USAID/OTI Indonesia Field Report
May 2001
Program Description
The Office of Transition Initiatives in Indonesia seeks to assist, accelerate, and secure the process of reform and democratization in this enormous island nation. Following thirty years of corrupt autocracy under former President Suharto, Indonesia inaugurated the first freely elected government in the country's history in 1999. This milestone, while very positive, unleashed social, economic, and religious tensions throughout the archipelago which have the potential to slow or derail the country's political progress. OTI programs in Indonesia address some of the most difficult regions and issues in an effort to assist in the resolution of these dangerous crises. Using tools, which vary from media support to governance to reconstruction, OTI is focused on conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution of those crisis areas that have national resonance. OTI's Indonesia budget for FY 2001 is approximately $12.5 million, of which $5 million is for Aceh.
Country Situation
May proved to be another period of high level political turmoil in Indonesia. The Parliament has followed through on the threat to call a special session of the MPR (People's Consultative Assembly) for the sole purpose of impeaching President Wahid. The President remains defiant, and in addition to questioning the legality of the move, has also said he will not attend the special session. Wahid has again reshuffled his cabinet, and fired two Ministers who were widely respected and credited with a focus on running the government. Both Attorney General Darusman and Coordinating Minister Yudoyono are now out of the government. Vice President Megawati has been publicly dismissive of the cabinet shuffle.
Many public sources are now predicting the ultimate impeachment of President Wahid, and the elevation of Megawati from the Vice Presidency. What remains to be seen is how tumultuous this transition will be, with Wahid showing no indication of bowing to the move. His supporters in East Java continue to attack party offices of the President's rivals, and threaten mass movements in the capital. President Wahid has publicly debated calling a "state of emergency" under which he would be entitled to dissolve the Parliament. However, this move has been denounced just as publicly by the TNI (Indonesian military), which probably negates it as an option for the President. Wahid has reacted to this by mulling over the replacement of top TNI and police officials, but these decisions require consultation with or the approval of the Parliament, which refuses to countenance the moves. Wahid is perceived as having limited options.
The continued political turmoil has kept the Rupiah weak, and made significant restructuring efforts impossible. Indonesia remains at odds with the World Bank and IMF, with the latter continuing to hold the disbursement of loan funds. The weakness in the currency and the economy has resulted in ever-growing budget deficits, again hampering progress. It appears that without some evidence of political stability the economy will remain weak, and perhaps lose more ground.
With the exception of Aceh, where the conflict continues to intensify, inter-communal, inter-religious and inter-ethnic violence has been at a relatively low level for the period. Conflict is continuing in Maluku; however, while North Maluku is rebuilding with some success. West Timor has held a GOI-sponsored registration for the refugees from East Timor, which has been fraught with problems, including intimidation and poor organization. The final numbers remain in some dispute.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
Aceh
Active and widespread conflict between the TNI and GAM (Free Aceh Movement) in Aceh remains a major source of concern. The number of human rights questions, the destruction of villages, the creation of displaced persons and civilian casualties mount on a daily basis. With only two exceptions, all international aid and development entities have left the region. Local organizations and local government are finding it very difficult to function in any fashion given the current security situation.
In the face of the worsening situation, OTI is attempting to increase support to local NGOs to allow them an increased capacity to respond to openings in the security environment. The Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue is maintaining their efforts at negotiation between the conflicting parties.
Maluku
Tensions in Maluku continued during the month of May, with a new outbreak of violence and a change in the way violent acts were perpetrated. Much of this was at the hands of the hard-line Muslim Laskar Jihad group, which began employing more terrorist-style tactics, the sweeping of international organizations' vehicles for Christians and targeting specific Muslim communities they deemed had gone "off message."
As a result, there was little new grant making in the month of May. However, many earlier grants continued during the month. Of particular note was the opening of the NGO Community Resource Center, an initiative to enlarge neutral space undertaken by Mercy Corps with OTI funding. Despite the renewed violence, NGOs began using the center for training, planning meetings, and coordinating efforts. In addition, the Joint Committee's Baku Bae movement continued the establishment of its secretariat in Nania, another new neutral space on Ambon Island. Also, Yayasan 45 began repairs to the high school that will temporarily house classes for Muslim and Christian students from Pattimura University.
For the immediate future, OTI is planning to fund the purchase of garbage skips by a Muslim and Christian NGO group currently partnering with UNICEF and the Ambon City Sanitation Department. OTI will also fund a shelter assessment by Mercy Corps to determine the needs of returning IDPs to various parts of Central and Southeast Maluku. In addition, OTI will again partner with UNICEF to fund a Muslim-Christian NGO group that will establish a computer training center for Muslim and Christian junior and senior high school students at the Ambon Public Library, one of the few neutral locations in Ambon city.
North Maluku
North Maluku remains perhaps the only partial success story in the post-conflict arena. The area has enjoyed relative peace for eight months, and reconstruction efforts and the return of IDPs are showing progress. Areas of North Maluku remain tense, but much positive movement has taken place. OTI is assisting in reconstruction of homes for returning IDPs, media efforts, training for the local Parliament, and support to the Indonesia Red Cross. All of these efforts are intended to solidify the peace and a return to normalcy.
West Timor
OTI funded a human rights workshop in Kupang in early May to further discuss the appropriate model of a Regional Commission of Human Rights in West Timor. The workshop was attended by national human rights experts from Kontras Jakarta, KomnasHam/National Commission of Human Rights, Komnas Perempuan/National Commission of Human Rights for Women, and Indonesia Legal Aid Institution. The involvement of these national experts highlighted the political support from the human rights NGO network at the national level for advocacy work underway in West Timor. The establishment of this Regional Commission will be critical to the sustainability of human rights advocacy in West Timor in the future.
Future activities in West Timor will depend very much on security conditions. In the very near future, OTI will support an action plan meeting of human rights NGOs from East and West Timor to further discuss border issues, refugee/IDPs problems, and protection of human rights workers. The action plan is expected to revive the NGO network that once existed to ensure the implementation of human rights works in the region. In addition to this, under its conflict prevention approach, OTI will also support two other activities featuring village dialogues around Kupang and Atambua districts involving local people and refugees, providing enough space to both sides to interact in a peaceful way.
Papua
May was a quiet month in Papua. As the public awaited the start of the trials of six Papuan independence activists, attention was focused on the push for special autonomy for the province. The government-sponsored Cendrawasih University team, with funding from OTI, was successful in convincing the Ministry of Home Affairs to put forward the team's draft bill for special autonomy to the national parliament. The parliament is scheduled to begin debate on the draft bill in early June. At the same time, human rights training and monitoring activities continued in various parts of the province. A key focus was on Merauke district, where two new OTI grantees began integrated human rights awareness and monitoring activities. Additional activities with partner organizations are planned for this region. In addition, public debates surrounding the mayoral selection process in Biak were funded by OTI. These will likely be replicated in other parts of Papua where upcoming elections will soon take place. Finally, OTI is exploring the needs of parliaments in newly-created districts to determine the form and content of technical assistance to the parliamentarians.
B. Grants Activity Summary
OTI Indonesia grants, FY01:
Total number of grants FY01: 136
Total grant funds committed: $3,019,536
Grant numbers by sector, FY 01:
Civil Society: 56 grants, $1,182,849
Civil/Military: 14 grants, $371,410
Community Stabilization: 7 grants, $368,150
Governance: 36 grants, $739,303
Media 23 grants, $357,823
Grants in current reporting period: 23 grants, $406,764
Civil Society: 12 grants, $200,716
Community Stabilization: 2 grants, $32,709
Governance: 3 grants, $105,285
Media: 6 grants, $68,053
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