Megawati defends her administration's record

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.