Ternate airport still closed

Ternate airport still closed

TERNATE, North Maluku: Sultan Baabulah Airport in North Maluku
province remained closed to flights on Monday due to thick ash
blanketing runway from Mount Gamalama, which erupted four days
ago, officials said.

"The latest news from Sultan Baabulah Airport is that the ash
from the volcano's eruption has not been cleaned up from the
runway leading to a suspension of flights," said Chatrience
Watung, sales and service manager at the Merpati Airlines' office
in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado.

Speaking in Manado, she said the slow progress in cleaning the
runway was due to a lack of equipment to remove the ash and other
volcanic materials.

Merpati planes had to halt their services to and from the ash-
blanketed airport in the North Maluku city of Ternate since July
31, Watung said.

The airport's closure had forced the private airline to cancel
seven flights to and from Ternate so far, she added. It remained
unclear when the airport would reopen as it could take two weeks
to remove the volcanic material, airport officials said.

The 1,100-meter high Gamalama volcano erupted on Thursday,
blanketing Ternate with think ash. No casualties or injuries were
reported.

The volcano has since quietened down with only minor eruptions
on Monday.

The Ternate government has evacuated thousands of villagers
living in five villages in the foothills of the mountain as dust
and ash fell as far as 30 kilometers away. --Antara

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ANPAa..r..
Across-Batam-port
Batam Center Port set to open
JP/5/Batam

Batam Center Port set to open

Batam, Riau: The Batam Center Port in Riau province will open
on Friday, replacing the old Batu Ampar port here, a Batam
Authority manager announced on Monday.

"However, during the soft opening period, the new port will
only serve a few ferries, with the remainder still operating out
of Batu Ampar port," said Fatullahhe of the Batam Authority's
marketing and public relations division.

He said the new port would provide the same services as Batu
Ampar port, which offered ferry services between Riau's Batam
island and Singapore.

"Batu Ampar port will be converted into a cargo terminal," he
said. --Antara

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ANPAa..r..
Across-education
Peace education for Maluku victims
JP/5/peace

Peace education for Maluku victims

AMBON, Maluku: Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
grouped in the Humanitarian Association for Maluku (Humanum) have
launched a peace education program for the children of victims of
the four-year religious conflict that erupted in 1999, activists
said on Monday.

The program aims to free the children from the trauma they
experienced during the fighting, which first broke out on Jan 19,
1999, Humanum coordinator George Corputty said.

"This peace education will hopefully encourage the children to
continue their studies and enjoy their childhood," he said.

Unlike normal methods of teaching, the peace education program
focuses on singing, playing and sharing the children's feeling,
he said.

At least 846 children, aged between 6 and 16 from nine refugee
camps on Ambon island have been taking part in the program over
the past few months.

Corputty said the funding for the program came from the people
and non-governmental organizations committed to peace, including
foreign ones, he said.

"The funding is not big as volunteers and NGO activists are
not teachers but friends who are ready to play with and tell the
children stories," he said.

Corputty however did not mention the size of the funding
needed for the program. --Antara