Climate Change and Rice-Growing in Meratus - See Page18 No
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Climate change and rice-growing in Meratus - see page18 No. 76/77 May 2008 This double edition of the newsletter covers the period from December 2007 to May 2008. There was no February edition of DTE. (DTE) office: 59 Athenlay Rd, London SE15 3EN, England, email: [email protected] tel/fax: +44 16977 46266 website:http://dte.gn.apc.org Suharto’s Legacy This May marks the tenth anniversary of Suharto's fall from power.The former president, who headed a military regime which ruled Indonesia for 32 years, died in January this year aged 86. The death of General Suharto is not the end the armed forces played a dominant part.The killing of Papuan leader Theys Eluay in 2001, of an era.The drama of Suharto's last weeks policy of dwi fungsi gave the military a show how the culture of impunity still clearly showed that the New Order remains domestic political role in addition to its persists. a powerful force in the country. Many of the defence function. Democracy was suppressed laws, policies and practices implemented for over three decades in the name of The 'father of development' during his 'New Order' government, continue managing and maintaining internal security by As the self-styled 'Father of development', to influence Indonesia today - despite more limiting political parties, censorship and the Suharto's policies were firmly founded on recent political reforms. imprisonment of opponents. A substantial economic liberalism. Indonesia's initially poor, Suharto was forced to step down proportion of seats in both houses of largely rural economy was transformed into as president on 21st May 1998 amid mass Indonesia's parliament were allocated to the one of south-east Asia's 'tiger economies' by protests, economic chaos and political military and all armed forces personnel and paralysis. Criminal charges over corruption civil servants could only vote for the ruling and human rights abuses were dropped on political party - Golkar. Even today, the army's Inside.... health grounds, although the former territorial command covers the whole Climate change: president continued to play golf, give archipelago with a hierarchical control system Bali and beyond - struggles for interviews and receive visitors. During his last from provincial to village level that parallels climate justice 4 weeks, streams of dignitaries - including the administrative bureaucracy. Debates around REDD, indigenous former heads of state,ASEAN representatives In 1975, Indonesia invaded and rights and control over funding 6 and senior government figures - came to pay annexed East Timor. Over one quarter of the Developments in Indonesia 9 their respects at his bedside, while leading 700,000 population died in the civil war and Climate change/plantations: Indonesian politicians called for sympathy and famine that ensued. Tens of thousands of EU energy policy & agrofuels 12 understanding rather than proceeding with people were killed by military action against Indonesia’s agrofuels programme hit 15 prosecutions. Many obituaries, even in the pro-independence movements in Aceh and Communities force Wilmar to international media, talked of Suharto as a West Papua. Widespread human rights address bad practice 17 great statesman who brought stability and abuses, including disappearances and Indigenous peoples: prosperity to Indonesia. Such reports ignored murders, took place in these disputed Climate change and Meratus Rituals 18 the social and environmental damage caused territories and elsewhere in Indonesia. Army Forests: by his Orde Baru regime. Special Forces are believed to have been Is the ministry serious about the 19 responsible for a wave of 'mysterious killings' legality standard? Joined at the hip of petty criminals by death squads in the early Agriculture: Suharto seized power in 1965 unleashing an 1980s. Throughout the archipelago, conflicts Poverty and the price of rice 21 anti-communist purge in which at least between communities and companies over Agrarian Reform: 500,000 people were killed. Between 50,000 land and resources were suppressed - Another year spent waiting 23 and 100,000 people were imprisoned without sometimes brutally. West Papua/ extractives: trial for up to 14 years and many thousands Indonesia's legal system - in effect, Companies lining up to profit 24 more were stigmatised by accusations of links part of Suharto's power base - was ineffective Mining: with the banned Indonesian Communist due to corruption and patronage.The murder MSM mine: community opposition Party. of rights activist Munir in 2004 and repeated continues as investor backs out 26 The Suharto years were cases of gross human rights violations by the Mining news in brief 27 characterised by authoritarian rule in which armed forces in West Papua, including the DOWN TO EARTH No. 76-77, May 2008 export-led growth based largely on the became a timber tycoon with exclusive rights ruthless exploitation of natural resources and over the export of plywood in the 1970s and Suharto regime called to workers. The state claimed control over the was trade and industry minister in the 1990s. account country's land, forests and minerals and As head of several timber trade monopolies, Jakarta-based human rights activists are handed out huge, long-term concessions to Hasan was Indonesia's de facto forestry trying to set up a People's Tribunal to big business. minister for decades. He also controlled coincide with the tenth anniversary Multinational companies were foundations which were part of the Suharto Suharto's fall.The idea is to address eager to get their hands on Indonesia's family's money making empire, such as the Suharto's record with the overall aim of natural wealth, especially on the preferential Nusamba Group which had shares in the seeking international justice, for example terms offered by Suharto's US-trained Freeport-Rio Tinto Grasberg mine (see DTE through the International Criminal Court economists. Freeport MacMoran got the 38). He was convicted of corruption in 2001 in the Hague, given the weaknesses in exclusive rights to mine a massive gold and after an investigation into forest mapping by Indonesia's political justice system and the copper deposit in West Papua; Exxon-Mobil one of his companies. climate of impunity.The concept is loosely exploited the Arun gas field off Aceh; Rio modelled on the international war crimes Tinto developed gold and coal mines in East The costs to forests and tribunal initiated by peace activist and Kalimantan. These companies have made forest peoples philosopher Bertrand Russell in the 1960s annual profits of billions of dollars, while in response to US military intervention in benefiting from the repressive human rights Between 1965 and 1997, Indonesia lost an Vietnam. situation, the denial of indigenous rights and estimated 40-50 million hectares of its forests Indonesia's Human Rights lax environmental controls. They could hide to logging, conversion to agriculture, mining, Commission (Komnas HAM) has set up behind the government and the local military infrastructure projects and urbanisation. In inquiry teams to investigate human rights in the event of any challenges from local addition to the reduction in biodiversity, this violations under the New Order. Several communities over land rights, violence, sexual forest destruction represents the loss of the retired generals (backed by minister of abuse or pollution. Paramilitary police homes, cultures and livelihoods of tens of defence, Juwono Sudarsono) are refusing protected their sites, a pattern which still millions of people living in and around these to cooperate in these proceedings. persists today in some places. forests. Indigenous communities were Representatives of civil society have Patronage to the president's family deprived of access to their customary lands pressed the president, Supreme Court, and supporters, including the military, was a and resources. parliament and the Constitutional Court key part of Suharto-sponsored crony Furthermore, the New Order's to support Komnas HAM's position, which capitalism. A classic example is that of imposition of a standard system of village is part of its statutory mandate, but no Mohamad 'Bob' Hasan, who provided supplies administration throughout Indonesia state institution has chosen to do this so to (then) Col Suharto's troops in the 1950s, suppressed almost all traditional models of far. local governance. In many cases, this has caused irreparable damage to communities' the Papuans' sense of injustice and fuelled The Central Kalimantan cultural integrity. Where renewal and regeneration is still possible, this process will demands for independence (see also p.24). Mega Rice Project probably take at least a generation. During the 1970s and 80s, oil and Arguably Indonesia's biggest social natural gas exports helped to fuel an In 1995, (then) President Suharto initiated and environmental disaster was the unprecedented period of economic growth a one million hectare project in the peat transmigration programme. Between 1969 with annual increases in GDP of over 6%.The swamp forests of Central Kalimantan. and 1999, around 4.5 million people were USA, along with much of the rest of the This controversial project resettled - mainly from Java, Madura and Bali world, turned a blind eye to Indonesia's planned to move more than 300,000 - to transmigration sites on the 'outer islands' corruption, nepotism and poor human rights families from Java to central Kalimantan to with massive financial support from the record because of the New Order's strong help make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice. World Bank and other international donors. anti-communist stance and its high economic Indigenous Dayak communities were Some sites proved to be suitable for growth rate. The World Bank has described displaced as forests were cleared and agriculture and developed into thriving new the Suharto dictatorship as a 'model pupil'. canals dug to drain the land, but communities, but at the expense of the Other international bodies such as the IMF transmigrant farmers soon found that rice indigenous people whose customary lands and FAO claim that Suharto's policies would not grow there.