[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 1/23/06

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Indonesia Confirms 2 More Fatal Human Bird Flu Cases
Category: Flu/Bird Flu/SARS News
Article Date: 23 Jan 2006 - 19:00pm (UK)

Authorities in Indonesia confirm that two people who died had been
infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus. One was a girl 13,
while the other was her 4 year-old brother.

The girl was hospitalised on 12 January, she died two days later. The boy
developed symptoms on 8 January, went to hospital on the 14 January and
died on the 17 January.

The siblings' father, 43, and a sister, 14, are in hospital with
respiratory symptoms. The father was hospitalised on 17 January and the
girl on 14 January.

WHO investigators said there had been a large outbreak of bird flu among
poultry in the family's neighbourhood.

The members of this family began to get ill three days after birds started
to die. The family members who are ill as well as those that died had
close contact with sick chickens - they also helped in removing the dead
poultry.

Authorities started a huge culling operation in the area last weekend.
They say they are monitoring everyone this family had contact with for
signs of further bird flu infection.

So far, 19 humans have become infected with bird flu in Indonesia, of
which 14 have died.
-- Written by: Christian Nordqvist
-- Editor: Medical News Today
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Bloomberg.com
Australia Updates Alert for Indonesia Citing Terror Threat
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg)

Australia updated its warning to its citizens visiting Indonesia, saying
they shouldn't travel to the Central Sulawesi province because of the risk
of violence and terrorism.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade travel advisory said
Australians should not travel to Aceh, Maluku and Central Sulawesi.
Australians should also reconsider travel to Indonesia, the advisory said.

‘‘We strongly advise you not travel to Aceh, Maluku (particularly Ambon)
and Central Sulawesi due to the very unstable security situation and risk
of terrorist attack,'' said the advisory posted on the ministry's Web
site.

Australian citizens were among the 202 people who died in bomb attacks in
Bali in October 2002, the worst terrorism incident in Indonesia.
Australians also were among 20 people killed by suicide bombers in Bali in
October.

Nine people were killed in a bomb attack outside Australia's embassy in
Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, in September 2004.

Australia, which has troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been on
terrorism alert since 2001. While there hasn't been a major terrorist
attack on Australian soil, the government maintains it is a possibility.
-- Last Updated: January 23, 2006 18:43 EST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia names two more Bali bombing suspects
23 Jan 2006 08:06:42 GMT
Source: Reuters

Jakarta, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Two Indonesians arrested this month, including
a close aide to the country's most wanted militant, were named suspects on
Monday for involvement in last year's restaurant bombings on Bali, a
police spokesman said.

Police last week declared four other men suspects in the same case on
charges of helping hide accused militant mastermind Noordin M. Top during
and after the bombings that killed 20 people at three eateries on the
famed resort island.

"The other day we named four. Today, it has become six suspects," deputy
national police spokesman Anton Bahrul Alam told reporters.

Alam said the two were named suspects for assisting in the attacks.

Police have been conducting a nationwide manhunt for Malaysian Top, a
senior member of Jemaah Islamiah, a shadowy militant group seen as the
Southeast Asian arm of al Qaeda.

Top is blamed for helping mastermind a series of bombings in Indonesia in
recent years, including the 2005 Bali attacks that were carried out by
three suicide bombers with backpacks.

Alam said one of the two latest suspects, Subur Sugiarto, was a close
associate of Top.

Sugiarto videotaped messages from Top, in which the Malaysian threatened
the West with more attacks, Alam said. He also videotaped farewell
messages from the three suicide bombers before the Oct. 1 bombings on
Bali, Alam added.

Top worked closely in Indonesia with fellow Malaysian Azahari bin Husin,
who was killed in a police raid on his East Java hideout in November.

Top eluded capture at the time but officers found the videos at a separate
hideout.

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

Since the Oct. 2002 nightclub bombings on Bali, which killed 202 people,
Indonesian police have arrested hundreds of Islamic militants and
convicted scores on terrorism charges.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
January 23, 2006
Rice furor puts Susilo to the test
Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

First there was the hearing. Then came the investigation. Next thing we
know, in less than a year, President Abdurrahman Wahid was impeached and
forced out of office by the House of Representatives in July 2001.

While it is premature to suggest that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will meet
the same fate, the motion to launch an investigation into the government's
rice import policy exposes the shaky position of the current President
when it comes to dealing with the House.

The coalition government of at least seven political parties is turning
out to be nothing but a house of cards, with the junior partners now
taking an active part in pushing for the motion that would undermine the
credibility and position of the President.

The House will hold a plenary hearing Tuesday to determine whether there
are grounds to launch an investigation into possible impropriety in the
way that the government has decided to import rice, the nation's staple
food. Ironically, the hearing comes after strong lobbying by some of the
political parties in the coalition, like the National Mandate Party (PAN),
the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and
the United Development Party (PPP).

They join the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of former
president Megawati Soekarnoputri, which has led the opposition forces in
the House since she lost the election to Susilo in October 2004. These
parties joined hands in a plenary hearing Tuesday last week to force a
vote calling the House to hear the motion by some members to exercise
their right to investigate the government, known by its Indonesian term as
hak angket.

The vote to get a plenary hearing went their way 207-167. For once,
Golkar, the largest but not the dominant party in the House, and the
Democratic Party (PD), found themselves at the wrong end of the vote as
their coalition partners abandoned them.

At the hearing this Tuesday, each party will air its position on the issue
of rice imports before voting on whether or not to go ahead with the
investigation. If last week's vote was any indication, the government is
likely to lose this motion once again.

The government decided early this month to import rice, saying that
national stocks were dangerously low and needed to be replenished before
the rice harvest season begins in February. Critics dispute the claim of
low stock and said the decision to import rice was motivated by profit by
politically connected traders at the expense of rice farmers.

Successive administrations since the 1950s have had to thread carefully
between protecting the interests of rural farmers and urban consumers.
Concerns about food security has also meant providing incentives to
farmers, but when it comes to setting prices, the government has tended to
side with consumers and has allowed imports from time to time to bring
prices down.

However, when the House holds the plenary meeting Tuesday, it is not so
much the fate of rice farmers or consumers that are at stake as the future
of the coalition government, and possibly the future of President Susilo
himself.

His position indeed has been shaky from the beginning.

Despite his landslide victory with 62 percent of the vote in September
2004, the President's own PD controls only 55 of the 550 seats in the
House. Golkar, which is chaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, controls
another 128 seats, bringing their total to 183, well short of a
controlling majority.

This is why the President had to bring in several other parties, including
PAN, PKS, PPP, PKB and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), into his coalition
after he came to office. In return for their support, he has had to
allocate them seats in the United Indonesia Cabinet. In the past 15
months, the government coalition has had enough of a majority in the House
and its members were united enough to ensure passage of some policies and
legislation, including two very unpopular fuel price hikes. The President,
however, is now learning that the adage "in politics there are no
permanent friends, only permanent interests" extends to his coalition
government.

On Saturday, he summoned 11 members of the Cabinet, who represent the
political parties in the coalition, to his private residence in Cikeas
just outside Jakarta, at which he gave a pep talk about the need for their
continuous support for the government.

The absence of Jusuf Kalla, who is on an overseas trip, has meant that the
President has been virtually alone in dealing with this crisis. Kalla, a
far more seasoned politician than the former Army general, had been the
one who worked the phone in the past to ensure support from coalition
members. One lesson from the Gus Dur impeachment episode in 2001 is that
once the motion began in the House, and once the investigation started, it
took on a life of its own and became almost unstoppable. Time will tell
whether this will also be the case this time around.

What is certain is that the President faces his hardest test yet with the
motion in the House this week, and he has to face this virtually alone,
without his coalition partners and without Jusuf Kalla at his side.
Whether or not he survives this test will ultimately depend to a large
extent on his political skill and statesmanship.
-- The writer is chief editor of The Jakarta Post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Straits Times
Indonesia: Jakarta bans foreign news shows on its stations
Government will enforce controversial broadcasting rules next month
Monday, January 23, 2006
By Salim Osman

Jakarta --- The Indonesian government will enforce a set of broadcasting
regulations next month that will, among others, ban local broadcasters
from relaying news provided by foreign stations such as the BBC.

The rules will take effect on Feb 6, exactly two months after the
government agreed to postpone the enforcement following a meeting with
legislators at the House of Representatives last month.

"Come what may, we are going ahead with enforcing the regulations for the
good of the public," said Dr Widiadnyana Merati, the director-general of
Information at the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).

The set of four regulations, issued by the MCI, had come under fire from
media watchers and journalists, who described them as being repressive.
"It is a setback for press freedom," said Mr Heru Hendratmoko, a broadcast
journalist and chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).

The regulations are based on the Broadcasting Law of 2002 to put some
semblance of order in the media industry, where more than 100 television
and radio stations have been operating without official control since the
fall of former president Suharto.

The rules cover the licensing of broadcasting stations, allocating air
waves, monitoring of programmes, imposing sanctions and limiting foreign
ownership.

But media watchers are irked by one clause that bans local broadcasters
from relaying news provided by foreign stations.

Many of the 160 radio and TV stations in the country carry news and
current affairs programmes of the BBC, the Voice of America (VOA), Radio
Australia, Duetsche Welle of Germany and Radio Hilversum of the
Netherlands.

"Millions of Indonesians throughout the archipelago will soon be unable to
get alternative sources of information," said Mr Abdullah Alamudi, a
university lecturer and member of the Press and Broadcast Society.

Mr Abdullah said that the local stations were merely trying to meet their
audiences "continuous demand for more international news and news about
Indonesia as seen from a non-Indonesian perspective."

For Mr Heru, having BBC and VOA programmes would be a benchmark for the
private radio stations to learn from "the established foreign stations" in
covering news.

"The government should not be paranoid that the public would be misled by
the foreign news programmes because the presenters are all Indonesians and
the language medium is Indonesian," he said.

But Dr Widiadnyana defended the ban, saying that it would serve to protect
the public if the news items provided by the foreign stations were found
to be objectionable or contain errors.

He added that the public could still listen to Western news broadcasts on
shortwave radio and cable television networks.

Mr Heru said that the regulations would take Indonesia back to the days of
Suharto, where there was no press freedom and the media was under strict
government control.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIA Novosti (Russia)
Mikhail Tsyganov
Indonesia to buy Russian submarines
15:34 | 23/ 01/ 2006

Jakarta, January 23 - Indonesia intends to purchase 12 submarines from
Russia before 2024, a senior Indonesian naval officer said Monday.

First Admiral Abdul Malik Yusuf, the chief spokesman for the Indonesian
Navy, said combat submarines were strategic armaments allowing the country
to maintain security in its territorial waters.

Indonesia's leading magazine, Tempo, quoted the admiral on its Web site as
saying that the waters of the earth's largest archipelago were currently
defenseless against the penetration of foreign ships.

In light of this, the Indonesian navy turned to the country's leadership
with a proposal to purchase six Kilo-class submarines worth $1.9 billion
from Russia in the next five years. The proposal had not yet been accepted
due to insufficient budget funds, the magazine said.

In the recent past, the Indonesian submarine fleet was entirely composed
of Soviet-made combat submarines, the magazine said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bernama
Tsunami-hit Aceh to get first 3-star hotel
January 22, 2006

Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesian workers have broken ground on the first
multimillion-dollar hotel in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province, which
officials and investors hope will boost the local economy and create jobs.

The three-star AcehKita hotel in Banda Aceh, which will cost around 30
billion rupiah ($3.16 million) to build, will be financed by a group of
Indonesian investors, hotel director Todung Mulya Lubis said Saturday.

Construction of the two-storey hotel officially began at a groundbreaking
ceremony held on Friday in the provincial capital's Lueng Bata area, Lubis
told AFP, adding that the facility was expected to open its doors in
December 2006.

"We see there is a huge need for many foreigners and locals who are
involved in the Aceh reconstruction process to stay in a comfortable and
modern hotel in Aceh," he said.

"This is a good way to raise the local economy and employment," said
Lubis, a prominent Indonesian lawyer.

The Kompas daily quoted acting Aceh governor Mustafa Abubakar as saying
that the building of the hotel "marks 2006 as a year of investment" for
the province, which is recovering from nearly three decades of separatist
conflict
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
Jalan Pattimura 32 - Ambon 97124 - Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195   Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail crisiscentre01 at hotmail.com

Ambon, January 15, 2006
The Situation in Ambon / Moluccas – Report No. 501

1. Corruption – The provinces of the Moluccas and North-Moluccas are no
exception to the national disease of corruption which is slowly strangling
Indonesia. In our reports we seldom mention cases of corruption, for the
number of cases is too large and the dire routine practices are too
frequent to take stock of them. Those cases that are exposed by the mass
media and of which the perpetrators are brought to court are just the tip
of the iceberg. However, to mention a few recent samples, reported by
Liputan6.com:

More that one thousand IDP-s from the villages of Lamaha and Haturapa
(West-Ceram island), having recently returned to their villages, have no
house there any more. The West-Ceram government had promised them to help
them rebuilding their destroyed houses, but now refuses to take
responsibility, saying it is the provincial government’s business to take
care of these people. So most of them just huddle together on an open
space, the former marketplace. They suffer from lack of food and health
care. During these years billions of rupiahs have poured in for refugees
help. However, these thousand people – and several thousands of others –
never saw a rupiah, whereas many others have to content themselves with
just a part of the sum they are entitled to receive.

Another report from the same source mentions a strike by some dozen of
medical personnel of the government’s hospital “Chasan Bosoiri”, Ternate,
North Moluccas. Patients currently are not being attended to, except those
in the ICU. The reason for their work stoppage is that they have not been
paid out for four months. The direction claims that there are not enough
funds to pay their wages...

2. Former Laskar Jihads Visit Ambon – The deputy Laskar Jihad War
Commander of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Ja’maah, named Ustadz Luqman Ba’Abduh,
and several companions are currently visiting Ambon. A meeting was held
today in the great Al-Fatah Mosque, Ambon, in which Ustadz Luqman and
Muhammad Afifudin explained on national and international terrorism,
including suicidal terrorism. Extensive security measures had been taken
by the police to forestall any irregularities to happen during the
meeting. To the about five hundred citizens that were present, Ustadz
Luqman made clear – frequently citing the Al-Quran – that “jihad” is not
identical with “terrorism”. Afterwards some among those present complained
that there was hardly any opportunity to ask questions. Due to lack of
time only two representatives were allowed to come forward with a
question.

C.J. Böhm msc
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
Jalan Pattimura 32 - Ambon 97124 - Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195   Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail crisiscentre01 at hotmail.com

Ambon, January 15, 2006
The Situation in Ambon / Moluccas – Report No. 502

Former Jihad Members Get Lecture – Yesterday we reported on a gathering
which was held in the great Al-Fatah Mosque, Ambon. Apparently the
contents of the lecture that was given by Ustadz Luqman Ba'abduh deserves
closer perception. So for those interested we copy a report on the event
by M. Azis Tunny as it was published in The Jakarta Post newspaper of 16
January 2006.

“Dressed in distinctive attire of turbans and white robes, hundreds of
former members of Muslim hardline group Laskar Jihad filed into the
Al-Fatah Grand Mosque here.

Their presence was not for a mass prayer service, but to hear lectures on
the meaning of terrorism and jihad (holy war) – the latter often cited by
terrorists in the wave of bombings in the country in recent years.

With the gathering tightly guarded by police, the men listened to a
lecture by ustad (cleric) Luqman Ba'abduh, the author of Mereka Adalah
Terrorists (They are terrorists), a work which refuted the arguments of
Imam Samudra – one of the Bali bombers in 2002 – in his Aku Melawan
Terroris (I'm fighting terrorists).

The two-day event, organized by the Abu Bakr Ash-Shiddiq Foundation, was
also attended by Indonesian Military and National Police officers.

Luqman put jihad in historical context by focusing on the Khawarij, an
Islamic splinter group in the first century whose rebellious actions have
are often used today to justify terrorist acts by Imam Samudra and others.

The sect's members believed they could oppose authority if they considered
that it was not abiding by the principles of divine law.

The cleric said the Prophet Muhammad foretold the presence of the Khawarij
as one of the 73 groups in Islam, and the ideology, despite opposition
from the Prophet's followers, persisted.

Emotional, foolish actions belied the declared religious fervor of the
followers, he added.

"During the era of Khalifah Ali bin Abi Thalib, their power was built on
support from 60,000 followers, who faced widespread opposition. However,
their ideology and thoughts persist until now," Luqman said.

"Their ideology and actions along the course of history have taken
millions of Muslim victims, including three of the Prophet's best friends,
namely Umar bin Khattab, Usman bin Affan and Ali bin Abi Thalib."

Khawarijism continues as a latent danger among contemporary Muslims, he
said, with its followers believing they are divinely empowered to
overthrow governments and oppose those, including other Muslims, who they
considered infidels.

They proclaimed the rallying cry of amar ma'ruf nahi munkar, meaning the
enforcing of sharia law, to explain their actions.

"However, the slogan is only a lie as it is done just to gain support from
Muslims," he said.

Terror attacks and suicide bombing are all part of the actions by Khawarij
group members, he reiterated. In order to wipe out this group, Luqman
said, there should be two different methods – fighting their ideology and
by using physical force to arrest them.”

Transcribed by C.J. Böhm msc
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
January 23, 2006
Man arrested for bomb threats on church

Palu, Central Sulawesi: A man has been arrested for threatening to bomb a
Toraja church in Tolitoli, Central Sulawesi, police say.

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Rais D. Adam said the
arrest of Ligri Ludia Dandan, 20, came after police traced telephone calls
to his house through information provided by PT Telkom.

"The police apprehended the perpetrator at his house ... in Tolitoli,"
Rais said.

Ligri was being detained at the Tolitoli Police precinct for further
questioning, he said.

Rais said Ligri allegedly phoned the church on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18, saying
a bomb had been planted there and was about to explode. The calls sparked
panic among parishioners.

A preliminary investigation found that Ligri was a Christian and was from
the area.

"The police will question him about the motive behind the threats," Rais
said.
-- JP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Kopassus claims cloud war games
Sian Powell, Jakarta correspondent
January 20, 2006

Indonesia's Kopassus special forces have been directly implicated in
thousands of human rights violations in East Timor in a new report
documenting instances of murder, rape and torture, just weeks before
Australia resumes joint training exercises with the notorious unit.

Australian special forces soldiers will begin counter-terrorism and hijack
recovery exercises with Kopassus troops in Perth next month, six years
after Canberra severed military ties when Kopassus was accused of killing
political activists in the dying days of the Suharto regime.

Kopassus-trained militia also fired on and wounded Australian soldiers in
the lead-up to East Timor's independence in 1999 and members of the unit
are also suspected in the past of training terrorist groups such as Laskar
Jihad.

The independent Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, which
took nearly 8000 statements from East Timorese witnesses, received 8710
reports of human rights violations by Kopassus and its predecessor
Kopassandha, in all districts and during all periods of Indonesia's
occupation from 1975 to 1999.

Kopassus has long been blamed for orchestrating the violence in East Timor
during Indonesia's 24-year occupation.

In 1999, many militias were said to be run by Kopassus forces.

Allegations of atrocities are sprinkled throughout the commission's
damning 2500-page report. "In addition to assignments with
Kopassandha/Kopassus units (Nanggala and Chandraca) Kopassandha/Kopassus
personnel also served in territorial units and combat battalions,
including in intelligence roles," the report says.

"Though extremely high, the number of violations attributed to
Kopassandha/Kopassus does not therefore cover anything like all the
reported violations committed by its personnel."

East Timor President and former resistance hero Xanana Gusmao wrote about
Kopassus in a letter to the UN in 1982, which is quoted in the report. "In
every village there was and still is a prison and every day five to 10
people are tortured, burned with cigarettes, systematically electrocuted
with high voltage electricity, or become victims of the Nanggala
(Kopassus) killer knives," he wrote. "They pull out fingernails and
squeeze testicles with pliers." Mr Gusmao also wrote of women taken to
serve the pleasures of both ordinary soldiers and Kopassus.

Defence Minister Robert Hill announced last month that Australian special
forces and Kopassus special forces would take part in the two-week
Exercise Dawn Kookaburra.

Senator Hill maintains the exercises are vital to fostering co-operation
with Indonesia in readiness for a terrorist incident involving
Australians. But the Labor Opposition has urged Australia to vet Kopassus
soldiers to ensure none has committed human rights abuses or actions
against Australian soldiers.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia
had not been provided with a copy of the report - due to be handed to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York today - and could not comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xinhuanet
East Timorese president asks for continued UN presence
2006-01-24 06:11:27

United Nations, Jan. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Visiting East Timorese President
Xanana Gusmao urged the UN Security Council on Monday to maintain presence
in the country when the mandate of the UN office there expires in May.

Addressing the Council members, Gusmao urged the Council to consider to
establish a Special Political Office tasked with providing support in
police training and assistance for the general elections in 2007.

He also appealed for deployment of 15 to 20 "military liaison personnel"
as part of the new Special Political Office with the purpose of ensuring
an enhanced dialogue and cooperation between East Timorese and Indonesian
security elements in order to prevent tensions and conflicts along the
border.

Gusmao made the remarks three days after Friday's delivery of a report to
Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Indonesia's 24-year occupation of East
Timor.

The 2,000-page report finished by the independent Commission for
Reception, Truth and Reconciliation blames the deaths of 84,000 to 183,000
people between 1975 and 1999, and massive human rights violations
including starvation, torture, sexual enslavement and the use of napalm
primarily on Indonesian security forces.

However, Indonesia's armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto on
Sunday rejected the findings of a report, saying he was not convinced that
"that many were the result of what the TNI (Indonesian armed forces) and
Polri (the national police) did at that time."

Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and ruled the tiny
half-island territory with an iron fist until 1999,when a UN-organized
vote resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence.

The United Nations sent a UN peacekeeping force and administered the
territory until East Timor became independent in 2002. The UN political
mission is scheduled to wrap up its operations in May.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
Susilo concerned about reports on East Timor
Jakarta (JP)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed concern about media
reports saying that Indonesia's presence in East Timor resulted in the
deaths of up to 180,000 civilians, presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal
said Friday.

"The President is concerned about the news. But he hasn't received any
direct explanation from the Timor Leste side. We are surprised because the
report does not come from the (Timor Leste) government but from other
parties," he told The Jakarta Post.

Quoting a report issued by the East Timor Truth andReconciliation
Commission, the media reports say Indonesia's 24-year presence resulted in
the deaths of 180,000 civilians in East Timor.

The report also accused the Indonesian Military of using starvation and
sexual violence as weapons to control its former province.

Based on interviews with almost 8,000 witnesses, as well as Indonesian
Military papers and intelligence from international sources, the report
detailed thousands of summary executions and the torture of 8,500 people.

Thousands of East Timorese women were also allegedly raped and sexually
assaulted.

Dino said the Indonesian government had not received a copy of the
original report of the commission.

According to Dino, Indonesia and Timor Leste have closed that "chapter and
we are now forward looking".

"We also don't know where the copy will be sent after it is submitted to
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today (Friday).Therefore, we cannot
comment further on the contents," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono rejected an
allegation saying that the military used starvation and sexual violence as
weapons to control the country.

When asked whether the military had used napalm bombs during its
occupation of East Timor, as the report alleged, he replied that the
administration of former president Soeharto had "no means to import, let
alone to produce" them.

According to The Australian newspaper, the report said that soldiers used
napalm as well as chemical weapons to poison food and water supplies
during their 1975 invasion of the territory. (ren/**)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Opinion
Bloody history of East Timor and our part in it
By Scott Burchill
January 23, 2006
-- The UN report confirms Indonesian genocide and Australia's complicity.

THE report of the United Nations inquiry into Indonesia's brutal 24-year
occupation of East Timor will come as no surprise to activists who opposed
the policies of successive Australian governments, beginning in 1975, nor
to the people of East Timor.

However, the report, which documents torture, rape, slavery and starvation
leading to the unnatural demise of as many as 180,000 civilians (from a
pre-invasion population of 628,000), should shame those ministers,
journalists, diplomats and academics who played down or ignored consistent
human rights abuses in the former Portuguese colony — incredibly described
as "aberrant acts" by former foreign minister Gareth Evans.

This group, known as the Jakarta lobby, not only sought to protect the
reputation of the Soeharto dictatorship at every opportunity. They went
out of their way to oppose East Timor's claim for independence (a "lost
cause" — former diplomat Richard Woolcott) and accused critics of the
regime in Jakarta of not only exaggerating the scale of the repression,
but of being "racist" and "anti-Indonesian" (Woolcott).

Their influence on official policy has been considerable. Rather than
indict those responsible for crimes that would have made Slobodan
Milosovic and Saddam Hussein blush, governments from Whitlam to Howard
ignored regular reports of atrocities that the Catholic Church believes
constituted the greatest slaughter relative to a population since the
Holocaust. Why?

When "stability", oil and gas reserves and "good relations" with Jakarta
were (mistakenly) thought to be at stake, the state terrorism of the
Indonesian military was uncomfortable for Canberra but acceptable,
providing most of it could be concealed from the Australian public. When
that proved impossible, as in the case of the 1991 Dili massacre, damage
control designed to protect the bilateral relationship rather than
humanitarian concern was the order of the day. The Howard Government's
approach to Islamist terror could scarcely be a greater contrast in
behaviour.

The double standard continues today. While NATO spends millions trying to
track down Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, Soeharto remains comfortably
retired in the suburbs of Jakarta, with neither Canberra nor Washington
showing any interest in bringing him to account for his considerably more
serious crimes.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian legal system is cracking down on small-time drug
traffickers but shows no stomach for prosecuting senior military officers
responsible for the heinous acts detailed in the UN report. Despite
promises to refer these officers to an international tribunal if Indonesia
failed to bring them to justice, Alexander Downer now seems equally
reluctant to see those he misleadingly described as "rogue elements" in
court.

The hefty price of maintaining stability in the archipelago has been paid
in Timorese blood and anguish, and yet it still proves elusive. This is
because rebellions and secession are partly a reaction to what is being
"stabilised" behind Indonesia's political boundaries.

The recent arrival of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers reminds us that
turning a blind eye to repression in the name of stability is not only a
dereliction of our ethical duty, it is politically shortsighted and
usually results in blowback. Unfortunately for these latest arrivals, the
Government that will decide if they qualify as refugees could not be less
sympathetic to their claim for independence. John Howard and Alexander
Downer are more committed to West Papua's retention within Indonesia than
most of the residents of its eastern-most province appear to be.

And yet after reading the UN report on East Timor, who can dismiss their
accusations of political persecution and genocide? Is history repeating
itself?

It may be expecting too much for each member of the Jakarta lobby who
played such a prominent and nefarious role in East Timor's nightmare to
reflect on the UN's findings and examine their conscience.

However, governments such as Australia's, which contributed to the
immiseration of the East Timorese by recognising Jakarta's illegal
invasion and brutal occupation, still owe these people a great deal, the
least of which are reparations and the truth about their modern history as
detailed in this devastating report.
-- Dr Scott Burchill is senior lecturer in international relations at
Deakin University.