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