Used cars attract tourists to Weh Island

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Used cars from Singapore, imported through the Sabang free port, has resulted in tens of thousands of Acehnese visiting Weh Island, some 18 miles from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

At least 500 Acehnese visit the free port zone each day to purchase and see the cars, said Adnan Hasyim, an informal leader in Sabang, over the weekend.

"Based on Law No. 36/2000 on the Sabang free port, local businessmen have imported thousands of used cars from Singapore. Most visitors purchase the used cars to be sold in Banda Aceh and Medan for higher prices."

He said many people had taken the opportunity to take their families on holiday to Sabang Island and the beautiful Weh Island, which, despite the ongoing civil war, attracts hundreds of foreign tourists each year.

He said Sabang's economy was improving since the government revived its status as free port and it had helped spur economic growth in other parts of Aceh.

Prior to the law's enactment, most Sabang inhabitants lived under the poverty line. -- Antara

New ship for Palembang-Makassar route

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: State-owned ferry company PT Pelni launched KM Ganda Dewata to link Sulawesi and Sumatra at a ceremony in Palembang, South Sumatra on Saturday.

The ship, which can hold 700 passengers and 200 cars, will travel between Makassar, Sulawesi and Palembang, via Jakarta.

Pelni's chief in Palembang, Lili, said the ship had economy, business and executive classes with restaurant and telephone facilities and three-star rooms.

"An economy class ticket costs Rp 178,000 while cars cost Rp 500,000," he said.

He said the ship was expected to develop trade between Sumatra and Sulawesi, and reduce traffic on the Trans-Sumatra Highway. -- Antara

Two former E. Timor militiamen arrested

ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara: The United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) has arrested two former pro-Jakarta East Timorese militiamen in East Timor on Saturday.

"UNPKF personnel arrested the two on charges of involvement in serious crimes in East Timor in the wake of the UN-administered (independence) ballot in 1999," Belu military district chief Lt. Col. Ganip Warsito said in the West Timor capital of Atambua on Saturday.

Ludji, 40 and Aje Pareira 26, an alleged commander in the feared Aitarak militia that terrorized the East Timor capital of Dili after the East Timorese voted for Independence, were arrested in the village of Batugade near Indonesia's border.

The two men were among a group of 51 people detained for visa or passport offenses.

"The 51 consisted of two former East Timorese refugees and 49 Indonesians from Belu who were in Batugade to meet their brothers and to trade," he said.

Traders, often without passports, regularly pass between the two countries.

The remaining 49 Indonesians were released after talks between UNPKF and military authorities in Belu. --Antara

Earthquake jolts Bengkulu

BENGKULU CITY, Bengkulu: No casualties or damage was reported form an earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richer scale that shook Bengkulu Province early Saturday.

The chief of the Bengkulu office of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), Armien Paimin, said the tremor was centered 91 kilometers southwest of Manna, South Bengkulu, in the Indian Ocean.

He said that Bengkulu, on a fault line that runs through Sumatra, has been rocked by 446 quakes in the last four months.

A powerful quake measuring 7.3 on the Richer scale hit the province in June, 2000, leaving 94 people dead and causing widespread damage.

He called on locals to be alert to the fact that earthquakes can strike at anytime and to take the appropriate precautions. -- Antara

Riau has 44 HIV/AIDS cases

PEKANBARU, Riau: The Riau administration announced on Saturday that 44 people in the province had been diagnosed as having HIV/AIDS, the second highest incidence after Jakarta.

Local health office chief Dr. Ekmal Rusdy said anyone could catch the disease.

He said those infected included eight sex workers, 15 businessmen, a student, a painter, a taxi driver, five factory workers, one fisherman, two seafarers, five youths, four wives and one five-year child.

"Twenty-two of the cases are in Batam, seven in Riau Islands Regency, four in Pekanbaru, one in Siak and eight in Karimun," he said. He was not asked about where the other two cases were.

He called on local authorities to intensify AIDS-awareness campaigns in urban and rural areas and at campuses to help minimize the disease's spread. -- Antara