UK donates US$1.5m for elections

UK donates US$1.5m for elections

MANADO, North Sulawesi: British Ambassador to Indonesia
Richard Gozney disclosed on Friday that his country would donate
US$1.5 million for Indonesia's general elections in 2004.

Speaking in a meeting with North Sulawesi legislative
councillors on Friday, Gozney said the donation would be
channeled through the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Legislative members attending the meeting were Victor
Mailangkay, Janes Parengkuan, J.A. Damopolii, Ang Marentek, Tony
Kaunang, and Tilung Mokoginta.

Indonesia is to hold legislative elections in April 2004 and
presidential elections between June and August 2004.

KPU had said earlier that the commission needed some Rp 900
billion more to finance the elections. The government had
committed Rp 2.3 trillion for the commission in 2003 alone.

During the meeting, Gozney praised changes in the country's
political life, especially in the freedom of the press and the
greater role played by legislative bodies across the country.
--Antara

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KPU inducts 150 KPUD members
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KPU inducts 150 KPUD members

JAKARTA: General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman
Nazaruddin Syamsuddin will install today the 150 members of
provincial general elections commissions (KPUD).

After their induction the 150 KPUD members will undergo
training so that they have a common understanding on the election
law and implementation of the 2004 elections.

The 150 KPU members, five from each province, had passed the
fit and proper test conducted by KPU members from May 7 through
May 17.

Twenty six or 17.5 percent of KPUD members are women. --Antara

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Jacob issues licenses for 62 PJTKIs
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Jacob issues licenses for 62 PJTKIs

JAKARTA: The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration has
issued new licenses for 62 labor recruitment agencies to send
workers to Middle Eastern countries.

In early May, the same ministry issued 28 licenses for
recruitment agencies, also to send workers to Middle Eastern
countries.

The instruction, signed on May 22 by Director General for the
Deployment of Overseas Workers of the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration I Made Gusti Arka, was addressed to ambassadors of
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman,
and Bahrain.

The 62 agencies were chosen on the basis of certain criteria
such as owning a dormitory to accommodate departing workers and a
language laboratory. Authorities evaluated a total of 100 of 158
agencies specializing in recruiting and sending workers to the
Middle East.

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PIB registers for 2004 election
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PIB registers for 2004 election

JAKARTA: The New Indonesia Association (PIB) party re-
registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in a bid
to run in the upcoming elections.

Party chairman Sjahrir led the delegation during the
registration on Friday. Sjahrir, a noted economist, has been
nominated as the party candidate for the 2004 presidential
election.

PIB also reported on Friday that it had established branches
in 24 provinces, 181 regencies and 1029 subdistricts and had
10,000 party members across the country.

Indonesia will hold its first-ever direct presidential
election in 2004, preceded by the legislative election on April
5.

At least 237 parties have registered with the justice
ministry. Only parties that have chapters in at least half of the
country's 31 provinces and branches in at least half of the
country's 410 regencies and municipalities may contest the
election.

As of Friday, there were only 49 parties registered for the
elections. -- JP

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Scene-RI-Police-Military-Clash
Policeman killed in brawl
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Policeman killed in brawl

JAKARTA: Police officers and soldiers were involved in a brawl
after competing in a soccer match in eastern Indonesia, leaving
one policeman dead and another injured, a regional official said
Friday.

It was unclear whether the two forces used their weapons in
the fight on Thursday on Flores island, district head Paulinus
Domi said by telephone.

The incident is likely to embarrass senior generals who are
trying to show that Indonesia's notoriously poorly disciplined
security forces have changed as they embark on a major military
offensive against separatist rebels in the county's northwestern
Aceh province.

Domi said the clash broke out after a police team challenged a
military team to a soccer match in the town of Ende on the
southern coast of Flores, some 1,660 kilometers east of Jakarta.

He said regional military officials were flying to the island
to investigate the clash, but was unable to give any more
details.

Fights between police and military officers often break out in
towns and cites across the archipelago. Most are triggered by
disputes over the illegal and legal businesses that both forces
are involved with.

In September, soldiers angry about the arrest of one of their
colleagues for allegedly selling drugs attacked a police barracks
on Sumatra island, injuring four policemen. --AP

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Samudra's trial set for June 2
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Samudra's trial set for June 2

DENPASAR, Bali: The man police believe masterminded last
year's Bali bomb blasts will go on trial on June 2, the second
key suspect to face trial over the attacks that killed 202
people.

Police have charged Imam Samudra, who is in his mid-thirties,
with plotting, organizing and carrying out terror crimes causing
mass casualties. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

"The trial of Imam Samudra will start on June 2, it will be
held at the Nari Graha building in Denpasar (Bali)," Judge I Made
Karna told Reuters.

Samudra was captured by police in the western Java province of
Banten on Nov. 21 and is also a suspect in several church
bombings across the country in 2000 on Christmas Eve.

Karna said those bombings were included in the indictment.

The trial of another suspect named Amrozi, dubbed the laughing
bomber by the media for his behavior during the pretrial
investigation, is due to resume on Monday after the court
dismissed defense calls to throw out the case.

Lawyers for Amrozi argued the indictment did not specify the
time and place of the alleged crime and prosecutors had not
described any event that qualified Amrozi as a planner.

Many officials have blamed the October bombings -- the worst
terror attack since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United
States -- on Jamaah Islamiyah, a militant Muslim group Indonesian
officials say has ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Indonesian police have arrested more than 30 people over the
bombings. --Reuters