No subject

December 29, 2002

Terrorists are planning imminent attacks on a range of targets, including 
churches and hotels, in four Indonesian cities, the Canadian embassy has 
warned. 

"The embassy has received credible information that terrorists may be planning 
attacks in Jakarta, Manado, Balikpapan, and Batam in the near future," an 
embassy circular to its citizens, dated Friday but obtained in Jakarta today, 
said.

Manado, at the northernmost tip of Sulawesi island borders the southern 
Philippines, where armed Muslim insurgents have waged a long struggle against 
Manila.

A bomb exploded in front of the Philippine consulate there in October but 
caused no victims.

Balikpapan is a major oil town in East Kalimantan while Batam is an industrial 
island just south of Singapore. 

The embassy warning said that the possible targets of the attacks included 
luxury hotels and churches, as well as bars, restaurants and entertainment 
venues catering to expatriates.

It urged Canadians in the country to exercise "extreme caution" and take extra 
security precautions, including avoiding the said establishments.

The circular gave no other details and the embassy said that it will inform its 
citizens of any further developments as soon as information became available.

Canada's travel report for Indonesia already recommends citizens avoid 
travelling to Indonesia, including to the resort island of Bali where a 
horrific bomb attack left about 190 dead in October.

Canadians already in Indonesia are also urged to consider leaving the country 
if their presence is not essential, the travel report said.

Several other countries, including Australia, Britain and the United States, 
have issued similar travel warnings. 
-- Agence France-Presse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Business Times
December 27, 2002
Editorial
Jakarta needs to do more now 

Since the Bali bomb blasts, Indonesia's leaders have cracked down on Islamic 
militancy, showing the world that if they put their minds to the task, they can 
get things done.

Indonesia must display more of tough determination - both in dealing with 
militants and in handling the various economic challenges facing the country. 
To be sure, there have been some good auguries of late. Indonesia this month 
received a welcome boost when the government successfully sold a 42 per cent 
stake in the country's second largest telecommunications company, Indosat, to 
Singapore Technologies Telemedia. That the deal - the largest since the Asian 
financial crisis - went through says something about Indonesia's economic 
potential. It is the best evidence yet that strategic foreign investors are 
still willing to think long-term and put money selectively into high-growth 
sectors such as telecommunications, despite the country's volatile politics, 
uncertain economic environment and the Bali bomb attacks.

More crucially, the sale guarantees that the Indonesian government will reach 
its target of raising 6.5 trillion rupiah (S$1.3 billion) from its 
privatisation programme. President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government also 
deserves credit for stabilising the macroeconomy over the past year and a half. 
Despite some domestic shocks, the rupiah has remained stable while interest 
rates have continued their downward trend. Inflation too has been held in check.

But all that, alas, is only one part of the picture. While the government has 
been successful in selling off some assets, the country is still experiencing a 
net cash outflow as multinational corporations are pulling out and relocating 
to other countries in the region. In recent months, international corporations 
such as Sony, Nike and Ikea have either moved elsewhere or downsized their 
Indonesian operations. Citing global economic conditions and internal 
restructuring, hundreds of companies involved in footwear manufacturing, 
furniture, electronics and garments are leaving, drawing attention to the 
erosion of Indonesia's competitive advantage. This is a sea change from the 
late 1980s and early 1990s when Indonesia was regarded as a favoured 
destination for labour-intensive industries.

What has changed to affect such a dramatic turnaround in investor perception? 
The answer is multi-layered: unruly labour unions, high import tariffs, rampant 
corruption, inadequate legal protection, and poor infrastructure. For many, the 
Bali bomb blasts were just the last straw. The end-result is that Indonesia is 
now seriously in jeopardy of being overlooked as a possible investment location 
for a wide range of industries. Although it can still boast of cheap labour and 
plenty of land as well as vast natural resources, it lacks several other 
critical ingredients: an educated, skilled and disciplined workforce; clear and 
transparent rules and regulations; a credible judicial system; and an efficient 
transportation network. Due to policy bickering within the Cabinet and a lack 
of coherent economic policies, the government has been slow to tackle these 
problems. Indonesia's leaders must realise that the economic stakes are now 
higher than ever, given the intense regional competition for the investment 
dollar.

Economic reforms
All, however, is not lost if immediate steps are taken to redress the problems. 
In particular, the government must, through business-friendly tax and labour 
policies as well as sweeping judicial reforms, persuade investors still in the 
country that it is to their advantage to remain there. It must also come up 
with a comprehensive new industrial policy to replace the outdated five-year 
development plans instituted under former president Suharto. If Indonesia is to 
finally emerge from the crisis and prosper beyond the short-term, investors - 
both at home and abroad - will need a lot of convincing by the government. And 
the longer this is delayed, the tougher the job will become.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Business Times
December 27, 2002
New Delhi
Ransom may have been motive: Polaris CEO 
-- Arun Jain suspects arrest by Indon police in Jakarta was premeditated 

One of two executives from a major Indian IT firm who were arrested and later 
freed by Indonesian police said on Wednesday that a ransom bid could have been 
the motive behind his detention.

Arun Jain, chairman of Polaris Software India Ltd, who was arrested along with 
senior vice-president Rajiv Malhotra, returned to India late on Tuesday night.

In an interview with Star News television, Mr Jain said he suspected the move 
to arrest him was premeditated to extract money from Polaris. 

'I have learnt that such practices are prevalent in the Indonesian market. But 
people don't take a stand. I was fortunate in being able to refuse to bend 
backwards - after all, I am a trustee of a public limited company.'

The duo were released last Friday after India's Foreign Minister Yaswant Sinha 
spoke over the phone with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirayuda. 

The arrest sparked a public outcry in India. 

Mr Jain and Mr Malhotra were detained by police on Dec 13 after being invited 
to Jakarta to discuss a commercial dispute with Bank Artha Graha, which alleged 
criminal deception over a US$1.3 million software development project. 

Addressing a press conference after his arrival, Mr Jain said the board could 
also discuss a case pertaining to defamation against the Indonesian bank and 
initiate arbitration proceedings in Singapore. 

Calling the 11-day affair an 'Indonesian Safari', Mr Jain narrated how hostile 
the situation was at the board room of Bank Artha Graha. He said officials 
would not allow him or Mr Malhotra to contact anyone, even the Indian embassy 
in Jakarta, Times of India reported. He said he finally managed to slip into 
the washroom and call up his Delhi office. 

The situation was so frightening that he had to call his largest client, 
Citibank in London, seeking security for him and his colleague. Citibank, 
through its Hong Kong office, arranged for private security to both the 
corporate officials in Jakarta.

'For a moment, I thought that the detention centre was safer than the board 
room of Bank Artha Graha,' Mr Jain said. 

He said the case was 'still on' and he would visit Jakarta as and when required 
for the completion of the case. Bank Artha Graha had filed a case pertaining to 
embezzlement against Mr Jain and Mr Malhotra. 

Polaris had signed agreements with Bank Artha Graha in June 2002 and August 
2002 covering central processing, disaster recovery and branch server related 
work. The contract was supposed to be completed by July 2003.

Bank Artha Graha served notice of termination on Polaris on Nov 27, 2002. 
Polaris responded on Dec 3, 2002, stating that the grounds for termination were 
incorrect and offered to resolve the issue through discussion.

There is a specific provision in the agreement for arbitration in Singapore to 
settle any dispute.

Mr Jain said he had offered to pay Bank Artha Graha US$662,000, the amount it 
had paid Polaris so far. The proposal was turned down by the bank. 'They asked 
us to pay US$10 million, which we denied and therefore got arrested,' Mr Jain 
added.

Artha Graha bank is a private bank run by Army Foundation of Indonesia which 
holds a 30 per cent stake.

Polaris is among the top five IT companies in India. It operates in the 
banking, financial services and insurance segment and employs around 4,000 
people. 
-- AFP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia Court Sentences Ex-Minister Over Graft
Dec. 24 
Jakarta (Reuters) 

An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a former trade minister to two years in 
jail for graft in a politically sensitive financial scandal in which parliament 
speaker Akbar Tandjung has also been convicted.

"The defendant Rahardi Ramelan has been proven guilty of corruption charges and 
is therefore sentenced to a two-year jail term," the presiding judge, Lalu 
Mariyun, told the court.

Tandjung was sentenced in September to three years jail for graft. He has 
remained free pending an appeal and has refused to step aside as speaker or 
head of the Golkar party, the key partner in President Megawati Sukarnoputri's 
coalition government. 

The case involves the alleged misuse of $4 million in funds from state food 
agency Bulog in 1999 and has been viewed as a test of Megawati's pledge to 
crack down on corruption. The money had been intended to help Indonesia's poor 
masses.

Ramelan was trade minister and acting chief of Bulog at the time in a previous 
administration. His lawyers said the former minister would probably appeal.

"I am not guilty and I do not accept this decision," Ramelan told reporters.

Like Tandjung, Ramelan could have faced up to 20 years in jail. But courts in 
Indonesia rarely impose tough sentences for corruption, even though the 
practice is endemic.

Despite hopes from ordinary Indonesians and investors that Megawati was serious 
about tackling graft when she took power 18 months ago, political analysts have 
since expressed skepticism she has the will to take aggressive steps. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tempo Magazine (via Joyo Indonesia News)
December 24 - 30, 2002 
Account that's a Real Headache 
-- The audit results on the Investment Funding Account will be made public next 
month. Many former officials are involved. 

MORE than four months were spent examining old documents at the Ministry of 
Finance. The audit team from the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), which 
had been examining data relating to the Investment Funding Account (RDI), in 
fact completed its report before the Lebaran holidays. 

The audit results are now in the hands of Minister of Finance, Boediono and 
Director General for Financial Institutions, Darmin Nasution. 

What's in the audit results? This time, the two officials are not saying much. 
Darmin, in fact, asked the mass media to be patient and wait until the 
government has met with the House of Representatives (DPR) next month. "After 
we've talked with the DPR, we will then definitely make the audit results 
public," he said. 

The mass media, like the general public and several economic observers, can 
only guess at what the RDI audit results contain. It seems that up to now, only 
a handful of people at the Ministry of Finance are aware of the existence of 
this account. The RDI is a holding container for overseas loans that were meant 
for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) or regional enterprises. How much money is 
involved? An incredible amount? Estimates put the amount at above Rp17 
trillion. For full details about the RDI, see the sidebar How the Invisible 
Account Began. 

Because not many people knew about the RDI, it's not strange that there's a 
real stench of corruption as regards the use of funds from this account. The 
BPKP audit will reveal that the government has to bear an enormous amount of 
non-performing loans that eventually will add to the burdens of the people of 
Indonesia. 

One example is the non-performing loans to regional governments and regional 
water companies, totaling Rp1.5 trillion. Then there's the Rp26.6 trillion 
arrears of PLN, the national electricity company. Apparently, PLN has had 
problems repaying because its debt has increased fourfold due to the increase 
in the exchange value of the US dollar. Even worse, since 1998, PLN has 
continued to make a loss because its revenues are in rupiah while its debts and 
fuel costs have to be paid in US dollars. 

This temporary inability to repay debts is due to technical factors, so this 
sort of logjam is perhaps still understandable. But many RDI projects are 
stalled because from the start, project planning and management was haphazard, 
to say the least. One example of this is the project to open up plantation land 
at 104 different locations. "So far, absolutely nothing has happened," said a 
TEMPO source. 

Another failure is the warehouse floor drying and kiosk (GLK) project, handled 
by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) since Bustanil Arifin was in charge, back 
in 1982. The funds for this project to build warehouses, not only for storage 
purposes but also for drying and selling rice at the regency level, have 
disappeared without trace. Currently, according to a source who requested 
anonymity, there is nothing whatsoever to show for the GLK project. 

There were other projects to supply fishing boats and container ships, the 
majority of which are neglected even today. No less spectacular is the rollover 
land project relating to the former Air Force Headquarters (MBAU) in Pancoran 
and the new Air Force Headquarters building in Cilangkap. At that time, 
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad assigned PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia 
(RNI) to manage the project, with RDI funding. Up to now, the original funds 
provided, totaling some Rp155 billion, have risen to Rp234 billion; none of 
this has been repaid yet. 

Usually, these sort of corrupt practices can only occur if there is a green 
light from the top. Because of this, the still-to-be-announced BPKP audit 
results are bound to give a lot of former officials a real headache. As Darmin 
once said: "The RDI is like a dense forest. Lots of people and lots of money 
are involved." Even Mar'ie Muhammad, who is renowned for his honesty, is 
apparently in a bit of dither. He was quick to make use of an opportunity 
provided by BPKP to clarify the situation over the findings. "I made myself as 
available as any other former Finance Minister," said Mar'ie. 

In an interview with TEMPO, Mar'ie explained that the rollover of the MBAU land 
with the building in Cilangkap was implemented by the Wirontono Group, based on 
an agreed 25-year rental period. The plan was to build a shopping center, a 
hotel, offices and a recreation park on the former MBAU land. In return, 
Wirontono constructed the new Rp82 billion Air Force Headquarters building in 
Cilangkap. 

However, when construction was half complete, Wirontono had funding problems. 
To overcome this, Mar'ie appointed PT RNI, a SOE in the plantations sector, to 
continue the project. The putting forward of RNI's name was apparently aimed at 
deflecting tycoon Prajogo Pangestu. Prajogo had, in fact, already received 
President Suharto's blessing to handle the project. 

Then, Indonesia was hit by the monetary crisis and the development of the 
former MBAU at Pancoran was put on hold. However, according to Mar'ie, the 
project will not incur any losses because if sold, the value of the land 
managed by RNI is more than enough to repay the RDI funds that were 
borrowed. "RNI will, in fact, make a profit," said Mar'ie confidently. 

However, there's a different story told by a TEMPO source. According to him, 
the RNI loan is non-performing because it was all used up on the rollover 
project. RNI apparently used the RDI funds to inject into ten of its sugar cane 
factories in Java, which were in financial difficulties. As if this wasn't 
enough, RNI also made use of Indofarma and Kimia Farma funds, which were 
supposed to be used for a medicine distribution project, to inject into its 
sugar cane factories. It's not surprising, therefore, that RNI's total non-
performing debt to RDI now amounts to Rp787 billion. 

Under these circumstances, Darmin is determined to handle each RDI loan on a 
case-by-case basis. SOEs, regional enterprises and regional governments that 
are proved to have made regular repayments and have good business plans, will 
be allowed to reschedule their debts. But uncooperative debtors shouldn't hold 
out any such hopes, as harsh sanctions have already been prepared for them. 
-- Nugroho Dewanto, Agus S. Riyanto and Dewi R. Cahyani 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tempo Magazine (via Joyo Indonesia News)
December 24 - 30, 2002 
How the Invisible Account Began 

IT would not be wrong to call the Investment Funding Account (RDI) an invisible 
account. Up to now, not many people actually know about the existence of this 
account, despite the fact that these funds, which amount to trillions of 
rupiah, have existed for tens of years. The decision to set up the RDI was made 
by the Monetary Board on December 31, 1971. This was to be used as a holding 
account for overseas loans that were meant for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) 
or regional enterprises. 

At that time, the law stated that all loans in US dollars had to be channeled 
through the central government. The government would then collect all 
installment repayments in rupiah and then repay creditors in the form of US 
dollars. In practice, apparently not all the money received from SOEs and 
regional enterprises was immediately deposited, to be used to repay foreign 
loans. 

It seems as if the government deliberately created the RDI as somewhere to hide 
reserve funds. It's not surprising therefore, that the RDI soon became rather 
full. A source at the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) estimates that the 
total amount of funds currently in the account is in the region of Rp17 
trillion, while another source puts it at Rp25 trillion. However, every year 
all that is remitted to the budget is only in the region of Rp4 trillion. 
Originally, the RDI account was held at Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, 
under the name of BI. When Marzuki Usman was at the Ministry of Finance, the 
account still remained at BI, but ownership was then transferred to the name of 
whoever was Minister of Finance. 

According to one former Finance Minister, Mar'ie Muhammad, RDI funds were not 
always used to finance projects that could be termed commercial. Sometimes, 
however, these funds were used for government work that had social and 
political overtones. "Not many of the RDI-financed projects assigned by the 
government were either commercial or social-political in nature," said Mar'ie. 

An official at the Ministry of Finance confirmed this. For example, funds were 
used to cover budget shortfalls. "If the government could not pay civil 
servants' salaries, then the RDI would be used as a bumper to cover this," said 
the official, who did not want to have his/her name revealed. 

Having remained "invisible" for a very long time indeed, the existence of the 
RDI became more apparent after the fall of Suharto. The trigger was a request 
from the International Monetary Fund for all government monies to be recorded 
in the budget. It is not known who actually revealed the existence of the RDI, 
but whoever it was, knew that the RDI existed at the Ministry of Finance and 
asked that it be entered into the budget. 

The government was unable to refuse. In a letter of intent prepared during 
President Abdurrahman Wahid's administration and signed by President Megawati, 
the government has agreed that the RDI be included in the budget as of 2003. At 
the same time, the government assigned the BPKP to carry out an audit on the 
RDI. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
December 27, 2002
Police to keep guarding churches 
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Even though two major religious events -- Idul Fitri and Christmas -- have 
passed off peacefully, the National Police will continue to maintain tight the 
security at certain churches and other public places nationwide in the run-up 
to the New Year holiday.

A spokesman for National Police Headquarters, Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis, said 
that the police would continue to deploy some 200,000 personnel until ten days 
after the New Year holiday, and that they would be focused on particular 
churches where New Year's services were being held as well as public places 
such as entertainment and recreation centers and hotels. 

"Of course, we will continue guarding churches as Christians usually hold 
prayer services on New Year's Eve. 

"But we will now pay more attention to those public places where many people 
will be celebrating the New Year," he told The Jakarta Post. 

On Tuesday, Jakarta Police Headquarters issued an order prohibiting people from 
riding in convoys to celebrate the New Year, as well as from setting off fire 
crackers. 

Violations of the ruling carry sanctions in line with Laws No. 2/2002 and 
14/1999 on the National Police and Road Traffic Regulations respectively. 

Following a series of bomb blasts that exploded almost simultaneously in or 
outside churches during Christmas 2000, blasts that have been blamed on Jamaah 
Islamiyah (JI), Christians have been forced to practice their religion against 
a backdrop of possible terrorist attacks. 

The police enhanced security at churches this Christmas following the series of 
bomb blasts on Christmas Eve in various cities across the country in 2000 and 
2001. 

At least 19 people were killed while dozens of others were injured during the 
attacks on 38 churches and pastors' residences in eleven cities: Jakarta, 
Bekasi, Bandung, Sukabumi, Ciamis, and Mojokerto, all in Java; Medan, Pematang 
Siantar and Pekanbaru in Sumatra; Batam; and Mataram on the island of Lombok, 
east of Bali. 

The recent Bali and Makassar bomb blasts that killed nearly 200 people, mostly 
foreign tourists, and injured hundreds of others, have further heightened the 
fear of terrorist attacks. 

The police blamed the Christmas attacks to JI, a group the leaders of which 
have been the focus of police action following the Bali bombings. These leaders 
allegedly include Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir of the Solo-based Indonesian 
Mujahiddin Council (MMI). 

Ba'asyir has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the Christmas Eve 
blasts and a plot to assassinate President Megawati Soekarnoputri. But thus 
far, the police have yet to figure out a link between Ba'syir and the Bali 
attacks. 

The police are still investigating a total of 26 people who are suspected of 
being behind the Makassar and Bali blasts. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia Floods Leave 11 Dead, 1 Missing
The Associated Press
Jakarta, Indonesia Dec. 27

Heavy rains caused floods and landslides in a hilly region of southern Sumatra 
island, leaving at least 11 people dead and one missing, Indonesian police said 
Friday.

A 21-year-old woman and her infant were among those buried under earth and 
rubble when the landslide struck the village of Laai in South Sumatra, said 
Sgt. Affandi. Like many Indonesians, Affandi uses a single name.

He said 11 people were killed and rescuers were still searching for one person 
reported missing. Fifteen others were injured.

Torrential downpours since Thursday night have flooded dozens of villages in 
the region, about 250 miles northwest of the capital Jakarta.

Flooding and landslides are common in Indonesia in part because of intensive 
logging, which increases erosion. Corruption and a weak legal system make it 
difficult for authorities to take action against forestry companies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
December 30, 2002
NU calls for end to sharia campaigns and violence 
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, urged Muslims, 
in particular radicals, to cease campaigns for Islamic sharia law, as well as 
violence in promoting religion.

"Struggling for sharia to be enforced in Indonesia is not realistic. What we 
need is to develop universal values for the people's prosperity," NU chairman 
Hasyim Muzadi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. 

"Universal values are also Islamic. This has already been adopted in the 1945 
Constitution," he added. 

In a year-end news conference on Saturday in Jakarta, Hasyim said a moral 
movement involving national leaders of different faiths and non-partisan 
scholars should promote religious values that are coherent with national 
interests. 

"This is because confusing religion with the state will only destabilize the 
country and its people. That's why religious politicization in a narrow-minded 
sense will only undermine noble values and religious universalities," he was 
quoted by the Antara news agency as saying. 

Hasyim further said Muslims should shed Islamic symbols and formalities in an 
effort to make a success of their struggle for the nation's prosperity. 

"The Islamic struggle should be packed with national idioms. If Islamic 
formalities like sharia are put forward in this common struggle, it will 
collide with other beliefs, and then it's a failure," he added. 

Hasyim told members of the 40-million strong NU to stick to embracing the 
organization's principles of developing the nation, namely that the unitary 
state of Indonesia as proclaimed by the country's founding fathers was "final". 

Several Islamic parties and radical organizations, including recently self-
dissolved groups Laskar Jihad and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), have been 
campaigning for the implementation of sharia in Indonesia. 

Muslim-oriented political groups in support of the campaign include the United 
Development Party (PPP), the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the Justice Party. 

Unlike these parties, Laskar Jihad and FPI had often used violence to promote 
Islam by attacking nightclubs and other entertainment centers. 

The NU's remarks came as a response to terrorist attacks in the country towards 
the end of this year: the bombings on the resort island of Bali on Oct. 12 that 
killed over 190 people, and bombings in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar 
on Dec. 5, which claimed the lives of three people. 

Aside from these, a series of Christmas Eve bombings had also hit several 
cities across the country in 2000, leaving at least 19 people dead. 

Such incidents have shattered the image of Islam and Muslims, as all the 
suspects were inadvertently Muslims, although radical in their beliefs. 

Muslims have also been involved in sectarian fighting with Christians in Maluku 
since 1999, and in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso since 2000, in which many 
thousands of people were killed. 

Hasyim also called on Muslim hard-liners to stop using violence in 
disseminating and promoting religious teachings, as it would only hurt the 
people. 

Historically and factually, violence has never produced favorable results, he 
added. 

"Violence that breaks out between religious followers, such as in Maluku, does 
not lead any Muslim to a conversion to Christianity. Likewise, no Christians 
would convert to Islam on the basis of violence. So the war has only reduced 
the number of religious followers," he said. 

The NU, which was founded in 1926, propagates moderate Islamic teachings. Most 
Indonesian Muslims also adopt a moderate form of Islam. 

Meanwhile, the country's second largest Muslim organization, the Muhammadiyah, 
urged all elements of the nation to be united in an effort to save the nation 
from its prolonged multidimensional crisis. 

"Without a united effort, I wonder whether the fate of our nation and state 
would remain unchanged in the years to come, or would turn out to be worse," 
Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif was quoted as saying by Antara on 
Saturday. 

He said indications of the declining fate of the nation could be seen in almost 
all aspects, such as in the standard of living, morality, education, rising 
rate of unemployment, and the transferal of national assets to foreign 
ownership through questionable procedures. 

Consequently, those who often travel abroad or read various articles in the 
foreign media would find the nation trivialized or ridiculed from time to time 
in international lobbying, Syafii added. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Thursday, December 26, 2002. Posted: 19:23:52 (AEDT) 
Two more deaths in Aceh despite ceasefire

Two more deaths have been reported in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province 
despite a ceasefire pact as separatist rebels voiced their objection to peace 
monitors from the Philippines. 

The bodies of two civilians believed murdered were found yesterday in separate 
locations in Aceh, humanitarian workers told AFP. 

Meanwhile, a senior member of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Sofyan Ibrahim 
Tiba, said his group rejected Philippine peace monitors on the ground. 

He said they were not expected to be neutral. 

"President Arroyo once discredited GAM's struggle," Mr Tiba told AFP, referring 
to Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo. 

The Philippines is also facing similar separatist problems in the mainly-Muslim 
southern island of Mindanao. 

Mr Tiba said the Philippine decision to send peace monitors was in return for 
Indonesia's past role in mediating the conflict between Manila and the 
separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. 

GAM demanded that the Philippine monitors be replaced by representatives from 
Norway or Brunei, neither of which is currently involved in the peace process. 

On Monday police in Banda Aceh broke up a march by around 300 people, 
protesting against the Filipino contingent. 

Philippine Brigadier General Nagomora Lomodag is the second-ranking foreign 
representative on the Joint Security Committee (JSC), which was set up 
following the signing by Jakarta and GAM of a "cessation of hostilities" 
agreement on December 9 in Geneva. 

The Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) has acted as mediator in peace talks 
since 2000. 

The JSC is charged with monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement, 
investigating violations and setting up demilitarised zones. 

The 15-member panel, whose senior international member is a Thai general, will 
be backed by about 150 monitors - a third from the Indonesian military or 
police, another third from the rebels and an equal number from the Thai and 
Philippine military. 

HDC representative in Aceh David Gorman has said foreign peace monitors were 
not representing their countries but were under the coordination of the centre.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~