Navy probes marine's burning death

JAKARTA: The Navy is investigating the recent burning to death of a marine during an Indonesia Military (TNI) show in South Sulawesi.

The investigation will focus on the smoke grenade that caused the soldier's camouflage outfit to catch fire.

Marine Corps Commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Rivai said on Thursday that investigators were currently focusing on the smoke grenade.

"A smoke grenade is not supposed to produce flames. We want to know how it set fire to the stage and the marine," he told reporters at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Rivai hoped that the investigation would prevent similar accidents in the future.

Second Sgt. Hery Wahyudi died on Tuesday of severe burns. The 23-year-old marine's camouflage outfit caught fire while he was taking part in a mock raid to mark the 58th celebration of the TNI in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar two days earlier.

He was one of a number of Army soldiers and marines taking part in the mock raid on a Free Aceh Movement (GAM) hideout.

The raid, according to the scenario, was to be preceded by the lobbing of a smoke grenade at the target before the attack was launched. However, flames from the grenade set fire to Hery's camouflage gear.

No fire extinguishers or water were available to put out the flames and, despite their military training, the dozens of soldiers and marines at the scene appeared completely at a loss to know what to do. -- JP

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Yusril ready to be summoned

JAKARTA: Challenging the thirty-four political parties that are alleging bribery during the recent screening of political parties, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Thursday that he was ready to be questioned.

He warned, however, that he would "strike back" through legal action should the allegation be found to be baseless.

The Minister said Thursday that he was ready to respond to the accusation to police investigators even without the prior consent of President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the police to question him. He also said that he was ready to be jailed should the allegation be found to be correct.

"Everybody has the right to file a complaint against another. So go ahead, we will face it.

"If the accusation is right, I will be imprisoned, but if they fail to prove it, I, of course, have the right to sue them for falsifying reports," Yusril told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on human rights held by the ministry.

Thirty-four political parties filed a complaint with the Jakarta Police on Wednesday against members of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' verification team, alleging that they accepted bribes during the screening process.

Representatives of the 34 parties accused two ministry officials, Cahyo and Wicipto, of accepting money from political parties during the screening process, but they also named Yusril and the head of the party verification team, Ramli Hutabarat, in their complaint to the police. --JP

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Japan offers scholarships to teachers

MAKASSAR, S. Sulawesi: The Japanese government, through its Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, has offered scholarships to Indonesian teachers to study in Japan for one year.

Those who want to avail of the scholarships should be less than 35 years old as of Oct 1, 2003, and have a college degree and five years teaching experience, the Japanese consulate here said in a press statement made available on Thursday.

Application forms could be obtained from the Japanese consular offices here, in Surabaya in East Java, and in Medan in North Sumatra, as well as the Japanese embassy in Jakarta. --Antara