Is this low-profile Aceh activist a new role model for speaking out against corruption?

I know I was going to start telling you today about my investigations into a few projects that were funded with post-tsunami reconstruction money (aka your tax dollars) and my subsequent visit with Bill Clinton’s representative for the Clinton Global Initiative . . . but before the bloom is off the rose I wanted to share a bit of information about a man I had never heard of before, but who I am very happy to know represents a small watchdog group that speaks out against corruption and cronyism in Aceh . . . and I hope he continues, and is an example and role model for others.  

A little background:

 As you know, the current governor of Aceh is Zaini Abdullah, and Vice-Governor is Muzakir Manaf.  Both are members of Partai Aceh (the Aceh Party).  You will also remember that the former Governor (Irwandi) was also a member of PA until he split with them ideologically and formed the Partai Nasional Aceh (PNA).  All these guys were GAM members; Manaf was a GAM commander and is also responsible for PA’s later affiliation with the Gerindra party—ring a bell?  Fat man, nice horse, bad human rights record?

During the presidential campaign, two PA members--Zakaria Saman, GAM’s former Defense Minister and now a member of PA’s tuha peut (governing board), and Governor Abdullah, another tuha peut member, announced their support for Jokowi/Kalla, citing Kalla (bien sur) as a reason behind their endorsement, though they stressed that they spoke as individuals and not representatives of their party.

Both acknowledged Manaf’s right to support Prabowo, but, as they had done, as an individual and not as a member of PA.  This is why in the days that followed you might have read in the papers a lot of headlines reading “PA Splits Apart in the Presidential Election.”

Then in June, out of nowhere it seemed, came a band of five merry provocateurs called the Barisan Pendukung Partai Aceh (BPPA), The Aceh Party Supporters Front.

They held a press conference at the well-known Banda Aceh café, where their leader, a man named Azmi (center in photo), demanded Manaf’s abdication as the Chair of PA if he could not account for the following actions:

·       maneuvering PA into a voting bloc with Gerindra and endorsing Prabowo

·       receiving a “gift” of 50 billion rupiah from Gerindra for arranging a coalition; and

·       removal of other PA leaders for criticizing Manaf’s decisions.

Yowza!

Azmi had been a shadowy figure in the ever-dwindling vocal minority of political critics in Aceh, and when news of this move hit the students and the human rights watchdogs, they took to their smartphones with a vengeance, speculating about this bold but heretofore unknown personality.  As one blogger noted, the Aceh e-verse “crackled with activity and solidarity.”

“One colleague asked with excitement, ‘Is this our Azmi?’ and that naturally led me to ask, ‘Who is this Azmi’ Each of us contributed our admiring descriptions of this puzzling alien figure.

‘He lives in Jakarta. He left Aceh since his life was threatened during the conflict.

‘Azmi is Gayo [from the Aceh highlands].

‘Azmi is a man who punched former [Aceh] Governor Ibrahim Hasan in the face!

‘He is a large guy, wears a beard.

‘Azmi keeps a collection of peranakan Chinese antiques. His residence in Jakarta is like a private museum.

‘He was a referendum supporter like us, though he always operated behind the scenes of a movement, coordinating support in Jakarta.

‘Azmi owns a used bookstore in Jakarta.

‘Azmi keeps quiet; but he usually shows up at critical moments and then he lets loose.’”

Following the press conference, Manaf carpet-bombed local media with indignant outbursts claiming that BPPA did not exist, he’d never heard of Azmi, and he would pursue civil charges against him. “Even as Azmi’s accusations gained traction, Aceh’s press busied themselves with a resounding refutations from Manaf rather than a concrete exploration into Azmi’s critique.”

Azmi, as usual, kept quiet.  With good reason: dissent doesn’t go over so well in Aceh.  Which makes me wonder, again, how effective Jokowi will be in bringing some type of order to this province . . . .if he even wants to.

Blogger Taufik Al-Mubarak also has some interesting information on Azmi, revealing that he had been a student activist in Aceh, had supplied arms to GA during the conflict, and had been noticed by Partai Aceh (and Manaf) for his dedication to the cause of independence.  http://jumpueng.blogspot.com/2014/06/azmi-melawan-muzakkir-manaf.html

As the Globe Reporter notes, “For the slightest moment in a news cycle, Azmi’s vital involvement stripped bare an unholy alliance. As news of his strident critique tore through Aceh’s social media, we saw one supporter after another perk up and say, “ya, bagus dong!” [yes, good work!] as if it was about time someone challenged and dismantled PA’s false and hypocritical structure.”

http://www.theglobejournal.com/Opini/a-mysterious-outsider-in-aceh/index.php

Aceh and Independence Day: compatible, or still uncomfortable?

Indonesia’s Independence Day on August 17^th was marked by lots of ceremonies and celebrations, as has been the case since 1945 when Indonesia declared Independence from Dutch rule (Netherlands recognized it in 1949).  Festivities in Aceh, however, were probably more muted, since Aceh never agreed to be part of Indonesia and always considered itself an independent sultanate.

But that doesn’t stop the media from proclaiming that  “millions of Indonesian citizens, from Aceh to Papua, celebrated Independence Day with great pride and joy.”

Reporting on the festivities, the Jakarta Post notes that “following its tough journey of 69 years, Indonesia has emerged as the world’s third-biggest democracy, after India and the US, with Pancasila as the state ideology and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) as the state’s main motto. Though the archipelagic nation is home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, it adheres to pluralism, under which Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and followers of other faiths live in peace and harmony.”

Then why is it that I can’t go to Aceh and be driven by JMD’s staff to see our women cocoa farmers without threat of being arrested and caned for not wearing the hijab and being in a car with a male who is not a relative?

Not that I begrudge the media, or the country, the celebration of everything good and the discreet sweeping under the rug of the more problematic parts of its past (and present).  I mean, I give you the Fourth of July.  E Pluribus Unum, and not a Native American in sight.  So I shouldn’t throw stones.

But still.

If “Unity in Diversity” is going to mean for this new administration that the marginalized of Aceh are going to be even more trampled on, if the profiteering Sharia thugs are going to collude with Big Palm to forcibly prevent any government or community organization’s halting of the destruction of the rainforest, if “Pancasila” becomes less synonymous with Peace and Understanding and more associated with the para-military terrorist organization that took its name and which the government still supports . . . . then the global community better get ready to hold Jokowi’s feet to the fire to insure that in Aceh, anyway, it’s not business as usual.

Because for this province, that means out of business for everyone except the crooks.

What a wonderful segue to tomorrow’s post, in which I let you know what I’ve been up to regarding my attempts to let Bill Clinton know about the seamier side of Aceh (discussed here two weeks ago)—the part of the tsunami “reconstruction” he did not see.

Of cocoa pods, pests (of all kinds) and a look back at our coffee farmers

Everyone’s trundling back to work after the Eid holidays.  These days always fall during a really important time in the life of the cocoa pod—they’re getting big and prone to stealing by monkeys and squirrels, and also good targets for other bugs.  But the days are especially hot, and the farmers had been fasting, so it was a real chore to get out there in those fields and smack monkeys all day.    

Also, it’s time to plant more seedlings in the new nurseries.  One of the things that lots of large NGOs do not count on or plan for is how a project actually interacts with the daily routines and customs of the people who are going to have to implement it and live with it.  Sustainability is a bugger.

Speaking of which, we’re back on the sustainability trail this month, with a new project in the works to collect data and evaluate how the Direct Support to Farmers (DSF) coffee project is doing three years after the project ended.  We discovered that the lead agency, IOM, had not done any follow-up with the 1,200 coffee farmers involved in the project.  Since JMD was the agency responsible for training the farmers, and working with the 50 peer educator farmers who in turn trained 20 farmers each, we wanted to know if the tools and skills we’d given them were still being used.

The entire IM project was, of course, much larger.  God forbid the tsunami reconstruction money fund anything small and manageable.  So there was a marketing component and a value chain component and a coffee cupping competition component and a bunch of commodity-and-cooperative-related parts in which we were not involved.

So JMD decided that with its own funds it would conduct a month-long evaluation of the coffee farmers, starting with the cooperatives they belonged to, to their (paid) peer trainers, to the materials they were supplied with, to their family farms.  JMD has developed a position description for what will have to be an amazingly talented individual, to traipse around the highlands of central Aceh/Takengon ingratiating himself with the farming community and asking them if they still use drying rack to dry their beans, and how’s that new paved access path working out? 

We want to do this because, well, we want to know, but also because we are about to create a document asserting that the majority of the post-tsunami Multi-Donor Fund went to projects that had no intention of ever being sustainable, and frankly did not care to be. “Emergency” was the battle cry.  The mouse-squeak “Future” was never heard above the roar of the international NGOs as they raced for the funds.

****

In other news (and I only mention this because I am just holding my breath until October when Jokowi officially takes over and we can see the lay of the land in terms of Aceh’s environmental and social future):

As you know, wealthy sore loser Prabowo filed a suit in the Constitutional Court on July 25^th saying voting irregularities cost him the election. An interesting AP photo accompanied this announcement, showing “Prabowo supporters” protesting the election: 4 women dressed to the nines, pearls and silver jewelry, sunglasses and full makeup, and only one in a sort-of headscarf.  As Aretha Franklin would say, “Who’s zooming who?”

The court began deliberations on the 6^th—last Wednesday.

“We feel very, very hurt by irregular, dishonest and unjust practices that have been shown by the election organizers," Subianto told the court. [This is the same court that grew a conscience after Prabowo started threatening to use his leverage and lean on his cronies there to sway the decision his way.  Ouch!  That must have stung.]

Who says organic cocoa farming isn't sustainable?

Look at these babies!

The June application of the organic pest control/spray fertilizer has paid off for our women cocoa farmers in Simpang Jernih subdistrict; over 25% more flowers stayed on the trees this time, and at the 2^nd week in July he pods were nice, green, and healthy, and there were lots of 'em!

JMD’s secret mission is to have the University test the spray fertilizer and hormone that is purchased so that we can replicate the ingredients right on site—this way, the women have a much better opportunity to always have a supply on hand.  Like the organic fertilizer that the women now can make from ingredients right in the neighborhood, a nearly-free and plentiful supply of pest-be-gone will increase production significantly.

Plus (and this is where JMD really stands out): this is an activity that is sustainable.  The women will be doing this long after the agriculture extensionists and JMD’s support have left.   

(that is, if we can keep the palm oil conglomerates from destroying the protected forest.)

Harvest starts in September: stay tuned!!!

This is why it is hard to follow rules, not work illegally in the forest, and not follow the orders of sleazy politicos: you have to risk your life for $5

I really don’t think that we in North America or most parts of Europe know the true meaning of the word desperation. But since I would hope that leaders in Indonesia, especially newly elected ones, would have some sort of idea, it’s especially confusing to read that the new Vice President would be so clueless as to think that if he invited basically the entire country to his house for a chance to get Rp 50,000, only a few people would show up and they’d all behave calmly.

Wati’s friend was there and said, “Thousands showed up. Even though there were ambulances and hundreds of policemen ready, the number of visitors turned out to be massive.

Kalla paid all hospital costs, and even the funeral. But citizens are furious since this has happened in the past in other places. This should not have taken place; there are other means to give money without making big public announcements. It's so downgrading to the poor.

Jokowi did not do it during his open house (thank G0D)."

Wati adds, “Not a good start for a beginning of the new government-–this  will be used against him by his opponents.  But Sara, you and I know how Kalla really is . . .”

As one commenter on the article below put it: “Saying that cash is going to be handed out is just asking for a huge crowd to gather and jostle etc. Maybe next time just hand out food and good wishes?”

One dead at Kalla’s open house in Makassar

The Jakarta Post, July 29 2014

A female teenager has died, allegedly from asphyxiation, after being trampled Tuesday during an Idul Fitri open-house gathering held by Vice President-elect Jusuf Kalla at his residence on Jalan Hadji Bau in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Kompas.com reported that Dika, the 15-year-old victim, was a local citizen who attended the event with her mother, Nahu. After falling unconscious, she was taken by an ambulance to the Stellamaris hospital in Makassar for emergency treatment, but doctors were unable to revive her.

Several others were also trampled during the chaotic event, where police officers struggled to maintain order and safety among the thousands of people who had been gathering at Kalla’s residence since the early morning hours. 

Visitors were reportedly very enthusiastic to meet Kalla and his family members, as well as to receive Rp 50,000 (US$4.3) as a donation for attending.

Separately, Sr. Comr. Fery Abraham, head of the Makassar Police Department, expressed his condolences for the victim, saying that overcrowding had led to her death.

“We have deployed around 200 officers from various divisions, including the Brimob [police's Mobile Brigade]. I acknowledge that we were overwhelmed [and struggled] to manage the thousands of people,” he said.

Other Comments:

The poor girl lost her life for 50,000 Rp, trampled by others who just wanted their 50.000 Rp too and did not care

Reality Check: Her life like most Indonesians is worth only Rp50,000 . . . while all the politicians and others in uniforms (with lots of shiny badges and medals) are super rich...

It’s really all one big happy family . . .

Did you ever wonder why, if Prabowo was such a fundamentalist bully and Jokowi was such a snappily-dressed man of the people, the election was so close?

It’s because at the Indonesian presidential “court,” it’s just one big game of loyalty-swapping.  Can ideology-swapping be far behind?

A little tidbit from Wati:

As the first installment of my sins before the next Eid Mubarak, please be informed that I just received a text message from my friend in Jakarta, who attended a state visit at the presidential offices. SBY, Budiono, Mega, bu Umar Wirahadikusumah etc. were all there, including the Crown Princess.

[okay, a primer for those of you who are not up on your Indonesian “royalty:”

SBY is  Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, current President.  He will turn over the presidency to Jokowi in October.

Budiono is the current Vice President.

Mega is of course Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri, the 5^th President of Indonesia (serving as Vice President under Abdurrahman Wahid  until his removal in 2001, when she took office until 2004.) She is now chair of the PDIP-the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Bu Umar Wirahadikusumah is the widow of the fourth Indonesian Vice President, who served from 1983 to 1988.)

And Puan Maharani, aka the "Crown Princess" among Jakarta wags, is Megawati’s daughter from her marriage to Taufiq Kiemas.  She holds the second highest positin in PDIP after Megawati, her mother. She is seen as “very arrogant and ambitious,” but rather dull-witted.

Got it?]

My friend was very concerned and scared to watch the behavior of the Crown Princess and acting Lady of the House.

The Crown Princess is so SNOBBISH! And she keeps proving her reputation over and over.

She as well as her cold hearted mom ignored guests unless they approached them first. While any host and/ or hostess is supposed to greet and thanks visitor, especially on Lebaran.

Then the CP and mom were  "attacked" (their term) by the conglomerates who wanted to have their photos taken with them . . .

Oh dear . . .poor Jokowi . . . hopefully he is NOT part of it . . .

Lets pray Jokowi will not put her in his cabinet despite the obvious pressure from President # 5.

I have to check but I think my dad was the witness when Puan got married . . . like most of other Soekarno children my father was involved because of his close relation with Soekarno.

This is the political game that's going on now. Jokowi  became the presidential candidate because Megawati’s party--PDIP –chose and supported . Mega’s game plan in the beginning was to have herself and Jokowi as one ticket.

In 2004 the ticket to oppose SBY had been Mega and Prabowo as president and VP.

But SBY won. So Mega split with Prabowo and Prabowo started a new party which is Gerindra.

Indonesia’s second president, Soeharto, belonged to the Golkar party. Prabowo married Titiek Soeharto.  They divorced after Soeharto’s downfall, and became very distant.

But Prabowo used his relation with the Soeharto family during the presidential campaign, and of course this infuriated Mega. On the other hand, both Mega’s and Prabowo’s parties, PDIP and Gerindra, supported Jokowi when he ran for Jakarta Governor, especially since Ahok, the deputy governor, is from Gerindra.

[is your head hurting?  Me, I need 6 aspirin and a nap.]

FYI JKW and Prabowo have not yet met with each other during Lebaran, although both came to see President SBY.

Hatta’s youngest daughter, was once very much a Gerindra activist but she soon quit Gerindra after she found out that she was just being used.

So Prabowo has used the daughters of Soekarno, Hatta  and Soeharto. 

Quite the trifecta of sleaze.

Does not this sound like a soap opera...?

In other news:

I celebrated Lebaran at the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi with a friend who’s at the Islamic National Bank in Kuala Lumpur. The food, especially the lontong cap go meh, was superb and most of my fellow countrymen were well behaved.  Except for one senior diplomat who argued that Jokowi is very bad for the country and will make Indonesia bankrupt within one year. When I suggested that he give JKW time to prove himself over the next 5 years, and that the worst case scenario is we can impeach him if he is so bad, this diplomat became unfriendly.

Thank God the food was so good . . . or else my shoe was ready to fly over his head. . . .

Who says politics is boring?

At last the Rohingya are back in the news . . .and as usual it’s not good

UN Myanmar envoy worried over displaced Muslims

The Washington Post, July 26  AP

YANGON, Myanmar — The new U.N. human rights envoy for Myanmar expressed serious concern about the conditions in camps for more than 100,000 mostly minority Muslims displaced by violence led by Buddhist extremists, and warned that the country’s human rights situation may be deteriorating.

Yanghee Lee spoke Saturday at the end of a 10-day fact-finding mission to Myanmar, her first in the capacity of U.N. rapporteur. She said Myanmar should be applauded for having come a long way since installing an elected government in 2011 after almost five decades of repressive military rule.

[You know, I am getting a little tired of hearing this --every time someone wants to point to the inhumane and despicable treatment of Rohingya they feel they have to throw the Myanmar government a bone.  “It’s a lot better than it was” has not helped the non-Buddhist minority one bit, ever. “Hey, they have free and fair elections now . . . and of course they’re deliberately starving over 100,000 people but you can’t have everything, right?  Baby steps, right?"] 

“Yet, there are worrying signs of possible backtracking, which if unchecked could undermine Myanmar’s efforts to become a responsible member of the international community that respects and protects human rights,” she said, after talks with political and social leaders and trips to troubled areas of the country.  [does she mean that Myanmar should be making these efforts, or that she believe it is currently making these efforts?  And how has any treatment of the Rohingya confirmed this?]

In recent months, the government has failed to make much progress in ending religious conflicts and ethnic tensions, and journalists have been coming under legal assault after an initial period of goodwill that saw the lifting of censorship.

Facing growing international criticism, Myanmar announced this week it was allowing international aid organizations to return to a western region they were expelled from earlier this year after Buddhist mobs disrupted their work helping displaced Rohingya Muslims. [big of them]

Lee visited western Rakhine state, where since 2012, violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has left at least 280 people dead and 140,000 homeless, mostly Muslims confined in squalid camps. Myanmar is overwhelmingly Buddhist, and most Rohingya are denied citizenship.

“The situation is deplorable,” she said, reading to reporters from a 10-page statement. She said she believed camp residents did not have adequate access to basic services and had heard “disturbing reports” of people dying in the camps due to the lack of emergency medical care and failure to adequately treat preventable illnesses and pregnancy-related conditions.

“By virtue of their legal status (or lack of), the Muslim community has faced and continues to face systematic discrimination, which include restrictions in the freedom of movement, restrictions in access to land, food, water, education and health care, and restrictions on marriages and birth registration,” Lee said. She added she was concerned that “the government’s plan for long-term peaceful coexistence may likely result in a permanent segregation” of the Buddhist and Muslim communities.

[So: I’m confused.  What part of the Myanmar administration is it, exactly, that deserves all this international praise?]

What was originally a localized conflict in Rakhine state has turned into a sometimes violent campaign led by Buddhist extremists against Muslims in other parts of the country, and Lee warned that “the recurring outbreak of intercommunal violence reveals deep divisions and a growing polarization between Muslim and Buddhist communities.” [Growing????  You think it could get any bigger??]

She called for a law banning hate speech, saying she was concerned by its spread “and incitement to violence, discrimination and hostility in the media and on the Internet, which have fuelled and triggered further violence.” She also called for the withdrawal of a legislative package on the so-called protection of race and religion that would limit the civil rights of the Muslim community.

Lee said she would present her findings later this year to the U.N. General Assembly.

Aun San Suu Ki, we hardly knew ye . . . 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/un-myanmar-envoy-worried-over-displaced-muslims/2014/07/26/199da886-152e-11e4-ac56-773e54a65906_story.html