Indonesian and Australian Courts Sign New Agreement
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer has welcomed the ongoing partnership between Indonesia’s Supreme Court and Australia’s Federal Court and Family Court that was marked by the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this week in Melbourne, Australia. The Indonesian Chief Justice, Bagir Manan, of the Indonesian Supreme Court visited Australia earlier this week to sign the MOU with the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Michael Black and Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant, according to a press statement of the Australian embassy in Jakarta. Under the MoU, the courts will work together in areas such as judicial transparency and accountability and improving quality of and access to court services. Farmer said that the signing reflected an ongoing commitment to support Indonesia’s Supreme Court implement its reform program. (July 25th 2008, Antara News)
ABC foreign correspondent Peter Lloyd has vowed to stay in Singapore to face drug charges that could put him in jail for 20 years. While there have been calls for him to run, Lloyd, 41, told The Sun-Herald: “I’ve never ever considered attempting to flee. I will remain in Singapore.” In his first interview since being charged with trafficking and possessing drugs, he revealed he had been suffering traumatic flashbacks and nightmares after covering the region’s tragedies, such as the Bali bombings and the tsunami. These had left him too afraid to sleep, a phobia which peaked in the two months leading up to his July 16 arrest, he said. Lloyd - who separated from wife Kirsty McIvor six months ago and declared himself gay - faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and 15 strokes of the rattan cane for allegedly selling 0.15 grams of ice for $A76 to a Singaporean man at the York Hotel on July 9. Police also allegedly found 0.41gr of the methamphetamine on him, along with utensils bearing traces of ice and the veterinary drug Special K, when he was arrested at Mount Elizabeth Hospital a week later. He was based in New Delhi but was in Singapore to seek treatment for an eye infection. (July 27th 2008, AAP)
Indonesian Pilot Charged with ‘Deliberately` Crashing Jet
The pilot of an Indonesian passenger jet that crashed last year, killing 21 people, was charged Thursday (31/7) with deliberately causing the disaster when he appeared in court. Marwoto Komar, a former captain from flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, could face life in prison if convicted of the charge. He was named a suspect in February over the March 2007 crash of the Boeing 737 with 140 people on board in the central Java city of Yogyakarta. Prosecutors Mudin Aresto and Jamin Susanto charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one of “deliberately” destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death. Komar’s lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said his client would fight the charges on the grounds that international civil aviation codes rule out criminal liability for pilots in crashes. An official government report in November found Komar ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane in at roughly twice the safe speed, causing the jet to bounce and career off the runway and burst into flames in rice fields. The Garuda pilot’s arrest has angered Indonesian pilots, who have staged protests arguing only aviation experts and not the legal system have the right to determine who was at fault in an accident. (July 31st 2008, Antara News)
AIDS Cases in Indonesia Estimated at 200,000
The National AIDS Commission (KPN) estimated there are 200,000 cases in Indonesia, much higher than its official record of 11,141, KPN Secretary Dr Nafsiah Mboi said. “There are 6,066 HIV cases in Indonesia, but the KPN estimated the number at 200,000,” Mboi said here on Monday (27/7). She was speaking at the opening of a regional meeting held to formulate efforts to handle HIV/AIDS cases in Bali, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). She said that if no preventive measure was taken, the number of AIDS/HIV cases in Indonesia would rise to two million by 2020. ANTARA quoting Dr Nafsiah Mboi as saying in Makassar last month that up to March 2008, the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia had been recorded at 17,998, and about 10 percent of them are HIV carriers while the remaining 90 percent are people on the verge of developing full-blown AIDS. The KPA`s figures are on detected carriers and based on medical reports on people who underwent medical examinations. The real number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia is believed to be much higher. According to Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia had continued to increase. He said the disease was estimated to infect 400,000 and kill 100,000 people in 2010. “Without adequate intervention, the virus will by 2015 have infected one million people, killed 350,000 and infected 38,500 children,” he said. (July 27th 2008, Antara News)
1,000 English Teachers Meet in Sanur, Bali
Some 1,000 English teachers from 34 Asian countries grouped in the Asia Teachers of English as a Foreign Language association (TEFL) hold the 6th International Conference on English Teaching in Sanur, Bali, 1-3 August 2008. “We expect from this conference opportunities for English teachers to share their experience, knowledge, and hope so that English teaching skills will improve,” Suwarsih Madya, chairperson of the conference said here Friday (1/8). Although in Asian, Mandarin is used by a huge population throughout the continent and Bahasa Melayu became some sort of “lingua franca” in several South-East Asian countries, English is still considered the important tool in communications among people throughout the world. Asia TEFL is a non-profit organization established in 2003 and based in Seoul, South Korea. This organization aims to increase research work, distributing information, and facilitate cross-cultural knowledge among people who study English in Asia. Asia TEFL has more than 10,000 members from 56 countries around the globe. It also has developed project networks, published several of academic journals, held seminars and conferences, and enhanced skills in using English. (August 2nd 2008, Antara News)
Sanur Athlete Takes Bali to the Olympics for the Fourth Time
Bali’s Golden Boy of Windsurfing Oka Sulaksana once again is taking Bali to the Olympics to represent Indonesia. This is not Oka’s first Olympiad, competing in no less than three previous Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and in Athens in 2004. Oka, the son of a Sanur fisherman has been a competition windsurfer for several decades, traveling the world to compete since he was just a young boy. Now in his late thirties, Oka is a senor athlete in his field and he could find it tough against he younger competitors. This could be his last chance to bring home a medal for Bali. (August 6th 2008, Independent Press)
Regional Youth Interfaith Dialog Highlights Challenge of Climate Change
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer has welcomed Australia’s participation in the Asia Pacific Interfaith Youth Camp 2008 held in Surabaya from 27-31 July 2008, the Australian embassy said in its website here on Friday. According to the embassy, Farmer expressed his gratitude to the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia for organizing the camp, which focused on encouraging 100 youths from Asia Pacific Interfaith Dialogue countries to share their ideas on how to best combat the common threat of climate change. “Climate change is a problem faced by people of all ages, faiths and nationalities and the interfaith dialogue process provides a useful mechanism to increase understanding on this critical issue, particularly among the young generation,” Farmer said. Five Australians participated in the Youth Camp which Indonesia proposed during the Phnom Penh Dialogue on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and Harmony held earlier this year. Australian participant Tessa Dowdell, a 21 year old environmental engineering student from Sydney, said the camp allowed her to see similarities in the environmental challenges faced by both Indonesian & Australian communities. “Our field trip to a village in the mountains of East Java, which is suffering water shortages, is an experience I want to share with other Australians,” Ms Dowdell added. Ms Dowdell was also able to tell Indonesian communities about the impact of drought on farmers in Australia’s rural areas. Ms Dowdell, who is also a member of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, said that the camp demonstrated that youth from all faiths and nationalities across the Asia-Pacific region share the same concerns about climate change and global warming, which she also described as one of the biggest challenges of her generation. The Australian and Indonesian Governments are currently working together to decrease the impact of global warming in Indonesia under the Forest Carbon Partnership, which was signed during Prime Minister Rudd`s visit to Indonesia in June this year.(July 31st 2008, Antara News)
Tourist Arrivals up in Indonesia in the First Six Months of 2008
The number of foreign tourists that visited Indonesia in the first half of 2008 rose 11.66 per cent to 2.9 million compared with the same period last year, a senior official said Friday. Rusman Hermawan, chief of the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics, said the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in June stood at 529,100, or an increase by 3.95 per cent over the previous month and an increase of 6.22 per cent over the same month last year when 498,100 tourists visited the country. Indonesia has targeted 7 million foreign visitors this year, owing to the 15-million-dollar Visit Indonesia Year 2008 program launched late last year, and expected to earn up to 6.4 billion dollars in foreign exchange. Government officials earlier predicted that the number of tourist arrivals in the second half will exceed the January-June figures. In the last few years Indonesia’s tourism sector has been hard hit by a string of terrorist attacks, earthquakes, tsunamis and bird flu outbreaks. Domestic sectarian violence has also damaged the country’s reputation as a safe destination. In an attempt to help boost the declining numbers of foreign visitors to the country Indonesia has extended its list of countries that receive visas-on-arrival. (August 2nd 2008, Earthtimes)
Bali High Prosecutor’s Office Preparing for Bali Bomber Execution
Bali’s High Public Prosecutor’s Office has done the needed coordination with the provincial police headquarters on preparations for the execution by firing squad of Amrozi et al, the three 2002 Bali bombing death-row convicts, a spokesman said. “We have coordinated with the Bali police so that any time they have to do their duty, they will be ready,” the head of Bali’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, IDP Alit Adhyana, said here Wednesday (23/7). The execution of the three men was to be carried out before the Muslim community entered their fasting month (Ramadhan) in September. Adhyana, however, said he could not yet say when exactly the execution would take place and where. Even so, preparations had to be made early on, including coordination with the Bali police and also with the Central Java police who would provide the firing squad, Adhyana said. “When the firing squad had been readied, all that’s left to do is proceed.” he added. (July 23rd 2008, Antara news)
Militants Target US Teacher in Indonesia
10 alleged militants arrested this month planned to assassinate an American teacher in Indonesia and avenge the upcoming executions of the Bali nightclub bombers by attacking the Supreme Court, a top anti-terrorism official said. The official identified the teacher only by his first name, Samuel, and said he worked in the small town of Sekayu on Sumatra. The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia declined comment. The anti-terrorism officer spoke late Sunday (26/7) to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, saying that revealing his identity would jeopardize ongoing anti-terror operations. The suspects’ lawyer was not immediately available for comment. The revelations point to the resilience of Islamist militant networks in Indonesia despite a U.S.-backed crackdown that has netted more than 400 suspects in recent years and reduced the risk of more large-scale attacks on Western targets, most experts say. The 10 militants were arrested in early July in a series of raids on Sumatra, including in Sekayu town. Officers have said one of the suspects was a Singaporean who trained in Afghanistan with al-Qaida. Several bombs packed with live bullets were seized from the men. The officer said the group planned to detonate one of the devices in the parking lot of the Supreme Court in the capital, Jakarta, to coincide with the executions of three militants convicted in the Bali attacks. He declined to say how advanced the planning was in either operation. Officers have previously said the group also planned to attack a cafe in the tourist town of Bukittinggi, but aborted it at the last minute out of fears there would be too many Muslim causalities. (July 27th 2008, Reuters)
