Edition : April-May 2011/IV

FromtheEditor
AprilandMaywerebusymonthsfor GovernmentofIndonesiaand Indonesiancivilsociety.Many importantoccasionshappened, celebrated,andcriticized.2011is theyearofIndonesianchairmanship onASEAN.18thASEANSummithas beenheldonMay78,2011and producedcommitmentsamong thosetenmembers.Beside,ASEAN civilsocietyalsoheldASEANPeople Forum/ASEANCivilSociety ConferenceonMay35,2011. Indonesiancivilsocietygivesagreat reactionforthischairmanshipon ASEANandtakesitasamomentum. Forexample,IndonesianPeoples ActiononASEAN,acoalitionconsists ofmassorganizationsandnon governmentalorganizations, demandstostoplandgrabbingand decentwageandemploymentfor thepeoples. AfterASEANSummit,Indonesia announced20112025Indonesia EconomicDevelopmentExpansion andAccelerationMasterPlan.Aplan fromGovernmentofIndonesiato accelerateeconomicdevelopment acrossthecountrysustainablyand equallythroughsynergybuilding involvingallcomponentsinthe centralandregionalgovernments. But,wehopethegovernmentwill notforgetaboutprogramsand approachestoachieveMDGs.The commitmentsforachievingMDGs havebeendeclaredtenyearsago, butingeneraltheprogressisslow evenregress.MDGsachievementfor alltargetsin2015inIndonesiais reallyhardtobeachievedand accomplishedintime.Many conditions,suchaspoverty, malnutrition,maternalhealth, womenempowerment,andwater andsanitation,havenosignificant progressfortheachievement.

HEADLINENEWS

IPAA thought that ASEAN is under domination of developed countries

BerdikariOnline,April29,2011
Indonesian Peoples Action on ASEAN (IPAA) considers thatASEANcommunityshouldbetakenseriously,even more in the middle of energy, environment, food, and financial crisis that become overproduction crisis on developedcountries. This opinion is stated on media briefing entitled Unmasking and Challenging ASEANNo to Neoliberal Globalization Scheme on ASEAN: Stop Land Grabbing andDecentWageandEmploymentforthePeoples,on April 29, 2011 in Jakarta. IPAA is a coalition of mass organizationsandnongovernmentalorganizations. Planning to build ASEAN community should be criticized because the process is too bias for the first worldcountriesinterestlikeUS,itcouldcontrolASEAN regional sovereignty, Oki Febrian said, Director of InstituteforNationalandDemocracyStudies(INDIES), oneofmemberofIPAA. This worry is based on the fact that ASEAN regional process is tend to become a race competition to the bottom from ASEAN members to capital countries, especially related to raw material source capacity, labor,andpotentialmarket. Wahyu Susilo, activist from International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), explained that Indonesian chairmanship on ASEAN is a momentum that should be benefitted on building this regional sovereignty. Andelse,basedon Wahyu Susilo, regional instruments on ASEAN should be fulfilled with legally binding commitment, therefore ASEAN charter could be used effectivelyandhaslegalcertainty. ASEAN charter should be fulfilled with legally binding commitment,sotheagreementcanbeeffective,andthis istherealtestforIndonesiaaschairofASEAN.Becomes a chair itself is not a special thing because there is a mechanism based on alphabet to choose the chair, Wahyusaidonthismediabriefing.

ThereactionofIndonesiancivil societytoASEANwillbethe headlinenewsinthisSNOAprilMay edition.Moreover,thereare EconomicandSocialDataMonthly ReporttakenfromCentralBureauof StatisticsIndonesia,newsabout MDGsachievementinIndonesiaand manyothernewsrelatedtosituation inIndonesia. Haveanicereading!

Free trade agreement on ASEAN, like ACFTA, ASEAN plus 3, and many forms of FTA between ASEAN members or between ASEAN and developed countries, has brought negative impacts for people on ASEAN itself. Oneofthemostvisiblething,basedonRudyHBDaman, Coordinatorof FrontPerjuanganRakyat(FPR),islabor wage grabbing, labor union dispersion, peasants land grabbing for big plantation, export of low wage labor, andclosingdownofsmallmediumenterprises. Beside, based on Rudy HB Daman, remembering that free trade has destroyed peoples life in every sectors, thenASEANlegitimacyshouldbequestioned. ASEAN controls many agreements, from politic, security, economy, social, and culture, but only its commercial aspects that becomes the priority. But, thereisnoagendaaboutprotectionofpeoplewholive in ASEAN society. Actually this is the most important, Rudy said, who also Chief of Gabungan Serikat Buruh Independen(GSBI). RudyalsosaidthatinthenextcommemorationofLabor Day International. Front Perjuangan Rakyat (FPR) will take action on ASEAN. Besides, Indonesian Peoples ActiononASEANwillholdactionrallyonMay8,2011, coincidewith18thASEANSummit.

Source

ECONOMICANDSOCIALDATAMONTHLYREPORT
Inflation Deflation in April 2011 is 0.31 percent and inflation on 2011 calendar is 0.39 percent. Meanwhile,inflationinMarch2011towardsMarch2010(yony)is6.16percent. GDPGrowth GDPonfirstquarterin2011growths6.5percentcomparedwithGDPonfirstquarterin2010 (yony). GDP on first quarter in 2011 growths 1.5 percent compared with GDP on fourth quarterin2010(qtoq). ExportRate Export rate in March 2011 is US$ 16.29 billion, increasing 13.03 percent compared with exportinFebruary2011,andincreasing27.53percentcomparedwithexportinMarch2010. TheaverageofnonoilandgasexportrateinMarch2011isUS$13.32billion,consistsofUS$ 0.49billionagricultureproduct,US$10.15billionindustryproduct,andUS$2.69billionfor miningandother. ImportRate Import rate in March 2011 is US$ 14.48 billion, increasing 23.23 percent compared with import rate in February 2011 and increasing 31.69 percent compared with import rate in March 2010. The average of import rate based on utilization in March 2011 including consumptiongoodisUS$1.29billion,US$10.53billionforrawmaterials,andUS$2.66billion forcapitalgoods.

 EmploymentRate The average of unemployment rate in February 2011 is 8.12 million people, decreasing 0.2 million people from August 2010 (8.32 billion people) and decreasing 0.47 billion people fromFebruary2010(8.59billionpeople).OpenUnemploymentRateinFebruary2011is6.80 percent, lower than in August 2010 (7.14 percent) and also lower than in February 2010 (7.41percent). RiceProduction Estimation of rice production in 2011 based on ARAM I2011 (Forecast Figures I2011) is 67.31 billion tons GKG (Grain Dry Milling), increasing 895.86 thousand tons (1.35 percent) comparedwithin2010,whichis66.41billiontonsofGKG. ForeignTourist The number of foreign tourist in March 2011 is 598.1 thousand people, increasing 5.28 percent compared with in February 2011, and increasing 0.64 percent if compared with in March2010. Source

INDONESIAUPDATE Australia increases development assistance to Indonesia

ANTARA News/ May 11, 2011 The Australian Government will increase its development assistancetoIndonesiafromRp923billionin20102011toRp5.15trillionforthe20112012 period. "The increase in aid funding demonstrates Australia`s longterm commitment to reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development in Indonesia,"Australian Ambassador to IndonesiaGregMoriartysaidinpressreleasehereWednesday. Ambassador Moriarty said that the Australian aid program will focus on alleviating poverty through social protection programs, supporting governance reforms, and improving poor people`s access to health, education, transportation, clean water and sanitation facilities. AustraliawillsupportIndonesiaachieveitsgoalofgivingeveryIndonesianchildgoodbasic education. FullText

Interfaith figures call on people to fight "national bankruptcy"

ANTARA News/ May 19, 2011 A number of interfaith figures on Thursday called on the Indonesian people to rise to fight what they described as "the current national bankruptcy markedbyreligiousintolerance,corruptionandincreasingpoverty". "We must rise to fight national bankruptcy. This must be dealt with together," one of the figures,AhmadSyafiiMaarif,saidatapressconferenceon"ReflectiononNationalAwakening Day" here on Thursday. Indonesia will observe its National Awakening Day on May 20. Maarif, who is the former chief of one of Indonesia`s biggest Islamic organizations Muhammadiyah, said that religious intolerance is now rising marked by hardliners freely spreadingtheirexclusiveideology,committingactsofviolenceandoppressionagainstthose they do not like. The general chairman of the Bishops` Conference, Mgr. D Situmorang, meanwhilesaidtheIndonesiannationiscurrentlyfacingbankruptcyinmorality,nationalism, economyandpatriotism.

Among the interfaith leaders at the conference were Salahuddin Wahid (the chief of Tebu IrengIslamicboardingschoolinJombang,EastJava),thechiefoftheIndonesianCommunion ofChurches,AndreasAYewanggoe,XsTjhieTjayIng(aConfucianistfigure)andAbdulMu`ti, secretaryoftheMuhammadiyahexecutiveboard.

FullText Govt Announces 17 Infrastructure Projects Worth Rp190 Trillion

ANTARANews/May27,2011TheIndonesiangovernmentannounced17newinfrastructure projects worth Rp190 trillion as part of its 20112025 Indonesia Economic Development ExpansionandAccelerationMasterPlan. HattasaidtheprojectswerelaunchedinfourlocationsnamelySeiMangkeintheprovinceof North Sumatra, Cilegon in Banten, Lombok Timur, East Nusa Tenggara and Timika, Papua, with funds coming from stateowned companies, national private companies, foreign direct investmentandnationalbudget. HattasaidthelaunchingofMP3EIwouldbethestartof"businessnotasusual"toaccelerate economicdevelopmentacrossthecountrysustainablyandequallythroughsynergybuilding involving all components in the central and regional governments. "The master plan is expected to be able to eradicate various obstacles of development such as `bottleneck` that disruptbusinessclimateandcertainty,"hesaid. FullText

ANTARA News/ April 7, 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) data show that 150,000 people out of 440,000 tuberculosis sufferers in Indonesia died each year for misusing antibiotics,HealthMinisterEndangRahayuSedyaningsihsaidhereonThursday. SpeakingataseminarontheUseofAntibioticsAppropriatelytoPreventBacterialImmunity, theministersaidin2009Indonesiawaseighthamongcountries withMultiDrugResistance (MDR)casescausedbythemisuseofantibiotics.Ofthisnumber,shesaid,6,395newTBcases hadbeenpredictedtoappearinIndonesiaeveryyear. To reduce the number of antibiotic misuse in Indonesia, Endang said her ministry had publishedaGeneralGuidanceBookforAntibioticUseexpectedtobeusefulingivinghealth care services in Indonesia.The minister also suggested people to use antibiotics wisely and followdoctor`sprescriptions. FullText

MDGsACHIEVEMENT 150,000 Indonesians die each year misusing antibiotics on TB

Women need good nutrition

ANTARA News/ April 13, 2011 Indonesian women also need good nutrition in order to reduce maternal mortality, Presidential Special Envoy for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)NilaMoeloeksaidhereWednesday. "When we are talking about MDGs, especially the fourth goal (reduce child mortality), we havetoseeasawhole.So,notonlychildrenneednutrition,butalsowomen,"shesaidatthe vicepresidentialpalacehereWednesday.

Accordingtoher,ifwomen,especiallypregnantones,lackednutrition,theywouldsufferfrom anemiaandwormdiseases.Moreover,sheadded,thesediseaseswerethemaincausesofhigh maternalmortality. "Therefore, women should be provided enough knowledge on food diversification, information and advocacy to make them knowledgeable, so they can be decision makers in theirfamilies,"shesaid. FullText

Educating Women Key to Reaching UN Milestones

The Jakarta Post/ April 14, 2011 Given access to proper education, women could be the crucial to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, an official said on Wednesday. Women must be given education, information and advocacy so that they can become knowledgeableandcanmakedecisionsandbecomeagentsforsocialchangeintheirfamilies, Nila Djuwita Moeloek, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonos special envoy for the MDGs said. TheIndonesian WomensCoalition(KPI), however,hassaid that women acrossthe country were largely unfamiliar with the MDGs, despite being a target demographic for reducing maternalandinfantmortalityrates,ensuringuniversalelementaryeducationandproviding decentemploymentforwomenandmenalike.TheKPIsaidthisignoranceoftheMDGscould hurtthegovernmentschancesofachievingthecampaignsobjectives. FullText

Indonesia far from achieving maternal mortality rate target

TheJakartaPost/April20,2011Indonesiastargettoreducethematernalmortalityrateby theendof2015willbehardtoachieveunlessprimaryunitsofmaternalhealthserviceswork harder,adoctorsays. Budi Iman Santoso, the head of the Obstetric and Gynecology Department at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), said Wednesday that primary units consisting of midwifes,CommunityHealthCentersandfamiliesshouldworkbetterandfaster,Orwewill failtoreachtheMDGtargetonmaternalmortalityreduction. Last years maternal mortality rate was 228 deaths per 100,000 live births. The Indonesian government has set up the target of 102 deaths in 2015. Currently, the national maternal mortalityrateisstillmorethan200deaths,Budisaid. Themosteffectivewaytoreducethemortalityrate,hesaid,wastoimprovehealthfacilitiesin primary units.The government must improve the facilities in primary units first before improvingthefacilitiesinlargehospitals,headded. FullText

 ANTARANews/April23,2011ThenumberofHIV/AIDSinfectedpeopleintheprovincehas reached1,725,requiringallpeopletowatchoutandknowhowtoavoidthefataldisease,the EastKalimantanhealthagencysaid. Ofthe1,725sufferers,411hadbeendeclaredsufferingfromAIDS,107ofthemhaddied,and theresthadHIV.Thethenumberofsuffererscontinuedtoincreaseeachyear,andhasspread tootherareasintheprovincepreviouslyundetected.Accordingtoasurvey,40pctofthe500 thousandto600thousandsuffererswereyoungpeopleaged15to24,and64pctofthemare female. FullText

East Kalimantan has 1,725 HIV/AIDS sufferers

Pushing for womens empowerment

TheJakartaPost/April24,2011TheBogorAgricultureInstitutesWomenStudyCenterhead, TitikSumarti,saidWestJavasGenderDevelopmentIndex,at61.81,wasstillfarbehindthe HumanDevelopmentIndex,whichhasreached71.12. Out of 96 programs created by the West Java provincial administration, only two were identified by the center as gendersensitive, a disparity they blamed for womens low participationindevelopment.Theprovincestillsuffersaneducationalgapaswell,withonly an estimated 46 percent of women attending senior high school, compared with 47.38 percentformen. Women are still barely represented in politics, at 12.5 percent in the West Java Legislative Council,TitiksaidafterarecentgenderequalitydiscussionwithWestJavaGovernorAhmad Heryawan. In terms of budget, its limited. But womens roles in running the economy in WestJavaareprettyhigh,saidDani. FullText

RI targets improved access to clean water

The Jakarta Post/ May 5, 2011 The government says it wants to use private and public investmenttogive67.8percentofthepopulationaccesstopotablewaterbytheendof2014. The Director of Settlements and Housing at the National Development Planning Agency, NugrohoTriUtomo,saidthatthegovernmentwastryingtoprovidepopularaccesstopotable waterinlinewiththeMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDG). In 1990, only about 30 percent of the population had access to proper drinking water. According to the MDGs, by 2015, we will have to halve the 70 percent of the population withoutaccess,Nugrohosaid. Nugrohosaidtheagencyplannedtoboostthenumberofpeoplewhohadpotablewaterpiped intotheirhomesfrom8percentto40percentofthepopulationby2014.Hesaid,however, thatinstallingpipeswasnottheonlywaytorealizetheMDG. Therearemanypeoplewhoobtainwaterfromothersources,suchasfromwells.Wehaveto improvethequalityofthewaterfromthosesources,sothatwecanincludethisinourMDG calculations,Nugrohosaid. FullText

Nurses move to achieve MDGs

The Jakarta Post/ May 12, 2011 In connection with International Nurses Day, the Health Ministry plans to launch a national campaign on Thursday in an effort to accelerate the attainmentoftheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDG).TheministryandtheAssociationof Indonesian Nurse Academies is scheduled to sign a declaration on the prevention of HIV/AIDS,malaria,tuberculosisandmalnutrition. NurseshavebeenactivelyparticipatingineffortstomeettheMDGsoverthepastfewyears. However, the ministry has yet to make [such efforts] a national movement. With this declaration, we hope we can intensify [participation in] the cause, event coordinator PrayetnisaidWednesday. FullText

ANTARANews/May4,2011The18thASEANSummitshoulddiscusshumanrightissuesas part of efforts to protect the rights and minimize their violation in ASEAN countries, a civil societyactivistsaid. "ThehumanrightsissuehasneverbeendiscussedbyASEANleaders,"saidIndriaswatiDyah Saptaningrum, executive director of the Institute of Community Studies and Advocacy (Elsam),onthesidelinesofaworkshopoftheASEANCivilSocietyConference/ASEANPeople Forum2011hereonWednesday. Protection of human rights is an important prerequisite to improve ASEAN, she said. "How canweimagineademocraticASEANasourgoalwithouttalkingabouthumanrightissues," shesaid."Nodevelopmentcanbeachievedifthehumanrightissueisnotfurtherdiscussedat ASEAN leadership level," she said, adding that the ASEAN leaders` meetings are expected produceusefulrecommendations. FullText

HUMANRIGHTS ASEAN leaders must discuss human right issues : NGO

NGO`s complain about caning punishment in Aceh overrated

ANTARANews/May23,2011AmnestyInternational`scomplainabouttheimplementationof canning bylaws in Aceh province is overrated, Secretary General to Aceh`s Ulema Council Tengku Faisal Ali said here on Monday. Faisal made the comment in respond to Amnesty International`s recent report suggesting Indonesian government to stop canning bylaws implementation in Aceh because it constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and oftenamounttotorture. Onitsreport,theinternationalorganizationsaidvictimsofcaningexperiencepain,fearand humiliation,andcaningcancauselongtermorpermanentinjuries."Thereportisoverrated. Noonegetspermanentinjuryduetothecanningpunishment.IaskAmnestyInternationalor other organizations not to intervene the syaria law implementation in Aceh. We have the rightstodeterminewhichlawwewillobey,"hesaid. The organization calls on the Indonesian central government to review all such bylaws and localregulationstoensurethattheyconformwithinternationalandIndonesianhumanrights lawandstandards. FullText

 ANTARANews/May25,2011Embracingdemocracyandpracticingtransparency,Indonesia isnotahumanrightsviolator,VicePresidentBoedionosaid. "Human rights violation can committed by a state but thanks God Indonesia is not such a country," the vice president said when opening the 3rd Coordination Meeting of National Action Plans for Human Rights for 20112014 at his office here on Wednesday attended by Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono and Justice and Human Rights MinisterPatrialisAkbar. Accordingtothevicepresident,thegovernmentswillpunishpeopleonlyforobviousreasons. ThatiswhyhesaidthatIndonesiahadbeenchosenbytheInternationalcommunityasoneof themembersoftheUnitedNationsHumanRightsCouncil."Weshouldbeproudthatatthis timeIndonesiabecomesamodelinwhichhumanrightsarepracticedwellenough.Anditis markedwiththeselectionofIndonesiaasamemberofUNHumanRightsCouncil,"Boediono said.IndonesiahasbeenelectedmemberoftheUnitedNationsHumanRightsCouncilforthe 20112014period. FullText

RI not human rights violator

Spy bill must include oversight: Activists

TheJakartaPost/May26,2011TheNationalIntelligenceAgency(BIN)needsmultiplelayers ofsupervisionandoversighttodoitsjobeffectivelyandfairly,accordingtoactivistsfromthe CoalitionforIntelligenceBillAdvocacy. A good intelligence supervision mechanism consists of the President, the House of Representatives,andthepublic,coalitionmemberMuftiMakarimsaidduringameetingwith GolkarPartylegislatorsattheHouse. Thepublic,hesaid,shouldbeabletoreportanyallegationsofwrongdoingcommittedbythe BINtotheNationalCommissionforHumanRightsandtheproposedsubcommission.Aspart of a pending and longdebated bill reforming the nations intelligence community, the government proposed giving the BIN the authority to arrest people and to monitor private communicationswithoutpriorcourtapproval. Lawmakers have rejected the governments proposals, which activists said would lead to human rights abuses if enacted into law.However we have to find a middle ground or a compromisebetweenthetwotoensurethatintelligenceworkdoesnotviolatetheprinciples ofhumanrights,Muftisaid. FullText

ASEAN Advocacy groups push for participation of civil society

TheJakartaPost/May3,2011ActivistsurgedASEANleaderstoinvolvecivilsocietygroups that represent people in the region with the association of nations in Southeast Asia to enhanceitslegitimacy. IndahSuksmaningsih,InstituteforGlobalJustice(IGJ)executivedirector,saidonMondaythat thepeopleshouldbeinvolvedindecisionmakingprocesses.Weneedtoseemoreroomfor dialogue because each policy issued by ASEAN will affect not only the governments of

countriesinthisregionbutalsoitscivilsociety,shesaid atapressconferenceaheadofthe 2011ASEANCivilSocietyConference/ASEANPeoplesForum(ACSC/APF)titledClaiminga PeopleCenteredASEANforaJustGlobalCommunitytobeheldonMay3to5. Indah said ASEAN needed to pay more attention to the voices of the populations by institutionalizing civil society organizations engagement in ASEAN decisionmaking processes. Only people working at the grassroots levels have the capacities to identify potential impacts that may result from policies delivered during ASEAN decisionmaking processes, said Indah, who chairs the steering committee of the ACSC/APF conference. FullText

ANTARANews/May4,2011Anactivisthopedthe18thASEANSummitherethisweekwould also address migrant workers` problems. Wahyu Susilo from Migrant Care as one of the workshopparticipantsofASEANCivilSocietyConference(ACSC)/ASEANPeopleForumsaid hereonWednesdaytheissuemustbecomeanimportantagendaatthesummit. "TheissuemustnotbediscussedataministeriallevelbutalsoattheASEANsummit,"hesaid here on Wednesday when asked about the issue after the workshop. Wahyu said migrant workersareanimportantissuerequiringanimmediatehandling.Sofar,hesaid,theexisting policy is normative and discussions at ASEAN levels have never progressed. "Meanwhile violencethatoftenhappensonmigrantworkersisincreasinganditisnotovercome.Nowis the right time for Indonesia as chair of ASEAN to make the issue becomse an important agenda,"hesaid. TheworkshoporganizedbyACSC/APFamongothersraisedthethemeofmigrantworkers.In theworkshopparticipantsfromASEANmembercountriesexchangedviewsandexperiences regardingconditionsofmigrantworkersintheirrespectivecountries.Theywereoftheview thatmigrantworkersarenotacommodityandmustbegivenprotection. FullText

Solutions to migrant worker problems expected from ASEAN Summit

NGOs to request judicial review of ASEAN Charter`s ratification

ANTARA News/ May 4, 2011 A number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are planningonThursdaytorequestajudicialreviewofLawNo.38/2008ontheratificationof theASEANCharterbytheConstitutionalCourt(MK). "We will file a requestforthe reviewof Law No. 38/2008 onthe ratificationof theASEAN CharterbecauseitrunscountertotheConstitution,"chairman oftheExecutiveBoardofthe Indonesian Farmers Union (DPP SPI), Henry Saragih said here on Wednesday. He said the ratification of the ASEAN Charter by the enactment of Law 38/2008 was not in line with article33ofthe1945Constitution. M Riza Damanik, secretary general of the People`s Coalition for Fisheries Justice (Kiara), concurred, saying the ratification of the ASEAN charter legitimized the disappearance of Indonesia`s economic independence. In the meantime, researcher of the Institute Global Justice (IGJ), Salamuddin Daeng said the judicial review would refer to article 33 of the Constitutionwhichsaidtheeconomyshouldbecultivatedasacommonendeavorandonthe basisoffamilyspirit. FullText

RI forwards "package solution" approach for Thai-Cambodian conflict

ANTARA News/ May 9, 2011 Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said a new approachwouldbetakentosettletheThailandCambodiaconflict. "Indonesiahasofferedawayofsettlingtheproblemwhichwasacceptedbybothcountriesat aforeignministeriallevel,namelythrougha`packagesolution`approach,"Martysaid.Hesaid theapproachdoesnotrequireapartytostepforwardquickerbeforetheothercatchesupbut offerssettlementthroughasynergicprocess. Marty said settlement measures were identified and grouped into clusters which would be referred to the two countries for reaching the settlement of the case. He said the concept would be submitted by the foreign ministers concerned to their respective heads of state. FullText

INFIDACTIVITIES IPAA Media Briefing on Unmasking and Challenging ASEAN-No to Neoliberal-Globalization Scheme on ASEAN: Stop Land Grabbing and Decent Wage and Employment for the Peoples
Indonesian Peoples Action on ASEAN held mediabriefinginMunikCafJakartaonApril 29, 2011. Indonesian Peoples Action on ASEANisthecoalitionofNGOs.Themembers of coalition are INFID, Migrant Care, KPI, YAKKUM, INDIES, IGJ, FMN, AGRA, ATKI, GSBI,FGII,WALHI,GSM,LSADI,LAPAM,and Migrant Institute. The main theme of this eventisUnmaskingandChallengingASEAN No to NeoliberalGlobalization Scheme on ASEAN: Stop Land Grabbing and Decent Wage and Employment for the Peoples. Through this briefing, IPAA stated that ASEAN community should be criticized because the process is too bias for the first world countries interest and Indonesian chairmanship on ASEAN is a momentum that should be benefittedonbuildingthisregionalsovereignty.

3rd Open Forum Asian Regional Synthesis Workshop on Development Effectiveness

INFID, together with AsiaPacific Research Network (APRN), held the 3rd Open Forum Asian Regional Synthesis Workshop on Development Effectiveness fromMay34,2011inHotelAtletCentury Park,Jakarta.Thiseventwasattendedby CSOs, national grassroots movements, regional organizations, government officials, and donor country representativesfromallovertheregion.

 The Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness came out from the years of CSO engagementintheglobalaideffectivenessprocess,mainlyfromtheAccraAgendaforAction whichinvitedCSOstoleadaprocesstowardsreflectingontheirowneffectiveness.Thisopen forum is conducted as a preparation and in line with the aim of sustaining and intensifying advocacytowardsthe4thHighLevelForumonAidEffectivenessinNovember2011.Onthis event, Asian CSOs synthesized and analyzed the draft global framework and also presented theirdemandstodonorsandgovernmentsinamultistakeholderdialogue.

Dicsussion on NGOs Crisis in Indonesia: Be Innovative or Die!

INFID, together with SatuDunia, held discussion about innovation in Indonesian NGOs in Retro Caf Jakarta on May 13, 2011.ThemainthemeisIndonesianNGOs Crisis,BeInnovativeorDie!.Therearefive speakers on this discussion. They are WahyuSusilo(ProgramManagerofINFID), DRYanuarNugroho(innovationresearcher from Manchester University), Dian Kartikasari (General Secretary of Indonesian Women Coalition), Arief Wicaksono (senior activist), and Idaman Andarmosoko (knowledge worker in NGOs). The discussion is focus on Indonesian NGOs dependency on donor agencies, problems from thepastregimethathaventbeensolvedlikehumanrightsviolation,andalsoproblemsfaced byNGOsnowadays,suchasneoliberaleconomypenetrationthatispotentialtochangecitizen rightsintoconsumerrightsandecologicaldegradationduetonaturalresourcesexploitation. Therearealsomanystatementsandquestionsfromparticipants duringdiscussionfocusing ondonorintervention,thedifferencebetweenideologyinthepastandpresenttimeforNGOs, NGOsspirit,andNGOscapacitybuilding.

Discussion on Indonesian Chairmanship on ASEAN in ThailandCambodia Border Dispute Solving and the Slowdown of Democratization Process in Burma
INFID, together with Flinders Asia CentreFlinders University, held discussiononIndonesianChairmanship on ASEAN in ThailandCambodia Border Dispute Solving and the Slowdown of Democratization Process in Burma in INFID office on May 23, 2011. The main speaker on this discussion is DR. Priyambudi Sulistyanto, a lecturer from Flinders UniversityAdelaide, South Australia and author of Thailand, Indonesia, and Burma in Comparative Perspective (The International Political Economy of New Regionalism). Participants of the discussion come from various backgrounds that interested with this issue, such as NGOs, media, and university. The discussion is trying to figure out what Indonesia should do as a chair of ASEAN on regionalproblemsolving,especiallyThailandCambodiaborderdisputeandtheslowdownof democratizationprocessinBurma.Mr.SulistyantosaidthatIndonesiacanusemilitaryforce

tofaceThailandCambodiaborderdisputebecauseIndonesiahas anetworkwithmilitaryof CambodiaandThailand.AndfordemocratizationinBurma,hesaidthatIndonesia,inthiscase Marty Natalegawa, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, should get insight from minority group in Burma and also exiles who live outside Burma. Basically, he is pessimistic that Indonesia could solve these two problems because its chairmanship only takes one year. Therearealsomanystatementsandquestionsfromparticipantsduringdiscussion.

INFID stands for the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development and was established in June 1985. INFID is an open and pluralistic network of NGOs from Indonesian and various member countries of the Consultative Group for Indonesian (CGI) as well as of International organization with an interest in and commitment to Indonesia More information please visit: www.infid.org