ttp://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=18733

In December 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed Army General Djoko Santoso as his new commander-in- chief. His appointment was part of significant organizational changes initiated by TNI headquarters since September 2007. These changes have major implications, RSIS writes.

By Leonard C Sebastian and Andi Widjajanto for RSIS (07/03/080

The appointment of Army Chief of Staff Djoko Santoso as TNI Commander-in-Chief has both political and military implications. The political implication is that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono intends to promote certain military officers to exert his influence over the military as he prepares his re-election strategy for the 2009 presidential election. The military implications indicate the start of a process of regeneration within the military as well as the need to keep up the momentum of military reform.

The new top brass

The promotion of Lieutenant General Erwin Sujono as the new chief of general staff (Kasum TNI), Lieutenant General Cornel Simbolon as the new deputy army chief of staff, Major General Suryo Prabowo as the Jakarta regional military commander, Major General Suroyo Gino as the West Java regional military commander, and Brigadier General Pramono Edhi Wibowo as the chief of staff of Central Java regional military command is seen as part of Dr Yudhoyono's maneuver to strengthen his personal influence within the military. All these generals are known to have close personal relationships with him. Erwin Sujono, Suryo Prabowo, and Edhi Wibowo are part of Dr Yudhoyono’s extended family; Cornel Simbolon was his classmate in the military academy; and Suroyo Gino in 2006-2007 commanded the presidential guard, solely responsible for the president’s security arrangements.

The reorganization of the army as part of Dr Yudhoyono’s strategy to win the 2009 national elections started in September 2007 with the promotion of Lt-Gen Simbolon (as deputy army chief of staff), Lieutenant General George Toisutta (Commander of the Army Strategic Command), Brigadier General Soenarko (Commander of Army Special Forces), and promotion of several officers to become army regional commanders such as Suryo Prabowo (Jakarta), Suroyo Gino (West Java), Pramono Edhi Wibowo (Central Java), Bambang Suranto (East Java), Djoko S. Utomo (Sulawesi), and Haryadi Soetanto (Papua).

This process culminated in January 2008 when Dr Yudhoyono, surprisingly, appointed his close aide Lieutenant General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo to become the new army chief of staff. Under normal circumstances, such a strategic position would be given to a three-star general who had previously served as commander of the Army Strategic Command, better known as Kostrad, or as deputy army chief staff. By appointing Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo - secretary of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs - to become his new army chief of staff, the President continues to extend his personal influence within the Army.

TNI's strategic transformation

Besides the political ramifications, changes to the military hierarchy from September 2007 to January 2008 should be seen as part of the TNI's strategic transformation aimed at designing a professional armed forces configured for dealing with 21st century contingencies.

The promotion of General Djoko Santoso as the new commander-in-chief is part of a regeneration process particularly necessary due the passing of Law of TNI 2004 extending an officer’s retirement age from 55 to 58 years old. Without the law, former commander-in-chief Air Marshall Djoko Suyanto would have retired in December 2005. Similarly, former Air Force and Navy Chief of Staff Air Marshall Herman Prayitno and Admiral Slamet Subijanto would have retired in January and June 2006.

The extension of the retirement age has created a backlog in promotions affecting a significant number of high ranking military officers, especially officers those who graduated from the military academy from 1973 to 1978. From 2004 to 2009, there will be approximately 120-150 army generals from 1973-1978 classes and another 50-70 generals from 1979-1981 classes. These 170-220 army generals will have to compete with each other to fill approximately 130 positions in the Army.

The available positions for army generals has reduced significantly into only 44 strategic positions in the army regional commands, army special forces, and army strategic command, and another 80-90 positions in army headquarters. This reduction is due to cutbacks of the number of army regional commands in the late 1980s and as a consequence of the elimination of its dual-function role.

Military academy's role

As part of the regeneration process, a high-ranking officer from the military academy's graduating classes from 1977-1979 will be promoted as the next commander-in-chief just before the 2009 national elections. In order to do so, at some point from December 2008 to June 2009, Dr Yudhoyono will have to replace the current chiefs of staff. The appointment of General Djoko Santoso from the class of 1975 as the commander-in-chief is a first step in this transition. In fact, General Santoso is younger in age compared to the current army, navy, and air force chiefs of staff and all the current three star officers (with the exception of Commander of the Army Strategic Command, Lieutenant General Toisutta).

General Santoso is conservative and represents continuity. He supports the principle of political neutrality of the military; he guarantees that serving army personnel would not get involved in local and national elections; he accepts the separation of military justice system from the criminal justice system in principle; he has stated the need for a reserve force; and he favors the elimination of military businesses.

In 2006, General Santoso created a new Total Defence College in Bandung to initiate a series of discussions on doctrinal reforms. He wants an open debate on the basic concepts of Indonesia's defense doctrine. Foremost in these discussions is whether Indonesia should maintain its People's War doctrine or have it modified to become a new doctrine of total war or total defense.

Another issue for discussion is whether a doctrine of asymmetric warfare relying on military capacity to maintain a war of attrition against a much stronger adversary would become a more appropriate strategy for Indonesia.

Leonard C Sebastian is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Indonesia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), and Andi Widjajanto is a PhD candidate at RSIS, Nanyang Technological University. Reprinted with permission from RSIS. Copyright (c) 2007 S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Blk S4, Level B4, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.

Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Human Rights for West Papua

Freeport-McMoRan Corp is destroying the Papuan rain-forest
Richard Elfman, Editor In Chief

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

West Papua: Free to Choose

I just saw a no-budget short film at the SBIFF, a documentary about the human rights struggle in West Papua (formerly western New Guinea--now annexed by Indonesia). The story was so damned
compelling that it kicked this writer's butt enough to start writing Congressmen--as well as writing YOU, my dear Buzzine readers (and please read this article if nothing else).

When New Guinea (the world's second-largest island--located north of Australia) gained its independence from the Dutch, neighboring Indonesia moved right in with a classic "screw the
natives" land grab. The other villain is American-based mega-mining company, the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Corporation, which, in collusion with oppressive military
police, operates a humongous land-stripping and utterly polluting cash machine, with barely pennies going to the very people whose land they ruin. It's obscene.

Filmmaker Craig Harris, a carpenter by trade and passionate human rights activist, keeps the candle burning with this film-in-progress, as he is attempting to go back to West Papua
and film some more. Helping him and the subject of our following interview is Octovianus Mote, Papuan human rights activist, respected journalist in his homeland, and visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities, who now lives in exile in the USA--supporting his family with odd jobs at gas stations and delivering pizza, while trying to finish a book to promote social justice for his people.

Richard Elfman: Tell us a little about your background.

Octovianus Mote: I am a journalist and activist from (West) Papua, Indonesia, now residing in the United States. In 1998, I was appointed by the government of Indonesia as a mediator in
the national dialogue on Papua between representatives of West Papuan people and the Indonesian government. Following a meeting with West Papuans and the president of Indonesia in 1999, I was blacklisted and denied the right to travel outside Indonesia. Nevertheless, I came to the United States and have heldappointments as a visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities.

RE: Can you give us a brief history of the situation in West Papua?

OM: Indonesia maintains control over West Papua, using military might to deny indigenous people human rights and to quell their demands for self-determination. Since the invasion in 1963, an estimated 100,000 Papuans have been killed by Indonesian armed forces and militias:

Papua is rich in natural resources, including natural gas, oil, minerals, and rainforests. The Indonesian government relies on the taxes from foreign sponsored extraction industries which are
devastating the environment and that return few or no benefits back to the Papuan people. The military is directly involved, engaging in illegal logging and acting as security teams for
mining companies. Papua is now home to the highest concentration of illegal logging operations in Asia. Widespread logging and mining have a serious impact on the livelihood and traditions of the Papuan people, who rely on the land for survival. Traditional land is continually being cleared, which has created conflict amongst the indigenous people, foreign companies, and Indonesian security forces.

USA-based freeport McMoRan is operating in the world's largest gold and copper mine in the mountainous home of the Amungme indigenous people, who have always opposed their presence. Freeport pays the Indonesian military $5 million per month to maintain security at the mine. These armed forces and militia groups regularly use torture, extra-judicial killings, and forced detention to block Papuans from protecting their traditional lands and expressing their rights to self-determination. According to Yale University and University of Sydney, West Papua is one of ten nations in world that is facing the possibility of the extinction of its indigenous people if there is no international intervention.

RE: What happened that caused you to flee West Papua?

OM: My neighbor and close relative, Obeth Badii, was found dead in a police office. A couple of days earlier, Obeth warned me about some people looking for me. Military persons had been following me around--although I was guarded by Papuan people day and night, I no longer had freedom to work as a journalist.

RE: Is it difficult, living in exile?

OM: On the positive side, for myself and my family, I have security. My children can go to school without any problems. If I were in Papua, my family and I would be threatened. Having
political asylum gives me the opportunity to continue in my human rights work, where I can speak and meet freely. Also, since I have had political asylum, I have had the privilege of
being affiliated with Cornell and Yale Univeresities, working with important anthropologists and Indonesian experts. Also, I have greater access to influential people in the US. For instance, I meet with US Congressional people, to whom I give data about Papua.

The negative side of having political asylum is that I feel distant from people, Where in the past, as a journalist, I had close connections to my people, now I have to, in part, rely on
other people's reports. Furthermore, there's an issue with funding. Back home, I had no problems with funding my work, because I had a consistent job as a journalist. I could give
full attention to my work as a journalist and human rights advocate. Additionally, I cannot finish my work (on the genocide  project and my book, as well as my lobbying activity) because I have to work - e.g., in a gas station, delivering pizza, and transporting medical specimens. This takes up a lot of my time, but I have to keep my family fed.

RE: What can people--Americans and others--do to help the situation?

1. Call your representatives (Senate and House) to support this issue.
2. Lobby the US government to pressure Indonesian  government and military to stop their brutallity in Papua.
3. Lobby US government to bring this case back to UN as part of moral responsibility.
4. Make this issue into international radar through variety of media.

My greatest hope is that the world will recognize West Papua and support the Papuan people so they can live on their land peacefully.

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
 
18 February 2008
 
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnation.asp?fileid=20080218.G01
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Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Saturday asked Papua to use local wisdom to accelerate development and achieve the true potential of the resource-rich province.
 
Addressing high-ranking Papuan officials during a work meeting here to evaluate development programs in the province, Kalla said governors, regents and mayors in Papua needed to be more creative in crafting policies and carrying out development programs to achieve significant advances in all sectors.
 
"When constructing a building in a remote area, for instance, a regional administration should call on local wisdom and use wood which is affordable and easy to get, instead of stones and cement which could cost some Rp 1 million per pack because of the costly transportation fees," he said.
 
The Vice President said this fiscal year, Papua province would receive Rp 21 trillion (US$2.2 billion) in development funds and West Papua Rp 7 trillion. He said these were significant amounts, especially considering the total population was only about 2.8 million.
 
"If these huge amounts of funds were distributed equally to the population, everyone would receive Rp 11 million. The funds will have significance for the people if the development programs change their lives. Therefore, the government must be efficient and the funds should not wholly be absorbed for bureaucracy expenditures," he said.
 
Under the 2001 special autonomy law for Papua, the province received about Rp 3 trillion in 2002, Rp 5 trillion in 2005 and Rp 6 trillion in 2006 from the government as its share of revenue from the exploitation of natural resources in the province. This includes the copper and gold mined by PT Freeport McMoran Indonesia in Timika.
 
Jakarta has been criticized for its handling of Papua, with the latest outcry coming after the government introduced a bill that would split Papua into four new provinces and allow the central government to send more security personnel into the country's easternmost province.
 
Most Papuans oppose the bill, and have called on Jakarta to settle unresolved human rights abuses in the region and fight corruption in the
provincial bureaucracy.
 
Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu said in a report at Saturday's meeting that 80 percent of Papuans were officially defined as living in absolute poverty.
 
According to unofficial data from local NGOs and churches, some 60 percent  of Papuans are illiterate. Papua has also seen the fastest spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.
 
"They are poor and cannot survive despite their natural wealth. This condition has been worsened by the corrupt governance and poor infrastructure and the low quality of human resources," Suebu said.  The three-day work meeting will last until Monday. It is being held so officials can discuss the problems facing Papua and how to improve the welfare of Papuans.
 
The meeting is also expected to seek a legal solution and basis for the controversial formation of West Papua province following the annulment bythe Constitutional Court of Law No. 45/1999 on the province's formation. 

TV Broadcasting on Genocide in West Papua