NGOs caution World Bank on new loans to Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): A group of non-governmental organizations appealed to the World Bank yesterday to tie human rights criteria more closely to any new loans extended to the Indonesian government.

The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), a network of Indonesian and foreign NGOs, made the appeal on the eve of an annual meeting in Paris between Indonesia and its main aid donors, led by the World Bank, to discuss Jakarta's aid requirements for this year.

One of the NGOs under INFID, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) released a report it conducted jointly with the U.S.-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights called In the Name of Development: Human Rights and the World Bank in Indonesia.

ELSAM chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara criticized the World Bank for letting some of the development projects that it helped fund become sources of human rights violations in Indonesia.

The bank has indirectly helped the alleged human rights violations associated with development projects in Indonesia, he said, citing the construction of the huge reservoir in Kedung Ombo, Central Java, and the government's family planning program as two examples.

"The World Bank has denied the monitoring tasks it was supposed to hold during the construction of Kedung Ombo," Abdul Hakim said during the press conference at INFID's office.

The World Bank, which granted $156 million to finance the project, accepted, somewhat uncritically, the government's project evaluation report for construction, he said.

The Kedung Ombo land dispute reached its peak in the late 1980s when various NGOs and student organizations rallied behind Kedung Ombo farmers who refused to make way for the dam until they were properly compensated.

Most people eventually accepted the government offer but a small group has taken their case to the court. Their case is still pending to this day.

Nurina Widagdo, INFID's coordinator for international affairs, accused the World Bank of failing to conduct its own investigation into the Kedung Ombo affair.

"The World Bank did not closely monitor the construction, although an agreement signed between the World Bank and the Indonesian government stipulated such a function," she said.

Ifdal Muhammad, an ELSAM staffer who prepared the report on the Kedung Ombo dam project, cited some of the irregularities regarding the way the Kedung Ombo people were treated.

"The residents were not completely informed about the purpose of the reservoir construction, including the government's relocation plan for them," he said.

They were virtually forced to accept the land compensation at rates that were unilaterally set by the local government, he said. Their land was valued at only Rp 300 (14 U.S. cents) per square meter, ten times less than the Rp 3,000 they demanded.

The bank also failed to monitor the condition of the residents who agreed to be relocated to Muko Muko in North Bengkulu, Ifdal said. "Their condition in the new area was not better."

Sita Kayam of Kalyana Mitra, another NGO, said there were also rights violations associated with the Indonesian family planning program, to which the World Bank has extended $211.8 million.

Sita said the program dispensed contraceptives to women without prior examinations to determine if the methods were appropriate. In many cases, she added, the women did not have any choice. (imn)