Officers' detention extended

Officers' detention extended

JAKARTA: Army's Special Force (Kopassus) Commander Maj. Gen.
Amirul Isnaini has approved the 30-day extension of detention of
three officers alleged to have killed Papuan proindependence
leader Theys Hiyo Eluay.

The officers, who comprise a lieutenant colonel, a major and a
captain, have been in the custody of the Military Police since
April 10. They face a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.

Amirul was responding to a request by National Military Police
chief Maj. Gen. Sulaiman AB, who said the extension was demanded
for investigation purpose. The extension became valid as of
Monday.

As a result of the extension, the Military Police rejected a
formal request by a team of lawyers for the Kopassus members, who
demanded that their clients have their detention suspended.

"It must be clarified whether the detention of these three
Kopassus officers was ordered by their superior, who is the
Kopassus chief. Under military law, the investigators have no
right to place the suspects in jail," lawyer Ruhut Sitompul said
earlier. -- JP

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Govt promotes low-cost apartments
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Govt promotes low-cost apartments

SURABAYA: Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure
Soenarno called on developers on Tuesday to build more low-cost
apartments for the poor.

In his address to participants of East Java's Real Estate
Developers Association (REI) congress, Soenarno said the time was
ripe for the nation to start living in apartments due to the
limited supply of land and lack of order in land administration.

"We hope REI will adopt an appropriate approach to promote the
construction of apartments for people in the middle- and lower-
income categories," Soenarno said, adding that the demand for new
houses was on the rise.

He stressed that 40 million poor people remained in need of
housing.

In this fiscal year, the government has allocated Rp 256
billion as a subsidy for the development of 130,000 dwellings
suitable for people in the lower-income bracket.

Soenarno said 11 banks had already pledged their commitment to
participate in the project, -- Antara

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U.S. forestry experts visit Jambi

JAMBI, Jambi: Two experts from the United States Agriculture
and Forestry Department are currently visiting Jambi province to
discuss with local officials efforts to tackle forest fires.

The visit of Denne Shulman and Dale K. Dague to the nucleus
estate of Wira Karya Sakti (WKS) company here reflects
international confidence in the company, WKS manager Edi Mahmud
said.

WKS, he said, has prioritized ways to tackle forest fires
which occur in Jambi during the dry spell.

The ongoing meeting to discuss forest fires was organized by
the U.S. Agriculture and Forestry Department, the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat, Jambi's provincial
administration, and several local private plantation and forestry
companies.

Jambi experienced its worst forest fires in 1998 which not
only disturbed flights in several parts of the country but those
in neighboring countries as well. -- Antara