No subject

been used by the bombers before the attack, Darnadi said. 

Thirteen other people arrested alongside Imron and Mubarak were also flown to 
Bali. They are not believed to have played a role in the bombings, but are 
likely to be charged with harboring the two men. 

Police have so far arrested 17 people in the bombings. Several other suspects 
are still believed to be on the run. 

The first trials of those accused are expected to start in February in Bali, 
police say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BBC
Thursday, 16 January, 2003, 00:17 GMT 
Bali looks to 'Ground Zero's' future

The Indonesian island of Bali is debating how to redevelop the sites of last 
October's deadly bomb attacks, the BBC's Becky Lipscombe reports. 

Red slogans on the T-shirts say it all: "**** Terrorism". 

They hang from street stalls all over Kuta, the once bustling tourist centre of 
Bali. A reminder, if any were needed, of why there are so few customers here 
now. 

This is the area that bore the brunt of the devastating attacks on 12 October 
last year. Nearly 200 people were killed as bombs went off within minutes of 
each other at the Sari nightclub and at Paddy's Bar across the road. 

Three months later, Bali is picking up the pieces and moving on. 

The rubble at the bomb sites has been cleared and attention is now turning to 
what will fill the two empty lots at the heart of Legian Street, once one of 
Bali's most vibrant areas. 

Just as New York continues to grapple with what to do with its Ground Zero, so 
Bali is now starting down the same route. 

A team of government officials and representatives from Non-Governmental 
Organisations have started considering the alternatives, and are expected to 
compile a report in the next few weeks. 

But pleasing everyone will not be easy. 

Local Balinese, expatriates, families of the foreigners killed and injured, the 
local government and its national counterpart in Jakarta will all want a say. 

"It's a difficult job because there are so many different interest groups 
here," said the Deputy Governor of Bali, Alit Putra. 

"But after the team makes its report, the local government will decide how to 
use the land," he said. 

Different proposals 
It may be more complicated than that. 

The owners of Paddy's Bar and the Sari Club have not made it clear what they 
want to see on their land. But in the aftermath of the blasts, there was talk 
of rebuilding the nightspots. 

That would go down well with some of the few tourists now in Kuta: 

"It should just be rebuilt," said Chris from the United States. 

"It should return to what these streets are - a vibrant place for people to 
enjoy. We must remember what happened, but at the same time, life goes on," he 
added. 

Many locals feel differently. 

Nyoman Winate from the Bali Post said most letters the newspaper had received 
on the subject opposed the building of a new entertainment venue. 

"When the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar still stood there was a lot of prostitution 
and drug dealing in the area, so some people think that maybe the tragedy 
happened because their gods were upset." 

These people, Nyoman Winate said, think some sort of memorial would be most 
appropriate, a view echoed by many people on Legian Street. 

"There should be a big peace garden here, with water features and benches," 
said James, a British tourist. "It should be a peaceful place for people to 
come and remember." 

Putu, a shopkeeper suffering from the downturn in visitors, was more pragmatic. 

"Everybody round here thinks there should be a memorial because the tourists 
would come to see it, so that might help us," he said. 

A more radical suggestion for Bali's Ground Zero has come from the very top. 

"President Megawati, when she visited, mentioned the idea of making Legian 
Street a pedestrian area," said Deputy Governor Alit Putra. "And we will be 
looking at this too, but it's very difficult." 

Road of life 
Pedestrianising one of Bali's busiest streets would be a huge undertaking, and 
one that does not yet have the backing of the local community. 

Asana Viebeke, who speaks for grassroots organisation Parum Samigita, outlined 
the problems. 

"In Balinese, Legian Street translates as 'the road of life.' If you try to 
stop this road, can you imagine what the local people will think? They'll think 
you're trying to stop their lives!" 

She said the people who live behind the flashy shops and restaurants of Legian 
Street were ignored as Bali became an international tourist destination. 

Whatever happens to Bali's Ground Zero, these people must be involved in the 
decision making from now on, she said. 

"We would like to be the host of our own homes," she said. "We do not want to 
be spectators any more, and we do not want to be guests in our own house." 

Keeping all interested parties happy will not be easy, and it is still not 
clear who will foot the bill of any redevelopment. 

But people in Bali are glad at least to be having the discussion. 

In all the various suggestions about what should be done with the bomb sites, 
there is one overwhelming feeling - that of looking to the future, whilst never 
forgetting the tragedy that occurred here. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Straits Times
Jan 16, 2003 Thu
Indonesia may lose dozens more of its islands 
-- Some may vanish because of illegal sand mining while some uninhabited ones 
may be claimed by neighbouring countries 
By Devi Asmarani 

Jakarta - After losing the Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia, Indonesia 
risks losing dozens of other islands across the archipelago due to erosion and 
poor management, government officials said.

The illegal sand mining in and around these islands was contributing to the 
erosion process, they pointed out.

They also expressed fear that as many of these islands are uninhabited and 
unmanaged, neighbouring countries could stake a claim.

One of the islands facing the threat of sinking is Pulau Nipah on the country's 
border with Singapore.

Among the highest officials to raise this fear has been the navy chief, Admiral 
Bernard Kent Sondakh, who said recently: 'These islands have the potential to 
disappear or be claimed by other countries.'

The Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries has estimated that the country could 
lose as many as 88 islands, some of which sit on its maritime border with 
neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, 
Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, East Timor and Palau, a small island in 
the Oceania region.

The ministry's director-general for coast and small islands, Mr Widi Agus 
Pratikto, said: 'We are in the process of mapping these islands and profiling 
their potentials.'

This was a costly process with a 7.5-billion-rupiah (S$15.7-million) budget for 
this year alone, 'but it is crucial to prevent the repeat of the Sipadan-
Ligitan case'.

The three-decade-old dispute over the two tiny islands off the coast of 
Kalimantan ended in December when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 
The Hague ruled that they belonged to Malaysia.

The ICJ said Malaysia had shown 'manifestations of state authority' over the 
islands. 

The Indonesian government has since been under fire for 'poor diplomacy', and 
some lawmakers have been mobilising support to demand President Megawati 
Sukarnoputri's accountability over the defeat.

But yesterday, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda reiterated that no other 
islands were currently in dispute with any other country.

He conceded, however, that Indonesia's maritime borders with some countries 
were largely undefined, creating the potential for future disputes over some 
islands. 

One of them is Pulau Batek, located on Indonesia's border with East Timor.

There have been concerns that newly-independent East Timor will try to claim 
the island, which used to be part of the East Timor province.

The island of Miangas sits about halfway between the Philippines' islands of 
Mindanao and Indonesia's Sangir Talaud. It was once disputed by the United 
States and the Dutch colonial government, which won the argument.

Mr Hassan said the maritime border between the southern Philippines and the 
Sangir Talaud islands remained one of the few borderlines that remained 
undefined.

The Ministry of Maritime also estimates that there are currently about 5,000 
islands that are uninhabited and unexploited out of some 17,500 islands in the 
country.

Most of the small islands are located south of Nusa Tenggara provinces on the 
border of East Timor, while others are located in the northern part of 
Indonesia.

Mr Widi said the government had neglected these small islands for a long time.

Only recently, it took some measures, such as building lighthouses on the 
islands and establishing development plans for them. The Indonesian Navy has 
also been beefing up patrols on some of these remote islands. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asia Times Online
January 16, 2003
Indonesia redefines luxury
By Bill Guerin 

The Indonesian government raised fuel prices, electricity rates, and telephone 
charges at the start of the year in an effort to slash expensive subsidies and 
help ailing state-owned utilities. 

However, these measures would have hit businesses hard and a stimulus package 
of tax breaks quickly followed. Twenty categories of products, including 
televisions, mobile phones, food and beverages, are no longer considered luxury 
items. 

Cellular phones, TVs up to 21 inches, washing machines, refrigerators, low-
output air conditioners, low-end videocassette recorders (VCRs), video compact 
disc (VCD), digital video disc (DVD) and audio players, low-end cameras and a 
range of other items will have the luxury tax removed altogether. Tax is being 
reduced on higher-end VCRs, VCD, DVD and radio/cassette players, high-end 
cameras and larger TVs, washing machines and air conditioners. 

The measures will help reduce the cost of the products, enable manufacturers to 
compete against cheaper smuggled products and help increase domestic demand. 
The package will cost the government about Rp6 trillion (US$660 million) in 
lost tax revenue.