Vatican ambassador visits Sikka

Vatican ambassador visits Sikka

MAUMERE, East Nusa Tenggara: The people of predominantly
Catholic Sikka, Flores Island, in East Nusa Tenggara rolled out
the red carpet for Vatican Ambassador Mgr. Renzo Fratini along
with 22 bishops as part of the inauguration of Rev. Fransiskus
Kopong Kung as coadjutor bishop of Larantuka Diocese on Thursday.

The ambassador and his entourage was welcomed by a local
traditional ceremony which was attended by local officials.

Besides decorating the Waioti airport and the cathedral in
Larantuka, local people also cleaned the road connecting the
airport and the cathedral and hung banners along the road to
greet the ambassador and his entourage.

The local administration also deployed a special car to
disseminate information on the bishop's arrival and Fransiskus'
inauguration to people in the town of Maumere.

According to the steering committee, after the inauguration
ceremony the ambassador and bishops are scheduled to return to
Maumere to hold a post-Idul Fitri gathering with local Muslims
and celebrate Christmas and New Year with local Christians.
--Antara

Batam mayor wants more authority

BATAM, Riau: The Batam municipal administration is determined
to take over the authority for handling agrarian affairs on the
island from the Batam Development Industrial Authority (BIDA).

"The Batam administration is fighting to take over the
authority for the agrarian sector from BIDA in line with the
implementation of the 1999 regional autonomy law as Batam Mayor
Nyat Kadir has spoken about to the public recently," Antara
quoted a local official who asked for anonymity as saying here on
Tuesday.

He said the presidential decree on BIDA would cease to be
effective as soon as the government had implemented regional
autonomy beginning on Jan. 1, 2001.

The municipal administration and BIDA have been in dispute
over authority on the island following the implementation of
regional autonomy.

Both local and foreign investors have said they don't mind
which institution has full authority in Batam but that the law
must be enforced to provide legal certainty.

Edy, president of timber company PT Barelang Wood Industry, a
foreign investor, said local authorities should guarantee legal
certainty and security to continue encouraging the island's
economic growth.

"Investors have been confused by the continued rifts over who
should govern the island," he said. --Antara

Jayawijaya takes over nursing school

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: The Jayawijaya regency administration
has taken over a nursing school run by the Health Ministry.

Jayawijaya Regent David Agustien Hubi confirmed on Tuesday
that he had appointed Saleh Seran as the new head of the nursing
school to replace Marthen Sagrim, who was appointed by Minister
of Health Achmad Suyudi last March.

W.E. Kalalo, chief of the local health office, admitted that
the school had been taken over by force by the local
administration for reasons that remained unclear.

The provincial administration has sent a team to Jayawijaya to
investigate the case. --Antara

Riau governor urged to comply with law

JAKARTA: Yafiz, secretary of the Rokan Ilir regency
administration who was fired for unclear reasons and transferred
to the Riau provincial administration, called on Rokan Ilir
Regent Thamrin Hasyim and Riau Governor Saleh Djasid to accept
the ruling of the state administrative court, which recently
annulled his dismissal.

He criticized the two senior Riau officials and said they
should appeal to the Higher Administrative Court if they objected
to the state administrative court's verdict.

"I will not leave my job because the state administrative
court in Pekanbaru has annulled Rokan Ilir Regent Thamrin
Hasyim's decision to fire me," he said here on Tuesday.

He said he had been dismissed and moved to the provincial
administration for refusing to collude with the regent in marking
up a number of infrastructure projects in the regency during 2001
that caused losses of more than Rp 12 billion to the state.

"I have reported the corruption cases to the central
government but so far no action has been taken against the regent
or governor," he said.

He said he had uncovered a number of other corrupt practices
in the regency and would report on them to the central
government.
--Antara

Mardiyanto's golden songs sold for Rp 1.3b

SEMARANG: Recordings of Javanese campursari songs performed by
Central Java Governor Mardiyanto raised Rp 1.3 billion at a
Social Care Night attended by more than 100 businessmen and local
officials in the city last Monday.

The funds will be distributed to orphanages, the disabled and
talented students in the province.

A recording company in the city has collected Mardiyanto's
songs on VCD and cassette to mark the third anniversary of his
government and raise funds for the needy in the province.

Mardiyanto called on all parties to criticize his government
and local officials in order to improve their services to the
public and their awareness of the people's poor conditions.
--Antara

Palm oil grower shot dead in N. Sumatra

MEDAN, North Sumatra: A group of unidentified gunmen shot to
death Alwi, the owner of a palm oil plantation in Dolok Masihul,
Deli Serdang, during a robbery near the plantation on Monday.

Sr. Comr. Iskandar Hasan, chief of the North Sumatra
Provincial Police's detective unit, said on Tuesday that,
according to witnesses, the victim was shot by the gunmen, who
were riding in a green Rocky jeep, as he made his way home in
Tebing Tinggi.

"After finding their victim was dead, the robbers escaped with
an amount of money taken from the victim's wallet," he said,
adding that police were still looking for the robbers.

Two rebels shot in Aceh

BANDA ACEH: A joint military force claims to have shot dead
two rebels and injured 14 others in an exchange of gunfire in
Seunagan subdistrict, West Aceh, on Monday.

Maj. Zaenal Mutaqin, spokesman for the military operation in
Aceh, said the injured rebels had been detained in the West Aceh
Police Precinct ahead of further investigations.

Those killed, identified as Anwar, 33, and Herman, 25 were
handed over to locals for burial.

He said the joint force had also confiscated four guns, 370
rounds of ammunition and a truck from the rebels.

Zaenal said the incident had occurred as the joint force
raided a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the
subdistrict.

GAM officials were not available to provide confirmation of
the incident on Tuesday. --Antara