For Oswar Mungkasa, the head of planning and budgeting at the Public Housing Ministry, it is evident where the blame for the state of the country’s heavily polluted rivers lies.

“I once spoke with a low-income family that had a habit of going to the bathroom on riverbanks, and they said they had no issues with it whatsoever,” he said.

“Yet it is this very practice that is responsible for 80 percent of the pollution in our rivers.”

The problem is not limited to low-income residents. Most households, Oswar said, are guilty of polluting groundwater sources and rivers with indiscriminate defecation.

“Fifty-five percent of all households don’t have access to clean water, while the same percentage don’t have proper sanitation systems, which leads to them to dump their waste untreated,” he said.

“This alone accounts for 80 percent of groundwater pollution and explains why river water is contaminated with the E. coli bacteria.”

This problem, Oswar pointed out, has led to health costs and other expenses that have cost the Indonesian state Rp 58 trillion ($6.6 billion) a year.

He added that an estimated 70 million Indonesians defecate indiscriminately but that it was a bad habit that could be broken.

“It’s important to raise public awareness, through an education campaign, about the dangers of dumping anywhere you want,” he said at a recent discussion on water and hygiene issues in Indonesia.

“Clean water and sanitation are basic needs that require public support and government planning to bring about.”

Alfred Nakatsuma, the environmental director at USAID, said the problem of a lack of access to clean water is common among developing countries, where, ironically, poor people have to pay more for water because they are not served by tap water networks.

To that end, USAID rolled out its Indonesia Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IUWASH) project in March 2010 to increase access to safe water for two million people and provide sanitation for 200,000 people.

The program, set to run for six years, is expected to reach poor populations in urban areas and address the challenges that water utilities face in ensuring water access and availability, such as climate change and increasing water demand in urban areas.

The IUWASH program was launched to help Indonesia attain its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on improved access to clean water and sanitation, part of a United Nations initiative.

Under MDG guidelines, the government must halve the number of people without access to drinking water or sanitation services by 2015.

Additional reporting from Antara

Nine Years After Bali Bombing, Many Indonesians Wage Peace

Denpasar. Wayan Leniasih lived with her husband until he was killed in the 2002 Bali bombings that left 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, dead.

At the Ground Zero monument in Kuta she called on those gathered to remember what happened on Oct. 12, 2002, to put the bombing behind them lest it “continue to haunt us forever.”

But this statement of defiance could not hide the deep loss that losing her husband, Kadek Sukanaya, who worked as a bartender at the Sari Club where a bomb exploded, must have caused.

Like many of the survivors of those who were killed, Wayan’s life has become more difficult in practical ways, as well as from coping with the grief that haunted her for years.

“My teacher’s salary is not enough, so I have to take up more jobs on the side,” she said. “The good thing is our children’s education has not been effected because they are now paid for by a foundation.”

Thiolina F. Marpaung, who suffers from eye problems because of shrapnel from the bombs, said that she continued to feel a deep sadness every time she thought of the incident.

Like many of the survivors, Thiolina struggles to pay for medical bills. She said that she continued to undergo monthly medical checks at her own expense.

But as well as sharing stories of sorrow, some in attendance said they were glad to have the support of other survivors.

“By meeting the other victims, we feel that we share the same fate and can share stories and help each other,” said Bambang, a victim of the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta, who attended the ceremony.

Following speeches from some of the victims and their families, a 150-meter piece of cloth was unfurled at Kuta Beach, which people signed to support calls for non-violence and conflict resolution.

In Jakarta, a similar event took place, where a 1.4 kilometer shroud was unfurled from the Hotel Indonesia roundabout for people to sign.

“Taking the shroud of cloth as a symbol, we want to send a message that violence has already caused enough deaths,” said Damien Demantra, who headed the organizing committee for the event.

He said that the organizers hoped that thousands of people would put their signature on the cloth.

The anniversary was also marked with a solemn gathering at the Australian consulate in Denpasar.

“We are standing here to remember the victims of the bombings nine years ago. We are also remembering the people whose lives have been changed by this event,” Australian Ambassador Greg Moriarty said in his speech.

Wendy Grezl, the mother-in-law of John Juniardi, who was killed in the blast at Sari Club, said that “this bad memory would continue to haunt us forever.”

The Association of Bomb Victims in Indonesia (Askobi) also marked the day by conducting a campaign against violence directed at the country’s youth.

Askobi member Tony Soemarno, 57, said that the campaign intended to show the youth that violence was not the answer.

“Violence is not part of the life of the people of Indonesia. We are a community that is against violence,” said Tony, who was also one of the survivors of the 2003 JW Marriott bombing.

He added that there needed to be efforts to deal with the root causes of terrorism.

“I once met with terrorists. I said that they must prevent attacks from happening again. They said they can’t do it by themselves, because there are many more ready to act,” he said.

Nasir Abbas, a former member of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror network who has since left the radical group, said that efforts to fight terrorism should never stop because “terrorists continue to spread their teachings to the people.”

Family and friends of about one hundred victims of the 2002 Bali bombings gathered in Denpasar on Wednesday to pay their respects on the ninth anniversary of the attacks.

The service, which was conducted in the garden of the Australian consulate, opened with the singing of the Australian and Indonesian national anthems.

“We gather here nine years on from 12 Oct. 2002 to remember the victims of the bombings, which affected so many innocent people from Indonesia, from Australia and from the near and far corners of the earth,” said Greg Moriarty, Australian ambassador for Indonesia.

“We gather to remember the families and loved ones of those who died and those whose lives were changed forever by the terrifying events of that day.”

The three bombs — two detonated in or near popular nightclubs and one set off outside the US consulate — left 202 dead and another 240 injured.

Wendy Grezl, the mother-in-law of victim John Juniardi, said she still lived with the painful memories.

“John Juniardi left two sons,” she said. “The bad memory remains forever. I come here every year to commemorate it.”

Elsewhere on the island, in Gianyar, an organization called Garppar distributed thousands of stickers bearing a message of anti-terrorism.

“Let us unite to prevent terrorism,” said Ngakan Made Rai, head of Garppar. “We have started this anti-terrorism campaign since three years ago.”

In Jakarta, the Indonesian Terrorism Bombing Victims Association (Askobi) also campaigned against violence at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

“I once met terrorists,” Askobi member Tony Soemarno said. “I told them not to repeat their act, but they told me that they could not control it because there are many others who were ready to act.”

Antara

Arientha Primanita, Agus Triyono, Elisabeth Oktofani

More than 60 percent of Indonesian minors do not have a birth certificate, depriving them of a range of civic services, including enrolling at school.

Mayong, a lawyer with the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said 50 million of the 78 million Indonesians under the age of 18 did not have a birth certificate, based on data from the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.

“A child without a birth certificate is commonly perceived as being born outside wedlock, which in Indonesian society carries with it negative stigma,” he said at a discussion on the issue on Thursday.

“Besides that, the child will also encounter difficulty getting access to education, as well as to other socioeconomic and cultural rights once they get older.”

A birth certificate is required for a child to be enrolled in school, get a passport and, upon turning 17, apply for an ID card, or KTP. As an adult, they will also need a birth certificate to get a marriage license and apply for jobs as civil servants or with state-owned companies.

Maria Ulfa Anshor, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI), said receiving a birth certificate should be a universal right because of its fundamental importance.

“From a human rights perspective, a birth certificate should be a basic right for all children because it represents the sole legal confirmation of their existence,” she said.

Under the 2006 Residency Administration Law, parents have 60 days from the birth of their child in which to apply for a birth certificate. Once the period has expired, the parents must apply through a district court and pay a fine of up to Rp 1 million ($112).

Maria said most parents were unaware of the time limit, while others were discouraged from applying because of the illegal fees levied by population services officials.

Purba Hutapea, the head of the Jakarta population office, said another factor for the low number of applications was the fact that few of those submitted had the required supporting documentation.

“This includes the proof of birth from the hospital where the child was born and the parents’ marriage certificate,” he said.

“They’re really very simple requirements, but many people still fail to comply with them.”

The Jakarta population office kicked off a campaign on Monday, set to run until the end of the year, to allow parents of children born as far back as 2007 to apply for a birth certificate without having to go through the courts or pay the fine.

Separately, administrative law expert Irman Putra Sidin, from Hassanuddin University in Makassar, said the government needed to do more to encourage parents to apply for birth certificates for their children.

“The government can’t just stay silent and expect people to take the initiative on issues like this,” he said.

He argued that because most Indonesians had a low level of education, they were unlikely to know about the terms for applying for the document or the disadvantages of not having it.

Elisabeth Oktofani & Ulma Haryanto

Cineplex 21 has acknowledged it is affiliated with three film importers previously banned by the government from bringing foreign films into the country, but the Indonesian film giant is rejecting accusations that they are monopolizing the industry.

Camila Internusa Film and Satrya Perkasa Esthetika Film, which used to import Hollywood blockbusters, were banned from doing so by the Finance Ministry in March pending payment of Rp 22 billion ($2.6 million) in back taxes and interest.

A resolution of the controversy over import duties and royalties in June absolved Camila and Satrya’s back taxes issues.

A third distributor, Amero Mitra Film, paid Rp 9 billion in back taxes in May and has resumed importation.

In an exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe on Thursday, Anitio, a director of Cineplex 21, acknowledged that all three importers were affiliated with the Indonesian cinema giant.

“Legally, the owners of Cineplex 21 and the importers have no relation, but we have always acknowledged we are close to them and we admitted that to KPPU in 2002,” he said, referring to the Business Competition Supervisory Commission.

“We also have a different operational system,” he added.

The third distributor, Omega Film, is also not legally related to Cineplex 21, Anitio said.

But he admitted that it was established by Ajay Fulwani, a nephew of Harris Lesmana, one of Group 21’s primary owners.

Still, he said this did not constitute a monopoly.

“It needs to be understood that we established our business in 1990, that is how we became dominant in the industry,” Anitio said. “We have been investigated four times by KPPU but they have found no monopoly practices in our business.”

Tadjudin Noer Said, a commissioner at KPPU, acknowledged that the cinema industry was dominated by one player, but he explained that as long as it did not control prices, it was not considered a monopoly.

With regard to the back taxes, Anitio said it was not true that they did not want to pay. “We do not have the ability to pay those taxes,” he said.

He argued that the penalty and interest imposed on them was not rational and he disagreed with the government’s calculation of what they owed.

As a director of Cineplex 21, Anitio said he was glad the foreign film dispute had been resolved because the cinema industry must recover from the financial loss incurred during the five-month foreign film drought.

“Although we were still able to air independent films during this time, the foreign film distribution boycott had caused a 60 percent drop in the local cinema industry’s income,” he said.