NGOs caution World Bank on new loans to Indonesia

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)