Megawati begins Tunisia visit<\/p>\n
TUNISIA: President Megawati Soekarnoputri held bilateral talks
\nwith Tunisia President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and Prime Minister
\nGhanouchi Mohamed on Thursday, the first day of his two-day visit
\nto that country.<\/p>\n
According to Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda, the two
\nheads of states discussed various issues, including possible
\ncounter trade between the two countries.<\/p>\n
\"We are trying to enhance economic cooperation to balance the
\nexisting trade value between the two country,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is currently buying phosphate from the Mediterranian
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Megawati was greeted by Tunisian high-rank officials and
\nreceived a red carpet welcome at the Tunisian Presidential
\nPalace, before entering bilateral talks between officials of the
\ntwo countries.<\/p>\n
The President was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for
\nPolitical and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
\nState\/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo.<\/p>\n
The presidential entourage slated to continue its journey to
\nTripoli on Friday, for Megawati also to discuss various possible
\ntrade with the country.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will be the second country that visited Libya after
\nSpanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.<\/p>\n
\"We have seen that Libya will have a lot of trade
\nopprotunities after the sanction was lifted, because we have been
\nbuying oil products from the country,\" Hassan said. --JP<\/p>\n
;JP;KHS;
\nANPAa..r..<\/p>\n
JP\/4\/scen26<\/p>\n
Lawmakers get a set of PC<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Legislators finally got a set of personal computer
\nand a printer each from the House of Representatives's
\nsecretariat on Friday, a move that is expected to boost their
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
Some of the legislators, however, were disappointed,
\ncomplaining that the computer sets came too late.<\/p>\n
\"This kind of facilities should have been given at the
\nbeginning of the legislative tenure,\" said Djoko Susilo, deputy
\nsecretary of the Reform faction on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The current legislators took office in October 1999 and will
\nend their tenure in October 2004.<\/p>\n
Golkar lawmaker Baharuddin Aritonang welcome the facility,
\nsaying that it could help finishing his legislative duties. --JP<\/p>\n
;JP;KHS;
\nANPAa..r..
\nScene-reconciliation-truth
\nNo limitation for reconciliation: Minister
\nJP\/4\/scene<\/p>\n
Reconciliation knows no limit: Minister<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: All human rights abuses that could not be settled
\nthrough court trials should be opened for reconciliation
\nregardless of what year the abuses took place, a minister says.<\/p>\n
In order to avoid confusion, however, Minister of Justice and
\nHuman Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Thursday that cases
\nbefore Aug. 17, 1945 should not be brought for reconciliation.<\/p>\n
He made the statement at a hearing with the House's special
\ncommission in charge of deliberating the bill on truth and
\nreconciliation commission (KKR).<\/p>\n
He said the reconciliation would help the nation to have a
\nbetter future.<\/p>\n
According to him, human rights abuses in the country would be
\nbrought to court as long as there were enough evidence and
\nwitnesses. \"And of course, the suspect is clear,\" Yusril said.<\/p>\n
But, if the evidence and the witnesses were not clear, the
\nhuman rights abuses would be settled through this commission, he
\nadded. - JP<\/p>\n
;JP;IWA;
\nANPAa..r..
\nLaksamana-chief-commissioner
\nLaksamana criticized as new Pertamina commissioner
\nJP\/4\/laksamana<\/p>\n
Laksamana rapped for Pertamina post<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Transparency International (TI) criticized on
\nThursday State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi
\nfor appointing himself as new chief of commissioner board of
\nstate owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, saying such a practice
\nwas prone to abuse of power and corruption.<\/p>\n
Jeremy Pope, Director of TI Center for Research and
\nInnovation, said that it was not proper for a country to have a
\nsystem that allows a minister to do so.<\/p>\n
He also said that a minister should also know about the ethics
\nnot to hold double posts in a firm.<\/p>\n
\"I am astonished about the news. Such a minister should be
\nsacked,\" he said on a seminar on corruption jointly held by TI
\nand the Partnership for Governance Reform.<\/p>\n
According to him, this will become a bad precedence for junior
\ncivil servants as they will think that such a practice is legal.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Emmy Hafidz of Indonesian chapter of TI said
\nLaksamana, who has a good reputation, should not appoint himself
\nas new Pertamina commissioner because it would create conflict of
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
Pertamina is one of the largest local oil and gas companies,
\nwhile Laksamana is also one top official at the ruling Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party for Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
Next year, Indonesia will hold legislative and presidential
\nelections. -JP<\/p>\n
;JP;MUN;
\nANPAa..r..
\nScene-forest-extinct
\nNusakambangan forest to disappear in 2010
\nJP\/4\/SCENE<\/p>\n
Nusakambangan forest to disappear in 2010<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Due to rampant illegal logging, a non-governmental
\norganization predicted that the Nusakambangan island will have no
\nmore natural forests by 2010.<\/p>\n
Timer Manurung, who leads the Silvagama Foundation, said on
\nThursday that some 12.000 plants were chopped down by illegal
\nloggers every year.<\/p>\n
Currently, the island posses some 87,000 plant in its 953.5
\nhectares forests from previous 137,00 plants in 1999.<\/p>\n
Worse, the Meranti Jawa wood (Dipterocarpus littoralis), a
\nspecies which only available in the island, is close to
\nextinction due to rampant illegal logging.<\/p>\n
Timer said that there were only six left in the island in
\n2000.<\/p>\n
Nusakambangan island, which located in the Indian ocean, is
\nknown for its prison for high-profile criminals, including Tommy
\nSoeharto, the son of former president Soeharto who is convicted
\nto 15 years in jail for murder. -- JP<\/p>",
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