Blast victim moved to Makassar

Blast victim moved to Makassar

AMBON, Ambon: Haulussy Hospital director Jopie Manuputty said
here on Tuesday that Lasamu, one of 53 people injured in a bomb
blast in the town on July 27, would be transferred to a bigger
hospital in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar to treat his
leg injuries.

Hospital officials said two others had undergone surgery after
the explosion and 12 others had been discharged after receiving
treatment.

Jopie said another 19 victims, who suffered minor injuries
from shrapnel, were expected to recover soon.

Other victims of the explosion are being treated at several
hospitals across Ambon, which had seen a fragile peace since the
two warring parties involved in three years of conflict formally
buried the hatchet in February. --Antara

Sampit refugees demand repatriation

SAMPANG, East Java: Five hundred Madurese who sought refuge in
their ancestral hometown following ethnic riots in the Central
Kalimantan regency of Sampit in 2001 rallied at the local
legislature on Tuesday.

They demanded that the local government relocate them to
Sampit, where they had made a living prior to the bloodshed
there.

One of the displaced people, Ahmad Nora, complained to local
councillors of the government's lack of attention to them.

"Central Kalimantan officials have visited and told us they
would welcome us back to Sampit, but we cannot return to the town
due to government disregard," Ahmad said.

He said the refugees could no longer stand living in their
shelters and demanded that the government set a fixed date for
their return to Central Kalimantan.

Speaker of the council Muhammad Hasan Asyari promised to
forward the people's complaint to the central government. --
Antara

Residents quit smoking for school

GUNUNG KIDUL, Yogyakarta: Residents of Sawur hamlet in the
Yogyakarta regency of Gunung Kidul have saved the money they
would normally spend on cigarettes over a four-month period to
help their children's school buy desks and chairs.

One of the state elementary school teachers, Kawes, told
visiting House of Representatives legislator Mochtar Buchori on
Tuesday that the children's parents raised nearly Rp 9.4 million
from refraining from smoking.

Along with donations from American electronics company General
Electric, the school collected Rp 18.75 million to purchase 75
chairs and 150 desks for school children from the first to sixth
grades.

"Due to the poor furniture, three or four children had to
share a desk," Kawes, who has been teaching for 21 years,
recalled.

Buchori and GE-linked Mitra Pendidikan Global non-governmental
organization representatives attended the handover of the
schoolroom furniture. -- Antara

Student clash leaves 5 wounded

PADANG, West Sumatra: A group of PGRI 6 senior high school
students attacked Adzkia school here on Tuesday, leaving five
people slightly injured.

Police said the incident took place at the end of the school
day. The PGRI students pelted the Adzkia school building with
stones for unclear reasons as soon as they alighted from a public
bus. A number of windows were broken, hurting Adzkia students
Raury, Mizar Hasibuan, Doni, Rudi and Veri.

Patrolling police officers arrived minutes later to disperse
the attackers. The police mistakenly arrested three students of
other schools who were passing the site of incident.

Head of the operational and control center at the provincial
police Adj. Sr. Comr. Prihartono E.L. said the police would
mediate talks between students of the two schools. -- Antara

PDI-P supporters run amok

MEDAN, North Sumatra: A rally staged by dozens of Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) supporters at the
party office here ended in violence on Tuesday.

The angry people ransacked the office, smashed a number of
windows before occupying the building in protest of the issuance
of a decision by the party's headquarters in Jakarta dated July
27 ordering the provincial chapter to hold a conference beginning
on Wednesday to approve the new board of executives of the
party's Medan branch.

The protesters, who came from various branch offices across
the province, accused the provincial chapter of masterminding the
issuance of the decision in a bid to win formal approval of their
hand-picked men as executives in the branch office under the
leadership of Donny Arsyal Gultom.

Donny's rise to the top post sparked protest among party
supporters here. The previous conference recommended that the
plenary meeting to select Donny's aides be held after the Annual
Session of the People's Consultative Assembly, which will end on
Aug. 10. -- Antara