The arrest of 11 Muslim militants in Malaysia has crushed
a group known as Darul Islam Sabah, which assisted figures
involved in the 2002 Bali bombings, police said today. Police
chief Bakri Omar said that the group, an offshoot of Indonesia’s
Darul Islam movement, had plotted to create an Islamic state
spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern Philippines.
The 11 members of the group, based in eastern Sabah state
on Borneo Island, had been smuggling firearms and ammunition
in the region and were detained over the past two months,
he said according to the official Bernama news agency. Indonesia
has welcomed the arrests and said that the militants had been
tracked for some time as they moved from Indonesia to Sabah
on Borneo Island and the southern Philippines. “I believe
this is a good sign and an important step to fight terrorism,”
Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said yesterday.
The Star newspaper which broke the story of the arrests said
today one of the Indonesians arrested was trained in weaponry
and bomb-making by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. (June 3rd 2006,
AFP)
Garuda Axes Adelaide Flights as Tourists Give Bali a Miss
Indonesia is suspending flights from Adelaide to Bali as people
continue to shun the island resort in the wake of bombings,
drug cases and the Papuan refugees controversy. The airline
said yesterday that passenger numbers on its Adelaide flights
in the first part of this year had fallen to a quarter of
their levels a year ago. The national picture is not much
better, with the number of Australians heading to Bali falling
by more than 60 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Garuda attempted to stimulate the Adelaide market by resuming
its twice-weekly services, but to no avail. “Commercial
pragmatism dictates that we utilize our aircraft in markets
that are showing a return of confidence in Bali as a holiday
destination,” said Garuda regional manager southwest
Pacific Suranto Yitnopawiro. “Unfortunately, the Australian
market as a whole has declined substantially and the decrease
in numbers is most severe in Adelaide.” Australia appears
to be lagging the field in returning to what was once one
of its most popular holiday destinations. Arrivals from countries
such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan have bounced back more strongly
as travelers take advantage of cheap deals. (June 1st 2006,
the Australian)
Cancer of the Cervix Leading Cause of Death in Indonesian
Women
Cancer of the cervix was still the leading cause of death
in Indonesian women according to local Obstetrician Dr. Ketut
Suwiyoga. At a training course held at the Sanglah hospital,
Dr. Suwiyoga said that there were two main risk factors that
needed to be considered. Firstly and fore mostly, the Human
Papilloma Virus (genital warts) was the major risk factor
for cervical cancer. Other predisposing causes for the cancer
were smoking, sexual intercourse before the age of seventeen
years, and lower socioeconomic groups. He then suggested that
early diagnosis and prevention of the disease was the answer
to decreasing the incidence of the disease. An annual PAP
smear, especially for women over 35, should be recommended,
and education of lower socio-economic groups was essential.
(June 5th 2006, Bali Post)
Indonesian Ambassador to Return to Australia
The Indonesian ambassador to Australia is to return to Canberra,
a foreign ministry spokesman said Friday (9/6), effectively
ending a diplomatic row between the nations over Papuan asylum
seekers. Thayeb was recalled to Jakarta in March over Australia’s
decision to grant visas to 42 asylum seekers who arrived there
by boat from restive Papua province, which infuriated Indonesia’s
leadership. “The prime motive to send him back to Canberra
is there is a necessity for him to be there, especially to
prepare for the visit of Prime Minister (John) Howard to Indonesia”
on June 26, he said, confirming the date for the trip. Howard’s
visit to the island of Batam to meet with President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono had been expected later this month with
discussions between the leaders to include a new security
agreement between the neighbors. (June 9th 2006, AFP)
Earthquake Shakes Indonesia’s Sulawesi
An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale rocked the
Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Tuesday, the US Geological
Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or
casualties and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not
issue an alert. The tremor struck at 2:56 am Tuesday (18:56
GMT Monday) with its epicentre 24 kilometers (15 miles) northeast
of Manado, a coastal city in northern Sulawesi, at a depth
of 16 kilometers. Indonesia is recovering from a powerful
earthquake that struck Java Island late last month killing
nearly 5,800 people and leaving some 340,000 others homeless.
Aid has been pouring into the quake-zone to assist recovery
from the quake which also left 33,000 injured. (June 6th 2006,
AFP)
HIT Mosquito Spray to be Recalled
The HIT household insect spray is soon to be recalled as the
formula contains the carcinogenic chemical Dichlorovos. The
Department of Agriculture (Deptan) has requested that HIT
2.1A and HIT 17L be taken off the market and disposed of in
a safe manner, and has given the company PT Megasari Maknur
2 months to recall and dispose of the stock. Dichlorovos is
a known carcinogen and can cause cancer of the liver and stomach
in humans. (June 8th 2006, Bali Post)
Indonesia’s Merapi Activity on the Rise as 18,000 Wait
in Camps
Activity is increasing at Indonesia’s smoking Mount
Merapi, scientists said Friday (9/6) as more than 18,000 residents
evacuated from its flanks waited in limbo at makeshift camps.
Merapi - which means “Mountain of Fire” - spewed
its largest clouds of volcanic gas, ash and dust on Thursday,
causing panic among residents who scurried down its flanks.
Antonius Ratdomopurbo from the vulcanology centre in Yogyakarta,
told reporters that a May 27 earthquake had boosted the volcanoes
activity. “The earthquake has made the volcano more
active due to the pressure on the magma. Merapi has not returned
to the state it was before the earthquake. The trend is its
activity will continue to increase,” he said. The volcano
on densely-populated Java Island was put on red alert on May
13, meaning scientists believed it was on the brink of eruption,
which typically sees it belch hot, speeding clouds which burn
everything in their paths. (June 9th 2006, Kerala News)
Decree to Drop Charges against Suharto ‘Unlawful’
A legal expert testified on Friday (9/6) that a decree dropping
corruption charges against former president Suharto was unlawful
and could be revoked. On May 12, the South Jakarta Prosecutor’s
Office issued a decree, citing the health of the former president,
who was then being treated at hospital for internal bleeding
following colon surgery. He earlier reportedly suffered several
strokes and has a heart ailment. An alliance of three human
rights and anti-Suharto groups filed a lawsuit against the
decree, arguing it was premature to drop the charges and that
prosecutors lack the authority to annul a case already processed
by the court. The group also found the decree mistakenly cited
some irrelevant chapters in the Criminal Code Procedures.
Suharto, 84, was forced to resign by student-led protests
and nationwide riots in 1998 after ruling the country with
an iron hand for 32 years. In 2000, prosecutors charged him
with embezzling US$600 million, but he never faced court because
his lawyers argued that a series of strokes had left him with
irreparable brain damage. (June 9th 2006, AP)
Indonesia Pledges Aid to East Timor
The Indonesian Government will send $A938,000 worth of humanitarian
aid to neighboring East Timor to help it cope with the fallout
of weeks of unrest. “The President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]
has decided to meet a request from East Timor, made through
a letter from President Xanana Gusmao dated June 6, to send
humanitarian aid,” Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie
said. He says the aid, in the form of food and other essentials
worth a total of $A938,000, would begin to be dispatched on
board two Hercules transport planes today. He says that there
has been no request for Indonesian military or police personnel
to assist on the ground and that the only Indonesian military
personnel to head there would be the crew of the planes. (June
8th 2006, AFP)
Timor PM’s Troops Accused of Massacre
A rebel leader claims troops loyal to Timor-Leste’s
prime minister have committed a massacre, the Australian Broadcasting
Corp. reports. The rebel leader, Lt. Gastao Salsinha,
said soldiers backing Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri shot about
60 civilians in April and buried them in a secret mass grave
near the capital of Dili. Alkatiri denies any link to the
killings. The allegations are the latest in a series against
Alkatiri and his supporters, the network said. Salsinha leads
about 600 men who left their barracks in March and fled to
the mountains, saying they were the targets of discrimination
because they came from the western part of the country. (June
9th 2006, UPI)
East Timor’s Opposition Leader Flees Dili
East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri now stands accused
of making death threats against the leader of the country’s
main opposition party, Fernando de Araujo. Mr. de Araujo has
fled the capital of Dili and now fears for his life. He says
he has been in hiding since fleeing Dili last month when his
house was burnt down. He claims police have told him they
have orders to shoot him from the highest levels of government,
but they had refused to carry out the order. Mr. de Araujo’s
Democratic Party has the most seats in Parliament after Dr
Alkatiri’s ruling Fretilin Party. But he says his party
has surged in the polls and is now a real threat to Fretilin.
He says he has reason to believe the death threats came from
Dr Alkatiri himself, and he has accused the Prime Minister
of orchestrating much of East Timor’s recent unrest.
Mr. de Araujo’s Australian-born wife and baby son have
fled to Melbourne. These latest claims coincide with accusations
that Dr Alkatiri recruited a hit squad to eliminate his political
enemies, allegations he vehemently denies. (June 10th 2006,
AEST)
Indonesian Government Warns Hard-Line Groups to Abide by Law
The Indonesian government has issued a warning to members
of hard-line groups in the country that they will face the
full weight of the law if they promote unruly radicalism or
are involved in acts of terror, the Jakarta Post said on Friday
(9/6). “Acts promoting anarchy, threats of terror, or
moves to take the law into one’s own hands are classified
as crimes, which will be processed under the country’s
existing laws,” Coordinating Minister for Political,
Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sutjipto was quoted
as saying on Thursday. “We have never tolerated any
wrongdoing, regardless of who or what groups are implicated
in it. Our (the government’s) stance is clear, that
we must enforce the supremacy of the law and equality before
the law,” he said. (June 09th 2006, Kerala News)
