[Marinir] Indonesia Digest: No: 41.05 ; 27-11-'05

[Yap Hong Gie]

INDONESIA DIGEST

Indonesia's complex Issues in a Nutshell
By: Ms. Wuryastuti Sunario
Published by: TBSC-Strategic Communication
No.: 41.05 - Dated: 27 November 2005
In this issue:

MAIN FEATURE:

DECLINING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, ONE REASON FOR TERRORISM;
BUT TERRORISM HAS NO SOCIAL ROOTS IN INDONESIA

NEWS AND BACKGROUND:

1.      Tourism and Transportation:
Bali and Lombok Ranked Among the Very Best in the World
·         Air Paradise Suspends Australia Flights
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MAIN FEATURE:

DECLINING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, ONE REASON FOR TERRORISM,
BUT TERRORISM HAS NO SOCIAL ROOTS IN INDONESIA

The video clip that was discovered during raids on homes of alleged
terrorists in the provinces of Central and East Java, and widely published
in the media, has resulted in some astounding results. Broadcast repeatedly
over all the TV stations, the clip showed the three Bali bombers of 1
October giving their last testimonials, stating that by committing what they
were about to do (suicide bombing) they are guaranteed an immediate place in
heaven. The clip has resulted in a burst of outrage and protests from Moslem
religious teachers. Another outcome of the broadcast was that the
testimonial made by one suicide bomber identified as Misno, finally resulted
in his parents recognizing the Jimbaran bomber as their son. Another result
of the open publicity, however, was also that the United States, Britain and
Australia, immediately stepped up their travel warnings to Indonesia.

Indeed, prior to releasing the tape for public viewing, Vice President Jusuf
Kalla had called on the Indonesian people to fight terrorism on two fronts.
While the security aspect had already been entrusted to the Police and
Security personnel, the ideological part, namely to prevent other youths and
future generations to follow in the footsteps of the bombers, should be the
charge of religious leaders to fight this distorted concept, together with
civil societies and local communities.

Hereupon, the theme of what has induced these youths to turn to terrorism,
and what can be done to prevent further terrorist acts in the country and
elsewhere, have filled newspapers columns, magazines and Television talk
shows during the past weeks.

Two interesting approaches taken by writers and speakers, next to the
strictly religious aspects debated, are the social-economic and political
conditions that allow the growth and cultivation of terrorist youths.

In an article entitled "Terrorism and the Failed Agricultural Sector", in
the Kompas daily of 21 November, Andreas Maryoto writes, that suicide
bombers, including Amrozi, Ali Gufron, Misno, Salik and others, are young
men, who, having been born in villages and bred in rural areas, were, in
actual fact, not in the least attracted to remain all their life in the
village, find work here nor till the paddy fields. It is the city with all
its promises that held more attraction to them. And so they ventured into
towns, but here too they found no prospects. However, it was in the city
that they were introduced into, and were influenced by the terrorist
network.

Misno's father, for example, related how Misno was impatient to leave his
village in the district of Cilacap, West Java. He then traveled to the
capital. In Jakarta, Misno first worked as construction worker at one
project, later sold souvenirs, worked at a car repair shop, and served as
salesman in a shop. In August, he returned home to say that he had found
work at a hotel in Batam, together with his friend, - later identified as
fellow terrorist at Jimbaran - named Salik. He was not heard of since, until
his father identified him - on TV -  as one of the suicide bombers at
Jimbaran, Bali on 1 October.

Maryoto continued, that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) of
Los Banos in the Philippines, had studied the case of Amrozi, the first Bali
bomber in 2002.  Amrozi came from the village of Tenggulun, Lamongan in East
Java. This is a particularly poor agricultural area, and Amrozi was not
attracted to stay there. In fact, according to IRRI, over 20% of its
inhabitants had left the village to work in Malaysia, as did Amrozi. In
Malaysia, Amrozi met with a fundamentalist group who urged him to join the
group to commit act of terrorism in Indonesia. For this reason, Amrozi also
traveled to, and learnt terrorism in Afghanistan.

Maryoto further added that lately, and especially with the steep increase in
prices caused by the hike in fuel prices, the agricultural sector in
Indonesia has become even less attractive for rural youths. Indeed, those
still working the fields say frankly that times under the Soeharto regime
were better. During that time costs for production were stable, and incomes
received from the sale of rice were adequate. They reasoned that to balance
cost, one kg of seeds should be equal to one kg of fertilizers.

Muchamad Maksum of the Central Study for Rural Areas, said that farmers
measure their production in very simple terms. In order to pay for schooling
of one child through to university, the farmer needed only one bag of rice
per month. Now, however, he needs plenty more. Worse still, farmers now find
it difficult to send their children to university.

Furthermore, further fragmentation in acreage of farmland as well as the
high cost of production, have all added to the list of disincentives to
farmers. Liberalization of the market as insisted by IMF, that was signed by
Indonesia in 1998, has further added to the burden of rice farmers. By
allowing the free flow of rice imports to reach millions of tons, the
government has effectively destroyed rice production and along with it rice
producers. Lately, although high tariffs on rice had been introduced, it
appears that large quantities have nonetheless passed through customs free
from import duty.

Therefore, for the cultivation, fertilization of the soil, the planting and
harvesting of rice in Indonesia, these costs have far exceeded the returns
that can be expected from the prices in rice production and sale, as local
production must now compete unfairly with imports. Worse still, along with
the introduction of free market access to the import of rice, the government
has reduced its intervention and protection to local rice farmers, with the
result that the powerful and rich groups in the rice market have now become
even more powerful, whereas rice farmers have become even weaker socially
and economically.

To solve this problem, IRRI recommends that the government introduces new
technology to increase and improve production, so that Indonesian farmers
may guarantee sufficient rice supply for the entire population. Before this,
however, the government should ensure that farmers are allowed adequate
profits to be able to live above the poverty line and be able to send their
children to follow higher education, thus reducing the attraction for youth
to resort to terrorism.

Terrorism has no social roots in Indonesia

In a further development, Director of Post Graduate Studies of the Islamic
University, Komaruddin Hidayat, avers that terrorism and suicide bombing as
propagated by Malaysians Azahari and Noordin M. Top have no social roots in
Indonesia. This can be seen from the fact  that bombers have closely guarded
from their parents and relatives such tenets that they have accepted as the
ultimate truth, let alone tell their religious teachers. (They knew that
these would not agree with the teachings). Therefore, accusing the pesantren
or religious schools as a hotbed for terrorism is most misleading, since
most pesantren schools are open and transparent, said Komaruddin.

People such as Amrozi, who have fought in Afghanistan, when returning to
Indonesia and meeting with disappointments here, believe that they can
continue with such violence here.  However, the social and natural
environment, as well as conditions in Indonesia are very different from
those prevailing in war-torn parts of the Middle East, said Komaruddin.

Komaruddin Hidayat had just met Vice President Jusuf Kalla, accompanied by
respected Moslem scholar Quraish Shihab, to inform the VP on the forthcoming
International Conference on radicalism in Islam, and issues on security and
the economy of Indonesia.

"Nonetheless, although it is widely understood that the teachings propagated
by the terrorists are heretic and have no social roots in Indonesia, yet,
deep economic difficulties, dire poverty and marginalization, added with
skills to devise bombs, when accumulated can be a very destructive force
indeed ", warns influential Moslem scholar, Quraish Shihab. Indonesia is not
at war, the Indonesian people are a peace-loving nation, therefore, there
can be no justification for suicide bombing here", concludes Shihab.
Azahari and Friends are alien to Indonesia's history of common suffering

Goenawan Mohamad, senior journalist, writing in Tempo magazine, views
terrorism from its political aspect. "(Malaysian national) Azahari and
people like him", Goenawan writes - who aspire to build a pan-Islamic nation
beyond a nation-state set out from the premise of "de-localization": of
going beyond the locality that limit their activities. They do not wish to
be loyal to a "homeland". For certain they do not wish to be loyal to
Indonesia.

For, Indonesia, our country and nation, was formed from "common historical
experience", a process of development that has gone beyond relations to
blood or soil. Indonesia was formed based on common history and our common
toil, a nation that we built with blood, sweat and tears. And this is why
Indonesia - our country and our nation - means so much to us.

Indonesia, our country, has been hard-won through revolution - an experience
that was not suffered by Malaysians and people like Azahari. This Revolution
involved a large number of common people who greatly suffered under Dutch
colonialism.

But, Azahari can not understand this, since he and his colleagues feel
unrelated to our national experience, and even less so with the historic
revolution out of which the Republic of Indonesia was born. Instead, they
prefer to bomb our country in so many places, destroy this nation so many
times over, however, finally it is we, us the Indonesian people who are left
to suffer and feel the pain" concludes Goenawan Muhamad.
.
(Sources: Kompas daily, Media Indonesia, Tempo magazine)
(Tuti Sunario )
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NEWS AND BACKGROUND:

1.      Tourism and Transportation:

Bali and Lombok Ranked Among the Very Best in the World

Condé Nast Traveler magazine has announced its prestigious list of the 'Best
of the Best' for 2005 with Bali and its Hotel Resorts earning many
accolades, reports Balidiscovery.com

For each of the past 18 years the sophisticated and well-traveled readers of
Condé Nast Traveler have cast their votes naming the best travel experience,
the best hotels, best resort, and best airlines. The November 2005 edition
of the magazine listed the winners from among the 28,000 votes cast by the
publication's nearly 300,000 readers.

As in the past, Bali fared very well in the final tally of where smart
people choose to travel and stay.

The Best of The Best

When voters were asked to name the best 100 travel experiences anywhere in
the world, the tiny island of Bali managed to net 6 winning slots among the
top 50.

. #4 Best Travel Experience - [ Amankila Resort Hotel - Manggis, Bali ]
. #14 Best Travel Experience - [Amandari Resort Hotel - Ubud, Bali]
. #17 Best Travel Experience - [Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran Bali]
. #19 Best Travel Experience - [Ritz Carlton Bali Resort & Spa]
. #31 Best Travel Experience - [Sheraton Laguna Resort, Nusa Dua]
. #50 Best Travel Experience - [Four Seasons Resort at Sayan, Ubud]

Best Asia-Indian Ocean Island Destination

Both Bali and its near neighbour, Lombok, ranked among the top 7 island
destinations in Asia and the Indian Ocean:

. #1 - Phuket, Thailand
. #2 - Bali, Indonesia
. #3 - Mauritius
. #4 - Maldives
. #5 - Langkawi, Malaysia
. #7 - Lombok, Indonesia

Top Hotels in Asia

The discerning Reader's Choice Voters named two Bali properties among the
best 10 hotels in Asia, with The Peninsula Hong Kong grabbing the number one
spot:
. #2 - [ Amankila Resort Hotel - Manggis, Bali ]
. #6 - [Amandari Resort Hotel - Ubud, Bali]

Top Resorts in Asia

Bali can rightly claim it is home to Asia's finest resorts, having 6 resorts
named among the top 20 properties and dominating four of the top five
positions:

. #1 - [Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran Bali]
. #2 - [Ritz Carlton Bali Resort & Spa]
. #4 - [Sheraton Laguna Resort, Nusa Dua, Bali]
. #5 - [Four Seasons Resort at Sayan, Ubud, Bali]
. #12 - [InterContinental Resort, Bali]
. #13 - [Grand Hyatt , Bali]
Air Paradise Suspends Australia Flights

On Wednesday, 23 November, in a surprise announcement, CEO and owner of Air
Paradise International airline, I Made Wiranata told a press conference,
that commencing the very next day, 24 November, the airline is forced to
suspend all operations, including flights between Bali and Australia. The
airline had earlier stopped flying to Japan and Korea. The painful decision
was made after the airline experienced an 80% drop in passengers immediately
after the bombs at Jimbaran and Kuta on 1 October.

Approximately 200 passengers holding tickets will be transferred to Qantas
Airways, valid until 10 December, said Wiranata.  A number of domestic
investors have expressed interest to join and strengthen the airline.

October Bali international arrivals down 36.8%

Meanwhile, balidiscovery.com informs that October 2005 foreign direct
arrivals to Bali has sunk to 81,109 - a decline of 36.83% against the
near-record-breaking October recorded one year before in 2004 (128,399).

With total arrivals almost an exact match for another bomb-affected October
in 2002 when foreign arrivals were 81,100 - a convincing argument can still
be made that the fall out from the latest tourist attack was much less
severe than the downturn experienced just three years before. Bearing in
mind that the 2002 bombing occurred on the 12th of October with declining
arrival really only affecting the last half of the month, by comparison the
most recent terror attack took place on the 1st of October meaning this
year's decline was spread over a period twice as long in duration as its
predecessor 3 years before to the month. In other words, the decline in
arrivals in 2002 was arguably nearly twice as steep as the most recent
October experience.

Results by Regions

Somewhat surprisingly, in the fallout following the October 1st bombings the
European and American markets fared markedly better than Bali's short and
medium-haul source markets in the Asia Pacific.

. ASIA - PACIFIC - Overall, the Asia Pacific market declined 46.11% in
October 2005 (44,569) as compared to the same month in 2004 (82,703).
Leading the exodus out of town from the Asia-Pacific were the Australians
who declined 50.19%, followed closely by the Japanese down 48.26%.
Meanwhile, the South Korean market dropped 46.75% while the Taiwanese sank
37.40%.

. ASEAN - Similarly, the ASEAN market plummeted 51.98% for October 2005
(4,618) as compared to October 2004 (9,617). Malaysians dropped 56.91% month
on month from one year before while the Singaporeans declined 42.63%.

. THE AMERICAS - The America's only declined 22.26% in October 2005 (4,503)
as compared to October 2004 (4,530). Within that grouping of all foreign
arrivals from North and South America the U.S.A. for October 2005 declined
only 15.97% month on month.

. EUROPE - Showing even more courage in the face of adversity was the
European market which declined only 9.64% overall in October 2005 (26,994)
as compared to October 2004 (29.875). In fact, three major European markets
even managed to post month-on-month increases in October 2005 despite the
distraction of the October 1st bombing. The Netherlands posted an
improvement of 34.81% in October 2005 against one year before with
Switzerland up 9.01% and France improving 5.74%. Declines in arrivals ex
Europe were less dramatic than from Asia: Italy's October arrivals declined
26.90%; Germany dipped 19.99%; and the U.K. dropped only 14.41%.

2005 Still A Record Breaker for Bali

Total direct foreign arrivals January-October 2005 totaled 1,247,867 - a
record breaking year-to-date performance for Bali and still 2.1% ahead of
last year's totals for the same period, despite the most recent terror
attack. In terms of whether or not 2005 will remain an aggregate
record-breaker for arrivals very much depends on how November 2005 performs.
If arrivals in November can achieve anything better than a 23.15% percent
decline from the November 2004 totals, the current year will still remain in
positive territory for overall arrival's performance.

For your comments or further inquires, please e-mail to:
tbsc-strategy at indo.net.com