Minister corrects arrest report

Minister corrects arrest report

JAKARTA: Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda played
down on Wednesday reports on the arrest of Indonesian citizens in
the United States, saying it was merely the 24-hour detention
part of the registration policy.

"It was not an arrest, it was part of the registration process
and they were released within 24 hours," Hassan said after
meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday.

His comment was in stark contrast to the information from the
Indonesian Embassy in the United States that eight Indonesian
were under detention for visa offenses. The eight citizens,
according to the embassy, would go on trial on March 17.

The United States has put Indonesia on a list of countries
whose male citizens over the age of 16 are required to register
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The move
is part of the country's fight against terrorism.

Officials said earlier that as many as 50,000 Indonesians were
working illegally in the United States. --JP.

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Scene-ASEAN-meeting
Yogyakarta to host interparliamentary meeting
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ASEAN lawmakers to meet in Yogya

YOGYAKARTA: Lawmakers from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations will convene for a two-day meeting in Yogyakarta on
Thursday to discuss establishing an ASEAN antipoverty bank and
combating drug abuse.

House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, in his
capacity as president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary
Organization (AIPO), is scheduled to officially open the meeting
on Thursday.

Some 70 delegates and ambassadors from the 10 ASEAN member
countries are expected to attend the meeting.

The meeting aims at increasing the interparliamentary
cooperation among ASEAN member countries, which are Brunei,
Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and
Indonesia.

"The meeting will also study, discuss and propose
solutions to various problems faced by member countries," a
statement released by the organizing committee said on Wednesday.

The organizing committee has also scheduled tours to nearby
tourist destinations such as the Kasongan ceramics center and
Borobudur Temple. --JP

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Scene-pollution-verdict
One year in jail for polluter

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Polluters gets one year in jail

JAKARTA: A court in North Sumatra sentenced two senior
officials of battery producer PT Everbright to one year in prison
and fined them Rp 100 million (US$11,000) each for pollution.

The Office of the State Minister for the Environment said in a
statement on Thursday that PT Everbright director Sumito and
factory manager K. Darsono Halim had been convicted of releasing
toxic waste from the company into the Krio River.

"It is a victory against those who pollute the environment,
although the sentence was well below what the prosecutor was
demanding," the assistant deputy for law enforcement at the state
minister's office, Sudarsono, said.

Prosecutors had been seeking four-year prison sentences and Rp
300 million fines for the two defendants.

Sudarsono said his office would continue to take legal action
against those who pollute the environment. --JP

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scene-LIPI
LIPI to hold a science congress
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LIPI to hold science congress

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) will host
the eighth National Science Congress from Sept. 9 through Sept.
11 in Jakarta.

The congress will promote the independence and competitiveness
of Indonesian scientists, and will serve as a vehicle to increase
communication between scientists, the government and the public.

It will also provide a forum for scientists to present their
inventions and ideas, and as a forum to gather technological
innovations and academic ideas for solving fundamental problems
in the country.

An exhibition of science and technological innovations that
possess economic value will also be presented during the
congress.

The congress is held once every four years, and this year it
will take a look at the role of science and technology in
improving education in the country. --JP