New parties to forge alliance

JAKARTA: Four new political parties -- the United Development Party of Reform (PPP Reformasi), the Nationhood and Democracy Party (PDK), the Bung Karno National Party (PNBK) and the yet-to- be-announced Alliance for New Indonesia (PIB) -- are forging an alliance so they have a common stance on the general election bill currently being deliberated by House members.

"We agreed to formulate a common position on the general election bill and a joint statement will be issued next week," PDK chairman Ryaas Rasyid said over the weekend.

According to Ryaas, the large political parties were trying to stifle the people's political rights through the election bill. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, PDK declarer Andi Mallarangeng said the task of assessing whether political parties would meet the requirements to contest the election should go to the General Elections Commission (KPU), not members of the House of Representatives (DPR).

"If there were hundreds of political parties, not all would be allowed to contest a general election. They would have to be screened and those that met the requirements could nominate a presidential candidate," Andi said. --Antara

Minister sued over excavation

BOGOR, West Java: A group calling itself the People's Alliance for Indonesian Cultural Heritage Conservation has filed a class action against Minister for Religious Affairs Said Agiel Munawar and Bogor Mayor Iswara Natanegara.

Alliance spokesman Gartono said on Saturday that his group was seeking financial compensation totaling Rp 50.015 billion from the two for their part in the disturbance of the Batutulis monument. The lawsuit was registered with the Bogor District Court last Friday.

Gartono said Minister Said Agiel's excavation order was illegal and had resulted in the disturbance of the Batutulis soil, both above and below the surface.

"Minister Said Agiel's deeds were clearly against the law," Gartono said.

Said Agiel instructed and supervised the excavation at the Batutulis monument in Bogor last month in a search for treasure allegedly worth billions of U.S. dollars.

The digging stopped only when it drew strong opposition from local people and legislators. President Megawati Soekarnoputri has reportedly reprimanded Said Agiel and now considers the case closed. --Antara

RI women freed from M'sian brothel

NUNUKAN, East Kalimantan: Twelve young Indonesian women, who were forced to work as prostitutes in Beaurgrad Hotel in the East Malaysian town of Tawau, were freed on Friday after one of them escaped, an Indonesian official said.

The chief liaison officer of the Indonesian Consulate General in Tawau, Sabah state, said on Saturday the women were from East Java.

Before being employed in the Malaysian state of Sabah, they were told by their recruiters that they would work in restaurants and shops, he said.

"I was promised work in a restaurant, but ended up being forced into prostitution," Wati, a 17-year-old resident of the East Java town of Madiun, was quoted as saying.

An 11-member central government team, led by Sukirman of the Ministry of Social Welfare, was in Tawau for a working visit.

On the sidelines of their daily activities, the team members found Wati, who had run away from the hotel where they stayed, Magdum said.

They then reported the incident to the Indonesian Consulate General, Magdum said, adding his party were given information from Wati on other young Indonesian women who were being held against their will by the hotel's bodyguards.

Based on this information, he said, he rushed to the hotel to release them all.

Magdum said this year alone, he had found three cases of trafficking in Indonesian women in Tawau. -- Antara