We work with the farmer cooperative, PPKGO.
Total Population – 217,131,000
Infant Mortality Rate – 33 per 1000
Life Expectancy – 67 years
GNI per Capita – US$710
Indonesia
is as diverse as it is enormous. Hundreds of languages are spoken on
the 17,000 islands that make up the world’s largest archipelago
and Muslim country. This resource rich (including oil) nation gained
its independence from the Netherlands following WWII and named Sukarno
as it’s first independent president.
President Sukarno, a nationalist embattled leader, was eventually
replaced by the much more pro-Western General Suharto. Suharto’s
coming to power in 1965 was accompanied by the massacre of between
250,000 (CIA estimates) to 1 million (Amnesty International estimates)
citizens. Afterwards corporations flocked to invest in Indonesia, and
U.S. presidents as recent as Clinton heralded Suharto as “our
kind of guy”. In 1997, as the Asian financial crisis hit, popular
opposition to Suharto’s government grew bolder. The International
Monetary Fund offered him a bail out plan, but when Suharto hesitated
he fell out of favor with the West. Eventually he acquiesced but mass
protests increased and Suharto resigned in favor of his vice president
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie.
“When President Suharto suggested Mr Habibie as his choice of
vice president, the value of the Indonesian currency fell to an
all-time low because of fears over (Habibie’s) eccentric economic
theories,” the BBC reported at the time. “His appointment
as president caused some alarm in business circles and dismayed those
who wanted an end to the corruption and cronyism which characterized Mr
Suharto's rule.”
During Habibie’s administration, ethnic and religious clashes,
corruption scandals and violence crippled his capacity to rule. But
culminating with the national state of crisis around the East Timor
vote for independent, Habibie resigned power. After a relative calm was
restored in 2000, Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of former President
Sukarno, was named Indonesia’s first woman as President. But
Sukarnoputri, riding on her father’s popularity more than her own
attributes, faced a daunting task to bring the violence and the
economic crisis under control, while at the same time abiding by the
tight restructuring policies imposed by International Institutions.
The International Monetary Fund, to which Indonesia owes $10 billion,
directed the country to: enhance non-oil tax revenues through
broadening the tax base and strengthening tax administration; to cut
down on the current "uncertainty to business" including arbitrary tax
assessments, burdensome customs procedures and inefficiency in the
refund systems; and to build a clear and competitive framework for
labor relations as the "key to attracting investment” in
labor-intensive industries needed to make progress in reducing
unemployment.
But nowhere are the development needs of the common people taken into
consideration. And now as Indonesia holds elections, Sukarnoputri is
struggling to maintain her position.
Indonesia's general elections are amongst the world's most complicated.
In April 2004, nearly 450,000 candidates competed for more than 15,000
national and regional offices. Already being dubbed “the year of
voting frequently” - Indonesians went to the polls in April as a
first step in a series of votes that should culminate in the
country’s first-ever direct voter election of the President and
Vice-President. Previously, the President and Vice-President were
chosen by the MPR (People’s Consultative Council), comprised of
members of Parliament and of un-elected representatives from other
“functional groups” – including ranking officers of
the Indonesian military, who many say hold the true political power in
Indonesia.
Presidential elections were held July 20, but since no candidate won a
majority, the top two candidates -- incumbent President Megawati
Sukarnoputri and her former security minister, now Democratic Party
candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- will compete in a run-off
election September 20.
Aceh and Coffee Production
Of particular concern is Megawati’s position on Aceh. In April
2003, Human Rights Watch expressed concern about extra-judicial
killings, forced disappearances and threats against civilians, human
rights defenders and international cease-fire monitors in the province.
In May 2003, Megawati decided to impose martial law on Aceh and
Acehnese suddenly woke up to find themselves in the middle of
Indonesia's largest war since the time of Suharto. Megawati is
remembered as the only civilian president in the post-Suharto era to
have returned Aceh to the Indonesian Military (TNI).
According to ForesTrade President Thomas Fricke, the 2003 Cooperative
Coffees Spring visit was an unique window of opportunity to move about
more or less freely in Aceh that was not seen in the years prior, nor
has it been repeated since. Yet despite this backdrop, farmers continue
to produce quality coffee and manage to get it to port.
The total land area under coffee cultivation is estimated at
1.1 million hectares, scattered over many islands of diverse
geographical and ecological terrain. Smallholders account for some 90
percent of all production. The vast majority of exports are natural
unwashed coffees. Wet processing was introduced into Indonesia by the
Dutch from the West Indies and were designated WIB: West Indische
Bereiding (West Indian preparation). Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik
(PPKGO), with whom we work via ForesTrade has developed a
“special preparation” for Cooperative Coffees contracts
that consists of a wrapped wet fermentation that brings out the wild
characteristics of the Sumatran coffees. This coffee has had excellent
results and has become one of our biggest sellers, representing 6
containers per year.
Resources:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/indonesia.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/indonesia/profiles/98092.stm
http://www.indonesiaalert.org/article.php?id=50
Read more about our trading partner PPKGO
