Donors urge govt, GAM to respect peace accord
Donors urge govt, GAM to respect peace accord
Tiarma Siboro and Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Donor countries pressed Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) Thursday to pursue peaceful solutions to the Aceh question
while stressing that any settlement should be within the
framework of territorial integrity of Indonesia.
Japan, the United States, the European Union and the World
Bank, all co-chairs of the Tokyo Preparatory Conference on Peace
and Reconstruction in Aceh, called on Indonesia and GAM to
develop mutual confidence and restrain from activities that could
jeopardize the peace process in the province.
"We call upon all sides to refrain from provocation and
violence and, in particular, to cease political acts that violate
the objectives and principles of the Cessation of Hostilities
Agreement (COHA)," they said in a press statement made available
to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
They also expressed hope that both Indonesia and GAM could
begin the demilitarization process soon, as it would be a
critically important step in the implementation of the COHA
signed by both parties in Geneva in December last year.
"We call on GAM to carry out the placement of weapons as
planned and hope that this step, together with the phased
relocation of Indonesian armed forces in the field, will further
strengthen the implementation of the COHA," the donors said.
GAM was supposed to start stowing away their weapons on Feb.
9, but has not done so as the Indonesian military (TNI) has yet
to withdraw to defensive positions as stipulated in the peace
agreement.
The donors also reiterated their commitment to provide
reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in the conflict-torn
province as it was believed that "one of the greatest potentials
for sustaining the peace is in community development programs."
The donor countries have begun several short-term aid
activities in the province including the distribution of food
aid, health care and education.
Separately in Jakarta, Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the
government would likely reevaluate the current peace process in
Aceh should "the situation change dramatically."
Speaking to reporters after holding a limited ministerial
meeting on political and security issues, Susilo expressed
wariness about whether "the peace solution in Aceh would end up
as the country had wanted it."
He was referring to several clashes that erupted recently in
the province.
2. 1 x 38
Police question 'Tempo' chief editor
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
and Tiarma Siboro
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The chief editor of Tempo weekly, Bambang Harymurti, was
questioned on Thursday by Jakarta Police investigators as the
sole suspect in a defamation case filed by businessman Tomy
Winata.
The report was filed following an attack on the offices of
Tempo and its journalists by about 200 of Tomy's supporters. The
attack was in regard to the weekly news magazine's article on
Tomy's alleged role in a fire in Tanah Abang market in mid-
February.
Police have charged Bambang with violating Articles 310 and
311 of the Criminal Code, which carry punishment of up to nine
months in jail and a maximum four years respectively.
Media law expert Hinca I.P. Pandjaitan of the Indonesia Media
Law and Policy Center said the police have failed to see the case
from the journalists' point of view as stated in Law No. 40/1999
on the press.
"Article 6 of the law states that the press is working in the
public domain, either to criticize or to correct for the sake of
public interest. In light of this, the defamation charge is
nonsense," Pandjaitan told The Jakarta Post.
He also said that criminal charges could not be based only on
the words used while ignoring the whole context of the story.
For example, he said Tempo used the word konon (they say) in
the opening paragraph of the article and quotation marks were put
around pemulung besar (a large-scale scavenger) to describe Tomy.
"It cannot be construed that the whole article directly accuses
Tomy," he added.
The lawyer for Tempo, Todung Mulya Lubis, said that the police
should not view the case as a criminal act only.
"Ethics also provide a mechanism for objecting or responding
to news considered to be libelous. If Tomy Winata feels he has
been slandered, he can use that mechanism," Todung, who
accompanied Bambang during his questioning, told the Post by
phone.
Bambang said he would provide evidence if he stood trial.
The article was published in the March 9 edition of Tempo
magazine. It included excerpts from an interview with Tomy, who
is known for his close ties with the military and high-ranking
officials.
Upset with the article, Tomy's lawyer sent a formal complaint,
to which Tempo responded by starting legal procedures.
3. RALLY: 2 x 30
Antiwar protesters expand
targets to UN, Arab missions
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Rallies to protest the attack on Iraq continued on Thursday
across the country, where in some places demonstrators expanded
their target to interests which did not belong to the United
States and its allies.
Some 20 protesters of the Alumni Family of Association of
Islamic Students (KAHMI) staged a rally in front of the Saudi
Arabian Embassy on Jl. M.T. Haryono, East Jakarta to protest the
kingdom's indifference to the U.S.-led incursion of Iraq.
The protesters deplored the Saudi Arabia which the said had
failed to prevent the war, even its support to the U.S. led
aggression on Iraq.
"Saudi Arabia must also be blamed for their failure to prevent
the outbreak of the war which results in suffering of Iraqi
people," said a protester.
To express their disappointment, the protesters also urged the
Indonesian government to boycott all products and interests of
Saudi Arabia including severing economic or political
cooperation.
In the Central Java of Surakarta, at least 3,000 protesters
grouped under the Islamic Congregation of Surakarta (UIS) took to
streets to condemn the attack. They gathered at the Gladag
traffic circle on Jl. Slamet Riyadi in the downtown.
The rally was led by cleric Wahyudin, deputy director of Al
Mukmin boarding school whose leader, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is under
detention for treason.
The protesters also posted stickers to call for a boycott to
all American products at American licensed fast food outlet
Kentucky Fried Chicken nearby.
Similar antiwar rallies would follow later in the day in other
venues like the Press Monument and the official residence of the
mayor.
Around 1,000 Muslim activists grouped under Hizbut Tahrir went
to the West Java provincial legislature in Bandung to express
their demand for an end to the Iraq war and the sending of
multinational peace keepers to help Iraq people recover from the
impacts of the war.
The protesters, led by former rock singer Harry Mukti, marched
from Al-Ukuwah mosque on Jl. Wastukancana to the legislature
building
In the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, around 400 high
school students of the Indonesian Association of Students of
Makassar (PPIM) marched from Mandala Monument on Jl. Jend.
Sudirman to the Losari beach, where they read out antiwar poems
and recited some prayers for the cessation of the war.
4. CRASH: 1 x 35
Plane crash kills four in Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba
The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua
At least four people were killed and 12 others injured after a
Twin Otter plane with 16 people on board crashed into a mountain
in Puncak Jaya regency moments after takeoff on Thursday.
Sources in the local administration said that the plane was
last seen at 12:30 p.m. local time above Tuogi village, some 8
kilometers south of Mulia, the capital of Puncak Jaya regency.
The plane, belonging to the regency administration, was flying
from Mulia to Wamena. It took off at 12:27 p.m. and crashed three
minutes later.
The four casualties were identified as Suparno, head of the
local airline company, PT Air Regional, in Wamena regency,
technician Agus Sujono, and two passengers, Melena Tabuni and
Timotius Murid.
Local police spokesman Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing and the
operations director of PT Air Regional, FX Bambang, confirmed the
accident but gave no detailed information.
The local authority immediately sent a rescue team to the
location to find the victims.
Six of these have since been transported to the Dok II
hospital in Jayapura and the rescue team is expected today to
transport others from the crash scene.
Papuan people frequently have to use aircraft due to the
difficult terrain and lack of infrastructure. They hire planes to
travel and transport supplies between cities in the interior of
the province.
National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) chairman
Oetarjo Diran meanwhile said that his committee would send an
investigating team to the scene.
Diran added that he had not been able to identify the cause of
the accident. "All I know is that the plane crashed three minutes
after takeoff," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
The Puncak Jaya regency administration purchased the Twin
Otter plane from Papua New Guinea early last year to connect the
remote regency with other Papuan towns and cities.
It started flying on Sept. 2 last year and provided
transportation services between the regencies of Jayapura,
Wamena, Manokwari and Nabire.
5. ODD: 1 x 40
'Freedom Toast' served on Air Force One
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., March 26 (Reuters) - On U.S.
President George W. Bush's Air Force One flight to Florida on
Wednesday it was au revoir French toast, hello "Freedom toast."
"Stuffed Freedom Toast" topped the breakfast menu, in a subtle
slap at the French for helping to confound U.S. attempts to get
the UN Security Council to authorize military force against Iraq.
The name change for the venerable breakfast dish -- in this
case stuffed with cream cheese -- followed similar moves by the
U.S. Congress and some restaurants across the country to change
"French fries" to "Freedom fries."
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, asked about the newly
titled "Freedom toast," smiled and said, "We're always proud of
the men and women of our Air Force." -- Reuters