Cellphone banned in N. Maluku

Cellphone banned in N. Maluku

TERNATE: North Maluku Governor Muhyi Effendie, who is also the
state of civil emergency administrator, has banned the
construction of cellular phone infrastructure in his sectarian
war-torn province, arguing it could disrupt ongoing efforts at
achieving reconciliation.

"The plan to operate cellular phones in the province's
capital, Ternate, has been halted following the ban imposed by
the civil emergency authority," said M. Rizal, director of
locally based private telecommunications company PT Lima Waktu.

He said the company would have to respect the ban although it
had around 3,300 prospective subscribers.

Rizal said the company had been scheduled to open a cellphone
service in North Maluku last November.

Local legislator Zainuddin Umasangaji criticized the ban,
saying the state of civil emergency should not necessarily be
taken to mean "curbing the activities of private businesses to
invest in this region". --Antara