A senior member of the Sanur association (YPS) Ida Bagus Gde Sidarta Putra has spoken out strongly against government plans to build a penitentiary facility in the Sanur area. Sidarta, who is a prominent hotelier in Sanur, said that the general feeling among the Sanur residents was one of shock and surprise when the news of plans to build a jail in Sanur were published in a local newspaper. Both I.B. Sidarta and I.B. Lolec, a leading voice in the tourist industry, felt that it was inappropriate to build such a facility in the Sanur area, given that Sanur was a major tourist destination on the Island of Bali. (November 1st 2005, Bali Post)
Italian Expatriate Found Murdered on Vacant Land
In Northern Kuta District
Bacagli Rafaella, a 31 year old Italian woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances in a vacant lot adjacent to Banjar Tegel Gundul in a northern Kuta district on Thursday (27/10). According to a police spokesman there was no evidence of sexual assault, however it appeared that Bacagli had attempted to fight off her assailant. Bocagli suffered severe blunt trauma to the head, and police assume that the weapon had been the victims shoe, as blood and tissue were apparent on the footwear that was found close to the victims body. Four members of Bacaglis family arrived from Italy several days later to identify the body. Forensic experts from Italy have also been brought in to assist in the investigation. (October 30th 2005, Bali Post)
Swedish Expatriate Found Dead at His Home on Sanur
Bo Coran Lindberg (72) was found dead in his rented room in Jln Danau Beratan, Sanur on Friday (21/10). Coran had been suffering from severe asthma, and according to hand written notes found in his room, he had wished to live out his last days in Bali, where he hoped to be cremated and have his ashes thrown out to the sea. (October 22nd 2005, Denpost)
Balinese Bomb Victim Evacuated to Australia
Putu Swadeshi who was severely inured during the Jimabaran bay bombings has been evacuated to Australia accompanied by his father Wayan Widana on Monday (24/10). Putu has shown some improvement during his stay at Sanglah, and is now able to speak, although his body remains paralyzed. Widana said that they hoped Putu would be further able to improve with intensive therapy that could be provided in Australia. Putu was evacuated with the International SOS medical evacuation team, and all medical costs have been guaranteed by the Australian Government. (October 25th 2005, Bali Post)
Police Baffled by Bali Blast Probe
Bali's police chief has expressed frustration at the lack of progress finding those behind triple suicide bombings this month that killed 23 people, including four Australians. Made Mangku Pastika, who led the successful investigation of the 2002 Bali nightclub attacks, said national distribution of leaflets showing the decapitated heads of the three bombers as well as electronically enhanced pictures had yielded little. "I wonder why nobody has stepped forward? What is baffling is where did (the three bombers) live? We don't even know where they came from," Pastika said. Police have not named any suspects over the attacks. Pastika has said the bombers had Indonesian facial features. He said the bombers might have left their families and hometowns for so long that nobody recognized them. Pastika also had a more chilling theory. "The second possibility is they come from families or groups that agree with the terrorism movement. This is dangerous." Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. The vast majority of those following Islam are moderates, but militancy has been a growing force. Police said they would issue new leaflets saying anyone giving credible information on the identities of the suspected backpack bombers would receive $US10,000 ($A13,140). Suspicion for the attacks has fallen on Jemaah Islamiah or an offshoot of the network, seen as al-Qaeda's arm in Southeast Asia. In recent bombings, court testimony has shown that senior operatives from Jemaah Islamiah have brainwashed young recruits from poor families living on the main island of Java to drive bomb-laden cars to targets. (October 29th 2005 - AFP)
Indonesian Police Search for Bomber After Bus Blast
Indonesian police say a man has been badly injured in a bomb attack on the island of Sulawesi. Parigi police chief Sambas Kurniawan says the man suffered severe burns when a home-made bomb exploded inside a minibus travelling to the mainly Christian town of Tentana. He says 11 people were in the bus, when a low-intensity device was placed under a seat by an unidentified man. Police have a description of the alleged bomber and have begun searching for him. The incident is the latest attack in the province where 21 people were killed in a twin bombing attack on a busy market place in Tentena in May. (October 27th 2005, ABC news)
Three Youths Swept Away at Seseh Beach, Kerobokan
Three youths were swept out to sea by large waves and strong currents on Seseh beach at Kerobokan on Sunday (23/10). Riski (22), Kadek Roti (23), and Made Pramana (28) were swept away while they were swimming at 6pm. Kadek and Made were rescued by local residents, however Riski could not be found. The SAR search and rescue team launched 4 rubber boats to search the local waters however they found no sign of Riski. (October 25th 2005, Bali Post)
Police Intercept Two Massive Lots of Explosives / Detonators at Indonesian Ports
A woman originally from Sulawesi Selatan was arrested on Tuesday (25/10) trying to board the KM Mega Express ferry bound for the port of Pare Pare with luggage containing 100kg of ammonium nitrate. Just two weeks prior to this arrest another group consisting of six women and two men were arrested trying to smuggle 350 kg of ammonium nitrate and 900 detonators into the Indonesian port of Nunukan in Kalimantan. According to a police spokesman the explosives would be enough to destroy an area 5 kilometers radius if detonated. He also expressed a concern that not only men, but now women were also becoming involved in the terrorist activities. (October 26th 2005, Bali Post)
President Calls on People to Switch to Coal as Source of Energy
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appealled to the people on Wednesday to use coal as a source of energy due to the increasing fuel oil prices. "I hope not only households but also small and medium-scale industries will switch (to coal)," he said when attending an expose on energy diversification and popularization of coal brickets at the Jakarta Fair Grounds. To big industries that normally used diesel oil and kerosene to run their machinery, the president also appealed to make the necessary adjustments. "Economically, I believe coal is cheaper than diesel oil or kerosene," he said. He admitted that coal was not renewable but its reserves in Indonesia were still abundant. "Estimatedly they are still enough to meet energy supply for more than the next 150 years," he said. He said Indonesia had been using coal to run its power plants for quite a long time, but its use at homes was still relatively new. "We must admit that the use of coal in households has not been adequately popularized," he said, adding that coal was now much cheaper than kerosene following the recent fuel oil price hike. President Yudhoyono also called on small and medium-scale businesses as well as cooperatives to invest in the production of coal brickets and sell them to the public. On the occasion South Sumatra governor Syahrial Usman expressed the readiness of his province to meet the national demand for coal. He said coal reserves in the region covered 48 percent of the total deposits in the country. Syahrizal said 15 bricket producing plants would be set up in 15 provinces and President Yudhoyono had expressed his support to the project. (Oct 27th 2005, Antara News)
