UNIC, ICWA to hold terrorism dialog

JAKARTA: In the aftermath of the terrorist attack which killed more than 190 civilians in Bali on Oct. 12, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Council on World Affairs (ICWA), will organize a special discussion on terrorism entitled Shared Responsibilities in Combating Terrorism: Post Bali Tragedy, the dialog is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central Jakarta.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra will present a keynote speech, while former foreign minister Ali Alatas will moderate the discussion featuring scholars Abdul Ghani Abdullah, Pande Raja Silalahi, Juwono Sudarsono and Alwi Shihab.

Some 300 participants are expected to participate in the event.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Oct. 14 condemning the attack on Bali and urged all states and international institutions to work with the Indonesian authorities to bring those responsible to justice. -- Antara

;JP;AMD; ANPAa..r.. Scene-Akbar-probe House further delays talks on Akbar JP/4/SCENE

House further delays talks on Akbar

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives has again failed to set a date for a plenary meeting to debate a motion demanding the suspension of speaker Akbar Tandjung.

The House steering committee announced after a more than two- hour closed-door meeting on Thursday that the issue was left to the House leadership to decide.

Deputy House speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno who presided over the meeting said a number of articles in the House internal rules implied that any motion lodged by a group of legislators had to go through discussion among leaders of the law-making body.

A House plenary session in August tasked the steering committee with discussing the feasibility of a plenary session to debate the motion, which was proposed by 79 legislators.

The signatories of the motion recently increased to over 100, thanks in part to the participation of several legislators from Golkar, the political party Akbar chairs.

Pressures have increased against Akbar to stay out of the House affairs pending a definite court verdict on his graft case. The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced him to three years in jail, but he escaped detention by appealing.

Soetardjo of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said a leadership meeting would be held very soon in response to the steering committee's request. -- Antara

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Stranded migrants demand certainty

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Dozens of Middle Eastern asylum- seekers stranded on the island of Lombok continued to protest the International Organization for Migration (IOM) here over uncertain arrangements of their move to a third country.

Head of the IOM office for Bali and Nusa Tenggara Yong Lay Kong said the rally had reached its fourth day, but no incidents had marred it.

Yong said officials from the Jakarta office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would arrive on Nov. 17 to speak with the migrants, who have fled oppression in their countries in order to live in a Western country.

The foreigners have been stuck in Mataram for over a year after their journeys, mostly illegal attempts to get into Australia, were foiled.

"Both UNHCR and IOM are trying to find a third country willing to accept them. We give those who refuse repatriation time to find a new country of residence," Yong said. -- Antara

;JP;AMD; ANPAa..r.. Scene-patent-losses Unpatented investions cost RI a lot JP/4/SCENE

Unpatented inventions cost RI a lot

PEKANBARU, Riau: Research and Technology Minister Hatta Rajasa said Indonesia had lost billions of US dollars because of its failure to patent inventions.

To enable people to patent their inventions, the government has formed centers of intellectual property rights in 26 of the country's 30 provinces, he said after opening a national symposium on intellectual property rights here on Thursday.

He said since the patent law was enacted in 2000 the number of people registering their inventions at patent offices increased.

Until 2001, around 400 people registered their inventions at patent offices across the country, he said.

He said the government had so far provided incentives totaling Rp 5 million for each small or medium enterprise to complete their inventions.

The minister underscored the law on intellectual property rights to protect and ensure legal certainty to inventors. -- Antara