Megawati defends her administration's record

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has defended the record of her 18-month administration despite criticism from the public, including analysts, activists and her political opponents.

In her New Year's Eve message broadcast nationwide from the resort island of Bali on Tuesday night, she said the government had improved the economy and ended religious violence in the Maluku islands and the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, where thousands of people were killed in ethnic and religious clashes.

Muslims and Christians have signed peace accords to end the sectarian fighting in Maluku and Poso. The agreements reduced the conflicts but sporadic attacks have still broken out in the troubled areas since then.

Megawati also hailed a peace deal signed in Geneva on Dec. 9 between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that has been fighting for an independent Islamic state since 1976.

"In Aceh we have finally been able to lay down the foundation for a resolution (of the conflict)," she said in reference to the landmark peace agreement.

Despite the peace pact, bloodshed has continued in the restive province with clashes often erupting between security forces and separatist rebels.

Also, fears of further attacks are still haunting local residents who have complained about persistent insecurity in most parts of Aceh where an estimated 10,000 people died during the 26-year conflict.

Megawati said she visited Aceh last month to "reaffirm the government's sincerity in resolving the problems that resulted in decades of suffering for our brothers" in the province.

She also talked about the problems in the troubled province of Papua where separatist sentiment is widespread and where rebels have waged a long-running low-level insurgency movement.

"We are making efforts so that what has been happening in the province doesn't develop further to reach the scale of Aceh," she said.

The President said the government would continue efforts to "develop a stronger foundation" for the settlement to the Papua problem in 2003.

She said her administration would take precautionary measures to prevent new problems from surfacing, which could worsen efforts to overcome separatism in Papua. She did not elaborate further.

However, two Americans and one Indonesian were shot dead last August near U.S. copper and gold mining firm, PT Freeport Indonesia, in Timika, Papua. Police have blamed the deadly attack on Army troops.

The central government has given both Papua and Aceh a special autonomy status that grants them a greater share of revenue from their natural resources and control over their regional affairs.

Megawati did not outline in her speech the administration's efforts in 2003 to combat endemic corruption and resolve human rights abuses blamed on government and military officials in Aceh and Papua, as well as several other provinces.

Analysts and non-governmental activists have berated the government for failing to send to prison several top state officials, including House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tanjung and Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin, despite the fact that the two were convicted in graft scandals.

Also still free are former top military officers who were responsible for the deadly 1989-1999 operations in Aceh and similar atrocities in Papua, as well as those in charge of national security when East Timor voted for independence in 1999, which was followed by a violent rampage by pro-Indonesia militiamen.

Megawati also cited the government's success in developing the economy, in which analysts predicted a 3.5 percent rise in GDP in 2002.

"During the year 2002 we have been able to further stabilize the rupiah exchange rate, lower the bank benchmark rate, and prevent the fluctuation of prices, particularly basic commodities," she said.

Yet, most Indonesians have complained of economic hardships since the ouster in 1998 of former strongman Soeharto, as fuel, electricity and telephone rates, as well as food prices and unemployment continue to rise.

The poor even say that life during Soeharto's regime was better with a stable economy and better security.

With major corruption and human rights cases remaining unexplained, and security and the economy still weak and uncertain, many doubt that Megawati has empathized with the grassroots who were a major force behind her win in the 1999 elections.