Indonesia Shortens Torch Route after Protests
Indonesia has drastically shortened the Olympic torch route through Jakarta following massive protests in other cities, organizers said. The torch will remain in central Jakarta, they said, scrapping plans to take it to the north and west of the sprawling capital after chaotic scenes in London and Paris. The torch, which arrives in Jakarta on April 22, will now be carried around a city centre sports stadium, where 1,500 police will be deployed to ensure security. Pro-Tibet campaigners have shadowed the flame from the moment it was lit in Greece on March 24, starting its 20-country, 137,000-kilometre journey to Beijing for the August Olympic Games. The relay route was altered in San Francisco due to protests by activists seeking to highlight many controversies surrounding the Chinese government, including its controversial rule of Tibet and human rights record. Dozens of protesters were arrested in London when the flame passed through there on Sunday, while constant disruption forced officials to extinguish the torch five times in Paris on Monday. International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge said in Beijing today he was “saddened” by the violent protests, but promised the Olympics would rebound. (April 10th 2008, AFP)
Twenty-One Killed by HIV/AIDS in Badung District, Bali
As many as 21 people in Bali`s Badung district died of HIV/AIDS in 2008, a local HIV/AIDS eradication activist said here on Friday. Speaking at the closing of a “peer educators” training course for villagers concerned about the deadly disease, Adi Rukmini of Badung District`s AIDS Eradication Commission (KPA) said the district now had 373 HIV/AIDS sufferers who were living in almost all of the region’s sub districts. Of the number, 252 had been positively diagnosed as suffering from HIV and 120 from full-blown AIDS. Based on these data, it was believed the number of deaths from the disease which now stood at 21 would continue to rise in the near future, she said. Rukmini said people could help fight the disease if they refrained from two things: the practice of “unprotected sex” and injectable drug use. She said she hoped villagers concerned about HIV/AIDS could play a role in their respective communities to dissuade or discourage people from engaging in activities prone to HIV/AIDS infection. A two-day awareness course was recently attended by 30 villagers from Kuta and Petang sub districts and a number of Badung District health officers. (April 7th 2008, Bali Post)
Aussie on Bali Drug Charges is an Addict: Doctor
An Australian man facing 10 years’ jail for hashish possession in Indonesia is addicted to the drug, his doctor said today. David Bruce Houston, 38, of Perth, is standing trial in Bali’s Denpasar District Court after police, acting on a tip-off, found 2.9 grams of hashish in his pocket, outside his Kuta home in January. Houston has been charged with drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail, and drug use, which attracts a maximum four-year jail term. But if he can satisfy the court he is a drug addict who failed to report to authorities - a third charge he faces - he could face a maximum jail term of just six months. Several Australians in recent years have avoided lengthy sentences after satisfying the court they were drug addicts who had not reported themselves to authorities to undergo rehabilitation. Bali doctor Denny Thong told today’s court hearing that he believed Houston was an addict. He said Houston came to him for treatment in October last year, complaining of back pain. “He said he wanted to stop using the drugs, as a doctor I suggested that he should be treated,” Tong said. “My conclusion is that he is addicted and he is a user.” Houston is due to testify when the case resumes next week. Tomorrow, 23-year-old Avinash Sundhahar, who holds an Australian passport, will face Denpasar District Court for the first time over alleged methamphetamine possession. The Sri Lankan-born student will be the third Australian to face the court on drugs charges this week. (April 9th 2008, AFP)
Dutch Flag Burned in Film Protest in Indonesia
Dozens of Indonesian Muslim students set the Dutch flag on fire Wednesday (2/4) to protest a controversial film made by Dutch politician which accuses Islam of inspiring violence. In addition, dozens of students from the Islamic University Students Group (HMI), also damaged the gate of the Netherlands consulate office in Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra province. During an hour-long rally, some of the protestors pelted the Dutch consulate’s compound with rotten eggs, forcibly removed the Dutch flag from a pole in the consulate’s front yard and set it on fire, the state-run Antara News Agency reported. Police fired gunshots into air in an attempt to stop the vandalism and rounded up about 20 of the protestors and brought them to Medan’s police headquarters for questioning. It was the first violent protest in the third-straight day of anti-Dutch demonstrations in Indonesia, home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, following the release of film. On Monday (1/4) President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged his people not to resort to violence or harassment of foreigners in protests against the film, saying that Islam and the other religions forbid violence, which is also against the law. Anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders released the15-minute film Fitna, which means strife in Arabic, over the Internet last week. The film shows graphic images of terrorist attacks, including the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the London and Madrid train bombings, interspersed with verses from the Koran, Islam’s holy book. The film’s release sparked condemnation not only from Muslim nations, but also from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who called the film “offensively anti-Islamic.” Indonesia, which has banned broadcasts of the film, has also asked Internet providers to block access to the YouTube web site carrying the film made by the right-wing Dutch lawmaker. Jakarta also barred Wilders from entering the archipelago nation, a former Dutch colony. Nearly 88 per cent of Indonesia’s 225 million people classify themselves as Muslim. (April 2nd 2008, Reuters)
RI, Australia Studying Effectiveness of Chinese Anti-Malaria Drugs
The Training and Development Department of Indonesia’s Health Ministry and Australia’s Menzies School of Health Research are continuing to study the effectiveness of Chinese anti-malaria medicines applied in Mimika, Papua, a local official said. Secretary of the Amungme and Komoro Communities Development Institute, John Nakiaya, said here on Wednesday (1/4) the research which had been conducted since 2006 had so far yielded satisfactory results. Around 70 to 80 percent of malaria sufferers treated with the Chinese drugs had recovered more quickly than patients taking other anti-malaria medicines. “In fact, my wife who was diagnosed with malaria only needed two days to recover after taking the Chinese medicine,” John said. The Chinese anti-malaria drugs being studied bear the brand names of `Artekin` and `Artesunate`. But although the study had shown the Chinese drugs to be very effective, they could not yet be used en masse as the health ministry’s Drug and Food Supervisory Agency (Balai POM) still had to issue the needed permits. So far, only the Mitra Masyarakat Hospital and certain community health centers in Timika were authorized to administer the Chinese medicines. The two Chinese anti-malaria medicines come in the form of pills and a liquid given to patients intravenously. (April 4th 2008, Antara News)
Royal Brunei Airlines set to Suspend Services to Sydney and Bali
Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) has announced the suspension of services for all Sydney and Bali flights as of May 31. According to the airline this move was necessary in order to implement the new summer schedule. The summer schedule will improve accessibility to Brunei Darussalam from Regional and International destinations. Changes include increased flight frequencies to key destinations, convenient timings and better connections. Chief Executive Officer, Royal Brunei Airways Ray Sayer said, “Although leaving a destination is never an easy decision, as regional competition increases it is necessary for RBA to make these schedule changes that improve RBA’s product and strengthen the airline’s core network.” For RBA passengers who are affected by the suspensions of Sydney and Bali flights, the airline will offer either a full refund of their tickets or the option to be re-accommodated on other carriers. (April 8th 2008, Antara News)
Importing Trash into Indonesia Officially Banned
Following the passing of a trash management bill into law by the House of Representatives (DPR), the Indonesian government has officially banned the importation of trash into the country, deputy state minister for the environment Ilyas Asaad said here on Thursday (10/4). Meanwhile, chairman of the House’s special committee on the bill, Hendarso Hadiparmono, said the country needed a law on trash management because proportionate with the growth of the population, the volume of trash produced by the local public was also increasing. A law on trash management was also necessary because there was a widely-held perception that trash was useless waste, not a beneficial resource, he said. The bill contained provisions on the management of household and other kinds of trash he said. Under the new law violation of the trash importation ban was punishable with a nine-year jail sentence and a fine of Rp100 million to Rp3 billion. (April 11th 2008, Antara News)
Indonesia Preparing Online Passport Application
The Indonesian government is preparing a website to allow its citizens to apply for passport online starting in July, Indonesian medial reported Friday (11/4). The Justice and Human Rights Ministry said under the new system, applicants will come to the immigration office only for photo-taking, fingerprints and interview. The breakthrough is aimed at cutting brokerage practices and speeding up the application process, the ministry’s head of logistics Ida Bagus Adnyana was quoted Friday by The Jakarta Post newspaper as saying. “After the interview, applicants can check the status of their passports through the Internet he said. The immigration office takes payment from credit cards and ATM transfer. The charge is set Rp. 260,000 (around 28 US dollars) for a 48-page passport and 110,000 rupiah (12 dollars) for a 24-page. Currently, applicants have to apply in person at immigration offices and wait three or four days to get their passports. (April 11th 2008, Antara News)
Jakarta is a “Sinking City”
A World Bank study shows that unless action is taken, much of the coastal city of 12 million will be submerged by seawater. Experts have pinpointed that date as the next peak of an 18.6-year astronomical cycle, when sea levels will rise enough to engulf much of Indonesia’s low-lying capital. Climate change is causing sea levels to rise, but the study’s authors say the main problem is that Jakarta is sinking under the weight of out-of-control development. The problem has been exacerbated by factories, hotels and wealthy residents drilling deep water bores to bypass the city’s shambolic water grid, sucking out the groundwater and causing further subsidence. “The major reason for this is not climate change or whatever, but just the sinking of Jakarta,” says JanJaap Brinkman, an engineer with Dutch consultancy Delft Hydraulics who worked with the World Bank on the study. “We can exactly predict to what extent the sea will come into Jakarta.” By 2025, estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show, sea levels will have risen by only about five centimeters (two inches). But Brinkman says Jakarta, which spans a flat plain between mountains, and coast, will be between 40 and 60 centimeters lower than it is now. The study shows that without better defenses, in 2025 the sea will reach the presidential palace around 5 kilometers (three miles) inland as well as completely inundating Jakarta’s historic old city to the north. (April 14th 2008, AFP)
Bali to Host International Conference on Reproductive Health
Bali will host the Second International Conference on Reproductive Health Management (ICRHM) Emphasis on Family Planning`, from May 6 to 8, 2008. Some 400 national and foreign participants were expected to attend the conference having a theme of “Convergence: Working Together for Results and Impact”, Head of the Bali provincial family planning board (BKKN) Gusti Ayu Sri Astuti said here on Friday. The meeting on family planning is organized by the United Nations Fund for Population Prior to the conference there will be training sessions on Peer Educator of Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH), Inter Personal Communication and Counseling (IPCC) of Family Planning, Contraceptives Technology Update Workshop, and National Pentaloka on Family Planning Program which all will be conducted in the Indonesian language. The first ICRHM was held in Manila in 2006. The conference was attended by 625 participants from 11 countries of many international donors and communities. (April 9th 2008, ENews)
Indonesia Arrests Two JI Members
Indonesia has arrested two more members of Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a senior police official told Reuters, which could lead to the arrest of other key militants wanted for attacks in Southeast Asia. In particular, the police official said the arrests could help lead to the capture of Noordin Mohammad Top, one of the most senior members of Jemaah Islamiah who is still on the run. The two men - Abdul Rohim, who also uses the name Abu Husna, and a man identified only as Agus - were caught in Malaysia more than two weeks ago and have been transferred to a detention centre in Jakarta, according to the police official in Jakarta, who declined to be identified by name. Abu Husna “is a member of the markaziah, the central board of the organization,” the police official said, while the man identified as Agus was involved in attacks in Sulawesi and Java, and has close links to Abu Dujana, the military commander of Jemaah Islamiah, he added. Sidney Jones, an expert on the Jemaah Islamiah at Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group, said Abu Husna is believed to have replaced Zarkasih as the head of JI, after Zarkasih was arrested last year in Indonesia. “Abu Husna is a central figure in the organization and he would know everything about the current activities, command structure and so on,” said Jones, who is based in Jakarta. Abu Husna has previously been the JI central command’s head of education, overseeing some two dozen or so JI schools across Indonesia, according to Jones. (April 14th 2008, AAP)
Chastity Belts Required for Indonesian Masseuses
In an attempt to stop prostitution at massage parlors, a city administration in Indonesia’s East Java province has issued an order obliging masseuses to wear locked chastity belts, local media reports said Thursday (9/4). But the new requirement has sparked controversy with Indonesia’s State Minister for Women’s Empowerment, Meutia Hatta, who opposed the policy on grounds that it insults women. East Java’s Batu mayoralty administration issued the order obliging masseuses to wear sturdy black pants with a padlock on the left side preventing them from being opened or lowered. The keys are kept by the massager parlor supervisor, according to the detik.com online news portal. Batu’s local security agency warned the massage parlors may lose their permits if they were found to be violating the controversial regulation. “Massage parlors have been identified with prostitution. That’s why we decided to impose a tight regulation,” Imam Suryono, head of the Batu’s district police service, was quoted as saying. “We hope that with this policy the massage parlors here will be free from hidden prostitution practices.” While the Jakarta tourism agency was considering a similar regulation, Hatta said she was firmly opposed to extending the policy. “It is not the right way to prevent promiscuity. It insults women as if they were the ones in the wrong,” the Jakarta Post quoted Hatta as saying. “It is not that we oppose the administration’s effort to uphold morality, but the problem is in their way of treating masseuses as if they are all committing prostitution.” “In fact, many people go to the parlors purely for health reasons, not for sex,” she said. (April 9th 2008, Reuters)
