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TITLE:  INDONESIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995



Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The trend toward greater openness and freedom of expression in
the press, which began in 1993 and continued through the first
half of 1994, suffered a serious setback on June 21 when the
Government revoked the publishing permits of three of
Indonesia's best known weekly publications:  Tempo, Detik, and
Editor.  Tempo was the nation's most influential newsmagazine,
founded in 1971 and widely respected for the breadth and depth
of its coverage.  Detik was a hard-hitting tabloid specializing
in political affairs and social issues.  Editor was a respected
voice on public affairs.  The official reasons given for
revocation of the licenses were that Tempo had endangered
national security through its reporting, and that the other two
had committed administrative violations.  It is widely
believed, however, that reporting of alleged differences in the
Cabinet over a controversial military procurement issue was the
proximate cause of the Government's action.

Although the Constitution and the 1982 Press Law provide for
freedom of the press, the issuance of publishing licenses under
a 1984 ministerial decree is one method the Government uses to
control the press.  Three other publications had their licenses
revoked in the last decade, although two later reappeared with
new names and changes in top management.  In December Minister
of Information Harmoko stated that the Government would issue
no new press licenses during 1995 for publications on current
affairs, and he said there was no chance that the majority
group of journalists from the former Tempo magazine would be
issued a press permit to found a successor publication; rather,
the Minister noted that a press permit had already been issued
to a smaller group of former Tempo employees.  Other means of
control include regulation of the amount of advertising
permitted and of the number of pages allowed in newspapers.
The practice of telephoning editors to caution against
publishing certain stories--the so-called telephone
culture--continued, and its incidence seemed to increase
following the action against the three publications in June.
Self-censorship continued to be another publicly acknowledged
brake on free expression whose effectiveness increased after
June.

Military and civilian authorities continued in some cases to
issue instructions, more or less subtle, to local journalists
on what they could print.  For example, after extensive
coverage of the April strikes and riots, press coverage of
labor issues dropped markedly in Medan following directives
from authorities to cut back on controversial issues.  In
Jakarta, papers were warned against covering topics ranging
from the prolonged summer drought to the ban of the three
publications.  Medan police tried to curb foreign coverage of
the April disturbances by insisting on special permits from the
ministry of information, and at least two foreign reporters
were forced to leave the city.  The staff of East Timor's only
newspaper were subject to various forms of intimidation by
unknown sources, and a newspaper-owned vehicle was burned and
heavily damaged following the newspaper's coverage of a
mid-July demonstration which was at variance with the official
account.

The Government's actions against press freedom in 1994 limited
the increasingly vocal and independent press that has emerged
in recent years.  Although protest demonstrations dwindled
following the harsh government reaction against some
demonstrators, active opposition to the new government press
measures continued in other channels.  A number of unsanctioned
journals continued to provide critical coverage of
controversial issues, but they were circulated in small numbers
largely in major cities.  In August, 55 journalists founded the
Alliance of Independent Journalists, rivaling the
government-sponsored Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI),
to work for freedom of expression and oppose any form of
censorship and interference in press freedom.  In September the
former chief editor of Tempo brought a lawsuit in Jakarta
administrative court against the Minister of Information over
the revocation of Tempo's license, the first ever such
lawsuit.  At year's end, this suit was still not decided.  In
October most of the editorial staff of Detik joined the staff
of the existing publication Symphony and revamped it to
resemble Detik.  However, publication was suspended after only
a few days when the PWI withdrew its legally required approval,
thus jeopardizing Symphony's own publication license.

While public dialog is still freer than it was a few years ago,
the Government continues to impose restrictions on free
speech.  For example, on August 29 security forces prohibited
noted human rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution from
addressing a seminar on development in Indonesian society in
Surabaya.  The Government also prevented several other public
figures, including members of the National Human Rights
Commission, from participating in public seminars on one or
more occasions.  Authorities often capriciously applied these
strictures without clear justification for the prohibition.  In
East Timor authorities denied permission for NGO's and the
local university to hold an open seminar on development and the
local environment.  In February authorities in East Java banned
the performance in Surabaya of a play by well-known author Emha
Ainun Nadjib, which was critical of government land policies in
development cases.  Subsequently the authorities allowed
performance of the play, which had been previously performed in
Jogjakarta.  Two U.S. movies were banned following protest by
Islamic religious leaders.  However, a play about the
controversial murder of labor activist Marsinah was staged in
Jakarta in September.

The electronic media remained more cautious in their coverage
of the Government than the printed media.  The Government
operates the nationwide television network, which has 12
regional stations.  Private television companies continued to
expand, with a fifth station scheduled to begin operation in
November.  All are required to broadcast government-produced
news, but many also produce public affairs style programming
that borders on news.

Approximately 600 private radio broadcasting companies exist in
addition to the Government's national radio network.  The
government radio station produces "National News," which is by
law the only radio news broadcast in Indonesia, and it is
relayed throughout the country by the private stations and 49
regional affiliates of the government station.  By law, the
private radio stations may produce only "light" news, such as
human interest stories, and may not discuss politics.  In
practice, many broadcast interviews and foreign news as well.

Foreign television and radio broadcasts are readily accessible
to those who can afford the technology, and satellite dishes
have proliferated throughout the country.  The Government makes
no efforts to restrict access to this programming.

The Government closely regulates access to Indonesia,
particularly to certain areas of the country, by visiting and
resident foreign correspondents, and occasionally reminds the
latter of its prerogative to deny requests for visa
extensions.  The Government requires a permit for the
importation of foreign publications and video tapes, which must
be reviewed by government censors.  Importers sometimes avoid
foreign materials critical of the Government or dealing with
topics considered sensitive, such as human rights.  Foreign
publications are normally available, although several issues
were delayed or embargoed in 1994 when they carried stories on
matters considered sensitive, such as East Timor.

Special permission is necessary for foreign journalists to
travel to East Timor, and the Government organized a number of
group trips to the province during the year.  Approval for
individual trips by journalists to the province, and for travel
outside Dili, remains difficult.  During the November APEC
meetings, the Government approved travel to the province by
several dozen foreign journalists, the largest number to visit
the province in many years.  Some six journalists and
freelancers who had not obtained permits were denied access to
the province or instructed by authorities to leave East Timor.

While the law provides for academic freedom, constraints exist
on the activities of scholars.  Political activity and
discussions at universities, while no longer formally banned,
remained tightly controlled.  Scholars sometimes refrain from
producing or including in lectures and class discussions
materials that they believe might provoke government
displeasure.  An Indonesian academic who has conducted studies
on East Timor and whose conclusions are at variance with those
of the Government was strongly criticized by government figures
and his house stoned by unknown youths.  Publishers sometimes
refuse to accept manuscripts dealing with controversial
issues.  On occasion the Government bans publications and books
outright.  In January it banned a book dealing with President
Soeharto's rise to power, and in August, the Attorney General
banned a book published by the leader of the messianic Islamic
sect Darul Arqam, the third book of this group to be banned in
Indonesia.  On the other hand, "The Fugitive," a book by the
prominent Indonesian novelist and former political prisoner
Pramoedya Anata Toer, which together with other works by
Pramoedya had been banned for many years, was published in
August.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Although the Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association, the Government places significant controls on the
exercise of this right.  All organizations must have government
permission to hold regional and national meetings.  Public
marches and demonstrations also require permits, which are
frequently not granted.  During the year, government and
military authorities returned to a more restrictive policy on
authorizing public protest demonstrations, after loosening such
restrictions for a while during the latter half of 1993.  Many
jurisdictions often require prior approval for smaller
gatherings as well.  While obtaining such approval is usually
routine, the authorities occasionally withhold permission or
break up peaceful gatherings for which no permit has been
obtained.  In 1994 authorities broke up a meeting between an
attorney and his clients in a labor compensation case, and a
public seminar on land issues which was sponsored by a
well-known NGO.

The courts sometimes hand out stiff penalties to persons
convicted in cases involving free expression, as in the two
cases of student demonstrators (mentioned in Section l.e.
above), whose sentences were increased on appeal, while at
other times they are more lenient.  On June 27, security forces
violently broke up two peaceful marches on the Ministry of
Information by persons protesting the withdrawal of publication
licenses from the three publications mentioned above.
Approximately 30 persons were detained by the authorities and
several demonstrators were injured.  The Jakarta central
district court sentenced all but one of the persons arrested on
the day after their arrest for demonstrating without a permit,
and they were released after paying a nominal fine equivalent
to $1.  The remaining person, a parolee, was returned to prison
to finish his sentence.  On July 7, police entered the compound
of the Legal Aid Society, a prominent Indonesian human rights
NGO, and arrested 41 hunger strikers who were protesting the
media banning.  These demonstrators, too, were sentenced to pay
token fines and released after 2 days.  Other demonstrations on
this issue during this period were allowed to take place
without incident, such as a July 5 demonstration of journalists
in Jakarta.

A group of several hundred people, who had assembled at the
University of East Timor wishing to march to the provincial
assembly to air their views about an incident of alleged
religious disrespect the previous day, were dispersed by riot
police who refused to let the march proceed without a permit.
Around a dozen individuals were lightly injured in this
incident, and a number were briefly detained.  The authorities
showed greater restraint than in past incidents involving
crowds, using police rather than the army and avoiding the use
of firearms.

The 1985 Social Organizations Law (ORMAS) requires the
adherence of all organizations, including recognized religions
and associations, to the official ideology of Pancasila.  This
provision, which limits political activity, is widely
understood as designed to inhibit activities of groups seeking
to make Indonesia an Islamic state.  The law empowers the
Government to disband any organization it believes to be acting
against Pancasila and requires prior government approval for
any organization's acceptance of funds from foreign donors,
thereby hindering the work of many local humanitarian
organizations.  Nevertheless, a significant number of
organizations, including the independent labor organization
Serikat Buruh Sejahtera Indonesia (SBSI), continue to be active
without official recognition under this law (see Section 6).

In the past few years, NGO's have proliferated in such fields
as human rights, the environment, development, and consumer
protection.  In late 1994, the Government prepared a draft
presidential decree that would bring the more than 700 NGO's
under controls similar to the ORMAS Law.  The draft decree made
available by the Government for comment indicated that NGO's
would have to receive government approval for the use of any
foreign assistance they accept, and such assistance must be
deemed consistent with national development policy and not
detrimental to national interests.  NGO's would also be
prohibited from engaging in political activity and would
receive government guidance on fulfilling their declared
functions.  Many NGO's, fearing that the proposed new decree is
an effort by the Government to control their organizations or
curb some of their activities, reacted strongly to the draft
which, at year's end, the Government had not yet put into
effect.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for religious freedom and belief in
one Supreme God.  The Government recognizes Islam,
Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, and permits practice of
the mystical, traditional beliefs of "Aliran Kepercayaan."
Although the population is overwhelmingly Muslim, the practice
and teachings of the other recognized religions are generally
respected, and the Government actively promotes mutual
tolerance and harmony among them.  Some restrictions on certain
types of religious activity exist (see below).

Because the first tenet of Pancasila is belief in a supreme
being, atheism is forbidden.  The legal requirement to adhere
to Pancasila extends to all religious and secular
organizations.  The Government strongly opposes Muslim groups
which advocate establishing an Islamic state or acknowledging
only Islamic law.  There are government procedures for banning
religious sects in Indonesia.  Among those prohibited are
Jehovah's Witnesses and Baha'i.  In 1994 the Government banned
the messianic Islamic sect Darul Arqam in a number of
provinces, prohibited three of its books, and in August forbade
its leader, Abuya Sheikh Imam Ashaari Muhammad, from entering
Indonesia.

Violence between rival factions in the Huria Kristen Batak
Protestan (HKBP), Indonesia's largest Protestant church,
continued in north Sumatra throughout 1994, with at least six
fatalities.  In early 1993, citing a threat to civil order, the
Northern Sumatra regional military commander intervened in an
internal leadership dispute which broke out within the HKBP the
previous year, appointing a new bishop and helping the new
bishop's supporters take over church property.  Civilian and
military authorities have called the dispute an internal church
matter that should be resolved by the HKBP members themselves.
To date, however, only supporters of the former bishop have
been prosecuted for acts of violence despite evidence that
members of the opposing faction engaged in violent acts as
well.

There were widespread reports from religious minorities
indicating that the extent of religious tolerance weakened
somewhat during the year and that they felt less free to carry
out their religious activities unimpeded.  High-level
officials, including the President, however, spoke out several
times to emphasize the importance of religious tolerance.  Two
army privates accused of provocative behavior during a Catholic
mass in East Timor in June were court-martialed.  In October
both were expelled from the army, and received prison sentences
of 2, and 2 and 1/2 years respectively.  The law allows
conversion between faiths, and such conversions occur.
Marriages between persons of different religions are allowed.
The Government views proselytizing by the recognized religions
in areas heavily dominated by one recognized religion or
another as potentially disruptive and discourages it.  Foreign
missionary activities are relatively unimpeded, although in
East Timor and occasionally elsewhere missionaries have
experienced difficulties and delays in renewing residence
permits, and visas allowing the entrance of new foreign clergy
are difficult to obtain.  Laws and decrees from the 1970's
limit the number of years foreign missionaries can spend in
Indonesia, with some extensions granted in remote areas like
Irian Jaya.  Foreign missionary work is subject to the funding
stipulations of the ORMAS Law (see Section 2.b.).  Indonesians
practicing the recognized religions maintain active links with
coreligionists inside and outside Indonesia and travel abroad
for religious gatherings.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

In 1993 the Government drastically reduced the number of people
barred either from entering or departing Indonesia from a
publicly announced figure of 8,897 "blacklisted" people in
January to a few hundred by August.  According to government
authorities, no one is now prohibited for political reasons
from leaving the country.  However, the Government restricts
movement by Indonesian and foreign citizens to and within parts
of Indonesia.  In addition, it requires permits to seek work in
a new location in certain areas, primarily to control further
population movement to crowded cities, and special permits are
required to visit certain parts of Irian Jaya.  The military
carried out security checks affecting transportation and travel
to and within East Timor sporadically in 1994, and it
occasional imposed curfews in connection with military
operations.  The authorities require former political
detainees, including those associated with the abortive 1965
coup, to give notice of their movements and to have official
permission (see Section l.f.) to change their place of
residence.

In past years the Government admitted large numbers of asylum
seekers from Indochina.  Only a relatively small number now
remain and the Government plans to work with Vietnam under a
tripartite Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1993 with the
United Nations High commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to
peacefully repatriate the remaining asylees to Vietnam.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens do not have the ability to change their government
through democratic means.  The 1,000-member People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), which is constitutionally the
highest authority of the State and meets every 5 years to elect
the President and Vice President and set the broad outlines of
state policy, is controlled by the Government through the
appointment of half its membership.  The remaining half come
from the National Parliament (DPR), 80 percent of whose members
are elected.  In 1993 the MPR elected Soeharto to his sixth
uncontested 5-year term as President.  Legally, the President
is constitutionally subordinate to the Parliament, but actually
he and a small group of active duty and retired military
officers and civilian officials exercise governmental
authority.

Under a doctrine known as "dual function," the military assumes
a significant sociopolitical as well as a security role.
Members of the military are allotted an unelected 20 percent of
the seats in national, provincial, and district parliaments,
and occupy numerous key positions in the administration.  The
other 80 percent of national and local parliamentary seats are
filled through elections held every 5 years.  All adult
citizens are eligible to vote, except active duty members of
the armed forces, convicted criminals serving prison sentences,
and some 36,000 former PKI members.  Voters choose by secret
ballot between the three government-approved political
organizations, which field candidate lists in each electoral
district.  Those lists must be screened by BAKORSTANAS (see
Section l.d.), which determines whether candidates were
involved in the abortive 1965 Communist coup or pose other
broadly defined security risks.  Critics charge these
screenings are unconstitutional, since there is no way to
appeal the results, and note that they can be used to eliminate
critics of the Government from Parliament.

Strict rules establish the length of political campaigns,
access to electronic media, schedules for public appearances,
and the political symbols that can be used.  The Government
permits only three political organizations to exist and contest
elections.  The largest and most important of these is GOLKAR,
a government-sponsored organization of diverse functional
groups which won 68 percent of the seats in the 1992
elections.  The President strongly influences the selection of
the leaders of GOLKAR.  The other two small political
organizations, the Unity Development Party (PPP) and the
Democratic Party of Indonesia (PDI), split the remaining vote.
The law requires all three political organizations to embrace
Pancasila, and none of the organizations is considered an
opposition party.  Government authorities closely scrutinize
and often guide their activities.  Members of the DPR and the
provincial assemblies may be recalled from office by party
leaders.

GOLKAR maintains close institutional links with the armed
forces and KORPRI, the association to which all civil servants
automatically belong.  Civil servants may join any of the
political parties with official permission, but most are
members of GOLKAR.  Former members of the PKI and some other
banned parties may not run for office or be active
politically.  The DPR considers bills presented to it by
government departments and agencies but does not draft laws on
its own, although it has the constitutional right to do so.
The DPR makes technical and occasionally substantive
alterations to bills it reviews.  In practice, it remains
clearly subordinate to the executive branch, but recently it
has become much more active in scrutinizing government policy
through hearings at which members of the Cabinet, military
commanders, and other high officials are asked to testify.  For
example, parliamentary examination brought to light a major
scandal in government banks and forced the Government to
address it seriously.  The DPR has also become increasingly a
focal point of appeals and petitions from students, workers,
displaced farmers, and others protesting alleged human rights
abuses and airing other grievances.

While there are no de jure restrictions on women in politics,
only 55 out of 500 members of the national Parliament are
women; 2 women are cabinet members.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

While various domestic organizations and persons interested in
human rights operate energetically, some human rights monitors
face government harassment such as frequent visits by police or
agents from military intelligence, interrogations at police
stations, or cancellations of private meetings (see Section
2.b.).  Following the April labor unrest in Medan, local
security authorities increased surveillance and harassment of
NGO's in north Sumatra that were active in labor affairs.
Moreover, the Government prepared in 1994 a draft decree which,
if issued and fully implemented, would give it broad powers to
control the activities of NGO's concerned with human rights and
seriously impede their ability to function.

The Government considers outside investigations of alleged
human rights violations to be interference in its internal
affairs and emphasizes its belief that linking foreign
assistance to human rights observance is unacceptable.  In 1994
it pressured  several neighboring countries to prohibit or
restrict NGO-sponsored human rights seminars on the situation
in East Timor.

The ICRC continued to operate in East Timor, Irian Jaya, and
Aceh, and to visit prisoners convicted of participation in the
abortive, Communist-backed coup in 1965, convicted Muslim
extremists, and East Timorese prisoners.  However, as of year's
end, the Government had not approved the ICRC's request to open
an office in Aceh, though official cooperation on access by its
delegates from Jakarta showed substantial improvement in 1994.

ICRC access also greatly improved in other areas, including
East Timor where it has an office.  The ICRC no longer
maintains an office in Irian Jaya but visits that province from
Jakarta several times a year.  However, in 1994 the visiting
representative of Human Rights Watch/Asia, a key U. S. human
rights NGO, was denied permission to visit Medan and East
Timor.  The Government authorized the visit of the U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions
and allowed him to see those persons he had requested.  The
Rapporteur publicly questioned, however, whether all those who
might have wanted to speak with him had been afforded full
access.

In January the National Human Rights Commission, most of whose
members were named the month before, began operations.  Despite
continuing skepticism about the Commission's independence, in
part because its members are appointed by the President,
commission members during the course of the year actively
looked into many of the numerous complaints and petitions
presented to it and in some cases showed themselves willing to
question government actions.  For example, the Commission
strongly condemned the Government's revocation of the
publication licenses of three publications (Section 2.a.) as an
infringement of free speech, and it has criticized the way in
which the suspects in the Marsinah murder case were prosecuted,
as well as questioning whether all the guilty had been brought
to justice.  Lacking enforcement powers, the Commission
attempts to work within the system, sending teams where
necessary to inquire into possible human rights problems and
employing persuasion, publicity, and moral authority to
highlight abuses and encourage corrective action.  A team
visited East Timor in September and December.  Operations in
1994 were hampered somewhat by startup logistical and
procedural problems.