[Marinir] Indonesia Digest; No: 26.05 ; 24-07-'05
Yap Hong Gie
ouwehoer at centrin.net.id
Sun Jul 24 19:18:04 CEST 2005
INDONESIA DIGEST
Indonesia's complex Issues in a Nutshell
By: Ms. Wurastuti Sunario
Published by: TBSC-Strategic Communication
No.: 26.05 - Dated: 24 July 2005
In this issue:
MAIN FEATURE:
BALI TO EXPERIENCE POWER CRISIS IN 2007 ?
NEWS AND BACKGROUND:
1. Religion, Culture and the Environment:
· Asians and Europeans meet in Inter-faith Dialogue
2. The Economy, Trade and Industry:
· Indonesia to Cut Crude Oil Use
· New Oil Refinery at Tuban, East Java
3. Politics and Security:
· Informal Peace agreement between government and GAM rebels
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MAIN FEATURE:
BALI TO EXPERIENCE POWER CRISIS IN 2007?
Although everyone agrees that Bali needs more power, the question that
remains is where will the island get its power from? Or, where, indeed, can
a designated Bali power plant be built, if at all? At the moment, Bali
receives power from Java on the Java-Madura-Bali power grid. The projection
that the island must be provided with an increase of 60 megawatt (MW) per
year, has so far not been met, while demand for power is constantly rising.
Today Bali receives 535.12 MW, whereas, it is projected that the need for
power in 2007 will rise to 700 MW. Yet, a solution as to how this will
materialize is nowhere in sight, reports the Kompas daily of 20/7.
A number of attempts and studies have been made for the purpose. A study
made by the University of Udayana on currents and waves of Bali's
surrounding seas as potential to generate electricity has been
disappointing, as these can provide a maximum of 1 MW only. Further, a
plant to be built near the Lovina Beach near Buleleng in north Bali, has
been protested by the local population. Similarly wells drilled at the
Bedugul forest reserve to seek electricity generating heat, has been
questioned by the community.
Meanwhile, PT PLN calculates that during peak periods, and including
reserve margins, Bali's needs for power already nears 700 MW, whereas
present supply is only 535.12 MW. The company further calculates that each
year until 2015 Bali needs an additional 60 MW.
Asked on the subject, recently re-elected Bali Governor, Dewa Made Beratha,
told reporters that no decision has yet been made. Bali has stringent
environmental regulations in place, where the supply of power must take into
consideration spatial planning and the environment. While, Culture and
Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik, when asked, said that he was not too concerned
that this will impact on tourism in Bali (Kompas 21/7), since, the Minister
said, all hotels and entertainment establishments already have their own
gensets and have been asked to save energy.
Tourism observer, Dyak Mulahela, on the other hand, asked that the
government not disregard the problem since, although large hotels do have
gensets, not so the many smaller hotels dotting the island.
Bali is 563.286 sq. km.large, and has a population of 3,351 million people.
In 2005 Bali expects to receive more than 1.5 million tourists. Until 2004,
an approximate 96 villages have yet to receive electricity supply. Tourism
is still the mainstay of Bali, as well as the driving force for most of its
economic activities. Although numbers have increased dramatically during the
past months, however, tourism activities and receipts have not yet succeeded
in raising Bali's economy out of the slump experienced post-Bali bombing in
2002, said Governor Dewa Beratha, at a recent tourism conference.
(Source: Kompas, 20/7/05) (Tuti Sunario)
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NEWS AND BACKGROUND
1 Religion, Culture and the Environment:
Asians and Europeans meet in Inter-faith Dialogue
Asian and European delegates attending the ASEM Interfaith Dialogue in Bali
on 21-22 July recently, issued at the end of their deliberations, the "Bali
Declaration on Building Interfaith Harmony within the International
Community".
In it, they declared their profound conviction that the various faiths and
religions existing in the ASEM member countries are advocating peace,
compassion, and tolerance among mankind. That the promotion and protection
of human rights and fundamental freedoms including the right of individual
to choose religion or faith, can contribute to upholding respect for the
diversity of faiths and religions, essential in combating ideologies based
on extremism, intolerance, hatred, and the use of violence.
Furthermore, it is more important than ever for people of different
religions and faiths to stand united and make it clear that they will not
allow use of violence to divide them. People must all speak up against those
who use religion to rationalize terrorism and murder.
Peace, justice, compassion and tolerance need to be cultivated and nurtured
to help create an environment conducive to building harmony within the
international community and people.
The conference resolved to continuously bring the importance of promoting
interfaith dialogue to the attention of governments and communities, and
translate the shared values of peace, compassion and tolerance into
practical actions within communities.
These will be done through activities in the fields of Education, Culture,
Media , Religion and Society.
Earlier, in his Keynote Address, President Yudhoyono, expressed that "We all
came to this Dialogue because we prefer to live in a community rather than
in a divided world." "This restless, volatile world calls for a more
assertive role on the part of religious leaders and scholars. Millions of
people over the world look to you for guidance, direction and inspiration.
You have much to contribute to the well-being of our world".
Firstly, the President continued, this Dialogue can help bridge the lack of
understanding or misunderstanding among the different faiths. Secondly, the
Inter-faith Dialogue should empower the moderates, so that their voices will
be become a major force in the dynamics of our communities. "Moderation
means we have to refrain from imposing one's views on others and avoiding
the use of violence. Moderation calls on us to respect the rights of others
and respecting others as much as you respect yourself.- Moderation calls for
an inclusive approach and a total devotion to peace and tolerance". A
healthy Inter-Faith process has endless possibilities, and our success in
doing this can spell the difference between peace and war, between progress
and regression, between growth and decay, concluded the President. (For
details see www.deplu.go.id)
2. The Economy, Trade and Industry:
The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs issued the following articles
in its bulletin of 18 July:
· Indonesia to Cut Crude Oil Use
With the world market price of oil at a record $60 per barrel, Indonesia
plans to cut by half its crude oil consumption and increase its use of
liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal by 2015, senior economic minister
Aburizal Bakrie said.
The government's energy diversification and conservation campaign aims to
reduce domestic crude oil consumption from the present 60% of the country's
total energy mix to 30% within 10 years, Bakrie was quoted as saying by Dow
Jones.
The government will offset that reduction by doubling its proportion of LNG
and coal use from current levels of about 5% and 15%, respectively, during
the same period.
"We've changed our thinking," he said. "The government will no longer use
energy [sources] that are expensive and not widely available in Indonesia
and [instead] we're going to export more oil."
Indonesia is South East Asia's only member of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), but dwindling investment in oil exploration has
led to falling output and has made the country a net oil importer.
The country's oil imports cost $1.27 billion in May, the latest official
statistics indicate, and in June, Indonesia's crude oil output declined
slightly to 927,800 barrels per day from 968,700 bpd in May, falling short
of Indonesia's OPEC quota of 1.425 million bpd, a source from the Mines and
Energy Department said.
Bakrie said key to the energy plan is diverting gas reserves that state oil
firm Pertamina and US petroleum giant ExxonMobil will extract from the Cepu
oil block for domestic use rather than for export.
"It is important to watch how large the reserves and production of gas that
can be produced out of the Cepu Exxon field [because] Cepu has a lot of gas
that can be used" on Java, he said.
Indonesia and Exxon last month successfully concluded talks allowing the US
company to tap the Cepu block, which holds some 600 million barrels of crude
oil as well as an unspecified amount of LNG.
The government is also hatching a national energy-conservation policy that
aims to shrink energy consumption by 20% annually beginning this year, the
minister said.
· New Refinery at Tuban
The government will build the country's 10th oil refinery at Tuban, East
Java in anticipation of output from the Cepu block, The Jakarta Post
reported.
"The government has decided that a refinery in Tuban will be built when oil
exploration
and exploitation are successful in Cepu, Central Java and in the Jeruk
field, south of the island of Madura" President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
said.
By developing the refinery, state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina will add to
its numbers of fuel depots to improve domestic fuel distribution, he said.
Mines and Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the refinery is expected
to have a capacity of between 150,000 and 200,000 barrels of oil per day,
sufficient to process the output from Cepu, expected to reach 170,000 bpd at
its peak, and the output from Jeruk, estimated at 50,000 bpd. Indonesia has
nine large and small refineries with a total processing capacity of nearly
one million bpd.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas regulatory body BP Migas has requested lower
import duties on imported capital goods, such as machinery and materials, to
encourage the building of expensive facilities such as refineries and fuel
depots across the archipelago. The Finance Ministry is looking into the
request.
3. Politics and Security:
· Informal Peace agreement between government and GAM separatists
The Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have
reached a peace deal to end the 29-year insurgency in the tsunami-devastated
province, Communications Minister Sofyan Jalil confirmed on Sunday
(17/7/05).
On Saturday, negotiators from both sides said that they had reached a
tentative agreement to end one of the world's longest-running wars.
The draft accord, which hinged on allowing the separatist GAM to form its
own local political party, was sent to Jakarta to receive the approval from
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The two sides are to initial a deal, that is seen as the best chance yet of
ending the three decades of fighting that has killed 15,000 people in the
province of Aceh. The peace accord is expected to be signed on 15 August at
a formal ceremony in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. It will allow the
separatists to field individual candidates in local elections next April.
The government has also undertaken to change a law banning local political
parties - a key rebel demand - within 18 months.
The draft agreement, among others, provides for the withdrawal of most of
the 40,000 Indonesian troops and paramilitary police deployed to the
province, as well as the disarmament of the 5,000-strong guerrilla force on
the side of GAM.
This process will be overseen by about 250 European Union observers and at
least 100 monitors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In Jakarta, President Yudhoyono said that GAM rebels will be given three
months to disarm. He made the comments before the draft agreement was
announced.
"If the conflict is declared over, then within about three months GAM will
be expected to hand over its guns which would then be destroyed," Yudhoyono
told reporters.
The peace process was restarted immediately after the December 26, 2004
quake and tsunami disaster, when both the Indonesian administration and the
Aceh government-in-exile in Sweden came under intense international pressure
to end the long-running
armed insurgency.
In the latest development, according to SCTV's Liputan6.com, President
Yudhoyono affirmed on 17 July that the Government will not allow GAM to form
a local party. "Former GAM members will be accommodated through a national
party in accordance with the Law on the Establishment of Political Parties,"
said the President. The President also confirmed that he had received the
results of informal negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, between the
government and GAM. 97% has been completed. And the results are quite
satisfactory, said Yudhoyono.
For your comments or further inquiries, please e-mail to"
tbsc-strategy at indo.net.id
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