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.
Need a new email address that people can remember Check out the new EudoraMail at http://www.eudoramail.com
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