Indonesia – Pike & Hurricane

Vaccine Diplomacy Clouds Over Southeast Asia

Carl Widegrip Dominguez — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:10:06 +0000

On January 20th, Thailand’s government filed criminal charges against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a 42-year old politician, for alleged violations of a draconian lèse-majesté law which protects the monarchy from insult or defamation. The offense carries harsh penalties of up to 15 years in prison.

What, then, did Mr. Thanathorn do to prompt such heavy-handed punishment?

Two days earlier, during a Facebook livestream, he expressed concerns over what he felt was an opaque procurement and distribution vaccination scheme laid forth by the Thai government. Additionally, he questioned why the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca had granted exclusive local production rights of their proprietary COVID-19 vaccine to Siam BioScience, a biopharmaceutical lab wholly owned and managed by the Crown Property Bureau. The bureau itself is a quasi-governmental agency dedicated to managing the assets and property of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Like all affairs of the Thai Royal family, the bureau and its subsidiaries remains bereft of public scrutiny.

For his indiscretion, the former political opposition leader now finds himself staring down a lengthy prison-sentence, which may be compounded further if he’s found guilty of multiple counts of lèse-majesté or of the notoriously vague Computer Crime Act.

Yet Thanathorn’s case is merely the tip of the iceberg in a region-wide struggle which pits public safety against political interests.

In what can only be described as vaccine diplomacy, governments around Southeast Asia appear to be favoring unmonitored bilateral relations for political support and economic gain over effective and affordable treatment for their citizens.

Beyond the gaffe between AstraZeneca and Thailand, Southeast Asian nations have struck a string of questionable trade deals on vaccine imports and production. That the vaccines have been commodified for negotiations does little to alleviate the woes of international supply shortages and a near-complete lack of local production capabilities in a time of dire need. Of all the major vaccines available on the market, the biggest player on the Southeast Asian negotiation table is China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

Foreign interests and domestic oversights

The public concerns over inadequate transparency surrounding the vaccine rollouts in Thailand are not unique to the nation, but rather endemic of a larger trend of foreign appeasement present among all member states of the chief regional intergovernmental organisation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Over the past decade, growing Chinese influence in the region combined with low levels of domestic accountability has created a precarious political climate.

Prior to the pandemic, China accounted for the largest single group of international visitors to Southeast Asia. This large presence provides a substantial source of tourism revenue, which certain areas are completely reliant upon. Moreover, China has poured in foreign direct investment into Chinese tourism hotspots such as Sihanoukville in southern Cambodia and Hat Yai in southern Thailand, and a myriad of large-scale joint infrastructure developments has been initiated as part of their Belt and Road Initiative, as well as multiple massive hydropower dam constructions on the Mekong River in Laos.

This asymmetric economic dependence is reflected both in political culture and foreign policy. The negative agricultural impact and environmental degradation stemming from the Mekong River projects have been tacitly accepted. China’s expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea are mostly quietly brushed aside. And when China comes knocking for a show of public support, the ASEAN members are usually happy to oblige them.

Nam Gnouang Dam on a tributary of the Nam Theun River in Laos.

So before many prominent vaccine manufacturers had even published reliable data from their late-stage clinical trials, many Southeast Asian nations had already decided to go with Sinovac as their premier choice.

Indonesia is one such example. After vocalizing early support, authorities signed an agreement with Sinovac as far back as August 25th, 2020—just two weeks after the launch of an Indonesian clinical trial—to import three million doses from China by January 2021 and to later initiate the localized production of at least 40 million additional doses via an Indonesian biopharmaceutical company.

First in line to receive the shot was Indonesian President Joko Widodo on January 13th. In a public display of cosy Indonesia-China relations, a broadly televised event showed President Widodo receiving the initial dose live, along with close-up shots of the Sinovac boxes.

The date is of note, too; two days earlier, on January 11th, Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority reported their interim findings of the aforementioned clinical trial and claimed the vaccine was 65.3% effective, and was granted emergency use authorization. The next day, Brazil’s local production partner of Sinovac, Butantan, determined the general efficacy of the vaccine at just 50.4% in their late-stage clinical trial.

So while still technically fulfilling the vaccine guidelines set out by the World Health Organization of minimum 50% efficacy, one might expect such low figures to cast the televised publicity stunt into question, or cause some trepidation in the subsequent mass rollout. However, the Indonesian government proceeded with their plan unaltered, and health authorities defended the move citing an urgent need to protect its health workers.

Indonesia is not alone in this regard. Negotiations for the import of hundreds of millions of Sinovac vaccines in aggregate across Southeast Asia have already concluded. The Philippines committed themselves to 25 millions doses due for import in February, at allegedly dubious price mark-ups. Vietnam is primarily looking at importing the AstraZeneca vaccine, but is still in discussions regarding possible Sinovac additions. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand each had millions of Sinovac doses slated for delivery, but all deals are currently on halt pending more clinical trial data from China after Brazil’s disappointing findings.

Laos and Myanmar, two of the region’s poorest nations, are both notable cases of vaccine diplomacy. Labelled “priority” recipients by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, the two nations’ low bargaining power and weak international clout render them especially susceptible to foreign interests.

Laos is one of the few nations set to receive the Russian-made vaccine Sputnik V, but is concurrently in talks to supplement national rollout with Sinovac.

Local publication Myanmar Times reports that a multitude of behind-closed-doors bilateral talks between Myanmar’s Ambassador in Beijing and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs resulted in an agreement to ship the Chinese vaccine to Myanmar by early 2021. In order to secure the deal, Wang Yi sought the support of Myanmar’s ruling military junta for the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor—a localized subsection of the larger Belt and Road Initiative.

The afflictions of politics

While negotiations for the right product at the right price occurs all over the world, Southeast Asia’s propensity for non-transparency in foreign affairs create distinctive issues. There are many economically impaired areas in the region without access to adequate healthcare and which lack a strong international voice to bring attention to any shortcomings of governance. Putting the lives and safety of these peoples and front-line workers at risk, to employ under-the-table dealings to cement diplomatic allegiances is unethical at best and possibly devastating at worst.

As mentioned at the start, not only does this secrecy create civil and legal issues for people who dare to ask the tough questions—as for Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit—but create far reaching public safety issues as well.

After being alerted of the legal charges the Thai government levied against Mr. Thanathorn, AstraZeneca may be showing signs of reconsidering their partnership with Siam BioScience, as a planned news conference on the authorization of the vaccine was abruptly cancelled on January 22nd. The fear of getting dragged into political hot waters may be an understandable disposition for AstraZeneca, but it also means that 50,000 doses that were scheduled to be administered in February might now be in jeopardy.

With the Sinovac rollout now also being temporarily suspended, uncertainty looms large over Thailand’s vaccination scheme. With a population of nearly 70 million, and with no available vaccines at the ready, more victims and economic hardships are sure to follow in the wake of callous vaccine diplomacy.

Related articles:

Unheard South Solidarity: The Asian-African Conference

One Belt, One Road – China’s Path to the West

Photo credits:

“Wat Pho. Bangkok.”, by Adaptor- Plug on flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0

“Nam Gnouang Dam (60MW), on a tributary of the Nam Theun River in Laos”, by Eric Baran, via WorldFish on flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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“#GejayanMemanggil”

Naufal Rasendriya Apta Raharema — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 12:38:41 +0000

Since mid-September, several protests have taken place in several cities in Indonesia due to current domestic political and social issues, including the controversial draft bill that is believed would threaten the freedom of the people within everyday life. A lot of the protests have turned violent. Both protesters and authorities have resorted to violence, resulting in numbers of injured protesters and some casualties. In Jogjakarta, university students, collaborating with civil society under the name of “Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak” (ARB) or Proggresive People Alliance, voice their opinions to preserve the democracy of the country peacefully. The nonviolent movement is named #GejayanMemanggil.

Gejayan as Jogjakarta’s Waterloo

Waterloo, Belgium, was the place where Napoleon Bonaparte-led French army was defeated by the Seventh Coalition; the coalition of the states who opposed Napoleon. This very place marked the end of Napoleon’s journey as the Emperor of France. In 1998, thousands of students from various universities in Jogjakarta fought for freedom by demanding the resignation of Soeharto, then dictator who had ruled the country for 31 years, on the street of Gejayan. Until now, this street has its own value of freedom and democracy, especially for those who are involved in activism.

In 2019, Gejayan was back on and #GejayanMemanggil, or #GejayanCalling in English, became a meeting point for those who had felt that the current government has threatened the freedom of the people on the 23rd and 30th of September.

Prior to the first protest in 23rd of September 2019, Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak (ARB), had 7 specific demands against the government. The alliance rejects the controversial articles in (1) RKUHP or Draft Bill of the Indonesian Criminal Code (which consists of articles that may restrain the freedom of the people in various aspects such as prosecution for spreading Marxist teachings, having extramarital sex, or even insulting the President or Vice President); (2) Draft Bill of Employment (generally perceived as unfavorable for the workers); (3) Indonesian Land Law; and also the recent (4) UU KPK or the Law of Corruption Eradication Commission. The people believed that this latest law would weaken the Commission and provide a greater space for corruptors to do their work within the country. In addition, ARB also demands the government to (5) push the ratification of RUU-PKS, or the Draft Bill of the Abolishment of Sexual Violence with the aim to legally accommodate the victims of sexual violence, to make them feel better and safer. Lastly, the alliance demands the state to (6) investigate and prosecute the elites who are responsible for the environmental catastrophe within the country and (7) stop arresting activists trying to maintain the democratization process in Indonesia.

Currently, ARB has added some more demands towards the state; including pushing the state to stop any repression and criminalization against people’s struggle and open up democracy space in Papua by withdrawing the military and investigating the human rights violations in the area.

The Flower of the Partisan

What’s unique with Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak-initiated #GejayanMemanggil is that this action completely adheres to nonviolent values. Quite similar with the rising popularity of global nonviolent protests and movements on many different issues, a lot of nonviolent methods were also used within this protest. During the first protest on the 23rd of September, the protesters first marched down from three different meeting points, located in three different universities, to the main meeting point: Gejayan.

Public speeches were held at the meeting point, followed by music performances, heating up the people to start singing. Among the protesters, a lot of slogans and symbols could be seen written on their banners, posters, and displayed communications they brought that day. In addition, leaflets and pamphlets were also distributed to the people, with the goal to make them fully aware that the current political situations is not in the best form.

The fact that this protest was completely nonviolent also lead to the appreciation from the residents within the surrounding areas. Some people from a fruit stand distributed free fruits to the protesters, and others gave free drinks to them. In fact, the local police department also respected and praised the protesters due to the fact that they could deliver the demands peacefully and orderly, leading to the absence of repression by the police. To emphasize this point, some of the protests in other cities have turned violent and resulted in a lot of injuries on both sides, including some casualties.

Weakened Pillars of Support

A lot of people have criticized the protest as it will only be “ridden” by opposition groups; especially the fans of the lost presidential candidate. The stigma is still widespread that criticizing the government means that you’re from the opposition groups. In fact, #GejayanMemanggil proved that the reality is not that black and white. The #GejayanMemanggil movement is a pure nonviolent action, without any political affiliation, consisting of people who felt the urgency to perform a “check and balance” on the government, but not to overthrow Jokowi as the legitimate president. The success to prevent any provocation and being ridden by any group, resulted in a more successful nonviolent action. In this very point, the government’s pillars of support have already started to cripple.

According to Popovic, rulers cannot rule by themselves due to the fact that they need people who provide such services to the rulers by doing certain tasks such as collecting taxes, preparing for the national budget, or even enforcing repressive laws. These group of people are called as the pillars of support, if the nonviolent movement able to make them withdraw their support, the opponent’s control will start to collapse. In the case of #GejayanMemanggil, it can be argued that there are three pillars of support that have started to withdraw their support for the opponent, in this case the government, they are: educational system consisting of students and teachers; the local community, especially the citizens; and the media.

In terms of the educational system, the teachers and students’ role is very important for the government. To emphasize this point, Popovic argued that the teachers shape the minds of the students while the students have the ideas and privilege as the role models of the society. Hence, they are arguably the ones that constitute the future of a country. Meanwhile, the media has a role to spread the messages from the students to a bigger scale of society. In this case, the media, especially students’ press and online newspapers, also helps the nonviolent movement to grow bigger by spreading the news and attracting more people to join the line.

Prior to the first action of #GejayanMemanggil, a lot of posters have been uploaded on Instagram to inform more people about the movement. Added to that, the coverage done by the media during the first action also contributed to the widespread of the messages. Lastly, the citizens within the local community also shows that they withdraw their support for the government as well as their consent from the government. The fact that a lot of Jogjakarta’s citizens decided to join the movement, not to mention those who help the protesters by giving fruits and drinks, shows that another pillar of support has started to crumble.

#GejayanMemanggil is not an “event” that took place only once or twice. Instead it is a continuous process. As for now, those who are involved are still preparing for a manifesto that consists of alternatives which, later, will be delivered to the government with the hope that the demands can be fulfilled. Several committees have also been founded in some universities, hence the spirit of resistance can be maintained. Lastly, the students will keep everyone’s spirits to fight for democratic rights so that the movement will not lose its momentum.

by Naufal Rasendriya Apta Raharema

Photo Credits

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A voyager and a settler: West Papuans protest for freedom

Naufal Rasendriya Apta Raharema — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 14:17:36 +0000

Security means something different to different people. This specific argument can also be seen in the recent conflict in West Papua between the large numbers of locals demanding independence and the Indonesian authorities. Several deaths and injuries have been the result of never-ending tensions, including in the latest series of protest that started in mid-August this year.

History of the Long Voyage

Historically, Papua used to be a colony of the Netherlands which was then incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 as a result of the “Act of Free Choice”. Despite the fact that the UN also reaffirmed and accepted Indonesia’s sovereignty over Papua, high politics between Indonesia and the West can be argued to have been behind this whole event. The process itself was considered as very controversial due to the fact that the US-backed “Act of Free Choice” only consisted of 1,025 West Papuans who are handpicked by the Indonesian government. Adding to this, they were forced to vote to be controlled by the Indonesian government, at the gunpoint of Indonesian army. Allegations of human rights violations started to grow since that date.

Since then, the fight for freedom took flight for several reasons. In the highlands, the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) forces, the Papuans independence fighters, have continuously launched guerrilla attacks on the Indonesian police and army. Meanwhile, there are also several NGOs that have voiced the desire for independence of the West Papuans through diplomatic talks and several non-violent actions, both in Indonesia and abroad, including the United Nations.

Never-ending Discrimination and Prejudice

Since mid-August, protest rallies, some of which turned violent, took place in several cities in Indonesia. These rallies demand that the West Papuans would be given the rights of self-determination to become independent as well as condemning the racism against the Papuans. These rallies actually were triggered by a racist incident in Surabaya.

In Surabaya, the student housing of the Papuans was surrounded by people protesting due to the alleged disrespecting of the Indonesian flag. Among the angry masses were also Indonesian soldiers and nationalist groups; actors that are anticipated to always be there when the issue is related to nationalism. Unfortunately, racial slurs were also used by the masses to demand the Papua students to come out from their housing. A viral video showing that the security officers surrounding the student housing were mocking the students with racial slurs was later spread. It was this specific case that sparked all the outrage in Papua.

Basically, racism and prejudice towards the Papuans are very common in Indonesian society. The physical differences, as the Papuans are Melanesians who are very different from most Indonesians, and all the stereotypes that have been there for years may be the main reasons here. In the neighborhood, Papuans who are studying outside Papua often have a hard time living their student life.

For instance, a lot of locals would offer housing to students, except for Papuans due to the stereotype that they like to get drunk and cause trouble. Hence, they can’t receive the best educational outcomes. As it is difficult for them to find housing and they generally choose to live in the Papua’s students housing, sticking with other Papuans to make them feel safer. Still, a circulating prejudice, that they have such a secret activity associated with the Free Papua Movement inside the student housing, prevails.

Added to this, the fact that the Indonesian police decided to “let” the other organizations and angry masses surround the Papuans Student Housing in Surabaya, including all the racial slurs that took place, can also be seen as an example of the never-ending prejudice and racial discrimination within the society. No deeper investigations were done by the police before they decided to surround the premise, coercing students to comply under threat of tear gas. In fact, all 43 students that were arrested from the housing were freed the next day as the police couldn’t find any evidence about the alleged disrespect of Indonesian flag.

In this case, Prof. Ariel Heryanto argues that Indonesia is moving backwards into the colonial era with its aggressive and masculine style of nationalism, called hypernationalism. Quite similar to facsism, there are people who are overly idolizing certain symbols including the angry mob who came to the Papuans student housing because of an alleged disrespect of Indonesian flag.

Hence, why would you demand a group of people to stick with you, yet you can’t treat them equally and humanely?

Nationalism?

From this point, it can be understood that what the Indonesian authorities want is to implement the third principle of Pancasila, Indonesia’s ideology, the unity of Indonesia. Not only in Papua, a lot of separatism movement in Indonesia, such as those that occurred in Aceh, has always been solved by military measures. Jakarta perceives the Free Papua Movement, whose goal is to achieve the rights of self-determination for the Papuans, as a separatist movement which may disturb the structure and unity of the archipelago country. In fact, a demand to be given the rights of self-determination shouldn’t be regarded as an act of treason. Yet, anything linked to an independence movement in certain areas such as Free Papua Movement may be sued by Indonesia with the crime of treason.

Non-violent protests, which are also quite commonly held in several cities, are also usually disbanded by the security forces. Hence, it seems that Indonesian authorities forgot about the fourth principle of just and civilized humanity. One of the reasons why there are tensions is because the Papuans accused the Indonesian military as human rights violators, matched with all the circulating arguments about a huge number of human rights abuses in Papua.

Nevertheless, people might have a high probability of being accused of treason if they decided to speak out against the inequality and abuses in Papua. In fact, a lot of human rights and pro-democracy activists have been arrested and prosecuted due to their involvement in spreading the messages. One of them is Veronica Koman, a popular human rights lawyer, she got labelled as a suspect for spreading false information and provoking bigger protests through social media. On the 20th of September, Indonesian police issued a red notice to Interpol for her, as well as her name on the wanted persons list.

During these series of protest, the President of Indonesia, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, said that “you may get angry, but forgiving is better” as he urged the people to forgive each other as the same citizens of the country. For some people, this was a very disappointing move from the President as it doesn’t sound helpful at all, especially as Jokowi won 78% in Papua during the Presidential Election. In this case, Jokowi should put more focus on respecting human rights in the region, including giving punishment to those involved in the racism and discrimination against the Papuans. True actions would be more appreciated rather than just ‘apologizing’.

The Danger of Inequality

As of now, the tension has significantly reduced and the situation has gotten better. Tri Susanti as one of the highest members in FKKPI, an organization that has linkages to the Police Department, has been enacted as the suspect of the racist incident in Surabaya. Added to that, 5 members of the Indonesian military have also been suspended for future investigation due to their alleged involvement.

Hence, I think it is very clear that even the smallest act of racism, distinction between us versus them, and unequal treatments may lead to the breakdown of national integrity and harmony in the social life if they are not treated wisely. The long period of discrimination faced by the Papuans in various areas is now known by the whole world.

Written by Naufal Rasendriya Apta Raharema

Photo Credits

West Papua Morning Star Flags, AK Rockefeller, CC BY-SA 2.0

“West- Papua-demonstrations”, Apdency, CC BY-SA 3.0

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