1. TERROR: 48 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 18
1. TERROR: 48 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 18
Govt completes
draft revision of
antiterror law
The government has completed the draft revision to the much-
criticized Antiterrorism Law No. 15/2003 that will grant more
power to security authorities in deterring acts of terrorism.
Abdul Gani, the director general of legislation at the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said the revision was aimed
at giving security authorities more rooms to combat terrorism.
The draft will target not only perpetrators of acts of terrors
but also those who are indirectly involved in the extradordinary
crime or who assist the perpetrators, he said.
Article 9 of the draft stipulates that people who are selling
explosive materials can be charged under the antiterrorism law if
the materials can endager human life and the environment or if
the materials are proven to have been used in terrorist
activities.
Human rights activists have opposed the antiterrorism law,
saying it opens the door wide for rights abuses, particularly an
article that stipulates intelligence reports are enough basis to
prosecute a person for an alleged act of terrorism.
Under the Criminal Code preliminary evidence is required to
prosecute an individual.
Taking a deaf ear to human rights campaigners' demand, the
draft revision of the antiterrorism law says intelligence
information is justified to start a formal investigation upon
approval from district court judges, In comparison, the law
requires the consent of the head of a district court.
"We consider winning approval from the head of courts is not
easy, there fore we decided that every judges have authorities to
approve the intelligence report after held a close-door
examination for about three days," Abdul said, adding that public
should have no access to the examination process for grounds that
"exposing it would only give a room for suspected terrorists to
flee."
The Article 31 of the draft also stipulates that security
authorities -- after securing an approval from the district
courts' judges -- have authorities to intercept telephone or to
inspect mails or correspondence which were believed to accomodate
people in plotting such terror acts.
Compared to the Law No. 15/2003 which allows the authorities
to detain people for seven days in the absence of strong legal
evidence that the person may have committed terrorist acts, the
revision draft has even extend the term for a preliminary
investigation purposes up to 30 days.
The draft, nevertheless, lessen the detained term for a
suspect to face further investigation from six months to only 120
days, or about 4 months.
The revision also propose an article which carry a 12-year in
jail sentence against people who fail to inform security
authorities over the act of terrorist or to assist such terror
acts from taking place.
The proposed Article 13 line (b) even regulates that people
can be charge of committing terrorist if they wear clothes or use
certain organization's symbols to create terror among public.
But Abdul immediately said that such proposed Article "will be
scrapped."
"We will soon propose the draft to the President and
deliberate it with the lawmakers," Abdul said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Law No. 15/2003 Revision
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Article 25 Proposed article 25
prosecutors allow to detained people The term lessen to 120
for further investigation for 6 months days
Article 26 Proposed article 26
(1)
Intelligence reports are a sufficient The reports only acquire
basis on which to submit people to the approval from district
due process of law courts' judges
(2)
The report must be approved by head or
deputy head of district courts.
Article 28 Proposed article 28
Security authorities can detain people The period is extended
for seven days up to 30 days.
2. COURT: 36 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 28
Church bomber gets 12 years in jail
The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced a Malaysian on
Thursday to 12 years in jail for his involvement in the July 22,
2001, bombing of Santa Anna Catholic Church, East Jakarta, that
killed one and injured 67 other congregants during a full morning
service.
Judges found Nur Misuari, alias Nurdin, 25, guilty of illegal
explosives possession.
"The court is convinced that the defendant possessed,
assembled, carried and used the explosives in violation of the
1951 Emergency Law," presiding judge Zainal Abidin Sangadji read
the verdict.
Both the prosecution and defense said they would appeal.
The sentence, which is retroactive and will be reduced by the
time Misuari has spent in detention since April 22, 2003, is
three years more lenient than the prosecution's request.
Misuari was charged with mixing Research Development Formula
Explosive (RDX) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) to compose a bomb and
with targeting the church on Jl. Arafuru, Pondok Bambu district.
His accomplice, Asep, alias Abdullah, planted the bomb.
In his defense, Misuari pleaded innocent and said he had only
obeyed orders to take Asep, who is still at large, by motorcycle
to the church. He said Asep was carrying a black plastic bag.
Dozens of victims were severely injured and survived the blast
only after undergoing numerous operations and intensive care
treatment. Some sustained permanent injuries, as doctors had to
amputate limbs damaged in the blast.
A number of victims were blinded and lost their hearing in the
blast.
In the indictment, the prosecution recounted that the church
bombing followed the nationwide 2000 Christmas Eve bombings
involving Imam Samudra, the mastermind of the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali
bombing.
Samudra, a member of the regional terrorist network Jamaah
Islamiyah, was sentenced to death by the Denpasar District Court
in September 2003. The Bali bombing killed 202 people, mostly
foreign holidaymakers.
The series of bombings are believed to be retaliation for the
deaths of Muslims in the bloody sectarian conflict in Maluku.
3. KPU: 30 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 28
Parties banned from financing
noncampaign programs in media
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) and the General
Elections Commission jointly issued on Wednesday a join
regulation on electoral campaign in electronic media, banning
political parties or regional representative aspirants from
financing informative , education and entertainment program from
electronic media.
The issuance of the join agreement was attended by KPI
chairman Victor Menayang, KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin
accompanied by KPI and KPU members.
The join regulation stipulated that every electronic
media must not be pro-one political party or regional
representatives aspirant in their informative or news program.
But an electronic media could provide specific news
program for political parties or regional representives
candidates, it addd.
In educational program particularly polling, electronic
media is obliged to explain and air methodology of the polling,
the responsible institutions, sample, questionaires and the
period of the polling, the regulation stated.
The educational program of electronic media included an
interactive dialog, monolog, polling, and debate, it added.
In entertainment program, electronic media is prohibited
from having agreement with political parties or regional
representative program to produce entertainment program and
allocation blocking time of entertainment program, the regulation
stated.
In advertisement, a political party or regional
representative aspirant is allowed to advertise their campaign at
a maximum 10 spots per day per television stations with a
duration of 30 seconds per spot, it said.
It also stipulated an electoral campaign time in radio
for one political party or regional representative aspirant was
alloted at a maximum 10 spots per day per radio with a duration
of 60 seconds per spot.
Besides, every electronic media must allot free campaign
for political parties and regional representatives candidates
once in the campaign period of between March 11 and April 1, the
regulation said.
It also said that every electronic media was prohibited
from selling unused spot allocated to a political party or
regional representatives aspirant to other political parties or
regional representatives candidates.
Political parties or regional representatives aspirants
are obliged to pay in advance the cost of advertisement, it
added.
According to the regulation, political parties or
regional representatives aspirants that violated the join
regulation will be given administrative punishment referring to
the related law.
Electronic media which breached the join regulation will
also be punished based on Law No 32 on broadcasting, the
regulation said.
Victor has said that, according to the broadcasting law,
any electronic media could be given a warning or banned to
broadcast if they violated the law.
"This regulation aimed at regulating electoral campaign
from political parties or regional representatives candidates and
protect the interest of electronic media," Victor said.
A political analyst Rizal Mallarangeng has said that
electronic media would obtain huge money during the electoral
campaign as political parties and regional representatives
candidates would use them to effectively reach people in the
country.
He said that electronic media particularly TV stations
would get at least 40 percent of the total campaign fund of
political parties or regional representatives candidates.
A total of 24 political parties and over 900 regional
representatives aspirant will contest the 2004 elections.
Indonesia has a population of 216 million people and
147.2 million voters this year.
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4. SUSUL:
to be sent later
5. INUL: 28 pt, 2 cols, 1 x 20
Inul to perform in S'pore
Queen of dangdut, the erotic Inul Daratista, is scheduled to
bump and grind with fans in Singapore on Sunday in a show co-
starring child singer Tina Toon and Lela Anjani, another dangdut
singer.
Seventy percent of tickets priced S$25 (about Rp125,000) to
$100 have been sold, The Straits Times reported Thursday. It
featured a demure looking picture of the singer, who shot to fame
and notoriety for her style dubbed as "drilling" (ngebor).
Unlike in Indonesia, however, fans will be limited to only
about 700 people, the capacity of the venue at the Marine Parade
Community Centre.
The event starting at 3 p.m. is organized by an Indonesian fan
club called FBI (Big Fans of Inul), the report said.
6. DISASTER: 28 pt, 5 cols, 1 x 47
Massive floods leave much of Indramayu under water
Massive floods submerged a greater area of Indramayu regency on
Thursday, inundating paddy fields and residential houses.
Indramayu regent Irianto M.S. Syaifuddin said that, as of
Thursday, 106 subdistricts in the regency had been affected, far
more than the day before, when 62 subdistricts had been affected
by floods.
He added that the area of flooded paddy fields had doubled.
"The floods washed over 23,000 hectares of paddy fields today,
a sharp increase from the day before, when 10,000 hectares of
paddy fields were submerged by floods," Irianto said.
He added that the 23,000 hectares amounted to 22 percent of
the total 103,000 hectares of paddy fields in Indramayu regency.
Indramayu is one of the prominent rice producers of Java
island.
Besides inundating paddy fields, the flooding also obstructed
main roads here, connecting Losarang with Cikedung district and
Kandanghaur with Losarang district.
The Losarang to Cikedung route was obstructed after water
inundated Pegagan bridge in the Losarang district. Cipanas river
had also overflowed, so that water inundated almost two
kilometers of the road.
Meanwhile, the nearby Kandanghaur to Losarang route was
flooded when a bridge in Cilet subdistrict, Kandanghaur, was
inundated.
The water levels on the roads of those two routes was 30 to 50
centimeters deep.
The northern coastal highway of Java island was also flooded.
This busy road connects Jakarta with other provinces on the
island.
Pools of water 10 to 50 centimeters deep could be found along
the highway in Eretan Kulon, Eretan Wetan, Karangsinom,
Karanganyar and Kiajaran Wetan subdistricts.
It is feared that the highway could also be impassable if
torrential rains continued to pound the area.
Indramayu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Johnny Suroto said that
the police had prepared an alternative route.
"If the highway is obstructed, we will direct the flow of cars
to the Cikamurang to Subang route, which will allow travellers to
reach other provinces of Java island, such as West Java and
Central Java," said Johnny.
Meanwhile, 500 residents of Kandanghaur district, the area
which has been hardest hit by the flooding, sought refuge in
safer areas on Thursday, after their homes were flooded.
"My home is inundated, we can no longer stay there," said
Tarina, 40, who has been living in a tent for four days with her
family.
The evacuees complained that the government had ignored their
situation.
As their money was running low, the evacuees -- who are living
in tents along the highway on the north coast of Java -- began to
ask passersby for money.
"We can't raise money, because we live in tents. The
government has yet to disburse aid," he said.
7. ODD: 20 pt, 2 cols, 1 x 28
Tunnel of love for Swedish frogs
STOCKHOLM: Love-hungry frogs in a southwestern Swedish town
risk their lives daily crossing a busy road to reach their mating
pond, but concerned officials are now building a special tunnel
for them, media reported on Thursday.
The 150-meter tunnel under road 161 outside Uddevalla is also
expected to be used by water salamanders who mate in the
Jaernkleve pond, Swedish news agency TT said.
Until now, the frogs and salamanders have been guided to
plastic buckets along the roadside, where officials have
collected the buckets several times a day and carried them across
the road so they could either mate or return home.
But the love lineup proved not so popular, neither among the
frogs nor their carers, and so the Swedish National Road
Administration agreed to the tunnel.
The agency previously built a similar tunnel for frogs near
Gothenburg, where an increased number of successful matings have
been registered.
It has even jumped in to help to the region's moose, building
Sweden's only "moose bridge" over the E6 autoroute in
southwestern Sweden. -- AFP