Mon, 16 Jun 2003

Chinese art part of city anniversary

JAKARTA: Traditional Chinese music and theater will be included in the 2003 Jakarta Anniversary Festival at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) in Central Jakarta.

I Gusti Kompyang Raka, spokesman for the GKJ management, said the Chinese cultural performances, along with performances from other cultures -- Arab, European, Malay, Javanese and Sundanese -- would take place every day from June 16 to June 22.

The manager for the Chinese-Indonesian performers, Ronald Salim, said the artists were just beginning to revive their vanishing legacy.

The performers come from Medan and Jakarta, while their costumes are delivered directly from Hong Kong. -- Antara

;JP;BBY;Antara ANPAj..r.. Focus-Tempo-lawsuits 'Tempo' trial to resume today JP/8/G-TEMPO

'Tempo' trial to resume today

JAKARTA: After being postponed twice, the Central Jakarta District Court will resume on Monday a hearing of the lawsuit filed against police over the attack on Tempo magazine.

The Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) is suing the police, charging the National Police chief, Jakarta Police chief, Central Jakarta Police chief and Menteng Police chief with neglect of duty in allowing the attack on the Tempo office and its journalists on March 8 to take place.

In the latest session on June 2, only the lawyers of the National Police chief and Central Jakarta police chief appeared, prompting the judges to postpone the trial again.

The delay was made at the request of AJI's lawyer Azas Togar Nainggolan.

Presiding judge Iskandar Tjake said the court would not tolerate another absence, because the court had already sent subpoenas to the defendants in May.

On March 8, a group of protesters claiming to be supporters of businessman Tomy Winata attacked the weekly's office on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta, over an article that implicated Tomy's alleged role in the fire that razed Tanah Abang market.

The protesters took several Tempo journalists, including chief editor Bambang Harymurti, to the Central Jakarta Police station to settle the dispute, where they continued assaulting them.

The court is also scheduled to hand down a verdict soon on two of the attackers -- David Tjoe, alias David A. Miauw, and Teddy Uban -- in a separate hearing. The two were charged with minor assault. -- JP

;JP;MULTA FIDRUS; ANPAj..r.. Focus-Tangerang-pollution Banned factory remains open JP/8/GREATER

Banned factory remains open

TANGERANG: A plastic factory owned by PT Aries and located on Jl. Karyawan, Karang Tengah, Tangerang municipality, is still operating despite a ban issued by Mayor M. Thamrin.

The factory was ordered to halt operations because it is polluting the environment and does not have a building permit (IMB).

A sign hangs on the factory gates, with a notice written in red that reads: "This factory is shut down and is banned from operating." The sign was hung by the public order agency last month following the mayor's order, but residents have said that it is still operating.

Residents have accused the factory of polluting their wells with industrial waste.

Community unit chief Asmin and neighborhood unit chief Muchtar, along with several residents, went to the municipal administration office on Wednesday morning to file their complaints.

They called on the administration to take harsh measures against the factory for operating in violation of the ban. -- JP