1. WIRANTO: 48 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 18

1. WIRANTO: 48 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 18

Wiranto says he
has been invited
to Washington

One of Golkar's presidential candidates, Gen. (retired) Wiranto,
claimed on Thursday that he had been invited to Washington D.C.,
possibly to meet high level U.S. officials.

Wiranto, who enjoyed unprecedented support from Golkar leaders
at the regency and province levels, said he could not honor the
invitation any time soon, due to a very busy schedule.

"I have been invited to go to Washington, but I can't go there
immediately because of my activities here," Wiranto said in a
seminar organized by the Center for Information and Development
Studies (CIDES) here.

Wiranto did not divulge whether the invitation came from the
Bush administration or a private individual.

Had the invitation come from the Bush administration, it could
boost Wiranto's presidential bid. Wiranto is seeking the
nomination by Golkar, the country's second largest party, to run
in the first ever direct presidential election next year.

It may also signal a change of attitude on the part of the
U.S., which had demanded that military officers responsible for
gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999 be brought to
justice.

Wiranto was the commander of the Indonesian military (TNI),
when then pro-Jakarta militias, backed by Indonesian troops, went
on a bloody rampage in 1999, killing hundreds of East Timorese
civilians and laying waste to almost 85 percent of the
infrastructure in the territory. He was mentioned as a possible
suspect in separate investigations carried out by the United
Nations and Komnas HAM, but has never been charged in Indonesia.

A spokesman from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Stanley Harsha
said on Thursday that he was not aware of any invitation for
Wiranto to go to Washington.

"I don't know. I really don't know," he said.

According to Lt. Gen. (retired) Suaidy Marasabessy, former TNI
chief for general affairs, Wiranto had been invited by a private
individual who will facilitate meetings between Wiranto and
officials from the Bush administration.

"The invitation came from a figure who works with a non-
governmental organization there," Suaidy said.

Asked to comment on press reports that the U.S. disapproved
his presidential ambitions, Wiranto said that the country had
promised not to intervene in Indonesia's internal politics.

"The U.S. has said it would not interfere with Golkar's
convention," he said without elaborating.

Media reports said earlier that U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce
had told Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung that Indonesia would be
in deep trouble if Wiranto became president of the country.

Wiranto, surprisingly, received strong support from Golkar
leaders across the country during the party's convention series
to settle on a presidential candidate. At least 25 Golkar
provincial branches have thrown their support behind Wiranto.

More support came from the party's chapters in the 353
regencies, wherein Wiranto was backed by 327. He is currently
leading the Golkar pack and its looks very likely that he could
be handed the nomination, giving him an excellent chance of
becoming president next year.

Although Golkar delayed the selection of one definite
candidate until after the legislative election on April 5,
Wiranto said that he would maintain his bid with the party.

"The process is still underway. Let everyone monitor it," he
said.

He said the public must ensure that Golkar's convention series
would select a presidential candidate that has the capability to
create a strong and effective government.

He said a string of violence throughout the country was the
result of the absence of an effective government.

Wiranto reiterated on Thursday that there were no gross
violations of human rights in East Timor.

"What happened at that time was mass riots prompted by alleged
unfairness of the ballot," Wiranto said.

2. DRUG: 36 pt, 4 cols, 2 x 28

Two Nigerians get death,
fines for drug trafficking

The Tangerang District Court on Thursday sentenced to death two
Nigerian nationals and fined them Rp 500 million (US$58,823) for
violating Article 82 of Law No. 22/1997 on illegal narcotics and
Article 55 of the Criminal Code on organized crime.

Presiding judge Permadi said that defendants Michael Titus
Igweh, 23, and Hillary K. Chimezia, 27, were found guilty of
running an organized drug trafficking ring.

The court found no mitigating factors that would necessitate a
lenient sentence.

The judge found the defendants to be dishonest in their
testimony and said they had caused problems in the community,
were involved in organized crime amid the government's effort to
curb rampant drug abuse and adversely impacted the lives of
millions of Indonesian youths.

The judges also deemed that the defendants had tried to cover
up their transgressions during the trial by saying that several
other people were running the drug ring.

"We are sure that maximum sentence will deter drug offenders.
We really hope that (by this punishment) the number of drug
traffickers can be reduced," Permadi said.

The packed courtroom applauded the verdicts.

Neither defendant showed emotion while the final was read.

Defense lawyers Henri P. Sihaan and Peter Targian said that
they would appeal to the Tangerang High Court while prosecutors
Rachmat Vidianto and Puji Raharjo expressed their satisfaction
with the verdicts.

The two defendants were arrested on Aug. 18, 2002, one at a
house in Vila Melati Mas Regency and the other at the Kelapa
Gading Tower Apartments, both in Serpong, Tangerang.

The arrests were made based on information from Marlena, 24,
an Indonesian woman who had been detained a day earlier with 50
grams of heroin in her possession.

The case also involved Marlena's boyfriend Kholisani Nkomo,
alias Icuhku Eberu Okolwaja, a Zimbabwean.

The arrests were made following a tipoff from residents who
had suspected drug transactions at Marlena's house in Vila Melati
Mas Regency.

The trial of the two Nigerian suspects began after Marlena
died on Dec. 17, 2002, at the Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramat
Jati, East Jakarta, from lung disease. Kholisani Nkomo died at
the same hospital in March 2003 of an AIDS-related illness.

Nkomo, Igweh and Chimezia were first tried in three separate
trials in January this year. But judge Permadi ruled on Feb. 6
that all charges must be dropped due to inaccuracies in the three
defendants' dossiers.

The police arrested the suspects again soon after their
release and refiled charges against them.

The second trial for Igweh and Chimezia started on June 20
with the same prosecutors and judges.

So far, the Tangerang District Court has sentenced to death 21
drug traffickers -- five Indonesians, four Nigerians, five
Nepalese, two Thai women, an Angolan, a Pakistani, a Zimbabwean,
a Malawian and a Dutch citizen -- since January 2000. They are
all still on death row.

3. CONFLICT: 32 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 25

Govt wastes opportunity to
resolve separatism issue

The government has wasted golden chances of resolving
secessionist movements in Aceh and Papua by failing to show its
good will to people in the two natural resource rich provinces,
adding complication to the prolonged issues, an expert said.

Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said here on
Thursday the government's failure to prosecute military personnel
accused of human rights abuses in Aceh and its half-hearted
implementation of special autonomy in Papua had made it difficult
to address rebellions in the two provinces.

"I believe a focus by Jakarta on establishing responsive and
accountable local governments in the immediate aftermath of
(President) Soeharto's resignation might have put a significant
damper on the growth of these movements,

"And even five years later, I believe that good governance
remains a key to reducing the alienation of people in Aceh and
Papua," she told an international conference on conflict in Asia
Pacific jointly organized by the Management of Social
Transformation (MOST)-UNESCO and the Indonesian Institute of
Science (LIPI).

Jones, however, added: "I don't believe any of the post-
Soeharto governments have treated the issue seriously."

The end of the authoritarian rule of Soeharto in May 1998 has
intensified separatist movement in the two provinces.

Regarding Aceh, Sydney said she had been told by local
councillors there that had the government brought one officer to
trial in the period between May and December 1998, Jakarta could
have generated enormous support from Aceh people.

She said the revelation of the horrors of the decade-long
military operation (DOM) between 1989 and 1999 remained fresh
until seven months of Soeharto's resignation,

"But it didn't happen," she said.

Under DOM rampant human rights abuses were believed to take
place and left thousands of Acehnese killed.

Meanwhile, Papuans have put high hopes on the special autonomy
law, which would enable the province to generate much more
revenues, she said.

Jones said that if properly implemented and given it a chance
to work, the law could have produced the most responsive and
representative government Papua had ever had.

"And even if it were implemented poorly, at least it would be
Papuans and the Jakarta elite responsible," she said.

However, President Megawati Soekarnoputri government first
prevented the establishment of one key institution, the Papuan
People's Council (MRP), which was central to the whole autonomy
package, Jones said.

Then, in the name of more efficient delivery of services - but
in fact as an effort to weaken the independence movement - it
undercut the entire law by issuing an instruction last January to
divide the province into three, she added.

By reversing autonomy, Jakarta undermined the moderate
intellectuals who were willing to give autonomy a chance, who
could have acted as a bridge to the pro-independence leaders and
who probably stood the best chance of acting as advisers to the
autonomous government and ensuring that it acted responsibly, she
said.

Another speaker, professor of peace studies and 1987
Alternative Nobel Peace Prize winner Johan Galtung said the
conflict in Indonesia was inevitable, due to the various
differences in its population.

Galtung said that naturally people wanted to be run by their
own kind, and in such a diverse society, conflicts would surely
occur, which now and then lead to violence.

"The general solution for the problem is called federalism,
and I can give you prediction that in 10 years time we will have
the Federal Republic of Indonesia," said Galtung, who won the
Bajaj International Award for promoting Ghandian values in 1993.

He was aware that federalism was somewhat forbidden in
Indonesia, whereas in fact Indonesian was having deficit
knowledge on federalism.

He suggested that Indonesia learn more on federalism, and keep
it mind open for it as one of the solution to overcome conflict
and violence in the country.

4. VERDICT: 30 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 38

Two more terrorist suspects sentenced
OR
Another two terrorist suspects sentenced

The Makassar District Court on Thursday sentenced Muchtar Daeng
Lau, 35, and Hamid Razzaq, 63, to prison terms of seven years and
two years respectively for their involvement in the bombings of a
McDonald's fast-food outlet and an automotive showroom in
December last year.

Hamid Razzaq is the father of Agung Abdul Hamid, the prime
suspect in the attack, who remains at large.

Reading out the verdict, presiding judge Jassolo Situmorang
said Muchtar was found guilty of concealing information on a
terrorist suspect. As a member of Laskar Jundullah group which
was led by Agung, Muchtar would have known about the planned bomb
attack, the judge said.

"But the defendant (Muchtar) failed to report (the
information) to the police. The failure left three people dead,
15 others injured and caused material losses," Situmorang said.

Prosecutors, who charged the defendant under the antiterrorism
law, had demanded 10 years in prison for Muchtar.

After hearing the verdict, Muchtar and his lawyer Abraham
Samad appealed. The lawyer said that the basis of the verdict was
too superficial.

"My client is convicted because he is a member of the group
and automatically knew about the planned act of terrorism. If
this is the case, then all members of the Laskar Jundullah can be
declared suspects," he said.

In a separate courtroom, presiding judge Andi Haedar sentenced
Hamid Razzaq to two years in prison, three years lower than
demanded by the prosecutors.

In their verdict, the panel of judges said that the defendant
was guilty of concealing information relating to the whereabouts
of explosives, potassium and TNT, stored by Agung at his house in
the regency of Barru in South Sulawesi.

The defendant, the judges said, did not report the information
to the police, an offense under the antiterrorism law.

Andi Haedar recalled that Agung had visited his father Hamid
and brother Imal Hamid in 2001 and informed them that he had been
storing explosives.

Responding to the verdict, Hamid's lawyer Adnan Buyung Azis
appealed because the antiterrorism law only came into effect in
2002, while Hamid received the information about the explosives
in 2001.

"The antiterrorism law does not recognize retroactivity. The
legal basis of the sentence is not valid," the lawyer said.

5. BOSCHA: 28 pt, 2 cols, 2 x 20

Bosscha gets ready to
fight for its survival
OR
Bosscha takes steps
to ensure its survival

OR
Bosscha ready to fight
to remain open

Bosscha Observatory in Bandung is slated to hold a seminar today,
which is aimed at saving the observatory from the wrecking ball.

Moedji Rahardjo, the head of Bosscha Observatory, asserted on
Thursday that the observatory was now on the brink of eviction,
because "certain interest groups" were trying to buy several
plots of lands surrounding the observatory, in order to turn it
into a tourist/entertainment site.

Lembang, north of Bandung, is a hilly area where the Bosscha
Observatory has been standing for 80 years and also a famous
tourist resort.

"They are either businessmen or bureaucrats, and they've even
been asking about the possibility whether the observatory can be
moved to another location," Moedji told The Jakarta Post.

Moedji said it was unfortunate that there were such narrow-
minded people in positions of power.

Moedji said that Bosscha Observatory had fought in the last
meeting with local government officials over the planned
construction of a 75-hectare tourism project in the area close to
Bosscha.

Moedji said that he had told the local government officials,
including the regent of Bandung regency, that any construction
within a radius of one kilometer from the observatory would
sharply reduce the performance of the telescopes in the
observatory.

"Even, a study in 1989 showed that ideally, there should be no
buildings within a radius of 2.5 kilometers from the
observatory," said Moedji.

The presence of buildings in this radius would increase the
intensity of light in the area, and would thus undermine the
ability of the telescopes in the observatory, he added.

"We have been here for 80 years. Don't push us out of here,"
he pled.

In order to prevent the eviction, Moedji said that the
observatory had pursued several tacts, including by staging a
seminar on the protection of the environment surrounding the
observatory.

The seminar, which is to be held today, will feature Otto
Soemarwoto, the expert on environmental issues from the Bandung-
based Padjadjaran University and Denny Zulkaidi, a planetologist
from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

He said that the outcome of the seminar would be conveyed to
the Minister of Environment and the Minister of National
Education, in a bid to stop the planned tourism project from
encroaching on the land, that could both endanger the environment
and the existence of the observatory.

6. ODD: 20 pt, 2 cols, 1 x 27

Viagra get boys into trouble

LONDON: Six British schoolboys were rushed to hospital after
taking the erection-enhancing drug Viagra at lunchtime for a
dare, the school said on Thursday.

Forest School in Winnersh, southern England said paramedics
were called after a fellow student told teachers about the 13-
year-olds' prank.

"It is believed that a pupil brought the tablets in from home
into the all-boys school and shared them with five friends," the
local education authority said in a statement.

The Sun newspaper quoted a source at the school as saying: "By
the time the afternoon lessons began, there was no hiding what
they had done."

Paramedics took the six squirming boys to the nearby Royal
Berkshire Hospital, where they were monitored until the effects
wore off.

"The school has a strict no drugs policy and a pupil will be
temporarily excluded for actions which placed other pupils at
risk," the education authority added. --Reuters