Indonesia fails to rein in military's businesses

The Indonesian Government has failed to deliver on a promise to strip the country's military of its sprawling and controversial business empire, a new report has found.

Under a 2004 law, the Indonesian Government was given a five-year deadline to take over or shut the military's businesses, many of which have been implicated in human rights abuses, crime and corruption. But in a new report, Unkept Promise, Human Rights Watch in the US says new measures fall well short of what is required.

Far from stripping the military of its business empire, the new measures seek only to gradually increase government oversight.

''The Indonesian Government's planned reforms are totally inadequate,'' said Lisa Misol, a senior Human Rights Watch researcher and author of the report.

''The law says the Government needs to get the military out of these businesses, but instead they will be allowed to remain in military hands. Promising to monitor them more closely simply isn't good enough.''

The Government had clearly capitulated to the military, the report says.

''Indonesia's parliament gave the Government five years to take over all military businesses,'' Ms Misol said.

''It's outrageous that despite the parliamentary directive, the Government has no plan to take over ownership or management of a single military business.''

The Government has yet to respond to the report.

LNK

Indonesia fails to rein in military's businesses

Indonesia fails to rein in military's businesses

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