An Australian man has been arrested for allegedly having sex with underage boys on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. Identified as Philip Robert Grandfield, the 61-year-old was arrested on Saturday (9/8) on suspicion of pedophilia, police officer Rudolf Rodja said. “We’re still investigating the case. We have discovered so far that seven male teenagers have become his victims,’’ he said. Police said the retired accountant had lived on the tourist island for 10 years. The children he allegedly abused were students who accepted money for sexual favors. “Most of them acknowledged that they were all coming to the house to play pool at first. Then after the game they were asked to watch some porno movies before they ended in the bedroom,’’ police spokesman Made Sudirsa said. A lawyer for the suspect said: “This is not a pedophile case as currently depicted in the media. According to Philip’s statement, all of the teenagers are actually male prostitutes who are trying to blackmail him over some jealousy issue,’’ lawyer Ketut Suartana said. If convicted, he faces 15 years’ jail. (August 13th 2008, AFP)
Anak Krakatau Erupts 120 Times
Mt Anak Krakatau in the Sunda strait had 120 eruptions and quakes throughout Monday (12/8), prompting the Volcanological and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center to declare the volcano and its surroundings in level-2 alert status. “Even now the volcano is still spewing red-hot lava and thick smoke,” monitoring personnel in Pasuruan village, Cinangka subdistrict, Serang regency, said. However, the frequency of the eruptions and quakes had been declining compared to those in the last two days. For the time being, unless the volcano’s activities picked up, the area is safe for tourists, but only in a radius of one kilometer from the center of the eruptions. (August 12th 2008, Antara News)
Australian FM to Open 1000th Australian-Funded School in Indonesia
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith flew into Indonesia’s Sulawesi Monday (11/8) to celebrate the 1000th school built through Australian aid money. Smith, on the second day of his whirlwind trip to Indonesia, is due to open a junior high school in Makassar, southern Sulawesi - the mid-point in Australia’s $A335 million commitment of 2000 new or expanded schools in poor and remote areas by the end of next year. Almost two million Indonesian teenagers aged 13 to 15 are not in school. “The opening will mark the halfway mark of an ambitious project, under the Australia-Indonesia Partnership, to build or expand 2000 high schools across 20 provinces by the end of 2009,” Smith said in Jakarta. “Australia is funding this program to help Indonesia fulfill its vision that all young Indonesians will have nine years of basic education. Smith is traveling with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda following bilateral talks between the two in the capital Jakarta on Sunday. The Australian government is providing up to $A2.5 billion to Indonesia over the next five years to tackle poverty and assist in social and economic development. Tenders will be called this month in one of the biggest projects, a $A328 million initiative to improve hundreds of kilometers of national roads and bridges in 10 eastern Indonesian provinces. “Indonesia’s development challenges remain acute,” Smith said. “In all challenges, Indonesia can count on Australia to work with it as a friend and partner.” He described Australia’s relationship with its giant neighbor as at “a historic high”, despite looming potential problems such as the three young Australians facing the death penalty over the failed 2005 Bali Nine heroin smuggling plot. During his visit, Smith has told Indonesia that Australia will seek clemency for the three if they are still facing execution after all their legal appeals have been exhausted. (August 2008, AAP)
Jazz Great Diana Krall to Play the Ritz - Jakarta
Jazz great, Canadian born singer /pianist /song writer Diana Krall will play at the Ritz Carlton in Jakarta on October 5th.The multi Grammy award winning artist will play one night only in Jakarta, one night at the Plenary hall in Kuala Lumpur on October 2nd, and two nights at the Marina in Singapore on September 27th and 29th as part of her 2008 Asian tour. For more information and ticket sales go to http://www.javajazzfestival.com/2009/ (August 16th 2008, Independent Press)
Indonesia says Papuan Asylum Seekers Want to Return
Indonesia’ Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda says some of the Papuan asylum seekers who traveled to Australia in 2006 are seeking to return to Papua. In January 2006, 43 Papuan asylum seekers landed in Cape York claiming that their lives were under threat in Indonesia. They were granted temporary protection visas. But Hassan Wirajuda says that some of them are now considering returning to Papua and have begun preliminary negotiations with Indonesian officials. The matter was raised with Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. A spokesman for the 43 Papuans, Herman Wanggai, has denied that any of them want to go home. (August 11th 2008, AFP)
Australian FM to Plead for Drug Smugglers in Indonesia
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Sunday (10/8) he would use upcoming talks in Indonesia to raise the issue of clemency for three Australian drug traffickers held there on death row. Smith, who will meet with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda in Jakarta on Monday, said he would discuss the plight of the three men, who face death by firing squad. The trio are part of the so-called “Bali Nine”, a group of Australians convicted over a foiled plot to smuggle 8.3 kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin from the Indonesian resort island into Australia in 2005. “I’ll be just making the point in our formal bilateral conversation in Jakarta tomorrow that we have three of the Bali Nine still subject to the death penalty,” Smith said. “I’ll make inquiries about the progress of their cases through the Indonesian legal and judicial system and, again, make the point that when those processes have completed, that if any of those three still remain the subject of the death penalty, we’ll be making a plea for clemency in accordance with our normal processes.” Smith said that while the Australian government was opposed to the death penalty, he would not raise the issue of clemency for those responsible for the deaths of 88 Australians in nightclub bombings in Bali in 2002. “The prime minister and I have both made clear that we don’t propose to make representations on behalf of terrorists who have been subject to the death penalty,” he told Australia’s Channel Nine. “So I won’t be making any individual representations so far as the Bali bombers are concerned.” (August 10th 2008, AFP)
Australian Extradition Case Heard In Indonesia
An Indonesian court on Wednesday considered the extradition of an Australian man accused of molesting a 10-year-old boy in his home country. He has denied the accusation.Prosecutors demanded that the court on the tourist island of Bali approve Australia’s request for the extradition of Paul Francis Callahan to face child sex charges in Australia. “This demand is based on a request in the form of a diplomatic note sent through the Australian Embassy to the government of Indonesia dated 11 September 2007,” prosecutor Suhadi told the court. Callahan is accused of abusing his ex-wife’s underage brother from April 1997 to January 1999, Suhadi said. The 47-year-old Bali resident told the court through an interpreter that he had not abused the boy and had never been questioned about the matter by Australian police. Callahan left Australia in 2003 and moved to Bali, where he married an Indonesian woman, had a daughter and runs a surf wear shop. (August 16th 2008, AFP)
Indonesia to Cut Corby’s Sentence
Indonesia will cut three months off the 20-year sentence imposed on Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby as part of Independence Day celebrations this weekend, an official said Friday (15/8). It would be the second time authorities had cut the 31-year-old’s sentence after it was reduced by a month in 2006. The former beauty therapist was found guilty in 2005 of trafficking 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of marijuana to Indonesia. She claims international smugglers placed the drugs in her luggage. Many Australians believe her claims of innocence and see the sentence as harsh. Suharyono meanwhile said the only female member of the so-called “Bali Nine” ring of Australian heroin traffickers, Renae Lawrence, would also have four months cut off her 20-year sentence. The group’s three ring-leaders, Scott Rush, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, are on death row in Indonesia. (August 15th 2008, Antara News)
Japanese Facing Death Sentence for Carrying Drugs
A Japanese tourist who was arrested at Denpasar`s Ngurah Rai airport recently for possession of 102 grams of marijuana may face life-long imprisonment or the death penalty, police said. Sigumari Kurusai (41) was stopped by Ngurah Rai Airport customs officers after they had found the marijuana hidden in his luggage. Kurusai had then just disembarked from a flight from Singapore, Bali police information officer Sr Com AS Reniban said here Friday (8/8). “He could be given the death penalty or a life sentence based on Article 82, section 1, of the Narcotics Law of 1997,” Reniban said. “We are now processing the case as he was found to be in possession of 21 plastic clips of marijuana weighing a total of 102 grams,” he said. During preliminary questioning it was established that Kurasai had been a frequent visitor to Bali since 2005 and it was possible he had been a drug dealer on the Island. Police also learned that Kurusai bought the drugs in Thailand and carried it to Bali via Singapore. (August 8th 2008, Antara News).
