Swedish Tourist Falls Into Bali's Mount Batur Crater

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, March 31, 2010

Rescue teams on Wednesday were racing to the scene of an accident after a Swedish tourist reportedly fell into the active crater of Mount Batur in Bangli district.

Daniel Petersen, 25, remains missing after he climbed the 1717-meter-high Mount Batur with two friends at 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

Bali's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said they received report at 7:25 a.m from a guide identified as Komang that Petersen had fallen into the mountain's crater.

“We are still climbing to the crater,” Basarnas official Ketut Parwa said.

Basarnas was being assisted by police, paramedics and local volunteers.

Parwa said Petersen's friends survived and were waiting for the rescue team though evacuation efforts were being hampered by bad weather.

Mount Batur is about 90 minutes drive from the provincial capital, Denpasar. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, it has erupted 26 times since 1840

Australian Faces 15 Years for Narcotics

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, March 30, 2010

Robert Paul McJannett went on trial on Tuesday on charges of bringing a small amount marijuana into Bali, leading to his arrest in December. (JG Photo)

Denpasar. Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year jail term for an Australian accused of smuggling drugs into the country.

Robert Paul McJannett, 48, was arrested in Ngurah Rai International Airport after his Virgin Blue flight from Perth landed on Dec. 28. When his luggage passed through an X-ray machine, a customs officer detected a suspicious box inside his suitcase.

According to customs, the officer discovered 1.7 grams of marijuana hidden in a folded sheet of metal tucked into black socks in the trade unionist’s luggage.

“We ask the judges to convict him to 15 years in prison,” said Nyoman Sucitrawan at McJannett’s indictment on Tuesday.

Prosecutors charged McJannett with violating at least three articles of the country’s Narcotics Law.

Bali Police said that when questioned, McJannett admitted to using the drug on the day he flew to Bali.

“[McJannett said] his purpose for smoking marijuana is just to make him sleep,” Sucitrawan said. Drug tests indicated the presence of drugs in McJannett’s urine and blood.

In response to the indictment, the accused’s attorney, Nyoman Gede Sudiantara, said he would not file an exception or defense memorandum.

“We asked judges to continue the trial with witness examination,” Sudiantara said.

In January, McJannett claimed he had been set up, saying he believed the marijuana allegedly found in his luggage had been wrapped in metal deliberately to set off X-ray machines.

The defendant told The Australian newspaper that he suffered from Meniere’s disease, diverticulitis, hepatitis C and a lung infection. He said his medications had been taken from him when he was charged.

“There’s smokers everywhere and every time I’m exposed to that it aggravates my childhood asthma,” he said.

McJannett ran in the last two elections for assistant secretary of Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, losing both times to incumbent Joe McDonald.

In a Jan. 1 interview with The Australian newspaper, McJannett claimed that the leaders of the powerful trade union “hate my guts” and accused them of setting him up with the narcotics.

Indonesia Abandons Hope of Meeting Millenium Development Health Goals

Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto, March 30, 2010

The government has surrendered all hope of attaining three of the most crucial Millennium Development Goals on schedule, offering the usual excuses of budget constraints and a lack of public participation.

Nina Sardjunani, deputy head of human resources and cultural affairs at the National Development Board (Bappenas), told delegates to a national conference on Tuesday that reducing the maternal mortality ratio, combating HIV/AIDS and reducing the proportion of the population without access to clean drinking water would be impossible to achieve by 2015.

The MDGs set out eight universal goals for 2015. They were drawn from the targets outlined in the Millennium Declaration, which was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

Nina said Indonesia had been “left behind” in three key areas, with continued HIV/AIDS prevalence among the younger generation, a low rate of condom use and only a small proportion of the population possessing a comprehensive knowledge of the disease. She was speaking during the national coordination meeting on health, population and family planning organized by the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare at Grand Sahid Jaya hotel in Jakarta.

One goal — combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases — stated that the objective was to have halted and reversed the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly among those aged 15-24 years, by 2015.

Nina said that encouragingly, Indonesia was on track to curb malaria and had already succeeded in curbing the spread of tuberculosis, thanks to improved access to basic sanitation facilities.

Sugiri Syarief, head of the renamed National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), said family planning programs, though not specifically mentioned in the MDGs, could boost the success of the programs, including condom use.

“Effective family planning programs can help cut poverty and improve the quality of human resources, economic development and health,” he said.

He said it was concerning that in the 10 years since the downfall of the New Order regime, family planning programs had been neglected by the central government, which had failed to provide the necessary funding amid reluctance or ignorance of local governments and organizations.

“There is also a misleading stigma in the public,” he explained. “Every time we promote condom use, for example, some groups think that we are promoting promiscuity.”

Sugiri said that several years ago, for example, the BKKBN provided a number of condom vending machines at targeted locations throughout the country, but the move was strongly condemned by some groups and all the of machines were destroyed.

“There are also other stigmas, such as that wearing a condom reduces the satisfaction level, and that men carrying condoms means that he’s adulterous, among many other things,” he said.

According to the results of the five-yearly Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey last undertaken in 2007, the incidence of condom use compared to 2002 had increased from 60.3 percent to 61.4 percent. Nina maternal health targets were also destined for failure. According to the survey, the number of women dying during childbirth per year stood at 228 per 100,000, while the target was 102, though this was an improvement over the 307 deaths per 100,000 births recorded in 2002.

Bali braces for dengue epidemic

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali | Tue, 03/30/2010 8:34 PM

The Bali Health Agency is anticipating a sharp increase in dengue fever cases over the next two months.

Agency head Nyoman Sutedja said Tuesday the number of dengue cases on the holiday island was fluctuating, but warned of an explosion of cases in coming months.

“We predict the dengue epidemic will reach its peak between April and May because of changing weather. Therefore, we call on residents to remain alert by maintaining their health and the environment,” Sutedja said.

According to agency data, Bali saw approximately 1,600 cases of dengue in the first three months of this year.

On Tuesday, 148 patients with dengue were being treated at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar.

Indonesian Maid Sentenced for False Abuse Claim

Jakarta Globe, March 30, 2010

An Indonesian maid has been sentenced to eight weeks in prison in Singapore after admitting to filing a false abuse report against her employer.

Ida Farida, 25, said she made spurious statements to police last September alleging that her employer’s wife had hit her on the back with a broom and used a fork to scratch her on the back and arm.

Ida said she was looking for a way out of the job because her employer’s wife was mean and her agent had refused to take her back.

‘Being made to go down to Bedok Police Divisional Headquarters to face an allegation of maid abuse inflicted public humiliation on the wife and family of the accused’s employer,’’ said Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Woon Kwong as quoted by the Straits Times news Web site.

JG

Jakarta to scrap smoking rooms in public places and buildings

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/30/2010 9:08 AM

The city will extend the smoking ban in public places and buildings after finding that smoking rooms in buildings do not stop smoke infiltrating non-smoking areas.

The Jakarta Environment Management Board (BPLHD) head of law enforcement Ridwan Panjaitan said his office would revise the 2005 gubernatorial decree to do this.

“People working in the buildings can still smoke, but they will have to smoke outside the buildings,” he said Monday.

He said the smoking free regulation would be imposed on all spaces in buildings because a laboratory test found that the non-smoking areas were contaminated by smoking rooms when they were available.

The 2005 bylaw on air pollution control states that people are not allowed to smoke at all in five types of facilities, namely public transportation, healthcare buildings, schools, children’s areas and places of worship. In offices and public spaces, including malls, restaurants, terminals airports and train stations.

Ridwan said he realized the new regulation could spark opposition in night clubs, bars and restaurants, but he was confident the entertainment and food industry would comply once they knew the rules.

He said according to a survey by BPLHD and the Swisscontact Indonesia Foundation with the University of Indonesia Demography Institute, that 96 percent of respondents supported the plan for 100 percent free smoking areas.

The survey said 93 percent of the respondents were aware of the regulations and 60 percent of them stated that the non-smoking areas regulation should prohibit people to smoke in public closed areas.

“The survey revealed that 62 percent of the respondents would still visit restaurants although they would not be allowed to smoke after the ban is imposed,” Ridwan said.

The survey, held from October to November in 2009, involved 747 respondents living in five municipalities in the city. The survey comprised 65 percent females and 34 percent males aged 20-49 years old with education background of Senior High School and above.

The BPLHD, he said, would make an assessment to measure “the level of compliance” of building owners to encourage implementation.

A building will then be given one of four ratings: poor, satisfactory, good and very good.

“We will also publish data on buildings that breach the regulation in the mass media. We hope prestige and shame will be more effective than law enforcement,” he said.

Tulus Abadi from the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) said the city should impose stern sanctions to make this work.

“Publishing information on buildings violating the regulations in the media will only affect them for a while. The city should impose sanctions with a financial impact, like revoking permits,” he told The Jakarta Post.

YLKI found there were violations of the smoking ban in 89 percent of 549 public buses and minivans surveyed in July 2009. In 2008, the foundation found violations of the ban in half of 60 city malls.

Iranian Immigrants Arrested in East Java

Tempo Interactive, Monday, 29 March, 2010 | 22:06 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: East Java Police arrested 47 Iranian immigrants in a regency about 210 kilometers southwest of Surabaya early on Monday (29/3), which were trying travel to Christmas island by boat.

Thirty eight male, seven female and four children were being detained by maritime police in Pacitan Regency in the southern coast of Java since their capture earlier today.

Head of the regency Marine Police Unit Adjutant Second Inspector Yahudi said the immigrants were in good condition. He said local fishermen spotted the immigrants on a life boat-like vessel about three miles of the coast of Pacitan and reported them to the police.

A translator helping police to communicate with the immigrants said the Iranians were trying to head to Christmas Island.

Police suspected the immigrants entered Indonesia legally and spent several times in a temporary shelter in Bogor, West Java before continue with their trip. No report on the persons who guided the immigrants with their movements in Indonesia.

ISHOMUDDIN

Batam customs officers foil 4.5 Kg shabu smuggling attempt

Antara News, Monday, March 29, 2010 21:51 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Batam customs authorities on Monday foiled an attempt of smuggling in 4.5 kg of shabu-shabu (methyl amphetamine) worth Rp8 billion.

"The suspect is an Indonesian citizen identified as Marlina," spokesperson for the Directorate General of Customs and Excise Evi Suhartantyo said in a statement.

Marlina arrived in Batam at 09.45 a.m. on Monday by MV Pintas Samudera 9 from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Evi said.

Evi said Marlina was being detained at the Batam police resort for questioning.On March 26, customs authorities in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan also arrested a Lion Air passenger on charges of smuggling in 411 grams of shabu-shabu.

The suspect identified as Saiful Amri came from the Malaysian state of Penang.

Central Java Man Cuts Off Own Penis

Jakarta Globe, March 29, 2010

A 19-year-old man in Cilacap, Central Java cut off his own penis and tossed it down a well after his girlfriend broke up with him, a hospital official said.

The man, a resident of Bantarsari village , was rushed to Cilacap Municipal Hospital after slicing off the organ with a knife on Monday. Hospital director Sugeng Budi Susanto said he was in stable condition.

“His wound could have been fatal but he will survive and we are trying our best to heal it,” Sugeng told Metro TV.

The patient's family tried to retrieve the severed penis from the well but were unable to find it. He is being treated in the intensive care unit as well as receiving mental health counseling.

“He's still too shocked and embarrassed to talk or meet anyone,” said Sugeng.

JG

Related Article:

Jilted Java Teenager Cuts off Penis and Throws it Down Well

Headless body found in Kalimalang River

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 03/29/2010 12:05 PM | Jakarta

Residents along the banks of the Kalimalang River in East Jakarta were shocked Monday at the discovery of a mutilated headless body wrapped in a plastic bag.

“We are still searching for the missing body parts,” East Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hasanuddin said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.

Hasanuddin said the body, which was taken to the National Police’s Dr. Sukanto Hospital, was possibly that of a teenage girl.

Kalla Tells Red Cross Employees Not to Copy Politicians

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, March 28, 2010

Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Saturday warned Indonesian Red Cross employees and volunteers not to imitate the workings of political parties.

“During the campaign season, they all work. But when the campaign season is over and done with, they disappear, one by one,” said Kalla, chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).

Speaking from the resort island of Bali, Kalla said that Red Cross staff members and volunteers had to be in a state of constant readiness to allow them to respond quickly to disasters.

“Don’t just wait in your offices. It would be far better if you went out and set up blood donation posts in malls or office buildings,” Kalla said.

The former Golkar Party chairman was speaking after the PMI announced on Wednesday that it planned to open between 125 and 150 blood donation centers in shopping malls and on university campuses by June this year.

“ This year, the PMI plans to collect three million bags of blood and four million next year,” Kalla said on Wednesday.

He also said the PMI would provide a blood delivery service to hospitals, and added that the organization would build a plant to manufacture blood bags domestically rather than importing them.

On Saturday, Kalla asked the public to support the PMI to help it meet its blood donation targets.

“Our organization’s work is linked to the public,” Kalla said. “When a disaster occurs, the public helps through blood donations. The need for blood during a disaster is also a public need.”

He praised the PMI office in Bali for its well-equipped emergency facilities and the expertise of its employees and volunteers. Kalla reminded PMI workers on the island always to be on the alert because Bali’s reputation as one of the world’s top travel destinations put it in the global spotlight.

“No matter how small the disaster, if it occurs in Bali, news will reach all corners of the globe,” Kalla said.

I Gusti Lanang Made Rudiartha, the director of Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, said PMI’s Bali office had trouble funding its operations because of its reliance on the provincial budget. He said foreign donations poured in after the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, but most of this money had since dried up.

Kalla asked businesspeople across the country to provide financial assistance to the PMI so the organization could continue to carry out its work.

“In times of disaster, lots of businesspeople provide help, but this is not the case during normal periods,” he said.

Related Article:

Kalla urges Bali Red Cross to be more self-sufficient

Husband receives news of wife’s death 3 weeks later

The Jakarta Post, Sun, 03/28/2010 6:35 PM

Siti Harniati, 42, a female domestic worker from Madiun regency, East Java, reportedly died in the United Arab Emirates where she had worked as domestic helper since August 2009.

“According to PT Sapta Saguna, the migrant worker recruitment company [PJTKI] that sent her, Siti died on Mar. 7.

“However, I only received the news on Friday of last week,” Siti’s husband, Sukrianto, 48, told tempointeraktif.com on Sunday.

Sukrianto said he would wait for the company to return the remains of his wife to Indonesia, which could up to a month to process.

Hard-liners force out sex congress participants

Indra Harsaputra and Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Jakarta | Sat, 03/27/2010

Members of hard-line Islamic groups forced their way into a Surabaya hotel Friday, demanding participants of a planned congress on sexual orientation in the East Java city to leave the country by Sunday.

The police took no action against the move, condemned by politicians and activists as “unconstitutional” and violating human rights, who said the conference should be seen as “a celebration of democracy and human rights”.

Dozens of foreign participants from Mexico, Canada, the US and 13 Asian countries were scheduled to take part in the 4th regional Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) conference scheduled to run from Friday to Sunday.

But the organizer decided Thursday to officially cancel the event, citing “security reasons”, after the police refused to grant them a permit fearing protests from religious groups.

Secretary-general of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in East Java, Mohammad Chaeruddin, said the foreigners were told to leave because Surabaya Muslims believed the conference was against religious values and teachings.

“We forced them to return home by Sunday. We also told them not to make a media statement,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The group also entered several hotels in Surabaya and nearby Malang, including Mercure Surabaya where the conference was scheduled to be held on Thursday. They also urged hotels to make a written statement refusing to host the conference.

On Friday at 3 p.m., FPI members, the Islamic Community Forum and the Indonesian Ulemas Council arrived at Oval Hotel. Hundreds more from the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, which held a rally protesting gay, lesbian and transexual communities outside Grahadi Surabaya, arrived later.

South Surabaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bahagia Dachi, said the police would ensure the safety of conference participants, including foreigners.

“We’ll provide security escorts for foreigners to Juanda Airport Surabaya,” he said.

Surabaya’s Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence coordinator, Andy Irfan Junaidi, criticized the police for allowing religious groups to undermine and violate the rights of minority groups.

“Religious groups have prevented the groups to gather, against the guarantee of the Constitution,” he said.

Separately in Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party politicians have called the police banning of a planned gay and lesbian congress in East Java as “unconstitutional”.

“[Holding a congress] is a basic human right,” Benny Kabur Harman, House of Representatives’ justice and human rights commission chairman, said Friday.

“Gays and lesbians are citizens whose political and legal rights are guaranteed and protected by the Constitution, which allows freedom of opinion.

“The state should in no way forbid the congress from being held.”

Benny’s colleague, Pieter Zulkifli, said the congress should be seen as “a celebration of democracy and human rights”.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) said the congress must be relocated overseas “for the sake of the country’s moral values”.

Related Articles:
Hostility, Not Homosexuality, Flies in The Face of True Koranic Teachings
Indonesian Radicals ‘Raid’ Gay Conference

Govt earmarks Rp 800b for infrastructure in disadvantaged regions

The Jakarta Post, Antara, Pontianak| Sat, 03/27/2010 6:14 PM

Disadvantaged Regions Development Minister Helmy Faisal Zani said his office has allocated Rp 800 billion (US$88 million) in funds for infrastructure development in 147 regions.

"The disadvantaged regions need such an affirmative policy," said Helmy in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Saturday.

The minister said his office had initiated several programs for development in disadvantaged regions. They covered electricity provision and road construction.

During the visit, Helmy and Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a cooperation to enhance health services in remote and border areas and islands.

He said 26 out of a total of 37 regencies or cities in Indonesian border areas were categorized as disadvantaged regions. Such a condition is quite ironic as border areas function as Indonesia's front gate, he said.

"Development in remote areas is needed to accelerate the eradication of poverty there," he said.

NU Fatwa Declares Underage Girls Can Marry to Build Family Values

Jakarta Globe, Anita Rachman & Nurfika Osman, March 26, 2010

Makassar. Taking Islamic law as its guide, leading Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama on Friday issued a fatwa declaring underage marriage acceptable as long as the purpose of the union was to build a happy family.

Cholil Nafis, secretary of the committee for religious issues for this past week’s 32nd NU congress, said the gathering had agreed that there should be no age restrictions on marriage because sacred Islamic verses or regulations had not stipulated a minimum age.

“They can get married at any age, even girls who haven’t started menstruating,” he said. “And they can have intimate relationships and intercourse, as long as they are able.”

Cholil said Islamic law only suggested that marriages would be better after a woman had her first period.

“As long as the objectives of the marriage are positive, it is allowed,” Cholil said. “Mind you, we don’t encourage people just to get married to fulfill their desires, no,” he added.

NU was aware that some groups might disagree, he said. While NU looked at the issue from a religious point of view, others might focus on different aspects, such as human rights.

“If people disagree with our fatwa, so be it. We never force people to follow what we say.”

Cholil said an NU report mentioned underage marriages in some regions, but added that they were mostly traditional engagements between families who wanted their offspring to marry.

Under such a marriage, the minors are wed under Islamic law as if they were adults, but live separately with their families until they are judged mature enough to assume adult responsibilities.

Friday’s edict drew immediate criticism from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), as well as the nation’s second-largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).

“Girls need mental maturity to be responsible for their husband and children,” MUI chairman Amidhan told the Jakarta Globe. “Based on the 1974 Law on Marriage, girls can only get married after they are 16.”

Yunahar Ilyas, Muhammadiyah’s fatwa committee chairman, said NU should not issue edicts and recommendations based solely on an Islamic perspective.

“They are supposed to see this matter comprehensively. Menstruation is not a measurement of a girl’s maturity,” Yunahar said.

“She needs to be mentally and intellectually mature to be able to be a good mother and wife.”

Komnas Perempuan vice chairwoman Masruchah told the Globe that the edict violated the Law on Child Protection, which defines children as being younger than 18 years old.

Girls can begin to have their periods as early as the age of 9, but their reproductive system is still fragile and they are “not ready to be a sexually active person,” she said.

Police arrest six suspects for producing narcotic drugs

Antara News, Saturday, March 27, 2010 04:59 WIB

Tangerang (ANTARA News) - Police has arrested six suspects for the alleged production of narcotic drugs at the Graha Raya Bintaro Jaya residential complex on Jalan Boulevard Raya, Cluster Cendana Blok P-1 No. 31, Pondok Jagung village, Serpong Utara, South Tangerang city, Banten province Friday night.

Narcotics division director at the National Police Headquarters Brig Gen Arman Depari said at the crime scene that the six men were also allleged producing sabu (methyl amphetamine).

The police was still interrogating the suspects and searching the house where the drugs were made.

The police also seized thousands of ecstacy pills, materials and production equipment, and a gun of one of the suspects.

Related Article:

Police evacuate 5 children from ecstasy plant

Indonesia on Shakier Ground, Experts Warn

Jakata Globe, Nurfika Osman, March 26, 2010

Students in Banda Aceh have been participating in exercises, to increase their ability to face earthquakes and tsunamis. (Antara Photo/Ampelsa)

Massive earthquakes over the past few years have increased the volatility of the tectonic plates beneath the archipelago, experts have warned. They have called for more quake-proof buildings to withstand the heightened threat.

“We are more at risk as the ground becomes more vulnerable and the effects of earthquakes are going to be more devastating,” Mulyo Haris Pradono of the Earthquake Engineering and Disaster Mitigation Unit at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) said on Friday.

He was referring to peak ground acceleration, a measure of earthquake acceleration on the ground and an important calculation for earthquake engineering.

Mulyo said the PGA in the southern part of Sumatra, Java, North Sulawesi and Papua was the highest in Indonesia.

The assessment is based on research conducted in 2002 and the data is expected to be updated in 2012.

Massive quakes last year that heighten the PGA included the 7.3-magnitude temblor in West Java on Sept. 2, the 7.6-magnitude quake that rocked West Sumatra on September 30 and the 7.2 tremor in West Papua in January.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), there are 23 earthquake-prone provinces in the country, including Aceh, West Sumatra, West Java, East Java, Bali, West Papua and Papua.

Mulyo said that as increased ground movement was inevitable, the only solution was to build quake-proof buildings in vulnerable areas.

“We are still conducting in-depth research and are assisting West Sumatra to build safer buildings with help from Japan,” he said.

“The point is that now we have to be more aware and prepare for earthquakes.”

He said the primary challenge was the lack of public awareness and effective regulations governing safe construction as people continued to build unsafe structures because they were cheaper.

Fumihiko Imamura, from Japan’s Tohoku University, said the BPPT and Japan had surveyed collapsed buildings in Padang.

“We concluded that many mistakes occurred in the structural planning of the buildings and homes,” Imamura said.

“In order to fix this we need not only a scientific approach but also a social and cultural approach to convince people that they need to live in a safer place to reduce the hazard.”

The two countries last year established a four-year research program called Multidisciplinary Hazard Reduction from Earthquakes and Volcanoes in Indonesia, in an effort to minimize the impact of disasters.

Fourteen institutions from both nations are involved in the joint research.

Death sentence sought for Iranian drug smuggler

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Fri, 03/26/2010

At the Denpasar District Court on Thursday, prosecutors in the trial of an Iranian caught of smuggling crystal methamphetamine said they were seeking the death penalty.

Prosecutors said defendant Saeid Shahbazi violated the 2009 Narcotics Law by importing or supplying 22 capsules of crystal methamphetamine with a total weight of 162.13 grams and could face the death penalty.

“The defendant intentionally brought the drugs through the Ngurah Rai International Airport arrival gate,” prosecutor I Ketut Sujaya said during the session presided over by judge Sigit Sutanto.

The 34-year-old Iranian, the sole defendant in the case, allegedly attempted to smuggle the crystal meth capsules by swallowing the drugs.

He was arrested by Customs and Excise officers at the airport upon his arrival from Doha via Kuala Lumpur onboard a Qatar Airways flight on Dec. 21 last year.

The court heard testimony from two Customs and Excise officers, a medical worker at the Bali International Medical Center and two police officers.

The defendant looked panicked when approaching the immigration booth at the airport, Customs and Excise officer Ketut Suciawan said. Suciawan was posted at the arrival gate at the time.

“We suspected something and immediately took him to the examination room and later to the hospital,” he said.

Prosecutors said that the officers didn’t find the drugs when searching the defendant’s luggage, but noticed that his stomach looked bloated and that his demeanor was panicky.

Doctors at the hospital scanned his stomach and found several small plastic bags that resembled capsules.

After an X-ray was performed on the defendant and he was given laxatives, medical staff recovered 22 capsules containing crystal meth.

Bali has seen many cases of drug smuggling in the last couple of months.

Among the foreigners arrested for smuggling drugs was Indian national Mohammed Umar, who was carrying 9.8 kilograms of ketamine in his luggage last month.

The 36-year-old man smuggled the white crystal powder, usually used as an anesthetic, inside a water heater he brought from India.

In January, officers arrested a Malaysian woman, Hoon Yue Chin, for bringing in 0.62 grams of crystal meth.

Several days later, French national Francois Virgile Arthur Sidoine was caught with 0.78 grams of heroine in his underwear.

In the same month, two Malaysians, Chang Cheng Weng and Boo Guan Teik, were arrested for smuggling in two kilograms of crystal meth.

Weeks before Saeid was arrested, the Customs and Excise Office arrested seven other Iranians attempting to smuggle five kilograms of crystal meth by also swallowing the drugs.

In December, 48-year-old Australian Robert Paul McJannett was also detained by the police for attempting to smuggle two grams of marijuana into the island.

Police Raid Illegal Jamu Factory

Tempo Interactive, Wednesday, 24 March, 2010 | 14:27 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Cilacap:The Cilacap Police yesterday confiscated thousands of tablets and a traditional herbal drink (jamu) machine which may have contained chemical substances.

“We received a report from the local people so we immediately raided the factory,” said Cilacap Chief of Police Senior Commissioner Guruh Ahmad Fadianto.

The police also seized three bags containing 153,000 jamu tablets, 14,000 brown tablets, six buckets of jamu powder, and one tablet-pressing machine.

The police arrested the alleged factory owner, MRA, who may be penalized with 10 years imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion fine.

“They are strongly suspected of using chemical substances,” Guruh said.

A new modus may have emerged in traditional jamu production, for instance jamu producers no longer produce the jamu at home or in their own factory.

They ask local people to do the production.

The modus is also to fool the officers’ raids.

“Like this MRA, whose house is in Purwokerto but he produces the jamu in Cilacap.”

ARIS ANDRIANTO

PMI to make breakthroughs to meet blood needs

Antara News, Thursday, March 25, 2010 00:54 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) plans to make breakthroughs this year to meet the country`s need for blood, PMI chief Jusuf Kalla said here on Wednesday.

"The breakthroughs are needed to meet blood needs. Annually Indonesia needs 3-4 million bags of blood," He said.

He said in 2008 PMI was only able to collect 1.7 million bags. "This year PMI plans to collect 3 million bags and next year 4 million bags," he said.

To meet the goal PMI plans to open 125 to 150 blood transfusion centers in places close to the community such as shopping malls and campuses as of June this year, provide blood delivery service from PMI to hospitals so that people need not visit transfusion centers to get blood supply and build a plant to produce the blood bags as the bags are still imported.

"The plant would help meet the needs which are always urgent. Self-sustainability is needed with regard to emergency situation and therefore the factory is needed," he said.

Taiwan Nationals Arrested in Jakarta Drug Bust

Tempo Interactive, Wednesday, 24 March, 2010 | 16:00 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Jakarta Police seized another stash of illegal drugs in North Jakarta worth Rp14 billion on Wednesday (24/3) after arresting two Taiwan nationals on Monday (22/3) night.

Police raided an apartment on the 23rd floor of Mediterania Marina Ancol Apartment at 1 pm local time, a day after police found 200 kilograms of methamphetamine and about 5,000 ecstasy pills during a raid on a house in Citra Extension II housing complex in West Jakarta.

The raid was conducted based on informations from two Taiwan nationals identified as Sun Wei Yu AKA A Wei, 30, and Wen Chian Wei AKA Wei Wei, 25 caught on Monday (22/3) night at Mandala Apartment in West Jakarta.

Narcotics Director of the Jakarta Police Senior Commissioner Anjan Putra Pramuka who was at the scene said the drug dealers have been smuggling drugs through Soekarno-Hatta Airportfor the last six months.

WAHYUDIN FAHMI

Latin America struggles with dengue epidemic

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 24 March 2010 - 5:35pm

The Pan-American Health Organisation PAHO says Latin America is struggling with a severe outbreak of the deadly dengue fever. 146,000 cases have already been registered this year, and 79 people have died. Last year this time only 79,000 patients had been reported with the illness, which is spread by mosquitoes.

The PAHO says the countries the hardest hit are Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela. There is no medicine against dengue, also known as breakbone fever, although experts hope to have developed one in about five years.

Global warming is responsible for spreading the disease to countries which were formerly unaffected. In some Central American and Caribbean countries, dengue has reached epidemic proportions.

Trafficked Girl, 14, Heads Back Home

Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman, March 24, 2010

Police officers using a scarf to protect the identity of 14-year-old ‘H’ at the Child Protection Agency in Jakarta on Wednesday. The girl lived as a domestic servant in Aceh against her will for six months. (Antara Photo)

A14-year-old girl who was abducted by traffickers and taken to Aceh nearly six months ago will finally head back home to Banjarnegara in Central Java today.

The girl, identified only as “H,” was told by a recruitment agent that she would work on the staff of a cleaning service in Pekalongan, Central Java.

“Her mother was really sick and she was offered a job at Gedung Huni in Pekalongan,” said Taufik Riswan, the secretary general of the Rights of Acehnese Children Coalition. “However, after working for three days in Pekalongan, she was brought to Jakarta to see the capital.”

In Jakarta, Taufik said H was given a pill that knocked her out. When she woke up, she was on her way to the airport to be taken to Aceh.

“She was promised a job as a domestic worker in a house, and told she would be paid Rp 300,000 per month,” he said.

However, she was never paid and was forced to work from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.

“She was also beaten by the employer if she did not work well at the house,” he said, adding that the girl did not eat properly during her stay.

H told the Jakarta Globe, “I was exhausted, but I could not take any time to rest. My rest was only sleep at night.”

Though she was wearing a veil, a scar was visible on her forehead. According to Taufik, the girl’s employer gouged her with a knife.

H was rescued a month ago by Aceh Police after her employer’s neighbors reported what they had witnessed. She arrived at the office of the National Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) on Wednesday.

Three people have been named as suspects in this case. They are in the custody of Aceh Besar Police.

KPAI chairman Hadi Supeno said H’s case revealed a new pattern in human trafficking. “Aceh did not used to be a trafficking destination, but now we can see that underage children are trafficked to Aceh. It is hard for us now to map the illegal traffic as it has become more rampant. And we should take note that people who are involved in trafficking cases are those who are close with our children,” he said.

Zulaekha, from the Banjarnegara Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Agency, told the Jakarta Globe that H’s hometown, the village of Dukuh Selimpet in Banjarnegara, was isolated and poor and known as a source of domestic workers.

She said H’s case was an indication of the existence of a trafficking network in Banjarnegara. “If we look at her case closely, many people are involved [in the trafficking network] from ojek [motorcycle taxi] drivers to employers. This is going to be our concern as working as domestic workers is a normal thing. But we may forget that the traffickers are behind this,” she said.

The International Labor Organization estimates that 100,000 Indonesian children are trafficked overseas and domestically every year, and between 40,000 and 70,000 become the victims of sexual exploitation.

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President does not believe in economic growth only

Antara News, Wednesday, March 24, 2010 19:17 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he did not believe in developmental theories that only prioritize economic growth but ignore even distribution of prosperity among all segments of the people.

"I do not believe in theories which extol economic growth but fail to make the people enjoy the benefits of development. I also do not approve of economic mechanisms in which the government is not permitted to interfere because they do not run well in developing countries," President Yudhoyono said.

The head of state made the remarks at the opening of a National Working Meeting on people`s empowerment in the framework of the government`s 2010 National Self-Reliant Community Empowerment Program (PNPM) at the Grand Sahid Hotel on Wednesday.

On the occasion the president said the government`s role in the development of various sectors including people`s economy and welfare was still needed to guarantee the provision of subsidies for the people.

"In the past when we had the idea to implement free education and free health care following the fuel price hikes, some people disagreed with it because according to them it would only spoil the people, " the president said.

Commenting on the PNPM program, the President said its implementation had even become better from year to year, although there were still technical shortcomings.

The three-day National Working Meeting from March 24-26, 2010 is participated in by 32 provincial governors, 394 district heads and mayors, and a number of regional officials responsible for the implementation of the PNPM program.

The meeting`s agenda included coordination of job opportunity expansion efforts and poverty reduction policies, the system of national development planning to reduce poverty , the management of state money and sources of cost at home and abroad, and the decentralization of regional government organizations.

The government`s National Self-Reliant Community Empowerment Program (PNPM) is a concrete effort to reduce poverty and unemployment in the country.

The concrete efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment are those carried out by the central and regional governments such as the extension of assistance under the PNPM scheme.

Many doctors still unaware of govt TB program: Minister

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 03/24/2010 5:28 PM

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said Wednesday there were many doctors and hospitals conducting practices that were inconsistent with the government's health service program, particularly in the fight against tuberculosis.

The current government-approved method of TB treatment is the DOTS program (Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse).

"The DOTS program has been applied at all of the government’s health institutions, but for private hospitals this has not been fully adopted," Endang said in Jakarta at an event held in recognition of World Tuberculosis Day, which falls on March 24 each year.

Endang said some doctors in private practices often failed to inform their patients that free TB treatments were available at community health centers (Puskesmas).

"We will make sure doctors, especially the fresh graduates, are aware of the government's programs, so they will not conduct practices that go against them," she said.

Almost 6 percent of the world's tuberculosis patients are in Indonesia, which is ranked third in the world after India and China in terms of numbers of TB sufferers.

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Parents Abandon Baby With Deformed Lips

Jakarta Globe, March 24, 2010

A newly born baby was allegedly abandoned by his parents in Tangerang, Banten because they were embarrassed by his deformed lips.

Local residents told SCTV they saved the baby after the couple threw him on the ground. The parents then rode off on a motorbike.

“When we saw the baby, we tried to chase them but they were so fast,” said a local named Darti.

The baby was taken to Tangerang General Hospital for treatment. He was fed through a tube because he cannot suckle.

Hospital spokesman Dr Ahmad Muchlis said the hospital would take care of the baby until his parents are found, and no bill would be charged.

Teluknaga Police are investigating and will notify the Social Office about the abandoned baby.

Lip deformities are usually the result of cleft lip or cleft palate. They are highly treatable with surgery, especially early in life.

JG

Central Java Man Says He Sold Girl to Pay for Hair Treatments

Jakarta Globe, March 24, 2010

A man in Klaten, Central Java says he sold an underage girl as a prostitute in order to pay for his hair treatments.

Mardi, 21, was detained on Wednesday. Police said he had acted as a pimp for a 15-year-old girl named WE. The police were tipped off by local residents who grew suspicious after noticing that the girl often went to a hotel with different men.

According to police, Mardi confessed that he had sold WE to four men. Each of them paid him between Rp 70 thousand ($7.67) and Rp 100 thousand. The men were later detained and named as suspects in human trafficking.

Mardi told Metro TV he needed money to pay for his hair smoothing treatment.

“We are investigating the possibility that WE is not the only girl he sold. Our investigators from the women and children's protection unit are questioning the victim,” said Klaten Police head detective Edy Sitepu.

JG