24 parties vow to maintain peace

JAKARTA: All 24 political parties eligible to join the general election have signed a nine-point agreement to maintain peace before, during and after the April 5 polls.

The agreement was signed on Friday at the General Elections Commission (KPU) building.

The accord allows parties to conduct activities in all areas in the country, obliges parties to respect press freedom and avoid bribing voters, election commissions, the supervisory committee and monitors.

Indonesia is to hold the legislative election on April 5 and presidential election on July 5.

The second phase of the presidential election would be held on Sept. 20 if no single candidate receives 51 percent of the vote. --JP

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Rare animal trade out of control

DENPASAR, Bali: Inter-island trading in rare animals in Indonesia is getting out of hand, therefore law-enforcement agencies need to step up efforts to fight the illegal trade, local conservationist I Wayan Wiradnyana said here on Saturday.

Wayan said hundreds of rare animals such as orangutans, gibbons, sloths, eagles and cockatoos were sent every week from the island of Sumatra to Java.

Based on a study conducted by Wayan and his team in Medan, Bengkulu, Lampung, Kalimantan, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Papua, the rare animals were transported by inter-city buses.

Despite the Natural Resources Conservation Agency's efforts to stop the inter-island trade in rare animals by keeping a close watch on people and cargo passing through bus terminals and seaports, the illegal trade continued, Wayan said.

He said that not only Jakarta but also Semarang and Surabaya on Java island were known as entry points for the transport of rare animals from Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua. --Antara

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Islands proposed as heritage sites

JAKARTA: The Kakaban and Derawan Islands in Berau district, East Kalimantan, are being proposed as a world heritage site due to their uniqueness, Kehati Foundation chairwoman Erna Witoelar said.

"We are trying to win the status for the islands together with the government and the local people. Pak Rokhmin Dahuri (fisheries and marine resources minister) has agreed to the initiative," she said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Emil Salim, co-founder of the foundation, said the Kakaban and Derawan islands were unique in their marine biodiversity and formed by the earth's tectonic forces.

Erna said, beside the islands, Tensenilo forest in Riau would also be proposed as a world heritage site for its myriad of animal and plant species.

Of the six world heritage sites located in Indonesia, three are nature reserves, namely Ujung Kulon in Banten, West Java, Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara and the Lorentz Mountain Range in Papua.

The other three are cultural heritage sites, including the Borobudur Temple in the Central Java regency of Magelang.

A researcher with the development and environmental program of UNESCO, Jan H. Steven, said each country was allowed to propose a location to the UN body to be recognized as a world heritage site.

The proposal must come from people living near the site, he added. -- Antara

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PPD to fight for free education

JAKARTA: The newly established Regional United Party (PPD) vowed on Saturday to fight for free education for all, improved health care and better regional welfare.

During the party's meeting in the East Java town of Pasuruan on Saturday, chairman Oesman Sapta said the PPD was seeking the people's support in the upcoming elections in order to help them deal with their daily problems.

"PPD members will provide concrete solutions to the people's problems, wherever they are," Oesman told hundreds of party members.

The PPD is among 24 political parties that have been declared eligible to contest the general election on April 5.

During the meeting, Oesman introduced the party's legislative candidates for East Java.

Oesman was also scheduled to pay a visit to the grave of founding president Sukarno in Blitar, also in East Java.--Antara

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Dossier on May riots returned

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: The Attorney General's Office has returned the dossier on the May 1998 riots in Jakarta to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for additional information.

Attorney General M.A. Rachman said on Saturday prosecutors required more information regarding the commission's findings on the riots, which preceded the fall of long-time ruler Soeharto.

"The dossier from Komnas HAM needs revision, that is why we returned it to them," Rachman said in Bengkulu after opening a seminar on corruption.

Komnas HAM chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said earlier the commission had concluded that gross human rights violations took place during the three days of rioting in Jakarta in May 1998, which followed the shooting deaths of four Trisakti University students.

The commission's inquiry team, led by Salahudin Wahid, had submitted the dossier to the Attorney General's Office, which is authorized to launch a formal investigation of the riots. --Antara