Councillor charged with polygamy

Councillor charged with polygamy

SURABAYA, East Java: Military prosecutors charged an East Java
deputy councillor from the National Police and the Indonesian
Military (TNI) with forging documents and polygamy.

Col. Masduki, 54, forged his marriage documents to marry 32-
year-old Indah Sulistyowati, said military prosecutor Col.
Salamun during the opening session of the trial on Thursday.

Polygamy is not allowed for military personnel. Salamun said
that Masduki married Indah in 1996, although he was still
married to Linda Yun Aripurawanti and a father of three children.

Masduki met Indah when he taught at a military school in
Bandung, West Java. "His acquaintance with the witness (Indah), a
senior student of his, continued with courting and marriage," the
prosecutor said.

Masduki married Indah under a false name, claiming to be an
entrepreneur whose wife had passed. The illegal marriage went
unnoticed for four years until March 2000 when Linda found out.

When confronted Masduki choose to divorce Indah, with whom he
had two children, aged one and two. -- Antara

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Across-Kendari-ETimorese-compensation
East Timorese want compensation
JP/5/Across

East Timorese want compensation

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Some 80 East Timorese held a rally
outside the provincial council on Thursday to seek compensation
for the assets they lost when they fled the violence that
followed East Timor's separation from Indonesia in 1999.

Protesting under the East Timor Post Referendum Refugee
Solidarity Forum, they said they needed money to start a business
as otherwise they could not earn a living.

According to the forum's spokesman Arsid Musa the Indonesian
government and East Timor agreed to compensate all East Timorese
who had left their homeland. "Now we want that agreement to be
fulfilled," he said.

An estimated 15,000 East Timorese live in Southeast Sulawesi,
mainly in the Buton regency. Their abandoned assets, which
include land, house and business properties, are worth Rp 15
billion (about US$1.7 million) according to their estimates.

Another forum claiming to represent East Timorese throughout
Indonesia has recently demanded the government pay Rp 2.3
trillion in compensation, and provide free education and housing.
-- Antara

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Across-GunungKidul-suicide
Suicides on the rise in Gunung Kidul
JP/5/Across

Suicides on the rise in Gunung Kidul

YOGYAKARTA: Police said that cases of suicide in the regency of
Gunnungkidul have risen sharply during the first quarter of this
year, with 13 cases, compared to 16 cases in all of 2002.

Gunnungkidul Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Teguh Imantoro said
on Wednesday that all of the victims hanged themselves.

"The suicide victims were mainly over 50 years old, with
motives related to chronic and incurable illnesses," Teguh said.

Head of the Gunnungkidul religious office Bun Yamin blamed
the low education of a majority of locals for the high number of
suicides.

He said the regency should offer counseling services for
persons in distress and to help dissuade them from taking their
own lives. -- Antara

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Across-CJava-meditation-center
World meditation center in Dieng
JP/5/Across

World meditation center in Dieng

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The government is considering turning
Java's oldest Hindu temple complex at the Dieng plateau in
Central Java into an international center for meditation.

State Minister for Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika said on
Wednesday that due to its historical importance, the Dieng
complex deserved to become an important center for meditation.

He said many Hindu priests meditate at the temple complex,
which is located on a 2,000 meter plateau 26 kilometers northwest
of Wonosobo in Central Java.

Ardika said the plan should be carefully considered, taking
the impact on the non-Hindu community living nearby the complex
into account.

The Dieng plateau was formed by a volcanic eruption and the
area remains geothermally active. Built around the 7th century,
the temples carry the names of Wayang heroes. The name Dieng
comes from Di Hyang which means "Abode of the Gods" -- JP