Indonesia's Adam Air is to sack four of its directors after
one of its planes flew for hours with 145 passengers aboard
without navigation and communication systems. The Detikcom
online news service quotes Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa
as saying he asked for the dismissals in response to the February
12 incident. The incident involved a Boeing 737-300, which
suffered a system break down soon after take off from Jakarta.
It then flew "blind" until it made an emergency
landing at a small airport on Sumba Island close to four hours
later. No one was injured in the incident. The pilots and
the plane's ground crew have also been suspended pending the
outcome of an official inquiry. Adam Air operates Boeing 737s
to serve two dozen routes, including international flights
to Singapore and Penang in Malaysia. Australia's biggest airline
Qantas is in negotiations to buy a stake in the carrier. (February
23rd 2006, ABC Radio News)
Foreign Art Troupes to Perform in Bali Arts Festival 2006
At least 15 foreign arts troupes will take part in the 28th
Bali Arts Festival to be held from June 17 to July 15, 2006,
a spokesman of the organizing committee said on Thursday.
"These 15 groups have been put in the agenda of the event,
but there are still possibilities for other troupes wishing
to perform in the event," I Nyoman Budi Artha said. Previously,
only eight foreign arts troupes took part in the 2005 event,
including from Thailand, Japan, India, the United States and
Singapore. Among the fifteen groups taking part in this years
festival are from Japan, South Korea, the United States, Germany,
Canada, Britain, India, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. The
one-month festival will also highlight arts delegates from
the province’s eight districts and one municipality,
he added. (February 23rd 2006, Antara News)
Al-Qaida Funded Indonesian Attacks
Indonesian Police Col. Petrus Golose Tuesday (28/2) said al-Qaida
directly funded most of the terror attacks in that country.
Golose, a member of Indonesia's counter-terrorist task force,
told an international conference on suicide bombings in Jakarta
the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington
and New York used the Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiyah to
deliver money to the terrorists. The Australian Broadcasting
Corp. reported Golose said $30,000 was given to the terrorists
who committed the Bali bombings and tens of thousands more
went toward the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta. Some
of the funds also may have been used in the 2004 attack on
the Australian Embassy, ABC said. Tuesday 28th February, 2006 (February
28th 2006, UPI).
Two Dutch Tourists Drown off Kuta Beach
Two Dutch tourists drowned in front of the Discovery Mall
on Kuta Beach on Saturday 3/5. Johanes W. Boagaerts (61)
and F. Falicena (81) were taken by a strong rip while enjoying
the surf at about 2.30 pm in the afternoon. According to the
Director of the Water Police, Haji Agus Sutikno the couple
had been swimming in a prohibited area with two other members
of a group when a large wave knocked over all four bathers,
pulling them into the deep. Two of the party were successfully
rescued, but Johanes andFalicena were pulled from the ocean
in poor condition and later died at a local medical center.
(March 6th 2006, Bali Post)
Thousands Protest in Indonesia to Demand U.S. Pullout from
Iraq, Afghanistan
An estimated five-thousand Muslims chanted "U-S-A out
of Iraq" as they demonstrated Sunday (5/3) in front of
the American Embassy. The group is upset with the U.S.-led
invasions of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials say about
half the protesters were women and children. About two-thousand
police officers kept them away from the
embassy compound, which is surrounded by two concrete walls
and barbed wire. One of the protest organizers says the Iraq
war is an example of "real colonialism." He wants
the West to stop what he calls the "propaganda campaign"
against Islam in the "guise of the war on terrorism."
U.S. officials have been warning Americans in Indonesia to
keep a low profile and "exercise caution" if they're
near any demonstrations. (March 6th 2006, AP)
Bid to Save Aussie Drug Runners
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will make a personal
appeal for clemency for two of the Bali Nine drug runners
whenhe visits Jakarta this week. Mr. Downer
will ask Indonesia to spare the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukamaran, sentenced to death two weeks ago for their part
in the heroin-trafficking operation. Though Mr. Downer wrote
a letter to Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, he
will now raise the issue during a private meeting in the Indonesian
capital. Clemency will not be sought for the seven Aussie
drug traffickers who received life sentences. (February 26th
2006, Sunday Times)
Terror Mastermind Top is Hiding: Police Arrest Another Associate
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says Bali
bombing mastermind Noordin Top has gone to ground in Indonesia.
Top, one of Asia's most wanted terrorists, has been on the
run since the first Bali bombing in 2002 that killed 88 Australians.
Mr. Keelty, who was in Indonesia last week for a terrorism
conference, said Top had "gone to ground". "To
minimize exposing himself in public, he has been using human
couriers and safe houses," Mr. Keelty said. Meanwhile
police in East Java claim to have arrested one of Top’s
associates. Achmad Basher (31) who was taken into custody
after a high speed car chase in the province on Friday (3/3).
(March 6th 2006, AEDT, Bali Post)
Indonesia Detains False Australian Passport Holders in Bali
Police on the Indonesian island of Bali have detained two
Chinese nationals carrying false Australian passports. Officers
say the man and woman, both in their twenties, are from Fujian
province in China. An immigration official says they arrived
on the island a week ago on a flight from Hong Kong. He said
there were suspicions about the pair because they did not
speak any English. Under interrogation, they admitted to buying
the passports from a syndicate in Hong Kong for about $US
7,400 and claimed they were intending to seek work in the
United States. (March 6th 2006, ABC)
Padang Sambian Woman Dies of Snake Bite
Wayan Suweti (52) of Padang Sambian, Denpasar, died in the
Sanglah Denpasar Hospital on Thursday (2/3), 10 days after
being bitten by a green snake. According to family members
Suweti had been bitten by a green snake once before approximately
2 years prior to this incident. Green Pit Vipers (a close
relative of the American Rattle Snake) frequents garden areas
in Bali and is fatal in 10 - 20 % of cases. ((March 3rd 2006,
Bali Post)
Indonesian Soldiers Nabbed With 200kg of Marijuana
Two Indonesian soldiers have been arrested in the capital
Jakarta for possession of almost 200 kilograms of marijuana
and may face a 10-year jail term if convicted, police said
Monday (6/3). Detectives arrested marine Efrizal, 31, following
a high-speed car chase Saturday (4/3) and after he was questioned,
they nabbed a second marine
also accused of involvement in the haul, Jakarta police spokesman
Untung Yoga Ana said. Efrizal told police that he was delivering
the drug - which he bought in Aceh
province for 300,000 rupiah ($43 dollars) per kilogram - to
clients here who paid him six times the price.South Jakarta
police chief Wiliardi Wizar sayed that Efrizal had transported
the stash by car from Indonesia's Aceh, where the drug is
traditionally used in cooking despite being illegal. The arrests
were the latest involving state employees allegedly nabbed
with drugs in Indonesia. Last week a Jakarta court jailed
a former prosecutor for 17 years for possessing 217 grams
of crystal methamphetamine and illegal weapons. Indonesian
authorities are cracking down on drug producers, smugglers,
traffickers and users, with courts increasingly handing down
stiff punishments for such offences. (March 6th 2006, AFP)
Indonesian President Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize
The nominees for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize have been announced
and the prestigious Norwegian peace prize might be going to
Indonesia, as President Yudhoyono and former Finnish
President Martti Ahtisaari are on the list for a joint award
for helping secure a peace deal in Aceh. It was US Congressman
Robert Wexler who nominated President Yudhoyono for the 2006
Nobel Peace Prize, saying he deserves the award due to his
“central role as peacemaker in resolving the Aceh conflict
and unwavering commitment to Indonesian democracy.”
As a member of the national assembly, the congressman is eligible
to submit a nomination.The laureate’s name will be announced
on a Friday on mid-October and the award ceremony held at
the Nobel Institute building on December 10th, the anniversary
of the death of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel prizes.
Unlike entertainment awards where there are only small numbers
of announced nominees, the committee accepts more than 100
names each year. This year 191 nominees were accepted, including
former US Secretary of State Collin Powell and U2 rocker Bono.
(March 6th 2006, Paras)
