blog @abdulmanan

ALL roads lead to Rome: and one of them runs through Malaysia. That is the best that could be said of Coordinating Minister of Welfare Jusuf Kalla's efforts to find a peaceful resolution for Aceh. While the Coordinating Minister of Politics & Security, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, talked with GAM in Geneva last December, Jusuf surreptitiously opened a second diplomatic channel. With several Aceh notables, he trailblazed a path towards negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Initially, the secret talks with GAM were intended to create a resolution formula by means of economic compensation for the people. However, this proposal failed due to poor coordination. The peace strategy began on May 20 of last year. Separately, at the Kuala Tripa Hotel in Banda Aceh, the former chairman of the Independent Commission to Investigate Violence in Aceh, Amran Zamzami, met with local GAM officials. Among them were Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, Tengku M. Usman, and Tengku Kamaruzzaman. Their purpose was to...

BANYAK jalan menuju Roma, salah satunya melalui Malaysia. Pepatah lama yang dipelesetkan itulah mungkin yang diterapkan Menteri Koordinator Kesejahteraan Rakyat Jusuf Kalla dalam mencari penyelesaian damai di Aceh. Sementara Menteri Koordinator Politik dan Keamanan Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono berunding dengan GAM di Jenewa Desember tahun lalu, diam-diam Jusuf membuka jalur diplomasi lain. Bersama beberapa orang Aceh, ia meretas jalan menuju perundingan lain di Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tadinya pertemuan rahasia dengan GAM itu disiapkan untuk mencari formula penyelesaian melalui kompensasi ekonomi pemerintah kepada rakyat Serambi Mekah. Tapi tak sampai terlaksana, perundingan batal karena salah koordinasi. Koordinasi? Ceritanya berawal pada 20 Mei tahun lalu. Ketika itu di Hotel Kuala Tripa Banda Aceh bertemu Amran Zamzami (bekas Ketua Komisi Independen Pengusutan Tindak Kekerasan di Aceh) dengan sejumlah petinggi GAM lokal. Mereka antara lain Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, Tengku M. Usman, dan Tengku...

Kamis, 17 April 2003 Jakarta, Kompas - Perkara penganiayaan terhadap Pemimpin Redaksi Majalah Tempo Bambang Harymurti dan wartawan majalah ini, Ahmad Taufik, mulai disidangkan di Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat, Rabu (16/4). Dua terdakwa kasus ini, David Tjiu (45) dan Hidayat Lukman alias Teddy (49), diadili terpisah. Dalam surat dakwaannya, Jaksa Penuntut Umum Ramdhanu Dwi H mengungkapkan, tanggal 8 Maret 2003 David memaksa atau meminta Bambang Harymurti untuk mengungkapkan identitas sumber berita berjudul "Ada Tomy di Tanabang". Berita tersebut dimuat pada halaman 30 dan 31 majalah Tempo edisi 3 Maret 2003. "Bambang Harymurti tidak bersedia menyebutkan sumber berita itu. Kemudian, dengan mempergunakan tangan, terdakwa memukul perut Bambang Harymurti satu kali, menendang kakinya satu kali, menepuk-nepuk kepala Bambang Harymurti dengan tangan tiga kali, mendorong Harymurti hingga kacamatanya jatuh," ujar jaksa dalam dakwaannya. Jaksa penuntut umum mendakwa David mel...

IN June 2004 the President and Vice President of Indonesia will, for the first time in history, be chosen by the direct election of the people in 32 provinces. Each candidate may require over Rp70 billion in funds in order to run a viable campaign--this is an estimate based on calculations of campaign budgets in the 1999 elections, courtesy of an NGO known as the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro). This large figure is a result of Cetro's assumption that all candidates will find it very difficult to run a complete campaign in all of the regions, due to time constraints. The presidential election campaign is expected to commence in May 2004, following the election of legislators in April 2004, and will run until the day of the elections, which is currently set for June. Depending on the exact date set for the presidential poll, candidates may only have approximately one month to run their campaigns. Executive Director of Cetro, Smita Notosusanto, predicts that presidential candidat...

UNTUK pertama kalinya dalam sejarah republik ini, presiden dan wakil presiden akan dipilih langsung oleh rakyat di 32 provinsi, Juni 2004. Tak kurang dari Rp 70 miliar dana harus disiapkan setiap calon presiden agar namanya dicoblos saat pemilih berada di bilik pencoblosan. Angka sebesar itu memang taksiran. Kalkulasi dana yang diperlukan untuk kampanye presiden dan wakil presiden ini menggunakan patokan perhitungan anggaran kampanye pada Pemilu 1999 lalu yang dimiliki lembaga swadaya masyarakat Center fo Electoral Reform (Cetro). Lembaga ini memperkirakan, hampir tidak mungkin tiap calon melakukan kampanye ke seantero nusantara. Pemilihan umum untuk legislatif sekitar April. Kampanye pemilihan presiden kemungkinan mulai Mei sampai pemilihannya digelar Juni. Jika tidak ada perubahan jadwal yang signifikan, praktis waktu kampanye yang tersedia cuma satu bulan. Direktur Eksekutif Cetro, Smita Notosusanto, berpendapat bahwa sempitnya waktu yang tersedia bisa diatasi dengan kampanye marato...

While the deliberation of the bill on freedom to obtain public information is under way in the DPR, plans are afoot for the bill on state secrets. ABOUT 40 members of the Coalition for Freedom of Information had a four-day consolidation meeting at Treva Hotel, Central Jakarta, two weeks ago. Admitted or otherwise, the meeting was held as a reaction against the statement of chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) AM Hendropiyono that the bill on freedom of information could endanger the state. This statement could thwart the coalition's intensified campaign for the bill which, when ratified, would force public agencies to provide public access to their information. Hendropriyono argued that amid global competition, information would be a weapon in a war of intelligence. "Whoever is in control of information will win the war," he said. Therefore, he insisted that restriction be imposed on access to information. This restriction, he went on, will actually protect the in...