INDONESIA'S TOLERANCE HIT BY ISLAMIC STIRRERS

 Better hate than never                                   

 

What’s ethical government policy - to support the wholesome hopes of millions of sports fans and young music lovers - or deny them joy by pacifying radicals with another agenda?

 

These questions are being asked in Indonesia during the run-up to next year’s election, with the tone already dashing downhill. The answer demeans the world’s third-largest democracy and its national motto - Bhinneka Tunggal Ika - Unity in Diversity. 

 

Outbursts of antisemitism and homophobia are poisoning the over-crowded nation’s well of respect for difference, and its tradition of living in harmony.

 

It shows the Republic has still to find a champion prepared to confront illiberalism and restore the ‘moderate’ trademark. There was one - fourth President Abdurrahman ‘Gus Dur’ Wahid - but he’s gone and his successors are turning to appeasement edged with fear.

 

The latest assumed threat is the Brit band Coldplay, set to perform in Jakarta in mid-November, delighting its fans and horrifying fundamentalists. The band is famous for its ‘infectious joy’ , philanthropy and support for LGBTQ people.

 

The zealots (including those who follow the Nazarene though not his message of inclusivity), picture concertgoers cheering the band’s chart-topper Viva La Vida  (Live Life) and turning gay.  The idea comes from watching movies where Clark Kent changes into a flying android when the music becomes dramatic.

 

Then there’s sport. Earlier this year the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) cancelled Indonesia as host of the U20 World Games after two provincial governors opposed the event because young Israelis would compete.

 

Indonesians are nuts about soccer which they play badly. Having the U20 in Indonesia meant millions would get to see the Beautiful Game at its peak and players learn new skills. That chance went to Argentina.

 

Now it seems Indonesia will miss the World Beach Games scheduled for Bali this August. It's a multi-sport event run by the Association of National Olympic Committees featuring non-Olympic beach and water sports primarily for the teen to mid-30s cohort. 

 

Israel is expected to participate, so unless there’s a policy somersault since  the U20 fiasco it seems the Beach Games will have to be shifted to a location where inclusion is celebrated.

 

That used to be Indonesia, home to more than 600 ethnicities:  As The Jakarta Post editorialised: ‘Our diversity, whether by race or ethnicity, religion, culture or language, and yes, sexual orientation, requires tolerance to ensure peaceful coexistence across the archipelago.’

When mixing sport, entertainment and politics, Indonesian governments are skilled at scoring their own goals - and on world stadia. The irony is that last November the Republic’s global reputation soared for the successful G20 economic summit in Bali.

 

The antisemites say they’re upholding a preamble to the 1945 Constitution claiming ‘independence is the inalienable right of every nation, therefore, colonialisation on earth must be abolished’. There’s no evidence that banning Israeli athletes will hasten that goal.

 

Australia supported the independence of Indonesia, and along with the US strong-armed the Netherlands into quitting its former colony in 1949.

 

Although ‘colonialism’ has largely disappeared from the lexicons of foreign affairs, in Indonesia it’s been resuscitated by the ultra-religious and morphed into hatred of a nation rather than the policies of its governments.

 

Pew research claims ‘fully 40 per cent of Israeli Jews say their own government is not making a sincere effort toward peace, and an equal share of Israeli Arabs say the same about Palestinian leaders.’

 

The sporties from the Holy Land may not be Jews or support the nation’s policies on Palestine. About 40 per cent of Israelis are secular and 14 per cent Muslim.

 

After the 2019 Indonesian election Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi reaffirmed  her nation’s ‘commitment and support for the struggle of Palestinian independence will never diminish.’

 

Steps to settle the ‘Palestine Question’ can continue with vigour in the UN and other fora, unimpeded by Israeli footprints on Bali beaches.The issue may be raised by President Joko ’Jokowi’ Widodo during his visit to Australia next month.

 

The Indonesian Constitution doesn’t authorise the penalising of ordinary citizens  because they were born in a particular territory, a factor over which they had no control.

 

Such facts bounce off nervous politicians who dread any display of sufferance will cause an eruption of great wrath across the land, its traditions crushed by lava flows of Western woke.  It’s also insulting, suggesting Indonesians’ grip on their values is tenuous.

 

There are six Islamic political parties in Indonesia, too small to succeed alone so need to cosy up to the majors by promising voters in return for ministries, much like the Nats in Australia.

 

The current class of psephologists assume the pious will determine who gets the throne, so best soothe the glaring fist-thrusters. 

 

Few dare call out this theory lest a rebuff alienates voters. One who has is Endy Bayuni, former editor of The Jakarta Post, reminding that in the last election, the two biggest Islamic-based parties together drew only 13 per cent of the vote. 

 

 ‘Fear of Islamism is widely exaggerated,’ he wrote. ‘Islamist parties naturally sought to capitalize on conservatism, but they fooled no one. Voters may share a conservative agenda, but they draw the line at an Islamist agenda.’

 

The late President Gus Dur - who visited Israel six times, braving contrived fury each time he returned, said: ‘I think there is a wrong perception that Islam is in disagreement with Israel. This is caused by Arab propaganda. We have to distinguish between Arabs and Islam.

 

‘I always say that China and the Soviet Union have or had atheism as part of their Constitution, but we have long-term relationships with both these countries.’

 

His comments were made almost two decades ago. Since then widespread reports allege that Chinese authorities have been forcibly ‘re-educating’ Islamic minorities, mainly ethnic Uyghur in the Xinjiang region. There are around 11 million Muslims in the northwest of the country.

 

Many claims of Communist persecution come from the US so need to be treated with caution, but they’ve been widely published in Indonesia so might be expected to inflame.

 

There’s been no campaign to stop Chinese loans funding massive infrastructure projects across the archipelago, with Chinese workers often involved.

 

Maybe the athletes would be welcome if Israel became a major investor.

 

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First published in Michael West Media, 29 June 2023: https://michaelwest.com.au/archipela-no-go-global-soccer-then-coldplay-fall-foul-of-rising-homophobia-anti-israel-sentiment-in-indonesia/

KICKING AGAINST THE WIND OF PUBLIC OPINION

               Indonesian politics scores an own goal

135 fans died here after a game

 

It’s the biggest story next door but barged offside by the Australian media for the Trump indictment and the Dutton ‘No’. There’s another factor: Soccer’s not Australia's national game.

 

But it is Indonesia’s, and the reaction to the loss of the Republic hosting the Under-20 World Cup because Israeli youth will play is showing the Great Age Divide - much like responses to the upcoming Voice referendum.

 

Almost 30 per cent of the Indonesian population is aged 10-24 - and they’re the core of soccer crazies. The ageing oligarchs who gained power last century under the authoritarian regime of President Soeharto (1967-98) may have misread the national mood.

 

When Muslim radicals threatened strife in the upcoming international contest because Israeli boots might trample Indonesian turf, President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said religion had no place in sport.

 

He then dashed Indonesia Football Association boss Erick Thohir off to Zurich to reassure Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino that no ugly incidents would harm the beautiful game.

 

The Swiss football administrator was unsurprisingly unpersuaded. As reported here, 135 fans died in a stampede last October at a match in East Java when police fired tear gas, ignoring FIFA’s strict crowd control rules.

Reaction to the stampede deaths in Malang

 

Less than two months before the scheduled 20 May kick-off, Infantino yanked Indonesia out of the World Cup.  Millions took to social media shouting Foul!

 

Jokowi heard as he’d kicked balls as a kampong kid, but caught a signal semaphored from the VIP Box so switched tactics, telling the outraged: ‘Don't waste your energy blaming one another. As a big nation, we have to look toward what's in front, not behind.’

 

What’s in front is global opprobrium and local fury - except among those who play the hard game of politics and see sport as a business. 

 

 In the 2019 presidential election, the two biggest Islamic-based parties together drew only 13 per cent of the vote. Commented Endy Bayuni, a former editor of The Jakarta Post: ‘Fear of Islamism is widely exaggerated.’ 

 

Their numbers are small but their voices are shrill and they have truck tyres and petrol. Party leaders feared being wedged by faith fanatics in the upcoming Presidential election also blew FIFA’s whistle.

 

 The anger at being denied the chance to watch the world’s best young players is widespread. In a country with more Muslims than any other, the fans want politics left outside mosques and stadia. 

 

Midfielder Robbie Gaspar, president of the WA Indonesia Institute lived and played soccer in Indonesia for seven years. He’s now promoting the power of sports diplomacy through Monash Uni. He told this column: 

 

‘Nothing brings Indonesia together as one like the National Football Team and when they play. 

 

‘This tournament could have been the catalyst to drive the game forward, inspire more young players and improve the standard … this (withdrawal) has the potential to set the game back by five years at least.’

 

Some background: In 2019 FIFA awarded Indonesia U-20 World Cup host status for the 24-team contest, knocking out Peru and Brazil. Winning this prize was big time and started a clean-up of six grounds costing Rp 322 billion (AUD 32 million) for a 2021 opening. Hotels and economists rejoiced, anticipating visitors from everywhere.

 

But Covid ran onto the field and sidelined plans for two years. At the time few gave Israel’s chances much thought. Indonesia only made the grade through a clause allowing the host nation to participate, meaning the upcoming generation could get among the game’s giants. 

 

In 2022 Israel, drawing its football talent from a population below ten million, suddenly trounced naysayers at the European Under-19 Championship. 

 

FIFA reported that ‘the team exceeded all expectations … Having come so close to being crowned European champions, can Israel now cause shock-waves on the world stage?’

 

Answer: Yes, though not through athletic abilities. When he heard that Israel’s brilliant teens were scheduled to play in Bali, Governor Wayan Koster stamped his foot: Anyone from the Biblical Holy Land would never make it to the Island of the Gods.

 

Bali is Indonesia’s only majority Hindu province, a religion not known for antisemitism, but the driver is parochial politics. 

 

Koster is a member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which includes Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo. He’s currently tipped as the nation’s next leader but waiting to be blessed by party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri, 76.

 

Two days after the Bali snub Pranowo checked his WhatsApp messages from PDI-P HQ and announced he doesn’t want any Israelis punting leather in his province. Flapping banners appeared shouting ‘Israel is the enemy of Islam.’

 

That’s contestable, but heat generates slogans incinerating facts and rational debate. Twenty per cent of the population follows Islam. A Gallup survey in 2015 found 65 per cent of Israelis aren’t religious.

 

One of the few who challenged  the hate was the late fourth President Abdurrahman (Gus Dur) Wahid (1999-2001).

 

Although a revered Islamic scholar he was also a peace activist preferring diplomacy to bans. Unlike Widodo he stared down the fanatics, visiting Israel before and after his time in office.

 

This story is well seasoned with humbug. A year ago a delegation from Israel’s Knesset (parliament) visited Bali for official meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union without fuss. Koster was the host.

 

China allegedly persecutes the Uyghur Muslims living in the northwestern region of Xinjiang; like the Palestinians they want independence. China is the major investor in Indonesia and so far there have been few marching for the Uyghur.

 

Likewise, the reported mass killings of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Five years ago there were protests in Indonesia but the energy seems to have dissipated. Myanmar is a member of ASEAN which is led by Indonesia.

 

Kicking in all directions may seem smart politics, but it infuriates the young who want to pray and play. Voting isn’t compulsory so if Gen Z says a pox on all pollies the damage to democracy will aggravate the already serious injuries to Indonesian soccer.

First published in Pearls & Irritations, 13  April 2023:

https://johnmenadue.com/indonesian-politics-scores-an-own-goal/

 

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GETTING AWAY WITH GASSING GAME

     Indonesia’s untouchables stay that way

 

The outcome of a massive police-caused tragedy on Indonesia’s Java Island  got less media coverage than a silly white woman’s argument with a brown cop in Bali.

 

The ‘lady’ didn’t like being stopped for riding a motorbike bare-headed, though no helmet law is needed for  Indonesian traffic - just a want to live.  A story not worth a spit in the Kuta sand though some reckon - with no proof - that foreigners get targeted for shake-downs. 

 

There are alarming police yarns worth reporting from the nation next door, though they need more than a cut n’ paste grab from social media. Police corruption and violence are democracy-threatening issues though not in this case.

 

The policeman didn’t gun down the blockhead while muttering racist curses or kneel on her neck. That would have been news, for Indonesia is not the US.

 

Meanwhile, 300 km to the west was a story worth splashing: An astonishingly flawed court verdict revealing protectors as untouchables, ripping-raw the scabs of  135 families, turning their grief to fury.  

 

That’s the number of victims crushed to death in a crowd stampede at Malang’s Kanjuruhan soccer stadium on 1 October last year. More than half were under 19 and included 42 women. More than 580 were injured.

 

It was the second deadliest disaster in the history of international association football yet seems to have been sunk by subs. In 1964 a similar event in Peru took 328 lives. In both cases, the root cause was disorderly police firing tear gas.

 

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s Stadium Safety and Security Regulations are clear: ‘No firearms or crowd control gas shall be carried or used.’ Indonesia’s been a FIFA member since 1952.

 

Three days after the deaths nine officers were dismissed or whisked off to desk jobs in Jakarta. President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, who’s responsible for the force, ordered the East Java Police chief to be replaced by Inspector General Teddy Minahasa Putra. He lasted only four days before being arrested on charges of trafficking five kilos of crystal meth.

 

Jokowi visited the stadium smothered in angry graffiti referencing ‘pigs’, met soccer officials, ordered the stands built in 1997 destroyed and rebuilt, then told Reuters: ‘We agreed to thoroughly transform Indonesian soccer. Every aspect of preparation...needs to be based on FIFA standards.’ 

 

Although overcrowding of the 42,450-seat stadium was a factor, the key issue was police crowd-control tactics: Gas = panic = deaths. This awkward equation was booted aside by focusing on the facilities.

 

Compensation to the victims’ families has reportedly been paid - the equivalent of AUD 1,000 for a death, and 500 for an injury.

 

Inquiries were opened and trials started in the East Java capital Surabaya. These concluded while Australian attention was focused on a trite event in a Bali street.

 

Six policemen and security officials involved in the Kanjuruhan catastrophe were charged. One cop has been jailed for 18 months, one game official to the same time, and another to one year. The others were acquitted for ‘lack of evidence’. This is despite scores of videos shot from multiple angles showing gas grenades fired into the stands, and eye-witness accounts.

 

‘The police officers who were prosecuted were only the actors in the field’, said Andi Rezaldy of  the Indonesian Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), which has posted a string of alleged irregularities in the trial.

 

Amnesty International Indonesia’s Usman Hamid added: ‘The authorities are once again failing to provide justice to victims of excessive force in Indonesia, despite vows in the aftermath of the disaster to hold those responsible to account. 

 

‘There’s a deeply entrenched and broad pattern of violence and abuse of power by Indonesian security forces.’ 

 

A separate but germane case involved Ferdy Sambo, former head of Indonesia’s Police Internal Affairs department. Last month he was sentenced to death for the 2022 murder of his aide-de-camp Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, 27, in the two-star general’s house. 

 

Judge Wahyu Imam Santoso said Sambo had ordered a bodyguard to shoot Hutabarat before donning gloves, firing more shots into the victim and then wiping all CCTV footage.

 

In court Sambo alleged his wife Putri Candrawathi (who got 20 years)  had been sexually assaulted by the victim. The judge rejected this claim: ‘The defendant embarrassed Indonesia’s police force both at home and internationally, and involved other members of the police force in his crime.’ These totaled 97.

 

We still don’t know the motive though claims made during proceedings allege ‘Kaiser Sambo’ headed an online gambling consortium and someone was about to blow a whistle. Sambo is unlikely to be executed;  his mates who tried to disrupt the trial will ensure that never happens.

 

Where’s the link between Kanjuruhan and the Sambo cases? ‘They speak to the sheer depth of police impunity,’ commented Melbourne University’s Dr Jacqui Baker in a scathing condemnation of the relationship between police and political elites.

 

Her accessible paper should be pre-departure reading for anyone planning an investment or long stay requiring police approval, and included in DFAT travel warnings.  She writes: 

 

‘Police impunity is the prize in a long-standing pact with political elites who have no interest in an accountable law enforcement system that upholds a democratic rule of law. 

 

‘Why would they? A corrupt police force is the perfect accompaniment to the existing corrupt political party system, an easily harnessed instrument to silence critics, repress opposition, shut down rival party slush funds and bring potential challengers into the fold.’ 

 

Filling copy space with a yawn about a minor traffic breach in Bali when there are great wrongs in Indonesian law enforcement erodes a profession that used to be about holding wrongdoers to account.

 

‘The chances of eradicating corruption among police is slim without a push from civil society,’ wrote Indonesian law lecturer Fachrizal Afandi. That sounds like a job for journos who believe international exposure and shaming brings reform.

 

But hey, it’s easier filching social media trash than reporting our neighbour’s defects seriously.

 

 First published in Pearls & Irritations, 24 March 2023: 

https://johnmenadue.com/indonesias-untouchables-stay-that-way/