President told to reform BIN

President told to reform BIN

JAKARTA: The President must take the necessary measures to
force the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to cooperate with
police investigating the murder of human rights campaigner Munir,
human rights watchdog Imparsial says.

"I doubt that BIN officers will provide proper data or access
to the police in the investigation into Munir's death, and I
believe the police will only crash into a wall if the President
fails to reform the agency or does not force it to become more
cooperative," Imparsial executive director Rachland Nashiddik
said on Friday.

His remark came after a recent Cabinet meeting decided to drop
a plan to form a presidential commission tasked with monitoring
the police's work and making sure that all those implicated in
the murder case be sent to trial.

Munir died in September last year on board a Garuda aircraft
flying from Jakarta to Amsterdam. According to an autopsy carried
out by Dutch authorities, the staunch human rights activist died
from arsenic poisoning.

The government's fact-finding team has linked several BIN
officials to the murder. --JP

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Polio toll climbs to 155
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Polio toll climbs to 155

JAKARTA: The polio toll has climbed to 155, the UN health
agency said here on Friday, with dozens of new cases reported in
the last two weeks.

Bardan Jung Rana, a WHO medical officer in Indonesia, said the
33 new cases were all reported in areas already infected with the
crippling disease and that the rise has been gradual.

"This is pretty much what we have been expecting," he said.

The polio outbreak -- Indonesia's first in 10 years -- has
prompted authorities to vaccinate up to 6.5 million children.
Another 24 million will be targeted in a nationwide campaign that
begins Aug. 30.

Polio is spread when unvaccinated people come into contact
with the feces of those with the virus, often through water.
It usually attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis,
muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death, although only
about one in 200 of those infected ever develop symptoms. -- AP

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Police detain more suspects in BNI scam

JAKARTA: The National Police have detained two new suspects in
relation to the embezzlement of Rp 1.7 trillion (about US$177
million) in funds from a South Jakarta branch of state-owned Bank
BNI.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko said on Friday
that the two suspects, whose initials are AY and SHN, were
members of the board of directors of a company called PT
Brocolin, which has been accused of receiving a portion of the
embezzled funds.

He said the two were apprehended on Wednesday.

The police are in the process of determining how much money
the company acquired from the alleged crime, he said.

The police had earlier detained company president Dicky
Iskandar Di Nata and Yoke Yola Sigar -- the president of another
firm called Adhitya Putrapratama Finance -- in relation to the
case, which centers around the use of bogus documents by several
businesspeople to obtain huge loans from BNI.

A number of suspects have been sentenced to between 15 years'
and life imprisonment, while the main suspect Maria Pauline
Lumowa evaded arrest by fleeing the country. -- JP

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Hamid to become KPU trial witness
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Hamid to become KPU trial witness

JAKARTA: Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin
is to appear in court as a witness in the graft trial of General
Elections Commission (KPU) finance head Hamdani Amin.

"Hamid Awaluddin will become a witness. We'll listen to what
he has to say," Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) head
Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said.

He could not say when Hamdani's trial would begin.

The KPK is investigating the high-profile case, which centers
on the abuse of state funds during last year's elections. The
trial has also seen top KPU executives accused of collecting
kickbacks from private companies that won business contracts from
the commission.

Hamdani had previously said the kickbacks were distributed to
all KPU members, including its chairman. Hamid is a former KPU
member and for the past few months has been busy leading a
government team to negotiate a peace deal with the leaders of the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki.

Hamid denied receiving funds from Hamdani during a previous
seven-hour questioning session by the KPK. -- JP