INFID
INFID | TAPAK Ambon | AKUI
| PosKo Zwolle | Diverse Artikelen
Title
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Short News Overview.
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No
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89
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Period
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25 April 2002 – 8 May 2002
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INFID News
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INFID Related Issues
Debt
UI economist Muhamad Ikhsan
challenged a studies mentioning the benefit of foreign loan mostly enjoyed by
creditor nations. According to Ikhsan, to see the effectiveness of debt, one
should compare projects financed by foreign loan and those who were locally
funded. The quality of projects financed by external funds is better than
those financed locally, he said. The foreign loan to Indonesia has a big
benefit (for Indonesia) because it is used to improve education, health
service and irrigation, he explained.
Secretary to State Minister for National Development Planning Koensatwanto
Inpasihardjo said previously foreign loan mostly benefited creditors. “For
loans from Japan, the use of (foreign) consultants reach the portion of
almost 70 to 30”, he said. Japan is the biggest ODA creditor for Indonesia.
Japan’s ODA loans to Indonesia until March 2001 has reached 3.58 trillion
yen, channelled through JBIC, and other official loans 4.212 trillion yen,
also channelled through JBIC. Japan also gave 203 billion yen in grant,
besides 228 billion yen worth in technical assistance.
In his response, Ikhsan said he has asked for confirmation to Bappenas on the
subject matter. “The studies is not final yet”, he said. Koensatwanto said
the studies on the effectiveness of various loans was targeted at giving
inputs to the president on the subject and to increase the government
bargaining position.
Source: HBI 08/05
General News
Laskar Jihad chief arrested
The National Police confirmed on
May 3 the arrest of Laskar Jihad commander Ja’far Umar Thalib over an
allegedly provocative speech he made on April 26. Ja’far will be charged under
Article 160 of the Criminal Code on Agitation and Article 130 of the Code on
slanderous remarks against the President and Vice President, National Police
spokesperson Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf said. Article 160 of the Criminal Code
carries a maximum sentence of six years in jail, while Article 130 carries a
sentence of eight-year imprisonment. A tape recording Ja’far speech to the
crowd on April 26 revealed that he condemned Maluku Governor Saleh
Latuconsina and Maluku Provincial Police chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko Danu
Ardianto, expressed his intention to kill all of the relatives of former
president Sukarno, including current President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and
called on the crowd to “use bombs and fire them at the enemy”. Ja’far
dismissed the allegations that he had helped provoke the attack on the
Christian village of Soya and is considering launching a pre-trial lawsuit
against the National Police over his arrest, which he said was baseless and
lacking in evidence. Army chief of staff Gen. Endriartono challenged Ja’far
to try and prove his innocence. He said on May 5 that the arrest was an
example of the type of active law enforcement expected to curb the violence
in Ambon.
Meanwhile, Vice President Hamzah Haz asked all parties to respect the law in
the arrest of Ja’far. He visited Ja’far who was being detained at the
National Police Headquarters and held a 1.5 hour talk. Hamzah said the visit
was private, not in his capacity as a vice president. No politics involved,
it was only a matter of a Muslim visiting his fellow Muslim to strengthen the
Muslim brotherhood, Hamzah explained. He said he visited Ja’far in his
capacity as chairperson of PPP. MPR Speakers Amien Rais worried the visit
would be interpreted as political intervention and pressure. “Though he said
it was only a visit to a fellow Muslim, it could make the law process more
difficult to proceed”, Amien said.
Sources: JP 05/05, 06/05, SPD
07/05, KCM 08/05
Regional News
Aceh
Peace talks between the Indonesian
government and separatist rebels from Aceh province will be held in Geneva on
May 9 and 10. The talks were originally scheduled to take place on April 27
and 28. A negotiator for the rebel GAM, Zaini Abdullah, said a group of
international “wise men” would also be involved. He named them as: General
Anthony Zinni, currently US Middle East envoy, Lord Avebury of Britain,
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and former Yugoslav minister
Budimir Lancar. After the last talks in February, GAM said it had agreed to
discuss autonomy as a starting point for talks but had not dropped demands
for full independence. But Zaini insisted that the talks in May would focus
first on restoring security, based on agreement reached by both sides in
their last talks.
Co-ordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono said that international community had showed a tendency not to
support GAM’s demand for independence. He also stated that there had been a
thought that Ministry of Interior should handle future negotiation and the
venue should be inside the Indonesian territory. Indonesian delegation will
be headed by Indonesian Ambassador to Sweden Wiryono Sosrohandojo. The
delegation consists of TNI representatives namely Chief of Central Military
Police Maj. Gen. Sulaiman AB and TNI General Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Djamari
Chaniago, police representatives, and several representatives from Aceh
people.
Sources: AFP 25/04, KCM 08/05
Maluku
A gang of armed and masked men
attacked the Christian village of Soya, Sirimau distric of Ambon, on April
28, killing at least 12 villagers and seriously wounding 12 others. About 30
houses an a church dating back to 1876, regarded as a symbol of Christianity
in Maluku, were burned down. Anthony Hatane from Committee for Truth, Justice
and Stopping of Maluku Violence said that before the attack Soya Village was
a safe haven, where refugees took shelter at the time of conflict. The
village is located at the rear end of the lining Christian villages in the
area, which means any attempt to attack it will have to face other Christian
villages in front. Geographically, Soya village is also difficult to reach
since it is surrounded by hills and deep valleys. According to the eye
witnesses, Hatane said, those who attacked the village was not a Muslim group,
but “well-trained men, not from Ambon and not civilian”.
Source: Reuters 28/04 KCM 29/04,
JP 30/04
Papua
An investigation team formed by
President Megawati Sukarnoputri said on April 29 six military officials were
involved in the murder of Papuan pro-independence leader Theys Eluay late
last year. But the team said its investigation did not uncover the motive of
the murder. Team leader Koesparmono Irsan said the parties which were
allegedly involved include three officers and three privates from the local
Papua military command. Irsan did not say what branches of the military were
involved but police have previously said members of Kopassus special forces
may have been behind the murder. Kopassus has repeatedly dismissed the
allegation. Early April the military admitted, for the first time, its troops
were involved in Eluay’s death.
Source: Reuters 29/04
Abbreviations
AFP Agence
France Presse
Bappenas National Development Planning Board
GAM Free
Aceh Movement
HBI Harian
Bisnis Indonesia
JBIC Japan
Bank for International Co-operation
KCM Kompas
Cyber Media
MPR People’s
Consultative Assembly
ODA Official
Development Aid
PPP United
Development Party
SPD Suara
Pembaruan Daily
TNI Indonesian
Military
UI University
of Indonesia
Terug
Stichting TitanE
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