Southeast Asia: News, Culture, Voices
Justice or Intimidation in Munir Case?
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Even after his death, the threats kept coming. On November 20th, 2004, Munir Said Thalib’s widow, Suciwati, received the severed head of a chicken with a note that warned her not to connect the Indonesian armed forces to her husband’s death.
“Do you want to end up like this?” the note asked menacingly.
Munir's widow, Suciwati, after the verdict. Photo by Berto Wedhatama/JP
This past week, the South Jakarta District Court acquitted retired Maj. General Muchdi Purwopranjono – formerly of the National Intelligence Agency – of all charges in the case of Munir’s murder.
“I have already lost my husband,” said Suciwati after the verdict. “Now, I lost justice.”
Munir, a lawyer, founded the human rights group, Kontras, and was known for his pursuit of human rights abuses committed during the Suharto era – a role which earned him plenty of enemies.
Did the warning and the threatening messages finally have an influence?
During the trial, five witnesses revoked their statements in the case. And, as Usman Hamid (the current director of Kontras) points out, prosecuters decided not to include a voice recording connecting Muchdi with Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto. Pollycarpus, the pilot of the Geruda flight on which Munir was poisoned, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder.
The National Police has said that the investigation dossiers had only been returned by prosecutors once in the lead up to the trial, suggesting that the evidence against Muchdi was solid.
Following Munir’s death in 2004, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did the right thing by ordering a special investigative team to look into the matter. Now, following the startling verdict, he has “summoned” the National Police chief and the Attorney General for clarification into the decision. With a national election mere months away, the government cannot afford to gloss over this case.
But it remains to be seen if justice can still be salvaged – or if the work of anonymous threats will win out.
Radio Report: Religious Schools in West Java Push Progressive Islam
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When I spoke with Ansyaad Mbai, Indonesia’s top counter terrorism official, he pointed to the country’s Islamic boarding schools as places where the future of Indonesia’s Islam could be decided. U.S. officials have called the schools, or pesantrens, breeding grounds for terrorism. Yet, while a few of the schools have been connected to radical Islam, most provide an important system of education for the country’s poor and rural communities.
Indonesia's top counter-terrorism official, Ansyaad Mbai, in his Jakarta office. October 2008.
I visited a number of pesantrens in West Java and spoke with students, teachers and religious leaders. Listen to the radio report, broadcast this week on WBAI’s Asia Pacific Forum (99.5 FM, New York City).
Read more about the Fahmina Institute here: http://fahmina.or.id/en/
Wearing Jilbab While Reporting: A video interview with my interpreter
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“I would describe myself as a student, as a learner,” said Mita, 25, who accompanied me as an interpreter as I visited pesantrens in Central Java. “I’m open-minded.”
When I asked her to compare her experience of wearing jilbab while reporting with not wearing it during her regular life, she thought about it for a second.
“Yes, of course I feel different,” she said.
Watch our short video interview below.
Bali Bombers: A Visit to the Ngruki School in Central Java
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Ustadz Wahyuddin, current director of the Pondok Ngruki school in Central Java.
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Early Sunday morning, the Indonesian government executed three men convicted of the 2002 Bali Bombings, ending a controversial period of postponements, court appeals and international media attention. The three all have ties to an Islamic boarding school, called Pondok Ngruki, located in Central Java. The school is one of the most notorious in the country for espousing a fundamentalist version of Islam and for producing particularly fervent alumni. I visited the school three days before the executions took place and spoke with the current director, Ustadz Wahyuddin.
Indonesians See Hope in Obama’s Win
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Read the full post of my experience before, during and after the election as I traveled through West and Central Java.
Nine-year-old Barack Obama, seated at far right, during his stay in Jakarta. His Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, sits at the far left.
In Financial Crisis, Some See Opportunity for Renewable Energy
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On Tuesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono indicated he would consider a request from the House of Representatives to cut fuel prices as global oil prices continue to fall.
But while politicians discuss how and when to subsidize prices for jittery consumers, some in the energy sector are seeing an opportunity for a new commitment to renewable energy…
Read the full story in The Jakarta Post.
The Future of Indonesia’s Islamic Parties?
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Despite nearly 90 percent of Indonesia’s population identifying as Muslim, the country’s Islamic political parties have charted an uneven path since independence. In the first democratic elections in 1955, Islamic parties garnered 43.93 percent of the total vote – but so far, that figure still remains the best showing.
A Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) rally.
In a column in today’s Jakarta Post, Bahtiar Effendy, a professor at State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta, writes that the Democratic europhia after Suharto’s fall encouraged fragmentation. In 1998, for instance, there were 42 Islamic parties.
Bahtiar continues:
“The inability of [the parties'] thinkers and activists to put Islam into a context of a not-so-ideological political partnership, and more in line with public interests, has only served to spice up the negative perceptions of political Islam.”
National elections are coming in early 2009 and may be an important test for the continued relevancy of the parties. Read Bahtiar’s full article here.
In related news, Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said yesterday that he would enter the presidential race. Antara reports the sultan stating: ”I am indeed a sultan but not a noble person like 100 years ago and Yogyakarta is now also part of the republic.” Hamengkubuwono also said he sees himself as “an agent of change.” This sets up an interesting dynamic, as the governor is also the leader of the Yogyakarta branch of the Golkar Party, Indonesians leading political party – whose chairman, Joseph Kalla, is the current VP.
Weekly Radio Report: News from Southeast Asia
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In Southern Thailand, Muslim militants clash with authorities…In Malaysia, the foreign minister retracts from barring Nobel-prize winner Shirin Ebadi from visit to a local university…Prominent journalist Saw Myint Than released from one-month detention in Burma…and Indonesians prepare for the executions of the three Bali bombers.
Listen to the 3-minute news round up, broadcast on WBAI’s Asia Pacific Forum (99.5 FM, New York City) this week.
Counter-terrorism from a Criminologist’s Perspective
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Today, as part of an ongoing project on Indonesia’s deradicalization program, I spoke with police expert Dr. Adrianus Meliala at the University of Indonesia. Meliala discussed how counter-terrorism efforts have changed in a post-Suharto and post-9/11 society.
Indonesia has charted some important successes, but in Meliala’s analysis, better coordination between the different government agencies is needed.
Meliala also offered some background to the US-supported “Detachment 88″ counter-terrorism force based in Indonesia. Watch an excerpt below.
Dangdut Music Hits the Global Stage
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When I interviewed Arreal Tilghman for a profile in the Jakarta Post, he said that spending two months in Indonesia studying Dangdut music actually brought him closer to his African American heritage. The 22-year-old from Maryland spent his first trip abroad immersing himself in Indonesian culture and Dangdut music.
Listen to “Dang dut” by Hesti, Agung, Irfak, Toni, Bejo. (1:30).
Dangdut is the vibrant and constantly evolving musical form that draws on Arabic, Malay, Indian and rock influences. It exploded in the 1970s with acts such as Rhoma Irama and Elvy Sukaesih and spread through working class Muslim communities.
Now, Dangdut is about to hit the global stage with a debut album by Tilghman set to be released next month. Read the full profile of Arreal Tilghman, in the Jakarta Post.
