>from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> >subject: Indonesia/US empire SouthWest Pacific JC > (JC- General Wiranto is the US man in this area -since Suharto has >gone into hiding with the US-supplied loot. Indonesia provides the >militia security for all US corporations and "their" gold, oil and >copper. US therefor is responsible for the abduction and retention of >at least 250,000 East Timorese in West Timor, Irian Jaya and various >unspecified islands forming the Spice group, Moluccas, Borneo etc. Is >it because they do not want a large population in East Timor needing >financial help to repair all Wiranto's militian destruction? Most of >the kidnapped had witnessed the murders of priests, nuns and simple >village people. Each had to sign documents saying they wished to >remain Indonesian before being trucked or pushed on board ships out >of East Timor. Habib and Wiranto lied each day, saying that the >militias were disciplined and innocent. Australia accepted the lies. >One recent West Timor camp containing hundreds of East Timorese was >flooded and the makeshift shelters destroyed. About 100 people have >drowned. > > UN frightened reps have reported that most of the people in other >large WestTimor camps are too traumatized to tell them that they wish >to go back to East Timor- as people have tried, but have disappeared >along the way. Do the UN people just talk and wander about the camps, >or are they part of the plan? ACEH has a strange rebel group that >wants the Indonesian troops and Mobil's security OUT, but kills >village people who do not want to join them. The similar Indonesians >in Freeport's Irian Jaya spend their days in "search and kill" West >Papuans, who, with duplicity by Australian politicians were cheated >in a plebiscite to join Indonesia. Aust politicians "left" and >"right" all love Disneyland and do what the US or Wiranto instructs >them to do -while sharing the profits of course. US watches all >developments each day -and no doubt provides the words.) > *********** > The Sydney Morning Herald . May 19, 2000 > >INDONESIA > "Aceh massacre trial 'missed real culprits' > By Agence France-Presse > > Jakarta: Two international human rights bodies yesterday dismissed >as "seriously flawed" the just-concluded trial of 24 Indonesian >soldiers and a civilian for a massacre in Aceh province, saying it >had missed the real culprits in the slaughter. > > Military commanders and not just their troops should have been >held accountable for the massacre of more than 50 people last year, >the London-based Amnesty International and New York based Human >Rights Watch said in a joint statement. The groups expressed "serious >misgivings" over the sentencing on Wednesday of 24 soldiers and a >civilian to up to 10 years' jail for the killings last year of >Teungku Bantaqiah and 57 of his followers. > >The flaws in the trial could make it seem only a "public relations >exercise" in the eyes of the Acehnese people. > "The trial shows the Indonesian Government's resolve to put an end >to military impunity in Aceh and that is an important step forward," >the joint statement said. "But it is a seriously flawed beginning >Commanding officers were not charged and key witnesses failed to >appear." > >None of the accused in the trial was "above the rank of captain and >the majority were privates or non-commissioned officers". >The accused troops' commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sujono - >who had been named as one of the accused, has disappeared. >Another senior officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Syafiul Armen, who >appeared as a witness, "admitted to having ordered troops to bring >back Teungku Bantaqiah dead or alive and was not charged". > >Wednesday's sentencing of the 25 by a joint civilian-military >tribunal was considered a big step by authorities in addressing gross >human rights abuses in Aceh, where troops and members of the >separatist Free Aceh Movement have been fighting for more than two >decades. > >But just hours after the verdict, Indonesian police killed nine men >in the worst violence since last week's signing of a truce between >the Government and the rebels. >Police said eight of the nine, suspected separatists, were killed in >a firelight but residents said they had been shot in cold blood while >sitting in a cafe. > >The incident happened at around midnight in Hagu Barat Laut village >in North Aceh. >Amnesty and Human Rights Watch said the trial lacked credibility >and legitimacy because of the lack of charges against senior >officers, an argument also used by the defence lawyers during the >trial and protesters who picketed the courthouse during several of >its sessions. > > "If the justice effort in Aceh is to be credible, the most senior >culpable officers must be brought to justice," the statement said. > >It also said that the non-appearance of some witnesses appeared to >be because they had not been called or were afraid because of the >lack of a witness protection program. >"In Aceh, where the security forces have ... a long record of >literally getting away with murder, the potential for intimidation is >high," the statement said. > >It warned that if the massacre trial was a "foretaste" of how >Indonesian authorities planned to conduct trials into the post-ballot >violence in East Timor last year, "it does not bode well". > >The UN Commission on Human Rights has urged that an international war >crimes court be convened to try those responsible for the wave of >violence in East Timor carried out by Indonesian military-backed >militia. But the commission has said it is waiting rust to see >whether Indonesia conducts a credible legal process and brings those >responsible to justice. > > ************ >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > from The Sydney Morning Herald . May 19, 2000 > >THE MALUKUS > "Church, homes burn in riots." > By Agence France-Press, Reuters > > Ambon: Three people were killed and 52 injured Yesterday as Muslim >mobs set fire to a church and dozens of houses in the eastern >Indonesian town of Ambon, church activists said. The violence came a >day after at least 23 people were killed in the worst clashes in a >month between Muslims and Christians in Ambon, the capital of Maluku >province. > >Noya Dileopistos, an official manning the Maranatha Protestant >emergency post in Ambon, said the three Christians were shot dead >inside their homes. Deleopistos said more than 100 houses and the >Jacobus Catholic church in the suburb of Ahuru, about five kilometres >east of Ambon, were burned down by Muslim mobs. Ahuru straddles the >line dividing Muslim and Christian communities. The official Antara >news agency said earlier that hundreds of men in white or black >Islamic dress attacked homes in the area and burned them down, >and the sound of explosions could be heard. The attackers were >backed by some members of security forces, who shot at those who got >in their way; Antara quoted residents as saying. Video footage >showed both sides throwing homemade bombs at each other and fighting >with swords and spears. > > At least 23 people were killed on Wednesday in the first major >eruption of violence in Ambon since April 30 - - when six people were >killed and more than 10 were injured in the same downtown area near >Ambon's port. Most of the victims were Muslims. The renewed >violence erupted on Tuesday after a man, identified as >Nyong Ferdinandus, was killed by a truck in a hit-and-run >accident. Shops and businesses have been closed by the violence >since Tuesday. > > ************* >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > from the Sydney Morning Herald . May 19, 2000 > >EAST TIMOR "Novice notion urged to embrace taxation." > By Mark Dodd >-- >Impoverished East Timor is considering the introduction of a broad- >based taxation system at the urging of the United Nations, which >wants to ensure the world's newest country achieves a measure of >economic self- sufficiency before it leaves. > > Members of the National Consultative Council (NCC), East Timor's de >facto government, and senior UN officials met in DM for the first >public hearing on the taxation proposals on Wednesday. > >The proposal is being con sidered by the NCC, which will either >reject or ratify it. >The tax measures, if adopted, would affect all companies and wage >earners doing business in East Timor. >UN international staff, the highest paid workers in East Timor, and >aid agency personnel would be exempt from paying income tax. > >Under the plan, which would take effect from August 1, local and >foreign workers would pay no tax on the first $US600 ($1,050), but a >flat rate of 20 per cent would apply on wages above that amount. > >The tax system would be introduced in various stages. A senior >UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) financial >official, Mr. Bruce Taplin, sought the introduction of a 10 per cent >tax on hotels, cafes, telecommunications services and rental services >by July 1, but requested it be back-dated to January 1. > >Other taxes planned by UNTAET include a land and property tax, >business income tax and withholding taxes on business. > >Representatives of foreign companies said at the hearing they >accepted a tax liability in East Timor but wanted more details before >making a detailed response. >Most companies doing business in East Timor are Australian owned and >include Telstra, which would be liable for the service tax. > > The land tax would apply only after a comprehensive registry of >land ownership in East Timor, which the UN concedes, is a contentious >issue yet to be resolved. "Determining the ownership of land at this >time is rather difficult," Mr. Taplin said. > >Documents prepared by UNTAET projected tax revenue of $US22 million >for the financial year 2000/2001 if the proposed measures were >adopted in their present form. > >By 2002/2003, East Timor's revenue forecast would increase to $US43 >million, compared with an estimated $USI million expected this >financial year. > > *********** >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > from the Sydney Morning Herald . May 19, 2000 > >DILI -East Timor "Flash floods kill 50." > By Mark Dodd and agencies > >At least 50 refugees living in one of the worst militia-controlled >camps in Indonesian West Timor have died in flash floods caused by >unseasoned rains, a senior UN official said yesterday. > >A spokeswoman for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor >(UNTAEI), Ms Barbara Reis, said most of the dead were refugees in the >Betun camp, about 30 kilometres southwest of the Suai border >crossing. > >The state news agency Antara said the floods had killed 93 people and >had inundated hundreds of homes in West Timor. >A UNTAET offer to fly in helicopters carrying emergency medical aid >and food supplies was being considered by Indonesian authorities late >yesterday. > >Local police had put the death toll at 125, a spokesman for the UN >refugee agency said. Much of the region has been cut off due to >roads and bridges collapsing after days of heavy rain. > > At least eight people are dead and 10,000 people displaced after >floods in the northern Philippines, which turned Manila streets into >raging torrents. > > ************** >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > from the Sydney Morning Herald . May 19, 2000 > >FREEPORT MINE (Irian Jaya) "Jakarta gets tough after fatal >landslide" > By Dow Jones > > Jakarta: Indonesia said it would order PT Freeport Indonesia to cut >back production at its Grasberg gold and copper mine in West Papua >province, after a fatal landslide at a waste rock dump there earlier >this month. > >The move indicates that the Government of President Abdurrahman >Wahid intends to get tough on the mining company, which had enjoyed >close relations with former president Soeharto's administration. > >The Environment Minister, Mr. Sonny Keraf, said on Wednesday that >the Cabinet had decided - after hearing the results of an >investigation by two ministries - that Freeport must submit a >comprehensive new plan and obtain government approval before opening >a new dump for the waste rock. > >Freeport must also clean up "all destruction and pollution that had >been caused" by the sludge dumped into Wanagon Lake by the landslide. >In addition, Freeport must allow a criminal investigation by the >police and government officials into the four deaths caused by the >landslide. > >It must also compensate losses suffered by residents of a nearby >village affected by the incident. > >The Australian-British mining company Rio Tinto has a 12 per cent >stake in the mine, which made a net profit of $USIOI million ($178 >million) last year. > >Mr. Keraf said a letter including all the demands would be sent to >Freeport, a unit of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, early next week >at the latest. > > "It must be done as soon as possible to avoid further destruction of >the environment" caused by the waste rock, he said. He did not say >how much production would be cut. > >Last week he threatened, to suspend production at the site. > >A Freeport spokesman, Mr. Mindo Pangaribuan, said dumping had stopped >on the day of the landslide, May 4. He said other locations were >being sought for waste disposal, all within the Grasberg area. > >Critics say Freeport ignored pressure from the central Government to >reduce the risk posed by the dumping of waste into the basin after a >similar, nonfatal landslide at the site in 1998. > > ************* >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > from the Sydney Morning Herald . May 19, 2000 > >FAMILY MATTERS "Business almost as usual for the Soeharto clan." > By ROB DELANEY in Jakarta > > Two years after the fall of Soeharto, large parts of the >Indonesian economic empire forged by the former president's family >are still very much in business. > >PT Bimantara Citra, a telecommunications and broadcasting group, >remains under the control of Mr. Soeharto Is second son, Bambang >Trihatinodjo. > >PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, a toll-road operation partly owned >by Siti Hardyanti Rukmana, a daughter of Mr. Soeharto, is in the >running to manage a lucrative Jakarta toll road. > >The beginnings of an economic recovery have muffled calls for >dismantling of the enterprises, while the family's ties to the >military and government ministries remain too strong to allow such an >outcome any time soon, analysts say. > >Although the premium attached to the companies' connections >evaporated soon after Mr. Soeharto was deposed, the fortunes of >Bimantara and Citra Marga are not entirely tales of a dynasty in >decline. > >"The system hasn't come down as hard as many people expected it >would," said Mr. Calvin Ho, vice-president with Citicorp Investment >Bank (Singapore). > >While calls for Mr. Soeharto's prosecution on corruption charges >make headlines daily and foreign enterprises steer clear of the >former first family; many Soeharto activities remain largely >untouched. > >Bimantara still runs the country's most-watched private TV station, >RCTI, and owns stakes in a popular Jakarta shopping mall, Plaza >Indonesia, and its most fashionable hotel, the Grand Hyatt. > >Analysts also point out that the company is well positioned to >take advantage of growth in the telecommunications business through >its 7 per cent stake in Satelindo, a mobile operator that also has a >14 per cent market share of international calls. > >Bimantara's loss narrowed 20 per cent to 218.4 billion rupiah ($48 >billion) last year, thanks to foreign-exchange gains. > >The company's shares, have done well on the Jakarta stock market in >the two years, more than doubling, compared with the 25 per cent gain >for the benchmark index in that period. > >Citra Marga has not fared so well. The company reported a 61 per >cent decline in 1999 profit. > >Although Bimantara and other companies linked to Mr. Soeharto were no >longer guaranteed government contracts and first chance at lucrative >franchises, they had shown greater resilience than expected analysts >said. > >"These companies will carry on business as usual," said Mr. Eric Poh, >from ING Investment Management Asia Pacific in Singapore. He said >this was because the Government had many other problems to worry >about before it could investigate Soeharto-linked companies. > >Not all six Soeharto children are faring well Humpuss Group, owned >by youngest son Tommy, is the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency's >third largest debtor, owing it 5.5 trillion rupiah, and the >Government is considering nationalisms the company's unfinished $US >IOO million car plant near Jakarta. " JC > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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