Thai fishermen invade RI waters

Thai fishermen invade RI waters

CIREBON, West Java: Indonesia loses about US$4 billion a year
to illegal fishing by Thais, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime
Affairs Rokhmin Dahuri says.

"Thai fishermen control nearly 80 percent of Indonesian waters
using vessels that fly the Indonesian flag," Rokhmin told
reporters on Saturday.

Data from his ministry shows that every year around 3,200
vessels flying the Indonesian flag enter the country's waters.

Next to Thailand, poachers come from the Philippines, Taiwan,
China and South Korea.

Rokhmin said that Indonesia's vast ocean made it susceptible
to foreign poachers. Last week the Navy captured two foreign
vessels carrying crew members from Thailand.

Fish poaching remains rampant despite the government's tougher
measures. The Navy has occasionally sunk fleeing foreign vessels.
-- JP

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Ex-soldier linked to bank robbery
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Ex-soldier linked to bank robbery

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Medan Police suspect a former member of
the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) played a role in a recent
bank robbery that claimed three lives.

Maj. M. Ginting, a senior officer at Bukit Barisan Military
Command overseeing the province, said on Saturday that he was
informed by police that a sketch of one of the suspects resembled
that of a soldier identified as Somson.

"However, the suspicion must be verified through further
investigation by the police," Ginting said.

Police named four suspects in the robbery of the Lippo Bank
branch office in Medan early this month. None of the suspects
have been captured.

The robbers shot three security officers of the bank and took
Rp 113 million. -- JP

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Millions to attend national exams
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Millions to attend national exams

JAKARTA: Around 4 million junior high school students
nationwide begin national final examinations on Monday, a senior
government official said.

Indra Djati Sidi, the director general for elementary and high
school education at the Ministry of National Education, said on
Sunday that three subjects, namely Indonesian, English and
mathematics, would be mandatory during the exams.

The materials of the remaining subjects were made by the
respective schools, Indra said.

Indra said students who failed the exams were eligible to
repeat the tests one week after the final exams.

He said the government had spent Rp 217.5 billion for the
examinations and was therefore no reason that schools should
charge students to take the tests. -- Antara

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Protesters march on to Jakarta
JP/4/scene

Protesters march on to Jakarta

BANDUNG: At least 300 people, mostly students, workers,
farmers and fishermen from Bandung, West Java, continued on
Saturday their long march to Jakarta, where they intend to stage
a rally.

The demonstrators, who left Bandung -- about 120 km east of
Jakarta -- on Thursday, planned to arrive in Jakarta on
Wednesday.

After holding public speeches in Cianjur, mid-way between
Bandung and Jakarta, the protesters edged toward the capital,
carrying banners with messages deploring the administration of
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz,
whom they called upon to resign.

They urged the government to reduce the prices of staple foods
and bring corruptors to court.

A leader of the demonstration said the march aimed to
commemorate the fifth year of the reform movement and the
resignation of former president Soeharto.

They are expected to arrive in Jakarta on May 21, the day
Soeharto stepped down five years ago following mass pro-reform
rallies involving tens of thousands of people, mostly students.

In Jakarta, they will stage a demonstration in front of Istana
Merdeka and the legislative assembly building. --Antara