Thai army chief to visit Indonesia

Thai army chief to visit Indonesia

THAILAND: Thailand's army chief Gen. Somdhat Attanand will visit
Indonesia next week to discuss weapons smuggling with his
Indonesian counterpart, an army official said on Wednesday.

Thailand's foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai visited
Jakarta last week and met with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

He told reporters afterward that there was no indication of
arms smuggling from Thailand to Aceh, but said action would be
taken against anyone involved in such a crime.

Indonesia launched a major military operation in Aceh last
week after last-ditch peace talks with the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) broke down.

Gen. Somdhat, who took up his post late last year, will also
visit Brunei during a four-day familiarization trip to both
countries beginning on Tuesday. --AFP

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RI crew going home after abuse on ship
JP/12/ASEAN

RI crew going home after abuse on ship

NEW ZEALAND: Six Indonesian crew members were taken off a
freighter in New Zealand's port of Nelson on Wednesday after the
International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) said they had
been mistreated, underpaid and underfed.

One of them told Radio New Zealand the crew had been given
water drawn from the Panama Canal to drink while the captain's
dog had mineral water.

Local ITF coordinator Kathy Whelan escorted the six
Indonesians off the Korean-owned motor vessel Wisteria, which
flies the Panamanian flag, and said they would be flown home on
Thursday.

She said the federation, which discovered "gross mistreatment"
of the crew in routine inspections as it loaded export fruit in
New Zealand ports, had obtained back pay totaling US$20,000 for
the crewmen who were leaving.

She said 13 other crew members, who were from Myanmar,
remained on the ship and were too frightened to speak to the ITF
for fear of consequences when they returned home. --DPA

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MILF separatists offer 10-day truce
JP/12/ASEAN

MILF separatists offer 10-day truce

PHILIPPINES: Muslim separatists declared on Wednesday a 10-day
unilateral cease-fire from next week to give peace talks a chance
to resume in the troubled southern Philippines, 12 days into a
campaign of punitive strikes ordered by President Gloria Arroyo.

Arroyo in a statement welcomed the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF)'s offer as "a positive and welcome development", but
urged them to do more by complying with an earlier government
demand to turn over suspected bombers and cut links with terror
groups.

MILF military chief Murad Ebrahim signed the cease-fire
declaration, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said. It would start on
June 2 to give MILF field commanders enough time to receive and
comply with the order, he added.

Kabalu said the decision was in response to an "earnest call"
from the dominant Roman Catholic Church as well as other peace
advocates for an end to fighting in the Mindanao region. --AFP

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KL transportation minister resigns
JP/11/ASEAN

KL transportation minister resigns

MALAYSIA: Ling Liong Sik, a long-time ally of Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad and a former political boss from Malaysia's
Chinese minority, resigned from the Cabinet on Wednesday, ending
a ministerial career spanning more than 17 years.

His retirement as transportation minister is part of a
changing of the political guard in the Southeast Asian nation and
comes ahead of Mahathir's scheduled stepping down in October.

Ling's departure from Malaysia's tough political scene had
been widely anticipated. Five days ago Ling stood down as leader
of the Malaysian Chinese Association -- the largest party in the
ruling coalition after Mahathir's -- to defuse a long-running
factional dispute.

The Chinese party's leadership change, in which Ling's deputy
also quit, was part of a deal brokered by Mahathir to end
infighting that had threatened to tarnish the entire coalition.
--AP