1. party -- 2 columns, 4 lines, 15<\/p>\n
29 political parties fail to qualify for 2004 poll<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine political parties have failed to pass the
\ngovernment's preliminary screening to contest the 2004 general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
The 29 parties represent about a quarter of the total 112
\nparties that registered at the Ministry of Justice and Human
\nRights. The registration closed on Monday.<\/p>\n
An official at the Ministry said on Tuesday that the 29
\nparties had failed to meet some basic requirements, that include
\nprovisions such as the need for a party to have a permanent
\nheadquarters, equipment to support the work of the headquarters
\nas well as a complete organizational structure, Wicipto Setiadi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Nine out of the remaining 83 parties have been given the green
\nlight to. They are. the Justice and Prosperity Party (PK
\nSejahtera); Democratic Catholic Party (PKD), Indonesian Union
\nParty (PSI), Justice and Unity Party of Indonesia (PKP
\nIndonesia), Crescent Star Party (PBB), the Crescent Party of
\nReform (PBR), the Love the Nation Democratic Party (PDKB), the
\nNational Concern Party (PKPB) and the Love the Nation Peace
\nPromoter Party (PPDKB). These parties need only one more step to
\nbe eligible for the election.<\/p>\n
An announcement will be made by the Ministry today (Wednesday)
\nwhether or not nine other parties will passed the final screening
\nstage, Wicipto said.<\/p>\n
The remaining 65 political parties will be screened from Sept.
\n1 to Sept. 27 which is the third batch of screening held by the
\nMinistry.<\/p>\n
The Ministry screened nine political parties in the first
\nbatch of party verifications that started in June, and nine
\nothers in the second batch.<\/p>\n
Among things to verify included whether or not a party has
\nsufficient branches and chapters nationwide. A party is required
\nto have chapters in more than half of the total 32 provinces
\nthroughout the country.<\/p>\n
The Ministry is to complete its screening by early October, as
\nparty registration for the election will be closed on Oct. 9.<\/p>\n
Registration with the General Election Commission (KPU) is the
\nfinal step for a party to contest the election, set to be held in
\nApril next year.<\/p>\n
2. first aid -- 5 columns, 1 line, 30<\/p>\n
Govt to teach first aid skills in case of emergency<\/p>\n
In anticipation of emergencies -- such as fires, flood and bomb
\nattacks -- the government will provide basic first aid training
\nwithin communities, says a minister.<\/p>\n
"All communities should know what to do when they are faced
\nwith natural disasters. In an attempt to minimize victims and
\nlosses, firstly, they have to be able to identify what kind of
\ndisaster they are facing," Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to the minister, many people panic and do not know
\nwhat to do in emergency situations.<\/p>\n
Training to face such conditions is much needed to help the
\npeople living in both in rural and urban areas, he said, adding
\nthat this will be conducted by government institutions.<\/p>\n
"There are three important steps that must be taken in dealing
\nwith emergencies: First, revive or keeping the victim alive;
\nsecond, review, identifying the injuries; and third, taking the
\nvictims to hospital for medical treatment," said Suyudi.<\/p>\n
"Reviewing is done by medical practitioners because this
\nusually requires further skills. But, ordinary people could do
\nthe first step at least," he said.<\/p>\n
Aside from establishing communities proficient in first aid,
\nthe minister also said that communities should build networks,
\nincluding with hospitals, ambulance services and the nearest
\npolice office.<\/p>\n
"In Jakarta, there has been a memorandum of understanding
\n(MOU) between the Ministry of Health, Jakarta city administration
\nand hospitals on handling natural disasters or other
\nemergencies," said the minister.<\/p>\n
He cited the case of the JW Marriot Hotel bombing, saying that
\nambulances arrived just three minutes after the blast on Aug. 5.<\/p>\n
"Fortunately, the hospital is quite close to the hotel and the
\ntraffic was not so bad, so the ambulances got there quickly," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He only regretted that ambulances attending the victims of the
\nBali blasts took 42 minutes to arrive at the scene.<\/p>\n
Dr. Kuning Atmajaya who was involved in treating the blast
\nvictims at the Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar, said the crowded
\nlocation and congested traffic caused the delay.<\/p>\n
Tri Wahyu Murni, a surgeon from the Hasan Sadikin General
\nHospital in Bandung -- and also the spokesperson for the recent
\n10th International Symposium on Shock and Critical Care -- said
\nthe ideal number of ambulances is one per 5,000 citizens.<\/p>\n
"For Indonesia, one ambulance per every 10,000 citizens would
\nbe good enough. In Bandung, with a total citizenship of 4.9
\nmillion there are only 28 ambulances, all owned by hospitals. In
\nJakarta, with about 10 million people, there are only about 400
\nambulances," she said, concluding that the number of ambulances
\nis not proportional with the population here.<\/p>\n
According to her, those in the public service, such as
\npolicemen, security officers, and firefighters should also be
\nskilled in first aid.<\/p>\n
"In most cases they are the first people to arrive at the
\nlocation and they might be able to save the victims' life, or at
\nleast alleviate their sufferings," she said.<\/p>\n
3. logging -- 4 columns, 2 lines, 25<\/p>\n
Ministry wants taxpayer money
\ngiven to loggers unable to log<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Forestry is demanding financial compensation from
\nthe government for state-owned forestry firm Perhutani to stop
\ncutting down Javanese forests to mitigate ever-worsening weather
\nextremes, including the severe drought across Java at present.<\/p>\n
The ministry's spokesman Tachrir Fathoni said on Tuesday that
\ncompensation for carbon absorption and fees from forest-
\nexploiting companies that used its land, such as tap water firms
\nand power plants, would facilitate Perhutani in focusing on its
\nnon-logging business activities, including ecotourism, medicinal
\nplants and beekeeping.<\/p>\n
"We think banning Perhutani from its logging activities should
\nbe thoroughly calculated economically, socially, and
\nenvironmentally," Tachrir told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He also emphasized that the demand for logs and the derivative
\nproducts on Java was still high, while many home-based industries
\nrelied on local wood.<\/p>\n
"If Java tries to import logs from other countries to meet
\nlocal demand, it will be too expensive," he said.<\/p>\n
Besides, the government, particularly the office of State
\nMinistry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) should stop demanding
\nthat Perhutani generate more profit and instead consider
\nenvironmental preservation as one of the company's achievements,
\nTachrir said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) said on Tuesday that
\nthe government had to enforce its decision to ban all logging on
\nJava, but also should provide financial incentives for Perhutani
\nto save Java's forests.<\/p>\n
"The logging ban for Java is correct, but it is also fair for
\nPerhutani to receive incentives from the government in order to
\nshift its business to something other than chopping down what
\nremains of the forests," FWI executive director Togu Manurung
\ntold the Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Manurung said the government could provide incentives to
\nPerhutani by allocating reforestation funds and special
\nallocation funds to the company.<\/p>\n
Tachrir and Manurung were commenting on the announcement by
\nCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla on Monday
\nthat the government had decided to ban logging activities on Java
\ndue to the present drought and water crisis that is starting to
\naffect more and more of the 128 million people who call the
\nisland home.<\/p>\n
Javanese forests now account for a mere 5 percent of total
\nland, far below what 30 percent level that many consider the
\nminimum for maintaining ecological balance, according to data
\nfrom the Ministry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
Perhutani controls all commercial plantations and logging
\nactivities on Java. In addition, it also is involved in
\necotourism, beekeeping and medicinal plants.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Forestry had earlier given Perhutani
\npermission to process 931,000 cubic meters of natural forest wood
\nthis year, down from 1.46 million in 2002.<\/p>\n
In addition to the logging ban, the government also urged
\npeople to reduce farming on Java and for farmers to do more on
\nother islands in the country.<\/p>\n
Manurung went on to say that Perhutani should comply with the
\ngovernment's decision even if demand for wood and its derivatives
\nremained high.<\/p>\n
"We know that local demand for wood is still high. The
\ngovernment can import logs to meet the demand, but of course that
\nwould be far more expensive, or allow some of the companies that
\nrely on wood to close down," he added.<\/p>\n
4. jibril -- 3 columns, 1 line, 20<\/p>\n
RI police to grill Iqbal over terror attacks<\/p>\n
Indonesia hopes to clarify details surrounding the possible
\ndeportation of a man from Malaysia, and question him over
\npossible top-level links to regional terror network Jamaah
\nIslamiyah (JI).<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said Tuesday that
\nthe government was waiting for details regarding the deportation
\nof Mohammad Iqbal Abdul Rahman, alias Abu Jibril.<\/p>\n
"... and Iqbal will be asked to clarify his possible
\ninvolvement with several militant groups here."<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia wished to question Iqbal in relation to a
\nnumber of terror attacks carried out in Indonesia and his links
\nto militant organizations and JI.<\/p>\n
Hassan dismissed earlier reports that Iqbal had been sent to
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"They (Malaysian authorities) have yet to decide when and
\nwhere the process will be conducted."<\/p>\n
Iqbal was arrested under Malaysia's Internal Security Act in
\nJune 2001 and is expected to be deported when the maximum
\nallowable detention period expires.<\/p>\n
Though Iqbal was detained along with 90 other people on
\nsuspicion of belonging to JI, he has never been charged with any
\ncrime.<\/p>\n
Both Iqbal and the alleged leader of JI, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir,
\nfled Indonesia for Malaysia together in 1985 to escape former
\npresident Soeharto's repressive regime.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir is currently being tried in connection with plotting
\nto kill President Megawati Soekarnoputri when she was vice
\npresident, and a series of bombings in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Iqbal is the brother of Irfan S. Awwas, a senior leader of the
\nIndonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), which is chaired by Ba'asyir.<\/p>\n
Separately, Iqbal's wife, Fatimah Zahrah Abdul Aziz, who still
\nlives in Malaysia, said she met her husband at the immigration
\ndetention center in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"He is in good health. We are appealing to the government not
\nto deport him," she told AFP.<\/p>\n
"My husband said he is not involved in any militant activities
\nnor linked to Jamaah Islamiyah. My husband is just a simple
\nreligious preacher," he said.<\/p>\n
Fatimah, an Indonesian who like her husband holds permanent
\nresident status in Malaysia, said "no date has been fixed when
\nthe government will deport him."<\/p>\n
Malaysian terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, however, told AFP
\non Tuesday that Iqbal was "a very significant figure" in JI.<\/p>\n
"After Ba'asyir, he is the senior ideological leader in the
\norganization. He is a very important man, comparable to Hambali,
\nbut he is ideological, less operational," he said.<\/p>\n
5. flood -- 4 columns, 1 line, 25<\/p>\n
Denuded forests, worse weather<\/p>\n
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) has warned of
\npossible floods and landslides in the rainy season that is
\nexpected to start in October.<\/p>\n
"Let's not forget about landslides and floods as we have been
\nfocusing more on how to overcome the current drought," BMG
\nforecast division head Ahmad Zakir said in Jakarta on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Flash floods and landslides are expected to hit provinces
\nsouth of the equator, most of which are now suffering from
\ndrought.<\/p>\n
The equator runs from west to east, crossing Sumatra just
\nnorth of the town of Payakumbuh, to Pontianak in Kalimantan and
\non to a point just to the north of Manokwari, Papua.<\/p>\n
Java, Bali, the Nusa Tenggara islands and parts of Sumatra,
\nKalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua all lie to the south of the
\nequator.<\/p>\n
"The rainy season will start first in the western part of West
\nJava in October or early November," he said.<\/p>\n
The dry season normally runs from April to October, while the
\nrainy season is from November to March.<\/p>\n
Western and southern parts of West Java, western parts of
\nCentral Java, southern parts of East Java, the Nusa Tenggara
\nislands, western and southern parts of South Sulawesi and South
\nSulawesi will get more rainfall than other areas, or more than
\n400 millimeters.<\/p>\n
As most of the provinces are among the areas hardest hit by
\nthe drought, combined with the fact the provinces have
\ninsufficient forests as water catchment areas, it is predicted
\nthat those areas are prone to floods and landslides.<\/p>\n
"Local administrations must be cautious over the issue.
\nResidents deserve to get early warnings so they can be prepared
\nprior to the floods," Zakir said.<\/p>\n
Early this year, local administrations failed to act to lessen
\nthe impact of floods and landslides in parts of the country
\ndespite repeated warnings from as early as November last year
\nfrom the BMG, the State Ministry for the Environment and other
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people died.<\/p>\n
While local administrations continue their reforestation
\nprograms, Zakir advised them to make comprehensive plans on how
\nto anticipate floods and landslides in a bid to prevent further
\nloss of life and property.<\/p>\n
"Do not wait until the rainy season comes as extreme natural
\nphenomenon may happen anytime."<\/p>\n
Zakir also urged people to be cautious over possible floods
\nand landslides in their areas and asked them to get accurate
\nweather information from BMG offices across the country.<\/p>",
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