Human Rights Watch 2009 Annual Report: Indonesia

Despite its growing reputation as an emerging Muslim-majority democracy, Indonesia saw little human rights progress in 2009. In July President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reelected by a wide margin, providing him the opportunity to take more decisive action against impunity, religious intolerance, and other continuing threats to human rights. At this writing, there is little indication the government has the political will to do so.

Indonesia has a diverse and vibrant media sector, but freedom of expression continues to be undermined by powerful officials and business figures using criminal and civil defamation laws to silence criticism, and by repressive measures on expression in Papua.

Click here to read full article: Human Rights Watch 2009 Annual Report: Indonesia

Reporter’s Notebook: Memories of the Aceh tsunami never fade

By Dean Yates
I wonder if Adnan Ibrahim ever found his son or Munawar Jamaluddin ever located his daughter. As much as I hope they did, I doubt it. Both men were part of the drama that unfolded in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Dec. 26, 2004, when a 9.15 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that killed 226,000 people  in a dozen countries. In Aceh, where a succession of waves surged inland for up to several kilometres, the death toll alone was 166,000.

I met Adnan, 62, a week after the tsunami. He was scouring a refugee camp in the provincial capital Banda Aceh for information about his son, Syawaluddin, 17. As he broke into sobs, Adnan kept talking about how well his son was doing at school.
“The boy is very smart. He is good with computers,” he said.
Six months later, I went back to Aceh to report on how people were coping. Looking through Aceh’s main newspaper, my colleague Beawiharta, a Reuters photographer, saw notices placed by parents still seeking information about their missing children. We telephoned one of the parents, Munawar Jamaluddin, to see if he would talk about his search for his daughter. He invited us to his home, where he told his heartbreaking story.

Click here to read the full article: Memories of the Aceh tsunami never fade

Aceh Passes Stoning Law

September 2009

Legislators in Indonesia’s Aceh province have unanimously approved a law allowing adulterers to be stoned to death.

Read the full article here: Al Jazeera: Stoning Law in Aceh

Aceh Party Wins Election, Without Celebration

The Jakarta Post
May 20, 2009

by Hotli Simanjuntak
Banda Aceh

A local party, founded by former rebels of the Aceh Free Movement, was officially announced Monday as the winner of the 9 April legislative election, but no celebrations marked their victory. No street convoys were conducted by supporters of the Aceh Party which secured 33 seats out of 69 seats in the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA). The party spokesman Adnan Beuransyah said although the party secured almost half of the total seats, the results did not satisfy the party.

“The seat allocation method caused my party to lose many seats. Many of our candidates who gained 10,000 votes failed to secure a seat, while candidates from other parties who gained only 7,000 votes secured one seat each,” Adnan claimed. “But we are humble. We can accept the results of the election.”

The party, which reportedly targeted to win at least 59 of the seats, actually defeated all the national parties, including the Democratic Party, Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Cresecent and Star Party (PBB), the Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Patriot Party.

The Democratic Party secured 10 seats, an increase from six seats in 2004. PAN won five seats, PKS four seats, PPP three seats and PKB, PBB, PKPI, PDI-P and the Patriot Party secured one seat each. Golkar’s seats decreased from 12 seats in 2004 to eight seats and the PPP which won 12 seats in 2004, dropped down to only three seats. The provincial legislative election attracted participation from 37 national parties and six local parties.

The other five local parties participating were the Aceh People’s Party (PRA), the Independent Voice of Aceh People’s Party (SIRA), the Aceh Safe and Prosperous Party (PAAS), the United Aceh Party (PBA) and the Aceh Sovereignty Party (PDA). None of these other local parties secured seats.

Aceh Independent Election Commission (KIP) deputy chairman Ilham Syahputra said the result of the election in Aceh is considered valid although there were still complaints on possible election violations.

“Currently, there are 53 cases of election violations in Aceh which were reported to the Constitutional Court,” Ilham said, adding results might be changed by the court. He said KIP was ready to face legal actions in the court. “We have prepared a team to go to Jakarta to face legal actions in the court.”

The Aceh Party

The elections were tense in Aceh but in the end helped to consolidate the peace process

Blair Palmer

July 2009

April’s legislative elections may have seemed like business as usual in most of Indonesia, but in Aceh the poll was preceded by mysterious murders, widespread intimidation, and a series of arson attacks against party offices. There was also intense concern, both in Aceh and in Jakarta, about what the results would mean for Aceh’s peace process. In the end, although the shortcomings were many, widespread violence did not break out, there were no major disruptions on polling day, and the results mean that peace is likely to continue at least into the medium term.

Click here to read the full article: Inside Indonesia: The Aceh Party