[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 2/14/06

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- Indonesia Records Bird Flu Fatality
- Press Freedom Boosted in Indonesia
- When religion becomes sin
- 'Pesantren' teacher arrested in Poso
- Indonesia Muslim preacher detained under terror law
- Indonesian militant sentence to death
- Indonesia, East Timor leaders to meet over abuse report
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Indonesia Records Bird Flu Fatality
Associated Press
Tuesday February 14, 3:51 PM

Indonesia reported its latest bird flu death Tuesday - a 23-year-old man -
while four members of a family were being treated in a hospital for
symptoms of the virus.

The man died in Jakarta on Sunday, said senior health ministry official
Hariadi Wibisono. Tests by a local laboratory showed he had bird flu, but
samples were sent to a World Health Organization lab in Hong Kong for
confirmation.

The family under observation lived in west Java province and had contact
with chickens, said Sardikin Giriputro, an official at Jakarta's
infectious diseases hospital. Tests were being conducted to see whether
they had bird flu.

As of Monday, WHO had confirmed 25 human bird flu cases in Indonesia, 18
of which were fatal. The disease has killed at least 91 people in Asia and
Turkey since 2003, according to the group.

Almost all the human deaths have been linked to contact with infected
poultry, but experts fear the fatal H5N1 strain of the virus could mutate
into a form that spreads easily among people, possibly starting a human
flu pandemic.
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The Washington Post
Press Freedom Boosted in Indonesia
-- Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Against Magazine Editor
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, February 11, 2006; Page A15

Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 10 -- In a ruling hailed by press freedom
advocates, Indonesia's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the editor of a
prominent weekly magazine did not defame a powerful businessman. The court
overturned a lower court ruling and threw out the editor's one-year prison
sentence.

"This is good for press freedom in Indonesia," said Eddy Suprapto,
president of the Alliance of Independent Journalists. "It's not just good
for us, but for the people."

The central Jakarta district court had sentenced the editor, Bambang
Harymurti, 48, to one year in prison in September 2004 for defamation and
"inciting unrest" after the magazine, Tempo, published an article
suggesting that Tomy Winata, a banking and real estate tycoon, could stand
to gain from a suspicious fire that gutted a large market in Jakarta. An
appeals court upheld the decision.

In overturning the lower court decision, the Supreme Court set a precedent
by using a 1999 press law rather than the criminal code to review the
case. The press law is based on the public's right to be informed and on
principles of fairness in reporting.

"The press is the fourth estate," and its function must be protected, said
Justice Djoko Sarwoko.

Indonesian courts are not bound by precedent, but Harymurti and his
defense team say they hope to use the decision to educate journalists,
judges and prosecutors.

"I hope this will become like New York Times v. Sullivan ," said
Harymurti, referring to a 1964 ruling that became a cornerstone of press
freedom in the United States.

Indonesia's news media, lively if somewhat undisciplined, are trying to
strengthen the institution of journalism in a society molded by decades of
authoritarianism. Harymurti's appeal was a bright note in a period in
which press freedom has been under fresh attack. Plaintiffs continue to
sue reporters for up to $1 million in civil libel suits. A new regulation
bans local broadcasters from directly relaying news from foreign
television and radio stations. For the moment, though, Harymurti's
supporters just want to enjoy the victory.

Tempo is often likened to Time magazine, and Harymurti's case drew
international attention, with observers flying in from Australia, Asia and
Europe to attend his trial.

The case's high profile was beneficial, said Janet Steele, a media
professor at George Washington University who is in Jakarta on a Fulbright
fellowship. "It made a lot of people think: Should a journalist ever go to
prison for doing his job?"

Thursday "was just a really happy day," said Steele, author of "Wars
Within," a book about Tempo during part of the 32-year rule of the former
dictator Suharto.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
February 13, 2006
When religion becomes sin

The irony of democracy's cacophony is that the resulting liberty often
gives birth to the freedom to be intolerant.

There can be no greater prejudice in this country than one based on
religious chauvinism.

It is a case of the fervent few manipulating a passive majority.

These experiences teach us not to put stock in the false messengers of
organized religion who excuse the lunacy of fanatics. Holiness is respect
for all and the courage to stand up for helpless minorities.

Moral goodness is in one's heart, proven through daily actions. It can
never be simply founded in a book of laws which the insidious can
interpret to justify the politics of the day.

Imagine Bali adopting bylaws based on strict interpretations of the Hindu
faith, or the Christian majority in Papua taking advantage of its special
autonomy privileges to embrace Christian conservatism as a legal precept
to regulate daily life.

No doubt Muslims throughout Indonesia would be up in arms.

Why then are our politicians acting so obliviously to the legal misnomers
that have resulted in the unnecessary employment of shariah law by
regional administrations? -- a practice which blatantly contravenes the
2004 Regional Autonomy Law.

Regencies and mayoralties such as Padang, West Sumatra, Cianjur, West
Java, and Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, have issued bylaws implementing
sharia. Conservatives in other regions are also making headway in their
attempt to impose their religious views as law.

This development is, perhaps, a telling sign of the political elite's
(lack of) commitment to the Constitutional vision of pluralism and
equality before the law.

It is one thing if these people are true ideologues, but we fear they are
mere opportunists instead -- those who would forward narrow-mindedness in
society for the sake of short term political success.

They exploit society's longing for equality, justice and decorum by
stoking religious fervor, all the while neglecting the fact that morality
and justice have nothing to do with the application of religious laws per
se.

Islamic values, and those of most major religions, are universal. It is
already ingrained within the spirit of the 1945 Constitution, which
includes respect for all irrespective of their faith (or lack of it).

We find no significant violation of the Islamic spirit in the laws of this
land. On the contrary most actually reinforce the moral spirit of Islam.

That laws do not advocate public whippings, the amputation of a thief's
hand or obligate public alms does not make national laws un-Islamic.

It is those who would coerce women to wear headscarves and deny them the
right to be treated equally, who, we believe, are morally deficient.

By placing Islam as a focal point these regions are doing this great
religion a disservice. It defies Islam's very egalitarian premise of
purging discrimination.

Needlessly glorifying shariah law as a political object encumbers the
religion with categorical outcomes when the end results fall short of the
intent, as they often do.

It is the same as erroneously equating Islam with terrorism or the fact
that a great many corruptors in this country proudly use religious titles
before their name.

There's nothing wrong with the religion, it's the people who claim to be
Muslims who are wrong!

The crux of the matter lies in our failure to recognize a distinct
separation of religion from the state.

Indonesian society remains enamored by declarations of faith, while
vilifying those who are morally cogent yet refuse to use their religion as
political commerce.

In 1945 our forefathers made a visionary decision to uphold secular laws
over ones which could potentially discriminate and split the fragile unity
of this nation.

It is a cherished foresight, which a nation still vying for greatness
should never lose sight of.

There can be no alternative now but for the highest judicial bodies of
this land -- the Constitutional Court -- to strike down discriminative and
religion-based regulations which local administrations have no authority
to issue.

Articles 28D and 28I of the 1945 Constitution states that everyone should
be free from discrimination and entitled to equal treatment before a just
law.

Law No. 32/2004 on Regional Autonomy clearly stipulates that religious
affairs are the realm of the central government. Article 28 of the law
forbids regional administrations from taking decisions that discriminate
against any citizen.

The core values of Islam are already alive and well in the hearts of all
good Muslims. They need no boasting from politicians seeking to please an
audience.

Failure to rectify these trespasses would be a moral, Constitutional and,
dare we say, religious sin!
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The Jakarta Post.com
National News
February 12, 2006
'Pesantren' teacher arrested in Poso
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu/Jakarta

Police announced Saturday they had arrested a teacher -- believed to have
close ties to fugitive terror suspect Noordin M. Top -- from Al-Amanah
Islamic boarding school in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Sahl Alamri, 35, who is also a kerosene distributor, was arrested Thursday
by Detachment 88, a police antiterror squad, on his way to Poso to deliver
kerosene to a customer.

"The teacher from Al-Amanah pesantren was nabbed for his alleged
connection with Noordin," Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen.
Oegroseno said.

The school, established on May 4, 2001, is known among local people for
its exclusiveness. It is also believed to have hired alumni from Al-Mukmin
pesantren in Ngruki, Central Java, which was co-founded by convicted
terrorist Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

Sahl was transferred Friday to the National Police headquarters in Jakarta
for further questioning.

However, National Police spokesmen Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam declined
to give any more details about what links existed between Sahl and
Noordin.

"We cannot expose this now because it would ruin the police investigation.
After all, we have to wait for seven days to prove the accusations against
the man," Anton told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

By law, the antiterror procedures require seven days of investigation
before someone can be declared a suspect.

However, Anton claimed that the police were closing in on Noordin.

Recently, Central Java Police officers arrested eight men with alleged
connections to Noordin. They were accused of assisting the country's most
wanted terror suspect in planning and carrying out the Oct. 1, 2005
attacks on Bali, which killed 23 people including three suicide bombers.

Police have collected evidence and testimony from them in relation to
Noordin's whereabouts.

According to documents obtained by police, Noordin has positioned himself
as the new terror group's leader for the Malay region, covering Indonesia,
Brunei, the Philippines and parts of other Asian countries. The group is
believed to be targeting Java for its next bomb attack.

Noordin is thought to have recruited new followers to his group.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia Muslim preacher detained under terror law
Monday February 13, 11:42 AM
Jakarta (Reuters)

Indonesian police have detained a Muslim preacher in the restive eastern
town of Poso as part of a nationwide hunt for one of Southeast Asia's most
wanted Islamic militants, police said on Monday.

Police in the province of Central Sulawesi said authorities detained the
preacher because of his suspected links to Malaysian Noordin M. Top, who
is accused of playing a key role in a spate of bombings in Indonesia.

"A Muslim religious teacher was detained in Poso last Thursday," Central
Sulawesi police spokesman Rais Adam said, without giving details on the
preacher's suspected links to Top.

A police official in Jakarta said the man had been detained under the
country's anti-terrorism laws.

Top is blamed for helping mastermind a series of bombings in Indonesia,
including suicide attacks on three restaurants on the resort island of
Bali last October that killed 20 people and attacks in Bali three years
earlier that left 202 people dead.

Police said last month that Top, already identified as a senior player in
Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah, had proclaimed himself
leader of a group called Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad, or Organisation for the
Basis of Jihad.

Jemaah Islamiah is considered a regional arm of al Qaeda, and police said
the new group might also have an al Qaeda link.

Police say Top is an expert in recruiting young suicide bombers among
Indonesia's impoverished masses and believe he is still in the country.

Poso was the scene of religious fighting several years ago that killed
around 2,000 people before a peace accord took effect. There have been
sporadic outbreaks of violence and bombings since in the region.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC/Radio Australia
Tuesday, February 14, 2006. 5:14pm (AEDT)
Indonesian militant sentence to death

A court on Indonesia's restive Maluku island chain has handed down the
death penalty to a Muslim militant convicted of involvement in attacks
that left nine people dead.

Judge Kharlison Harianja of the Ambon district court found defendant Asep
Jaya guilty of "involvement in terror actions and of illegal possession of
firearms", the court's chief judge Mr Nuswardi told AFP.

Mr Nuswardi said evidence given to the court proved that Jaya was involved
in an attack on Waikama village on Buru island, part of the Maluku chain,
in 2004.

The attack left three dead and two severely wounded.

Jaya, an immigrant from Java, was also found guilty of involvement in the
attack on a police post in Lokki, on another Maluku island, Seram, in May
2005 that left five policemen and one civilian dead.

He appeared calm when the sentence was read out and immediately filed an
appeal, Mr Nuswardi said.

The judge said the same court on Monday also sentenced another militant
belonging to Jaya's group to nine years in jail for taking part in the
attacks.

Tension and sporadic violence have persisted in Ambon and on other islands
in the Maluku chain despite a 2002 government-sponsored peace pact to end
years of conflict between Muslims and Christians, that have killed more
than 5,000 people since 1999.
--AFP
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Indonesia, East Timor leaders to meet over abuse report
Monday February 13, 1:44 PM
Jakarta (Reuters)

The presidents of Indonesia and East Timor will meet this week to discuss
a report that accuses Jakarta of widespread atrocities when it ruled the
tiny territory, Indonesian officials said on Monday.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was due to see his Timorese counterpart Xanana
Gusmao late last month, but the meeting was called off by Jakarta several
days after the report was submitted to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Indonesia attributed the cancellation to scheduling conflicts, not the
report by East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation.

Based on 8,000 interviews, the report said Indonesia was responsible for
as many as 180,000 deaths in tiny East Timor during its 1975-1999
occupation by Indonesia.

"The meeting will be used to listen to Xanana Gusmao himself about that
report to the U.N.," Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told
reporters.

Yudhoyono spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the meeting would take place on
Friday on the resort island of Bali.

The report attributes many deaths in East Timor to starvation and disease
caused by Indonesian policies. It also says Indonesian forces used napalm,
which Jakarta denies, and describes poisoning of food and water, incidents
of torture, and sexual mutilation and rape of pro-independence supporters.

Much in the report has been said before, but not in one document based on
as extensive an investigation.

Indonesia withdrew from East Timor -- one of the world's poorest countries
but with energy resources that have only begun to be tapped -- in 1999
after a referendum showed an overwhelming majority of Timorese wanted
independence.

The period around the referendum was marked by a wave of violence blamed
largely on pro-Jakarta militias backed by elements in the Indonesian
military.