'Thuggery against media must end'

JAKARTA: A group of journalists and non-governmental organizations (NGO) urged all Indonesian media workers on Thursday to unite and strengthen ties to deter thuggery.

The appeal came amid a recent campaign against thuggery, which was intensified after two Tempo journalists and one SCTV cameraman became victims of violence in the course of their work recently.

Speaking at the forum, senior journalist Fikri Jufri urged all members of the media to take the initiative and begin aiding one another and protecting journalists and activists via frequent calls for an end to the increasing number of bullying, and sometimes violent attacks.

"We should conduct frequent visits to all media groups and the editor's clubs to carry out educational campaigns on how to protect journalists and activists from violence," he said.--JP

;JP;AAH ANPAa..r.. Scene-voter-registration 'Urban voter registration difficult' JP/4/4SCENE

'Urban voter registration difficult'

JAKARTA: The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) admitted on Thursday that registering voters in urban areas was more challenging than in rural areas.

Toto E. Sastrasuanda, deputy head of the voter registration process told reporters here that people who lived in apartments were rarely available for registration.

"Most of them are unavailable during the week because they work many hours, and on the weekends, they go out of town on vacation," he said.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) contracted the BPS to conduct the nationwide census and the voter registration process in a bid to attain an integrated database on population for the aggregation on legislative numbers in each district for the upcoming general election.

Thus far, the BPS claimed that the voter registration process had reached about 65 percent of the process. The registration started on April 1 and is expected to finish on April 30.--JP

;JP;TSO; ANPAa..r.. Scene-rights-trial Court delays Adam indictment JP/4/SCENE

Court delays Adam indictment

JAKARTA: The ad hoc human rights court decided Thursday on a delay, until May 6, the indictment of former Udayana Military commander Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri as the defendant failed to turn up due to state duties.

Prosecutor S. Hozie told the court that Adam was assigned by the Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto to Aceh from April 22 to April 30 to evaluate the ongoing peace process ahead of the Joint Council meeting scheduled for Friday in Geneva, Switzerland.

A defense lawyer of the defendant, AB Setiawan, said however his client left for the restive province earlier on Thursday.

This is the second time the court postponed the hearing, which was expected to hear prosecutors' demand of sentence for Adam, who is accused of human rights abuses in East Timor following a UN-sponsored ballot in August 1999. The violation carries a minimum jail sentence of 10 years under the Law No. 26/2000.

Despite admitting that he was ready to read a 100-page indictment, prosecutor S. Hozie said that his team had not decided on the minimum sentence demanded for Adam. -- JP

;JP;TSO; ANPAa..r.. Scene-Navy-arsenal Navy 'neutral' in procuring arms JP/4/SCENE

Navy 'neutral' in procuring arms

SURABAYA: Unlike the Air Force which has gone to many former communist countries for its weaponry, the Indonesian Navy vowed on Thursday to rely on itself in modernizing its weaponry.

"We opt not to take sides with either the West or East in procuring our arms because we are committed to standing on our own feet," Rear Adm. Yussuf Solichien, the Navy Education commander, said in an apparent reference to the Cold War terms for NATO allies and Soviet-bloc allies, on the sidelines of the institution's 57th anniversary celebration here.

He was commenting on the Air Force, which acquired four Russian-made jet fighters to end its long-standing dependence on U.S. military aircraft.

Yussuf said the Navy had built cooperation with state ship maker PT PAL in producing warships, including corvettes, starting from 2005. Indonesia has purchased most of its warships from Britain and the Netherlands.

The Navy has planned to add 22 warships to its fleet within the next decade. -- JP