1. ACEH: 48 pt, 4 cols, 2 x 24

1. ACEH: 48 pt, 4 cols, 2 x 24

Govt backs down on plan to
list GAM as terrorist group

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The government has backed down on its plan to have the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) listed as a terrorist organization by the United
Nations to avoid turning Aceh into an international issue.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday the government would
resolve the Aceh problem in its own way.

"We considered the option but we do not want to
internationalize the Aceh issue," Susilo said.

The government had repeatedly said that GAM could be included
on the UN list of terrorist organizations because its actions met
the necessary criteria.

The government has accused GAM rebels of perpetrating a series
of terrorist attacks in the country. The courts, however, have
yet to rule on GAM involvement in any terrorist act.

Jakarta submitted an official request for Stockholm to legally
prosecute GAM leaders living there, and provided evidence to back
up allegations that violent acts committed by GAM members here
were ordered by their leaders in Stockholm.

Listing GAM as an international terrorist group would oblige
UN members around the globe to arrest Acehnese rebel leaders and
freeze their assets. Most GAM leaders, including supreme leader
Hassan Tiro, reside in Sweden.

Susilo said Indonesia would continue with its own measures to
deal with GAM rebels, who have been fighting for independence for
the resource-rich province since 1970s. More than 10,000 people,
mostly civilians, have been killed since this fight for
independence began.

The government launched a military operation on May 19 this
year to wipe out the rebels from the country's westernmost
province.

Six months into the operation, the government has killed
about 1,000 alleged GAM rebels and arrested almost 2,000 others.
About 35,000 military soldiers and 14,000 police personnel have
been involved in the operation.

The government has decided to extend the operation for another
six months.

Susilo also said the government would continue pressing
Swedish authorities to proceed with the legal process against GAM
leaders residing in that country.

The minister said the government was not willing to open a new
round of talks with GAM as long as the rebels continued to
campaign for independence.

"We are not willing to open a dialog with organizations that
only ask for independence," he said.

GAM leaders in Sweden recently said they would not engage in
dialog with the Indonesian government as long as the latter
attached conditions.

"It is good for human rights activists, organizations and the
international community to pressure us to open another round of
talks. It is them (GAM) who refuse to return to the negotiating
table," the minister said.

"We used to believing what they say, but we no longer trust
them," he said.

2. BOMB: 36 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 22

Bali bomb mastermind
Samudra loses appeal

DENPASAR, Indonesia, Nov 17 (AFP) - The man who masterminded the
Bali bombings has lost his appeal against a death sentence, a
court official said Monday.
Imam Samudra is the second key bomber on death row to have his
appeal rejected, after Amrozi.
The Bali high court has rejected the appeals of Samudra and of
several others who sought lower prison terms, its chief I Made
Tara was quoted by the state Antara news agency as saying.
Samudra's lawyer Wirawan Adnan told AFP he had not been notified
of the high court's ruling but was not surprised. He declined
comment on whether Samudra will now appeal to the country's
supreme court, as Amrozi has done.
Investigators believe Samudra is a leading member of the
al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network, which
staged the attack on two crowded nightclubs to avenge Western
oppression of Muslims worldwide.
The bombings on October 12, 2002, killed 202 people -- mostly
Western holidaymakers.
The Afghanistan-trained Samudra had once said he would welcome
death as bringing him closer to God. Executions are by firing
squad.
But when he was sentenced by the district court on September 10,
defence lawyers said he would appeal because he should have been
tried under Islamic law.
Samudra, 33, attended planning meetings, selected the blast
targets in Bali and assigned tasks to the bombers as part of a
holy war against the United States and its allies.
A third bomber called Mukhlas is also on death row and has also
said he will appeal. A fourth key bomber called Ali Imron escaped
with a life sentence after expressing remorse.
Earlier Monday Imron gave evidence in the trial of Abdul Ghoni,
who could face a firing squad if found guilty of helping plan the
attacks, helping to assemble the bombs and possessing explosives.
Imron, 33, on Monday revised statements he made in earlier
trials.
He said he had earlier mistakenly stated that the bombers were
allotted their tasks during a meeting at the home of a man called
Hernianto at Solo in Central Java.
Imron said he now remembered that the meeting was held at a house
rented by Dulmatin, a leading suspect who is still on the run.
Hernianto has been jailed for 12 years as an accomplice.
Imron said that during the meeting at Dulmatin's house, Ghoni was
tasked with mixing the ingredients for the bomb.
But when it was actually made, Ghoni did not take part in mixing
the ingredients, Imron alleged. "The one who assembled the bomb
was Dulmatin."
Imron said he first met Ghoni in Afghanistan in 1991.
Prosecutors say Ghoni -- alias Umar, alias Wayan -- helped mix
the chemicals on October 1 after he had crushed the ingredients a
month earlier.
They say he personally delivered four boxes of explosive material
to Bali and, on the orders of Samudra, delivered 10 million
rupiah (1,100 dollars) to Amrozi in East Java on October 4.
Prosecutors have said the largest bomb, packed into a van,
consisted of 12 filing cabinets filled with 900 kilograms (1,980
pounds) of explosive materials including aluminium powder and
sulphur.
It devastated the Sari Club and caused most of the casualties.
Imron has admitted driving the van near to the club before
another man took over, and has admitted he taught a suicide
bomber in Paddy's Pub how to detonate an explosives-stuffed vest.
Ghoni's trial resumes on December 8.
str/bs/sm/bjn
Indonesia-attacks-Bali
AFP

GetAFP 2.10 -- NOV 17, 2003 16:44:33
;AFP;
ANPAi..r..
Indonesia-attacks-call
Indonesian prosecutors seek 20 years for Makassar bomb suspect
JP/INDONESIA
no count?

Indonesian prosecutors seek 20 years for Makassar bomb suspect

JAKARTA, Nov 17 (AFP) - Indonesian prosecutors Monday sought a
20-year jail sentence for a man accused of giving explosives to
Islamic militants who bombed a McDonald's restaurant.
They asked Makassar district court in South Sulawesi to impose
the sentence on Arman, alias Galaxi, for providing explosives
used in the December 5 bombing, said the head of the city
prosecutors' office, Muhammad Arifin Ghani.
Arman is said to have brought the explosives to Makassar from the
Poso district in Central Sulawesi, the scene of bloody Muslim-
Christian clashes earlier this decade.
Three people including the attacker were killed in the Makassar
bombing of the McDonald's. Another blast damaged a car showroom
shortly afterwards but caused no casualties.
Several men have been jailed for their role in the blasts but key
suspect Agung Abdul Hamid is still at large.
Police have said some suspects in the Makassar bombings knew
those behind the Bali blasts on October 12 last year which killed
202 people.
Investigators have blamed the Bali attack on Jemaah Islamiyah, an
al Qaeda-linked regional terror network.
vt/sm/ppy
Indonesia-attacks-call
AFP

GetAFP 2.10 -- NOV 17, 2003 14:39:49

3. POSO: 30 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 38

Police deploy 100 extra officers to Poso

The National Police has deployed another Mobile Brigade unit of
100 officers to Poso, Central Sulawesi, to join the 2,900-strong
force already there following several violent incidents since
Saturday that has claimed four lives.

"We ask the public to let the police carry out their duty in
handling the cases," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar
said on Monday.

He confirmed that a man killed on Saturday was a suspect in
the recent attacks on villages in the coastal area of Poso
regency.

"He was shot during a raid against the suspects ... we call
upon the public to remain calm," said Da'i.

Poso Police headquarters was besieged on Sunday by thousands
of people protesting the killing of terrorist suspect Hamid
Sudin, who was shot on Saturday by police attempting to arrest
him in connection with the Oct. 12 attacks on three Christian
villages.

Police said Hamid, 22, was shot and killed when he attempted
to attack police. His two companions, identified as Zukri and
Irwan bin Rais, surrendered without resistance.

A police spokesman said the two men had already been released.

"They have been released, but are obliged to report
(periodically). The situation in the area is improving and
investigations are continuing," said National Police public
relations deputy chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko.

Soenarko also said police found three bodies on Saturday --
Oranye Tajoja, his nephew Yuhanis Tajoja, alias Buce, and Delfis
Lingkuliwa. Oranye (not Yuhanis, as was reported on Monday) was
treasurer of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi (GKST).

Residents of Tentena, which is predominantly Christian, wanted
to enter Poso to seek information on the deaths of Johanes and
the two others, whose bodies were found near Pesisir Poso. The
police did not allow them entry due to fears that their presence
might spark another incident.

Police are also investigating an attack on a bus on Sunday by
three unidentified men in Kuku village, Poso. The men broke the
bus windows, but none of the 19 passengers were harmed.

"We are still trying to find the connection between the attack
and recent incidents in the area," Soenarko said.

Poso, which is predominantly Muslim, and Tentena were involved
in a prolonged sectarian conflict that erupted in the regency in
2000, which claimed about 2,000 lives until 2002.

The government brokered the Malino Peace Agreement in December
2001, but sporadic bloodshed continued. The situation had been
relatively stable between the two religious communities until
last month, when attacks on both Christian and Muslim villages by
masked gunmen again sparked unrest. Dozens have been killed in
similar raids across the regency, and the situation has continued
to deteriorate.

4. FISHERMEN: 28 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 28

Indramayu offers housing to
evicted fishermen's families

Fishermen evicted from the banks of Muara Angke River are to be
provided low-cost housing in Indramayu regency, West Java.

It is expected that the housing units will be ready in March.

Indramayu regent Irianto M.S. Syafiuddin has approved the
provision of a two-hectare vacant plot in Song Beach, Indramayu,
for the development of low-cost housing by the central government
for the 240 families.

"Each house will cost between Rp 6 million (US$706) and Rp 9
million," Syarifuddin Akil, the newly installed Director General
for Settlement and Housing at the Ministry of Settlement and
Regional Infrastructure, said over the weekend.

"Each family will repay their mortgages in daily installments
of between Rp 3,000 and Rp 5,000."

It will take about four years to repay the loan.

The houses are being provided especially for the families of
fisheremen belonging to the Traditional Fishermen's Union (SNT),
who have been seeking affordable shelter since they were evicted
last month.

The North Jakarta municipal administration evicted more than
1,000 families, most of whom had accepted the Rp 500,000
compensation offered to each family.

The North Jakarta administration has also promised to build
low-cost rental apartments for the evictees on a 4.5-hectare plot
in Muara Angke, but has not decided upon a specific timeframe.

"We were offered a choice between renting low-cost apartment
units in Muara Angke or buying low-cost houses in Indramayu. We
chose to buy homes," SNT chairman Kajidin told The Jakarta Post.

He said they had detailed information on the location of their
future homes, and that fishermen's relatives living near Song
Beach had told them that the area was accessible to public
transportation. There are also schools, a traditional market and
a fish market nearby.

The fishermen said they would move to Indramayu with their
families once the houses were ready, but did not intend to
restrict their fishing grounds to Indramayu, and would follow
their catch, even to Jakarta waters.

They also planned to maintain their union based in Jakarta.

"One of the SNT members lives at the nearby housing complex in
Muara Angke. We can use his house as our headquarters," Kajidin
said.

Despite the good news, the fishermen were still at a loss as
to how they could provide shelter for their families while
waiting for the houses to be built, as the North Jakarta
administration did not provide any temporary shelter.

"We haven't decided where we should wait. Some of us want to
wait here in Muara Angke, while others want to go on to
Indramayu," said Kajidin.

Following their eviction, the fishermen and their families
have been living aboard their boats, along all their belongings.

Some fishermen have built makeshift huts on the wreckage-
strewn land where their former huts stood.

With the Idul Fitri holiday just around the corner, some
fishermen with parents in Indramayu have decided to start their
holiday early. Others native to the area and those whose
relatives live close by, will celebrate Idul Fitri for the first
time on their boats.

5. ODD: 20 pt, 2 cols, 1 x 28

Panda set for romance in Japan

TOKYO: (Reuters): A Mexican female panda is set for a romantic
rendezvous in Tokyo next month with the male panda whose three
past attempts to impregnate female pandas in Mexico ended in
failure.

Keepers at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo said they have high hopes for the
meeting between 16-year-old Shuan Shuan, from the Chapultepec Zoo
in Mexico City, and Ling Ling, the Ueno Zoo's last living panda.

It is the first time a female panda has come to Tokyo,
although 18-year-old Ling Ling has made three trips to Mexico in
a quest for the patter of tiny paws.

Beijing-born Ling Ling's sperm was used to artificially
inseminate Shuan Shuan and another female in Mexico City earlier
this year on his third visit, but neither that nor more
conventional attempts at reproduction bore fruit.

"This time, Ling Ling will be in his own territory," a Ueno
zookeeper said. "The burden on him will be much less."

He said Shuan Shuan will go on heat around March and may stay
until sometime in the summer, depending on whether or not the
mating is successful.

Pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, as the
females go on heat only once a year and can be picky about
partners. Reuters