Bali Bombers to be Executed by End of Year – Amrozi Says “No Regrets”
Three Indonesian Islamists on death row over the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people will be executed by the end of the year, a report said on Friday. No final date has been set for the execution but prosecutors have received key paperwork allowing it to go ahead, attorney general’s office spokesman Jasman Panjaitan was quoted as saying by news website Detikcom. Jemaah Islamiyah militants Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra face a firing squad over the nightclub attacks on the resort island of Bali which killed 202 people, mainly foreign holidaymakers. Prosecutors had earlier put plans to execute the bombers before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - which ended this week - on hold, citing bureaucratic delays. The bombers on Wednesday promised “retribution” if they are executed. “The people who will execute us, if they do this execution they will be cursed by God,” bomber Mukhlas told reporters at the island prison off southern Java where they are being held. “If the execution is carried out, that will constitute the biggest criminal act because they will be killing holy warriors.” Amrozi the “Smiling Bomber of Bali” laughed as he talked about his execution and threatened retribution. And he had no regrets about murdering 202 people on the island six years ago. (October 3rd 2008, AFP)
Indonesia Suspends Trade as Market Plunges
Trading on the Indonesian stock market was suspended due to “irregularities” Wednesday (8/8) after the main index plummeted more than 10 percent in mid-morning trade, officials said. The exchange said trading had been halted for an “indefinite period” after the market nosedived in response to sharp falls on Wall Street overnight. The main index in Southeast Asia’s largest economy had fallen 10.4 percent to 1,451.67 points on thin volume before trading was halted. “This is standard procedure that we have to take when facing these kinds of conditions,” Indonesian Stock Exchange President Director Erry Firmansyah told AFP. “We observed that there were irregularities in the market’s movement and we had to stop it,” he said, referring to the large fall in relatively thin trade of about one trillion rupiah (106 million dollars). The Indonesian market has shed almost 12 percent since the start of the week amid worries over the US financial crisis, higher-than-expected inflation in September, lower commodity prices and an interest rate hike. (October 8th 2008, Antara News)
Nobel Winner Ahtisaari a Champion of Peace : Indonesia
Indonesia congratulated Martti Ahtisaari for his Nobel Peace Prize Friday (10/10), praising the former Finnish president for helping resolve the long-running war in Aceh, a presidential spokesman said. Ahtisaari oversaw a 2005 peace agreement between the Indonesian government and rebels in the breakaway province of Aceh, ending a three-decade conflict that killed 15,000 people. The 71-year-old was hailed by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo for his efforts in solving conflicts from Kosovo to Namibia to Indonesia.Ahtisaari will receive a Nobel diploma, medal and a cheque for 10 million kronor (1.02 million euros, 1.42 million dollars) at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10. (October 11th 2008, Antara News)
American Tourists to Bali rise Substantially
The number of American tourists to Bali has been increasing since the Indonesian government has lifted its travel warning, classifying the number of American tourists coming to the island resort as one of the big-ten. The number of tourists from other western countries also increased by an average of 20 percent, Ida Komang Wisnu, Head of the Bali Central Bureau of Statistics said here Monday (13/10). Komang Wisnu said the number of foreign tourists to Bali reached 1,664,854 last year, and the numbers increased further this year. A total of 1,298,130 tourists came to Bali from January to August 2008, which was a 20 percent increase compared to the 1,079,751 people in the same period last year. Americans from January to August 2008 coming to Bali reached 46,923, up by 30 percent from 36,092 compared to the same period in 2007 whereas the number of French tourists increased 23 percent from 42,281 to 52,080. The Germans coming to the `Island of Gods` reached 50,676, a 18 percent increase from 42,802, or a 20 percent increase from 44,406 to 53,567 tourists. (October 13th 2008, Antara News)
Thousands Rally in Bali against Anti-Pornography Bill
More than 5,000 protesters surged through the streets of Bali on Sunday (13/10) in opposition to the Anti Pornography bill under deliberation in Jakarta. The bill, which looked set to be passed several weeks ago but has been pushed back amid a public outcry, criminalizes all public acts and material capable of raising sexual desires or violating “community morality.” Protesters denounced the proposed law as too broad and a threat to local customs on Bali, where naked temple statues proliferate and skimpily dressed foreign tourists relax on beaches. Demonstrators turned up to the rally in traditional Balinese clothes including semi-see-through temple blouses, saying such clothes could be deemed too suggestive if the law was passed. The protest took on a carnival atmosphere with Western-style music and dancing by Papuan tribesmen wearing only traditional penis sheaths, body paint and headdresses made from leaves. “If the lawmakers pass the porn bill, they will simply destroy our pluralism. It’s a direct threat to our country’s unity and it deserves to be gotten rid of for good,” student activist I Gusti Agung Jelantik said. The bill, which has been pushed by Muslim parties in Jakarta, is being challenged on other islands in the archipelago nation.(October 13th 2008, AFP)
Floods in Denpasar: Reaping what we Sow?
Marking the beginning of Bali’s raining season, sudden downpours on Tuesday (7/10) brought flash flooding to several areas of Bali’s capital including Jalan Siulan in East Denpasar, Jalan Tangjuban Perahu near Bali’s Kerobokan prison, and the area in front of the Brimob headquarters in Tophati. While no deaths were linked to the flash flooding, a number of cars, motorcyclists and pedestrians were put at risk by waters that in some instances completely covered passing vehicles and swept them off the road and into open gutters. Heroic action by military officers, police and local citizens who came to the rescue of those threatened by the floods prevented more tragic consequences from last week’s floods. In one instance, a passing motorist was saved after clinging to a banana tree until he could be brought to dry land by helpful local residents. Bali’s rainy season has just begun and can be expected to continue until March or April of next year. There is little doubt that flooding is becoming more commonplace in Bali and may have a direct connection with over development, violation of building codes and the island’s rapid deforestation. (October 10th 2008, Balidiscovery.com)
Hand-washing with Soap Saves Lives
Many of the deaths caused by diarrhea and respiratory infections in Indonesia could have been prevented had people washed their hands more often with soap, the Health Ministry has said. According to the World Health Organization, of the 161,000 children that died in Indonesia in 2006, 18 percent died from diarrhea and 14 percent from pneumonia. The Health Ministry cited US Agency for International Development (USAID) figures showing that only 14 percent of Indonesians wash their hands with soap before eating, 11.7 percent after defecating and 7.4 percent before feeding a child. UNICEF, the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several other agencies will jointly launch the first-ever Global Hand washing Day. (October 10th 2008, Irinnews.org)
President to Release Asian Beach Games Parade
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to release the 2008 Asian Beach Games parade carrying the games torch at 3.30 pm from the Presidential Palace Friday (10/10). The torch will be carried through Jakarta’s main roads from the Youth and Sports at Gerbang Pemuda Street to Jenderal Sudirman Street. Then, the torch will be carried along Thamrin to the Presidential palace and arrives at the state oil and gas company PT Pertamina head office. According to the Jakarta Traffic Management Center (TMC), the entourage starts at 1.30 pm, and motorists had been advised to use alternative streets in anticipating traffic jams on the streets to be passed by the parade. The first Asian Beach Games to be held in Bali from October 14 to 26 will have 45 countries taking part competing in 17 different sports. (October 11th 2008, Antara News)
“Lost” Deer Rediscovered in Indonesia
A “lost” type of deer has been found on a remote mountainside in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island 80 years after the last confirmed sighting, experts said on Friday (10/10). The Sumatran muntjac, about the size of a large dog, was photographed and rescued from a hunter’s snare 6,400 feet (1,951 meters) high in mountains of the Kerinci-Seblat National Park. The species was originally discovered in 1914 but had not been seen since 1930, Flora & Fauna International, whose experts found the deer along with park officials, said in a statement. Two more of the deer were later photographed elsewhere in the park. The snared deer was photographed in 2002 but only recognized as a Sumatran muntjac this year, in a 2008 international “Red List” of endangered species, after scientists confirmed that it was a different species from the related red muntjac. (October 13th 2008. Reuters)
President Yudhoyono asks People to Maintain Religious Harmony
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the people to continue creating and maintaining religious harmony among religious adherents without questioning their differences. “The people of West Java and of Indonesia in general, must create harmonious life, maintain peace, mutual respect, tolerance and care. We have to continue to build all this,” the president said when attending the anniversary celebration of Chinese Philosopher Confucius here on Sunday (12/10). He said that: “Our choice is to create justice and to adopt non-discriminatory policies for this nation. So, let us implement them.” The president acknowledged that certain communities in the country still faced problems in pursuing peaceful life in a number of regions. “I herewith instruct all state officials to uphold and carry out regulations fairly without discrimination. Regulations and legislations should be implemented well without discrimination in line with the 1945 Constitution,” the president added. (October 12th 2008, Antara News)
Aussie Instructors Train Balawista in Bali
Badung lifeguards known as Balawista invited 5 instructors from Australia to give survival training to lifeguard trainees. “Three `Surf Life Surfing` professional instructors - David Rosu, Loyle and Monica - are here and two others to come at a later date to share their knowledge and experience with local lifesavers,” Balawista coordinator of Badung, I Made Suparka said here Tuesday (7/10). The training which also involves related instructors from Bali will last for two weeks. Suparka said the instructors have given a series of training sessions by invitation while on their vacation in Bali. (October 8th 2008, Antara News)
