM delayed it until after the Idul Fitri celebrations, 
which fall on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. 

The rebels, instead, offered a cease-fire, but the government refused to 
recognize it and continued hunting down the rebels. 

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday that the 
government was surprised that the rebels were considering backing out of the 
deal. Susilo spoke in Aceh on a visit to revive the negotiations. 

Wiryono stressed that negotiations would only work if both sides were placed in 
a win-win situation and not if either of the sides felt defeated. 

"However, I understand that the government has the obligation to maintain law 
and order in the province," Wiryono said. 

"It may be seen that way because the Indonesian government's policy is to sign 
the cessation of hostilities agreement as quickly as possible," he said as 
quoted by AFP. 

"In principle, now the government is trying extremely hard so that the problem 
can be resolved peacefully," Vice President Hamzah Haz told reporters 
Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, government troops tightened their siege on a rebel hideout in Cot 
Trieng village on Wednesday, with troops setting up posts every 50 meters. Each 
post is manned by seven soldiers in full combat gear. 

"The GAM fighters are hiding in this swampy area," Lilawangsa Military 
Commander A.Y. Nasution told a group of reporters invited to observe the siege 
on Wednesday. 

Lt. Col. Oppie Ones told The Jakarta Post that his troops had been surrounding 
the GAM headquarters since Oct. 25. 

Aceh rebels threatened to back off from signing the peace deal if the military 
continued the siege. 

"The military are using terror tactics to bully us into agreeing to the peace 
deal," rebel negotiator Tengku Kamaruzaman was quoted by AP as saying on 
Wednesday. 

"We should go to the negotiating table voluntarily. It is only natural that we 
are wary of signing." 

Under the proposed peace agreement, the government wants the rebels to hand 
over their weapons, a term they oppose. 

On Monday, the military launched a rocket attack on the guerrilla hideout to 
pressure the rebel leadership into signing the agreement. There were no reports 
of injuries. 

Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said earlier that soldiers would 
continue the siege until the rebels signed the agreement. 

International negotiators have nonetheless expressed optimism that the talks 
scheduled for later this month could result in a major breakthrough. 

Several foreign observers arrived on Tuesday to start preparations for the 
setting up of a 150-member joint committee to oversee the deal if it is signed. 

The committee -- which will also include 50 mostly ex-military representatives 
from European and Southeast Asian countries -- will publish weekly reports and 
designate certain schools, mosques and other facilities as demilitarized zones, 
according to the proposal. 

The terms of the deal, being mediated by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre 
for Humanitarian Dialog, are believed to include more autonomy for the 
province's 4 million people and elections for a provincial legislature and 
administration. 

The government has also offered an amnesty for rebel fighters. 

GAM has been fighting for independence since 1975. At least 12,000 people have 
been killed in the past decade, including some 1,500 people this year. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside Indonesia
Oct - Dec 2002
Who is calling for Islamic Law?
-- The struggle to implement Islamic Law in South Sulawesi
Dias Pradadimara and Burhaman Junedding

In mid-March this year, Philippines authorities arrested Agus Dwikarna for 
possession of C4 explosives. Ironically, Dwikarna’s arrest has elevated the 
name of his Makassar-based Preparatory Committee for the Implementation of 
Islamic Law (Komite Persiapan Penegakan Syariat Islam or KPPSI) to national and 
even international attention, something he and his colleagues previously 
desperately tried to do but failed. Moreover, the arrest of Tamsil Linrung and 
Abdul Jamal Balfas – also from South Sulawesi - in the same incident has 
created an image of South Sulawesi as the hotbed of Islamic radicalism. 
Allegations in the western press that Agus Dwikarna is somehow connected with 
Al Qaeda strengthen this image. Is this image justified? Who is actually 
pushing for the implementation of Islamic Law in South Sulawesi? 

Islamic Law
KPPSI was formed after a series of meetings and conferences starting in 2000. 
Initially, in August 2000, the first Mujahidin (Arabic for ‘Fighter of Jihad’) 
congress was held in Yogyakarta. The congress aimed to ‘integrate the aims and 
actions of all Mujahidin to implement Islamic Law’. Hundreds of activists from 
Islamic organisations and parties attended, along with scholars from all over 
Indonesia. The participants from South Sulawesi included Abdurahman A. 
Basalamah, former rector of the Indonesian Muslim University in Makassar,  and 
Agus Dwikarna, who were each elected to positions on the Mujahidin Council.

In October 2000, a three-day Islamic Congress was held in Makassar, following 
on from an informal meeting at the Hotel Berlian in May that year. The congress 
was convened to discuss ‘Special Autonomy for the Implementation of Islamic Law 
in South Sulawesi’. Jakarta politicians such as A. M. Fatwa attended the 
congress, which was opened by the Deputy Governor of South Sulawesi. Diverse 
groups attended, including student activists, quasi paramilitary groups from 
all over South Sulawesi, and romantics from the Kahar Muzakkar era, along with 
active participants from the Yogyakarta congress, like Habib Husain Al-Habsyi 
and Abubakar Baasyir. Hundreds more participated from all over South Sulawesi. 
Abdul Hadi Awang, a charismatic figure from the Malaysian opposition Islamic 
party PAS, also attended. The congress was tightly guarded, not by the police 
or the army, but by a paramilitary security team known as the Lasykar Jundullah 
(The Army of God), allegedly to prevent ‘infiltration’. The Lasykar not only 
guarded the toilets, they even limited access to the musholla (small mosque/ 
praying space) during the supposedly open and public Friday noon prayers. No 
wonder some participants later professed that the tight security made them feel 
awkward and ‘controlled’.

After the first Makassar congress, several results were announced. A formal 
body, the KPPSI was formed and authorised to pursue the final goal of 
implementing Islamic Law (Syariat Islam) in South Sulawesi. The Lasykar 
Jundullah (not yet led by Agus Dwikarna) was to become an integrated part of 
the KPPSI. The KPPSI itself was comprised of two main bodies, the Majelis Syuro 
(a largely advisory council) and the Majelis Lajnah (the Executive Council). 
Members of Majelis Syuro were mostly university intellectuals and ulama 
(religious teachers) and included not only Achmad Ali and Abdurrahman 
Basalamah, but also Sanusi Baco, the chair of the local branch of the New Order-
created Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars). The 
executive council was led by Abdul Aziz Kahar Muzakkar—one of the many sons of 
the legendary Kahar Muzakkar, who led a loosely organised rebellion in South 
Sulawesi in the 1950s. No wonder the movement found it hard to deflect 
accusations of ‘nostalgia’.

More than a year later, a second Islamic Congress was held in Makassar in 
December 2001. The organisers of this congress claimed wider support both for 
their congress and hence for the struggle. The list of members of the various 
committees for the congress read like a (male) Who’s Who of South Sulawesi. 

The governor of South Sulawesi, chair of the local parliament, and mayor of 
Makassar were all members of the Advisory Committee for the second congress, as 
were M. Yusuf Kalla (a coordinating minister in the Megawati cabinet) and 
Tamsil Linrung, who was later arrested together with Agus Dwikarna in the 
Philippines. The Steering Committee included all the rectors of Makassar’s 
major universities, as well as the chairpersons of the local Muhammadiyah and 
NU branches. It is not clear to what extent these notables shared KPPSI’s 
ideology or political agendas. As at most public events in South Sulawesi, many 
of these identities appeared at the congress only long enough to present a 
speech during the time allotted to them. Some, like the governor, sent a 
representative; others did not bother to show up. Nonetheless, this list of 
notables presented a conservative image of the movement, as the congress was 
organised in accordance with the existing political scene in South Sulawesi.

The organiser claimed on several occasions that Indonesian Vice President 
Hamzah Haz, known to be sympathetic to Islamic militant groups, would 
personally open the congress. The dates for the congress itself were repeatedly 
changed to adjust to the tight schedule of the vice president. 

The congress commenced on the same day that Hamzah Haz had a state visit to 
Makassar. Although the opening session was delayed for several hours, Haz 
failed to show up and instead sent M. Yusuf Kalla to open the congress. A 
disappointed crowd booed him. Hamzah Haz briefly visited the congress in 
a ‘personal capacity’ several hours later, but took a moderate stance towards 
the political agenda of KPPSI. As Fatwa had at the first congress, Haz remained 
non-committal about the inclusion of Islamic Law in the constitution. 
Meanwhile, Kalla emphasised the need to start from oneself and one’s family in 
implementing Islamic Law, rather than asking the state to adopt it. This is 
popularly known as the ‘cultural’ as opposed to the ‘legal’ approach to Syariat 
Islam. 

Haz’ moderate position did not deter KPPSI from announcing a pre-prepared draft 
of a law which would grant special status to South Sulawesi and allow the local 
government to impose Islamic Law. The draft law was clearly inspired by similar 
legislation enacted in Aceh. However, this announcement was overshadowed by a 
bomb blast on the third day of the congress. The organisers accused a ‘third 
party’ of trying to disrupt the congress. Police, however, suspected the 
incident was a cheap self-publicity stunt. The second congress is now 
remembered primarily by this incident. 

Who is in KPPSI
Since the 1970s, graduates from pesantren (Islamic schools) and regular schools 
from all over South Sulawesi have flocked to Makassar for higher education. 
They go to universities in the city, join Islamic student associations, and 
many become staunch supporters of the Suharto-era state party Golkar. Most 
students enroll at either the state-owned Hasanuddin University or the private 
Muslim University of Indonesia (UMI). 

These educational processes have created a social class that is quite religious 
in character, yet without a group consciousness oriented around an ulama (in 
contrast to East Java). This social class, instead, enthusiastically embraces 
the New Order’s image of modernity. It is from within this class that KPPSI 
draws most of its supporters.

KPPSI’s support comes mostly from urban-based university-educated males. Most 
KPPSI activists and hardliners come from UMI, where Abdurrahman Basalamah was 
once rector. Agus Dwikarna attended UMI, but never graduated. KPPSI ideologues, 
who generally have more moderate stands, are mostly lecturers at the State 
Institute of Islam (IAIN) in Makassar. Chairs of KPPSI branches in the regions 
in the interior are mostly university graduates with engineering, medical, or 
social science degrees.

Although KPPSI uses an image of intellectualism, there has been very little 
open and intellectual debate on what Islamic Law means and implies. Most 
statements in local newspapers regarding Islamic Law have been dogmatic. The 
same phenomenon is evident at the national level. While there is wide support 
for the implementation of Islamic Law in general, there is sharp disagreement 
over what it means.

The implicit statement in this lack of debate is that every good Muslim should 
know what Syariat Islam means and implies, and thus, like KPPSI, should support 
its implementation whole-heartedly. Hence there is little need for them to 
explain what they mean by it, or for others, they assume, to ask them what it 
means.

KPPSI also has a close connection with various anti-maksiat or anti-kejahatan 
(‘anti-immorality’ or ‘anti-crime’) groups. These are basically all-male 
vigilante/ paramilitary bands, usually armed with sticks and machetes. These 
groups have mushroomed in various regions in the interior areas of South 
Sulawesi since 1999, and the KPPSI’s Lasykar Jundullah seems to have become an 
umbrella organisation for these bands.

A reading of the KPPSI and its activism over the last year or so gives us a 
picture of a male urban-based elite playing the image of religious 
intellectualism to mobilise support from youthful males in both the cities and 
rural areas of South Sulawesi. The question of Syariat Islam is likely to 
linger without being satisfactorily resolved for either its supporters, like 
KPPSI, or its antagonists. While the arrest of Agus Dwikarna has elevated the 
name of KPPSI, it has also hampered the movement. Those notables who previously 
openly supported KPPSI, when interviewed, have become more subdued in their 
comments. KPPSI itself is now busy trying to free Agus from jail, pushing its 
main agenda into the background.
-- This article is a part of a longer report of preliminary research on Islamic 
movements outside Java conducted by the Centre for Eastern Indonesian Studies, 
Universitas Hasanuddin (PusKIT UNHAS) in Makassar. The two authors are research 
associates at the centre and can be contacted via puskit at lycos.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~