Saudi Arabia, Indonesia spar on rights

Indonesian workers applying to work in Saudi Arabia attend a training centre in Jakarta.Suspension takes effect SaturdaySaudi spokesman says the kingdom will focus instead on recruiting workers from "other sources"Move comes after Indonesia announced its workers cannot travel to Saudi Arabia, beginning August 1Saudi Arabia last month beheaded Indonesian worker -- without having first informed Indonesia

(CNN) -- Beginning Saturday, Saudi Arabia will suspend the issuance of visas to domestic workers from Indonesia, the latest move in what may be a tit-for-tat game of economics and human rights.

The statement came days after the Indonesian government declared it will refuse to allow its citizens to go to Saudi Arabia until human rights conditions there improve.

Indonesia issued its moratorium policy, effective August 1, after the Gulf kingdom beheaded an Indonesian worker last month. Ruyati binti Satubi had been accused of killing her employer's wife. Indonesia claims it was in the process of seeking her clemency, and was not notified before the beheading.

For years, international human rights organizations have criticized Saudi Arabia for its treatment of migrant workers. A 2011 Human Rights Watch report notes that domestic workers from Indonesia and elsewhere who travel to Saudi Arabia "frequently endure forced confinement; food deprivation; and severe psychological, physical, and sexual abuse."

Some of these cases have made international headlines. Last August, doctors at a Sri Lankan hospital operated for three hours to remove 18 nails and metal particles allegedly hammered into the arms, legs, and forehead of a maid by her Saudi employer.

And, in what many said was a first for the kingdom, a Saudi woman was sentenced in January to three years in prison for abusing her Indonesian maid.

Twenty-three other Indonesians are on death row in the Arab kingdom.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Michael Tene told CNN that the Indonesian government was notified Thursday of the change in Saudi visa policy. He said, "We feel that this new policy by Saudi Arabia is in line with our moratorium policy and will in fact make it more effective."

Indonesia has demanded "an Indonesian-Saudi memorandum of understanding on the protection of migrant workers" and a joint task force to monitor the situation. Tene stressed that talks between the two countries are scheduled for later this month and have not been canceled, despite the Saudi declaration.

A Human Rights Watch analysis of a similar 2009 agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia indicates that such an agreement might not fix the problem. The website says, "When Indonesia froze migration of domestic workers to Malaysia in 2009 until a more protective Memorandum of Understanding could be concluded, recruiters from Malaysia turned to Cambodian workers instead."

Indeed, Saudi Ministry of Labor spokesman Hattab Bin Salah Al-Anzi said Wednesday that the kingdom will focus instead on recruiting workers from "other sources," according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Several countries across the Middle East and Asia host significant numbers of migrant domestic workers, ranging from 196,000 in Singapore to about 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia, according to a report published last year by Human Rights Watch.

Many of the domestic workers are poor Asian women from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Nepal. Widespread abuse has been documented by global human rights groups.

Common complaints include unpaid wages, long working hours with no time for rest and heavy debt burdens from exorbitant recruitment fees, said the Human Rights Watch report.

CNN's Alden Mahler Levine and Kathy Quiano contributed to this report.

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After Beheading, Indonesia Bans Maids from Work in Saudi Arabia (Time.com)

A woman, beheaded by the sword thousands of miles from home. This, at last, proved too much for Indonesia. For years, this Southeast Asian nation has been sending its citizens to work in Saudi Arabia and, for years, migrant workers there complained of poor working conditions, abuse and violence. But the surprise execution of Ruyati binti Sapubi, a 54-year old maid accused of killing her female employer, seems to have shocked the country into action. Indonesian authorities, who say Ruyati was routinely abused, are outraged they were not informed of the sentence. They announced on Thursday that Indonesia will stop sending maids to the kingdom - at least for now.

The outcry over Ruyati's life and death in Saudi Arabia has cast a rather bright light on what is all-too-often dismissed as a private matter: the use and abuse of foreign domestic workers. A vast body of research confirms what we all basically know - there are literally millions of people, mostly women, working in others people's houses. In Saudi Arabia alone, there are 1.5 million foreign domestic workers. Many enjoy decent conditions. Many do not. (See pictures of Saudi women.)

Saudi Arabia is a dangerous place for far too many foreign domestic workers. In 2008, a Human Rights Watch report documented widespread abuse of Asian maids in Saudi households. The organization found that women were routinely subjected to wretched working conditions, as well as emotional, sexual and physical abuse. "She beat me until my whole body burned. She beat me almost every day," one Indonesian woman told them. "She would beat my head against the stove until it was swollen." Since most maids are housebound and far from home, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get help. If they do seek aid, the system is stacked against them, activists say.

Unfortunately, this is not just a Saudi Problem - it's a global one. In march, I wrote about a similar dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia. After several high-profile acts of violence against domestic workers, Indonesia was forced to stop women from seeking work as maids in Malaysia. The problem, as I noted then, is that banning Indonesian women from working in Malaysia, or Saudi Arabia, doesn't, in itself, force host countries to reform. Rather, as in the case of Indonesia and Malaysia, the reduction in the number of Indonesian migrants opened the market to women from poorer countries like Cambodia. (See pictures of Indonesia.)

Eventually, Malaysia agreed to prosecute some of its worst offenders, including a woman who assaulted her housemaid with scissors and a hammer. This type of legal and diplomatic pressure is an important first step. To this end, International Labor Organization (ILO), recently past the first-ever convention on the rights of domestic workers. The document affirms domestic workers' rights to a minimum wage, a weekly day off and a limit to their working hours. It also obliges governments to protect then from violence. However, in order for the convention to be binding, countries must adopt it - and not all will. And, as I've written before, fair laws do not guarantee fair treatment. Until 'house work' is valued and female workers are treated with dignity, foreign domestic workers will continue to suffer.

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Indonesia to buy N.Zealand beef after Australia ban (AFP)

JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesia said Wednesday it could buy more beef from New Zealand after Australia suspended live cattle exports due to concerns over animal cruelty.

Jakarta is not yet satisfied that a video showing brutal abuse of Australian cattle in Indonesian slaughterhouses is authentic, according to Agriculture ministry livestock department chief Prabowo Respatiyo Caturroso.

But he said the government was determined to improve butchering practices wherever cruelty was discovered.

"We have to respect the Australian government's decision to stop its live cattle exports to Indonesia," Caturroso told AFP.

"We're fully aware that we have to improve animal welfare in our abattoirs. Our investigators are still checking the accuracy of the video on cruel treatment of livestock here," he said.

Trade minister Mari Pangestu said that Indonesians should not worry about meat shortages following Australia's decision earlier Wednesday to ban all live cattle exports to Indonesia for up to six months.

"This is a temporary ban. We don't need to worry that we will have shortage of meat supply in the country, especially for holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday because our meat stock is more than enough," she said.

"As to animal welfare issue, the agriculture ministry will intensify its programs (to improve it). We'll cooperate and make coordination with Australia for capacity building in meeting the standard," she said.

Economics affairs coordinating minister Hatta Rajasa said Indonesia had to boost efforts to become self-sufficient in domestic meat supply and raise standards at abattoirs where necessary.

"But please don't generalise that all abattoirs here are bad," he said.

Australia's action came amid a public outcry over shocking images of the mistreatment of cows in slaughterhouses that were broadcast on state television.

Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said the trade, worth Aus$318 million a year (US$340 million), would not start again until safeguards were in place to ensure animal welfare in Indonesia.

The footage broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation included kicking, hitting, gouging of eyes and breaking of tails of some animals as Indonesian workers attempted to force them into slaughter boxes.

Australian cattle account for about a fifth of Indonesia's rising beef consumption, or around 500,000 head a year.

Indonesia has enough cattle of its own to make up the difference but they are not in commercially viable herds, Caturroso said. The export ban may spur local farmers to raise their game, he added.

"Surely, if Australia stops the export, New Zealand is ready to export more beef to Indonesia," he said, adding this would mean frozen beef as New Zealand does not export cattle for slaughter.

"I hope it won't give a significant impact as our population's beef consumption is relatively low. It's only 2.4 kilograms (five pounds) per capita annually."

Indonesia's parliament passed a law on livestock welfare in 2009 but it has not been implemented and no sanctions are in place for abattoirs that mistreat animals, despite the mainly Muslim's country's concerns about halal butchering.

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Australia halts cattle supply to Indonesia abattoirs (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia has moved to halt the supply of live cattle to three Indonesian abattoirs after a documentary Monday revealed evidence of cruelty against animals shipped there for slaughter.

The ABC's "Four Corners" programme -- to be aired later Monday -- said it had footage of cattle suffering, including having their eyes gouged, tails broken and throats hacked in four slaughterhouses in Indonesia.

After viewing the footage, the Australian livestock export industry body LiveCorp said it had asked the Indonesian industry to stop supplying Australian cattle to three of these facilities.

"Cruelty to Australian animals is simply unacceptable," LiveCorp chief executive Cameron Hall said in a statement.

"This graphic and distressing footage has upset and frustrated the industry, particularly given our major efforts to improve animal welfare in Indonesia."

LiveCorp said it would provide additional training to workers at the fourth abattoir to improve conditions.

"Our animal welfare strategy is focused on ensuring our cattle are only supplied to facilities where supply chains meet or exceed global animal welfare standards," Hall said.

The head of animal welfare at Indonesia's agriculture ministry, Sri Mukartini, said she had heard about the Australian documentary but would not comment on specific incidents.

"Animal welfare is a relatively new issue in Indonesia. We're still developing regulations," she told AFP.

"This is different to what happens in developed countries like Australia, which see it as an important issue because their people have better awareness of animal welfare."

Australian live cattle exports were valued at Aus$652 million (US$697 million) in 2008-09, with Indonesia the single largest market. The industry underpins the employment of some 10,000 workers in regional Australia.

Canberra funds a number of projects aimed at improving infrastructure and training to promote better animal handling and slaughter practices.

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Plane with 27 people crashes in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A passenger plane carrying 27 people crashed Saturday as it was about to land in bad weather in Indonesia's eastern province of West Papua, killing at least 15, officials said.

Transportation ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said the Chinese-made Xian MA60 twin-turboprop plane belonging to a state-owned airline went down just before landing in Kaimana. The flight originated in Sorong, another town in the province.

"Given the condition of the wreckage of the ill-fated plane, it is hard to say that there are any survivors," Ervan said.

Police Lt. Col. Antonius Wantri Julianto said 15 bodies had been found and rescuers were searching for other victims. They were hampered by heavy rain.

Nuno Sampurno, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said the plane crashed into Kaimana Bay, several hundred yards from the airport.

Sampurno said the crash was believed to have been caused by bad weather which limited visibility.

The passengers included an infant and two children, Ervan said.

The Kompas daily newspaper said the plane was one of four MA60s owned by Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

Indonesia, an archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands and 235 million people, has been plagued by a string of transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings. Overcrowding, aging infrastructure and poor safety standards are often to blame.

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Strong quake hits off southern Indonesia

By AP

Motorists evacuate their homes after a tsunami warning was issued following a magnitude-6.7 earthquake in Java, Indonesia on Monday.

EnlargeCloseBy AP

Motorists evacuate their homes after a tsunami warning was issued following a magnitude-6.7 earthquake in Java, Indonesia on Monday.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the 6.7-magnitude quake, which struck shortly after 3 a.m. Monday.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was centered nearly 200 miles off southern Java, just 15 miles beneath the ocean floor.

Thousands of people in the town of Cilacap poured into the streets and ran to high ground, many gathering in mosques, witnesses told El Shinta radio.

Ninety minutes later, when the threat of a tsunami had passed, they were told to go home.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A magnitude 9.1 quake and subsequent tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen nations, nearly three-quarters of them in western Indonesia.

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