Fired journalists not to file lawsuit

Fired journalists not to file lawsuit

JAKARTA: The deputy chairman of Republika daily's union,
Mahladi, said on Friday 15 recently fired journalists would not
file a lawsuit against the management over their dismissal.

The decision was taken after the 15 journalists -- 13 of whom
were members of the union -- negotiated compensation packages
with the management.

The Ministry of Manpower recently issued a decree entitling
laid off journalists to compensation equaling five times their
monthly salary.

Mahladi said the dismissals followed a dispute between the
union and the management which centered on the ministerial decree
on compensation.

He said the management had planned to reduce the compensation
for fired employees, instead increasing the pension for retired
employees.

The union opposed the plan, leading to the dismissals, he
said. -- Antara

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Scene-Hamzah-curb-erotic-TV
Hamzah demands curb on erotic TV
JP/4/4National

Hamzah demands curb on erotic TV

JAKARTA: Vice President Hamzah Haz urged the Ministry of
Religious Affairs on Friday to take action against TV stations
that broadcast "erotic" programs.

"Erotic programs could damage the morality of the nation,"
Hamzah told Muslim clerics and public servants during a gathering
in Cianjur, West Java.

The call was made after some of those people attending the
gathering complained that erotic programs had begun to dominate
TV.

The Vice President said erotic programs were making their way
onto TV because of the excessive freedom of the press.

Hamzah told the participants that a bill on pornography was
being deliberated by the House of Representatives. The government
hopes that once the bill is passed into law, it will help reduce
the number of erotic programs on TV. -- Antara

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Scene-trawlers-poaching-RI-waters
Fewer trawlers poaching in RI waters
JP/4/4National

Fewer trawlers poaching in RI waters

SURABAYA, East Java : The number of foreign trawlers poaching
in Indonesia's waters has sharply declined from about 7,000 three
years ago to approximately 1,000 this year, Minister of Fisheries
and Maritime Affairs Rokhmin Dahuri said on Friday.

"We have successfully reduced the number of trawlers poaching
in our waters," he said during a discussion on fisheries
organized by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)'s youth wings, IPNU and
IPPNU.

The minister also said the country's fisheries sector has
earned about Rp 300 billion (US$36.6 million) since the
establishment of the ministry two years ago.

He urged followers of the NU, the country's largest Islamic
organization with more than 30 million members, to do what they
could to assist the fisheries sector.

"About 1.5 million of four million fishermen nationwide work
in Banten, Jakarta, Rembang in Central Java and Tuban in East
Java," Rokhmin noted. -- Antara