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Mar
10, 2001
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RUPIAH
PLUMMETS
Rp10,000+ to the
US$
500 Madurese
SLAUGHTERED
in SEMPIT
Refugees Flee Borneo
After a rampage of killing
more than 50,000 refugees have fled Borneo (Kalimantan).
The Story
By Abigail Abrash
who is an adviser to the Indonesia Human Rights Network.
Sent by Geof in Canberra
The
violence seems savage, the context exotic. Yet the killings, with at least
500 dead in the past two weeks, are not as remote as they might seem. The
Madurese migrants being attacked by the indigenous Dayak people of Central
Kalimantan Province are scapegoats for the failed economic and social policies
that Indonesia, with American support, has followed for far
too long.
For
decades, the Dayaks like Papuans, Acehnese, Moluccans and other indigenous
communities throughout the Indonesian archipelago have been on
the receiving end
of destructive policies imposed by the central government in Jakarta and
backed by repressive political and military force.
Under
Indonesia's laws, inherited from the Dutch colonial regime, the state and
corporations with state backing have seized the lands of these communities
for mining and logging, single-crop plantations, factory fishing and building
of roads and other infrastructure. Until they were suspended last summer,
government "transmigration" policies relocating Indonesians, like the former
Madura islanders attacked in Borneo, from populous areas to less "developed"
lands provided a labor force for such
projects. These business
operations have also created boomtowns attracting thousands of other "spontaneous"
migrants who further rend a social fabric
woven together over
hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years in the fragile ecosystems of Indonesia's
more than 10,000 islands.
Indonesia's
legal
system offers no adequate respect for community land rights and no effective
protection for traditional livelihoods. Indeed, land disputes account for
the greatest number of complaints brought to Indonesia's National Commission
on Human Rights.
The
American State Department's annual report on human rights, released last
month, charged that the Indonesian government had "used its authority,
and at times intimidation, to appropriate land for development projects,
particularly areas claimed by indigenous people, and often without fair
compensation." It further stated, |
FRIDAY:
Today
the Indonesia Rupiah hit a 20 month low. The devaluation of the rupiah
always indicated all is not well in Jakarta.
"THANK GOD WE DON'T HAVE CURRENCY PROBLEMS"... John Howard
Aussie $ hits .49c
US
How many John Howard's
does it take to change a light globe?
None, he is
in denial the globe is even blown........Harold
Melbourne
| Abdurrachman Wahid
of Indonesia is still holding on to power. The President known in Indonesia
as Gus Dur has just returned from a 2 week overseas |
Gus Dur
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junket. He attended
the Harji in Mecca before returning home early
this week. He flew
straight away to Sempit to see first hand the situation. We might add the
President is blind. He only stayed a short time, the minute he left riot
police opened fire on protesting Dayaks killing one. |
"When indigenous people clash with private- sector development projects,
the developers almost always prevail."
In
the 1990's, the impact of these economic strategies on local peoples like
the Dayaks, and on Indonesia's environment, has actually worsened, thanks
in large part to I.M.F. structural-adjustment policies and to increased
investment from abroad in destructive projects. The palm-oil, timber, and
mining businesses, all benefiting from American investment, have been particularly
harmful to the Indonesian environment — and, often, to the indigenous people
whose lands they use.
Indonesia's
military plays a critical role in the economy, relying on its
private business interests
for an estimated two-thirds of its annual
budget. The military
has not hesitated to acquire and protect its own and others' assets by
force. A lieutenant commander of Indonesia's elite American-trained special
forces described for a human- rights investigator in 1998 what role the
military played in establishing and protecting natural-resource operations
and other development projects: "The military is here to make sure that
investors can come in." |
DAYAK CHILDREN AT PLAY -
from
Herman in Jakarta
HOUSE NEWS
We apologize there
has been no newsletter for some time, this has been mainly due to the KHO
scanner blowing up, therefore limiting the pictorial content.
KHO gossip: Melody
has a brand new Mercedes Benz. |
Mark
and David have returned to Bali. Liani, Peters wife has returned
from a month in Java. John went to Singapore for 3 days, to find
historical buildings. Jamal has a army haircut. Dede (Jamal's
nephew) will be going home in April. Tinni the dog had 3 pups. Beer
has gone up to $1.20 a large bottle, double that in restaurants. Dino
may be coming to stay in Bali. Saturday March 10 is Kunningan,
yet another Balinese holiday. |
Pauleen
gives government a hand.
......Bear Melbourne
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