Bali does not deserve black-list

Bali does not deserve black-list

DENPASAR: There are no good grounds for putting Bali on the
international tourist destination black-list as the October 2002
bomb blasts could have happened anywhere, not only in Bali, said
Badung deputy regent I Made Sumer at Kadonganan beach, Kuta, on
Monday.

Sumer made the statement while hosting some 100 readers of
Germany's biggest tabloid Bild.

It was the second visit by Bild readers. The first group were
in Bali from June 14 to June 17.

The group's leader, Rhemhold Thiel, said the group members
were expected to share their experiences and accounts on what was
going on in Bali with other Bild readers back home.

The group had obtained free flights and accommodation from a
number sponsors for their four-day visit, which ends Tuesday.

Sumer hoped that the visit could restore the image of Bali as
a safe haven for tourists after the Bali bomb blasts killed more
than 200 lives and destroyed the tourist industry there.-- Antara

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Papua students demand funds
JP/4/SCENE

Papua students demand funds

JAKARTA: As Papua is in urgent need of funds to carry out its
development programs, the central government should speed up the
disbursement of Rp 1.58 trillion of Papuan autonomy funds for
2003, a student leader said on Monday.

"The immediate disbursement of the funds will show that the
(central) government is seriously concerned about the wellbeing
of Papuans," Yusack Andatu, chairman of Cenderawasih University's
Student Executive Body, said after meeting Vice President Hamzah
Haz at the Vice Presidential residence.

Yusack warned that Papuans might reject the government-
initiated special autonomy status if it failed to disburse the
funds in the near future.

Meanwhile, Hamzah said during the meeting that he would order
the Ministry of Home Affairs to release the funds immediately.

Last year, the government disbursed Rp 1.38 trillion of
special autonomy funds for Papua.

The special autonomy status for Papua was extended by the
central government in 2001 in the wake of rising separatist
sentiment in the country's easternmost province.-- Antara

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Megawati indecisive on second-term
JP/4/SCENE

Megawati indecisive on second-term

JAKARTA: President Megawati Soekarnoputri has failed to say
directly whether she will run for a second term next year.

Speaking before some 150 Japanese journalists at the Japan
National Press Club in Tokyo on Monday, the President, who is
also the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), only said that as chairwoman of the
ruling party, she had been nominated by party members during the
party's congress in the Central Java capital of Semarang last
year.

She vowed, however, that if she was reelected, her government
would focus on eradicating corruption.

Megawati claimed she did not have enough time to combat
corruption during her current presidency as she had only three
years from the time she assumed power.

"We need more time. Corruption cannot be eradicated in such a
short time," she argued.--Antara