Japan replants trees in N. Sumatra

Japan replants trees in N. Sumatra

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Japanese parliament members pledged more
assistance on Tuesday to the reforestation program in North
Sumatra through the planting of tens of thousands of trees over
the next five years.

The pledge was made during a meeting between 35 members of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, Mizuha Mayor Ishisuka Koueman and
North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin at the latter's office,
Medan.

Chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Mita Toshiya
declined to mention the amount of the assistance, saying the
funds were collected voluntarily from each of the Japanese
parliamentarians.

This year, they will plant thousands of pinus and macadamia
trees on four hectares of land in the area of Sipiso-piso, Karo
regency, and in Parapat district, Simalungun regency.

Similar trees were planted by them last year on a three-
hectare plot of land also in Sipiso-piso.

"We will assist reforestation in North Sumatra. It is an
international issue. We should be aware of this to protect
nature. It's our problem jointly," Toshiya told Tuesday's
meeting. --JP

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ANPAa..r..
Across-Party
PDI-P, Golkar, PAN in mayoralty race
JP/5/Pary

PDI-P, Golkar, PAN in mayoralty race

BANDUNG: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party
(PAN) have coalesced to support the nomination of Dada Rosada as
the new mayor of Bandung, West Java.

Dada, a former secretary of the Bandung administration, is to
pair with PDI Perjuangan councillor Jusep Purwasuganda to contest
the mayoralty election in October.

Iqbal Abdulkarim, a spokesman for the PAN faction in the
Bandung legislative council, said the coalition between his
party, PDI Perjuangan and Golkar was officially agreed on Aug.
15.

"We are sure that the pairing of Dada and Jusep will win the
election," he said on Tuesday.

The coalition is expected to win at least 28 votes for Dada.
The council comprises 45 seats.

Incumbent Bandung Mayor Aa Taraman, a retired army officer
whose five-year term ends on Oct. 16, is backed by the four-
member faction of the United Development Party and the one-seat
Justice and Unity faction.

Other candidates include the pairing of academic
Taufiqqurahman and Ujang Sachruddin, plus Sugih Wiramikarta and
Iwan Abdurrahman. --JP

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ANPAa..r..
Across-Ambonese
Suspect bags force Ambonese to flee
JP/5/Ambon

Suspect bags force Ambonese to flee

AMBON, Maluku: Police secured on Tuesday two plastic bags
suspected of containing homemade bombs and firearms in the Jl.
Tulukabessy area near downtown Ambon, Maluku province.

The bags -- one red and another black -- were first found
hanging on a fence by local residents at 10:30 a.m. The
discovery forced vendors, pedestrians, and ojek (motorbike taxi)
and public car drivers to vacate the area.

A police bomb squad team, which arrived around 35 minutes
later at the scene, said the two suspicious bags contained used
cans and blue and black cables, without bomb timers.

The police later took it to their Mobile Brigade headquarters
for further investigation, and reopened the area to the public.

The police said the discovery showed that certain people had
attempted to spread terror in Maluku, once wracked by three years
of religious fighting since 1999.

Local Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace accord in
February 2002 to end the conflict, but sporadic violence
continued to break out occasionally.--Antara