No subject

also meant to become an international airport in the near future. One of the 
hoped for results of this effort is paving the way for any foreign investors. 

C.J.Böhm msc
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
6/30/2003 2:32:34 PM
Riots hit Ternate, N. Maluku 

Ternate, North Maluku (AP): Thousands of Muslim refugees Monday burned 
motorbikes and threatened to torch a government office here, accusing officials 
of embezzling aid money..

Police fired shots into the air after about 200 officers and soldiers scuffled 
with the rioters in the North Maluku provincial capital of Ternate. 

The refugees were demanding that authorities give them money to return to their 
homes on the neighboring island of Halmahera. They also accused government 
officials of embezzling aid money. 

"Let's burn the governor's office down!" the protesters shouted. 

"We want to return home now," said Yakmil Andul Karim, a spokesman for the 
refugees. "The governor is stealing our aid money. We have been forced to live 
in dirty places." 

The refugees fled their houses after Muslim-Christian fighting broke out in the 
region in 1999. Three years later, after about 10,000 people were killed, the 
two sides signed a government-sponsored peace treaty. However, tens of 
thousands of people who fled have yet to return home. 

The province, known as the Spice Islands during Dutch colonial rule, is located 
about 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) east of Jakarta. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
July 01, 2003
Maluku refugees claim aid money stolen, battle police 
Agencies, Jakarta

Thousands of refugees who fled the three-year long sectarian conflict in North 
Maluku province clashed on Monday with police in Ternate, demanding that they 
be transported home free of charge.

Around 200 officers and soldiers scuffled with the refugees, who burned 
motorbikes and threatened to set fire to a government office in the regency 
capital of Ternate, AP reported. 

Police fired shots into the air, but there were no reports of any casualties. 

"We want to return home now," said Yakmil Abdul Karim, the spokesman for the 
refugees. "The governor is stealing our aid money. We have been forced to live 
in squalor," he said. 

The protesters demanded that the government pay their passage home to the 
neighboring island of Halmahera. 

Thousands have died since fighting broke out between Muslims and Christians in 
the provinces of North Maluku and Maluku in 1999. Around 10,000 people have 
fled the violence. 

Many have yet to return despite a peace accord signed by the warring sides in 
2001. The clashes have since abated but sporadic violence continues. 

Ambushes on public transportation vehicles and bomb attacks remain a threat to 
the peace agreement. 

In the Maluku provincial capital, Ambon, police defused a bomb planted outside 
the local public works' office on Monday. 

A resident, Popy Moniharapon, discovered the bomb as she was about to open up a 
restaurant nearby. She reported the bomb to her employer, Maxi Usmani, who then 
contacted the police. 

The bomb measured 20 centimeters in diameter and was armed when the police 
arrived, Antara reported. 

Ambon island military commander Lt. Col. Yudy Zanibar urged the public to 
remain calm. "I hope that this large bomb will not affect the improving 
security situation in the city of Ambon," Yudy said. 

Fewer bomb attacks have been recorded so far this year in Ambon. Bomb 
explosions rocked the city several times last year, with the worst one, which 
killed at least four people and wounded over 50 others, coming in April.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
6/30/2003 6:10:44 PM
Bomb found in Ambon 

Ambon, Maluku (Antara): A police bomb squad cordoned off an area in front of a 
shop near the provincial public works office on Monday morning to defuse a bomb 
planted by an unidentified man. 

The bomb squad isolated the area in front of the Meter shop on Jl. DI Panjaitan 
to protect the public from any unexpected eventuality as experts proceeded to 
defuse the device. 

Ambon and many other parts of Maluku province was rocked by a bloody sectarian 
conflict that lasted from January 1999 to 2002. 

In the past six months however, the eastern Indonesian province has been calm, 
with the reconciliation process between the Muslim and Christian communities 
working well. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laksamana.net
Review - Regions: No UN Politics in Maluku
June 29, 2003 11:44 PM, 
 
Laksamana.Net -  The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has extended 
another $1.1 million in aid to finance development projects in Maluku. 

"The $1.1 million in aid is a follow-up to the $3 million released in 1999 to 
help more than 182,000 people in Maluku," head of the UNDP representative 
office in the province, Richard Manning, said in Ambon Wednesday (25/6/03). 

The earlier aid was used to procure food, improve social services and develop 
public facilities. 

"It is not true that the presence of the UNDP as part of the UN bodies in 
Maluku is politically motivated. Instead, we focus on humanitarian programs," 
Manning said. He pointed out that cooperation agreements had been signed with 
Ambon Mayor Jopie Papilaja, the Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, Mercy Corps 
International, the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association and the Media 
Development Loan Fund to implement the recovery program in Maluku. 

Communal clashes broke out in the capital city of Maluku on Jan. 19, 1999. 
Thousands were killed and thousands more injured prior to February 2, 2002, 
when the two warring camps signed a peace accord. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
July 01, 2003
Makassar bomb trial continues despite defendants' protest 
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

Judges overruled an objection filed by the defendants' lawyers for what they 
said were irregularities in the prosecutors' charges during the trial on Monday 
of two defendants accused of bombing a McDonald's outlet in the South Sulawesi 
capital of Makassar last year.

Presiding judge Jassola Situmorang said the trial of Muchtar Daeng Lau and 
Muhammad Tang, alias Itang, should continue. 

Abraham Samad, who led Muchtar's defense team, pointed to a number of 
irregularities in the case files prosecutors had prepared. 

"For example, the evidence that prosecutors are presenting does not match with 
those contained in their files," Abraham said during the trial held at Makassar 
District Court. 

He said the defendant was never accompanied by his lawyer during his 
interrogation, however, the files state the opposite. 

Lawyer Abdul Malik Karim, representing Itang, insisted that the jurisdiction of 
the case was under the Palu District Court instead of the Makassar District 
Court. 

He said that Article 84 of the Criminal Code stipulated that a case should be 
tried in the place where most of the witnesses come from. 

"To accommodate this requirement, prosecutors have added a number of witnesses 
from Makassar, even though only one of the 14 witnesses (from Makassar) knows 
the defendant," lawyer Abdul explained. 

Prosecutors listed 22 witnesses, eight of whom are from Palu in Central 
Sulawesi. 

The only witness with knowledge of Itang is Arman, who is also a suspect in the 
bombing case. 

The trial of Itang and Muchtar will resume on Monday next week. 

Prosecutors have charged Itang with helping Agung Abdul Hamid, a key suspect in 
the bombing, escape. The blast on Dec. 5 last year at the fast food restaurant 
killed three people and wounded 11 others. It also ripped apart a car 
dealership owned by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla. 

So far 12 suspects are on trial at Makassar District Court in connection with 
the bombing. Police have named a total of 21 suspects in this case, although 
one has died. Three other suspects, Dahlan, Mirjal alias Gozi and Hizbullah 
Rasyid are still at large. 

Police have said that some of the suspects had ties to the Jamaah Islamiyah 
(JI) terrorist organization, which was allegedly behind the bombing that killed 
over 200 people in Bali in October last year. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laksamana.net
Review - Terror Trials and Tribulations
June 29, 2003 11:57 PM
 
Laksamana.Net - Emotions ran high in Jakarta and Bali courts last week as the 
ongoing trials of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir and those charged in 
connection with October 12's terror blast in Bali moved into the middle game. 

In the first direct confrontation between an accused Bali bomber and an 
Australian victim of the bombing attacks, 22-year-old Gold Coast footballer 
Jake Ryan rushed forward and shouted at alleged bombing field commander Imam 
Samudra: "You're a ***king dog, mate, you are going to die, you ****." 

Samudra was being led from the court with a police officer on either side when 
Ryan, who lost friends in the blasts that killed 202 people, vented his anger. 

Ryan said afterwards he was "pumped" to have got Samudra's attention and make 
him respond. 

"I suppose I just wanted him to look at us just once," he said. "When he 
started shouting, I thought, 'Smart arse, I'll have you'. Then he stopped in 
front of us and started chanting in Arabic. I was ready to jump the fence.” 
*****
Torture Made Me Scared 
The alleged operations commander of the Bali attacks, Ali Ghufron, alias 
Mukhlas, also vented his emotions when claiming he had been tortured by police 
to obtain statements implicating extremist Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir in 
various terrorist acts. 

Mukhlas claimed he had been photographed and videoed naked, and was told the 
film and the photos would be sent to his wife. He said the torture included 
beatings and scalding with hot water. "During the interrogation, the way they 
interrogated me, made me scared ..." he shouted in a high-pitched voice. 

Prosecutors lost a chance of securing more incriminating evidence after Mukhlas 
refused to testify against alleged fellow conspirator Iman Samudra. 

Mukhlas entered the courtroom yelling at the defendant and praising God, before 
rejecting presiding judge I Nyoman Sugawa's request for him to take an oath. 

While the judge and Mukhlas were debating the procedure, the defendant's chief 
lawyer Qadhar Faisal intervened, defending the witness's arguments. Qadhar said 
that according to Article 168 of the Criminal Code, Mukhlas was under no legal 
obligation to take an oath or to testify. 

Mukhlas was adamant, and when Sugawa repeated his order, the witness simply 
shook his head and said "No!" 

Like Samudra, Mukhlas is being charged with planning and organizing the 
bombings, a crime that carries the death penalty under the new antiterrorism 
law. He was arrested in December last year along with several other suspects, 
including his two brothers, Ali Imron and Amrozi, who are on trial for the Bali 
carnage, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. 

The bombing was blamed on the regional terror network, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), 
with Muchlas as its operation chief. 

"They pressed me to confess that I met Ba’asyir in Thailand," Mukhlas 
said, "and I was pressed to confess Abu Bakar Ba’asyir tried to kill Megawati 
(Sukarnoputri, the current president of Indonesia), and also the tragedy of the 
Bali bombings." 

Mukhlas's claims come in the wake of those made last week by his younger 
brother, Amrozi bin Nurahsyim, who said he had seen his brother tortured and 
had been threatened with torture himself. 

Previously, Mukhlas had also refused to testify against his younger brother, 
Amrozi. Mukhlas was among eight witnesses summoned to the trial on Wednesday. 

Chief prosecutor I Nyoman Dila asked the judges to admit Mukhlas' police 
interrogation file as evidence in place of oral testimony. 

The judges accepted the prosecution suggestion and asked Dila to read the 
summary of the file before the court. 

In the file, Mukhlas admitted that the idea to carry out the bombings came from 
Samudra. The defendant also ordered Amrozi to purchase explosives, Mukhlas to 
provide the funds and appointed himself the field coordinator for the bomb 
attacks. 

Claiming that he had been under severe physical and psychological duress during 
the interrogation, Mukhlas retracted his statement in Monday's session. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suspected Bali Bomb Organizer Arrested
The Associated Press
Jakarta, Indonesia June 30

Police said Monday they have arrested a top organizer of last year's Bali 
bombings as he was preparing more terrorist attacks with other al-Qaida-linked 
militants.

The suspect, Idris, topped the list of Indonesia's most-wanted suspects in the 
Oct. 12 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

"He has confessed to his entire role in the bombing," Bali police chief Maj. 
Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika told The Associated Press. "This is a very important 
arrest."

The arrest appeared to be a major victory for Indonesia, the world's most 
populous Muslim country, in its fight against Islamic militancy. The United 
States renewed its travel warning for the country on Friday, saying terrorists 
may be planning new attacks on U.S. targets.

Pastika said Idris, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, was part of a 
gang that robbed a bank in Medan city, Sumatra island last month. The money was 
to be used to fund an unspecified terror operation, he said.

Idris has been flown to Bali for questioning, top detective Lt. Gen. Erwin 
Mapasseng said.

Idris and 10 other alleged members of the gang, who have all been accused of 
being members of the regional Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, were 
arrested June 12 in Medan, Mapasseng said.

Prosecutors have accused Idris of being the deputy of Imam Samudra, the alleged 
mastermind of the Bali bombings. Samudra is on trial in Bali for the attack.

Idris who uses the aliases Joni Hendrawan and Gembrot allegedly attended many 
of the key meetings when the bombings were plotted.

Prosecutors say Idris is a member of al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, which 
has been accused of carrying out the Bali attack.

Idris, 35, allegedly arranged financing for the attack and accommodation in 
Bali for the bombers.

He is believed to have studied in an Islamic school in Malaysia that was headed 
by Ali Ghufron one of three suspected Jemaah Islamiyah members on trial for the 
Bali attack.

Pastika said three other Bali bombing suspects remain on the run, including 
Dulmatin, who allegedly built the bombs used in Bali.

Jemaah Islamiyah allegedly aims to set up a regional fundamentalist Islamic 
state by using terror attacks to topple Southeast Asian governments.

Prosecutors in one of the Bali bombing trials for the first time on Monday 
linked the attack to Jemaah Islamiyah.

Until now, prosecutors have avoided implicating the group, despite it having 
been accused of involvement by Indonesia's government and other countries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Bank raid leads to arrest of Bali bomb suspect
July 1 2003
By Matthew Moore, Indonesia Correspondent
Jakarta

One of the main Bali bombing suspects has been arrested after attempting a bank 
robbery to fund a new terrorist attack, the head of the Bali investigation 
team, General I Made Pastika, has revealed.

News of the arrest came as prosecutors called for the death penalty for alleged 
Bali bomber Amrozi yesterday. As the accused was being led from the court Spike 
Stewart from Werribee, Melbourne, stood and shouted at Amrozi in Indonesian. 

In the latest arrest Idris, also known as Joni Hendrawan, was picked up in 
Medan in Sumatra nearly three weeks ago after he and 10 other suspected members 
of terror group Jemaah Islamiah killed three bank employees in a bungled hold-
up. Police had yet to find out what terror operation was being planned by the 
group, General Pastika said.

Police spokesman General Erwin Mappasang said Idris and his men stole more than 
$A20,000 from the Medan bank and were planning to use the money to buy 
explosives and transport for the next attack. He said the group also planned to 
rob another bank in Pekanbaru in Sumatra to provide further funds for the next 
bombing.

While police were pleased to arrest the man they believed organised 
accommodation and logistics for the Bali attacks, General Pastika said police 
regretted that three other key suspects might have slipped away when news of 
the arrest leaked out.

He feared the two men suspected of making the Bali bombs, Dulmatin (aka Joko 
Pitono) and Malaysian Dr Azahari, had escaped with suspected Malaysian 
financier Noordin Mohammed Top.

General Pastika did not know how the news leaked but Indonesian on-line news 
service detik.com said Indonesia's national police chief General Da'I Bachtiar 
had told a group of editors of Idris's arrest when he met them on Friday, the 
day rumours of the arrest spread.

General Pastika was aware that a police spokesman on Friday had confirmed 
Idris's arrest at a press conference although reporters were told the 
information was off the record. But a newspaper reported the arrest at the 
weekend and it was confirmed by police yesterday.

General Pastika said Idris had been transported to Bali on June 15 three days 
after his arrest. 

Still wanted for the Bali bombings are Zulkarnain (who like many Indonesians 
uses one name), an alleged military commander of JI, and Hambali, the former 
operational head of JI.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Advertiser (Australia)
Terror group blamed for Bali bombs
By Catharine Munro in Denpasar
30jun03

Indonesian prosecutors have claimed for the first time that the Bali bombing 
was the work of the secretive extremist network Jemaah Islamiah.

Summing up their case against Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, prosecutor Urip Tri 
Gunawan, told the court that the October 12 attack was the work of an organised 
international terrorist network. 

"There is a strong indication from the Bali bombings that they (perpetrators) 
are members of Jemaah Islamiah," he told the panel of five judges from the 
Denpasar District Court. 

To date prosecutors have avoided connecting the attack to JI and instead 
alleged that a group of suspects planned the attack on Legian Street, Kuta. 

But Gunawan today said perpetrators of the bombing had met in Thailand and 
Malaysia. 

"Some of them became members of Jemaah Islamiah," he told the court. 

"Their participation in training in Afghanistan and several bombings in 
Indonesia has proven that an international network was involved in the Bali 
bombings." 

While Gunawan did not directly accuse Amrozi of being a member of the group, 
the court has heard that Amrozi lived in Malaysia and met other suspects of the 
bombing. 

Amrozi also revealed to the court that he participated in the coordinated and 
simultaneous attack on churches across the Indonesian archipelago on Christmas 
Eve, 2000. 

Gunawan said that if any of the accused withdrew their police statements, it 
was an indication of their militancy. 

"The perpetrators want to conceal or hide other members or those not yet 
caught." 

Amrozi has previously told the court that he gave wrong evidence to police 
because he was tired of being questioned. 

Gunawan said any claims of torture or mistreatment by accused bombers must not 
be accepted by the court. 

Amrozi's older brother, Muklas, the accused operational chief of JI, last week 
told the court that he was sexually tortured into implicating JI's alleged 
spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir in a series of terrorist acts in Indonesia in 
recent years. 

Prosecutors are later expected to request a sentence for Amrozi, who is facing 
several charges under Indonesia's anti-terrorism laws for planning and carrying 
out the attack. 

While they have been tight-lipped over whether they will ask for a jail term or 
the death sentence, it is widely expected that they will ask for the latter. 

Amrozi is accused of buying the car bomb that killed most of the 202 victims of 
the bombings.