Nation told to fight terror<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has called on the people to
\nremain united and rally behind her in the country's fight against
\nterrorism.<\/p>\n
The call came only hours after United States authorities
\nannounced the arrest of Hambali, an Indonesian militant described
\nas Jamaah Islamiyah's top operative in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
"To all sections of society, I would urge you to remain united
\nand jointly fight against terrorism," the President said in her
\nstate of the nation address to a half-empty House of
\nRepresentatives plenary session on Friday.<\/p>\n
"We must not blame each other or lose trust in each other as
\nthat would only weaken our resolve in fighting terror," she
\nstressed.<\/p>\n
"The tears of the victims of the terrorist bombs in Kuta,
\nBali, were scarcely dry ... and now we have been shaken by a
\nterrorist bomb in Jakarta," she said, referring to last week's
\ncar bomb attack on the JW Marriott Hotel, which killed 12 people
\nand injured more than 100 others.<\/p>\n
Indonesian police declared Hambali the prime suspect in last
\nyear's Bali bombings, and believe he also had a hand in the
\nMarriott bombing.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 12 Bali blasts, which killed more than 200 and
\ninjured hundreds of others, are regarded as the second worst
\nterrorist attacks in the world after the Sept. 11 strikes against
\nNew York and Washington in 2001.<\/p>\n
Indonesian police have arrested more than 30 suspects in the
\nBali blasts, and one of them, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, was convicted
\nand sentenced to death last week.<\/p>\n
In her annual speech ahead of Independence Day on Aug. 17,
\nMegawati said that Indonesia categorically condemned all such
\n"heinous acts".<\/p>\n
"Whatever the reasons, whoever the perpetrators are, these
\nacts are still crimes against humanity," the President said.<\/p>\n
Citing the grief caused by the terror strikes in Bali and
\nJakarta, Megawati told the nation never to bow down to the
\nterrorists, and promised to cooperate with other countries in
\nfighting against such outrages.<\/p>\n
"We will continue with our fight against terrorism and we will
\nnever surrender. We will cooperate with other countries in this
\nfight against terrorism," the President said.<\/p>\n
For the first time, she also offered condolences to the
\nvictims of terror strikes in the country.<\/p>\n
"On behalf of the government and people of Indonesia, I would
\nlike to convey my deepest condolences to the families of the
\nvictims," Megawati said.<\/p>\n
On the downside, the session was attended by only 263 of the
\n500 House members. To make matters worse, only 75 of the 153
\nmembers from the Megawati-led Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) were present.<\/p>\n
Outside the national legislative complex in Senayan, hundreds
\nof student activists from a number of universities in Greater
\nJakarta staged a rally demanding Megawati and Vice President
\nHamzah Haz step down.<\/p>\n
The protesters claimed that the two leaders had failed to
\ncombat corruption. They said that the performance of both
\nMegawati and Hamzah was no better than that of authoritarian
\nformer president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Megawati unveiled a cautious draft state budget for next year
\nwith spending set to shrink slightly for the first time in many
\nyears, holding out the prospect of a reduced budget deficit. The
\nbudget comes as Indonesia exits a five-year International
\nMonetary Fund (IMF) aid program in December.<\/p>\n
The draft budget predicts five percent growth next year
\ncompared to this year's targeted four percent, and average
\ninflation of seven percent.<\/p>\n
It proposes that the defense budget be increased from
\nRp 5.7 trillion (US$ 678.5 million) for this year to Rp 10.5
\ntrillion in 2004.<\/p>\n
It also proposes an increase in meals allowances and annual
\nholiday bonuses for Indonesian Military and National Police
\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
Other big items in the draft budget are education (Rp 15.2
\ntrillion) and subsidies (Rp 23.3 trillion).<\/p>\n
In the draft, the government predicts total revenue of Rp
\n343.9 trillion next year, an increase of 2.3 percent over the
\ncurrent fiscal year.<\/p>\n
State expenditure for 2004 is predicted at Rp 185.8 trillion
\nfor routine expenditure, Rp 68.1 for development expenditure and
\nRp 114.9 trillion for regional expenditure.<\/p>\n
The state of the nation address also coincided with the
\nopening of new session of the House, which will be sitting for
\nthe next three months.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the national
\nlegislative complex. Journalists without ID cards issued by the
\nHouse Secretariat were refused admission.<\/p>\n
Long lines of cars at security check points entering the
\nlegislative complex caused severe traffic jams along Jalan Asia
\nAfrika to the rear of the complex.<\/p>",
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