CiKEAS Warga RMS pun Ingin Presiden RI ke Belanda
Ref: Untuk melihat video footage, click situs di bawah ini : http://www.rnw.nl/bahasa-indonesia/video/warga-rms-pun-ingin-presiden-ri-ke-belanda Warga RMS pun Ingin Presiden RI ke Belanda Diterbitkan : 8 Oktober 2010 - 12:06pm Bukan hanya Ratu, Perdana Menteri, dan Politisi Belanda yang ingin Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tetap datang ke Belanda. Warga RMS juga. Sekalipun mengajukan permohonan agar SBY diperiksa karena dianggap melanggar hak-hak azasi manusia di Maluku, RMS tetap mengharapkan kedatangan sang Presiden RI. Ini tercermin saat wartawan RNW Prita Riadhini menemui sejumlah orang RMS yang tengah beraksi di kota Den Haag, Belanda. Supaya dia dengar perasaan-perasaan di sini, teristimewa masyarakat Maluku yang punya hubungan erat dengan Maluku di Indonesia, ujar seorang bapak. Presiden RMS dalam sambutannya mengatakan SBY hanya berani bertanding di kandang sendiri. Ia dalam kesempatan sama menegaskan kembali harapan agar bertemu dengan Presiden RI. Mari datang ke Belanda, dan coba kita berdialog, cari jalan keluar supaya bangsa Maluku di Maluku bisa hidup dalam keadaan bebas dan makmur, kata John Wattilete. Hampir semua warga RMS yang datang, menekankan pentingnya penegakan hak-hak azasi manusia dan kesejahteraan di Maluku. Favorit/Cari dengan:
CiKEAS Police arrest four burglary suspects
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article156354.ece Police arrest four burglary suspects By SULTAN AL-TAMIMI | ARAB NEWS Published: Oct 8, 2010 01:06 Updated: Oct 8, 2010 01:07 JEDDAH: Four Indonesian nationals were arrested on Wednesday for burgling homes in Jeddah. The four-man gang was involved in home thefts in the Mohammadia, Nahda and Naeem districts in north Jeddah. The criminals used to jump over villa walls, break into houses through the windows and doors and steal anything of value that was light, First Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq of Jeddah police told Arab News. Officers said all four admitted to their crimes while being interrogated. They took police investigators to all locations which they stole from. Currently all of them are in custody while investigations are completed, Al-Bouq said. If convicted, all of them face lengthy prison sentences or deportation from Saudi Arabia. a.. Comments Post a comment
CiKEAS Revisiting Islam and human rights
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\13\story_13-10-2010_pg3_5 Wednesday, October 13, 2010 COMMENT: Revisiting Islam and human rights -Ahmad Ali Khalid By creating a scenario where liberals fear to engage in theology, religious ethics and epistemology by adopting the delusional principle of moral abstemiousness, we let the public sphere be filled with narrow and intolerant moralisms The issue of human rights is contentious. More so in Pakistan, where human rights are seen as a foreign concept and, peculiarly, a repressive instrument of neo-colonial forces aimed at vilifying Muslim societies. Respectable columnist Ishtiaq Ahmed has written many times on the subject of human rights and, by and large, I am in total agreement with what he writes. However, in this article I argue that in order to justify human rights in Muslim societies, we need to adopt certain epistemic and philosophical methods. Adopting a basis for human rights on the proviso of utilitarianism, liberal neutrality or a free standing concept of justice independent from comprehensive doctrines of religion and ideology (in the Rawlsian sense) is not feasible. The fact of the matter is that adopting a non-theistic moral framework in a religious society is not feasible either. A framework of moral reasoning grounded in a form of religious liberalism (for instance the liberal theology of John Locke), is needed to counter the conservative/traditionalist framework of religious reasoning. Most political theorists urge us to adopt non-cultural and non-religious grounds for human rights so that we can avoid the tricky metaphysical, theological and ontological questions involved. But this is to totally avoid the crux of the matter, to skip the substance of the debate and cede ground to fundamentalists. We cannot avoid, when discussing human rights, getting involved in the indigenous traditions of ethics, justice, morality, epistemology and ontology of a specific faith or culture. Hence, rather than try and banish moral and religious arguments, liberals should engage in these arguments to provide an alternative narrative. Ishtiaq Ahmed rightly criticises the Islamic Declaration of Human Rights because it limits moral autonomy by having a narrow and literalistic conception of God's sovereignty. So, rather than avoid the subject of God's sovereignty altogether, we should engage in this discussion and argue that God's sovereignty does not mean we adopt a dictator-despot concept of God, but rather that God endows us with the capacity for free moral choices (free will). Hence, by creating a scenario where liberals fear to engage in theology, religious ethics and epistemology by adopting this delusional principle of moral abstemiousness, we let the public sphere be filled with narrow and intolerant moralisms. And that is the situation in Pakistan today. Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel reminds us that, Fundamentalisms rush in where liberals fear to tread. Grounding human rights in Muslim societies will require an epistemological shift in religious theology and religious moral reasoning. In short, I argue that we must move from the traditional Asharite concept of divine command ethics (an act is only good or bad if God says that it is; an act is never inherently good or evil) towards the Mu'tazilite concept of natural law (the moral value of an act can be determined by unaided human reason). A theory of Islamic natural law will enable a dialogue between secular and religious reason and participants. This is the shift from the traditionalist-Asharite thesis to the rationalist/naturalist-Mu'tazilite thesis. The ingredients for the religious justification of human rights are the acceptance of free will, human dignity, the moral worth of all human beings, the historical context of sacred scripture and the value of human reason. The Mu'tazilites adopt a unique position in affirming the moral value of all human beings, the ability of all human beings, regardless of faith, to comprehend basic values of right and wrong (in contrast to the Asharites who argue our concept of right and wrong must come directly from Revelation, hence only Muslims have the ability to determine right and wrong). The Mu'tazilites adopt, furthermore, a precursor to the historic-critical method of Quranic interpretation and the crucial concept of free will that can be related to moral autonomy, which is critical for any justification for human rights. The Mu'tazilite belief that ethical values are independent of God, that we are endowed with free will and all humans have the same moral worth and dignity is the strongest opposition available to us to deconstruct discriminatory practices on the basis of religion. Practices of misogyny, gender discrimination, religious discrimination and other such human rights abuses
CiKEAS Jakarta no longer the ideal capital, says President
Rfelection : How about Pacitan to be the capital city of NKRI? http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/09/09/jakarta-no-longer-ideal-capital-says-president.html Jakarta no longer the ideal capital, says President The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/09/2010 9:11 AM | Headlines Congestion - the one issue consistently in the minds of more than 13 million people here - began to receive notable national attention with the President himself questioning the suitability of the metropolis as the center of commerce, government and the nation's capital. Honestly. [Jakarta] is no longer ideal, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said while calling for an extraordinary solution to the problem of Greater Jakarta. He added there was no longer a balance in the ratio between people and their surrounding environment. Speaking at a meeting with chief and senior editors of national media at the State Palace on Wednesday night, the President said the complications posed by the rapid growth of Jakarta were complex. The number of motor vehicles, for example, rose 10 to 15 percent annually, compared to the number of new roads which, according to Yudhoyono, amounted to a miniscule 0.01 percent per year. Other problems include population density and drainage issues. With traffic in many parts of the capital coming to an inefficient standstill, the central government has begun taking steps to seek alternatives. Without elaborating, the President said he has been absorbing as much information as possible in the last three months and working with a small team to look at the various alternatives. He described this initiative as a historic opportunity. But rather than taking a bold decision to endorse one particular resolution, the President instead forwarded three differing proposals for debate which he said needed a national consensus. While the first option was simply maintaining the status quo and introducing a slew of new alternative mass transport options and highways, the second and third required a physical move to new cities. One called for the construction of a new capital, such as Brasilia, Canberra or The Hague, leaving Jakarta to be a center of commerce alone. The other alternative was for the construction of a new government center, with Petaling Jaya in Malaysia as the example. This way the center of government would be focused on this new township, while the city of Jakarta would remain the center of commerce and capital city like that of Kuala Lumpur. The challenge is great, the President remarked while stressing that once a decision had been taken it should be bold with a strategic plan. There can be no short term patchwork policies. According to Yudhoyono, Petaling Jaya was constructed at a cost of about Rp 80 trillion. Financing doesn't all have to come from the government. There can be private sector partnerships as well, he added without going into detail. In his mind, once started this project would consume the better part of a decade or even more with construction taking about five to six years, and the supporting infrastructure about two or three years. While he did not indicate any specific location, the President said centrality would be important. But centrality does not necessarily mean geographically central, he said. Related News a.. Text your say: Moving the capital city b.. Empty streets in Jakarta as Idul Fitri holiday begins c.. Rainy afternoon, evening in Jakarta Thursday d.. SBY: Jakarta no longer an ideal city
CiKEAS Politisi Korup Diberi Remisi 1 Bulan + Inilah 25 Koruptor Penerima Remisi
Refleksi : Sjukur alhamdullilah para koruptor diberi remisi satu bulan, berkat peri kemanusian presiden negara dan instansi keadilan hukum yang memperihatikan nasib sial nan buruk para koruptor. Duit koruptor yang disembunyikan bermamak biak, jadi kalau cepat keluar dari losemen istitirahat bisa terus goyang kaki menikmati hasil panen korupsi yang telah berbunga-bunga dalam simpanan rahasia. Sial seribu sayang bagi yang belum korupsi, harus kerja keras setiap hari, terkecuali anggota DPR yang malas kerja dan makan gaji buta. http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2010/09/08/22043651/Politisi.Korup.Diberi.Remisi.1.Bulan Bulyan Royan Politisi Korup Diberi Remisi 1 Bulan Rabu, 8 September 2010 | 22:04 WIB MAYA SAPUTRI Mantan anggota komisi V Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Bulyan Royan yang dijatuhi hukuman penjara selama enam tahun oleh majelis hakim Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi, Rabu (18/3). PEKANBARU, KOMPAS.com - Dua narapidana perkara korupsi yang menjalani masa tahanan di Provinsi Riau mendapat potongan masa tahanan berupa remisi khusus Idul Fitri 1431 Hijriyah. Ada dua narapidana perkara korupsi mendapat remisi Lebaran, kata Kepala Kanwil Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Riau, Bambang Irawan di Pekanbaru, Rabu (8/9/2010). Salah satu napi yang mendapat remisi adalah Bulyan Royan, bekas anggota Fraksi Partai Bintang Reformasi (F-PBR) DPR RI yang terlibat korupsi pengadaan kapal patroli Kementerian Perhubungan. Bulyan kini masih menjalani hukuman penjara di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (Lapas) Klas IIB Bangkinang, Kabupaten Kampar, Riau. Masing-masing napi korupsi dapat remisi satu bulan, katanya. Ia membantah pemberian remisi bertujuan untuk menenangkan Bulyan setelah mantan anggota Komisi V DPR RI itu mengaku kerap diperas oleh oknum lapas hingga mencapai Rp 110 juta. Remisi murni karena penilaian kelakukan baik napi dan syarat ketentuan sudah mencukupi, ujarnya. Pada tahun ini, kata dia, terdapat 1.576 napi di Riau menerima remisi Lebaran, dan 39 di antaranya langsung bebas. Besarnya remisi bervariasi, mulai dari 15 hari hingga dua bulan. Selain itu, tercatat 335 penerima remisi Lebaran adalah narapidana kasus narkoba. Narapidana kasus kejahatan transnasional, seperti pembalakan liar, yang mendapat remisi enam orang. TERKAIT: a.. Divonis Lebih Ringan, Bulyan Tetap Pertimbangkan Banding b.. Muqowam: Sumpah Pocong, Berani Mati, Saya Tidak Terima Uang! c.. Oknum TNI Ancam Bunuh Bulyan Royan d.. Penyuap Bulyan Royan Dituntut 4 Tahun Penjara e.. Istri Berperan Penting dalam Pemberantasan Korupsi http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2010/09/08/22212634/Inilah.25.Koruptor.Penerima.Remisi Peradilan Inilah 25 Koruptor Penerima Remisi Rabu, 8 September 2010 | 22:21 WIB JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Dalam rangka hari raya Idul Fitri 1431 Hijriyah, Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Cipinang mengusulkan pengurangan masa hukuman atau remisi terhadap 25 narapidana perkara korupsi. Remisi berkisar satu hingga dua bulan penjara. Para napi perkara korupsi ini tidak ada yang langsung bebas. Total narapidana perkara korupsi yang diusulkan dapat remisi ada 25 orang, kata Kepala Lapas Cipinang I Wayan Sukerta, Jakarta, Rabu (8/9/2010). Wayan menyebutkan, terpidana lima tahun penjara perkara korupsi Yayasan Pengembangan Perbankan Indonesia (YPPI), mantan anggota DPR (Golkar), Antony Zeidra Abidin, diusulkan mendapat remisi sebanyak satu bulan. Mantan Direktur Utama Bulog Widjanarko Puspoyo, terpidana 10 tahun penjara perkara pidana korupsi dalam ekspor beras ke Afrika Selatan dan penerimaan hadiah dari rekanan Bulog, diusulkan mendapat remisi sebanyak satu bulan. Terpidana 15 tahun penjara kasus pembobolan BNI 46 Cabang Kebayoran Baru senilai Rp 161, 8 miliar, mantan Kepala Bidang Pelayanan Nasabah Luar Negeri, Edy Santoso, diusulkan mendapat remisi dua bulan. Sebelumnya, sejumlah lapas melalui Kanwil Kemenhuk dan HAM Jawa Barat telah mengusulkan remisi terhadap 21 napi perkara korupsi pada Lebaran kali ini. Wayan dapat memahami kritik tajam yang disampaikan masyarakat atas obral remisi kepada koruptor pada peringatan Hari Kemerdekaan 17 Agustus 2010. Namun, Wayan juga meminta masyarakat dapat memahami peraturan dan perundang-undangan yang ada. Wayan menyatakan, pengajuan pemberian remisi terhadap 25 napi kasus korupsi ini mengacu pada Undang-Undang Nomor 12 Tahun 1995 tentang Pemasyarakatan, Peraturan Presiden No 174 dan Peraturan Pemerintah No 28. Katanya, remisi diajukan dan diberikan karena penilaian bahwa napi berperilaku baik dan telah menjalani 1/3 masa hukuman. (Abdul Qodir) Inilah daftar para narapidana korupsi berikut masa remisinya. 1. Olah Abdullah (2 bulan) 2. Edy Santoso (2 bulan) 3. Husadi Yuwono (2 bulan) 4. Rudi Sutopo (2 bulan) 5. Indra Warman Siregar (1 bulan 15 hari) 6. Ismail Syaefudin (1 bulan 15 hari) 7. Kuncoro (1 bulan 15 hari) 8. Tabrani Ismail (1 bulan 15 hari) 9. Arken Tarigan (1 bulan) 10. Herominus Abdul Salam (1 bulan) 11. Mustofa (1 bulan)
CiKEAS Remains found in Spain of 'bizarre' dinosaur with a hump on its back
Refleksi : Nenek moyang unta? http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/remains-found-in-spain-of-bizarre-dinosaur-with-a-hump-on-its-back/story-e6frg6so-1225916297905 Remains found in Spain of 'bizarre' dinosaur with a hump on its back From: AFP September 09, 2010 10:36AM Image of a new species of dinosaur found in Spain with a hump on its back. Source: Supplied PALAEONTOLOGISTS have found the remains of a strange dinosaur with a hump that may be a forerunner of the leviathans which once ruled the planet. The fossil was uncovered in the Las Hoyas formation in central Spain's Cuenca province, a treasure trove of finds that date to the Lower Cretaceous period of between 120 and 150 million years ago. The nearly-complete skeleton is as exquisite as the dinosaur is bizarre, Fernando Escaso of the Autonomous University of Madrid, said. This dinosaur is very remarkable, Professor Escaso said. It is a unique specimen. It is the most complete dinosaur ever found in the Iberian peninsula and is a new species of theropod, a carnivore that moved on two rear limbs. Six metres long from snout to tailtip, the dinosaur is the earliest member ever found of a branch of Carcharodontosauria, the largest predatory dinos that ever lived and which until now were thought to be confined to southern continents. The lineage expanded hugely over the aeons, both in size and number of species. Its numbers include Giganotosaurus, estimated up to 14.5m long, and Carcharodontosaurus, up to 13 metres long, and each weighing some seven or eight tonnes. The new find has jaws and small, clawed forelimbs that bear a resemblance to the Tyrannosaurus rex which belongs to a different dinosaur family. But all similarities end with the spine, which is astonishingly curved and has a small hump, Professor Escaso said. It is the first time we have ever seen a structure like this on the spine of a dinosaur, although it is common on some animals today, such as cows, Professor Escaso said. At the moment, the function of this structure is unclear. We believe that the animal was not diseased because the spine shows no sign of being cracked or broken, we think it is a feature of this species. One hypothesis is that it was a reservoir of fat. The new species has been named Concavenator corcovatus, from Conca, the Latin word for Cuenca; venator, for hunter; and corcovatus, or hump-backed. The study is published by the British science journal Nature. AFP 297547-dinosaur.jpg
CiKEAS Top tips for healthy travelling
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/traveller-tips/top-tips-for-healthy-travelling-20100813-122sh.html?rand=1284018505334 Top tips for healthy travelling September 9, 2010 - 5:48PM Be prepared: just because you're on a happy holiday doesn't mean you won't get sick. Accidents and illnesses happen everywhere. Being overseas and in a happy holiday mood doesn't confer immunity. So, it pays to be prepared. But the good news is that few people need to amend travel plans - or not travel at all - for health-related reasons. Very few conditions - some serious heart complaints are one example - require patients not to travel, says Dr Marjan Kljakovic, professor of general practice at the Australian National University in Canberra. It's a good idea, if you've had medical treatment, to discuss travel plans with your doctor. Despite more elderly people travelling, Dr Kljakovic - who sees patients in general practice - says there's been no surge in illnesses. They're usually well prepared. Even with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), we haven't seen an increase. I encounter a couple of cases a year and have done for many years. They're usually related to long-haul air travel. Accidents occur suddenly and unpredictably. I remember the case of a man who tripped while overseas on holiday, Dr Kljakovic recalls. He fell and hit his head. It seemed minor at the time - but the impact ended up killing him. Within Australia, potential health issues - whether accident or illness - are less worrisome because travellers are covered by Medicare and private health insurance. But outside the country it's important for people to hold appropriate insurance, notes Dr Kljakovic. He adds that some insurance companies won't cover the elderly - so it pays to shop around. Here are some tips for healthy holidays. ALTITUDE: Travel companies often recommend allowing a day or two to acclimatise before strenuous activity in high-altitude countries such as Nepal, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Altitude sickness is unpleasant: symptoms include headache, fatigue, nausea, stomach upsets, dizziness, and sleep disturbance. In rare cases, people become seriously ill. ANIMAL BITES: No, it's not just rabies (for which immunisations are often recommended; see below). Non-rabid animals can inflict nasty bites, causing painful wounds that may become infected. Sound advice is not to pet monkeys, squirrels, dogs or other animals while overseas on holiday. (Several travellers are killed by wild animals each year on walking safaris in game parks.) DESTINATION: Pick another destination if climatic factors will spoil your enjoyment - for instance, if humidity causes extreme discomfort or if very dry air makes your skin crack painfully. DVT (DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS): For long air trips, doctors often recommend wearing compression socks. They're long (to just below the knee) and apply light pressure to the legs - where DVT most often occurs - to encourage blood to move more efficiently through limbs. Though it's relatively rare, higher-risk individuals (people who've recently had surgery, for example) should ask doctors whether taking a prescribed blood thinner (anti-coagulant) is warranted. EARS: Why do babies scream when an aircraft is on descent? Because their ears hurt. Doctors say ear pain is the most common travel affliction in adults, too. Air pressure in the middle ear should be the same as that outside your body. The ear's Eustachian tubes help keep it this way. On aircraft, pressure changes rapidly during take-offs and landings play havoc with this. So, air pressure in the middle and outer ears becomes different - and eardrums are pulled towards the brain. In most cases this is merely painful but in very rare instances eardrums perforate. Swallowing helps many people while others find chewing gum or sucking sweets helpful. Some say taking decongestants prevents pain. Symptoms are worse if you have a blocked nose. Advice sometimes given is not to travel if you have a cold - but, if you've booked a trip for particular dates, this solution may not be practical. (People susceptible to another complaint, motion sickness, should get a seat over the wing, advises the US-based Aerospace Medical Association.) EXHAUSTION: Don't try to pack too much into your day. Trying to see too many sights, particularly in a hot climate, can lead to exhaustion. Aside from tiredness, symptoms include dizziness and confusion. Related hot-climate risks: painfully blistered feet and raw, itchy groins. (For the latter, over-the-counter anti-fungal creams are available in most countries). FOOD AND DRINK: Travellers' diarrhoea is much more common than serious food poisoning. Changed diets (such as spicy food for someone used to blander fare) are sometimes responsible. Another hint: avoid buffet salads or peeled fruit and check bottled water is sealed (so that it's not just tap water transferred to a plastic bottle). Eat at
CiKEAS Now he tells us: Cuba economic model doesn't work, says Fidel
http://www.smh.com.au/world/now-he-tells-us-cuba-economic-model-doesnt-work-says-fidel-20100909-153bb.html Now he tells us: Cuba economic model doesn't work, says Fidel Paul Haven September 10, 2010 Still mentally alert ... Fidel Castro in Havana last week. HAVANA: Fidel Castro has told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's economic model does not work any more, a rare comment on domestic affairs since stepping down from the presidency four years ago. Dr Castro also lambasted Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his anti-Semitism and denial of the Holocaust. The blunt economic assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows, particularly from his younger brother, Raul, the country's President since 2006. Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries. Dr Castro replied: ''The Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more,'' Mr Goldberg wrote on Wednesday in a post on his blog. He said Dr Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Mr Goldberg's account. Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations who accompanied Mr Goldberg on the trip, confirmed the former Cuban leader's comment. She said she took the remark to be in line with President Raul Castro's call for gradual but widespread reform, and a comment on too big an involvement of the state in the domestic economy. The Cuban state controls well over 90 per cent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $US20 ($21.82) a month in return for free healthcare and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. Since stepping down in 2006 Dr Castro has focused on international affairs and has said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit perceptions he is stepping on his younger brother's toes. Mr Goldberg, who was in Cuba at Dr Castro's invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran's nuclear program, wrote that ''Castro repeatedly returned to his excoriation of anti-Semitism''. In a passionate defence of Israel's right to exist, Dr Castro, a longtime critic of Israeli government policies, said Jews had been slandered more than any other people and slaughtered for centuries whereas Muslims were not blamed for anything. The former leader criticised Mr Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust and urged Tehran to acknowledge the ''unique'' history of anti-Semitism and understand why Israelis feared for their existence. Mr Goldberg also asked Dr Castro what he now thought about his recommendation to the Soviet Union to bomb the US during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. ''After I've seen what I've seen, and knowing what I know now, it wasn't worth it all.'' Mr Castro, 83, stepped down in 2006 due to a serious illness that nearly killed him. The Goldberg interview is the only one he has given to an American journalist since he left office. Mr Goldberg said the former leader's body was frail but his mind was acute. ''And not only that: the late-stage Fidel Castro turns out to possess something of a self-deprecating sense of humour. When I asked him, over lunch, to answer what I've come to think of as the Christopher Hitchens question - has your illness caused you to change your mind about the existence of God? - he answered: 'Sorry, I'm still a dialectical materialist.''' Associated Press, Guardian News Media castro1-200x0.jpg
CiKEAS Saudi Arabia Desecrates Hundreds of Bibles Annually
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1410190/posts skip to comments. Saudi Arabia Desecrates Hundreds of Bibles Annually Saudi Institute ^ | Friday, 20 May 2005 | by Zachary Liben Posted on 25 maj 2005 17:07:42 by paltz by Zachary Liben Staff Writer Washington DC - The Saudi government burns and desecrates hundreds of bibles its security forces confiscate after raids on Christian expatriates worshiping privately or at border crossings. As a matter of official policy, the government either incinerates or dumps bibles, crosses and other Christian paraphernalia. Hundreds of Christian worshipers are arrested every year by Saudi police in raids on their private gatherings. Bibles, crosses and printed materials are confiscated and later burnt or dumped into trash. Bibles and other Christian paraphernalia found with travelers into the country are confiscated and destroyed. Although considered as holy in Islam and mentioned in the Koran dozens of times, the Bible is banned in Saudi Arabia, and is confiscated and destroyed by government officials. Recently, there has been a crackdown on symbols of Christianity in Saudi Arabia. On April 21st Saudi authorities raided a make-shift church in Riyadh and arrested 40 Christians. Many Christian religious symbols, such as crucifixes and bibles were later destroyed by Saudi security forces. When it was revealed last week that a copy of the Koran had allegedly been desecrated by American military personnel at Guantanomo Bay, the Saudi government voiced its strenuous disapproval of such activities. More specifically, the Saudi Embassy in Washington articulated great concern and urged Washington to conduct a quick investigation. The Saudi government has also recommended to the American government to install deterring measures so that an incident such as this would not be repeated. The Saudi government would not comment on their policy of desecrating bibles that had been seized from foreign nationals. Interestingly though, desecration of religious texts and symbols and intolerance of varying religious viewpoints and beliefs has been the official policy inside of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ruled by a Wahhabi theocracy for some time now, the ruling elite of Saudi Arabia have made it difficult for many Western religions, as well as dissenting sects of Islam, to visibly coexist inside of the kingdom. Another way in which religious and cultural issues are becoming more divisive is the Saudi treatment of Americans who are living in their country. As of today there around 30,000 Americans living and working in various parts of Saudi Arabia, who are not allowed to visibly celebrate their religious and even secular holidays if they are not of the Wahhabi faith. This includes holidays such as Christmas and Easter but also such secular holidays as Thanksgiving. All surrounding Gulf States allow non-Islamic holidays to be celebrated with the exception of Saudi Arabia. The American State Department had no comment on this issue.
CiKEAS Can we expect to live to 77, 89 or 100?
http://www.tehrantimes.com/NCms/2007.asp?code=226313 ews code:SPH - 12_EXPECT.txt News date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 www.tehrantimes.com Can we expect to live to 77, 89 or 100? One of the reasons why pensions have been described - by Nick Clegg, among others - as unaffordable is because people are living longer and placing an extra burden on the pension pot. So what is our average life expectancy now? Life expectancy figures can be misleading. One BBC report, for example, claimed that life expectancy for a man in the UK is 77, meaning that after working to 66, I would have only 11 years left. That seems a bit harsh. But wait. Another report says that life expectancy for men in this country is 89. Now that's a bit more like it. But they can't both be right. Or can they? To get a clearer picture, I consulted Professor Paul Sweeting, professor of actuarial science at the University of Kent. He says the 77 figure comes from a set of tables produced by the Office of National Statistics that give period life expectancy. They show an average life expectancy by finding the mean of the probabilities of living from one year to the next. So the probability of living from 0-1, then from 1-2 then from 2-3 and so on. These are added together and then averaged out to find life expectancy. But Professor Sweeting describes this figure as conservative. The problem is the tables assume that there will be no improvements in the mortality rate. 'Mortality hump' He pointed me to the cohort tables. These work in the same way as the period tables but are adjusted for improvements in the mortality rate over time. That table gives me a more satisfactory 89 years. Professor Sweeting points out that these figures give life expectancy from birth for someone born today. Taking a look back at the predictions for 1976, the year I was born, I was estimated to live to 83. That was then. Now at 34, according to Professor Sweeting, I have survived some of the riskier phases of my life and consequently my life expectancy has improved. Mortality in the first year of birth is higher than it is for age two, three and 4. For men in particular, at about age 15 mortality rates increase as testosterone kicks in and people start taking more risk and you get what's called the mortality hump, he says. Although living well into my 80s isn't too bad, what about all those centenarians out there? Can't I expect more? Interestingly, the BBC pension managers think so. The Pensions Regulator now requires pension schemes to make realistic forecasts of life expectancy. My pension fund managers think members will live to an average of 90. But of course it is obvious that applying averages to individuals (in this case me) is problematic. Enter Professor James Vaupel, director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany. He's designed his own system that looks at many variables. He starts with a base figure. Life expectancy has been increasing by about 2.5 years per decade, that's three months per year, six hours per day. Using this information he estimates I could live to 89. But then he adds extra information like how much I exercise, drink and how healthily I eat. I score quite well here which, he says, will add another four to five years - so now I'm up to 94. But he doesn't stop there. He points out this is only the mean average. I actually have a 50/50 chance of getting to the median age for life expectancy - this is higher at about 97 - and I could realistically hope to reach the mode, the age when most people of my age will die, which adds another three years. Now I'm up to 100. I've gained 23 years. Not bad for a few days work. (Source: BBC)
CiKEAS Harga Ayam Kampung Tembus Rp 80.000
http://suaramerdeka.com/v1/index.php/read/news/2010/09/08/64578/Harga-Ayam-Kampung-Tembus-Rp-80.000 08 September 2010 | 23:54 wib | Daerah Harga Ayam Kampung Tembus Rp 80.000 Semarang, CyberNews. Permintaan ayam kampung di Semarang memasuki dua hari menjelang Lebaran terus meningkat. Di sejumlah pasar tradisional, penjual ayam kampung hidup yang mulai banyak ditemui daripada hari biasa. Pantauan Suara Merdeka CyberNews, Rabu (8/9), sebagian besar pedagang di beberapa pasar tradisional menambah dasarannya untuk mengantisipasi lonjakan permintaan ayam kampung. Ayam-ayam tersebut biasanya berasal dari pinggiran Kota Semarang seperti Gunungpati, Boja, Kendal, Mranggen, dan Purwodadi. Selain ayam kampung, beberapa pedagang turut serta membawa ayam petelur, entok sebagai unggas alternatif yang bisa disantap saat Lebaran. Harga ayam kampung yang dijual bervariasi tergantung jenis, ukuran, juga kondisi ayam. Harga ayam kampung jago mencapai Rp 70.000 per ekor hingga Rp 80.000 per ekor, ayam kampung betina mencapai Rp 50.000 hingga Rp 60.000 per ekor, entok mencapai Rp 80.000 per ekor, ayam broiler mencapai Rp 40.000 per ekor. Harga-harga tersebut, menurut Agus (35) pedagang ayam di Pasar Gayamsari, sudah mengalami kenaikan. Untuk harga ayam kampung betina, sebelumnya harga per ekor hanya Rp 35.000. Sekarang bisa mencapai Rp 60.000 per ekor untuk ukuran sedang. Sebelumnya, ayam kampung jantan per ekor dijual Rp 50.000. Begitu pula dengan entok yang sebelumnya dijual Rp 65.000 per ekor, ayam broiler Rp 30.000 per ekor. Meski mahal, namun ayam kampung banyak dicari masyarakat karena tidak semua orang menyukai ayam potong untuk menjadi santapan di hari raya. Sebagian orang memilih ayam kampung yang disembelih sendiri karena memiliki citra rasa tinggi. Saya membawa 40 ekor ayam. Lumayan sudah terjual 18 ekor. Bahkan sampai kehabisan stok karena tingginya permintaan selama dua hari ini, kata Agus. ( Fani Ayudea , Fista Novianti/CN14 )
CiKEAS Why stop corruption when you have Allah?
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\08\story_8-9-2010_pg3_3 Wednesday, September 08, 2010 WASHINGTON DIARY: Why stop corruption when you have Allah? -Dr Manzur Ejaz Our intelligence agencies are filled with God-fearing, truly moralistic Muslims. Tracking the corrupt activities of national players, politicians and the bureaucracy is not really on their agenda because, being true Muslims, they believe that these matters are between individuals and God As expected, the conspiracy theorists have alleged that Indian bookies cooked up the plan to malign Pakistani cricket players. Notorious Pakistan crook Mazhar Majeed and his sister are allegedly married to Indians. Actress Veena Malik, ex-girlfriend of one of the accused players, has provided more fuel to such theories by claiming to have proof of Indian links. Even Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, has hinted at the mischief of foreign hands; everyone knows what he really means. I fully agree with the conspiracy theory that the plot of spot fixing of the cricket match in the UK was the work of Indian bookies. The crowded Pakistani section of the Indian foreign office can go on a long leave or do some other more productive work because they are not needed anymore. If a few petty bookies can defame the enemy for a few million, why burden the Indian taxpayers with enormous spending on Pakistan-related establishments and public relations campaigns? I think a large section of the Pakistani foreign ministry along with most intelligence agencies, specifically the dreaded Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), should be sent packing as well. If they cannot monitor the activities of a dozen lads who have the potential of disgracing the nation, then what are they good for? Did the past allegations of match fixing not dump enough dirt on Pakistan to stop our defenders of 'ideological boundaries' from sleeping while petty hookers were alluring the wonder-kids of cricket? I think the Indian conspiracy is much larger than just cricket match fixing. Take, for example, the events of the last fortnight or so. If the Indian hand was not involved, how could our police, along with a crowd of people, watch the murder of two brothers in Sialkot? How could our feudals sink the towns in floods to save their lands? Being Muslims - members of the great ummah - we have the highest morals in the world and so, it must have been impossible for us to kill so many innocent people in Lahore and Quetta. If corruption, bribery and nepotism exist from a simple clerk to the highest officials in the government, then a foreign hand must be involved. We are God's chosen people and cannot go so wrong. Therefore, it is only by our enemy's conspiracy that we are made to or are shown to be doing such evil things. We know gambling is big business in India and many other places. Bookies, making or losing billions of dollars, are supposed to trap budding players all around the world. We also know that many players come from humble backgrounds and have a tendency to do whatever they feel like, which is what makes them exceptionally talented. They are prime targets for gambling vultures. Therefore, to avoid a colossal national embarrassment, educating and monitoring the players' activities is taken seriously by all the pagan nations. But, since we are the holiest of all humans, we do not need any of this - our guidance comes directly from God. Another undeniable proof of the Indian conspiracy comes from the fact that the bookies in that country are not very successful in manipulating their own national players. They must not be trying very hard to pressure Indian players, despite the fact that the largest sums of money are in India. The Indian bookies must be very nationalistic and people of high morals as they can give up on a major source of their potential profits by not entrapping the Indian players. They could not even trap the Bangladeshi players, as was reported by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Probably, Indian bookies did not try very hard because Bangladesh is not an enemy country like Pakistan. Furthermore, who cares about Bangladeshis because they are eternal traitors who divided Pakistan on Indian baiting? Our intelligence agencies are filled with God-fearing, truly moralistic Muslims. Tracking the corrupt activities of national players, politicians and the bureaucracy is not really on their agenda because, being true Muslims, they believe that these matters are between individuals and God. Rightfully, their priority is to prepare the nation for the elimination of the pagans. For that they have reserved all their energies to keep every politician in line without bothering about their financial matters because God is taking care of that. They have created mujahideen of every kind who can kill or blow themselves up in God's name. Their creations went in all directions and tried to teach befitting
CiKEAS We do not want to think of a world without Lucius Walker
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/news-i/8sept-lucius-fidel.html Havana. September 8, 2010 We do not want to think of a world without Lucius Walker Aida Calviac Mora THE irony of the blow has shaken us all: when the threat of nuclear war hovers over our heads, one of the irreplaceable men of peace has left us, after 80 years of sincere example. The death has taken place of Lucius Walker, the U.S. reverend who, close to 20 years ago, took up an uncompromising struggle against the obstinate and cruel policy of his country's government in relation to Cuba. Fidel greets the leader of Pastors for Peace at an event in the José Martí Memorial on July 26, 2010, during his last visit to Cuba. Armed with faith and resistance, anchored to noble causes and social justice, Lucius arrived in this country in spite of the detentions and blows from those who have always feared Cuban realities being revealed and divulged. Prior to that, he left his mark of solidarity on liberation movements in Africa, on support missions to patriots in Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola. Then in Central America, particularly in El Salvador and Nicaragua. This last destination, as he said on many occasions, inspired the emergence of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace. On August 2, 1988, my daughter Gail and I were among 200 civilians on a boat on the River Escondido in Nicaragua which was viciously attacked by the contras. Two Nicaraguans died and 49 passengers were wounded. That night in the hospital, while I was being treated for a bullet wound, I prayed to God seeking spiritual guidance to find an appropriate response to that act of terrorism. The inspiration that God gave me was to create Pastors for Peace to take caravans of material aid to the victims of U.S. aggression. Finally, this island captured his attention. In 1991, during a time of a deluge of lies about the Revolution, countdowns and apocalyptic predictions, a conversation with in Havana with the Reverend Raúl Suarez, director of the Martin Luther King Center, sparked an idea. In an interview given to Granma the following year, Walker stated, At first we thought that our task ought to be sending caravans like we did to Central America. But , observing the situation more closely, we came to the conclusion that Cuba's most urgent problems did not need much help from us, except for breaking the blockade. We realized that Cuba did not need the same kind of help as other countries, because even with the blockade, it had the capability and strength to provide for itself. Our leadership analyzed the situation and decided that our contribution would be to fight to end the blockade. In 1992 the news that a group of religious people had toured several American states in and organized a fleet of 45 vehicles in which to send medicines, school supplies, and food to Cuba, an action considered by the U.S. authorities to be an insult more than an act of civil disobedience. The pilgrimage through at least 90 cities would reach its tensest moment when the caravan reached Laredo, Texas with 15 tons of humanitarian aid to be transported through Mexico. The [U.S.] government demanded an export license; however the Reverend had declared during the tour: We are not asking Washington for permission to carry cargo, because that would be to recognize the legality of the blockade and the right of the state to intervene in a mission of the Church. Neither intimidating warnings nor manhandling by more than one agent of the Treasury Department or Customs had any effect. Lucius Walker's men and women, following their leader's determination, held fast in their will to take everything across the border into Mexico and not just the part allowed by U.S. legislation, knowing that the violation of the blockade could cost them fines of up to $250,000 and 10 years' incarceration, risks that they decided to take. Some members of the caravan crossed the border on foot, carrying over to the Mexican side those products which the regulations did not consider humanitarian aid. Among them, a wheelchair which Lucius, the first to cross, carried with a sign demanding: Let Cuba live. Lift the embargo. That first step across the border bridge led to his detention for 10 hours, but the die was already cast. 1993 was the year of the second caravan, and the obstacles, far from diminishing, once again tested his firmness and stand as a man of faith. This time the customs agents confiscated a little yellow school bus on the strange pretext that it might be used to transport Cuban troops, and several members of the caravan responded with a prolonged fast, despite high temperatures in Laredo - more than 100 degrees - making their hunger strike more dangerous. Lucius Walker was once again the moral guide and example. The letter that he sent to President William Clinton, written
CiKEAS UN Trust Fund Provides Hope for Indonesian Women Trafficked Abroad
Refleksi : Bagus PBB menyediakan dana tetapi kalau rezim berkuasa seperti di Indonesia mempraktek penjualan tenaga kerja sebagai kambing ternak, maka hasilnya dari dana ini tidak seberapa bisa membantu menyelasiakan human trafficking teristimewa dari Indonesia. Alasannya ialah rezim berkuasa NKRI acuh tak acuh memperhatikan masalah tsb. terutama apabila dikirim tenaga kerja ke negeri-negeri gurun pasir yang dianggap negeri sahabat dalam agama. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Indonesian-Women-Trafficked-Abroad-Find-Hope-in-UN-Trust-Fund-102283959.html UN Trust Fund Provides Hope for Indonesian Women Trafficked Abroad Angela Dewan | Jakarta 06 September 2010 Photo: Credit - A. Dewan Elly Anita is one of many Indonesian women who have been trafficked to the Middle East for forced labor Related Articles a.. Human Rights Groups Urge Indonesia to Stop Torture The United Nations has established a new multi-donor trust fund to aid victims of human trafficking around the world. Indonesian women remain among the most vulnerable to trafficking, despite the country's progress in passing laws to combat the problem. Anita's story In 2006, Elly Anita from East Java moved to Dubai to work as a secretary. After two months of sexual harassment by her boss and having received no wages, she asked for a transfer. She was sent to Kurdistan, which she was told was a part of Italy. When Anita stepped off the plane and called her agent, he refused to tell her where she was. I couldn't sleep that night. I was thinking, where am I? Oh my god. I was so afraid, Anita recalled. It took her two weeks to figure out that she had been sent to war-torn Iraq. Anita's story is not unique. In recent years, the number of reported cases of abuse has sharply increased. Target areas The vast majority of reports of violence last year occurred in the Middle East and Malaysia, comprising 63 percent and 33 percent, respectively, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Gary Lewis, the East Asia and Pacific representative from the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime, says that although the number of reports has risen, the lack of data makes it difficult to measure the true extent of the problem. If we don't know that outcomes are resulting, if we don't know, for example, that there are fewer women being arrested for soliciting who have been victims, if we don't know that there are a greater number of brothel keepers and kingpins who are being arrested, prosecuted and convicted for these crimes, we won't know that our actions are leading to anything conclusive or useful at all, said Lewis. So we need baseline data not only to see if the problem is growing, but we need it to see if our actions are actually having a proper impact. Agency role The UN agency will be responsible for administering a multi-donor trust find as part of the UN Global Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, launched last week. The money will strengthen support for trafficked victims. Nora Murat, director of Amnesty International Malaysia, says the money should address victims' immediate needs. The urgent need right now is to build a center for them, for them to wait until their cases are heard in court, Murat said. Because right now, them being put into detention centers is not really helping, both for the prosecution and also the victim. I would put the money there first, and also to look into their personal human rights - the right to food the right to health and access to water. Lack of assistance When Anita tried to escape Iraq, she had no such shelter to go to. She went back to her agent's office and found around 40 other women victims sleeping on the floor. Instead of helping her, Anita's agent confiscated her cellphone and refused to return her passport. She resorted to stealing the security guard's phone, and contacting the Indonesian Embassy in Jordan. When I talked to my government, nothing, said Anita. They didn't even give me a small response. So no one. I just talked to my god and found a solution by myself, because I couldn't depend on anyone. Even my government. Happy ending Victims who do not get government help often rely on non-governmental organizations for support. Anita finally found help when she contacted Migrant Care, a local NGO for whom she now works. While still in Iraq, her story circulated on the internet. When her agent heard about the publicity, he and his workers beat Anita. The pulled my hair, they beat me, they kicked me also, they tried to strangle me, Anita added. They wanted to kill me at that time, because they said all this damage was because of me. With the help of Migrant Care, Anita found her way home to Indonesia. Since her ordeal, Indonesia has made some progress on the issue, passing an anti-trafficking law and signing all U.N. conventions and protocols relating to human trafficking. Implementation of these laws, however, remains poor and is
CiKEAS Masih Ada 8,3 Juta Orang Buta Aksara
Refleksi : Apakah jumlah buta aksara cuma 8,3 juta? Mengapa ada buta askara di negeri yang hampir di setiap sudut jalan ada rumah ibadah? http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/cetak/berita/read/masih-ada-83-juta-orang-buta-aksara/ Selasa, 07 September 2010 13:38 Masih Ada 8,3 Juta Orang Buta Aksara OLEH: NAOMI SIAGIAN Jakarta - Jumlah buta aksara yang ada di Indonesia ditargetkan mencapai 8,3 juta orang di tahun 2010. Tahun 2009, jumlah buta aksara mencapai 8,7 juta orang, berusia di atas 15 tahun. Direktur Jenderal Pendidikan Nonformal dan Informal Kementerian Pendidikan Nasional (Kemendiknas) Hamid Muhammad menegaskan, pihaknya akan fokus pada penanganan untuk menuntaskan buta aksara di tujuh provinsi Indonesia, yaitu Jawa Timur, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Sulawesi Selatan, Kalimantan Barat, dan Kalimantan Tengah. Ada 142 kabupaten yang nanti akan menjadi fokus program kita ke depan. Jumlah absolutnya dari yang paling tinggi 232.000 orang di Kabupaten Jember, sampai yang terkecil Kabupaten Bengkulu Utara masih tersisa 16.402 orang, kata Hamid di Jakarta, saat jumpa pers menyambut peringatan Hari Aksara Internasional (HAI) ke-45. Peringatan HAI tahun ini diselenggarakan 10 Oktober 2010 di Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur. Tema peringatan adalah Aksara Membangun Keadaban dan Karakter Bangsa. Dari jumlah penduduk yang buta aksara, sebagian besar adalah penduduk berusia di atas 45 tahun (70-80 persen) dan berjenis kelamin perempuan (64 persen). Disparitas gender yang dihadapi ini merupakan tantangan berat. Permasalahan lain untuk memberantas buta aksara adalah mereka kelompok masyarakat yang tersulit, miskin serta secara geografis berada di lokasi terpencil dan perbatasan. Bahkan, ada kelompok masyarakat yang sudah mendapat pendidikan keaksaraan dasar, kembali menjadi buta aksara karena faktor kemiskinan maupun akses pendidikan yang sulit terjangkau. Indonesia termasuk sembilan negara yang berpenduduk terbesar di dunia penyandang buta aksara. Negara lainnya adalah India, Pakistan, China, Meksiko, Bangladesh, Mesir, Brasil, Indonesia, dan Nigeria. Negara-negara ini tergabung dalam Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE), sebuah program yang digulirkan oleh UNESCO. Evaluasi Untuk menuntaskan program buta aksara, Kemendiknas akan melakukan evaluasi menyeluruh terhadap program pendidikan keaksaraan. Fokus pendidikan keaksaraan ke depan tidak hanya keaksaraan dasar, tetapi memberdayakan secara ekonomi, sosial, dan budaya. Diharapkan pendidikan keaksaraan dapat bermakna bagi masyarakat dan mampu menjawab tantangan saat ini. Hamid menjelaskan, sejalan dengan kerangka LIFE, penyelenggaraan program penuntasan buta aksara sejak tahun 2009 dibangun dalam kerangka kerja Aksara agar Berdaya (Akrab). Upaya penuntasan buta aksara melalui pendidikan keaksaraan terintegrasi dengan kecakapan hidup dan program pengentasan kemiskinan secara umum, ujarnya. Pada 1965, UNESCO menetapkan tanggal 8 September sebagai HAI. Sejak saat itu, Indonesia aktif memperingati HAI dengan tujuan utama untuk memotivasi dan membangkitkan semangat belajar masyarakat, khususnya penduduk usia 15 tahun ke atas yang masih buta aksara. Hal ini sekaligus untuk memacu percepatan pemberantasan buta aksara. n Kembali ke : Cetak
CiKEAS Kepercayaan Turun, Warga Serang Kantor Polisi
Refleksi : Tentu saja kalau polisi menjadi tukang pungli dan macam-amacam lagi seperti petinggi-petinggimya punya rekning gendut di bank belum lagi ada yang bantu teroris, maka tidak ada jalan lain bagi penduduk untuk menghajar mereka, apabila mereka terus dengan bermain aturan bandit. http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/cetak/berita/read/kepercayaan-turun-warga-serang-kantor-polisi/ Senin, 06 September 2010 12:51 Kepercayaan Turun, Warga Serang Kantor Polisi OLEH: DEYTRI ARITONANG/ RIKANDO SOMBA Jakarta - Aksi penyerangan ke kantor polisi meningkat. Peningkatan itu diakui disebabkan menurunnya kepercayaan warga terhadap Polri. Ada sejumlah tindakan oknum Polri belakangan ini yang menjadi ihwal turunnya kepercayaan masyarakat di sejumlah daerah. Aksi-aksi penyerangan kantor polisi menunjukkan sikap polisi setempat kurang diterima masyarakat. Polisi kurang dapat membawa dirinya di lapangan, aku Kadiv Humas Polri Brigjen Iskandar Hasan kepada SH, Minggu (5/9). Dia mengakui adanya anggota polisi yang masih bersikap arogan terhadap masyarakat. Hal itu, katanya, membuat geram warga dan bereaksi de-ngan mengambil tindakan di luar hukum. Diakuinya, kepolisian menghadapi dilema da-lam menegakkan hukum di tengah masyarakat. Penindakan tegas, kata dia, menimbulkan kegeraman warga. Sebaliknya, lemahnya penegakan hukum tidak memberikan efek jera. Hal yang sama juga disampaikan anggota Komisi Kepolisian Nasional (Kompolnas) Novel Ali. Dia mengutarakan, telah terjadi resistensi kepercayaan masyarakat terhadap kinerja Polri. Novel berpendapat, sikap arogan oknum polisi dalam memperlakukan tahanan, tidak menimbulkan rasa hormat, melainkan rasa takut. Ketakutan itu, menurutnya, mendorong warga menghimpun kekuatan dengan melakukan perlawanan. Salah satunya adalah dengan melakukan penyerangan dengan membakar kantor polisi. Dia mengungkapkan, aksi penyerangan warga terhadap markas kepolisian, terutama di daerah selain Jakarta, sering terjadi. Maka, kata dia, seharusnya kepolisian, mulai dari kapolsek hingga kapolda, melakukan evaluasi terhadap kinerja anggotanya di lapangan. Sebaiknya dibentuk tim evaluasi monitoring yang melibatkan pihak ketiga, misalnya dari Kompolnas, DPR, juga LSM, lanjut dia. Akhir pekan, Markas Polsek Ulu Rawa, Polres Mura, Sumatera Selatan, dibakar massa. Iskandar mengungkapkan, pembakaran dipicu Operasi Cipta Kondisi di depan Mapolsek, Sabtu (4/9) pukul 17.00 WIB. Razia itu, ungkap jenderal bintang satu ini, menyebabkan Khairul, warga Lesung Batu, Ulu Rawas, terjatuh dan mengalami luka saat mencoba menghindar dari pengejaran. Sekitar pukul 21.30 WIB, ratusan warga mendatangi mapolsek kemudian merusak dan membakar markas. Aksi tersebut menyebabkan kantor polisi dan kendaraan patroli ludes terbakar. Untuk mengatasi hal itu, Kapolres Mura melakukan dialog dengan tokoh masyarakat. Hasilnya, memulangkan 23 warga diamankan juga 14 unit sepeda motor yang disita. Sementara itu, Tim Investigasi dari Mabes Polri yang diterjunkan ke Kabupaten Buol, Sulawesi Tengah (Sulteng), pada Rabu (1/9) lalu hingga kini, masih mengumpulkan bukti-bukti ihwal kerusuhan. Belum ada satu pun yang tegas dijadikan tersangka dalam kasus itu. n
CiKEAS Dewan Kepausan: Bersama Mengatasi Kekerasan
http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/cetak/berita/read/dewan-kepausan-bersama-mengatasi-kekerasan/ Selasa, 07 September 2010 13:22 Idul Fitri 1431 H Dewan Kepausan: Bersama Mengatasi Kekerasan OLEH: RM BENNY SUSETYO Setiap tahun, dalam kesempatan-kesempatan penting keagamaan, Dewan Kepausan untuk Dialog Antaragama mengeluarkan pesan khusus. Pada Hari Raya Idul Fitri tahun ini, Dewan Kepausan mengeluarkan pesan yang menyuarakan kerja sama dalam mengatasi kekerasan di antara para penganut agama yang berbeda. Tema tahun ini yang diusulkan oleh Dewan Kepausan adalah Christians and Muslims: Together in overcoming violence among followers of different religions (Umat Kristen dan Kaum Muslim: Bersama mengatasi kekerasan di kalangan penganut agama yang berbeda). Sesungguhnya ini merupakan hal yang mendesak, setidaknya di sejumlah kawasan di dunia. Dalam Joint Committee for Dialogue (Komisi Bersama untuk Dialog) yang dibentuk Dewan Kepausan dan al-Azhar Permanent Committee for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions (Komisi Tetap al-Azhar untuk Dialog di antara Agama-agama Monoteis) juga sudah memilih pokok ini sebagai bahan studi, refleksi, dan pertukaran dalam pertemuan tahunan terakhir mereka (Kairo, 23-24 Februari 2010). Izinkanlah saya berbagi dengan Anda beberapa kesimpulan yang dikeluarkan pada akhir pertemuan ini. Ada banyak penyebab kekerasan di kalangan penganut agama, antara lain manipulasi agama untuk tujuan politis atau tujuan-tujuan lainnya; diskriminasi berlandaskan etnis atau agama; perpecahan, dan tegangan sosial. Kebodohan, kemiskinan, keterbelakangan pembangunan juga, langsung maupun tak langsung, turut menyebabkan kekerasan dalam komunitas-komunitas agama. Semoga para pemimpin agama dan penguasa sipil turut membenahi semua situasi ini demi kepentingan bersama seluruh masyarakat! Semoga penguasa sipil menegakkan hukum dengan memastikan adanya keadilan yang sesungguhnya guna menghentikan tindakan para pelaku dan pendukung kekerasan! Dalam bahan yang telah disebut di atas, juga ada rekomendasi-rekomendasi penting: membuka hati untuk saling mengampuni dan berdamai, demi hidup bersama yang damai dan berguna; mengakui apa yang sama dan menghormati apa yang berbeda di antara kita, sebagai landasan untuk dialog budaya. Selain itu, juga diperlukan untuk mengakui dan menghormati martabat, serta hak setiap manusia tanpa bias etnis atau agama apa pun; pentingnya memberlakukan undang-undang yang adil yang menjamin kesetaraan fundamental semua orang; menekankan kembali kepentingan pendidikan demi terciptanya penghormatan, dialog, dan persaudaraan dalam pelbagai ranah pendidikan: baik di rumah, sekolah, gereja, dan masjid. Dengan demikian, kita akan mampu melawan kekerasan di antara para pemeluk agama dan mempromosikan perdamaian dan kerukunan di antara berbagai komunitas agama. Ajaran para pemimpin agama, baik dalam buku-buku pelajaran yang memaparkan agama secara objektif, serta ajaran-ajaran lain pada umumnya, memiliki dampak yang menentukan dalam pendidikan dan pembentukan generasi muda. Kesalehan Sosial Dialog yang menciptakan kebersaman untuk mengatasi kekerasan harus bisa terwujud. Dialog antaragama tidak boleh berhenti sebatas formalitas belaka. Pembumian makna dialog ini berarti menepis hal-hal yang berbau ritual dan formal, tetapi lebih menjunjung tinggi aspek semangat dan rohnya. Lebih jauh lagi, pembumian makna dialog juga berarti bagaimana masyarakat bawah menerima cahaya kedamaian ini guna menjalankan kehidupan dalam suasana yang tenang tanpa ketakutan dan kecemasan. Yang perlu mendapat prioritas adalah bagaimana membangun kesadaran dalam beragama. Keberagamaan kita mestinya tidak sekadar berwajah kesalehan individual, tetapi juga kesalehan sosial. Kesalehan sosial, selain bermakna kepedulian di bidang ekonomi, juga kepedulian untuk tidak menghardik umat agama lain. Jika agama kita berwajah seperti itu, wajah agama kita amat manusiawi, sebab orientasinya tidak egoistik, tetapi mengandung relasi dengan sesama, bahkan altruistik. Jika demikian, tiap ibadat pun lebih dilandasi sikap hati yang tulus untuk memberi penghargaan terhadap martabat kemanusiaan. Mempersembahkan korban bukan hal utama dalam agama, tetapi pemihakan pada nilai-nilai kemanusiaan, itulah yang dipentingkan. Tugas umat beriman adalah menyucikan dunia dengan menegakkan kemanusiaan manusia dan keadilan yang bermoral. Keberagamaannya bukan untuk kepentingan yang egostik, tetapi sebaliknya altruistik. Romo Mangunwijaya (alm) mengatakan, orang yang memiliki religiositas itu tidak memikirkan diri sendiri, tetapi justru memberikan diri untuk keselamatan orang lain. Iman harus menghasilkan buah kebaikan, perdamaian, keadilan, dan kesejahteraan. Intinya, beragama secara benar adalah bila kita mampu mengendalikan organ tubuh kita sendiri untuk tidak memuaskan diri sendiri. Upaya menciptakan toleransi dan kerukunan antarumat beragama sering kali
CiKEAS Lulusan SMA Menghadapi Ketidakpastian
Refleksi : Kalau lulus SMA menghadapi ketidakpastian maka tentu sekali bisa dipertanyakan: apa yang bisa diharapkan dari rezim SBY dan konco-konco berkuasanya yang mendesign dan menjalankan politik pendidikan dan penempatan tenaga kerja? http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/cetak/berita/read/lulusan-sma-menghadapi-ketidakpastian/ Selasa, 21 April 2009 01:04 Lulusan SMA Menghadapi Ketidakpastian Sedikitnya 2,2 juta siswa kelas tiga SMA di seluruh Indonesia dan sekolah Indonesia di 13 negara, mulai Senin (20/4) ini mengikuti ujian nasional (UN). Mereka berjuang agar lulus, kemudian setelah itu memasuki alam kesulitan. Teradang biaya masuk perguruan tinggi, sulit mencari lapangan pekerjaan dan berpeluang besar menjadi penganggur. Gambaran di atas terjadi berulang-ulang, dari tahun ke tahun. Setiap upaya untuk mengatasinya tak pernah berhasil, lantaran perbandingannya seperti penyu dengan lumba-lumba. Pemerintah telah meningkatkan anggaran pendidikan. Dari total anggaran belanja 2009 yang mencapai Rp 1.122 triliun, sejumlah 20% di antaranya diarahkan ke sektor pendidikan. Departemen Pendidikan Nasional memperoleh Rp 51,9 triliun, anggaran pendidikan Rp 69 triliun dan tambahan anggaran pendidikan Rp 46,1 triliun. Selain itu ditambah dengan anggaran dalam Dana Alokasi Umum (DAU) yang ada di setiap provinsi sebanyak Rp 20 triliun. Anggaran pendidikan yang diturunkan pada tahun pemilu itu, lebih tinggi ketimbang tahun lalu yang mencapai 15,6% dari total APBN 2008. Penambahan ini sesuai dengan ketentuan dalam UUD 1945 yang menetapkan 20% dari total anggaran belanja. Penambahan itu sangat bermanfaat dan merupakan langkah maju. Penambahan ini menunjukkan pemerintah mulai menaruh perhatian besar, kendati bernuansa politis sebab merupakan pelipur lara di tengah kondisi sulit dan tahun pemilu. Pemerintah pun terbukti tak menyia-nyiakannya dengan membuat berbagai iklan tentang pendidikan gratis dan lain-lain. Perubahan sikap pemerintah memberi pengaruh yang sangat berarti terhadap sektor pendidikan, tetapi masih belum cukup sebab persoalan di sektor pendidikan sudah bertumpuk sejak belasan tahun lalu. Mengapa bisa jadi begitu? Beberapa rezim pemerintahan yang berkuasa memang memberi perhatian pada sektor pendidikan, namun kurang memadai. Pemerintah terjepit keharusan membayar cicilan bunga maupun utang pokok pinjaman, yang makin lama makin membesar hingga melampaui tingkat batas yang ditoleransi, dari 20% hingga melebihi 30%. Di lain pihak, sektor-sektor lain seperti infrastruktur juga memerlukan perhatian. Ironisnya, anggaran yang sudah menipis itu masih juga dikorupsi hingga yang terkadang hanya cukup untuk kegiatan rutin. Dalam kondisi seperti itu, pemerintah tidak memiliki dana khusus yang memadai buat anak didik yang berbakat dan cemerlang serta bermoral baik. Berbeda dengan kerajaan Malaysia, yang secara khusus menyediakan anggaran pendidikan untuk anak didik berprestasi. Alhasil, sekalian anak didik itu, dan direlakan pemerintah, mengambil beasiswa yang disediakan pihak swasta maupun pemerintah asing. Padahal, pihak asing bisa saja mempunyai agenda atau persyaratan sendiri yang belum tentu sesuai kepentingan nasional. Perbedaan kepentingan itu sudah menjadi isu nasional dan sangat memprihatinkan. Berbagai fakta menunjukkan, kebijaksanaan yang diterbitkan terkadang malah melemahkan potensi nasional. Hal ini terutama dapat dilihat dari iklim di sektor investasi yang sangat liberal. Atas nama globalisasi, investor asing leluasa menguasai sektor-sektor vital seperti pertambangan, telekomunikasi, perbankan bahkan hingga eceran. Memang pemerintah memperoleh pajak, tetapi berapa kerugian yang ditimbulkan akibat kebijaksanaan yang liberal itu. Begitulah, kita melihat ketimpangan yang mendasar. Para anak didik didorong untuk meraih angka kelulusan yang meningkat dari tahun ke tahun, namun setelah itu tidak mempunyai kepastian. Bila dilihat dalam bentuk piramida, mereka yang berada di tengah hingga ke puncak umumnya adalah anak orang tua yang diuntungkan dari strategi pembangunan yang berorientasi pertumbuhan. Sulit bagi anak lain untuk menerobos ke atas sebab tangga-tangga yang tersedia sedikit dan diperebutkan. Inilah ironi di tengah kegemaran berwacana. n
CiKEAS Teror Pencitraan Jelang Lebaran
http://www.jawapos.co.id/halaman/index.php?act=showpagekat=7 [ Selasa, 07 September 2010 ] Teror Pencitraan Jelang Lebaran Oleh Atik Catur Budiati ADA sebuah guyonan dari seorang ulama dari Jombang ketika bertemu penulis pada acara seminar di Australia. Mendekati akhir puasa, jamaah masjid mulai mengalami 'kamajuan signifikan', kata dia. Pernyataan itu cukup mengherankan karena sejak dulu negeri kita memang dikenal berpenduduk muslim terbesar di dunia. Pernyataan ulama tersebut jelas kontradiktif dan terkesan tidak realistis. Lantas, apa maksud kemajuan signifikan itu? Dengan sedikit senyum merekah dari bibirnya, beliau pun segera menyudahi keheranan saya. Menurut dia, Kemajuan signifikan yang saya maksud adalah barisan jamaah yang semakin lama semakin maju. Dengan begitu, jamaah salat yang dulu memadati masjid sampai ke barisan paling belakang, mendekati Lebaran, kini mulai berkurang dan tinggal dua barisan di paling depan saja. Itu tentu sindiran pedas dan kritik tajam bagi masyarakat muslim di negeri Indonesia. Di Negeri Nonmuslim Hal tersebut jelas cukup berbeda dengan keadaan di negeri rantau, misalnya, Australia, Inggris, dan Amerika Serikat, yang jumlah jamaahnya di masjid selalu stabil, pada awal puasa hingga detik-detik menjelang Lebaran tiba. Itu menunjukkan bahwa umat beragama di negeri yang mayoritas penduduknya nonmuslim memiliki kekokohan dan solidaritas keagamaan yang masif. Dalam teori solidaritas sosial-teologis Durkheim, fenomena tersebut merupakan ungkapan emosional dan ekpresi kebatinan kolektif yang secara otomatis membangkitkan spirit kebersamaan dan rasa tali persaudaraan tanpa mengenal batas wilayah dan ideologi keagamaan. Dengan demikian, komunitas teologis yang berbeda sudut pandang dalam tafsiran ayat suci sebuah agama akan menjadi tampak biasa dan saling meleburkan diri di negeri Barat. Islam sudah ada dan eksis di negeri Barat. Umat Islam yang berasal dari negeri mayoritas muslim (Indonesia, Timur Tengah, dan lain-lain) justru cenderung mengurai konflik horizontal yang memanas dan eskalatif di negeri sendiri. Rasa superioritas komunitas itu akan mencair dan melebur menjadi rasa toleransi apabila mereka berada di negeri Barat dan Eropa. Yang lebih unik lagi, masjid di Barat akan selalu diupayakan diisi dengan beragam kegiatan keagamaan mulai yang sunah hingga yang wajib, baik pada masa-masa normal maupun masa Ramadan. Citra yang ingin dibentuk di negeri Barat adalah umat Islam merupakan komunitas yang solid, penuh persaudaraan, toleran, antiteror, inklusif, dan taat menjalankan nilai-nilai agama. Kegiatan teologis umat Islam di Barat, khususnya pada Ramadan kali ini, terbilang berbeda dengan Ramadan yang sudah-sudah. Kegiatan teologis muslim di Barat, mulai mengagendakan aksi syiar Islam ke luar masjid hingga saling berdialog dengan nonmuslim. Itu dilakukan karena akhir Ramadan dan Lebaran kali ini bertepatan dengan peringatan 11 September di AS. Terlebih, ada seorang pastor di AS yang menyerukan melakukan gerakan membakar kitab suci umat Islam (Alquran) pada saat momen peringatan 11 September mendatang (tepat pada saat umat Islam merayakan Lebaran). Nah, sikap umat Islam di Barat itu merupakan upaya counter pencitraan orang Barat yang berpikiran naif, sempit, dan dikotomis. Citra yang berusaha dikibarkan oleh umat Islam di Barat berkaitan dengan citra Islam yang notabene secara hakiki adalah rahmatan lil alamin (agama rahmat bagi alam semesta), cinta damai, dan nir kekerasan. Membalikkan Nilai-Nilai Logika terbalik dan kontradiktif justru terjadi di negeri kita sendiri. Hingga saat ini, tidak sedikit masyarakat kita yang justru membangun citra buruk di mata orang luar. Korupsi merajalela, teror bom dilakukan atas nama tuhan (jihad), kekerasan dijadikan solusi oleh kelompok garis keras saat menertibkan kegiataan yang mengganggu bulan Ramadan, serta konflik masal terjadi di antara umat Islam sendiri karena persoalan tafsir dan kegiatan keagamaan yang dianggap patologi. Masih banyak lagi contoh kasusnya. Kasus mutakhir yang sering disuguhkan ke hadapan publik adalah praktik konsumtif. Menjelang akhir puasa dan memasuki detik-detik Lebaran, banyak masyarakat muslim di negeri ini yang kecanduaan pergi ke mal secara masal. Mulai pagi hingga tengah malam, mereka sibuk membeli baju, celana, dan perlengkan Lebaran yang bermerek serta trendi di mal-mal. Data sementara menunjukkan, mal-mal di kota besar (Jakarta, Surabaya, Jogja, Medan, dan lain-lain) mengalami peningkatan pengunjung, terutama pada malam hari. Mal semakin ramai hingga tengah malam karena ada diskon midnight hingga 70 persen yang ditawarkan oleh konter-konter pakaian. Akibatnya, masjid yang seharusnya digunakan untuk beriktikaf dan tadarus secara intensif menjelang akhir Ramadan justru tampak sepi, sedangkan mal tampak semakin padat merayap. Ada semacam teror pencitraan dari iklan-iklan komersial yang telah merasuk ke jiwa dan pikiran
CiKEAS Transaksi di Pegadaian Meningkat
http://suaramerdeka.com/v1/index.php/read/news/2010/09/07/64476/Transaksi-di-Pegadaian-Meningkathttp://suaramerdeka.com/v1/index.php/read/news/2010/09/07/64476/Transaksi-di-Pegadaian-Meningkat 07 September 2010 | 22:51 wib | Daerah Transaksi di Pegadaian Meningkat Semarang, CyberNews. Menjelang Lebaran tahun ini, sejumlah pegadaian di Semarang ramai. Jumlah nasabah di pegadaian mengalami peningkatan. Antrian pun mulai terjadi di beberapa pegadaian. Kepala Pegadaian Cabang Pedurungan Sutrisno mengatakan, menjelang Lebaran ini pegadaian cabang pedurungan dan delapan unit lainnya telah menyiapkan dana Rp 13 miliar. Mulai sepekan ini, transaksi meningkat hingga 50% dibanding bulan biasa. Per hari rata-rata transaksi mencapai Rp 650 juta, jelasnya, Selasa (7/9). Menurutnya, pada H-6 hingga H-3 Lebaran akan terjadi puncak transaksi di pegadaian. Setiap harinya untuk transaksi gadai mencapai Rp 300 juta per hari, sedang untuk transaksi tebus mencapai Rp 400 juta per hari. Untuk transaksi penebusan juga mengalami peningkatan 50% dibanding sebelumnya yang hanya mencapai Rp 150 juta per hari, terangnya. Hal yang sama juga terjadi di pegadaian cabang Banyumanik yang telah menyiapkan dana hingga Rp 6 miliar. Meski baru minggu pertama, transaksi menjelang Lebaran sudah mulai terasa. Jumlah transaksi pun meningkat hingga 20 persen, ujar Pemimpin Pegadaian Cabang Banyumanik, Nirawan Hadi. Menurutnya, pada bulan biasa jumlah transaksi tercatat mencapai Rp 150 juta. Terhitung mulai awal Agustus jumlah transaksi sudah mencapai Rp 3 miliar, atau sekitar 50 persen dari target. Biasanya tiga hari menjelang Lebaran masyarakat mulai berdatangan untuk menjaminkan emas atau barang mereka, ungkapnya. ( Fani Ayudea , Fista Novianti/CN14 )
CiKEAS Desain Besar Penataan Daerah 2010-2025 Indonesia Jadi 44 Provinsi
Refleksi : Makin banyak raja kecil, makin mudah kkn subur? http://www.suarapembaruan.com/index.php?modul=newsdetail=trueid=24550 2010-09-07 Desain Besar Penataan Daerah 2010-2025 Indonesia Jadi 44 Provinsi [JAKARTA] Kendati berulang kali menyatakan moratorium pemekaran daerah, diam-diam pemerintah telah memproyeksikan penambahan 11 provinsi dan 54 kabupaten/kota baru dalam rentang waktu 15 tahun ke depan. Dengan penambahan tersebut, Indonesia akan memiliki 44 provinsi dan 545 kabupaten/kota pada tahun 2025 nanti. Demikian yang tertuang dalam dokumen Kementerian Dalam Negeri (Kemdagri) berjudul Desain Besar Penataan Daerah di Indonesia Tahun 2010-2025 yang diterima SP di Jakarta, akhir pekan lalu. Desain itu akan dibahas bersama DPR setelah Lebaran untuk disetujui atau diperbarui. Dokumen setebal 70 halaman dan ditandatangani Mendagri Gamawan Fauzi pada 21 Juni 2010 itu menyebutkan, sejak diberlakukannya UU 22/1999 tentang Pemerintah Daerah, yang kemu- dian diganti dengan UU 32/2004, aspirasi pemekaran daerah sedemikian deras mengalir dan sulit dibendung. Merespons hal itu, Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, di depan Sidang Paripurna DPR pada 3 Agustus 2009, menyatakan untuk memberlakukan kebijakan moratorium pemekaran, sebagai bagian dari evaluasi penyelenggaraan pemerintahan daerah. Alasannya, untuk mencegah pemborosan dan penghamburan sumber dana negara secara tidak tepat. Sejak keran pemekaran daerah baru dibuka, sebanyak 205 daerah otonom baru (DOB) terbentuk hanya dalam waktu 10 tahun (1999-2009). Daerah itu meliputi 7 provinsi, 164 kabupaten, dan 34 kota. Dengan demikian, total jumlah daerah otonom di Indonesia menjadi 524 daerah otonom, yang terdiri dari 33 provinsi, 398 kabupaten, dan 93 kota, tidak termasuk 6 daerah administratif di DKI Jakarta. Jumlah tersebut akan terus bertambah, karena usulan yang masuk melalui pintu Kemdagri dan DPR terus mengalir. Motivasi pembentukan daerah otonom baru adalah untuk pemerataan pembangunan, setidaknya, akan ada aliran dana alokasi umum (DAU), dana alokasi khusus (DAK), membuka peluang kerja sebagai PNS, memunculkan elite-elite baru yang akan duduk di DPR, serta meningkatkan eksistensi identitas lokal. Pada titik inilah, dalam banyak kasus, upaya pemekaran daerah menjadi arena bagi para pemburu rente (rent-seeker), maupun para petualangan politik yang mengejar kepentingan sendiri dan kepentingan jangka pendek. Beban APBN Ledakan pemekaran selama 1999-2010 menyebabkan lonjakan beban APBN yang luar biasa. Disebutkan, pada 2003, pemerintah pusat harus menyediakan DAU Rp 1,33 triliun bagi 22 DOB hasil pemekaran sepanjang tahun 2002. Jumlah tersebut melonjak dua kali lipat pada tahun 2004, di mana pemerintah harus mentransfer Rp 2,6 triliun alokasi DAU bagi 40 DOB. Sementara tahun 2010, pemerintah terpaksa mengucurkan Rp 47,9 triliun sebagai DAU untuk daerah pemekaran. Beban terhadap APBN makin bertambah, akibat lemahnya daya dukung keuangan sebagian besar DOB. Di beberapa daerah pemekaran, pemerintah pusat harus mengalokasikan DAK untuk membiayai pembangunan infrastruktur. Karena itu, pemerintah membatasi ambisi pemekaran dengan hanya ada 8 daerah yang dimekarkan hingga 2025. Daerah tersebut adalah Aceh, Sumatera Utara, Kalimantan Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Papua, dan Papua Barat. Untuk setiap daerah tersebut hanya diperbolehkan memekarkan satu provinsi baru. Kecuali untuk Papua, diperbolehkan mendapatkan empat provinsi baru. Untuk pemekaran kabupaten/kota yang baru itu, juga hanya bisa dilakukan di tujuh daerah saja. Untuk daerah Sumatera hanya akan ada 10 kabupaten/kota baru yang bisa mekar. Lalu untuk Jawa, hanya diperbolehkan tujuh. Kemudian Kalimantan hanya ada 10 kabupaten/kota baru yang terbentuk. Sulawesi hanya ada 11 kabupaten/kota. Di Bali dan Nusa Tenggara akan ada tiga kabupaten/kota yang terbentuk. Maluku ada empat kabupaten/kota yang mekar dari daerah induknya. Dan di daerah Papua, diperbolehkan sembilan kabupaten/kota. Pemerintah menyusun desain besar ini guna menjawab banyaknya daerah-daerah yang minta pemekaran. Saat ini di DPR terdapat 33 usulan calon daerah baru yang tengah diproses. Usulan tersebut, terbagi atas 10 provinsi, 21 kabupaten, dan 2 kota. Mendagri Gamawan Fauzi belum mau bicara banyak soal desain besar tersebut. Saya belum bisa berkomentar karena belum ada pembahasan dengan DPR. Jika sudah mulai pembahasan, maka saya siap membuka ke publik, katanya kepada SP di Jakarta, akhir pekan lalu. Menurutnya pembahasan bersama DPR baru akan dimulai 16 September mendatang. Karena itu, pihaknya baru akan bicara kepada publik terkait desain pemekaran pada saat tersebut. Menanggapi desain tersebut, anggota Komisi II DPR dari Fraksi PDI-P Ganjar Pranowo belum mau berkomentar soal kuantitas wilayah yang akan dimekarkan. Baginya yang terpenting adalah apakah memang perlu pemekaran atau cukup digabung saja, ataukah harus ada wilayah
CiKEAS British MP's wife found working as a sex worker
Indo-Asian News Service London, September 06, 2010 First Published: 14:21 IST(6/9/2010) Last Updated: 17:48 IST(6/9/2010) British MP's wife found working as a sex worker A British MP's wife works as a prostitute charging 70 pounds for oral sex without a condom followed by full sex with a condom, said a media report in London. The revelation left the MP stunned as he said: That's a horrible shock. Sunday Mirror reported that Tory MP Mike Weatherley's Brazilian wife Carla, 39, works at three seedy brothels. The expose could prove embarrassing to Prime Minister David Cameron, who campaigned alongside Weatherley at the general election earlier this year. Weatherley met Carla 10 years ago while he was on a business trip to Rio de Janeiro. Sources say that she was already then a sex worker. There is, however, nothing to suggest that Weatherley knew. After starting a relationship, Weatherley may have bought Carla an apartment in the Copacabana beach area. Later, Weatherley moved Carla to Britain, where they married in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2003. Carla's occupation was listed as housewife in the marriage certificate and initially, she put her past behind her. However, in February, as Weatherley geared up for the poll campaign, she re-entered the sex industry. During the campaign, Weatherley took Carla to a number of political functions in the Hove and Portslade constituency. Sunday Mirror reporter met her at a South London massage parlour where she offered to perform a list of sex acts. She then stripped off and danced naked. The media report said that Carla walked into the room in pink lingerie and said she was Bea. She then rattled off a price list - 30 pounds for hand relief, 40 pounds for oral sex with a condom followed by sex and 70 pounds for oral sex without a condom followed by full sex with a condom. She also spoke about two brothels where she works - North Cheam Massage and Intimate Massage in Bedford. I started working in Bedford in February, but it is very far away. Here we have two houses, this one and one in Cheam. And I work there at the moment. I cover for my friend because she's on holiday. I work on Thursday there and on Friday in London. Then, when she is back, I will work on Mondays. Thursdays here, Mondays there, she was quoted as saying. She added: I like it here, nice clients, nice people, nice place and good money. Weatherley said he was not aware that his wife was a prostitute and added: Oh no. It's a bit of a shock. We separated in February and I had absolutely no idea at all. We've kept in touch and have lunch together every week so we're still good friends. That's a horrible shock... thank you for letting me know. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/596677.aspx © Copyright 2009 Hindustan Times
CiKEAS Diteriaki karena Salah Lafal Bismillah
Refleksi : Mengapa mesti pakai bahasa Arab yang susah dihafal lagi pula mungkin tidak ditahui artinya? Apakah tidak cukup dengan ucapan selamat pagi atau selamat siang? http://regional.kompas.com/read/2010/09/05/05395029/Diteriaki.karena.Salah.Lafal.Bismillah Diteriaki karena Salah Lafal Bismillah Minggu, 5 September 2010 | 05:39 WIB KENDARI, KOMPAS.com - Juru bicara Fraksi Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (F-PDIP) Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (DPRD) Kota Kendari salah melafalkan 'basmalah' dalam sidang paripurna DPRD setempat, Sabtu. Bismillahir rahmanir rasim, PDIP menerima dan menyetujui Raperda APBD-P untuk ditetapkan menjadi perda, kata Ketua Fraksi PDIP, Alwi Genda, saat membacakan pandangan fraksinya terhadap Rancangan Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah Perubahan (RAPBD-P) 2010 di Kendari, Sultra. Kesalahan kata terakhir dari 'basmalah' ini langsung mendapat teriakan dari para anggota DPRD, kepala satuan kerja perangkat daerah dan sejumlah pihak yang hadir dalam aula DPRD ini. Uuh, baca basmalah yang benar, teriak sejumlah hadirin. Alwi langsung meminta maaf, membenarkan bacaannya dan rapat paripurna yang dipimpin Ketua DPRD dan dihadiri Walikota, Wakil Walikota serta unsur musyawarah pimpinan daerah ini pun kembali berlangsung tenang. Salah seorang pegawai sekretariat DPRD, Indah, setempat menganggap kekhilafan itu sebagai hal biasa karena ketidakbiasaan membaca basamalah. Memang orang seringkali salah melafalkan 'basmalah' jika tidak biasa mengucapkannya, apalagi di tengah keramaian, walaupun tahu lafal yang semestinya, kata kepala seksi persidangan ini.
CiKEAS El Asira's first Muslim Halal online Sex Shop
Refleksi : Hari ini TV CNN memberitakan tentang El Asira. Untuk memudahkan bagi yang mau tahu letaknya bila berkunjung ke Amsterdam (Holland) dan mau mampir beli atau lihat oleh-oleh surga dunia halal di toko El Asira, tidak susah dicari. Lokasinya di daerah Zeedijk, tidak jauh dari station kereta api Amsterdam Centraal Station, keluar staion jalan ke depan 100 m dan menggok kiri. Tidak susah mencarinya,banyak turis hilir mudik. Menurut pemilik toko dalam interview dengan CNN diberitahukan akan membuka cabang di Timur Tengah. http://www.afrik-news.com/article17249.html El Asira's first Muslim Halal online Sex Shop Tuesday 30 March 2010 / by Shahinez Benabed Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 29-year old Dutch-Moroccan and a practicing Muslim, has launched El Asira, a rather unlikely, if not daring, enterprise in the Netherlands. It is the first halal sex shop. The question is whether the concept, which is raising many eye brows, will be accepted by an increasing skeptical niche market. Sensual stimulants, organic lubricating gels, pure power capsules for men or women ... El Asira, the first halal sex shop made in the Netherlands has opened its doors. Solely available on the Internet, the shop was inaugurated March 24 by Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 29-year old Dutch-Moroccan Muslim. Halal? Really? Yes, says the young entrepreneur. There is even a fatwa (religious decree, editor's note) on the subject, he says. The fatwa was given after he contacted a local imam who in turn consulted with a Saudi Sheikh who gave his blessing, provided that the products are used, strictly, within the context of marriage. The product range is diverse, from Lovpil capsules, to fight against everyday stress that may affect sexual energy and pleasure, to Gel Max, a lubricating gel that promises greater sexual performance. Jewelry and lingerie will soon be added to their range of products. But is El Asira's Halal online Sex Shop really a sex shop? This is where opinions differ. Despite the manager's decision to label his business as the first Muslim online boutique to sell erotic items and beauty care products, Al-Kanz, another site dedicated to Muslim consumers, says it is not a sex shop. This was predictable. It is neither salacious nor beggarly. Simply some products of comfort, the site reads. The site is careful not to depart from set moral standards. With a purple-pink interface for women and brown for men, the site denotes itself with a calculated discretion. In fact, it shies away from the use of enticing photos of men or women as well as suggestive allusions. But the site, albeit discreet, has failed to reassure some potential customers. And skepticism over the site's intention looks like the winning argument. I don't see the point, says Redhouane, a 32 year-old Muslim, but if some couples need it due to physiological problems, it's understandable. The idea of the online halal sex shop, suggested by his financial partners, had initially been met with skepticism from Abdelaziz Aouragh. But whether or not a halal sex shop will be welcomed by Muslim couples, the decision is theirs to make.
CiKEAS UNIFIL probes southern blast amid fresh arms claims
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1categ_id=2article_id=119032#axzz0yluNIMzy UNIFIL probes southern blast amid fresh arms claims Israel accuses Hizbullah of placing 15,000 rockets near Blue Line By Patrick Galey and Agence France Presse (AFP) Daily Star staff Monday, September 06, 2010 Listen to the Article - Powered by BEIRUT: The investigation into the blasts which hit a three-storey building in southern Lebanon on Friday continued over the weekend amid Israeli claims that Hizbullah had moved a substantial amount of rockets closer to the Blue Line in anticipation of fresh hostilities. The explosions at a suspected arms depot close to the village of Shehabiyeh are being looked at by a team of investigators which includes members of the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Israeli military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich told the Associated Press on Saturday that footage obtained by one of its intelligence drones proved the explosions emanated from a residential building used as a Hizbullah arms cache. She alleged that the Shehabiyeh incident was the third of its kind this year and that Hizbullah was actively maintaining several weapons stores close to the Blue Line - in contravention of international resolutions. Leibovich claimed the party had ammunition silos dotted around 160 southern towns and villages. Following the blasts, Israel's Ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, accused Hizbullah of placing 15,000 rockets along the Blue Line, some capable of reaching southern Eilat. The Syrian-Iranian backed Hizbullah poses a very serious threat to Israel, Oren said. Hizbullah today now has four times as many rockets as it had during the 2006 Lebanon war. These rockets are longer-range. Every city in Israel is within range right now, including Eilat. Hizbullah has maintained its policy of refusing to comment on the make-up of its arsenal, which some Israeli analysts estimate to comprise 40,000 warheads. The party released a statement on Friday dismissing the Shehabiyeh incident as a fire. Oren accused Hizbullah of actively maintaining its weapons, which if true would constitute a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 - drafted to end the 2006 July War between Israel and Hizbullah and which stipulates no arms be present in south Lebanon outside of state control. In 2006, many of their missiles were basically out in the open, in silos and the Israeli air force was able to neutralize a great number of them, the ambassador said. Today those same missiles have been placed under hospitals, and homes and schools because Hizbullah knows full well if we try to defend ourselves against them, we will be branded once again as war criminals, he claimed. We know Hizbullah has in violation of UN resolutions once again penetrated southern Lebanon, transformed entire villages into armed camps and put in about 15,000 rockets along the Israeli border, Oren added. Reports from Shehabiyeh suggested that men resembling Hizbullah members had blocked initial Army and UNIFIL investigation teams from entering the blast site. Individuals with communications equipment were seen confiscating rolls of film from journalists and noting reporters' license plates at the scene. UNIFIL spokesperson Neeraj Singh said that an investigation into the blasts was under way and that members of the probe were given free access to the building in question over the weekend. We have our investigations ongoing although we don't have an investigation report yet. UNIFIL has been on top of things from the time the incident happened, Singh told The Daily Star. The Sector West Commander [Brigadier General Giuseppe Nicola Tota] went to the spot and went into the house in which the incident happened. We have had good cooperation with the Lebanese Army on this and maintained a substantial presence in the area, Singh said. On [Saturday] morning an investigation team visited the spot. It all went smoothly and there was no obstruction whatsoever, he added. A suspected Hizbullah arms cache exploded last summer close to the village of Khirbet Silim. In October 2009, a rocket blew up in a garage at Tayr Felsay. Hizbullah denied involvement in both blasts. - With AP, AFP Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1categ_id=2article_id=119032#ixzz0ylv0NZg6 (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) listen_article.gifdixerit_logo.jpg
CiKEAS Pemerintah Impor 400 Ribu Ton Gula
Refleksi : Apakah tidak bisa diproduksi sendiri untuk mencukupi konsumsi dalam negeri ataukah karena dibuat sedemikian rupa agar selalu impor demi perusahaan milik pribadi penguasa membutukan bisnis demi labanya? http://www.mediaindonesia.com/read/2010/09/09/167146/4/2/Pemerintah-Impor-400-Ribu-Ton-Gula- Pemerintah Impor 400 Ribu Ton Gula Senin, 06 September 2010 23:10 WIB Penulis : Bunga Pertiwi JAKARTA--MI: Menteri Pertanian Suswono memastikan akan mengimpor gula kristal putih (GKP) sebanyak 400 ribu ton. â?oYang jelas sudah dihitung setelah ada taksasi yang baru. Kami akan mengimpor paling tidak sekitar 400 ribu ton gula,â? ujarnya di Kantor Pusat Kementerian Pertanian, Jakarta, Senin (6/9). Ia menuturkan, jumlah gula impor tersebut telah disepakati pemerintah. Namun, dia belum bisa memastikan apakah izin impor sudah keluar dari instansi terkait yang mengeluarkan yakni Kementerian Perdagangan (Kemendag). Belum tahu apa izin impor sudah dikeluarkan Kemendag atau belum. Sebelumnya, Kementerian Perdagangan berencana akan mengeluarkan izin impor gula kristal putih pada pekan ini atau sebelum Lebaran. Semenara itu, beberapa waktu lalu, pengamat pergulaan dan mantan Dewan Komisaris PT PN IV Sri Sulastri mengatakan pada tahun 1930-an Indonesia merupakan negara pengekspor gula terbesar setelah Kuba. Sekaranga kita negara pengimpor terbesar setelah Rusia, kata dia kepada Media Indonesia. Menurutnya, saat ini Indonesia mengimpor gula lantaran kadar rendemen yang menurun. Namun, bukan hanya GKP yang paling besar diimpor tapi gula rafinasi. Kadar rendemen gula rafinasi itu kan harusnya 7%. Tapi gula rafinasi kita hanya 6% jadi tidak manis. Untuk industri, gula rafinasi dibebaskan impor. Perusahaan-perusahaan makanan dan minuman asing yang punya pabrik di Indonesia pasti menggunakan gula impor karena gula kita kurang manis, tandasnya. (*/OL-8
CiKEAS Miss Isa Blyth,106, is oldest virgin
http://www.dailychilli.com/news/6124-miss-isa-blyth-106-is-oldest-virgin- Miss Isa Blyth,106, is oldest virgin A 106-year-old woman in Britain is not only a virgin, she has never ever been kissed. Isa Blyth, who turned 106 Saturday, puts her longevity to being a virgin, The Sun reported. Isa Blyth puts her longevity to being a virgin She is of the opinion that being single has made her stay strong. I'm not sure if anyone ever tried it on - but they never got anywhere! She says she never felt the need for romance and never had time for a man. She did like the odd sherry though, her niece Sheena Campbell was quoted as saying. Blyth was born in 1904. She used to attend flower club and church, sang in the choir, and played golf or gardening. She always stayed in Edinburgh and worked for 35 years as a private secretary to a whisky producer. Sheena said: She was wrapped up in her church and she loved her choir and flower club. And she had a high-powered job, which meant she was always busy. I think she was also a bit of a maiden lady as she was the first-born and acted as a head with her six brothers and sisters. She never had time to be sad. She's an amazing character. You wouldn't believe she was 106. Source: IANS Published Sept 5 2010 virgin.jpg
CiKEAS Fayyad: 100s of Hamas members arrested after attacks
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=187288 Fayyad: 100s of Hamas members arrested after attacks By JPOST.COM STAFF 09/06/2010 18:05 PA prime minister says decision to carry out attacks was politically motivated; big chance of talks between Netanyhau and Abbas failing. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday said that his forces arrested hundreds of Hamas members since the fatal terrorist attack last week that left four Israeli citizens dead, Army Radio reported. The decision to carry out the attack was politically motivated and intended to embarrass the Palestinian Authority, Fayyad told Palestinian journalists. Fayyad added that the chance of failure in peace talks between Netanyahu and Abbas is much greater than the chance of them succeeding. Meanwhile the IDF announced that it has increased its forces in the West Bank amid assessments that Hamas will continue to trying to perpetrate terror attacks as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks continue. Two battalions were transferred to the West Bank last week and were deployed along the roads to man checkpoints and patrol highways in an effort to prevent additional shooting attacks. Yaakov Katz contributed to this report. RELATED: IDF beefs up West Bank forces to counter terror attacks Hamas to launch 'more effective attacks' on Israel
CiKEAS The purpose behind sectarian violence
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\06\story_6-9-2010_pg3_2 Monday, September 06, 2010 COMMENT: The purpose behind sectarian violence -Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain In many parts of Pakistan, the Taliban religious philosophy has sympathisers and supporters among the general public, politicians, bureaucracy at all levels, police forces and of course among the local religious establishments and mosques. As such the religious terrorists do not work in a vacuum but have local help and protection Sectarian violence is as old as organised religion. However, sectarianism becomes a large scale problem only when it is taken over by a political group to obtain political advantage. There is no point in rehashing the long and violent history of all great religions. But it is time to step back and see what the recent flurry of sectarian violence in Pakistan is all about. Most objective assessments of the modern history of the Muslims will probably point to the Khomeini revolution in Iran and its backlash among the hereditary Kingdoms and Sheikhdoms of the Arabian Peninsula as the point in time when sectarianism in Islam became politicised most recently. The Iran-Iraq war of the 80s was the first Sunni salvo against Shia revivalism. It of course ended in a stalemate. The Arabian hereditary monarchies have never taken on the Shia theocracy of Iran directly but both sides have used proxies against each other. In such matters the proxies have a bad habit of wanting to run free. The Taliban, an extremist Sunni proxy in Afghanistan caught the independence bug also and gave protection to Osama and his al Qaeda. For this they suffered a fate similar to that of Saddam Hussein after his invasion of Kuwait. The Taliban in Afghanistan were removed from power after 9/11 but they were not destroyed completely. The Pakistani establishment protected the core leadership of the Taliban for its own 'security' purposes. The Sunni extremists protected them for religious reasons and today we are seeing a Taliban resurgence. The Taliban might now be an indigenous Afghan resistance movement, but then who funds them, trains them and supports them? The answer as Alfred Hitchcock said, I leave to your vivid imagination! And that brings me to the rather interesting question: who are the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and are they related to the Taliban that are fighting US occupation in Afghanistan? Most Pakistani and international analysts it would seem suggest that the TTP is a conglomerate of many disparate extremist groups and are supportive but not necessarily a part of the Taliban fighting in Afghanistan. My purpose is not to try and figure out all the connections but rather to think about the increasing sectarian violence in Pakistan, which is often blamed on the TTP and what purpose might be behind it. If we just look at the three major sectarian attacks in Lahore over the last few months, the targets were three different groups. First were the Ahmediyya community, and then came the attack on the shrine of Data Ali Hajvery and finally the most recent attack on the Shia community last week. Clearly it would then seem that the purpose is not to terrorise just one group but rather many different groups that are opposed by the Sunni extremists. If these were just random efforts to terrorise different religious entities then that would be just that, but it is hard to accept that somebody would go through all this trouble just for that reason. Whatever one might have to say about the perpetrators of these atrocities, I do not think that they are 'stupid' and would waste all this firepower without a discrete and well thought out political motive. Before I follow up on this train of thought any further, I think it is important to accept one basic reality. In many parts of Pakistan, the Taliban religious philosophy has sympathisers and supporters among the general public, politicians, bureaucracy at all levels, police forces and of course among the local religious establishments and mosques. As such the religious terrorists do not work in a vacuum but have local help and protection even in a city like Lahore. That said, what exactly do the terrorists wish to accomplish? First to what they cannot accomplish under any conceivable circumstances and that is to 'exterminate' or 'banish' the Shia and the Hanafi-Barelvi Sunnis from Pakistan. That cannot happen for one simple reason: these two together form a majority of the population of this country. The second thing is that they cannot take the country over and bring about a Taliban-style government in all of Pakistan. First, the Pakistan Army will not let it happen and the Taliban just do not have the firepower to overwhelm the army. And second, those that oppose Taliban-style Islam are in an overwhelming majority in the country. This majority also includes many of the devout Muslims who do not follow the Shia or the
CiKEAS Motorbike Sales in Top Gear, Adding Chaos to Congestion
://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/motorbike-sales-in-top-gear-adding-chaos-to-congestion/394932 Motorbike Sales in Top Gear, Adding Chaos to Congestion Dion Bisara Irvan Tisnabudi | September 06, 2010 They are cheap, fast and easy to obtain. To their owners they are the perfect solution to Jakarta's traffic, but to most other commuters they are just another headache. They are motorcycles, proliferating at such an astonishing rate that they are starting to become part of the problem when it comes to the capital's notorious traffic congestion. Thanks to a booming economy and a flood of easy financing, motorcycle sales in Indonesia have exploded over the past decade, rising 1,000 percent since 1999. According to the Indonesian Motorcycle Industries Association, fewer than 500,000 motorcycles were sold in the country in 1999, compared with an estimated 6.4 million expected to hit the roads this year - including 20 to 30 percent of that total on Jakarta's already clogged streets. The reasons are simple. Motorcycles are cheap to buy and maintain, and financing can be had for the asking. In addition, they can cut the average commute in half or less, a not-insignificant benefit in Jakarta, where unreliable and relatively costly public transportation combines with ever-worsening traffic congestion to add to the appeal of motorbikes. Darmaningtyas, executive director of the Institute of Transportation Studies, said motorcycles have become popular because public transportation is not reliable, comfortable or safe enough, while motorcycles are relatively cheap, even compared to public transportation, and can move quickly through heavy traffic. For example, it only takes less than Rp 10,000 to cover the distance from Jalan Sudirman to Depok by motorcycle. Using public transport, it would be double that amount, and also take longer to arrive at your destination. Just ask Fransisca Rini, who works at an insurance company. She is considering buying a motorcycle - already her main mode of transportation. I prefer to take an ojek [motorcycle taxi] to work because it's fast. It takes me 1.5 hours to go to my office in the morning by bus but only 45 minutes by motorcycle, she said. But perhaps no factor is as responsible for the proliferation of motorcycles as the growth of consumer finance. A Rp 10 million ($1,100) cycle can be purchased with only an ID card, a family card (KK) and a down payment of 10 to 20 percent. Few companies run credit or employment checks. Why? Perhaps due to interest rates as high as 25 percent annually. Armando Lung, president director of Bussan Auto Finance, said the volume of motorcycle loans at his company had tripled over the past five years as financing companies relaxed requirements for borrowers. The company expects to finance 900,000 units this year, he said, up from 300,000 in 2005. Nationally, 75 percent of motorcycles are expected to purchased with loans in 2010, up from about 65 percent last year, he said. This kind of growth was supported by increasing purchasing power in line with growth in the Indonesian economy, he added. One of the main benefits of owning a motorcycle - the ability to slice through traffic - has created what Darmaningtyas labeled a vicious circle. They want to beat the traffic, but as [motorcyles become more numerous], the traffic just gets worse, he said. There is almost one motorcycle for every person in Jakarta, and you can see what kind of chaos they create. Jakarta is considering restricting motorcycles in certain areas to ease congestion, said Udar Pristono, head of the Jakarta Transportation Office. In the future, our plan is to limit the use of motorcycles in roads along all TransJakarta routes, he told the Jakarta Globe in July. Other experts say they should be banned from the city center, as in Beijing and Singapore. Darmaningtyas said that to some extent motorcyclists have themselves to blame for the backlash. Motorcycle riders are the most selfish on the road. They change lanes as they please, they don't want to wait at all, they use pedestrian lanes, they even use underpasses as shelters when it rains, blocking the traffic. But he said restricting motorbikes would create an uproar if public transportation were not improved to compensate. What the government should do is enforce law. Currently, it is easy to get a license without even taking the test. Police should be stricter in dealing with motorcyclists, he said. Arief, a waiter who relies on his motorcycle to commute, said the government needs to consider other options instead of issuing restrictions. The government needs to come up with the solution, for example providing a lane specifically for motorcycles on specific roads [such as major thoroughfares], he said.
CiKEAS Unlike in Africa, Indonesia's Bandits Come With a Smile
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/unlike-in-africa-indonesias-bandits-come-with-a-smile/394920 Unlike in Africa, Indonesia's Bandits Come With a Smile Wijayanto | September 06, 2010 If someone were to ask me to recommend two books for weekend reading, I would recommend False Economy by Alan Beattie and Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang. Both are well written and discuss complex economic issues in a simple way. What's more interesting, both have a chapter on corruption in Indonesia. In his book, Beattie compares prosperous but corrupt Indonesia and clean but poor Tanzania, while Chang explains why corrupt Indonesia is much more prosperous than corrupt Zaire, despite the fact that Zaire was much wealthier in the 1970s. According to the authors, even though corruption is prevalent in Indonesia, most of the dirty money stays in the country to keep the economy rolling. The corrupt invest the money in various businesses, buying houses, cars and enjoying extravagant lifestyles. Interestingly, many of them also donate money to the poor or various social organizations, and build campuses or schools. By contrast, Zaire's corrupt keep their money in Swiss banks, draining the country at a time of great need for capital, turning the economy into total disarray. Why do corrupt Indonesian officials and businesspeople keep their money in the country while those in Zaire deposit the money abroad? Mancur Olson's Tyranny, Anarchy and Democracy helps us understand this phenomenon. According to Olson, two type of bandits exist: the roving bandit and the stationary bandit. Each behaves differently in the ways they commit crime and in how they spend the wealth they gain. The first type is made up of those who have short-term interest and act like ordinary criminals. Just like in cowboy movies, bandits like this come in groups. They attack small towns, rob banks and hotels, destroy buildings and then leave. These bandits have no interest in staying and move from one town to another. Stationary bandits have a different strategy. They come to a town, live there and become part of society. Using their intellect and charm they try to win over the hearts of the people. Their main goal is to enter the highest levels of society. In many cases, they prefer to become kingmakers and install their puppets in various public positions. Often, they themselves become the king and control the town administration. Once in control, the bandits transform the system so they can enrich themselves. By changing the rules of the game they ensure they are protected by the law. If they do break the law, their influence means they always win the legal battle. Stationary bandits control government budgets, dominate access to natural resources and run various businesses. A more prosperous society means a larger market and a higher profit. It also means more tax revenue for the government and a larger government budget which they can then usurp. It is in their interest to develop the town. They don't destroy the physical form, but the institutions, the law, the political system and the fabric of society. The roving bandit is the perfect description of many corrupt governments in Africa, including Zaire. In contrast, Indonesia is the perfect example of the stationary bandit phenomenon. Stationary bandits are much tougher to fight than roving bandits, since they will create a system to camouflage their actions and protect themselves legally. Stationary bandits can be very elegant people. However, despite their appearances, they destroy the environment, disregard financial and capital market regulations, force people to resign from government, help smuggle oil to neighboring countries, evade tax on a grand scale, buy political support and control the media to mislead the public. The existence of stationary bandits has made our collective dream to turn Indonesia into a clean country a distant reality. The fight against corruption started only a few years after Indonesian independence in 1945. In fact, Indonesia was one of the first countries in Asia to have an anticorruption law. However, the existence of stationary bandits has weakened the anticorruption effort and diverted it from its original goal. In 2004, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated: I myself will lead the war against corruption. Interestingly, this statement is similar to President Suharto's remark on Independence Day in 1971, when he said: There is no hesitancy that I myself will lead the war against corruption. But let's hope that the end of the story will not be the same. SBY still has four years to prove that he is different from his predecessor and to leave a legacy as a leader who freed his people from the trap of corruption. A journey to the moon begins with a single step. The first step for SBY is to clean his inner circle of stationary bandits. Wijayanto
CiKEAS Corruption sentence cut reflects failed government
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/09/03/corruption-sentence-cut-reflects-failed-government.html Corruption sentence cut reflects failed government Donny Syofyan, Padang | Fri, 09/03/2010 9:46 AM | Opinion The President's remission and pardon to some corruption convicts have been really shocking. Independence Day celebration, which is supposed to be a victorious public day, has turned into a public condolence day, with Aulia Pohan and several people convicted of graft leaving houses of detention. The government's move increases people's suspicion over the government's commitment to combat corruption. Aulia Pohan, a former deputy governor of Bank Indonesia and an in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was conditionally released from detention serving less than two years of his three-year prison term. This is not to mention sentence reductions granted to Artalyta Suryani, once notoriously caught in a luxurious cell, or the pardon granted to Syaukani Hasan Rais, former regent of Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, who was suspended from his post over four cases involving Rp 93.2 billion (US$10.1 million). Public outrage over the sentence reductions given to those corrupt officials indicates a failed government to battle corruption, which is the country's number one enemy. There are some notes on this. First, the government is certainly suffering from a priority syndrome to fight against corruption. A 2006 government regulation, on which the government based the president's remission and pardon, runs against the spirit of corruption eradication. Bribery is a corrupt practice, which has been declared as an extraordinary crime, and therefore lead to the establishment of a superbody institution such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) through Law No. 30/2002. The law authorizes the KPK to tap the phone lines of suspected corrupt officials and submit the phone data records as evidence tools. Inappropriately, the government seems to have no clear sense of direction and priority when it comes to eradicating corruption, failing to show zero tolerance for corrupt officials. The government's poor priority is getting worse as it applies or focuses on convicts' perspectives rather than people's interest. The humanitarian ground to release Syaukani, for instance, is not on par with the people's sense of justice. The government has a total blackout for poor people's pain, forgetting how black and evil the convicts' heart and soul must be to steal even from the poor. Second, the government is suffering from its worst crisis of confidence to combat corruption. The government becomes frustrated with endless bribery cases in this country, not simply due to soaring cases day by day, but also because the increasing law enforcement officials involved, such as police generals. Such complexity prevents the government from holding serious and intense coordination involving both regular law enforcement agencies, such as police and ad-hoc law enforcement agencies, such as the KPK and the Judicial Mafia Taskforce. That accounts for the government's politically motivated move, which is basically a setback in fighting corruption. The move probably aims to either gather support from local elites, who are mainly prominent figures at the local level, as Transparency International Indonesia's Teten Masduki said, or to show that the government prefers compromise to determination in dealing with corruption eradication. To the worst degree, the corruption sentence reduction constitutes a government's project or breakthrough, especially the justice and human rights minister, prior to Cabinet reshuffles in times to come to win President Yudhoyono's heart. Despite the breakthrough being deemed as against the mainstream, using Hebert Adam's maxim, such a move is quite catchy to manipulate truth in line with the ruling government's interest. The government's crisis of confidence, inspired by the maxim, will only be overcome by exposing unpopular and brainwashing breakthroughs. Third, the government is attempting to de-energize the KPK. For a couple of years, the KPK has appeared on stage to handle seemingly untouchable corruption cases in this country. The public lend high credence to the institution owing to the fact that during its existence the corruption eradication index shows a decreasing rate. There has been systematic ways of criminalizing the most-trusted law enforcement at the moment. In the previous months, President Yudhoyono demurred at interfering in the bribery accusations leveled against the KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah. But now the scenario is getting tough, the President and Justice and Human Rights Ministry block the KPK from moving any longer to tackle and arrest more corrupt officials by granting more and more pardons, remissions, and conditional freedom to multiple corrupt officials in the prison.
CiKEAS Bahrain reasserts state control over mosques
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTgyMzc4MzI0 Bahrain reasserts state control over mosques Published Date: September 07, 2010 MANAMA: Bahrain has decided to reassert state control over the kingdom's mosques after charging Shiite opposition activists with plotting to overthrow the Sunni government, official media reported yesterday. Regaining control of the pulpits so they are not hostage to incompetent politicians or clerics who have lost their way... is the starting point for developing a sound religious orientation, Crown Prince Salman said in comments carried by the official BNA news agency. Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa said the government would ensure that places of worship are run by those who promote the values of tolerance and moderation, BNA said. The two officials' comments came in messages addressed to King Hamad on Sunday, a day after prosecutors pressed terrorism charges against the Shiite activists, raising tension in the run-up to an October 23 general election. According to a charge sheet released on Saturday, the 23 activists - 10 of them prominent opposition figures-stand accused of undermining national security. Two of them, who live in London, are being tried in absentia. Most of the suspects are members of Haq-the Movement of Liberties and Democracy-a Shiite group which rejected as inadequate reforms intended to put an end to Shiite-led unrest that rocked the 35-Island archipelago through the 1990s. Those reforms, enshrined in a 2002 charter, converted the emirate into a constitutional monarchy but Haq boycotted parliamentary elections in 2006 and intends to do the same next month. The arrests have raised tensions between the government and the mainstream Shiite opposition which took part in the 2006 election, winning 17 of the 40 seats in parliament. Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of the Islamic National Accord Association, warned last month that they would lead to more protests. He mocked the authorities' accusations against those arrested saying they could not have all belonged to a single secret organization as they had different opinions. - AFP
CiKEAS UAE banks stop transfers to Iran
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODU5MDQzNTM2 UAE banks stop transfers to Iran Published Date: September 06, 2010 DUBAI: Most banks in the United Arab Emirates, an important trading partner for Iran, have stopped money transfers there after the latest round of sanctions on the Islamic republic, bankers said yesterday. A Dubai-based Iranian businessman said that the latest sanctions have halved trade with Dubai, an important re-export centre for Iranian goods. We stopped transfers to Iran in all currencies in July, an executive from an international bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity said. The UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on June 9 over Iran's controversial program of uranium enrichment, which many Western states believe may be a covert bid to make a nuclear bomb, a charge Tehran denies. The United States and European Union have since unilaterally imposed even tougher punitive measures, which contain provisions to penalize Tehran's trading partners. A banker with an Emirati bank said that transfers to Iran in dollars and euros are now forbidden, and have become very difficult, if not impossible, in dirhams, the UAE's currency. Transactions by Iranian clients are closely monitored, the banker said, adding that certain activities by Iranian clients, such as transfers to Asia to purchase goods, are sometimes blocked. We used to deal with some banks in Tehran, but now it is almost impossible, the banker said. Bank accounts of some Iranian clients have been closed recently, he added. The volume of trade between Dubai and Iran has been reduced by 50 percent compared to before the latest round of sanctions, mainly due to bank restrictions, said Morteza Masoumzadeh, vice president of the Iranian Business Council in Dubai. There are more restrictions, and things are getting more complicated because of the latest sanctions, he said. For example, businessmen can no longer open a letter of credit to overseas suppliers if the port of discharge is an Iranian port, he said. UAE officials said last month that the country was implementing sanctions against Iran. It reportedly began taking steps to implement the latest UN sanctions against the Islamic republic in June. The UAE central bank ordered the freezing of 41 bank accounts because of the sanctions on Iran, according to the Emirates Business 24/7 website. Dubai, the UAE's business and aviation transport hub, has also closed down the offices of 40 firms suspected of breaching the sanctions, the Gulf News daily reported. Iran is a significant UAE trading partner, with trade volume between it and Dubai alone estimated at about 10 billion dollars (7.7 billion euros) a year, mostly imports to the emirate. There are about 400,000 Iranians living in the UAE. - AFP
CiKEAS Indonesia And The Challenge Of Papuan Separatism
http://www.eurasiareview.com/201008257415/indonesia-and-the-challenge-of-papuan-separatism.html Indonesia And The Challenge Of Papuan Separatism Thursday, 26 August 2010 00:18 Written by IDSA By Bilveer Singh If there are any symbols of Papuans' continued quest and determination for sovereign independence1, it is their continued attachment to their flag, the Morning Star or Bintang Kejora (in Indonesian), their Anthem, Hai Tanahku Papua (in Indonesian) or Oh, My Land Papua, written by a Dutch missionary in the 1930s and the continued existence of the OPM, Papua Independence Movement since 1964. The Morning Star was first formally unveiled on 1 December 1961, symbolising the onset of the Republic of West Papua and flew till October 1962, when the former Dutch colony was transferred to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority through a deal brokered by the United States, mainly to prevent Indonesia from joining the Soviet Camp during the Cold War. Indonesia took control of the territory in the following year and formally incorporated West Papua, renamed West Irian, into Indonesia in 1969, recognised by the United Nations. However, Papuans have continued to challenge the territory's integration into Indonesia and a bloody struggle has ensued ever since, with supporters of Papuan independence claiming that more than 100,000 Papuans have been killed by the Indonesian military. The violence has continued right to the present period and it remains illegal to fly the Bintang Kejora in Indonesia and many Papuans continue to be incarcerated for doing so. Anatomy of Papua Located on the easternmost part of Indonesia, geographically it constitutes one-fifth of the country but only has a population of 3 million (of which the natives constitute only 50 per cent). Indonesia, where 90 per cent of the people are Muslim, has a population of nearly 240 million. Papua is a largely Christian territory, where the Protestants constitute the majority, followed by the Catholics and then Muslims. However, tribalism is extremely dominant with more than 265 tribes representing the Putra Daerah or Sons of the Soil (natives). Yet, the territory is extremely rich in natural resources, especially oil, gas, gold and copper. It is also geo-strategically important, bordering on land with Papua New Guinea and fronting the Pacific Ocean. Explaining Papuans' Desire for Independence Even though Indonesia declared independence in August 1945 and had to fight the Dutch to gain complete sovereignty in December 1949, the Dutch only surrendered Papua in October 1962. This represents an important historical anomaly as Papua remained for another 12 years as a Dutch colony compared to the rest of Indonesia. This provided the Dutch ample time to develop a local Papuan elite that was committed to independence and hence the importance of the Morning Star, National Anthem, not to mention a rudimentary Parliament that was formed in Jayapura in 1961. However, due to the Cold War, President Kennedy succeeded in pressurising the Dutch to surrender the territory in 1962 and Indonesia, with the support of the West, legitimately gained control of the territory by 1969. However, this was largely undertaken against the wishes of the Papuan elites and hence the continued struggle for Merdeka or independence ever since. From the perspective of Papuans, there are a number of grievances that have provided a catalyst and triggered their demands for independence. First, the sense of historical injustice when Papua was handed over to Indonesia by the Dutch in 1962 without consulting Papuan elites and later, the fraudulent manner in which the referendum, called Act of Free Choice (but what the Papuans call Act of No Choice) was held in 1969. Thus, for the Papuans, Indonesia is an illegal colonizer and the territory's status should be reviewed through a referendum. Second, gross unhappiness in the manner Jakarta has flooded the territory with non-Papuans, mostly Muslims, thereby creating what Papuans refer to as 'demographic and cultural genocide' and where they are fast becoming minorities in their own land. This has also intensified social-cultural conflicts between the natives (Putra Daerah) and the transmigrants (Pendatangs), the latter usually backed by officialdom. Third, demographically, Papuans feel discriminated against, with the majority Malay Indonesians looking down on the Melanesian Papuans (for their dress code, eating and drinking habits, etc) and worst still, most privileges being given to the former at the expense of the latter. Fourth, there is the rising impoverisation of the Papuans. Despite the immense wealth of the territory, Papuans are among the poorest in Indonesia. Instead, the wealth is sucked out to benefit non-Papuans and foreigners, who in alliance with Jakarta, continue to benefit from Jakarta's rule over the territory. The operation of Freeport McMoran, the
CiKEAS Sally's story
http://english.aljazeera.net/photo_galleries/africa/2010831920332122.html Twelve-year-old Sally Sabahi, far right, lives with her family in a single room tucked down a back alley of Old Sanaa. Her father, far left, sells chili mix in the market for a dollar or two a day. Her mother, second from right, was married at 12, enduring five years of beatings before she finally divorced. [Credit: Hugh Macleod] My parents called for me to come from the yard, said Sally, explaining how she got married aged 10 to her 25-year-old first cousin. They told me Take a deep breath and asked How about getting married Sally? So, I replied: Yes, but will you give me a dress, and candy and toys and stuff like that? They answered: Yes. They promised to give me everything. [Credit: Annasofie Flamand] Her father, Mabkhout as Sabahi, left, earned 200,000 Yemeni Rial, around $1,000, for agreeing to the marriage to Nabil. Nabil promised he would wait for her until she was grown up, said Mabkhout. But the people in Hajja [where Nabil is from] kept telling him Sally is grown up and ready to sleep with him and that she does not because her parents told her not to. [Credit: Annasofie Flamand] A picture of 10-year-old Sally trying on her wedding dress. Beaten, drugged and raped, Sally won a divorce from Nabil recently after her story made headlines in local media and became the focus of a national debate that has polarised Yemeni society. [Credit: Hugh Macleod] Nojoud Mohammed Ali al-Ahdal, was nine years old when she was married to a 30-year-old man she had never met. I got scared and used to run away and he would chase me. I did not think I was a wife, said Najoud. After taking a taxi to court and finding a lawyer, Shada Nasser, to represent her Nojoud became the first child bride in Yemen to successfully divorce. [Credit: Annasofie Flamand] Several hundred women protested against a proposed legal minimum age for marriage.In the case of Nojoud it was her father who was wrong. Why not go and see the women who are happy? asked one demonstrator, Zeinab as-Sumaidar, a secretary at Iman University. [Credit: Hugh Macleod] Sheikh Mohammed al-Hazmi inspects the fatwa, or religious ruling, he helped author which forbids any Yemeni from supporting a minimum age for marriage. [Credit: Hugh Macleod] Lawyer Shada Nasser, centre, went to a neighbourhood of Sanaa, to file the initial case for divorce. But it would require Nabil to travel to Sanaa from Hajja. If Nabil did not agree to the divorce the case would have to be heard in Hajja. The judge may look more favourably at their own kinsmen, said Nasser. Many judges are governed by arcane views of women. [Credit: Annasofie Flamand] A clerk of the court counts the 200,000 Yemeni Rial dowry which had to be paid back to Nabil in order for Sally to divorce him. An American-Turkish woman offered to pay $700 after hearing about the case. The remaining $300 was donated by local Yemeni women. The divorce papers were signed by Judge Mansour Ali in the presence of Sally, her lawyer and Nabil. [Credit: Hugh Macleod] Nabil drew laughter from those gathered when he urged men to consider the age, brain and that they are not crazy of any potential wife. He said: I just came and married her. I did not think it was a problem because I did not know her exact age. For Sally, the moment was about looking forward. I was feeling there was a black cloud hanging over my head. Today I feel so free. [Credit: Hugh Macleod]a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. a.. Start Slide ShowStop Slide Show1 / 10 Sallay's story By Hugh Macleod Sally as-Sabahi used to love playing the make-believe marriage game with her brothers and sisters. For a little girl living in a single room down a back alley of Old Sanaa, imagining the new wedding clothes, make-up and party for her school friends was a thrilling way to escape the daily grind of poverty. So when her mother showed her the real-life snow white dress and sparkling jewellery she promised would be hers, 10-year-old Sally had no problem agreeing to marry the man her parents had chosen: Nabil, her 25-year-old first cousin, for whom Sally would be a second marriage. Sally recently won a divorce from Nabil after her story made headline news in local media and became the focus of a national debate that has polarised Yemeni society. I don't call it marriage, I call it rape, said Shada Nasser, a lawyer who has worked on several child marriage cases. Nojoud Ali al-Ahdal, who was herself raped and beaten by her 30-year-old husband when she was nine years old, was the first of only three Yemeni child brides to win a divorce. But the practice of child marriage affects millions in Yemen. The International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) found that just under half of all girls in Yemen are married before they are 18 - classified as underage
CiKEAS Scholar rejects extremist ideology
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article124496.ece Scholar rejects extremist ideology By ARAB NEWS Published: Sep 2, 2010 23:53 Updated: Sep 3, 2010 00:49 JEDDAH: A religious scholar has continued his attack on methods employed by advocates of extremist ideologies, leading to a misinterpretation of Islamic religious texts in their writings, Al-Watan daily newspaper reported on Thursday. Abdul Aziz Al-Humaidi, who was speaking on the ongoing Humumuna program on Saudi Channel 1, said matters that affect the interests of a community or nation, such as war and peace, could not be acted on by an individual. Such issues are to be resolved by the ruler in consultation with qualified people and any decisions are binding on citizens, he said. That was the model set by the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he used to make decisions that affected all of society, he added. In his capacity as a specialist in Muslim jurisprudence, Al-Humaidi uncovered the misleading way in which a proponent of deviant ideology, Abu Muhammad Al-Muqaddisi, tried to influence people in his book Millat Ibrahim. He claimed that Al-Muqaddisi particularly targeted countries in the Arab and Muslim world facing serious political and economic issues. In the book, Al-Humaidi said, Al-Muqaddisi erroneously claimed that the Prophet used to resort to takfir (declaring someone as an infidel) and call for an uncompromising war.
CiKEAS Bahrain to monitor religious forums
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article127507.ece Bahrain to monitor religious forums By AGENCIES Published: Sep 6, 2010 00:46 Updated: Sep 6, 2010 00:46 DUBAI: Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa gave a national address on Sunday to decry strife, aggression and terrorism and announced plans for greater government monitoring of religious forums - an apparent reference to preachers and others who seek to challenge the government. We hope and expect that everyone will stand firm to protect this nation from strife and evils in the face of violence and terrorism in all its forms, he said. A day earlier, state media released the photographs of 23 Shiites - ranging from opposition figures to professors and taxi drivers - accused of conspiring to overthrow the government. They include opposition leader Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace, whose arrest on Aug. 13 marked the first salvo by the government. Since then, the government has steadily ramped up the pressure. Rights groups say more than 250 people have been detained. The backlash spilled onto the streets with gangs and police clashing on opposite sides of barricades of burning tires. On Saturday, officials said the 23 detained activists were part of a plot to overthrow the government of this Gulf kingdom - a Western ally and homeport for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. This sophisticated terrorist network with operations inside and outside Bahrain has undertaken and planned a systematic and layered campaign of violence and subversion aimed squarely at undermining the national security of Bahrain, said a statement by public prosecution official Abdul-Rahman Al-Sayed after the arrests were announced Saturday. No details of the coup plot have been made public. The clampdown comes ahead of Oct. 23 elections for Parliament, where Shiites currently have 17 of the 40 seats and could make a bid for a majority in the upcoming balloting. The confrontation also showcases Bahrain's role as the centerpiece for Gulf concerns about Iran. Some Gulf countries harbor suspicions about Iran's effort to expand its regional clout. Yet only Bahrain has a sizable Shiite population that is seen as a possible beachhead for Iran on the Arab side of the Gulf. Hard-liners in Iran have often described Bahrain as Iran's 14th Province. But no clear evidence has emerged of Iranian aid to the opposition groups in Bahrain, and Bahrain's leadership issued a statement last week distancing itself from any accusations toward Iran. Shadi Hamid, a Gulf affairs researcher at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said: There is more and more concern about Iranian influence even if it can be proven or not. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a short visit Sunday to Qatar, the only Gulf state that has welcomed him since Iran's disputed presidential election last year. At a news conference with Qatar's leader, Ahmadinejad said they agreed on the need for reconciliation and cooperation between Iran and its neighbors, but Bahrain's unrest was not specifically mentioned.
CiKEAS Democratic' process in Pakistan
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\06\story_6-9-2010_pg3_4 Monday, September 06, 2010 VIEW: 'Democratic' process in Pakistan - I -Raza Kazim Elections by themselves are only the mechanics of a political process. They are not the substance of democracy. Democracy is a massive movement of the common people against an oppressive and obstructive social order and for its replacement by another social order that enables the people to restructure their society In the peak of the 'democracy' season in Pakistan, Mr Altaf Hussain has sounded a discordant note with his latest statement, implying that he would support 'patriotic generals' if they use their military prowess to eradicate corruption and feudalism from Pakistan. Some prominent politicians and civil society luminaries have already reacted with horror to Mr Altaf Hussain's political hand grenade. As a concerned student of our history and an outsider to the present centre-stage of our politics, I would like to respond to this occasion by examining some of the implications arising out of Mr Altaf Hussain's statement. I am unable to equate democracy with elections and the politics of elections alone. The political history of the Third World during the last 60 years is full of instances in which this paradigm of democracy has produced the messy stagnation that has taken hold of many of these countries for a long time, and has served to deny three generations of a brighter future, which could and should have been their fate. And let us not forget the modern instances of the election politics and process in Germany in the 1930s and about the same time in the Soviet Union. They produced disastrous social formations and sad endings. The point is that elections by themselves are only the mechanics of a political process. They are not the substance of democracy. Democracy is a massive movement of the common people against an oppressive and obstructive social order and for its replacement by another social order that enables the people to restructure their society and therewith establish an appropriate political and legal order, which opens the doors for civilised progress. And the process of democracy can last only as long as that movement of the people continues with dynamic vigour. These events occur and become real and turning points in their history. I am unable to see when such events and turning points occurred in our history since August 14, 1947, nor do I recall when they occurred prior to 1947. Neither do I find any literature that documents and demonstrates that we have in fact gone through this process, and developed a vigorous consensus of the common people, which could produce such events. A consensus mushroomed in 1945 and 1946 to grasp Pakistan as a huge opportunity for a large number of the upper and middle classes for their personal betterment. And so in fact it happened. The British withdrew their sovereignty over Pakistan by an act of parliament and left Pakistani society intact as they had made it. There was no operative vision of a social change at all. Even the foreign minister, the finance minister and the first two army chiefs came from the British stable and were not even members of the Muslim League. I walked with Jinnah's funeral to his resting place and clearly recall that the marriage of Islam and politics in Pakistan took place quite some time after his burial. It was manifest that conferring the title of Islam on Pakistan later was a substitute device for the total absence of a social vision arising out of a popular consensus and its leadership. This was obvious because neither Jinnah nor the Quran had prescribed Islam or any other religion for the state of Pakistan. If it is suggested that 'democracy' means a legal continuity, then this notion was negated by the highest court in Pakistan, supported by the practical approval and consensus of the people of Pakistan. The first martial law was still to come four years later and that too after having been midwifed by the civilian administration. All martial laws hitherto share the same fundamental character, together with all the intervening civilian governments, of preserving and standing guard over a pre-democratic social formation preferred so far by the people of Pakistan. I am unable, therefore, to make a qualitative political distinction between the civilian and military administrations in this country for the last 62 years. It is true that there have been many interesting changes in political personalities and devices but that is all. The extent of the parallel economy in Pakistan is well recognised and researched, and where its ratio is one of the highest in the world. A parallel economy by definition means economic transactions that are in violation of the law, whereas democracy by definition means that laws are made by the people and for the people.
CiKEAS Foreign women are treated like slaves
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTAzMjY1ODY5OQ== Analysis Foreign women are treated like slaves Published Date: September 06, 2010 By Frida Ghitis When Mrs L P Ariyawathie showed up at the hospital in the town of Kamburupitiya, near the southern tip of Sri Lanka, few could imagine that the 49-year-old mother of three would make headlines across the world. Normally, the news from Sri Lanka fails to garner much international attention. Ariyawhathie's story, however, managed what decades of civil war, suicide bombings and last year's bloody end to a brutal war failed to do: It made the world pay attention. At first, the woman whose eyes still radiate intense sadness told a story almost too bizarre to believe, except that Sri Lankans have already heard disturbing tales from poor friends traveling to strange lands to earn a living. Those stories are often most outrageous when they describe the experiences of women traveling to Saudi Arabia, as Ariyawhathie did. In May, she started working as a housekeeper with a Saudi family. The suffering began immediately, with cruel mockery by her employer every time she tried to speak the few words in Arabic she had learned in preparation to leave her home and her family and travel to the mysterious kingdom. Before long, the taunts turned to torture. Then one day, after she accidentally broke a plate, her boss asked if she was blind, aiming his hand toward one of her eyes. When she raised her arm over her face, the first nail went in. By the time she made it back home to Sri Lanka and arrived at the hospital, her Saudi employer had hammered 24 nails and needles into her hands, legs and forehead. This is not another story about the unspeakable sorrow that poverty inflicts on its victims. It's about how some of the wealthiest, most privileged people on Earth fail the most basic test of humanity, and how the time has come for the Saudi government, which never tires of proclaiming its piousness - to make reforms aimed at protecting the most vulnerable in its midst. Saudi Arabia hosts 8 million foreigners, mostly poor people from Asia and the Middle East, desperate for work. Hundreds of thousands are women employed as domestic workers, living in conditions that are often no better than slavery. Some 400,000 Sri Lankans live there, mostly women working in private homes. Too many of them experience horrific abuse, including beatings, rape and even murder. Sri Lankan politician Ranjan Ramanayake says he frequently receives pleading calls from relatives of workers in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is the worst, he noted. It is followed by Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Abu Dhabi. Our mothers, sisters and daughters undergo unspeakable harassment. Under a Saudi system called Kafala, workers become practically property of employers, surrendering their passport on arrival, becoming trapped in a country where law and culture leave laborers, especially foreigners, with few rights. The situation for migrant women - impossible as it would seem - is far worse. Nonpayment of wages across the board has been thoroughly documented by human rights and labor organizations, as have harsh working and living conditions. But nothing compares to the plight of South Asian women in Saudi Arabia, and for that matter in much of the Middle East. There is no shortage of examples. Earlier this year, 26-year-old Balakrishnan Dharshan, who had left the Sri Lankan city of Kandy to work in Saudi Arabia, was found dead, her body covered with burn marks. A 25-year-old Indonesian housekeeper lost fingers, toes and part of a foot after her employer kept her tied in the bathroom. A Saudi paper reported last year that the Sri Lankan embassy receives 10 runaway maids every day. The situation is so desperate that India and Nepal have already banned their women from accepting placements in Saudi Arabia, following thousands of abuse reports. Kafala ensures that workers have practically no recourse and often no way out. Attitudes toward women, non-Muslims, foreigners and workers in menial occupations set the stage for brutality and impunity. If the Saudis want to earn some respect from the rest of the world, they now have our attention. All abusers should be prosecuted and punished. But there's more. Not only should foreign workers have a right to keep their passports and leave the country without special permission, but the laws must be revised to protect their most basic rights. The Ariyawathie case made the world look in a direction it seldom does, toward Sri Lanka. What the world saw, however, is what most urgently needs to change in Saudi Arabia.- MCT
CiKEAS Deadly bombing at Pakistan rally
Refleksi : Kalau saling baku hantam, saling bunuh membunuh antara Shia dan Suni maka tentu bisa timbul pertanyaan : Allah berada di pihak Suni ataukah Shia? http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/201093111014874105.html Deadly bombing at Pakistan rally More than 50 people killed in suicide bomb attack at large protest in southwestern border city of Quetta. Last Modified: 04 Sep 2010 06:15 GMT The blast is the second attack on Shia Muslims in Pakistan in a week [AFP] At least 54 people have been killed and nearly 200 injured in a suicide attack targeting a Shia Muslim rally in Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta. Police officers said the bomber was among the 450-strong crowd and had detonated the device on reaching the main square in the city on Friday. The explosion triggering chaotic scenes, with some people set on fire as others fled or lay on the ground to avoid ongoing gunfire. The bomb appeared to target the rally being held for al-Quds day, an international event held every year by the Shia community in opposition to Israel's control of Jerusalem and to show solidarity with Palestinian Muslims. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban commander, told The Associated Press news agency that though they are fighting the US and the Pakistani government, Shias are also our target. Earlier, unconfirmed reports said that the attack was claimed by the Laskhar-e-Jhangvi (Army of Jangnvi), an armed group known for its attacks against Pakistan's Shia community. Shia minority Shia Muslims are in the minority in Pakistan, accounting for around a fifth of the country's 160 million population, which is dominated by Sunnis. IN DEPTH What we have seen unfortunately in the holy month of Ramadan, is that these so called Islamic groups, who profess to be the saviors of Islam, have continued their suicide bombings on innocent civilians and on our military forces and police forces, Farahnaz Ispahani, a media adviser to the president of Pakistan, told Al Jazeera. And what we have seen recently is also an increase of attacks on the Shia minority in Pakistan, she said. Police were forced to quell unrest following the attack, said Sardar Khan, chief of Quetta's police control room. An angry mob tried to set on fire a private building and vehicles. Some of the participants were armed and they were firing in the air, Khan said. They also set on fire some bicycles and motorcycles. Local television channel AaJ said one of its drivers had been killed in the blast, while there were reports of several other journalists injured in the incident. Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, strongly condemned the attack and called for an immediate inquiry into the incident. The US embassy also condemned the attack. Ramadan violence It was the latest in a string of attacks as Muslims marked the final days of the holy month of Ramadan. Earlier, at least one man was killed and four wounded on Friday when a suicide bomber blew himself up after being apprehended by police outside a mosque of the Ahmadi sect in the city of Mardan in northwest Pakistan, police said. A suicide bomber was trying to enter the Ahmadis' worship place, but he was intercepted by police, Waqif Khan, the Mardan police chief, said, adding that the bomber had been shot before blowing himself up on the ground. A passerby was killed and four others were wounded in the firing and suicide attack, Khan said. He said it was unclear whether the man was killed by the bomb or by gunshots fired by the guards. Police have handed over the bomber's body parts to a forensic team, Khan said. In the northwest city of Peshawar, which has often been targeted by armed groups, at least three policemen were injured when a bomb exploded near their patrol vehicle, police said. The officers were checking vehicles on the city's ring road and Mohammad Karim Khan, a senior police official, said the bomb was detonated by remote control. On Wednesday, three suicide bombers killed 31 people and wounded hundreds when they targeted a Shia mourning procession made up of thousands of people, at the moment of the breaking of the fast in the holy month of Ramadan. Religious violence in Pakistan, mostly between Sunni and Shia groups, has killed more than 4,000 people in the past decade. Ahmadi's attacked In May, nearly 100 people were killed in the eastern city of Lahore after armed groups stormed two Ahmadi prayer halls, launching gun and grenade attacks. Gunmen later raided the hospital where victims were being treated, killing four people in a shootout. Founded by Ghulam Ahmad, who was born in 1838, the Ahmadi sect believes that Ahmad himself was a prophet and that Jesus died aged 120 in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-ruled Kashmir. Pakistan declared them non-Muslims in 1974 and 10
CiKEAS 55 killed in Quetta rally attack
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\04\story_4-9-2010_pg1_1 Saturday, September 04, 2010 55 killed in Quetta rally attack * Over 200 injured as bomber targets Al-Quds rally * Police blames rally participants for diverging from set route * Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims responsibility By Mohammad Zafar QUETTA: At least 55 people lost their lives, while over 200 others were injured on Friday after a suicide bomber blew himself up amidst participants of a rally held to mark the Al-Quds Day in Quetta. The deadly blast triggered chaos and panic in the provincial metropolis's busy Mezan Chowk. Calling from an undisclosed location, a spokesman of the banned Lashkaar-e-Janghvi, claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that the group would carry out more attacks if Shias continue to take out processions and hold gatherings. According to eyewitnesses, a group of armed men started indiscriminate firing after the blast, injuring dozens of people. The Imamia Students' Organisation had organised the rally that started from Islam Imambargah, located on the Prince Road, soon after the Friday prayers to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. Hundreds of people joined the rally as it moved towards the centre of the city. Police tried to stop the rally near Mali Bagh and asked the participants not to proceed any further, owing to security concerns. However, nobody listened to us, said City police Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Asif, adding that the participants did not follow the route that had been approved by the police. We had earlier told them that no officers were deployed in Mezan Chowk and they should follow the given route. But they did not follow the instructions, he said. A number of young men, who were at the head of the procession, removed police barricades and continued to march forward. When the procession reached Mezan Chowk, the suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest. As result of the huge blast, 25 people were killed instantly, and human limbs were scattered everywhere. A number of motorcycles parked nearby caught fire, sending up plumes of black smoke. According to the Bomb Disposal Squad, 10 to 15 kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast. Talking to reporters, Provincial Police Officer Malik Muhammad Iqbal claimed that the police had tried to warn the participants and their refusal to listen to the police caused the incidence. Police later found the head of the suspected suicide bomber, who was said to be between 25 to 30 years of age. An employee of a private TV channel was also among the dead, while eight other journalists also sustained injuries. All of them were covering the rally when the blast took place. Attack condemned: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani both have strongly condemned the attack. In separate messages, both the leaders stressed that the perpetrators of such heinous crimes were the enemies of the country and would not be spared. The Balochistan Shia Conference and the Tahaffuz Azadari Council have announced a 40-day mourning period. In a statement, both groups have strongly criticised the government and the police for failing to protect the rally participants.
CiKEAS The world of the future has to be shared by everyone
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/cuba-i/3septiembre-36F-entrev2.html Havana. September 3, 2010 Interview with Fidel Castro (Part 2) The world of the future has to be shared by everyone (Taken from the Mexican La Jornada newspaper) . Fidel answers questions from the editor, Carmen Lira Saade HAVANA.-Although there is nothing to indicate any unease on his part, I think that Fidel is not going to like what I'm going to say to him: Comandante, the whole charm of the Cuban Revolution, the recognition, the solidarity from a large part of the world's intelligentsia, the people's tremendous achievements in the face of the blockade; in short, everything, everything went down the tubes as a result of the persecution of homosexuals in Cuba. Fidel did not shy away from the subject. He neither denied nor rejected the statement. He only asked for time to recall, he said, how and when that prejudice broke out among the revolutionary ranks. Five decades ago, and as a result of homophobia, homosexuals were marginalized in Cuba and many of them were sent to military-agricultural work camps, accused of being counterrevolutionaries. Yes, he recalled, those were times of tremendous injustice, tremendous injustice! he repeated emphatically, whoever was responsible for it. If we did it ourselves, ourselves.I'm trying to delimit my responsibility in all of that because, of course, on a personal level, I do not have that kind of prejudice. It is known that some of his best and oldest friends are homosexuals. But then, how did that hatred of the different come about? Fidel believes that it was all generated as a spontaneous reaction within the revolutionary ranks, which stemmed from old customs. In pre-revolutionary Cuba, there was not only discrimination against blacks, but also against women and, of course, homosexuals. Yes, yes. But not in the Cuba of the 'new' morality, of which revolutionaries both within and outside the country were so proud. And so, who was responsible, either directly or indirectly, for not putting a stop to what was happening in Cuban society? The Party? Because this occurred during a time when the statutes of the Communist Party of Cuba did not explicitly state the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation. No, said Fidel. If anyone was responsible, then it was me. It is true that, at that time, I did not concern myself with that issue.I was mainly immersed in the October (Missile) Crisis, in the war, in political matters. But that became a serious and grave political problem, Comandante. I understand, I understand.We didn't know how to assess it.systematic acts of sabotage, armed attacks, were happening all the time; we had so many terrible problems, problems of life or death, you know, that we didn't pay sufficient attention to it. After all of that, it became very difficult to defend the Revolution outside the country.Its image had been irretrievably damaged among certain sectors, particularly in Europe. I understand, I understand, he repeated. That was fair. The persecution of homosexuals could have been taking place with greater or lesser protest in any part of the world. But not in revolutionary Cuba, I said to him. I understand: it's like when the saint sins, right? It's not the same as the sinner sinning, eh? Fidel gave a hint of a smile but then became serious again: Look, think about how our days were during those first months of the Revolution: the war with the yankis, the missile situation and, almost simultaneously, the assassination attempts against my person. Fidel revealed the tremendous influence on him of the assassination threats and the actual attempts of which he was victim, and which changed his life: I couldn't be anywhere; I didn't even have anywhere to live... Betrayal was the order of the day and he was forced to move around in a haphazard way. Eluding the CIA, which was buying so many traitors, including one's own people, was no simple matter; but, in short, in any case, if someone has to assume responsibility, then I will. I am not going to place the blame on other people... affirmed the revolutionary leader. He only regrets not having corrected the situation at the time. Nowadays, however, the problem is being confronted. Under the slogan Homosexuality is not a danger; but homophobia is, many cities throughout the country recently celebrated the 3rd Cuban Event for the International Day against Homophobia. Gerardo Arreola, La Jornada correspondent in Cuba, wrote a detailed report on the debate and the struggle underway on the island for respect for the rights of sexual minorities. Arreola comments that it is Mariela Castro - a 47-year-old sociologist and daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro - who directs the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX), an institution that, she says, has succeeded in improving Cuba's image following the marginalization of the 1960s. Here we
CiKEAS Serangan berani mati di Quetta, 42 maut Serangan berani mati di Quetta, 42 maut
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010dt=0904pub=Utusan_Malaysiasec=Luar_Negarapg=lu_05.htm Serangan berani mati di Quetta, 42 maut Serangan berani mati di Quetta, 42 maut QUETTA, Pakistan 3 Sept. - Sekurang-kurangnya 42 terbunuh dalam satu serangan bom nekad yang disasarkan ke atas perhimpunan puak Syiah di Quetta, di barat daya negara ini. Ia merupakan siri serangan terbaru dalam sengketa berhubung perbezaan fahaman. Polis berkata, pengebom adalah di kalangan 450 orang yang menyertai perhimpunan itu dan bertindak meletupkan dirinya apabila tiba di medan utama bandar raya ini. Keadaan itu mencetuskan suasana kelam kabut apabila ada yang terbakar dan yang lain bertempiaran menyelamatkan diri, sementara yang lain meniarap di atas tanah bagi mengelak terkena ledakan bom. Sekurang-kurangnya 42 terbunuh, kata Ketua Polis Quetta, Ghulam Shabir kepada AFP, dan menambah kata bahawa sekurang-kurangnya 70 yang lain cedera. Seorang doktor di sebuah hospital utama di Quetta berkata, jumlah mereka yang cedera meningkat kepada 80 orang. Perhimpunan itu diadakan sempena memperingati hari Al-Quds, acara antarabangsa yang diadakan setiap tahun oleh masyarakat Syiah yang menentang kekuasaan Israel di Baitulmaqdis dan bagi menunjukkan sokongan kepada penduduk Palestin. - AFP
CiKEAS Stephen Hawking: Tuhan tidak cipta alam semesta
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010dt=0904pub=Utusan_Malaysiasec=Luar_Negarapg=lu_05.htm Stephen Hawking: Tuhan tidak cipta alam semesta LONDON 3 Sept. - Pakar fizik dan matematik terkenal, Stephen Hawking muncul dengan teori baru yang mencetuskan kemarahan ramai pihak mendakwa Tuhan bukanlah pencipta alam semesta ini. Konsep itu dikesan didalam buku terbarunya The Grand Design yang dipetik dan disiarkan dalam akhbar Britain, The Times semalam. Buku berkenaan ditulis bersama seorang lagi pakar fizik, Leonard Mlodinow dijadual diterbitkan oleh Bantam Press pada 9 September ini. The Grand Design yang disifatkan oleh penerbit sebagai karya besar Hawking dalam tempoh hampir sedekad lalu, mencabar teori Isaac Newton yang menyatakan bahawa Tuhan terlibat dalam penciptaan alam semesta kerana sistem solar tidak mungkin terjadi secara semula jadi. Namun, Hawking menegaskan ia bukan semudah itu kerana untuk memahami alam semesta, adalah penting untuk mendalami bagaimana dan mengapa sesuatu berlaku, dengan memanggilnya sebagai 'Persoalan Terbesar Kehidupan, Alam Semesta dan Segala-galanya.' Hawking, pakar fizik British yang terkenal melalui tulisan mengenai lubang hitam, mendakwa penemuan sebuah planet mengelilingi sebutir bintang selain matahari pada 1992 'yang sama dengan keadaan planet bumi, menjadikan kejadian bumi bukan sesuatu yang membanggakan dan kurang mengagumkan seperti dakwaan bahawa bumi dicipta khas untuk manusia'. Sebelum ini, dalam buku terlarisnya, A Brief History of Time pada 1988, Hawking dilihat menerima konsep Pencipta, dengan menyatakan bahawa penemuan teori lengkap akan menjadi 'kejayaan besar untuk manusia dan untuk itu kita perlu tahu apa yang Tuhan fikirkan.' Namun The Grand Design dilihat berganjak daripada pendapat asalnya itu dengan menyatakan bahawa fizik dapat menjelaskan kejadian tanpa perlunya 'Pencipta yang menjadikan Alam Semesta untuk kebaikan kita.' Oleh kerana terdapat hukum alam seperti graviti, Alam Semesta mampu dan akan tercipta dengan sendiri daripada tiada. Penciptaan spontan merupakan sebab adanya sesuatu berbanding tiada apa-apa, mengapa Alam Semesta wujud dan mengapa kita wujud. Tidak semestinya ia membabitkan Tuhan untuk... mengaturkan Alam Semesta, katanya. Hawking bersara pada tahun lalu daripada Lucasian Chair of Mathematics di Universiti Cambridge selepas 30 tahun memegang jawatan itu yang juga pernah dipegang oleh Newton. Beliau yang mengalami penyakit urat saraf sejak berusia 22 tahun, terpaksa bergerak menggunakan kerusi roda dan bertutur menggunakan bantuan sebuah komputer dan alat sintesis suara. - AP
CiKEAS Rocket fired from Gaza hits Israel
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/20109411943947918.html Rocket fired from Gaza hits Israel Attack comes two days after the start of Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks launched in Washington. Last Modified: 04 Sep 2010 11:54 GMT Rocket fire into southern Israel comes a day after Hamas fighters vowed to launch fresh attacks [Reuters] Fighters in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have fired a rocket into southern Israel, two days after the start of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Israeli military said. Saturday's cross-border rocket fire caused no injuries or damage and landed in an uninhabited area in the western part of the Negev desert, an army spokesman said. The rocket fire was the first since Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met in Washington to relaunch direct peace negotiations. Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to keep talking and produce a framework for a permanent peace deal. But Hamas, whose fighters routed forces loyal to Abbas to take over the Gaza Strip in 2007, rejects Abbas' negotiations and has vowed to continue attacks against Israel. The group's armed wing claimed responsibility for two shooting attacks in the past week, including one that killed four Israelis in the West Bank, where Abbas leads the Palestinian Authority government. Abbas has repeatedly said he will present any peace deal to a national referendum, which would include the people of Gaza. A vote in favour of any peace agreement would then put heavy pressure on Hamas to accept the will of the Palestinian people.
CiKEAS Mosque shooting in Riyadh injures three
Refleksi : Masyaulloh! Bukan saja di Irak, Iran, Aghanistan atau Pakistan saling bunuh membunuh, tetapi juga di tanah suci juga terjadi hal demikian. http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article124486.ece Mosque shooting in Riyadh injures three By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS Published: Sep 3, 2010 00:00 Updated: Sep 3, 2010 00:00 RIYADH: At least three people were reported injured when gunmen opened fire outside a mosque in Riyadh on Wednesday night. However, senior police officials told Arab News that only one person was hit. The shootout, that sent shock waves throughout the local community, took place outside the Prince Sultan Mosque. The mosque shooting - the first criminal act of its kind to take place during the holy month of Ramadan in the capital - happened after taraweeh prayers. According to reports, the imam and the muezzin of the mosque were also injured. It was claimed that both were released after they received medical treatment at a clinic, while the third person was hospitalized. A spokesman from Riyadh Police said two people waiting outside the mosque fired on another person coming out after prayers. According to preliminary investigations, it seems to be the case of a personal dispute between the man and the shooters, said the spokesman. He reiterated that only one man was injured in the shooting. The case is in under investigation, said the spokesman, confirming that the incident took place outside Prince Sultan Mosque in Riyadh. He also clarified that it was not a terrorist act. The spokesman said the shooters fled the scene in a Camry, leaving worshippers terrified. It is not clear whether any arrests have been made. Riyadh is home to about five million people and has been relatively crime-free for the last several years. There have been regular reports of thefts, snatchings and fraud, but no major acts of organized crime or terrorism have been reported in the capital city over the past five years.
CiKEAS Pesawat Garuda Tertabrak Truk Cargo di Bandara Schipol Amsterdam
Refleksi : Macam-macam masalah, pesawat NKRI, ada yang masuk kali, tabrak sapi dan tabrak truk. Pendeknya sering dicelakakan. http://us.detiknews.com/read/2010/09/04/225725/1435144/10/pesawat-garuda-tertabrak-truk-cargo-di-bandara-schipol-amsterdam?991102605 Sabtu, 04/09/2010 22:57 WIB Pesawat Garuda Tertabrak Truk Cargo di Bandara Schipol Amsterdam Didi Syafirdi - detikNews Jakarta - Pesawat Garuda, nomor penerbangan GA 089 yang melayani penerbangan dari Amsterdam ke Jakarta tertabrak truk cargo di Bandara Schipol, Amsterdam, Belanda. Kejadian ini berpengaruh pada pada rotasi pesawat yang dioperasikan oleh Garuda. Pesawat Garuda itu tertabrak pada pada Kamis 2 September 2010 lalu. Akibat kejadian tersebut, pintu kargo pesawat Garuda mengalami kerusakan (damage) dan pesawat tidak dapat diberangkatkan, ujar VP Corporate Communications Garuda Pujobroto dalam rilis yang diterima detikcom, Sabtu (4/9/2010). Menurut Pujo, agar para penumpang tetap dapat berangkat, Garuda menerbangkan para penumpang GA 089 tersebut ke beberapa penerbangan lain. Bahkan beberapa penumpang yang tidak jadi berangkat diinapkan di hotel sekitar bandara. Saat ini pesawat yang tertabrak masih berada di area bandara Schipol karena memerlukan perbaikan sekitar 3 hingga 4 hari. Untuk perbaikan diperlukan spare parts yang akan didatangkan dari pabrik Airbus, imbuhnya. Pujo sangat menyesalkan peristiwa ini yang terjadi di bandara internasional yang sudah maju. Dia juga melihat ada keteledoran dari pihak Bandara Schipol. Seharusnya hal seperti ini tidak perlu terjadi, tegasnya. Dengan adanya satu pesawat yang saat ini masih memerlukan perbaikan di Amsterdam, maka demi menjaga kualitas layanan penerbangan ke Amsterdam, Garuda harus menggunakan pesawat A 330-200 yang lain, yang saat ini dioperasikan ke rute penerbangan lain. Rute penerbangan yang terpaksa diganti pesawatnya antara lain penerbangan Garuda ke Sydney dan Melbourne yang harus diganti pesawatnya dari A330-200 menjadi B 747-400, jelasnya.
CiKEAS Negara Serumpun Sudah Basi, Malaysia Perlu Shock Therapy
Refleksi : Udah jangan omong gde, tunjukkanlah bintang-bintangmu nan perkasa. http://us.detiknews.com/read/2010/09/02/232041/1434017/158/negara-serumpun-sudah-basi-malaysia-perlu-shock-therapy Kamis, 02/09/2010 23:20 WIB Pidato SBY Soal Malaysia Negara Serumpun Sudah Basi, Malaysia Perlu Shock Therapy Nograhany Widhi K - detikNews Jakarta - Dalam pidatonya, Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) membawa latar belakang sejarah hubungan antara Indonesia-Malaysia. Hubungan persahabatan bak kakak-adik, atau negara serumpun itu dinilai basi. Malaysia butuh shock therapy setelah berkali-kali 'ngelunjak'. Penekanan saya di sini, kita tidak usah gunakan kata tetangga serumpun karena dalam konteks Indonesia-Malaysia tidak menjamin hubungan itu baik-baik saja. Adanya apologi ketika ada konflik, hubungan kakak-beradik tapi kadang berkelahi, rasanya sudah basi, sebaiknya kita lupakan saja kata itu, ujar Kepala Bidang Perkembangan Politik Internasional Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI) Dra Awani Irawati, MA. Malaysia, menurutnya, membutuhkan terapi kejut ketegasan Indonesia atas pelanggaran yang dilakukannya. Berikut petikan wawancara Awani saat berbincang dengan detikcom, Kamis (2/9/2010). Bagaimana tentang pidato SBY kemarin? Apakah kurang menunjukkan adanya ketegasan terhadap Malaysia? Seperti yang telah diduga bahwa pidatonya itu normatif, menghindari adanya sikap konfrorntatif terhadap Malaysia. Saya kira secara keseluruhan pemerintahan SBY melakukan penyelesaian in accordial manner, penyelesaian berdasarkan sesuatu kalau bisa diredam. Penekanan saya di sini kita tidak usah menggunakan kata tetangga serumpun, dalam konteks Indonesia-Malaysia tidak menjamin hubungan itu baik-baik saja. Adanya apologi karena ada konflik, hubungan kakak-beradik kadang berkelahi, rasanya sudah basi, sebaiknya kita lupakan saja kata itu Kenapa? Karena ini menggiring Indonesia pada kondisi semuanya bisa diselesaikan secara kekeluargaan. Tidak ada ketegasan seperti sikap dari Malaysia yang menyulut emosi rakyat Indonesia. Pidato Presiden general, saya yakin tidak meredam tingkat emosional masyarakat yang begitu tinggi. Disebutkan sejarah hubungan kedua negara ini menjadi pilar penting. Masalah ini bukan ASEAN, ini bilateral. Kalau dikaitkan ASEAN, sebaiknya dikembalikan kepada piagam ASEAN, ASEAN High Council, mekanisme yang dibentuk untuk selesaikan masalah anggota ASEAN, tapi nyatanya tidak pernah digunakan. Kembali ke konteks pidato Presiden, tidak ada katakanlah sesuatu yang menggigit, agresif. Bagaimana seharusnya ketegasan itu ditunjukkan? Apakah harus dengan perang? Saya setuju berikan terapi shock kepada Malaysia. Seperti kasus Sipadan-Ligitan, itu dulu tingkat Soeharto dengan Mahathir, diselesaikan di ICJ (International Court Justice). Flashback sedikit tentang konflik perbatasan yang dihadapi Malaysia diselesaikan di tingkat ASEAN sebagian besar negara-negara ASEAN memiliki masalah serupa dengan Malaysia, kecuali Laos, karena Laos kan landlock state yang tidak memiliki garis pantai. Padahal kalau di dalam penyelesaian ASEAN High Council minimal 5 negara anggota yang berikan penilaian, sementara itu mereka memiliki masalah serupa. Makanya kenapa akhirnya diselesaikan di ICJ. Dalam Sipadan-Ligitan hanya minta kepastian tentang kepemilikan, bukan penentuan perbatasan. Ketegasan kan tidak harus perang secara fisik, bisa perang diplomasi. Tidak hanya kirimkan nota yang dalam kasus Ambalat lebih 30 nota dikirimkan ke Malaysia namun tidak digubris, akhirnya kembali ke meja perundingan dan masalahnya ngambang. Oleh karena itu, Malaysia harus diberikan sedikit shock therapy di masalah Ambalat itu, dari situ saja sudah kelihatan. Memang wacana di grass root ingin perang, tapi kan perang tidak selalu fisik. Seperti menarik TKI. Ditarik saja, 1,5 juta TKI ambruk perekonomian Malaysia, seperti saat ada eksodus TKI tahun 2004. Kita melihat pada waktu itu betapa pembangunan ekonomi di Malaysia jadi stag sehingga ada permintaan resmi TKI ilegal agar segera memproses perlengkapan dokumen legal dan bisa dikirim kembali ke Malaysia. Kita lihat dulu pembangunan perkebunan sawit tidak ada pekerjanya, bangunan-bangunan juga, karena penduduk Malaysia itu sedikit. Kalau mempersona non grata-kan (mengusir) dan menarik Duta Besar? Bisa jadi. Kita pernah menarik dubes kita di Australia daripada perang fisik. Saya kira perlu diberi therapy shock buat Malaysia. Kita selama ini kesannya dipermainkan, kekuatan pertahanan kita masih di bawah mereka, banyak perbatasan kita masih terbuka, bisa dimanfaatkan sumber daya alam kita, seperti sawit dan illegal logging banyak. Bagaimana dengan alasan Malaysia yang selalu ulur pembahasan perbatasan dengan RI, karena belum selesai dengan Singapura? Daerah barat perbatasan RI yang berbatasan dengan Malaysia dan Singapura yang belum selesai itu di wilayah Natuna. Kalau menurut kita Malaysia sudah berada di wilayah kita, ya kita
CiKEAS World urged to keep pressure on Iran on woman's stoning sentence
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/world-urged-to-keep-pressure-on-iran-on-womans-stoning-sentence/story-e6frg6so-1225913998256 World urged to keep pressure on Iran on woman's stoning sentence Martin Fletcher From: The Times September 04, 2010 12:00AM FERESHTEH Halimi has joined her husband in appealing for renewed international pressure to save his former client, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery. Speaking soon after her dramatic flight from Iran, Ms Halimi said it was only the widespread publicity given to Ms Ashtiani's case in the West that had dissuaded the regime from executing her, but she remained in serious danger. Her case brings shame on Iran, said Ms Halimi, who insisted that no other country would impose such a terrible sentence for such a transgression. The appeals of Ms Halimi and her husband, Mohammed Mostafaei, were echoed by Ms Ashtiani's son, Sajad, 22. I beg you, don't give up. If you were not there, my mother would already be dead, he told La Regle du Jeu, a website run by French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. If you reduce the pressure, my mother will be executed. Speaking on a mobile telephone to escape detection, he said the regime was now accusing his mother of murdering her husband so that it could kill her more easily. She had already been acquitted of that charge, he said. It's a pure lie and an incredible injustice. My mother, who has done nothing - nothing - risks being stoned while the real murderer is free. Ms Ashtiani remains in the Tabriz prison where she has been for five years, living in daily terror of being taken from her cell before dawn, wrapped in a shroud, buried up to her neck and stoned to death with rocks too small, by law, to kill her instantly. She has been subjected to mock executions. Her case is the subject of a judicial review, but her Western supporters believe this is merely a stalling tactic, the outcome of which will be determined by political, not judicial, considerations. Ms Halimi's escape yesterday reinforced the impression that the regime was susceptible to international pressure. Mr Mostafaei said that had it really wanted to prevent her leaving Iran, it could have confiscated her passport. He believed it did not do so because it feared further international opprobrium. Mr Mostafaei stressed that Ms Ashtiani was one of many victims of Iran's flagrant human rights abuses, and he pledged to keep fighting for them from his exile. He added that with his wife and daughter now out of Iran, he would be freer to speak out. He plans to work with international non-governmental organisations and to appear at press conferences to draw international attention to Iran's use of show trials, torture, political executions and other blatant violations of the country's own laws. He also intends to name those responsible. This is my only preoccupation, said Mr Mostafaei, who worked pro bono for many death-row prisoners, particularly juveniles, and claims to have saved 50 lives. Even though I'm out of Iran I've not left Iran in spirit. I hope I can be as useful as I was . . . and carry on helping others. The Times Related Coverage a.. Joy for stoning lawyer as family flees Iran The Australian, 1 day ago b.. Bruni deserves death - newspaper Herald Sun, 4 days ago c.. Carla Bruni 'prostitute' slur slammed Adelaide Now, 4 days ago d.. Tehran fires stoning warning The Australian, 18 Aug 2010 e.. Moderate Muslims needs to speak out The Australian, 16 Aug 2010
CiKEAS Hamas tries to derail peace deal
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/hamas-tries-to-derail-peace-deal/story-e6frg6so-1225914019224 Hamas tries to derail peace deal Brad Norington, Washington correspondent From: The Australian September 04, 2010 12:00AM FRESH threats from the Palestinian militant group Hamas are jeopardising Barack Obama's push for a Middle East peace deal within 12 months. As the first direct talks in almost two years between Israelis and Palestinians began in Washington yesterday, Hamas refused to accept Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a representative negotiator. During a first round of discussions, Mr Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday agreed to meet face-to-face again this month for two days in Egypt. They will then meet every two weeks in the hope of reaching a settlement. George Mitchell, the US President's special envoy to the region, said afterwards that the two leaders had agreed to start work on a framework agreement for permanent status to secure lasting peace. According to Mr Mitchell, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas had approached negotiations in good faith to resolve all core issues in the quest for a two-state solution. While confirming both leaders had canvassed issues that would be central to a comprehensive treaty such as borders, treatment of refugees and the future of Jewish settlements, Mr Mitchell said: They also agreed that for these negotiations to succeed, they must be kept private and treated with the utmost sensitivity. Hamas has already emerged as a spoiler, claiming Mr Abbas has no right to represent the Palestinian people as Fatah Party leader in the West Bank. The rival Hamas, which is regarded internationally as a terrorist group and does not recognise the state of Israel, controls the Gaza Strip. Its leadership says no peace settlement can be valid without its support on behalf of Palestinians who live in the separate territory. The other Hamas threat to peace negotiations is violence after hit-squads this week killed four Jewish settlers and wounded two others. The attacks were obvious attempts to derail the Washington negotiations. The top Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, said Mr Abbas was wasting his time in negotiations. Our resistance is continuous, he said. US analysts suggested the absence of Hamas and separation of Gaza from negotiations could be positive for Mr Abbas in reinforcing his authority and allowing greater flexibility. But Mr Abbas has dismissed any suggestion of a partial deal that granted state independence to the West Bank and put off Gaza to another time. He knows such a deal would destroy his credibility among Palestinians. Mr Abbas's alleged trump card against Hamas, in the event of an agreement reached with the Israelis, is to put the deal to a national referendum of Palestinians that would include those in Gaza. He hopes a yes vote would pressure Hamas to accept it. Mr Obama, who persuaded Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas to meet at talks he hosted in Washington, has rated a Middle East peace deal a key foreign policy initiative of his administration, after a series of his predecessors failed to yield a result. Sceptics argue that lingering mistrust and an array of complicated issues still to be resolved make Mr Obama's 12-month timetable unrealistic. A day after Mr Obama welcomed the two sides, a series of meetings yesterday began with an opening ceremony and talks involving Mr Netanyahu, Mr Abbas, Mr Mitchell and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her State Department office. Mrs Clinton and Mr Mitchell then left the room so Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas could talk privately. Describing the relationship between the two men as cordial, Mr Mitchell said later: These men have known each other for a long time . . . and I felt that it was a very constructive and positive mood, both in terms of their personal interaction and in terms of the nature of the discussion. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama was encouraged by the serious attitude of the two leaders in seeking long-term peace, but accepted there were deep divisions. Asked directly about obstacles posed by Hamas, Mr Gibbs declined to answer and deferred to Mr Mitchell. The Israelis and Palestinians are sticking with positions that present difficulties. Mr Netanyahu insists Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people and wants assurances on security before any deal. It is unclear what concessions he would give on territory. Mr Abbas has joined in condemning attacks on Israelis claimed by Hamas but insists his side recognised Israel years ago. He wants an independent state with East Jerusalem as the capital and demands Israel freeze all settlements in the West Bank in the meantime. The settlements issue will be an early test for peace negotiations as an Israeli moratorium in the WestBank is due to expire on September 26. Mr Netanyahu, who is
CiKEAS Israel in range of Iran's military: general
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=225994 ews code:SPH - 02_HJ12.txt News date: Saturday, September 4, 2010 Israel in range of Iran's military: general Tehran Times Political Desk TEHRAN - The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces says that all of Israel is within reach of Iran's military. There is not a place in Israel that is not within the range of our modern (military) apparatus, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi told the Mehr News Agency on Friday on the sidelines of the International Qods Day demonstration in Tehran. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, and Iran has complained to the United Nations about the Israeli threats. Recently, former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton seemed to encourage Israel to target the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear reactor in southern Iran. Firouzabadi said Iran hopes Israel will not do something crazy, like attacking Iranian nuclear facilities, so that Iran will not be forced to take retaliatory measures, including targeting Israel's Dimona site. We hope there will not be a need to target the Zionist regime's nuclear plant, Firouzabadi stated. Such a war would not be in any country's interests, he added. Elsewhere in his remarks, the general said the Zionists have evicted Palestinians from their homes and claimed the Palestinian homeland as their own homeland. He lamented that human rights and international law have not been observed when it comes to the oppressed people of Palestine. But the international community has become more aware of Israel's crimes in Palestine, he added. Firouzabadi also dismissed claims by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, who has said the United States has drawn up a plan for a possible attack on Iran. Mike Mullen has got a plethora of intelligence analyses at his disposal pointing to the fact that a military confrontation with Iran is not in the interests of the United States or the Zionist regime, he said
CiKEAS Gazprom Q1 Profit At Record $10.6Bln
Refleksi : Kalau Gazprom pada kvwartal pertama mencapai laba $ 10,6 miliar, maka bisa ditanya juga berapa laba Pertamina untuk periode yang sama? http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/gazprom-q1-profit-at-record-106bln/414664.html Gazprom Q1 Profit At Record $10.6Bln 03 September 2010 Combined Reports Gazprom tripled first-quarter profit to a record after cold weather boosted demand at home and in Europe, and the ruble appreciated against the dollar, the world's biggest gas producer said Thursday. Net income climbed to 325 billion rubles ($10.6 billion) from 103.7 billion rubles a year earlier, the company said. That beat the average estimate of 316.4 billion rubles in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts. Gas sales, hurt by the economic crisis last year, were supported by low temperatures at home and in Europe this year. Export monopoly Gazprom boosted sales volumes 21 percent to 162.2 billion cubic meters in the first quarter, it said. The company's shares closed up 0.5 percent on the MICEX, in line with the broader market. The most interesting thing for Gazprom this year will be how the situation with the mineral extraction tax on gas is resolved, said Alexei Kokin, an analyst at Metropol. The Finance Ministry is seeking to boost oil and gas taxes after Russia had its first budget deficit in a decade last year. The gap may reach 2.4 trillion rubles this year, or 5.4 percent of gross domestic product. Sales rose 14 percent to 956.8 billion rubles and operating profit gained 20 percent to 339.3 billion rubles, Gazprom said. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 21 percent to 407 billion rubles, Kokin said. Gazprom had a net foreign exchange gain of 59.3 billion rubles in the first quarter against a loss of 140 billion rubles a year earlier. Net debt fell 29 percent to 977.3 billion rubles in the first quarter. The company plans to continue lowering its debt burden this year, after cutting total debt 15 percent in the first quarter, chief financial officer Andrei Kruglov said. Total debt may fall to 1.3 trillion rubles at year-end from 1.4 trillion rubles ($46 billion) at the end of March, he said on a conference call. The company's net debt fell 29 percent in the quarter to 977 billion rubles. Total debt-to-EBITDA may fall to 1 or slightly higher at the end of the year from 1.2 at the end of March, Kruglov said. The ratio was 1.5 at the end of last year. Gas prices climbed 34 percent in Russia, Gazprom's biggest market by volume, while falling 27 percent in Europe. Russia is gradually raising rates, aiming to make domestic sales as profitable as European exports. This boosted revenue at home 47 percent, compared with a 22 percent drop in Europe, Gazprom said. Gazprom received 9.5 billion rubles as its share of earnings from the Sakhalin Energy Investment, which started the country's first liquefied natural gas shipments last year, becoming profitable. Gazprom bought a 50 percent stake plus one share from Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsubishi and Mitsui in 2007. But the company lowered its European gas sales forecast for this year even after exports rose in the first seven months of the year because of the complex market and customer delays in buying contracted volumes. In our most profitable market, Europe, we expect sales volumes to be at the same level as last year, Kruglov said during a conference call. Exports rose 11 percent in January to July, he said. European demand will probably reach the pre-crisis level in 2012, Kruglov said. He reiterated Gazprom's forecast of an average price of $308 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas this year. Last winter, Gazprom offered some European clients a spot-pricing element in their contracts to stimulate volumes, but the company said it recently stopped offering them. We believe the results should alleviate some of the market's existing concerns over the sustainability and profitability of Gazprom's exports into Europe, Renaissance Capital said in a note. In the first quarter, Gazprom's European sales recovered 91 percent, quarter on quarter, to 366 billion rubles, with volumes up 45 percent, the bank said. Gazprom has denied that it faces more contract revisions. This is the first quarter for which Gazprom used a new methodology, reporting net trading activity, as it did for its full-year 2009 report. Gazprom is the last of Russia's major oil and gas companies that reports under international standards to publish first-quarter results. (Bloomberg, Reuters)
CiKEAS From Hiding, Indonesian Defends Free Expression
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/world/asia/04indo.html?_r=1ref=asia From Hiding, Indonesian Defends Free Expression By AUBREY BELFORD Published: September 3, 2010 JAKARTA - Hiding out with a two-year jail sentence hanging over his head and vigilantes vowing to track him down, the editor of Indonesia's defunct version of Playboy magazine, Erwin Arnada, insists he was never in the pornography business. The men's magazine, which began publication in 2006, was relatively tame, and conspicuously free of nudity. But faced with violent protests by hard-line Muslim groups, it soon folded, while Mr. Arnada fended off a succession of criminal charges. Things had gone quiet until late last month, with the surprise announcement that the Supreme Court, in an unpublicized verdict last year, had found him guilty of indecency. Rather than turn himself in by a Monday deadline, Mr. Arnada went underground, setting off the latest stage of Indonesia's ongoing debate between defenders of free speech and conservative activists seeking to reshape a diverse Indonesia into a stricter, Islamic-flavored moral mold. This isn't about threats against me or Playboy Indonesia, this is about press freedom in Indonesia, Mr. Arnada said by telephone. If this is allowed to happen, there will be more violations against the press, the criminalization of the press. When I brought the brand to Indonesia, I proclaimed that I was not going to produce a porn magazine, he said. Indeed, by the standards of Indonesia's often racy press, there was nothing remarkable about Playboy Indonesia, with its modestly attired models and general-interest articles. But as a brand bearing all the hallmarks of Western decadence, it soon raised the ire of groups like the Islamic Defenders' Front, or F.P.I., a hard-line organization frequently blamed, but rarely punished, for violent attacks on secularists and minority religions. Protests led by the F.P.I., including one attempt to ransack Playboy's Jakarta offices, forced the magazine to relocate to the Hindu-majority island of Bali. After 10 issues, the magazine closed, in mid-2007. The fact that the authorities even deigned to bring charges against Mr. Arnada was seen by many as proof of capitulation by the government in the face of Indonesia's minority hard-line fringe. Mr. Arnada's legal victories, first in a district court and then in Jakarta's High Court, were met by liberals with relief. And then, from out of the depths of Indonesia's opaque justice system, came Mr. Arnada's conviction - something both sides say they never expected. With Mr. Arnada now on the run, and his passport blocked, lawyers and the Indonesian Press Council are attempting to get prosecutors to rescind his detention order while they appeal to the Supreme Court to review its decision to find him guilty, said his lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis. At issue, he said, is the use of criminal charges to silence a member of the news media, when a press law, minus the draconian charges, exists on the books. I'm not defending Playboy magazine, per se, I'm defending press freedom, freedom of speech as a whole, he said. In the meantime, the F.P.I. has vowed to find Mr. Arnada and hand him over to the authorities if they cannot find him themselves, said the group's secretary general, Ahmad Shobri Lubis. He said that while liberals may denounce the hunt for the Playboy editor, criminal charges are essential to defending the morality of Muslim-majority Indonesia from Western influence. Indonesia is modest and respects its culture. It's not like in the West, which has already lost its moral values and its decency, he said, rejecting accusations that the group had put pressure on the court to produce the guilty verdict. He acknowledged that Playboy's content was far less revealing than other magazines, but of the dozens of publications that the F.P.I. had tried to bring to court, it was the only success. Bagir Manan, the chairman of the Press Council, said he had written a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asking him to intervene to stop Mr. Arnada's detention. But whether Mr. Yudhoyono will intervene remains to be seen. Although he is seen as a liberal figure, he has been criticized for frequently placating hard-line groups intent on implementing conservative measures, including elements of Shariah in some regions. Mr. Yudhoyono supported a wide-ranging 2008 anti-pornography law promoted by Islamic parties that has been criticized as a threat to free expression and Indonesia's non-Muslim minorities. Mr. Yudhoyono's information minister, Tifatul Sembiring, who is from a conservative Islam-based party in the president's coalition, last month introduced a controversial online pornography filter over the objections of service providers and free speech advocates. His government has also been criticized for failing to rein in the F.P.I. and its allies.
CiKEAS Malulah seperti Korsel
Refleksi : Tak baik membandingkan NKRI dengan Korea Selatan. Mereka (KS) itu negeri kafir, keadilan kafir lain dari keadilan paham gurun pasir. Perbedaannya juga bisa dilihat pada kasus pemerkosa atau penyiksaaan TKW di negeri-negri gurun pasir pada umumnya tidak ada pelaku perbuatan terkutuk terhadap TKW dihukum, jadi masalahnya seperti kata pepatah: lain ladang lain belalang. NKRI adalah ladang gurun pasir. http://www.jawapos.co.id/halaman/index.php?act=detailnid=153766 [ Sabtu, 04 September 2010 ] Malulah seperti Korsel DARI Korea Selatan (Korsel), kita tahu bahwa korupsi memang penyakit kronis yang sangat tidak gampang disembuhkan. Tetapi, dari Negeri Ginseng itu pula, kita belajar agar tidak pernah lelah memerangi penyelewengan kekuasaan yang bisa berwujud dalam beragam bentuk tersebut. Bayangkan, Korsel pernah memvonis mati mantan presidennya, Chun Do-hwan, dan memenjarakan penggantinya, Roh Tae-woo, selama 22,5 tahun penjara, karena korupsi dan pembantaian warga sipil, tetapi tetap saja korupsi terjadi di kalangan petinggi. Tidak tanggung-tanggung, semua presiden sesudah Chun dan Roh ternoda penyelewengan kekuasaan. Baik yang mereka lakukan sendiri maupun orang-orang di sekitarnya. Yang terbaru, reputasi Presiden Korsel yang sekarang, Lee Myung-bak, juga tercoreng setelah kandidat perdana menteri yang dijagokannya, Kim Tae Ho, harus mundur. Itu terkait dengan kontroversi atas isu pelanggaran etika dan penyalahgunaan wewenang. Yang juga ikut mundur dua calon menteri: Shin Jae-min yang disiapkan menjadi menteri kebudayaan dan Lee Jae Hoon yang digadang-gadang menjadi menteri perekonomian. Yang patut dicontoh, bukan bersikap defensif seperti yang biasa ditunjukkan mereka yang diduga korup di Indonesia, Kim Tae Ho dengan jiwa besar meminta maaf kepada publik. Padahal, dia belum divonis bersalah.. Dosa-dosa Kim sebenarnya baru terungkap ketika dia tampil di depan parlemen. Antara lain, dia diduga mempekerjakan staf rumah tangga yang dibiayai negara. Juga, istrinya diketahui kerap menggunakan kendaraan dinas untuk kepentingan pribadi. Kasusnya sangat teri bukan jika dibandingkan korupsi di Indonesia? Di sini, jangankan mobil dinas, rumah dinas yang jelas-jelas milik negara pun bisa dengan seenaknya diwariskan kepada anak atau cucu, yang lalu muntab ketika negara memintanya kembali. Selain itu, berapalah gaji seorang staf rumah tangga jika dibandingkan dengan, katakanlah, biaya perawatan mobil pribadi seorang gubernur di Indonesia yang bisa mencapai miliaran rupiah per tahun. Tetapi, barangkali di sinilah letak perbedaan Korsel dan Indonesia: negeri semenanjung itu tidak pernah menganggap remeh korupsi dalam bentuk apa pun, sekecil apa pun nilai nominalnya. Karena itulah, Roh Moo-hyun memilih bunuh diri pada 23 Mei lalu karena malu yang tidak tertanggungkan. Eks kepala negara yang dikenal bersih selama memerintah Korsel 2003-2008 itu merasa telah mengecewakan rakyat Korsel hanya gara-gara diperiksa kejaksaan terkait dengan dugaan penyuapan USD 6 juta yang diterima bukan oleh dirinya, tapi istri dan suami kemenakannya. Roh memilih mengakhiri hidup karena mungkin dia tahu, aparat hukum negaranya tidak akan pilih kasih. Apa yang terjadi pada Chun Do-hwan dan Roh Tae-woo adalah buktinya, meski belakangan dua terpidanan itu diberi keringanan hukuman karena jasa-jasa mereka kepada negara. Roh sadar, dirinya sama sekali tidak akan mendapatkan proteksi hukum meski nanti terbukti tidak ikut menerima uang haram itu. Bagaimanapun, penyuapan kepada keluarganya dimungkinkan karena dia berada di puncak kekuasaan. Memang demikianlah seharusnya hukum ditegakkan. Tidak pandang bulu dan semua orang berdiri sama di depan hukum. Korsel, yang puluhan tahun berada di bawah cengkeraman rezim militer yang korup, telah banyak belajar bahwa korupsi adalah pangkal segala persoalan. Karena itu, tindakan keras harus diambil, nyaris tanpa toleransi. Sayang, kita yang pernah merasakan masa lalu sama kelamnya dengan Korsel selalu saja bebal untuk belajar. Karena itu, dengan enteng pula, kita merayakan kemerdekaan yang baru berlalu dengan memberikan kado kebebasan kepada para koruptor. (*)
CiKEAS PBB Dirikan Akademi Anti Korupsi
Refleksi: Mengingat kasus korupsi Soeharto yang diumumkan oleh organ PBB bernama Stolen Assets Recovery (StAR) tidak diambil pusing oleh SBY dan rezim, maka pertanyaannya apakah Akademi Anti korupsi PBB ini ada gunanya bagi NKRI? Bisa-bisa kader-kader yang dikirim oleh NKRI ke akademi PBB untuk belajar memberantas korupsi tidak menghasilkan petugas yang berwibawa, mereka setelah kembali dari tugas belajar menambah lebih banyak problem lagi, karena cara-cara untuk menangkap korutor dijual kepada koruptor untuk mengabaikan ditangkap. Lihat saja begitu banyak petinggi NKRI yang melakukan ibadah haji di tanah suci, bukannya mereka menjadi bertambah baik menjadi orang-orang suci yang tinggi moral malah menjadi koruptor dan penindas rakyat. http://www.republika.co.id/berita/breaking-news/internasional/10/09/04/133599-pbb-dirikan-akademi-anti-korupsi PBB Dirikan Akademi Anti Korupsi Sabtu, 04 September 2010, 23:35 WIB REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WINA--Sekretaris jenderal Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa Ban Ki Moon meresmikan apa yang disebut sekolah tinggi pertama di dunia untuk pemberantasan korupsi. Sekolah itu didirikan di dekat ibukota Austria, Wina dan akan menawarkan pendidikan, pelatihan dan penelitian. Ia mengatakan korupsi menghalangi pembangunan, memanipulasi hasil pemilu dan membahayakan keamanan. Badan dunia itu juga menambahkan, orang-orang miskin yang paling menderita karena dampaknya. Dengan dukungan kantor PBB yang menangani narkotika dan kejahatan, pemerintah Austria dan badan anti penipuan, International Anti-Corruption Academy atau akademi anti korupsi internasional memiliki tugas untuk mengentaskan korupsi melalui pendidikan, pelatihan dan penelitian akademi. Mahasiswa lulusan sekolah tinggi ini akan menjadi hakim, penyelidik dan polisi di seluruh dunia. Dengan mereka akan bekerjasama tokoh di dunia keuangan, bisnis serta politik dan bekerjasama mempelajari penyebab dan penanganan kejahatan yang terorganisir dan penipuan. Martin Kreutner menjadi ketua komite yang menjalankan institusi baru tersebut. Ia berharap dapat menciptakan generasi baru pakar pembasmian korupsi. Menurut Kreutner, akademi itu tentu tidak akan menghasilkan orang-orang super. Lulusannya lebih akan menjadi penghubung dan pengisi kekosongan, yang kadang timbul antara mereka yang terlibat langsung dalam praktik dan ilmuwan yang meneliti masalah, ujarnya. Bank Dunia memperkirakan, korupsi merugikan ekonomi dunia sampai dua ribu milyar per tahunnya. Dana yang diperlukan untuk menjalankan akademi anti korupsi itu, jika dibandingkan, ibaratnya hanya seperti setetes air di lautan. Tetapi akademi ini mendapat dukungan politik dari berbagai negara penting. Misalnya pemerintah di Washinton mengatakan, menyambut baik cara baru untuk memerangi korupsi tersebut. Wolfgang Hetzer yang mengepalai badan anti penipuan dalam Uni Eropa mengatakan, ini bukan hanya masalah uang, penyogokan dan pembayaran kembali. Menurutnya, korupsi memiliki dampak korosif pada masyarakat. Orang tidak percaya lagi bahwa ada persamaan di dunia ini, bahwa hukum berlaku bagi semua orang. Orang beranggapan, tidak ada lagi pengontrolan yang efisien atas kekuasaan, juga tidak ada gunanya pergi memberikan suara dalam pemilu karena ada cara lain untuk mencapai posisi tertentu dan tetap dalam posisi itu, Hetzer menambahkan, Akademi itu menyatakan akan mengadakan pemberantasan korupsi secara menyeluruh. Itu berarti, lulusannya akan mengkombinasikan teori dan praktik. Mereka akan dapat mengenali praktek-praktek korupsi, baik oleh orang yang menggunakan kedok maupun yang mengenakan jas dan dasi mahal. 35 negara telah menandatangani dokumen yang mendasari pendirian akademi tersebut. Di antaranya sejumlah negara, di mana korupsi tidak tercatat atau diselidiki. Seminar dan kursus-kursus mulai hampir bersamaan dengan seluruh program akademis yang diawali tahun depan. Red: Siwi Tri Puji B
CiKEAS Presiden Minta Jauhi Kekerasan
Refleksi : Mungkin SBY dulu lupa dan sekarang tidak ingat bahwa sendiri pernah mensponsor kekerasan atas nama agama yang menelan puluhan ribu jiwa manusia di Sulawesi Tengah dan Maluku melayang ke angkasa biru. http://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/node/121329 Presiden Minta Jauhi Kekerasan Rabu, 01/09/2010 - 22:17 JAKARTA,(PRLM). - Presiden RI Dr H Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono minta rakyat Indonesia menjauhi tindakan-tindakan yang berlebihan menyikapi insiden di seputar perairan Pulau Bintan pada tanggal 13 Agustus 2010 yang lalu. Hal itu dikatakannya dalam pidato di Jakarta, Rabu (1/9) malam. Tindakan kekerasan, kata Presiden, hanya akan menambah masalah yang ada. Kekerasan sering memicu terjadinya kekerasan yang lain, kata Yudhoyono. Seperti diketahui pada insiden di Pulai Bintan itu, tiga petugas Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan ditahanoleh patroli Malaysia. Pada saat itu ketiga petugas baru saja menangkap nelayan Malaysia yang mencari ikan di kawasan laut Indonesia. Presiden menegaskan, cara kita menangani hubungan Indonesia- Malaysia akan disimak dan diikuti oleh negara-negara sahabat di kawasan Asia, bahkan oleh dunia internasional. (A-26).**
CiKEAS Menlu Korsel Mundur karena Skandal Nepotisme
http://www.mediaindonesia.com/read/2010/09/05/166832/265/114/Menlu-Korsel-Mundur-karena-Skandal-Nepotisme Menlu Korsel Mundur karena Skandal Nepotisme Minggu, 05 September 2010 00:00 WIB REUTERS/sa DITUDING melakukan praktik nepotisme karena menerima anak perempuannya bekerja di Kementerian Luar Negeri Korea Selatan (Korsel), Menlu Korsel Yu Myung-hwan akhirnya mengundurkan diri. Demikian keterangan seorang pejabat Korsel, kemarin. Yu, 64, mundur dari jabatannya setelah skandal penerimaan putrinya, Yu Hyun-sun, di kementerian yang dipimpinnya itu terbongkar. Pada 2006 putri Yu mengawali karier politiknya di biro perdagangan internasional. Tiga tahun kemudian putrinya itu mengundurkan diri. Pada Juli lalu putri Yu melamar sebagai pekerja kontrak, tetapi ditolak. Namun, awal pekan ini, putri Yu mendadak diterima kembali di posisi dia dulu melamar. Yu telah berusaha meredam persoalan skandal tersebut dengan meminta maaf kepada publik. Dia langsung mendepak putrinya dari pekerjaan baru itu, Jumat (3/9). Menurut juru bicara presiden Kim Hee-jung, Presiden Korsel Lee Myung-bak telah menerima surat pengunduran diri Yu. Namun, Kim belum mengetahui apakah pengunduran diri Yu tersebut diterima Lee atau tidak. Berkaitan dengan skandal tersebut, Presiden Lee telah memerintahkan agar kementerian luar negeri melakukan audit menyeluruh mengenai kemungkinan nepotisme dalam penerimaan putri Yu. Oleh karena itu, menurut kantor berita Korsel Yonhap mengutip pejabat kepresidenan yang tak bersedia disebut namanya, Lee sangat mungkin menerima pengunduran diri tersebut. Sumber lain mengatakan Yu telah dipastikan mengundurkan diri sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab atas kasus putrinya. Belum jelas siapa yang akan menggantikan posisinya. Pengunduran diri Yu terjadi di kala Korsel sedang menyiapkan diri menjadi tuan rumah pertemuan G-20 November depan. Pemerintah memperkirakan tidak akan ada perubahan kebijakan luar negeri Korsel setelah Yu turun. Kini, Korsel juga tengah mempererat hubungan dengan Washington, terutama setelah insiden torpedo yang menenggelamkan kapal perang Korsel pada Maret silam yang diduga merupakan tanggung jawab Korea Utara. Agustus silam, calon Perdana Menteri Korsel Kim Tae-ho, 47, juga terpaksa mengundurkan diri karena skandal penyelewengan saat menjabat gubernur di salah satu provinsi. Kim dicalonkan menduduki jabatan perdana menteri sebagai bagian dari perombakan kabinet yang digagas presiden yang baru memerintah separuh dari masa jabatan lima tahunnya. Pengangkatan itu harus disetujui parlemen. Saya mundur agar tidak merusak semua operasi politik presiden. Bagaimana saya melakukan sesuatu apabila tidak dipercaya rakyat? kata Kim. (*/AP/Reuters/X-14)
CiKEAS Ayo Rekreasi di Gedung DPR
http://www.mediaindonesia.com/read/2010/09/04/166684/70/13/Ayo-Rekreasi-di-Gedung-DPR- Ayo Rekreasi di Gedung DPR Sabtu, 04 September 2010 00:01 WIB DEWAN Perwakilan Rakyat sepertinya sudah kebal kritik. DPR tak memedulikan saran, masukan, kritik, bahkan makian publik. Begitu deras dan kerasnya kritik publik terhadap rencana pembangunan gedung DPR, tapi DPR bergeming. Daripada lelah, gerah, dan jengah dengan ketulian DPR, barangkali lebih baik kita berpikir dari sebaliknya. Yaitu, mari memakai kacamata DPR. Hasilnya, yang tampak melalui kacamata itu, tak dinyana, kegigihan DPR membangun gedung baru senilai Rp1,6 triliun, yang dilengkapi dengan fasilitas spa dan kolam renang itu, merupakan salah satu bentuk konsistensi, bukan ketulian politik DPR. Semua itu justru gagasan cemerlang, sangat cemerlang, yang layak dicatat sejarah. Fasilitas rekreasi dan relaksasi itu menjadikan Gedung DPR RI itu sebagai gedung parlemen pertama dan satu-satunya yang dibangun dengan filosofi yang mendalam, yaitu di belakang dan di depan pengabdian yang tulus kepada rakyat, bersemayamlah gairah penciptaan kembali (re-kreasi) dan pentingnya melepaskan energi-energi negatif (relaksasi). Siapa tahu, parlemen negara lain akan menyonteknya. Bahkan, akan semakin mengagumkan, bila fasilitas spa yang ada di gedung baru itu juga berbentuk paket yang terdiri dari luluran, jacuzzi, dan sauna. Toh, para anggota DPR bisa membicarakan masalah negara sambil luluran, berendam di jacuzzi, atau berhangat-hangat di tempat sauna. Kolam renang yang dibangun pun harus dilengkapi berbagai fasilitas. Yang paling penting adalah papan luncur mini, seperti di kolam renang anak-anak. Fasilitas itu selalu mengingatkan anggota DPR bahwa mereka pernah dikritik masih taman kanak-kanak, dan sekarang sudah naik kelas orang dewasa. Bukankah hanya orang dewasa yang layak berspa ria? Bukan cuma fasilitas spa dan kolam renang, bila perlu, gedung DPR yang baru juga dilengkapi dengan fasilitas kebugaran agar tubuh wakil rakyat tetap sehat. Bukankah mens sana in corpore sano? Gedung DPR yang baru perlu juga dilengkapi dengan salon. Dua layanan terpenting yang tersedia di salon adalah penghalusan wajah dan pembersihan telinga. Penghalusan wajah berguna agar anggota DPR tidak tebal wajah. Fasilitas pembersihan telinga bermanfaat agar anggota DPR semakin peka dan lebih terang benderang mendengar suara rakyat. Sekalian saja gedung DPR yang baru kelak dilengkapi dengan panti pijat. Segala macam pijat tersedia di sana. Dari pijat refleksi, siatsu, hingga kerokan bila masuk angin karena bergadang memikirkan dan memperjuangkan nasib rakyat. Anggota DPR tidak perlu merogoh kocek untuk menikmati semua fasilitas rekreasi dan relaksasi itu. Negara akan menyediakan ongkosnya dari APBN. Agar prorakyat, khusus Minggu semua fasilitas itu terbuka untuk rakyat. Dan rakyat pun bersorak-sorai, Ayo rekreasi di gedung DPR! Kita mendukung semua gagasan cemerlang itu. Toh, tiada guna mengkritik DPR. Barangkali sudah menjadi sifat DPR, jika publik menolak sejumlah kebijakannya, termasuk pembangunan gedung baru, DPR justru tetap menjalankannya dengan beribu alasan. Sebaliknya, siapa tahu, jika publik mendukung, DPR justru urung membangun gedung baru itu. Mungkin hanya dengan logika terbalik seperti itu DPR baru bisa disadarkan. Capek deh!
CiKEAS Youths, eldery sign up for war against Malaysia
Refleksi: Ayo, ayo , ayo maju gemetar, mundur tak gentar! Rezim SBY akan sangat gembira sekali karena tuntutan untuk diatasi pengangguran akan menhilang dan begitupun tuntutan anti korupsi akan reda membisu abadi, karena sebahagian anggota masyarakat berhasil dibodohkan untuk dijadikan korban umpan peluru Malaysia. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/31/youths-eldery-sign-war-against-malaysia.html Youths, eldery sign up for war against Malaysia The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 08/31/2010 10:08 PM | National More than 230 volunteers from all walks of life have registered themselves with an ultra-nationalist group for military assignments if a confrontation erupts between Indonesia and Malaysia following a recent border incident. Not only youths, but also a 81-year-old man signed up for the war, which looks unlikely, as soon as the Ganyang Malaysia (Crush Malaysia) opened its command post to register the volunteers in front of the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. We answer to the call of duty. Malaysia has many times despised us, command post coordinator Sonny P.Sasono told tempointeraktif.com. He said his group opened the registration in response to the government's soft stance against Malaysia. Why the government always looks weak when dealing with Malaysia? Government officials only state the obvious when talking about the issue, he added. He said the registration would open until Idul Fitri, which is expected to fall on Sept. 10. The registered volunteers will undergo military training to prepare themselves for the war, he added. The government has insisted on diplomatic measures to solve border disputes with Malaysia. Related News a.. Yudhoyono's 'feeble' speech gets harsh criticism b.. Mexico: Soldiers kill 25 in gunbattle near border c.. SBY wants peaceful solution to row with Malaysia d.. Government, House meet over row with Malaysia
CiKEAS Suicide among the poor
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/09/02/suicide-among-poor.html Suicide among the poor Indraswari, Bandung | Thu, 09/02/2010 9:29 AM | Opinion On Aug. 13, 2010, The Jakarta Post printed a story about Khoir Umi Latifah, a 25-year old woman who committed suicide and murdered her two sons by setting herself and her children on fire in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta - a tragedy allegedly resulting from depression caused by financial hardship. Umi worked as a housekeeper at a boarding house where she occupied a room with her husband, 30-year old Slamet Yahya, and her two sons, Muhammad Lindu Aji, 4, and two-and-half year old Muhammad Dwi Arya Saputra. According to the report, the incident took place while Umi's husband was not at home. She locked herself in a bathroom and poured gasoline over herself and her sons before igniting the fatal blaze. A boarding house resident was unable to immediately assist them because of the locked door. When the door was finally opened, Umi was found dead with severe burns all over her body. Her sons were rushed to the hospital but could not be saved. The youngest boy passed away first while the older son perished three hours later. Sadly, this is not the only case of poverty leading to suicide in Indonesia. In the last few months the mass media has reported several similar cases of poor people committing suicide because of financial difficulties. According to the World Health Organization, the average annual rate of deaths by suicide in Indonesia is 24 per 100,000 people, many of which are attributed to poverty and homelessness. Most people agree that suicide is a psychological phenomenon. Nonetheless, if suicidal tendencies are higher among a particular group of people - such as the poor - then suicide is not merely psychological, it is a sociological phenomenon as well. Sociologist Emile Durkheim stated that the causes of suicide are often external rather than internal (Kenneth Thompson, 1992, Readings from Emile Durkheim). Based on Durkheim's sociological perspective, there are three types of suicide; egoistic, altruistic and anomic suicide. Egoistic suicide is attributed to a person's inability to see any reason to continue living. It is the result of excessive egoistic individualism, where the individual ego asserts itself immoderately at the expense the social ego. Altruistic suicide stems from the conceptualization that the decision to end life is beyond life itself. There are cases where persons kill themselves not because they believe it is their right to do so, but on the contrary, because it is their duty. This type of suicide explains cases in ancient times when women committed suicide by jumping onto their husbands funeral pyre, symbolizing a woman's total devotion to her husband. In fact, not all women committed this act voluntarily, but many had little faith in their future because they believed that there was no longer a place for them in society. So, frankly speaking, it was social pressure that actually killed them. Anomic suicide relates to unbearable external pressures such as economic crisis, marital problems and academic or professional. On other hand, in some cases prosperity has also been blamed for suicide. In Durkheim's words Every disturbance of equilibrium, even though it may involve greater comfort and raising a general pace of life, provides an impulse to voluntary death. The economically driven suicide committed by Umi, and many others, falls under the category of anomic suicide, though they could also be related to the egoistic classification, as the two are closely linked. This tragedy further demonstrates that the burden of poverty has reached alarming levels. For some people poverty becomes so unbearable it convinces them end their life. Clearly suicide is often related to social problems such as poverty and injustice, but gender inequality can also be another factor. I did not find statistics on the number of men and women who have committed suicide because of poverty. However from media reports I have observed that women are more likely to commit suicide than men, and like Umi, are more likely to intentionally kill their children before killing themselves. This could relate to cultural norms, and patriarchal norms in particular, which assign women - regardless their working status - responsibility for most domestic responsibilities, including managing household financial matters. Women are also responsible for ensuring that food is always on the family table, regardless of economic circumstances. For some poor women these responsibilities lead to depression, and sometimes suicide. At a macro level this is an indication that the government has failed to completely provide for the basic needs of its people, especially the poor. The cases of suicide among the poor also mirrors the complexity of poverty. Poverty is more than just numbers. It is a human
CiKEAS Fugitive maid charged with baby murder in Malaysia after trying to get new job
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/fugitive-maid-charged-with-baby-murder-in-malaysia-after-trying-to-get-new-job/story-e6frg6so-1225913941670 Fugitive maid charged with baby murder in Malaysia after trying to get new job From: AFP September 03, 2010 5:06PM AN Indonesian maid who went on the run after being accused of murdering her Malaysian employer's baby son has been arrested after coolly lining up an interview for a new job. Police have been hunting for the 25-year-old woman, from Java in Indonesia, after the 15-month-old boy died last week and a post-mortem examination indicated foul play. She was arrested after approaching a family in suburban Kuala Lumpur asking for a job. They recognised her from her picture in the newspaper and alerted police, Ampang district police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan told AFP. She went to one of the houses, carrying a plastic bag with some clothes and was asking for a job, Abdul Jalil said. She told the family that she ran away from her employer as she could no longer work with them. The family noticed she looked similar to the suspect wanted by police in connection to the baby murder case and alerted us. We went to the house and detained the woman, he said. Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labour and depends heavily on domestic workers, who come mainly from Indonesia. There are no laws governing their working conditions, and cases of abuse, non-payment and even murder of domestic workers are much more common than incidents of maids committing crimes. In the death of the baby boy, the maid reportedly telephoned her employer and told him that he had fallen ill and was unconscious. A report from the post-mortem examination showed the baby had strangulation marks on his neck, and had suffered internal brain haemorrhage and bruises believed to be from being kicked or stepped on, the Star newspaper reported. The maid faces the death penalty if charged and convicted of murder.
CiKEAS Suara Para TKW yang Sudah Tidak Tahan Tinggal di Negeri Jiran
http://www.ambonekspres.com/index.php?option=readcat=53id=31006 KAMIS, 02 September 2010 | 299 Hits Suara Para TKW yang Sudah Tidak Tahan Tinggal di Negeri Jiran Nur Bisa Bawa Gaji, Santi Ingin Kuliah Lagi Sekitar 80 tenaga kerja Indonesia (TKI) di Johor Bahru, Malaysia, menunggu deportasi karena tidak memiliki dokumen resmi. Mereka harus hengkang dari negeri jiran itu sebelum Lebaran nanti. Berikut laporan wartawan Jawa Pos NUNGKI KARTIKASARI dari tempat penampungan sementara mereka. KAMIS (26/8) malam, sesudah buka puasa bersama, satu per satu TKI yang tinggal di penampungan keluar, menuju aula kantor Konsulat Jenderal Republik Indonesia (KJRI) Johor Baru untuk salat tarawih. Selama Ramadan, setiap malam, di aula tersebut diadakan salat Tarawih berjamaah yang dilanjutkan dengan ceramah dan tadarus Alquran. Saat Jawa Pos (Group Ambon Ekspres) mengunjungi penampungan tersebut, ada sekitar 80 TKI plus enam balita (anak di bawah lima tahun) yang menunggu pemulangan (deportasi) ke tanah air. Sebagian besar adalah tenaga kerja wanita/TKW (74 orang) dan enam laki-laki. Pelanggaran mereka beragam. Ada yang tidak memiliki paspor, masuk dengan paspor ilegal, atau bermasalah dengan majikan. Tempat penampungan itu terletak di sekitar 20 meter dari Kantor KJRI Johor Bahru. Terdiri atas tiga bangunan. Sebuah bangunan berukuran 10 x 7 meter untuk menampung TKW. Di ruangan tersebut terdapat sebuah pesawat TV, sebuah lemari es, 13 lemari pakaian yang diletakkan berimpitan dengan dinding ruangan, serta puluhan kasur yang ditumpuk di setiap sudut. Ada juga ruangan khusus untuk menampung TKI laki-laki. Ruangan itu lebih kecil daripada ruangan khusus TKW. Ukurannya sekitar 5 x 5 meter dan hanya berisi kasur serta lemari pakaian. Sementara itu, satu bangunan lagi berisi enam kamar mandi yang bersebelahan dengan dapur. Nurhayati merupakan salah seorang di antara 80 TKI bermasalah yang akan dipulangkan tersebut. Wanita 24 tahun itu rencananya dipulangkan ke tanah air sebelum Lebaran. Nur menceritakan, dirinya merantau ke Malaysia setelah tergiur penawaran dari sebuah perusahaan jasa 2tenaga kerja Indonesia (PJTKI) untuk menjadi pembantu rumah tangga (PRT). S esampai di Malaysia, wanita asal Kecamatan Cililin, Bandung, itu bukannya bekerja sebagai PRT. Tapi, dia dipekerjakan sebagai buruh tani di perkebunan kelapa sawit. ''Kerja saya siang sampai malam, tak ada libur,'' ungkapnya. Meski tidak sesuai dengan perjanjian, dia menjalani pekerjaan tersebut dengan baik. Dia tak pernah membolos kerja. Nur mengungkapkan, dalam kondisi sakit pun, dirinya harus tetap bekerja. ''Saya tidak bisa menghindar dari pekerjaan,'' terang TKW yang sudah empat tahun bekerja di Malaysia sebelum akhirnya terancam dideportasi akhir Ramadan nanti tersebut. Suatu hari, PJTKI menyuruh Nur untuk memperpanjang sendiri paspornya ke kantor KJRI Johor Bahru. ''Nah, saat itulah saya ditanya-tanya oleh petugas KJRI. Baru saya tahu bahwa ternyata saya telah dibohongi oleh PJTKI,'' ungkapnya. Berdasar data di PJTKI, masa kerja Nur hanya dihitung dua tahun. Padahal, sesuai dokumen dan paspornya, anak keempat di antara enam bersaudara itu sudah bekerja selama empat tahun. ''Saya tak pernah hitung hari dan tanggal selama bekerja di kebun. Yang saya ingat, pekerjaan saya sangat lama. Selama itu pula saya tidak pernah pegang uang karena tidak digaji,'' ujarnya. Dari masalah itulah, akhirnya Nur dibawa ke penampungan TKI bermasalah di kantor KJRI. Tidak hanya itu, KJRI juga mengupayakan untuk meminta gaji Nur selama empat tahun bekerja di perkebunan kepada perusahaan tempatnya bekerja. ''Alhamdulillah, uang saya ada. Paspor saya juga bisa diperpanjang,'' tegasnya. Karena itu, Nur tidak sampai sebulan berada di penampungan. Minggu lalu, dia menandatangani surat kepulangan dari KJRI. Nur tidak pulang dengan tangan kosong. Wanita berambut ikal itu membawa hak upahnya selama empat tahun Rp 50 juta. Dengan uang tersebut, wanita kelahiran 3 Februari 1986 tersebut berencana merenovasi rumahnya di kampung. ''Saya ingin menyenangkan bapak-ibu. Saya akan meminta maaf karena pergi dari rumah tanpa pamit,'' katanya. Senasib dengan Nur, Yustina Wiyanti merupakan TKI lain yang juga akan pulang sebelum Lebaran. Wanita 22 tahun itu mengaku minggat dari majikan karena tidak pernah mendapat makanan sehat selama 1,5 tahun bekerja sebagai PRT. ''Saya hanya makan nasi dan mi instan setiap hari. Tidak ada yang lain,'' ucapnya. Badan Yustina tampak kurus. Rambutnya tipis awut-awutan. Dengan tinggi sekitar 150 sentimeter, berat Yustina tidak sampai 40 kilogram. ''Alhamdulillah, ini sudah gemuk sedikit dibanding saat pertama saya datang enam bulan dulu di sini (penampungan, Red),'' ungkap wanita asal Kabupaten Lampung Utara tersebut. Memang, Yustina tak pernah mengalami kekerasan fisik dari majikan. Namun, dia tidak betah dengan peraturan majikannya yang tidak manusiawi. Misalnya, dirinya tidak boleh libur sehari pun,
CiKEAS Pidato Presiden Tampar Petinggi TNI
Refleksi : Bukankah SBY adalah panglima tertinggi TNI dan mantan jenderal TNI berbintang-bintang pengahargaan nan berkilau-kilau di pundak maupun di dadanya, jadi kalau dikatakan tamparan atau sindirian, itu hanya dilakukan untuk konsumsi manipulasi pendapat umum bukan untuk TNI, sebab kalau diperhatikan betul-betul tak ada perubahan signifikan reformasi dijalankan terhadap bisnis militer untuk dikuasai oleh administrasi hukum sipil. Selain itu banyak mantan perwira-perwira TNI menempati kedudukan penting dalam lembaga aparatur kekuasaan negara di berbagai bidang dan tingkatnya baik di pusat mau pun di daerah. Jadi jangan salah dimengerti terhadap sendiwara terkait militer yang dilakoni oleh SBY. Hal serupa dengan sendiwaranya berwajah pro rakyat, yang pada kenyataannya anti kepentingan rakyat. Hakekat dari kekuasaannya dan seniwaranya adalah tidak lain dari pada ialah pro kepentingan kaum berkuasa serta elit neo-bangsawan yang berkemurum disekitar pangung kekuasaan negara. http://internasional.kompas.com/read/2010/09/02/10481790/Pidato.Presiden..quot.Tampar.quot..Petinggi.TNI. Pidato SBY di Mabes TNI Pidato Presiden Tampar Petinggi TNI Kamis, 2 September 2010 | 10:48 WIB RUMGAPRES/ABROR RIZKI Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono menyampaikan pidato mengenai hubungan Indonesia-Malaysia usai berbuka puasa bersama prajurit dan perwira TNI di Markas Besar TNI, Cilangkap, Jakarta Timur, Rabu (1/9/2010) petang. JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Pidato Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono di Markas Besar TNI di Cilangkap, Rabu (1/9/2010), terkait insiden penangkapan tiga petugas Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan oleh Polisi Diraja Malaysia, dikatakan seperti menampar wajah petinggi TNI. Pasalnya, pidato yang berlangsung sekitar 20 menit tersebut dinilai menunjukkan sikap Indonesia yang tak tegas. Pernyataan tak tegas Presiden, yang juga panglima tertinggi TNI, kontras dengan pemilihan tempat Markas TNI Cilangkap yang identik dengan ketegasan dan cerminan kekuatan. Pernyataan ini menampar petinggi-petinggi TNI sendiri bahwa lembeknya kepemimpinan politik di Indonesia menunjukkan lembeknya tentara Indonesia, kata pengamat militer dari Propatria Institute Hari Prihartono ketika dihubungi Kompas.com, Kamis (2/9/2010). Hari mengibaratkan pidato Presiden seperti pernyataan seorang kepala keluarga yang memilih berdamai setelah para anggota keluarganya disiksa dan dilukai orang lain. Dan hal ini disampaikannya di tengah keluarga besarnya. Inilah konyolnya pilihan sikap SBY semalam. Makanya, banyak perwira TNI yang semalam shocked, kata Hari. Secara bergurau, Hari mengatakan, Presiden mungkin keliru menilai bahwa Mabes TNI itu Kementerian Luar Negeri. Pasalnya, apa yang disampaikan semalam juga tak sinkron dengan identitasnya sebagai Panglima Tertinggi TNI. Pemimpinnya mantan tentara, yang kemudian berbicaranya mendayu-dayu seperti melantunkan lagu, kau yang memulai/ kau yang mengakhiri, sambung Hari. Seperti diwartakan, ketika berpidato kemarin, Presiden di antaranya menegaskan bahwa kedaulatan negara dan keutuhan wilayah adalah kepentingan nasional yang sangat vital. Ditekankan Presiden bahwa pemerintah sangat memahami kepentingan itu dan bekerja sungguh-sungguh untuk menjaga dan menegakkannya. Namun, tidak semua permasalahan yang muncul dalam hubungan dengan negara sahabat terkait dengan kedaulatan dan keutuhan wilayah, katanya. TERKAIT: a.. Pidato Presiden Cuma Pengulangan b.. Pidato SBY Cocok untuk Dubes Malaysia c.. SBY Minta Penjelasan Soal Kekerasan d.. Tiga Alasan Indonesia Emoh Perang e.. Pelepasan Nelayan Malaysia Dinilai Lazim
CiKEAS Hubungan Nasib dengan Takhayul
Refleksi : Takhayul, hantu, iblis, seythan, gendruwo etc perlu ada di sekitar kita, supaya para pekerja dan pakar ilmu surgawi mempuyai pekerjaan se-hari-hari, jadi dengan lain kata setan, iblis itu majikan pemberi pekerjaan. Kalau tidak ada mzjikan maka para petinggi seperti imam, haji muhti dikenakan PHK; mereka menjadi penganggur dan nafkah mereka hilang. Kita dibutuhkan untuk selalu diingatkan oleh para petinggi agama tsb adanya bahaya setan iblis. hehehe http://www.antaranews.com/berita/1283507128/hubungan-nasib-dengan-takhayul Hubungan Nasib dengan Takhayul Jumat, 3 September 2010 16:45 WIB | Iptek | Sains | Sekelompok penari Nupeng dengan pakaian dan topeng ala hantu hutan mengikuti irama Gubang dalam suatu acara pertemuan masyarakat Anambas di Tanjungpinnag, Kepri, Sabtu malam 3/7. (ANTARA/Feri) Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Menurut riset mahasiswa tingkat akhir Kansas State University, mereka yang percaya nasib dan takdir mengendalikan hidup mereka adalah cenderung mempercayai takhayul, ironisnya ketika dijemput ajal, mereka malah meninggalkan takhayul itu. Riset pimpinan Scott Fluke, sarjana muda lulusan Kansas State University bidang studi psikologi, ini terfokus pada kepribadian seseorang yang mengantar pada takhayul. Fluke menerima dana senilai 500 dolar dari Doreen Shanteau Undergraduate Research Fellowship pada 2009 untuk bekerja dengan tim Russel Webster, mahasiswa psikologi, Shorewood, Illinois, dan Donald Saucier, seorang profesor psikologi. Demi proyek, Re-Examining the Form and Function of Superstition, tim peneliti ini mendefinisikan takhayul sebagai kepercayaan dalam hubungan kasual antara tindakan, obyek atau ritual dan hasil yang tidak berkaitan. Prilaku yang mempercayai takhayul seperti itu bisa termasuk tindakan-tindakan seperti mengenakan kaos keberuntungan atau jimat keberuntungan. Setelah menyelenggarakan dua penelitian, para periset membuat tiga alasan untuk tiga prilaku yang mempercayai takhayul: seseorang menggunakan takhayul untuk mengendalikan ketidakpastian, untuk mengurangi perasaan tidak berdaya, dan karena adalah lebih mudah mempercayai takhayul ketimbang menemukan strategi untuk mengatasi masalah. Orang kadang bersandar pada takhayul sebagai rintangan. Itu alat yang mereka pikir bisa membantu, kata Saucier, seperti dikutip ScienceDaily. Pada penelitian pertama, para periset mengajukan kuisoner kepada 200 mahasiswa tingkat akhir, menanyakan seberapa pesimis mereka, apakah mereka mempercayai nasib dan takdir, apakah mereka suka mengendalikan dirinya, dan sejumlah pertanyaan lainnya. Salah satu penemuan terpenting adalah orang yang mempercayai nasib dan takdir mengendalikan hidup mereka kemungkinan percaya takhayulnya lebih besar. Pada penelitian kedua para periset ingin mengetahui bagaimana reaksi peserta riset terhadap kematian, dan meminta mereka menuliskan perasaan mereka mengenai kematiannya sendiri. Tim terkejut saat menemukan tingkat kepercayaan peserta riset terhadap takhayul menurun saat mereka memikirkan kematian mereka sendiri, yang membuat para periset menyebut kematian sebagai situasi ketidakpastian yang ekstrem. Kami berteorisasi bahwa saat orang memikirkan kematian, mereka akan lebih mempercayai takhayul guna meningkatkan kontrol atas keadaan itu. Yang tidak kami kira adalah pemikiran mengenai kematian akan membuat orang merasa tidak berdaya dan ini benar-benar akan menggerus kepercayaan mereka pada takhayul, kata Fluke. Fluke mendapat ide untuk risetnya ini saat menyadari ada banyak pertanyaan yang tidak terjawab mengenai psikologi dan takhayul. Dia memutuskan mengejar topik ini lebih lanjut sebagai proyek risetnya. Saya tertarik pada takhayul karena itu membuat saya frustasi saat orang berbuat sesuatu yang tidak masuk akal, kata Fluke. Dia melanjutkan, Itu membuat saya ragu saat orang lebih tergantung pada jimat keberuntungan untuk mengerjakan ujian dengan baik daripada belajar. Kami ingin tahu mengapa orang mau melakukan hal yang justru merugikan dirinya sendiri. Riset ini adalah bagian dari program riset Saucier secara keseluruhan, dan tim saat ini menyiapkan hasil-hasil penelitian untuk dipublikasikan. Saucier menawarkan beberapa tips agar kita tidak mempercayai takhayul: *Jangan percaya kata sial dan kendalikanlah situasi. Kadang-kadang kita menggunakan kesialan untuk membenarkan kita menyalahkan diri sendiri. Tetapi, kita harus fokus pada apa yang bisa kita lakukan untuk mengatasi situasi sulit di kali pertama. *Jadilah orang yang tegas dan proaktif. Orang yang kurang tegas lebih mempercayai takhayul, sementara mereka yang proaktif akan kurang mempercayai takhayul. *Jangan berada dalam keadaan di mana Anda harus mempercayai nasib buruk (sial). Kesialan tidak akan pernah ada jika hanya hal baik yang terjadi. Saat sesuatu yang buruk terjadi yang Anda sebut sial, maka gunakan itu sebagai mekanisme unbtuk mengatasi masalah setelah kejadian,
CiKEAS As Indonesian President Falls in Polls, War of ?Words Begins
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/as-indonesian-president-falls-in-polls-war-of-words-begins/394508 As Indonesian President Falls in Polls, War of ?Words Begins Anita Rachman Markus Junianto Sihaloho | September 04, 2010 The Democratic Party, led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, says their leaders declining popularity is the fault of the media and political experts. (EPA Photo) Jakarta. In the face of what appears to be a public relations nightmare, the Democratic Party on Friday blamed the media and political experts for causing the decline in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's popularity. The Democratic Party's deputy chairman, Max Sopacua, said the party could accept the fact that the president's popularity was indeed waning, as shown by the results of two surveys, but he questioned whether the public had an accurate understanding of the president's achievements. We acknowledge the drop, he said. It's public opinion that has been contaminated by political experts and media reports. They tend to show the negative sides only, while the president has achievements as well. On Thursday, an Indo Barometer poll showed Yudhoyono's approval rating in August had dropped almost 40 percentage points, from 90 to 51, since August 2009. An Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll revealed an almost 20 percent decline, from 85 to 66. LSI's poll reached 1,829 people while the Indo Barometer survey polled 1,200. Max said public opinion was shaped by the media - since political experts talk to the media, the public takes its cues from the media. The media tends to expose the bad news, because bad news is good news, he said. Max said the media should give a more balanced picture of today's political situation, and not only cover select issues. However, we will use the results as part of our evaluation material, he said. Though the surveys might not paint a glowing picture of the government's performance, Heru Lelono, a communications and information staff member for the president, said the administration appreciated the results and would use them as tools to improve its performance. He said the administration would respond positively to the survey results by mapping out the problems currently faced by the country and enacting new pro-poor policies. It's not about bad leadership by our president. I think the people would still vote for the president if an election were held today, Heru said. But he also said the survey results were not as bad as they seemed. He said Yudhoyono only began his second term in August 2009, and it was to be expected for the government to get off to a slow start in the first few months. If LSI's survey only covered 10 months, a 60 percent approval is good, Heru said, adding that government's performance was improving each day. LSI analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi on Thursday also said a 66 percent approval rating was still relatively high. Opposition parties, however, are already trying to take advantage of the survey results. House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), on Thursday said the surveys should be seen as a drastic decline. He also said the surveys were conducted before the Malaysia row erupted, which would have pushed the president's approval figures even lower. Syarifuddin Sudding, from the opposition People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said he was confident the actual approval figures were even lower than in the surveys, and that the Democrats should accept that people no longer had the same level of trust in Yudhoyono. President Yudhoyono had been lulled by his popularity. But now he no longer has time just for shaping his image. He needs to take real action, Syarifuddin said, adding that people in general are disappointed with Yudhoyono's performance. Related articles Presidential Spokesman Defends Yudhoyono, Analyst Is Not Impressed 11:49am Aug 25, 2010 Indonesia Lacks Qualified Leaders to Replace Yudhoyono in 2014 11:32pm Aug 22, 2010 Ruhut Pushes to Allow Yudhoyono to Contest Third Term in Office 1:32pm Aug 18, 2010 Indonesian Man Prostitutes Wife to Pay Political Campaign Loans 12:52pm Aug 3, 2010 More Parties Join Chorus of Protest Against Plush Pad 12:06am Sep 4, 2010
CiKEAS Al-Qaeda under fire
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1013/re4.htm 26 August - 1 September 2010 Issue No. 1013 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Al-Qaeda under fire As the Yemeni government began a campaign against Al-Qaeda in the south of the country this week, peace talks with the Al-Houthi rebels started in the north, writes Nasser Arrabyee Even as Qatari-sponsored peace talks opened in Doha this week to try to bring an end to the six-year-old conflict between the Yemeni government and Al-Houthi Shia rebels in the north of the country, another conflict, this time against Al-Qaeda, opened in the country's south. This week the Yemeni government launched a campaign against Al-Qaeda operatives in the south of the country, with some 18 operatives being killed over the last three days, including three foreigners, most of them Saudi nationals. The campaign started when Al-Qaeda operatives killed some 15 government soldiers in an ambush in the Lawdar district of Abyan province in the south of Yemen on 13 August. Government forces had been surrounding the town of Lawdar, where some 60 Al-Qaeda operatives were barricaded in houses. On Tuesday, the government said in a statement that the campaign against Al-Qaeda in the country would continue until it had broken the back of terrorism. The mountainous district of Lawdar, about 350km south east of the capital Sanaa, is the home district of top leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Nasser Al-Wahaishi. This week's deaths came after three Yemeni security officials were assassinated by Al-Qaeda militants in less than a week in the province of Abyan. Earlier this month, four Al-Qaeda operatives surrendered after being surrounded by government forces. Of the three men, Hezam Mujali and Ali Hassan Al-Tais are the most important, Mujali having escaped from prison in Sanaa in February 2006 along with 23 other men and Al-Tais joining the AQAP after being released from the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in 2007. Lawdar is considered to be one of the most important strongholds not only for Al-Qaeda militants but also for southern separatists in Yemen. Both groups are accused of exploiting the mostly poor and unemployed young men of this remote district in order to gain recruits. According to the Yemeni government, the southern separatists have joined with the Al-Qaeda fighters, though the separatists say that the Al-Qaeda link is being used by the government as a justification to strike the southern movement. Southern opposition politicians outside Yemen condemned the government's strikes in the south of the country on Tuesday, as well as the siege imposed on Lawdar, saying that these were aimed at the southern separatist movement more than at the AQAP. The strike on Lawdar is an attempt by the government to gain international support, said former southern president Ali Salem Al-Baidh, who calls for independence for the south of the country, on Tuesday in a statement from exile in Germany. Also on Tuesday, two other southern leaders said in a statement that the Yemeni government was concerned to target the southern movement rather than the AQAP. What's happening in Lawdar has nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, but instead is part of a war on the south. It is a war on humanity, land and will, the statement said, which was issued by Ali Nasser Mohammed in Syria and Haidar Abu Bakr Al-Attas in Saudi Arabia. Both Mohammed and Al-Attas are in favour of solving the problems of the south within the framework of national unity, unlike Al-Baidh, who calls for the secession of the south. Southerners have been marginalised in Yemen since the 1994 civil war, during which Al-Baidh promoted efforts to secede. As violence continues in the south of Yemen, the situation in the north of the country is not much better, with at least 10 people being killed on Monday in clashes between Al-Houthi rebels and tribesmen loyal to the government in the Houth district of Amran province. These clashes come even as Qatari-sponsored peace talks began in Doha on Tuesday, with the aim of ending the six-year-old sporadic conflict between Al-Houthi Shia rebels and Yemeni government forces. Delegations at the talks, one representing the Yemeni government and the other the Al-Houthi rebels, hope to bring peace to the war-torn Saada area of Yemen. The Al-Houthi rebels claim that the community they represent is politically, socially, economically and religiously discriminated against in Yemen. The Yemeni government delegation at the Doha talks is headed by Ali Bin Ali Al-Qaisi, and it includes Mujahid Ghuthaim, chairman of Yemeni military intelligence, and Jalal Al-Ruwaishan, deputy chairman of the national security agency. Al-Qaisi is chairman of the committee charged with supervising the implementation of the six conditions set by the
CiKEAS Wake-up call for the faithful
Refleksi : Agaknya tradisi pukul tifa membangunkan umat pada pagi hari di bulan ramadhan sudah diganti dengan suara nan dahsyat dari laudspeaker. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1013/feature.htm 26 August - 1 September 2010 Issue No. 1013 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Wake-up call for the faithful Banging his drum in the early hours of the morning during Ramadan to wake people before the daily fast, the mesaharati has been disappearing from Egypt's towns and villages in recent years. Ahmed Abu Ghazala talks to one man keeping the tradition alive Click to view caption The mesaharati of Nasr City has only started his job this Ramadan. Roaming the streets, he tries to reach out to the residents to remind them of Sohour time. The job has become rather difficult and insignificant in the noisy streets of the big cities photos: Sherif Sonbol -- It has become very rare to hear a real mesaharati, the man who traditionally wakes people up before sunrise during Ramadan in order to eat before fasting starts. Indeed, the mesaharati has become something of a dying profession, even though it has been practised since the early days of Islam. The first mesaharati is believed to have been Bilal Ibn Rabah, one of the Prophet Mohamed's companions, who was well known for his harmonious voice. Since Ibn Rabah's time, however, a harmonious voice has not always sufficed, and later the mesaharati used a small drum, calling out people's names in order to wake them for sohour, the last meal before sunrise in Ramadan. Later still, it sometimes became difficult even to walk in the city streets, what with the noise and the traffic. Happily, people today have other wake-up calls to choose from, with televisions, mobiles and alarm clocks all at hand. All this has contributed to the decline of the mesaharati 's trade, even though many people still love to hear one. One mesaharati who continues in the ancient ways is 48-year-old Rabea Hussein, who walks through the streets of Nasr City every night in Ramadan from half past one in the morning until quarter past three, banging his drum and calling on people to wake. His nightly round starts in Abu Dawoud Al-Dhaheri Street, moving to the Hadiqat Al-Tifl (the children's park) and the Institute of Social Services in Ahmed Fakhri Street, before returning to Hassan Al-Maamoun Street to finish. Hussein wears the traditional clothing of turban, galabiya and scarf, and he has worked in the district for 13 years as an employee of the local mosque, though this Ramadan is the first time he has been employed as a mesaharati. Hussein first entered the profession by helping a friend, the mesaharati of his hometown, the village of Abbad Sharona in Minya in Upper Egypt. Ahmed Saleh, head of the Wa Islamah Association, proposed that I work in Nasr City as mesaharati this Ramadan. I liked the idea, so they provided me with a drum and I started working, Hussein comments. Wa Islamah, a charitable association, carries out activities in seven Egyptian governorates, among them finding foster parents for orphaned children, running educational programmes, distributing clothes to the needy, helping to cover the medical costs of those not able to afford them, and helping school pupils and women to memorise the Quran. The association has many supporters from the field of business and sport, including football stars Sayed Abdel-Hafiz and Ahmed Koshari. Hussein says that because he is responsible for a fairly large area, he likes to start early, at half past one rather than three in the morning. I myself barely have time to eat before beginning to fast again during Ramadan. One day I couldn't find the time to eat anything at all, as I was late on my round, he says. When he worked as mesaharati in his village, he used to sing religious songs and call people by their names. This is not possible in the different circumstances of Nasr City, Hussein says, because of the district's size and the number of people living there. However, if I do know someone, then I call him by his name. The children also ask me to call them by their names, he says. Hussein loves the work, which he sees both as a way of drawing closer to God and as a way of helping people. Many people wake up as soon as they hear my drum. Two days ago, I didn't go along Mahmoud Ghoneim Street as usual, and people were quite upset because their children had been waiting for me. A few days ago some Arab tourists in Egypt asked me if they could have their photographs taken with me, saying that they liked to spend Ramadan in Egypt because of the presence of the mesaharati. As Hussein does his rounds at night, many children and some adults can be seen watching him from their balconies. Sometimes
CiKEAS Wake-up call for the faithful (RALAT)
RALAT Refleksi : Agaknya di Indonesia tradisi pukul tifa membangunkan umat pada pagi hari di bulan ramadhan sudah diganti dengan suara nan dahsyat dari laudspeaker. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1013/feature.htm 26 August - 1 September 2010 Issue No. 1013 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Wake-up call for the faithful Banging his drum in the early hours of the morning during Ramadan to wake people before the daily fast, the mesaharati has been disappearing from Egypt's towns and villages in recent years. Ahmed Abu Ghazala talks to one man keeping the tradition alive Click to view caption The mesaharati of Nasr City has only started his job this Ramadan. Roaming the streets, he tries to reach out to the residents to remind them of Sohour time. The job has become rather difficult and insignificant in the noisy streets of the big cities photos: Sherif Sonbol -- It has become very rare to hear a real mesaharati, the man who traditionally wakes people up before sunrise during Ramadan in order to eat before fasting starts. Indeed, the mesaharati has become something of a dying profession, even though it has been practised since the early days of Islam. The first mesaharati is believed to have been Bilal Ibn Rabah, one of the Prophet Mohamed's companions, who was well known for his harmonious voice. Since Ibn Rabah's time, however, a harmonious voice has not always sufficed, and later the mesaharati used a small drum, calling out people's names in order to wake them for sohour, the last meal before sunrise in Ramadan. Later still, it sometimes became difficult even to walk in the city streets, what with the noise and the traffic. Happily, people today have other wake-up calls to choose from, with televisions, mobiles and alarm clocks all at hand. All this has contributed to the decline of the mesaharati 's trade, even though many people still love to hear one. One mesaharati who continues in the ancient ways is 48-year-old Rabea Hussein, who walks through the streets of Nasr City every night in Ramadan from half past one in the morning until quarter past three, banging his drum and calling on people to wake. His nightly round starts in Abu Dawoud Al-Dhaheri Street, moving to the Hadiqat Al-Tifl (the children's park) and the Institute of Social Services in Ahmed Fakhri Street, before returning to Hassan Al-Maamoun Street to finish. Hussein wears the traditional clothing of turban, galabiya and scarf, and he has worked in the district for 13 years as an employee of the local mosque, though this Ramadan is the first time he has been employed as a mesaharati. Hussein first entered the profession by helping a friend, the mesaharati of his hometown, the village of Abbad Sharona in Minya in Upper Egypt. Ahmed Saleh, head of the Wa Islamah Association, proposed that I work in Nasr City as mesaharati this Ramadan. I liked the idea, so they provided me with a drum and I started working, Hussein comments. Wa Islamah, a charitable association, carries out activities in seven Egyptian governorates, among them finding foster parents for orphaned children, running educational programmes, distributing clothes to the needy, helping to cover the medical costs of those not able to afford them, and helping school pupils and women to memorise the Quran. The association has many supporters from the field of business and sport, including football stars Sayed Abdel-Hafiz and Ahmed Koshari. Hussein says that because he is responsible for a fairly large area, he likes to start early, at half past one rather than three in the morning. I myself barely have time to eat before beginning to fast again during Ramadan. One day I couldn't find the time to eat anything at all, as I was late on my round, he says. When he worked as mesaharati in his village, he used to sing religious songs and call people by their names. This is not possible in the different circumstances of Nasr City, Hussein says, because of the district's size and the number of people living there. However, if I do know someone, then I call him by his name. The children also ask me to call them by their names, he says. Hussein loves the work, which he sees both as a way of drawing closer to God and as a way of helping people. Many people wake up as soon as they hear my drum. Two days ago, I didn't go along Mahmoud Ghoneim Street as usual, and people were quite upset because their children had been waiting for me. A few days ago some Arab tourists in Egypt asked me if they could have their photographs taken with me, saying that they liked to spend Ramadan in Egypt because of the presence of the mesaharati. As Hussein does his rounds at night, many children and some adults can be seen watching him from their
CiKEAS Obscure Indonesian Group Claims Borobudur Temple for Islam + Indonesian Academic Claims Borobudur .....
Refleksi : Cara menjarah tidak tanggung-tanggung!! http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/obscure-indonesian-group-claims-borobudur-temple-for-islam/394315 Obscure Indonesian Group Claims Borobudur Temple for Islam Nurfika Osman | September 02, 2010 Jakarta. Could the internationally famous ninth-century Borobudur Temple in Central Java, which features hundreds of Buddha statues, in fact be Islamic? An obscure group called the Islam and Ancient History Study Institution thinks so, and is reportedly set to petition the Constitutional Court to declare that the famous temple belongs to Islam. Other academics, however, dismiss the claim. Kompasiana.com, a news portal, reported that researchers led by Fahmi Basya, a lecturer of Islamic mathematics from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, claimed they had solid proof that the temple was built by the Prophet Solomon's genie soldiers. Solomon, who according to the Hebrew Bible was a king of Israel, is known as the Prophet Sulayman in the Koran. According to the article, the researchers had connected Borobudur with the Kraton Ratu Boko (Queen Boko's Palace) near the Hindu temple Prambanan, close to the city of Yogyakarta, claiming that Boko was actually another name for Sulayman's wife, Queen Balqis (Queen of Sheba). The researchers, according to the news portal, said supporting evidence included new Islamic mathematical measurements created by Fahmi, which were known only to him. Another method used by the researchers to connect Borobudur to Islam was by the association of names. The origins of the name Sleman, a town and district in Yogyakarta, they said, came from Sulayman, while Java came from the word Jews. Fahmi, who could not be reached for comment, intends to put forward his arguments as the basis for his request that the Constitutional Court declare the World Heritage Site the rightful property of Muslims and revise history books and literature on the subject. But JJ Rijal, a historian, told the Jakarta Globe that Fahmi's claims could be categorized as ideological history. He also said Sulayman was not the only prophet connected to Java. When Islam was first introduced to Java, a tradition was born, Rijal said. All prophets were linked to Java. Royal families' genealogical trees would show that their ancestors were the Prophet Adam, even the Prophet Muhammad and now, Sulayman. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-academic-claims-borobudur-temple-is-islamic/394171 Indonesian Academic Claims Borobudur Temple Is Islamic Jakarta Globe | September 02, 2010 Buddhist monks pray at Borobudur Temple in Central Java. A group of Indonesian researchers claim that the temple was built by Solomon, as Islamic prophet. (Antara Photo/Anis Efizudin) Jakarta. An obscure group led by an academic from a respected Islamic university in Indonesia is reportedly set to petition the Constitutional Court to declare that the Borobudur Temple in Central Java belongs to Islam. Kompasiana.com reported that researchers from the Islam and Ancient History Study Institution, led by Fahmi Basya, an Islamic mathematics lecturer from Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University in Jakarta, claimed they had solid proof the Buddhist temple was built by the Prophet Solomon's genie soldiers. Solomon, who according to the Hebrew Bible was a king of Israel, is known as the prophet Sulayman in the Koran. According to the article, the researchers had connected Borobudur with the Kraton Ratu Boko (Queen Boko's Palace) near the Hindu temple Prambanan in Central Java, claiming that Boko was actually another name for Queen Balqis, the wife of Sulayman. The researchers, according to the news portal, said supporting evidence included new Islamic mathematical measurements created by Fahmi, which were known only to him. Another method used by the researchers to connect Borobudur to Islam was by the association of names. The origins of the name Slemen, a town in Yogyakarta, they said, came from Sulayman, while 'Java' came from the word 'Jews.' Fahmi also claimed that Sulayman was the only prophet whose name contained the syllable 'Su' and therefore the country in which he resided was later led by his descendants with names containing the same syllable, namely Sukarno, Suharto and Susilo. Fahmi, who could not be reached for comment, intends to put forward his arguments as the basis for his claims that the Constitutional Court declare the World Heritage Site the rightful property of Muslims and revise history books and literature on the subject. Historian JJ Rijal told the Jakarta Globe that Fahmi's claims could be categorized as ideological history. Ideological history takes many forms. For example, in Indonesia, researchers who follow the ideology believe that Islam is the blood, the locomotive to all great events in the country, Rijal said. He said Sulayman was not
CiKEAS Indonesia studies green bonds
http://arabnews.com/economy/article124426.ece Indonesia studies green bonds By LEE CHYEN YEE | REUTERS Published: Sep 2, 2010 23:46 Updated: Sep 2, 2010 23:46 HONG KONG: Indonesia is looking into infrastructure and green bonds, a senior adviser to the government said on Thursday, as the biggest economy in Southeast Asia is in need of billions of dollars for the sector's development. Indonesia will need $140 billion over the next five years in infrastructure development ranging from paving roads and highways to providing more power and water supplies nationwide. As much as two-thirds of that amount would have to come from the private sector, adviser Edward Gustely said. I've been in discussions on infrastructure bonds and green investment bonds and again, it's a combination of the ability to tap into institutional capital that is looking to participate in this, Gustely told Reuters. It's being studied both by the government and the private sector, he said on the sidelines on a conference in Hong Kong, but added that no details had been decided. In nearby India, the government plans to issue tax-free infrastructure bonds with a minimum tenure of 10 years to help the funding of the construction of roads, ports and power plants, a scheme that Indonesia is studying. Emerging Asian countries, such as China, India and Indonesia, have been trying to boost their infrastructure to help fuel economic growth and manage fast-expanding cities, where hours-long traffic jams are common. A lack of power supply would also mean frequent outages in industrial towns, hampering factory output and incurring costs for investors. The lack of infrastructure over the next few years is the only (thing), in my assessment, holding back Indonesia, Gustely said. If you're a plastics manufacturer the last thing you want is a power outage that costs you money. We've got an issue with power generation and that affects the industrial aspects of Indonesia. Indonesia's economy is expected to expand by 6 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2011, then reaching as much as 7.7 percent by 2014, officials said, but the levels still lag China and India. Indonesia has been trying to attract more foreign investors to pour money in its infrastructure, but some global institutions are concerned about regulations and practices when investing there compared to say, China and India. There is a lot that needs to be done throughout Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago with thousands of islands. Only 53 percent of Indonesia's population have access to electricity from power grids, and only a third have piped water, Gustely said. Indonesia's capital Jakarta is overcrowded, set in an earthquake zone, prone to flooding and crippled by inadequate infrastructure. Every year we fail to (fix the situation), we lose time and the situation gets worse, said Gustely.
CiKEAS The Fight Over Palm Oil Funding
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=2674Itemid=590 The Fight Over Palm Oil Funding Written by John Berthelsen Thursday, 02 September 2010 The World Bank Group seeks a middle path between development and environmentalism The global oil palm industry, providing either the world's most indispensable cooking oil or the last nail in the coffin of the world's rain forests, is the focus of an intense struggle for funding within the World Bank Group, the world's biggest development lender. The bank and its investment arm, the International Finance Corporation, are gingerly entering the controversy over deforestation and sustainable development for palm oil. The IFC is working on a new plan to determine the bank's direction on lending to the sector. The bank group has temporarily suspended its new investments in the sector, it said in a prepared statement, until it finalizes its common approach. Called the Draft Framework for Engagement in the Palm Oil Sector, the 48-page document by the IFC seeks to provide the rationale for the bank group's operations in fighting poverty without compromising economic, environmental or social sustainability. The final draft was presented to a World Bank group management session in Frankfurt on Sept. 1 and is now to be disseminated to interested parties who will attempt to sway it in different directions. Sources say there is a considerable controversy going on within the bank itself between advocates of development and environmental critics. Whatever the World Bank and the IFC does is bound to have a big effect on the industry. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) together probably have more sway in the third world than any other institutions. The path of development suggested by the framework on palm oil can be expected to have a considerable impact, for good or ill, on what is called the earth's green lung - the vast and endangered tropical rainforests of Africa and Southeast Asia. The IFC, headquartered along with its parent in Washington, DC, is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private development in the developing world, providing aid for private industry to gain financing in international markets and providing technical advice and assistance for development, both to private interests and governments. And, despite what looks like a feverish attempt to steer down the middle between environmentalists and palm oil producers, the IFC's draft appears to have enraged the oil palm industry. World Growth, a nonprofit NGO that supports vastly increased oil palm planting, called the report deeply flawed and said it undermines the response to the global food crisis. Oil palms are cultivated commercially on some 12 million hectares globally, about 85 percent of that in Malaysia and Indonesia. For consumers in China, Pakistan and India, among others, palm oil is by far the biggest and cheapest source of edible oil. Nearly three million people are employed growing oil palms in Indonesia and about 6 million directly worldwide, with smallholders managing about 49 percent of Southeast Asia's plantations and 80 percent in Africa. But, despite the World Growth NGO's emphasis on the plight of smallholders, plantation owners such as Sinar Mas in Indonesia and Sime Darby and others in Malaysia are vast conglomerates that can swing the way governments do business. In the face of the continuing passage of environmental laws and pronouncements from the capitols of Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries which have oil palm plantations, environmentalists charge, the big plantations continue to destroy rainforest with impunity. The critics accuse the industry of being a major contributor to global warming by burning to clear land for plantations and with it destroying deep peat, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and by devastating rainforest diversity of species including such endangered species as the orangutan In particular, Greenpeace has earned the enmity of the producers by persuading major European buyers, including Nestle and Unilever, two of the world's biggest consumer products companies, to stop using palm oil in their products. Critics accuse the bank of paying little attention to local needs and of funding needless environmental destruction, particularly through the construction of big dams. Although the bank temporarily drew back from funding big dams in the 1990s, it has resumed, with bank officials saying that now they are paying attention to the social and environmental damage wrought by big dams. Critics disagree. Since its founding, the Bank has supported more than 550 dams around the globe, with over US$90 billion (in 2007 dollars) in loans and guarantees, charged the Berkeley, Calif. International Rivers Network in a 2007 report. World Bank-backed dams include some of the world's worst development
CiKEAS FPI Sudah Islamkan 257 Anggota Ahmadiyah
Refleksi : Apakah FPI juga akan mengiislamkan kaum non-Ahmadiyah dan apa keuntungannya bila diislamkan? http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2010/09/01/17015713/FPI.Sudah.Islamkan.257.Anggota.Ahmadiyah Ahmadiyah FPI Sudah Islamkan 257 Anggota Ahmadiyah Laporan wartawan KOMPAS.com Hindra Liauw Rabu, 1 September 2010 | 17:01 WIB KOMPAS IMAGES/KRISTIANTO PURNOMO Bocah melintas di depan Masjid Ahmadiyah An-Nur, Desa Manislor, Kecamatan Jalaksana, Kabupaten Kuningan, Jawa Barat, Jumat (30/7/2010). JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Front Pembela Islam membenarkan langkah Menteri Agama Suryadharma Ali yang menyarankan agar Ahmadiyah dibubarkan. Ketua Umum DPP FPI Habib Rizieq mengatakan, apa yang dilakukan politisi PPP itu telah sesuai dengan Perpres 1/PNPS/1965. Cendekiawan yang demikian banyak bermain dengan pulpen dan kertas, turun dong ke lapangan. Dengarkan keresahan umat. -- Habib Rizieq Dia menjelaskan, berdasarkan perpres itu, ada tiga langkah yang dapat dilakukan pemerintah untuk mengatasi kelompok-kelompok yang dinilai menistakan agama. Pertama, kelompok tersebut diberikan peringatan lisan. Kedua, pemerintah dapat mengeluarkan peringatan tertulis, seperti SKB 3 Menteri pada tahun 2008. Jika membandel, maka status dapat ditingkatkan dari SKB menjadi kepres. Menteri terkait berhak merekomendasikan pembubaran ke Presiden, kata Habib kepada wartawan seusai dialog pluralisme di kantor Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia, Jakarta, Rabu (1/9/2010). Habib mengatakan, yang perlu dipikirkan pemerintah saat ini adalah bagaimana mekanisme pembubaran itu tanpa memicu kekerasan. Menurut Habib, aset-aset Ahmadiyah dapat disita, sementara pengikutnya dapat dibina dan disadarkan. Tugas pembinaan berada di tangan pemerintah serta dibantu oleh Majelis Ulama Indonesia dan ormas-ormas Islam, seperti Nadhlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, dan bahkan FPI. FPI siap mengirimkan ribuan dai dan ustaz untuk membina tanpa dibayar. Di Serawu, antara Garut dan Tasikmalaya, 257 warga Ahmadiyah telah kami islamkan. FPI bekerja sama dengan ormas Islam setempat, katanya. Soal adanya kekhawatiran dari sejumlah cendekiawan Muslim, seperti Buya Syafii Maarif dan Yenny Zannuba Wahid, bahwa pernyataan Menag dapat memicu konflik, Habib membantahnya. Cendekiawan yang bicara macam begini, maaf, bukan saya ingin merendahkan mereka. Mereka ini banyak bermain dengan pulpen dan kertas. Turun dong ke lapangan. Temuin warga. Lihat bagaimana resahnya warga dengan keberadaan Ahmadiyah. Kita tidak bisa menilai lapangan hanya dari pena dan kertas. Jadi, intelektual pena dan kertas di FPI tidak laku, kata Habib. TERKAIT: a.. Presiden Harus Tegas kepada Menag b.. Presiden Harus Tegas kepada Menag c.. Pembubaran Ahmadiyah Butuh Proses d.. Menag: Ahmadiyah Memang Harus Dibubarkan e.. Ahmadiyah: Bersabar dan Berdoa
CiKEAS Pertumpahan Darah di Buol Ditangisi
Refleksi : Negri berbasis paham serigala berbulu kambing selalu haus darah. http://regional.kompas.com/read/2010/09/01/15432698/Pertumpahan.Darah.di.Buol.Ditangisi Kerusuhan Pertumpahan Darah di Buol Ditangisi Rabu, 1 September 2010 | 15:43 WIB BUOL, KOMPAS.com - Sejumlah anggota Komisi I DPRD Sulawesi Tengah tidak kuasa menahan kesedihan menyesali kerusuhan di Kabupaten Buol. Air mata mereka sampai menetes saat berdialog dengan Wakil Kapolda Sulteng Kombes Drs Dewa Parsana, MSi di Mapolda Sulteng, Rabu (1/9/2010). Pak Waka, terus terang saya tidak tahan melihat pertumpahan darah di bulan Ramadhan ini. Bulan Ramadhan justru dilumuri dengan darah. Mohon ini tidak terjadi lagi, kata Yahya R Kibi, salah seorang anggota Komisi I dengan suara yang terbata-bata dan meneteskan air mata. Hal serupa juga dialami Ketua Komisi I Sri Indraningsih Lalulusu dan Zainal Abidin Ishak, anggota Komisi I lainnya. Ketiga anggota Komisi I tersebut beberapa kali menyeka mata mereka. Kedatangan Komisi I tersebut untuk mempertanyakan kronologi kerusuhan Buol serta langkah antisipasi terhadap bertambahnya korban luka-luka akibat ditembak. Kerusuhan Buol pecah menyusul tewasnya seorang tahanan Polsek Biau bernama Kasmir Timumun pada Senin sore. Keluarga menduga tewasnya Kasmir Timumun, warga Kelurahan Leok II yang bekerja sebagai tukang ojek itu, akibat penganiayaan oknum polisi. Kasmir ditahan karena kasus kecelakaan lalu lintas yang melibatkan seorang anggota kepolisian di kota itu, tetapi hari Senin dia tewas di dalam tahanan. Sebagai buntut dari kematiannya, Selasa sekitar pukul 21.30 Wita, ribuan warga mendatangi Mapolsek Biau. TERKAIT: a.. Lima Korban Kritis, Tertembak di Kepala b.. Semua Korban Tewas Tertembak di Kepala c.. Pasukan Elite Polda Sulteng Diterjunkan d.. Kasmir Tewas dengan Leher Memar e.. Lima Pleton TNI/Polri Terjun ke Buol
CiKEAS Gedung Baru DPR Tak Boleh Jadi Panti Pijat
Refleksi. Apakah perlu adanya ruangan panti pijat-pijit di gedung Dewan Penipu Rakyat (DPR)? Anggota DPR bukan orang bodoh bin goblok untuk menjadikan gedung dPR panti pijat. Bukankah bisa dipesan para pemijit-pijat untuk segera datang mengusir ketegangan otot urat paha para anggota DPR di kantor. Bisa juga anggota DPR bolos sebentar dari pekerjaan untuk tugas luar pergi ke panti pijat-pijit guna melempiaskan ketegangan urat tongkat paha agar bisa diilhami insipirasi metode berpikir rational dan lagam kerja efektif untuk menipu rakyat. http://us.detiknews.com/read/2010/09/01/083517/1432421/10/gedung-baru-dpr-tak-boleh-jadi-panti-pijat Rabu, 01/09/2010 08:35 WIB Gedung Baru DPR Tak Boleh Jadi Panti Pijat Elvan Dany Sutrisno - detikNews Jakarta - Janji Ketua DPR Marzuki Alie untuk membatalkan rencana pembangunan sarana spa di gedung baru DPR harus ditepati. Gedung DPR adalah rumah aspirasi bagi rakyat jelata, bukan panti pijat anggota DPR. Gedung baru DPR harus benar-benar cerminkan gedung parlemen, bukan pusat rekreasi atau panti pijat, ujar Wakil Ketua MPR, Lukman Hakim Saefudin kepada detikcom, Rabu (1/9/2010). Yang harus dilengkapi di gedung baru DPR, menurut Lukman, adalah sarana yang menunjang kerja anggota DPR. Lukman mencontohkan, ruang anggota dan ruang staf ahli memang layak ditingkatkan kapasitasnya. Perpustakaan harus dibuat besar dan komplit, bukan malah spa, sauna, juga kolam renang. Kesannya kok sangat berlebihan, papar Lukman. Lukman mengajak semua anggota DPR memahami fungsi gedung baru. Lukman berharap gedung baru DPR benar-benar menjadi tempat kerja yang efektif bagi anggota DPR. Utamakan efektifitas kerja saja agar aktualitas fungsi DPR lebih baik, harapnya. (van/anw)
CiKEAS Demo LSM Bendera Tanggapi Pidato SBY Ricuh
Refleksi : SBY berpidato demikian agar perhatian masyarakat bisa dialihkan ke masalah dengan Malaysia dari maslah politik, ekonomi dan sosial dalam negeri yang membuat mayoritas rakyat melarat dan oleh karena itu ratusan ribu bahkan jutaan tenaga kerja berumur masa produktif bisa dijadikan tenaga kerja murah (kalau bukan budak) tanpa perlindungan hukum sesuai praxis hukum dan kovensi internasional di luar negeri. Sekalipun sudah puluhan tahun sejak kekuasan Pak Hartodan penerusnya hingga dewasa ini masih saja masyarakat belum insyaf bahwa rezim SBY dan konco-konconya kaum bangsawan neo-Mojopahitnya adalah penjahat bin perampok yang membuat rakyat banyak miskin melarat. http://us.detiknews.com/read/2010/09/01/231852/1433149/10/demo-lsm-bendera-tanggapi-pidato-sby-ricuh Rabu, 01/09/2010 23:18 WIB Demo LSM Bendera Tanggapi Pidato SBY Ricuh Andi Saputra - detikNews Jakarta - Demonstrasi LSM Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat (Bendera) menanggapi pidato SBY malam ini berakhir ricuh. Kericuhan dipicu saat mereka dilarang membakar bendera Malaysia. Akibatnya salah seorang anggota polisi berpakaian preman terkena pukulan tongkat demonstran. Kami hanya ingin menyuarakan aspirasi kami. Tolong polisi jangan membela Malaysia, teriak orator, Mustar Bonaventura di maskar LSM Bendera, Jalan Diponegoro 58, Jakarta, Rabu,(1/9/2010). Dalam aksinya, mereka berusaha memblokir jalan tapi dicegah polisi. Lantas sekitar 30-an anggota LSM Bendera mengencingi bendera Malaysia. Lantas mereka membakar bendera Malaysia. Upaya ini dicegah oleh Kapolsek Menteng, Kompol Arsdo. Sayang, usaha ini mendapat perlawanan dari LSM Bendera sehingga terjadi kericuhan. Sebuah tongkat yang dipegang demosantran pun melayang megenai muka seorang anggota polisi. Lantas, situasi yang semakin memanas membuat polisi mendesak masuk demonstran ke dalam markas LSM Bendera. Akibat keributan ini, Jalan Diponegoro macet hingga arah Tugu Proklamasi. Namun kini situasi berangsur-angsur reda. Demonstran hanya bertahan di dalam markasnya untuk melakukan orasi. SBY hanya mementingkan kepentingan Malaysia, kepentingan negara sendiri dilupakan, teriak Bonaventura.
CiKEAS BRIC ambitions for Indonesia
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LI02Df05.html Sep 2, 2010 BRIC ambitions for Indonesia By Sara Schonhardta JAKARTA - With Indonesia's economic growth among the strongest in Southeast Asia and brightening future prospects for the resource-rich country, economists are weighing whether it should be the next country added to the BRIC grouping of fast-growing emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China. When US investment bank Goldman Sachs came up with the BRIC acronym in 2001, it projected that the combined economic size of the four countries would be bigger than all Group of 7 countries except the United States by 2050, according to Milan Zavadjil, country director at the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Indonesia office. (The other G-7 countries being Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.) Sticking to that definition, Indonesia is arguably ripe for inclusion to the club. For some financial analysts, Indonesia's BRIC designation would be symbolic of the gathering global shift in economic power away from the developed G-7 economies and towards faster-growing emerging ones. It would also give a boost to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's economic management credentials. Indonesia still lacks certain BRIC indicators, including large-scale foreign capital inflows, which until now has allowed the government to maintain a relatively hands-off approach to rising inflationary pressures. If capital inflows were to rise significantly above current levels, Bank Indonesia, the central bank, would be put to an important test, economists say. There are limits to building up foreign reserves and allowing the exchange rate to appreciate, said Zavadjil, who believes sustained investor interest in Indonesia will depend more on achieving investment grade credit ratings than BRIC admission. In January, Fitch Ratings upgraded Indonesia's sovereign credit rating to BB+, based on improvements in the country's public finances and the economy's resilience to the global crisis. Fitch research estimates that Indonesian banks enjoy some of the strongest lending margins in Asia, and limited competition means that yields should remain strong over the medium term. The stable rating is still one level below investment grade. Ai Ling Ngiam, the lead analyst covering Indonesia at Fitch in Singapore, said reservations remain about upgrading Indonesia to the coveted A rating, which would signal to investors that Indonesia is capable of meeting its financial commitments even in adverse economic conditions. The growth side has been acknowledged, said Ngiam. But what has been lacking is infrastructure improvements and cooperation from local governments to get projects underway. She says the government often says the right things, but then fails to act. Indonesia's past crisis responses may justify the need for caution. By not factoring in the risk of rising inflation, the government would have to move quickly if sudden vulnerabilities arise that would call for strong policy adjustments, said Ngiam. She argues that more pre-emptive measures are needed to hedge against fast fluctuating foreign capital flows in and out of the country's illiquid financial markets. That said, many economists believe that Indonesia is now in an economic sweet spot, with economic growth poised to hit 6% this year after gross domestic product (GDP) rose 6.2% year on year in the second quarter. President Yudhoyono is even more bullish, predicting that economic growth will reach 6.6% by year's end. The Jakarta Composite Index, Asia's second-best performing stock exchange so far this year after Japan, has reflected the bullishness, hitting a record high on July 29 following the appointment of Darmin Nasution as Bank Indonesia's new head, ending a 14-month impasse over the central bank's leadership and signaling to the market a move towards prudent macro-economic management. Foreign direct investment (FDI), meanwhile, hit $7.8 billion in the first half of the year, a 49% gain over the same period in 2009. Indonesia's investment coordinating board now predicts FDI could reach $13.1 billion by the end of the year. Resilient in crisis When the global economy started to unravel in early 2008, some economists and investors worried that Indonesia would repeat the tailspin that devastated its economy and emptied the national coffers during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. The government responded to that crisis by raising interest rates and tightening fiscal policy, but those interventions failed to stop the rupiah from plunging 85% against the US dollar. The subsequent double-digit inflation triggered steep gains in the prices of key staples such as rice and cooking oil, and sparked the riots that eventually forced then president Suharto to resign. When
CiKEAS Minister calls for Ahmadiyah to be disbanded
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/31/minister-calls-ahmadiyah-be-disbanded.html-0 Minister calls for Ahmadiyah to be disbanded The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 08/31/2010 10:08 AM | Headlines Suryadharma Ali Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said Monday that the Jamaah Ahmadiyah faith - who claim to be Muslim - had to be broken up, as followers violated regulations and were not Muslim. The minister was quoted as saying after a hearing at the House of Representatives that Ahmadiyah, which has 200,000 followers across the country, must be disbanded immediately. If not, problems would continue. It was the first clear statement from the minister following a number of attacks on the congregation and their mosques in the last few years, the most recent in Kuningan, West Java, late last month. In West Lombok, 33 families who are followers of Ahmadiyah have not returned from their refuge as of April, fearing for their safety from residents who attacked them in 2006. Suryadharma reiterated his earlier statement that the group violated a 2008 joint ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah, which stated that members of the faith could not propagate their teachings. The decree issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Attorney General's Office and the Home Ministry, however, stated that Ahmadiyah followers could continue practising their faith through prayers, visit to mosques and other activities. The decree is based on a 1965 law on the prevention of blasphemy. In the previous Cabinet under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, then vice president Jusuf Kalla had said Ahmadiyah would not be banned, but its members were not allowed to propagate their beliefs, which include the controversial tenet that the Prophet Muhammad was not the final prophet, as mainstream Muslims believe. Ahmadiyah members have repeatedly said their teachings did not violate Islam, while others insist Ahmadiyah saw its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as the last prophet. Another group, the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Movement (GAI), regards Ahmad as only an Islamic reformist leader, and was thus not subject to the decree. The belief that anyone other than Muhammad is the last prophet is in basic contradiction with Islam, Suryadharma was quoted as saying. If that is what is called freedom of worship then that freedom has gone too far, news portal tempointeraktif.com reported. The basic right of other Muslims, he said, is the right that must be protected when one group says the Prophet Muhammad is not the last prophet. More discussions about banning the group are scheduled for after the Idul Fitri holidays, the minister said. Following the issuance of the 2008 decree on Ahmadiyah, the ministry said the public would be allowed to act as a watchdog to ensure Ahmadiyah's compliance. The decree also threatens penalties for anyone committing violence against Ahmadiyah members. However, sporadic attacks against the group have continued unpunished. In Kuningan regency, Ahmadiyah members clashed with hard-line Muslim organizations who demanded the banning of the group. Several houses were damaged and three were injured in Manis Lor village, where 3,000 of the more than 4,000 residents were Ahmadiyah followers. Suryadharma said the 2008 decree was not being enforced effectively, while police say their main concern was to prevent clashes. Related News a.. Ahmadiyah must be disbanded: Minister b.. Minister calls for Ahmadiyah to be disbanded c.. Issue: 'Be strict in call to disband Ahmadiyah' d.. Minister urges sect followers to stop spreading faith surya.picture%20or%20side.jpg
CiKEAS Yellow card for President Yudhoyono
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/30/yellow-card-president-yudhoyono.html Yellow card for President Yudhoyono Al Makin, Yogyakarta | Mon, 08/30/2010 10:15 AM | Opinion Due to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's (SBY) sluggish and infirm response to religious violence and intolerance, a yellow card should be issued. A whistle should be blown. Halt the train for a moment, time for reflection. A referee should warn Ruhut Sitompul - a Democrat politician and a member of the House of Representatives who fished in the murky water to test the public - not to even think of a third term. Behold SBY! (Please forgive the referee who substitutes Ruhut's name for SBY, or on the other way around). Your record is yellow, close to red. Be serious. A yellow card means warning, whereas a red one means stop - enough is enough. Please, never turn the yellow into a red card. A green card - meaning peace, environmentally friendly, a card issued by the US government to allow non-US citizens to work there, and that the show must go on - is preferable. Ruhut beat the drum, echoing the possibility of SBY's third term, ironically amid the fire directed at SBY's lame duck. The nickname Mr. Doubter lingers. Minority groups, for example, members of Ahmadiyah and Christians, become the target of attack by the hardliners, for example the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) andthe Islam Defenders Front (FPI), whose leaders and members never give up exhibiting their shallow rhetoric in the public. When a chance came, they seized it. There is always a temptation in their minds, whenever streets and roads are empty, to hold mass rally. They feel invited whenever an issue can be twisted. Issues surrounding Ahmadiyah and Indonesian Christians, which the FPI still want to sell, are old. Indeed, nobody, except the FPI and the like, want to buy it. True, until early 20th century, Muslims and Christians were suspicious of each other, due to complicated elements of the native Indonesians, the Dutch government, and inter-religious relations. Th. Sumartana, a pioneer of inter-religious dialogue, has touched upon this issue. However, Christianization in Indonesia, which concerned both most Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah leaders from the 1970s to 1980s, is a sheer myth, which the New Order regime used very well in the effort of managing the conflict between Muslims and Christians for the benefits of the government (it sounds like divide et impera, divide and rule). An Indonesian scholar, Mujiburrahman, wrote this. Back to the point. Mosques and churches, built by minorities, are now in danger. Religious harmony and tolerance are in peril. Religious and ethnic diversity, which should be part of Indonesians' identity, are threatened. It is a paradox that the Americans are now discussing whether a mosque can be built at Ground Zero, the World Trade Center (WTC) site in Manhattan, New York city - the target of the 9/11 attack. The Americans are debating how to differentiate between true Islam and al-Qaeda, between moderate Muslims and radicals, and between religion and fundamentalism. But here in Indonesia, people are witnessing that mosques and churches have been destroyed. People performing religious rites are ambushed. What a shame. Once again, in his second term, can SBY appear in the public with steadfastness and audacity? In theory, he must be. He was elected with a landslide victory. The Indonesians gave mandate wholeheartedly. However, it is up to SBY alone to show us that he deserves this second chance. Thus, the speed should be accelerated, the seatbelt should be fastened, the steadfastness should be shown, and the audacity should be exhibited. All of this should be done, before a red card becomes a theme in the public. Note that SBY and all his staff know very well that only one factor such as religious intolerance will unlikely lead the President to step down. You know, both Sukarno's and Soeharto's tumble was due to more complex factors, for example, the economy, and political and social mayhem. Nonetheless, keep reminding SBY to guard our harmonious diversity. Do not forget that there are also more issues in the limelight. SBY's commitment to eradication of corruption is lately questionable. Some of those who were jailed due to corruption cases have been granted remission. Additionally, the dignity of Indonesians may have been disturbed again, and the government's reputation in defending its own citizens and solving the problem appropriately is at stake. Hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers are faced with the death penalty in Malaysia. Ruhut never dares to announce the third term of SBY in a microphone with confidence. Behave Ruhut, behold SBY. The writer is a lecturer at the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta. Related News a.. President supports plan to create economic center in Morotai b.. PKB should stand on its own: Dems c..
CiKEAS Cycling on tightrope about 80m above ground
http://www.dailychilli.com/news/5997-cycling-on-tightrope-about-80m-above-ground?tmpl=componentprint=1layout=defaultpage= Cycling on tightrope about 80m above ground Nik Wallenda, a seventh-generation high-wire daredevil, pedals a bicycle across the Bridge Suite of the Paradise Island Atlantis resort in Nassau, Bahamas, Saturday. A seventh-generation high-wire daredevil pedaled a bicycle across a precarious line strung between two hotel towers Saturday in an attempt to break his own world record. Nik Wallenda, of the famous Flying Wallendas circus family, cycled safely more than 100 feet (31 meters) along the wire at the Bahamas' Paradise Island Atlantis resort some 260 feet (79 meters) above the turquoise ocean - without a safety net. Wallenda holds the current Guinness World Records for longest distance and greatest height traveled by bicycle on a high wire, set in 2008 in Newark, New Jersey, when he traveled 235 feet (72 meters) at a height of 135 feet (41 meters). Hundreds of tourists and resort workers gawked from pools and sidewalks, snapping pictures and shooting video. It shows you the agility, balance and intestinal fortitude that these people have, said Randy Stein, 54, of Princeton, New Jersey. It's phenomenal, incredible, a gift of balance. Guinness will have to verify the new height record, the one he was trying to break Saturday. Wallenda later performed a second high-wire stunt on foot, walking about 2,000 feet (610 meters) at a height of 250 feet (76 meters) over the resort's open-air marine habitat, which teems with sharks, barracudas and piranhas. It was the longest distance he has traveled by foot on a wire, according to spokesman Winston Simone. Before the second stunt, Wallenda's father, who usually rigs the wire and walks along with him on the ground, passed out with heat stroke and was carried off in an ambulance. The father is said to be in good condition, and Wallenda's mother and wife strung the line instead. Wallenda never stumbled during either performance, despite winds measured at 28 knots (32 mph; 51 kph) and scattered thunderstorms. Against all odds I walked on that wire today, he said. There was lightning in the area, high winds, and it was the first walk without my father. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made in my life. and the hardest walk I have ever done. But my family history and my family tradition is that the show must go on, he added. A native and resident of Sarasota, Florida, Wallenda is the great-grandson of circus legend Karl Wallenda, who fell to his death during a wire walk in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1978. Wallenda, 31, said he hopes to keep performing on the high wires until he is no longer physically able. - AP Published Aug 29 2010
CiKEAS Mines in Sumatra, Kalimantan Draw Interest From India's NTPC
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/indonesian-coal-mines-in-sumatra-kalimantan-draw-interest-from-indias-ntpc/393658 Mines in Sumatra, Kalimantan Draw Interest From India's NTPC Bloomberg Reuters | August 30, 2010 India's top power utility NTPC is looking into purchasing stakes in two coal mines in Indonesia as it seeks access to the fuel to help end blackouts in India. NTPC was studying two mines in Sumatra and East Kalimantan, which might together have as much as 1.8 billion metric tons of coal resources, its chairman R.S. Sharma said on Monday. The purchase could be completed by March 2011, he said, declining to name the mines. NTPC would seek a majority stake in the mines, Sharma said, also declining to name the current owner. The mine in East Kalimantan may have coal resources of about 1 billion tons and the one in Sumatra about 800 million tons. The purchase had been delayed because the coal had a high moisture content and NTPC was studying ways to improve the fuel's quality, including mixing it with dry coal to enhance the potential to generate heat, he added. NTPC is among a number of Indian energy companies that are seeking assets across the world, specifically in Indonesia, to meet demand for electricity and petroleum products from factories and households in the world's second-most populous country. State-owned Coal India, the world's largest producer, and Tata Power are among companies already looking to buy mines overseas. Reliance Power, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, is considering investing $5 billion to build a railway and develop coal mines in South Sumatra, Yopie Hidayat, a spokesman for Indonesian Vice President Boediono, said in Jakarta last week. Essar Group also bought the Aries coal mines in the Kutai region of East Kalimantan, which hold as much as 100 million tons of power-station coal, the company said in a statement on March 25. Domestic coal supply may not be able to keep pace with NTPC's plans to add generation capacity, said Rupesh Sankhe, a Mumbai-based analyst with Angel Broking. That is sending all power companies overseas looking for mines. Coal demand in India, Asia's third-largest energy consumer, might double from 2008 to 2015 to exceed 1 billion tons, energy consultant Wood Mackenzie said on July 1. India could face a shortfall of 189 million tons a year by 2015, leading to a two-fold increase in imports, global consultancy KPMG said late last month. India's annual coal output of 535 million tons would fall short of demand from power generators by as much as 80 million tons by next year, Alok Perti, additional secretary for India's coal ministry, said on July 7. Coal is used to fire more than half of India's current installed generation capacity, according to the Central Electricity Authority. NTPC aims to lock-in fuel supplies to feed its rising generation capacity, currently at 32.2 gigawatts, but expects that to rise to 75 GW by 2017. NTPC expected to import up to 15 million tons of coal in the next financial year as its annual requirement of the fuel could rise an estimated 6.5 percent to 165 million tons, Sharma said. It is expected to import 12 million tons in the current fiscal year. Currently, state-trading firms import coal for NTPC. This is a stop-gap arrangement for one to two years, Sharma said, adding that he hoped his firm could directly buy 40 percent to 60 percent of its coal imports in 2011/12. It is destination coal for us now, he added. We are working all out for that. NTPC planned capital expenditure of as much as 290 billion rupees ($6.19 billion) in the year ending March 2011, including for acquisitions, he said, without elaborating further. The New Delhi-based utility would use part of its $3 billion in cash reserves and also raise debt to fund the purchase of mines in Australia, Indonesia and Mozambique that could supply as much as 10 million tons of coal a year, Sharma had said on July 14. NTPC's shares have declined 17 percent this year compared with a 4 percent rise in the benchmark Sensitive Index of the Bombay Stock Exchange. They fell 0.5 percent to 195.55 rupees at 12:46 p.m. in Mumbai trading.
CiKEAS Kecil, Peluang RI Menolong Hukuman TKI Di Malaysia
Refleksi : Malaysia adalah negeri tetangga NKRI, kalau dengan tetangga masalah TKI sulit diurus untuk diselesaikan sesuai norma-norma hukum perlindungan hukum buruh bagi TKI, maka tentu saja masalah serupa dengan negeri-negeri nan jauh di mata seperti di Timur Tengah menjadi masalah yang tidak mungkin untuk didapat perlindungan wajar bagi TKI. Hal yang menarik ialah sekalipun pada umumnya para pekerja Indonesia (TKI) beragama Islam, tetapi di negeri-negeri yang berazaskan agama Islam mereka mengalami banyak perlakuan diluar batas manusiawi beradab. Megapa demikian? Apakah warganega Indonesia (TKI) dianggap budak belian oleh penduduk di negeri-negeri tersebut? Bila demikian halnya bagaimana bisa diatasi? http://www.republika.co.id/berita/breaking-news/internasional/10/08/26/132045-kecil-peluang-ri-menolong-hukuman-tki-di-malaysia Kecil, Peluang RI Menolong Hukuman TKI Di Malaysia Kamis, 26 Agustus 2010, 17:39 WIB REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA--Pemberlakuan hukuman mati di dalam negeri akan sulit untuk memperjuangkan tenaga kerja Indonesia (TKI) sudah divonis hukuman mati oleh pengadilan Malaysia. Legalitas dan moralitas pembelaan pada TKI yang diancam pidana mati, sulit untuk dipersoalkan. Karena Indonesia masih memperlakukan hukuman mati, ujar Ketua Transparency International Indonesia Todung Mulya Lubis di gedung Kemenkum HAM, Jakarta, Kamis(26/8). Menurutnya akan sangat bertentangan dengan asas hak asasi manusia secara universal jika pemerintah memprotes hukuman mati yang dijatuhkan terhadap warga negaranya. Padahal, imbuh Todung,negara masih menganut hukuman mati bagi dalam proses hukumnya. Apakah pemerintah sudah maksimal memberikan pembelaan terhadap mereka. Kalau pemerintah sama sekali atau sedikit sekali memberikan atensi bantuan terhadap mereka, saya kira pemerintah telah mengabaikan kewajiban hukumnya terhadap warga negara, tambahnya. Red: Siwi Tri Puji B Rep: Indah Wulandari Berita terkait a.. Kedutaannya di Jakarta Dilempar Tinja, Menlu Malaysia Meradang b.. Menlu Tegaskan Tak Akan Tarik Dubes RI dari Malaysia c.. Anggota DPD Wayan Sudirta tak Setuju Hukuman Mati bagi Koruptor d.. PDIP Belum Berniat Galang Dukungan Interpelasi e.. Pemerintah Didesak Balas Travel Advisory Warning Malaysia
CiKEAS Tak Ada Pejabat Negara Masuk 'Daftar Kaya' Ditjen Pajak
Refleksi : Para pejabat negara Indonesia bukan orang-orang bodoh, mereka semua orang pintar, sebab kalau tidak pintar tidak bisa menjadi pejabat. Kepintaran mereka bisa dibagi dalam dua katagori besar yaitu, (a) pintar ilmu nan jujur dan (b) pintar menipu nan jahat. Pada umumnya katagori b yang mendominasi di semua lapangan dan tingkat jawatan negara, dan oleh sebab itu mereka tidak masuk daftar kaya. Bila masuk daftar tsb akan menyolok mata umum dan rakyat akan bertanya-tanya dari mana sumber mana mereka bisa peroleh kekayaan bertumpuk-tumpuk, maka oleh karena itu mereka tidak mereka daftarkan kekayaan sepenuhnya. Hal ini karena sistem hukum dan administrasi yang dibuat oleh mereka memungkinkan mereka bisa mengabaikan atau memanipulasi sistem yang diciptakan. Dengan jalan ini mereka bisa bermuka wakil rakyat dan terus bisa duduk pada kursi empuk kekuasaan selama hayat di kandung badan. http://us.detikfinance.com/read/2010/08/27/082640/1429064/4/tak-ada-pejabat-negara-masuk-daftar-kaya-ditjen-pajak Jumat, 27/08/2010 08:32 WIB Tak Ada Pejabat Negara Masuk 'Daftar Kaya' Ditjen Pajak Ramdhania El Hida - detikFinance Jakarta - Ternyata, pejabat negara Indonesia 'miskin-miskin'. Menurut, Dirjen Pajak Mochammad Tjiptardjo hingga saat ini tidak ada satu pun pejabat negara yang terdaftar dalam Kantor Pelayanan Pajak (KPP) Wajib Pajak Besar (High Wealth Individual-HWI). Para pejabat negara yang masih terdaftar dalam KPP Pratama ternyata bukan masuk kategori KPP HWI. Menurut Tjiptardjo, tidak ada pejabat negara yang memiliki kekayaan bruto hingga Rp 10 miliar berdasarkan syarat masuk KPP HWI. Kalau menurut data yang ada, nggak ada (yang terdaftar di KPP HWI), belum ada karena tersebar. Pejabat negara yang masuk HWI ya nggak diapa-apain dong karena memang pejabat negara itu tersebar di KPP-KPP, yang masuk HWI itu adalah siapa pun juga yang ketentuannya, kekayaannya berapa itu, Rp 10 miliar gitu lah, ujarnya saat ditemui di Kantornya, Jalan Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, Kamis (26/8/2010) malam. Tjiptardjo menyatakan untuk menarik pejabat negara yang memiliki kekayaan negara sampai Rp 10 miliar, tidaklah mudah karena harus ada bukti. Kayaknya nggak ada pejabat yang miliaran-miliaran, kecil-kecil. Kalau ada kita buat database dulu, kalau ada database ketemu. Kalau ada wartawan, miliaran masuk, pejabat miliaran, masuk. Siapa tau ada yang dapat warisan dari mertua. Kalau Anda punya data, Anda kasih sama saya. Tak masukin kesitu (HWI), kelakar Tjiptardjo. Jika sudah ada bukti harta kekayaan pejabat negara mencapai Rp 10 miliar, lanjut Tjiptardjo, pihaknya tidak akan segan untuk meminta para pejabat negara tersebut untuk memperbaiki SPT-nya dan masuk dalam KPP HWI. Kalau di mata hukum semuanya sama. Kalau ada buktinya, tata caranya saja. Ke depan kita tidak menggunakan kesewenang-wenangan, tidak menggunakan power, kalau ada data kita approach. Pak, ibu, Pak Lurah, Camat, Wapres, Pres, Pak Menteri, ini ada data begini-begini, SPT Anda begini, mau dibetulkan gngak? ujarnya. Tjiptardjo menyatakan untuk mendapatkan informasi, pihaknya tidak menutup kemungkinan bekerjasama dengan Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) maupun pihak lain. Dengan info tersebut, pihaknya akan mempelajari sehingga bisa dimulai suatu penindakan. Boleh dari, info, data, laporan, dan pengaduan itu yang kita pelajari. Contoh misalnya ada suatu grup politik sudah diimbau, ada data, you sunset policy ya, hitung-hitung, dia bilang 'saya janji perbaiki'. Kalau you nggak betulin lagi, kita akan periksa. Waktunya lewat, kita masuk. Jadi kasian orang pajak, sudah dihantam Gayus, tax ratio dinaikkan, keluhnya. (nia/qom)
CiKEAS Baru 22 BUMN Pejabatnya Lapor Harta Kekayaan ke KPK
http://us.detikfinance.com/read/2010/08/28/16/1430016/4/baru-22-bumn-pejabatnya-lapor-harta-kekayaan-ke-kpk Sabtu, 28/08/2010 12:22 WIB Baru 22 BUMN Pejabatnya Lapor Harta Kekayaan ke KPK Angga Aliya - detikFinance Jakarta - Tingkat kepatuhan pejabat Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) dalam menyampaikan Laporan Harta Kekayaan Pejabat Negara (LHKPN) mulai menanjak. Meski jumlahnya terus bertambah, namun hingga 17 Agustus lalu baru 22 BUMN yang seluruh pejabat di dalamnya menyampaikan LHKPN kepada Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK). Yang sudah 100 persen pejabatnya sampaikan LHKPN ada 22 BUMN dari total BUMN 141 perusahaan, kata Sekretaris Kementerian BUMN, M Said Didu di Jakarta, Jumat (27/8/2010) malam. Berdasarkan data LHKPN yang diberikan KPK kepada Kementerian BUMN, 22 BUMN yang seluruh pejabatnya sudah menyampaikan LHKPN diantaranya, Perum Peruri, PT Jasindo, PT Jasa Raharja, PT Adhi Karya Tbk, PT Wijaya Karya Tbk, PT Pembangunan Perumahan (PP), PT Industri KA (INKA), Inhutani III dan IV, PT Pelindo dan lainnya. BUMN karya yang masuk di bursa (Adhi Karya, Wijaya Karya, PP) itu sudah bagus, sudah 100 persen pejabatnya sampaikan LHKPN, ujarnya. Menurut Said, rata-rata dari pejabat BUMN itu belum menyampaikan formulir B, namun sebagian juga bahkan ada yang belum menyampaikan formulir A. Formulir B merupakan formulir laporan yang harus diisi setiap 2 tahun sekali atau saat pindah jabatan, sementara formulir A merupakan formulir utama yang harus diisi begitu menjabat sebagai pejabat BUMN. Pejabat BUMN yang dimaksud adalah anggota Dewan Komisaris termasuk Komisaris utama dan jajaran Direksi perusahaan pelat merah serta direksi dan komisaris anak usahanya. Hingga saat ini, total pejabat BUMN mencapai 6.453 orang, yang sudah melapor ke KPK sebanyak 5.550 orang atau setara dengan 86 persen dari total. Dalam data LHKPN itu juga terdapat beberapa BUMN yang masih rendah tingkat pelaporannya, beberapa diantaranya merupakan perusahaan publik yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Perusahaan negara yang pejabatnya masih rendah menyampaikan LHKPN diantaranya, PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk baru 34,96 persen, PT Garuda Indonesia baru 40,63 persen, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara baru 35,53 persen dan lainnya. (ang/dru)
CiKEAS Malaysia Tak Minta Maaf dan Tak Minta RI Minta Maaf
Refleksi : Jangan berlagak hangat-hangat taik ayam. Sabar subur! Sekarang tidak minta maaf tidak apa-apa, sebentar lagi datang hari minta maaf lahir bathin, jadi ada bahan untuk saling minta dimaaf-maafkan. http://us.detiknews.com/read/2010/08/27/085145/1429078/10/malaysia-tak-minta-maaf-dan-tak-minta-ri-minta-maaf Jumat, 27/08/2010 08:51 WIB Malaysia Tak Minta Maaf dan Tak Minta RI Minta Maaf Ramadhian Fadillah - detikNews Putrajaya - Pemerintah Malaysia tidak akan meminta maaf atas perlakuan mereka memborgol 3 petugas Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan RI. Sebaliknya, Malaysia juga tidak akan meminta Indonesia meminta maaf atas pembakaran bendera Malaysia dan pelemparan tinja di depan Kedubes Malaysia yang dilakukan oleh LSM Bendera. Saya merasa tidak perlu meminta maaf jika petugas tersebut diborgol. Saat seseorang berada di Malaysia, maka dia harus mengikuti hukum kita, ujar Menlu Malaysia Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, saat menerima kunjungan 34 duta belia dari Indonesia seperti ditulis thestaronline.com, Jumat (27/8/2010). Anifah pun merasa Indonesia tidak perlu meminta maaf atas aksi Bendera di Kedubes Malaysia. Dia yakin perbuatan itu pun tidak didukung oleh pemerintah Indonesia maupun sebagian besar masyarakat Indonesia. Anifah menambahkan, dalam rapat kabinet, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak kecewa mendengar kabar tersebut. Namun Najib memerintahkan agar warga Malaysia menahan diri dan tidak melakukan tindakan yang sama pada Kedutaan Indonesia. Masyarakat Malaysia itu rasional. Kami meminta agar semua tenang, agar masalah ini bisa diselesaikan dengan damai, tambahnya. Anifah pun meminta agar pemerintah Indonesia menyelesaikan permasalah ini agar tidak terulang lagi. Dia pun meminta media Indonesia agar tidak mengompori permasalahan ini. (rdf/nrl)
CiKEAS Malaysia Tak Minta Maaf dan Tak Minta RI Minta Maaf
Refleksi : Jangan berlagak hangat-hangat taik ayam. Sabar subur! Sekarang tidak minta maaf tidak apa-apa, sebentar lagi akan datang hari minta maaf lahir bathin, jadi ada bahan untuk saling minta dimaaf-maafkan. http://us.detiknews.com/read/2010/08/27/085145/1429078/10/malaysia-tak-minta-maaf-dan-tak-minta-ri-minta-maaf Jumat, 27/08/2010 08:51 WIB Malaysia Tak Minta Maaf dan Tak Minta RI Minta Maaf Ramadhian Fadillah - detikNews Putrajaya - Pemerintah Malaysia tidak akan meminta maaf atas perlakuan mereka memborgol 3 petugas Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan RI. Sebaliknya, Malaysia juga tidak akan meminta Indonesia meminta maaf atas pembakaran bendera Malaysia dan pelemparan tinja di depan Kedubes Malaysia yang dilakukan oleh LSM Bendera. Saya merasa tidak perlu meminta maaf jika petugas tersebut diborgol. Saat seseorang berada di Malaysia, maka dia harus mengikuti hukum kita, ujar Menlu Malaysia Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, saat menerima kunjungan 34 duta belia dari Indonesia seperti ditulis thestaronline.com, Jumat (27/8/2010). Anifah pun merasa Indonesia tidak perlu meminta maaf atas aksi Bendera di Kedubes Malaysia. Dia yakin perbuatan itu pun tidak didukung oleh pemerintah Indonesia maupun sebagian besar masyarakat Indonesia. Anifah menambahkan, dalam rapat kabinet, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak kecewa mendengar kabar tersebut. Namun Najib memerintahkan agar warga Malaysia menahan diri dan tidak melakukan tindakan yang sama pada Kedutaan Indonesia. Masyarakat Malaysia itu rasional. Kami meminta agar semua tenang, agar masalah ini bisa diselesaikan dengan damai, tambahnya. Anifah pun meminta agar pemerintah Indonesia menyelesaikan permasalah ini agar tidak terulang lagi. Dia pun meminta media Indonesia agar tidak mengompori permasalahan ini. (rdf/nrl)
CiKEAS Menakertrans: Jangan Kaitkan TKI dengan Polemik Negara
Refleksi : Apakah masalah TKI tidak terkait politik politik penempatan tenaga kerja rezim SBY dan untuk dikirim ke Malaysia? http://www.antaranews.com/berita/1282994118/menakertrans-jangan-kaitkan-tki-dengan-polemik-negara Menakertrans: Jangan Kaitkan TKI dengan Polemik Negara Sabtu, 28 Agustus 2010 18:15 WIB | Peristiwa | Politik/Hankam | Pontianak (ANTARA News) - Menteri Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi (Menakertrans) Muhaimin Iskandar mengimbau Pemerintah Malaysia tidak mengaitkan konfrontasi antara Malaysia dan Indonesia dengan keberadaan TKI di negara itu. Menurut Muhaimin, beberapa kasus ketegangan antara RI dan Malaysia, baik antara petugas KKP dengan Polisi Diraja Malaysia, maupun kasus demonstrasi Kedubes Malaysia di Jakarta merupakan persoalan terpisah. Jangan dikait-kaitkan dengan keberadaan TKI di sana. Ini kita tekankan baik kepada pemerintah Indonesia maupun Malaysia, katanya di Pontianak, Sabtu. Jika sampai hal itu dikait-kaitkan, maka akan banyak TKI yang berada di Malaysia terkena imbas dari permasalahan yang seharusnya bukan menjadi domain mereka. Permasalahan ini sedang diselesaikan oleh Kementerian Luar Negeri. Jadi, untuk sementara ini, biarkan dulu proses ini berlanjut. Karena kalau kita langsung mengambil tindakan, jelas bisa mempengaruhi banyak hal, tuturnya. Sementara itu, Wakil Gubernur Kalbar Cristiandy Sanjaya menuturkan pemerintah daerah akan mengikuti semua kebijakan luar negeri yang diambil oleh pemerintah pusat. Meski Kalimantan Barat menjadi provinsi terdekat dengan Malaysia, tapi untuk ketegangan yang terjadi antarnegara, maka Pemprov Kalbar masih belum bisa mengambil kebijakan apapun, katanya. Hal ini karena Gubernur dan wakilnya merupakan kepanjangan tangan dari pemerintah pusat, sehingga apapun keputusan yang diambil oleh pemerintah pusat akan dilaksanakan Pemprov Kalbar. Mengenai aksi demo yang dilakukan masyarakat terhadap Kedubes Malaysia di Jakarta, Cristiandy menilai hal tersebut masih dalam batas yang wajar. Itu merupakan salah satu ekspresi dari masyarakat yang merasa harga diri bangsanya dilecehkan oleh negara lain. Saya yakin, masyarakat Malaysia pasti juga melakukan hal serupa jika posisinya sama seperti kita, katanya. Dia tidak menampik permasalahan ini akan memberikan imbas dan dirasakan langsung para TKI yang berada di Malaysia atau pemerintah Malaysia mengambil kebijakan untuk menyarankan warga negaranya tidak ke Indonesia, namun pemerintah Indonesia bisa menarik para TKI dan staf kedutaan yang bekerja di sana. Jika sampai hal ini terjadi, memang para TKI akan kehilangan pekerjaan, namun bukan berarti pemerintah Malaysia bisa tenang kalau sampai TKI ini ditarik. Bisa dipastikan, berbagai sektor pekerjaan di Malaysia akan terhambat karena ketiadaan tenaga kerja, katanya. Ia menambahkan banyaknya TKI yang bekerja di Malaysia juga karena kebutuhan negara tersebut. Kalau mereka tidak butuh TKI kita, tentu tidak mungkin banyak warga kita yang bekerja di sana. Ini juga yang harus dipikirkan oleh pemerintah Malaysia, kata Cristiandy.
CiKEAS Menakertrans: Jangan Kaitkan TKI dengan Polemik Negara (RALAT)
Refleksi : Apakah masalah TKI tidak terkait politik penempatan tenaga kerja rezim SBY untuk mereka dikirim ke Malaysia? http://www.antaranews.com/berita/1282994118/menakertrans-jangan-kaitkan-tki-dengan-polemik-negara Menakertrans: Jangan Kaitkan TKI dengan Polemik Negara Sabtu, 28 Agustus 2010 18:15 WIB | Peristiwa | Politik/Hankam | Pontianak (ANTARA News) - Menteri Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi (Menakertrans) Muhaimin Iskandar mengimbau Pemerintah Malaysia tidak mengaitkan konfrontasi antara Malaysia dan Indonesia dengan keberadaan TKI di negara itu. Menurut Muhaimin, beberapa kasus ketegangan antara RI dan Malaysia, baik antara petugas KKP dengan Polisi Diraja Malaysia, maupun kasus demonstrasi Kedubes Malaysia di Jakarta merupakan persoalan terpisah. Jangan dikait-kaitkan dengan keberadaan TKI di sana. Ini kita tekankan baik kepada pemerintah Indonesia maupun Malaysia, katanya di Pontianak, Sabtu. Jika sampai hal itu dikait-kaitkan, maka akan banyak TKI yang berada di Malaysia terkena imbas dari permasalahan yang seharusnya bukan menjadi domain mereka. Permasalahan ini sedang diselesaikan oleh Kementerian Luar Negeri. Jadi, untuk sementara ini, biarkan dulu proses ini berlanjut. Karena kalau kita langsung mengambil tindakan, jelas bisa mempengaruhi banyak hal, tuturnya. Sementara itu, Wakil Gubernur Kalbar Cristiandy Sanjaya menuturkan pemerintah daerah akan mengikuti semua kebijakan luar negeri yang diambil oleh pemerintah pusat. Meski Kalimantan Barat menjadi provinsi terdekat dengan Malaysia, tapi untuk ketegangan yang terjadi antarnegara, maka Pemprov Kalbar masih belum bisa mengambil kebijakan apapun, katanya. Hal ini karena Gubernur dan wakilnya merupakan kepanjangan tangan dari pemerintah pusat, sehingga apapun keputusan yang diambil oleh pemerintah pusat akan dilaksanakan Pemprov Kalbar. Mengenai aksi demo yang dilakukan masyarakat terhadap Kedubes Malaysia di Jakarta, Cristiandy menilai hal tersebut masih dalam batas yang wajar. Itu merupakan salah satu ekspresi dari masyarakat yang merasa harga diri bangsanya dilecehkan oleh negara lain. Saya yakin, masyarakat Malaysia pasti juga melakukan hal serupa jika posisinya sama seperti kita, katanya. Dia tidak menampik permasalahan ini akan memberikan imbas dan dirasakan langsung para TKI yang berada di Malaysia atau pemerintah Malaysia mengambil kebijakan untuk menyarankan warga negaranya tidak ke Indonesia, namun pemerintah Indonesia bisa menarik para TKI dan staf kedutaan yang bekerja di sana. Jika sampai hal ini terjadi, memang para TKI akan kehilangan pekerjaan, namun bukan berarti pemerintah Malaysia bisa tenang kalau sampai TKI ini ditarik. Bisa dipastikan, berbagai sektor pekerjaan di Malaysia akan terhambat karena ketiadaan tenaga kerja, katanya. Ia menambahkan banyaknya TKI yang bekerja di Malaysia juga karena kebutuhan negara tersebut. Kalau mereka tidak butuh TKI kita, tentu tidak mungkin banyak warga kita yang bekerja di sana. Ini juga yang harus dipikirkan oleh pemerintah Malaysia, kata Cristiandy.
CiKEAS Hiring a maid getting costlier
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article116200.ece;jsessionid=CCBF77C0179D8F36C12D13606194BD16?comment=submittedpostingId=117370 Hiring a maid getting costlier By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS Hiring a maid getting costlier Published: Aug 27, 2010 23:47 Updated: Aug 27, 2010 23:47 Labor recruiters charging exorbitant amounts for providing domestic help RIYADH: Despite rules set by the National Recruitment Committee, labor recruiters are still charging more than they should for domestic helpers. The prices for maids are set by the committee based on nationality: SR6,000 for Indonesians and SR5,500 for Sri Lankans. Indonesians and Sri Lankans make up 80 to 90 percent of legal domestic helpers and the different prices reflect differing wage requirements set by the governments of those countries. These new, lower prices were set by the National Recruitment Committee to take effect next month after complaints were made that prices were too high: SR7,500 for Indonesians and SR8,500 for Sri Lankans. These costs are what the recruiters charge to provide a legal domestic servant, but they do not always include additional fees such as the administrative costs of acquiring the work visa. But even as the new set prices are soon to take effect, the cost of hiring a domestic helper is higher than even the current set prices: as much as SR8,200 for an Indonesian and SR9,000 for a Sri Lankan. In additions to these costs and the worker's salary, employers of domestic help also provide a round-trip plane ticket every two years for home visits and cover the final-exit travel expenses at the end of the work contract. According to National Recruitment Committee Director Saad Al-Badah, recruiting offices that do not abide by the new set prices will be subjected to losing their licenses to recruit labor. However, these regulations mean nothing to the booming market for re-recruitment by labor brokers who acquire foreign maids locally who have been let go by their first employers and released to work elsewhere. The peak season for re-recruiters is during Ramadan, when demand for temporary domestic help spikes as families become swamped with hungry visiting relatives and friends. Al-Badah points out that re-recruiters are not legitimate businesses and therefore do not fall under his committee's jurisdiction. Some offices who rely on help that has been released by their sponsors to work elsewhere are not authorized by the Ministry of Labor and are not our responsibility, said Al-Badah. Ironically, the cost of hiring a foreign domestic servant locally is about the same as the cost of bringing in a worker from thousands of kilometers away. Riyadh resident Najla said she was asking SR16,000 to release her driver and maid locally because after waiting four months for the couple to arrive she discovered the driver wasn't familiar with the city and didn't know the streets. When she complained to the local recruiter that she had specifically requested a driver who knew his way around Riyadh, the recruiter said he would take the couple back but would only reimburse her SR10,000. I was not happy with this answer so I called the office myself claiming that I was looking for a couple, and to my surprise they told me they do have a couple for the price of SR21,000, she said. Some sponsors have also created an illegal side business of renting out domestic helpers under their sponsorship, earning up to SR3,500 during the month of Ramadan. In 2004 members of the Shoura Council petitioned to lower the cost of work visas and to establish a process by which families could legally hire temporary domestic helpers. Al-Badah said both proposals have languished since.
CiKEAS UN urges Iran to tackle racism
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article116249.ece UN urges Iran to tackle racism An Iranian Shi'ite cleric delivers a sermon before a mass prayer ceremony during the month of Ramadan at a mosque in northern Tehran on Friday. United Nations officials have asked Iran to do more to address tackled racism. (Reuters) By REUTERS Published: Aug 27, 2010 23:39 Updated: Aug 28, 2010 01:07 GENEVA: Iran should do more to protect its ethnic minorities such as Arabs, Kurds and Baluch, a United Nations human rights body said on Friday. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), a group of 18 independent rights experts, said Iran lacked data on the numbers of ethnic minorities despite a census in 2007, but the participation of such people in public life appeared to be lower than could be expected. Several armed groups opposed to the government are active in Iran, mostly made up of ethnic Kurds in the northwest, Baluch in the southeast and Arabs in the southwest. The Committee expresses concern at the limited enjoyment of political, economic, social and cultural rights by... Arab, Azeri, Balochi, Kurdish communities and some communities of non-citizens, it said in a report on a regular review of Iran's compliance with a 1969 international treaty banning racism. The Committee also found discrimination is rampant against Baha'is - a minority whose faith the Shiite govt considers a heretical offshoot of Islam - committee member Dilip Lahiri said. It also urged Iran to continue its efforts to empower women and promote their rights, paying particular attention to women belonging to ethnic minorities. Some tenets of Islamic Shariah disadvantage Iranian women, Lahiri said. On the other hand, in terms of their education and access to jobs, very remarkable progress has been made in Iran, he told a briefing. The committee voiced concern at reports of a selection procedure for state officials and employees, known as gozinesh, requiring them to demonstrate allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the state religion, which could limit opportunities for ethnic and religious minorities. It said that lack of complaints was not proof of the absence of racial discrimination, as victims may not have confidence in the police or judicial authorities to handle them. It called on Iran to set up an independent national human rights institution and report back to it at the start of 2013 on how it was dealing with the concerns and recommendations.
CiKEAS Lack of 'moral courage' in Indonesia
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LH28Ae01.html Aug 28, 2010 Lack of 'moral courage' in Indonesia By Gary LaMoshi DENPASAR, Bali - Six years ago, academic Greg Barton understood why Indonesian moderates were reluctant to clash with the country's radical Islamist minority. Then, Barton contended that the public relations savvy of Muslim extremists combined with ambiguous election results, varied platforms of so-called Islamic parties, and political coalition-building made it difficult for moderates to challenge them effectively. With the objective data painting such a complex picture, is it any wonder that it has elicited such a confused response? the author of Indonesia's Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and the Soul of Islam he said. (See A mainstream embrace for extremism, Asia Times, December 11, 2004). Now, Barton has a simpler answer for the failure of Indonesia's leadership to confront radicals: a lack of moral courage that starts at the very top of the government. Herb Feith Research Professor for the study of Indonesia at Melbourne's Monash University, Barton's authorized biography of Indonesia's first post-reform president Abdurrahman Wahid won him notice beyond academic circles in Australia and Indonesia. His next book, Islam's Other Nation: Faith in a Democratic Indonesia, is due out next year. A former faculty member at the Pentagon's Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii, where he remains an adjunct, Barton also currently serves as director of the Center for Islam and the Modern World and deputy United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations-Asia Pacific at Monash. His next project is to examine progressive Islam and social currents in Indonesia and another pivotal secular Muslim majority nation, Turkey. He spoke to Asia Times Online while visiting Indonesia as a member of the inaugural Presidential Friends of Indonesia study program that brought academics from 15 countries to Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Interview excerpts follow: Asia Times Online: Since we last talked six years ago - to paraphrase your book's title - who's winning the struggle for the soul of Islam in Indonesia? Under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are things moving in a positive direction, negative direction, or sideways? Greg Barton: In general, things are moving in a positive direction. There's a moderate mainstream center that's holding. There's an equilibrium, but it's a dynamic equilibrium. We're going to see a constant state of contestation. There's going to be a struggle between groups to see who controls the middle. ATOL: What are signs to watch for indicating which side is winning? GB: If we saw progressive groups being inhibited, that would change the dynamic. ATOL: What would indicate that progressives are being sidelined? GB: The anti-pornography law that was passed over objections from non-Muslims is one example. There's also a proposed anti-blasphemy law. In Pakistan, the anti-blasphemy law has been used in a pernicious, cynical fashion. These laws can be used to stir up a mass reaction. Indonesian activists look north at Malaysia, which has laws against conversion from Islam and apostasy. Malaysia has religious police going around during Ramadan enforcing the fast. It has religious courts that take precedence over civil courts for Muslims. That's the sort of thing that worries Indonesian moderates. Indonesia isn't going to become a Muslim state like Iran. ATOL: Is the trend toward Islamization growing in Indonesia? GB: If you look at the elections, PKS [Prosperous Justice Party] got 9% of the vote. The preeminent radical Muslim party hit a glass ceiling. When it comes to hard choices, people don't choose radicalism. However, a large portion of society is sympathetic toward some of the radicals' positions. A majority of Indonesian Muslims support banning Amadiyah [a breakaway Muslim sect]. Because of that support, the government is reluctant to crack down on FPI [the Islamic Defenders Front that uses violence against its targets in the name of Islam]. If the government had the moral courage to stand up to these guys, it wouldn't face a broad backlash, in my opinion. These groups have very limited support - less than 10%. ATOL: So why doesn't the government stand up to them? What is behind that reluctance? GB: I believe it's a lack of moral courage. The president is a decent man, but not courageous politically. Also, his cabinet includes members of Islamic parties, and his governing coalition is dependent on PKS and it manages to wield its influence in disproportion to its numbers. If he [Yudhoyono] did speak up, he'd find society on his side. It's not just the president - police and local politicians are also reluctant to act against radicals. The problem is not unique to Indonesia. Look at the issue of gun control in the US.
CiKEAS Chemical Ali Criticizes Iraqi Baathist Leadership from Beyond the Grave
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3id=22120 Chemical Ali Criticizes Iraqi Baathist Leadership from Beyond the Grave 28/08/2010 By Saad Jarous Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat has obtained an audio message recorded by a man claiming to be Ali Hassan al-Majid - who was better known as Chemical Ali - addressed to his son, Hassan al-Majid. This message was recorded on 12/12/2009, less than two months before al-Majid's execution. In this recording, al-Majid, who in addition to being Saddam Hussein's first cousin, served as his Defense Minister, Interior Minister, and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Services, criticized the Iraqi Baathist party leadership, describing it as being disastrous and also accused Iraqi leadership figures of being unqualified to being ruling leaders or members of the leadership. He also revealed that the vast majority of them [leadership figures] would lie to themselves, their party, their people, and their leader. He also described a number of Baathist leadership figures as being cowards, whether this was during their interrogations or trial. The audio message begins with al-Majid addressing my son and companion Hassan al-Majid. He then went on to say on to say that personally, even if we can go back in time and the [Baathist] party returns, I would not return to work in the leadership of the party because it is a disastrous leadership.and I, comrade Hassan al-Majid, personally believe what I say, and I am not qualified to be a member of the disastrous leadership that I described. Mohamed al-Dulaimi, a senior member of the now outlawed Baathist party, said that he considered this recording to be the second awakening of consciousness made by a prominent member of Iraq's former leadership and [member of] the former Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council, Ali Hassan al-Majid. When asked about the first awakening of consciousness made by a former member of the Iraqi regime, al-Dulaimi said that this was the message by Taha Yassin Ramadan to Mohamed Younis al-Ahmed that was also previously published by Asharq Al-Awsat. In the recording attributed to Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was given the nickname Chemical Ali following the 1988 Halabja Poison Gas Attacks that he commanded, he says I was asked over the phone about what I said in front of Judge [Mohammed] al-Oraibi [al-Khalifa], the Judge of the Halabja trial, and what I said is recorded and it can be obtained from the court's archive of the trial, and the later hearing that was held to record the last words of those accused of the Halabja [Poison Gas Attack] case. On this recording, al-Majid denied that he and those who were tried with him were responsible for ordering the chemical attack on Halabja, saying I said that all of those present in the dock [with me] were not responsible for the attack on Halabja with chemical weapons or others, and that includes me personally. Even if we can go back in time and the [Baathist] party returns, I would not return to work in the leadership of the party because it is a disastrous leadership. This is what I said, and I personally, comrade [Ali] Hassan al-Majid, believe this. In the audio recording, al-Majid went on to say that following his experience with the Baathist leadership, he could say that there is a not insignificant group of them who are unqualified to being ruling leaders or members of the leadership. He also revealed that he did not have the opportunity to communicate with the [Baathist] party following the [US] occupation until today [date of the recording] and that he had no choice but to criticize this leadership which he himself was a member of. He also revealed that the vast majority of them [the Baathist leadership] would lie to themselves, their party, their people, and their leader and he described a not insubstantial number of them as being cowards whether this was during their interrogation or trial. Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was better known as Chemical Ali, was executed on 25 January 2010 by hanging, after being convicted of genocide by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal. Baathist senior member Mohamed al-Dulaimi revealed this document as part of an effort to unite the party through revealing facts and organizing in all transparency, nationalism, and affiliation. Al-Dulaimi added that the ultimate goal of Iraqi Baathists today is to leave the final choice to the people through the ballot box.under Arab supervision firstly, and international [supervision] secondly. He also called on the former Baathists to atone for their mistakes, be honest with the people, apologize for their mistakes, and return all the money they might have used their position to steal. He also called for the abolishment of the concept of Debaathification [i.e. the outlawing of the Baathist party].
CiKEAS 7-month-old baby has period
http://www.dailychilli.com/news/5948-seven-month-old-baby-has-menstruation 7-month-old baby has period Yuanyuan and her father A seven-month-old baby in China is believed to be the youngest to have started menstruation. The baby - nicknamed Yuanyuan - from Changchun city in Jilin province, has already had her period twice since last month. Her family has blamed it to the milk powder the girl has been consuming since her birth. However, the authorities have already cleared the company, which was accused of producing products causing early puberty in babies. Yuanyuan's mother found traces of blood on July 8, and the condition lasted for almost a week. The baby's next 'period' came on Aug 13, and also lasted for about a week. At that time, the contaminated milk powder issue was widely discussed. So I immediately stopped feeding her with the brand, said Yuanyuan's father. He brought Yuanyuan to the hospital but doctors could not diagnose the actual cause for her condition. A medical report showed that the baby's was healthy, except that her estrogen (sex hormone) level was slightly higher than a normal baby. Yuanyuan's father said the medical check was conducted two weeks after they stopped feeding the baby with the milk. The Jilin Health Department has arranged for Yuanyuan to undergo another health check at The First Hospital of Jilin University. Source: City Evening News, China Links: Milk powder did not cause breast growth Milk powder causes baby to develop breasts Toxic milk found (again)
CiKEAS Humanity must preserve itself in order to live for thousands of years
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/cuba-i/27agosto-Humanity.html Havana. August 27, 2010 Humanity must preserve itself in order to live for thousands of years (Taken from CubaDebate) Humanity must preserve itself in order to live for thousands of years, Fidel responded to Russian writer Daniel Estulin, author of the Bilderberg Club trilogy, who is visiting Havana. He stated that in relation to the visitor's belief that in order to solve many of its problems, humanity will have to emigrate to other planets. Fidel emphatically affirmed that however enthusiastic we might feel about survival in other spaces within the solar system, it is better for us not to lose what we have on Earth, because that is the only way not to lose everything that lies beyond this planet. With great difficulty, human beings have landed on the moon, an inhospitable satellite. Beyond that lie Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Venus and the other planets, which basically equate to dust clouds, incandescent ovens or ice. The conversation between the leader of the Revolution and the writer was a profound, fascinating dialogue that lasted more than 90 minutes, every one of which was of surprising intensity. THE SURVIVAL OF THE HUMAN RACE The obligation of all human beings is to ensure the survival of the entire human race. The Bilderberg Club wants to exclusively ensure the survival of its own species, an authentic minority, affirmed Daniel Estulin after the formal introductions. You wrote very beautiful things about your grandfather, Fidel remarked. I loved my grandfather very much. He was a very special man. He was a well-known doctor, a surgeon, in Lithuania. My grandfather was from Crimea and during World War II, on just one day, the Nazis killed 11 of his siblings, as well as his mother, his father and his 104-year old grandfather. Imagine coming from a large family and the very next day, being left an orphan. He lived through World War I, the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Civil War and World War II. At some point, in the chaos of the war, he lost track of his family. His wife and three children - aged eight, five and three years old - were captured by the Nazis, sent to a concentration camp and exterminated, he recalled. Estulin explained in detail to Fidel the history of his family, who emigrated to Canada in 1980 - it was there that he and his grandfather were reunited - of his pilgrimage through various countries of the world, and of his Sevillian wife. He has lived in Spain for the last 17 years. Although he was born in Lithuania, he is Russian, as is his mother tongue. The Comandante was impressed with how fluently Estulin spoke Spanish. I write in English for convenience, because most editors speak that language. My books have been published in more than 50 countries. I've been told that you read in English. In Spanish with difficulty. Fidel replied jokingly. But he does read many original English language texts translated into Spanish. One example he gave was Lincoln: A biography by U.S. writer Gore Vidal. It is incredible how one man can reconstruct the whole atmosphere of that time and compare it to what is happening today. MILITARY BASES IN LATIN AMERICA They're at war with Chávez because, against all odds, Venezuela is still one of the few countries in the world where there are no U.S. military bases. And they hate Cuba for the same reason: its independence. In Cuba, they cannot destroy the concept of 'nation-state', in my opinion the most important concept of the last 600 years, affirmed Estulin. You left out Ecuador, which had a base in Manta for 10 years and they succeeded in removing it. There are bases in many other countries. Within a matter of hours, they can place troops in any nation, Fidel observed. As if they were branches of McDonalds, said Estulin, ironically. With respect to direct bases, they have Guantánamo, they have the Malvinas.And in the other countries, they might seem not to have them but in reality they do. They engage in practices and exercises. They don't have any in Venezuela. Colombia is a country converted into a base. They have them in Honduras. They don't have them in Costa Rica but they do have 40 vessels there, included aircraft carriers, 'nobly' helping in the war on drugs. It's completely cynical. added Fidel. For Estulin, the upcoming elections in Venezuela are crucial. It is not a case of two ideologically exclusive tendencies facing each other at the polls. Sources linked to the U.S. State Department have confirmed that - after the demonizing of Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian process - there is a plan to install military bases in that country, which will not be possible with the sovereign and Latin Americanist policies of the Venezuelan leader. The conversation continued on this subject and the challenges facing the new National Assembly that will emerge from the elections on September 26, which will see the return
CiKEAS Presiden: Lindungi Kelompok Minoritas (RALAT)
Refleksi : Bagus sekali presiden lindungi kelompok minoritas. Bagi yang tidak tahu kelompok minoritas yang dimaksudkan itu yang mana saja, dapat diberitahukan bahwa kelompok minoritas yang dilindungi presiden adalah FPI, MMI, JI, Laskar Jihad Sunnah Wal Jamaah, disamping kelompok-kelompok ini, tentu sekali juga koruptor kelas kakap dilindungi. Ayo, ayo, mari ramai-ramai puji presiden seperti yang dijalankan oleh Bapak Ruhut kepada presiden SBY agar tetap didukung kepercayaan rakyat. http://www1.kompas.com/read/xml/2010/08/26/23020859/presiden.lindungi.kelompok.minoritas Presiden: Lindungi Kelompok Minoritas RUMGAPRES/ABROR RIZKI Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Kamis, 26 Agustus 2010 | 23:02 WIB JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meminta seluruh warga negara untuk melindungi kelompok minoritas untuk membangun kehidupan berbangsa berdasar kerukunan antarumat beragama dan kerukunan sosial. Mari kita lindungi dan ayomi kelompok- kelompok minoritas, baik dari segi keagamaan maupun identitas sosial lainnya. Mari kita bangun kehidupan berbangsa dan bernegara, yang dilandasi kokohnya kerukunan antarumat beragama, kata Presiden saat memberikan sambutan dalam peringatan Nuzulul Quran Tahun 1431 Hijriyah di Istana Negara, Jakarta, Kamis (26/8/2010) malam. Presiden Yudhoyono menegaskan, setiap individu di Indonesia memiliki kemerdekaan untuk menjalankan agama dan kepercayaan. Oleh karena itu, tidak boleh ada satu pihak yang memaksakan kehendak kepada pihak lain. Apalagi dengan cara kekerasan, kata Presiden. Kepada seluruh warga negara, Presiden meminta kerja sama untuk menciptakan kehidupan keagamaan yang teduh dan damai, serta kehidupan keagamaan yang mengedepankan kebersamaan, daripada memperuncing perbedaan. Untuk itu, Kepala Negara meminta semua warga negara untuk tidak selalu melihat atau mencari kesalahan pihak lain. Jika kita selalu melihat orang lain dari keburukannya, kapan kita melihat kebaikan orang itu, yang diri kita pun belum tentu punya, kata Presiden. 67514.gifemot_play_002.jpg2217044p.jpg
CiKEAS Presiden: Lindungi Kelompok Minoritas
Refleksi : Bagus sekali presiden lindungi kelompok minoritas. Bagi yang tidak tahu kelompok minoritas yang dimaksudkan itu yang mana saja, dapat diberitahukan bahwa kelompok minoritas yang dilindungi presiden adalah FPI, MMI, JI, Laskar Jihad Sunnah Wal Jamaah, disamping kelompok-kelompok ini, tentu sekali juga koruptor kelas kakap dilindungi. Ayo, ayo, mari ramai-ramai puji dan presiden seperti yang dijalankan oleh Bapak Ruhut, untuk tetap dukung kepercayaan rakyat kepada presiden SBY. http://www1.kompas.com/read/xml/2010/08/26/23020859/presiden.lindungi.kelompok.minoritas Presiden: Lindungi Kelompok Minoritas RUMGAPRES/ABROR RIZKI Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Kamis, 26 Agustus 2010 | 23:02 WIB JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meminta seluruh warga negara untuk melindungi kelompok minoritas untuk membangun kehidupan berbangsa berdasar kerukunan antarumat beragama dan kerukunan sosial. Mari kita lindungi dan ayomi kelompok- kelompok minoritas, baik dari segi keagamaan maupun identitas sosial lainnya. Mari kita bangun kehidupan berbangsa dan bernegara, yang dilandasi kokohnya kerukunan antarumat beragama, kata Presiden saat memberikan sambutan dalam peringatan Nuzulul Quran Tahun 1431 Hijriyah di Istana Negara, Jakarta, Kamis (26/8/2010) malam. Presiden Yudhoyono menegaskan, setiap individu di Indonesia memiliki kemerdekaan untuk menjalankan agama dan kepercayaan. Oleh karena itu, tidak boleh ada satu pihak yang memaksakan kehendak kepada pihak lain. Apalagi dengan cara kekerasan, kata Presiden. Kepada seluruh warga negara, Presiden meminta kerja sama untuk menciptakan kehidupan keagamaan yang teduh dan damai, serta kehidupan keagamaan yang mengedepankan kebersamaan, daripada memperuncing perbedaan. Untuk itu, Kepala Negara meminta semua warga negara untuk tidak selalu melihat atau mencari kesalahan pihak lain. Jika kita selalu melihat orang lain dari keburukannya, kapan kita melihat kebaikan orang itu, yang diri kita pun belum tentu punya, kata Presiden. 67514.gifemot_play_002.jpg2217044p.jpg
CiKEAS Nails removed from 'tortured' Sri Lankan maid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11109726 27 August 2010 Last updated at 10:18 GMT Nails removed from 'tortured' Sri Lankan maid Ms Ariyawathie (left) was deeply traumatised, doctors said Doctors have removed 13 nails and five needles from a Sri Lankan housemaid who said her employer in Saudi Arabia hammered them into her body. LP Ariyawathie, 49, told staff at Kamburupitiya Hospital her employer inflicted the injuries as a punishment. X-rays showed that there were 24 nails and needles in her body. Doctors said those remaining inside her body posed no immediate threat to her life. The nails were up to 2in (5cm) long, a hospital official said. The surgery is successful and she is recovering now, Dr Satharasinghe said, according to news agency Associated Press. Ms Ariyawathie, a mother of three, underwent a three-hour procedure. Doctors said they would carry out further surgery later to remove the remaining nails. 'Deeply traumatised' Ms Ariyawathie travelled to Saudi Arabia in March to become a housemaid. Doctors say this X-ray shows nails embedded in the housemaid's hand Last week, she flew back to Sri Lanka and was admitted to hospital in the south of the island, where she told doctors she had undergone abuse for more than a month. The doctors found 24 metal pieces in her legs and hands. She could not sit down or walk properly, doctors said. They said Ms Ariyawathie was deeply traumatised and unable to give full details of her experience. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan authorities have launched an investigation. We have launched a strong protest with the Saudi government through the external affairs minister, but there has been no response yet, Kingsley Ranawaka, chairman of Bureau for Foreign Employment, told the BBC. Around 1.8 million Sri Lankans are employed abroad, 70% of whom are women. Most work as housemaids in the Middle East, while smaller numbers work in Singapore and Hong Kong.
CiKEAS Menhan: Jangan Remehkan Kekuatan Indonesia
Refleksi : Alangkah hebat dan indah lelucon badut rezim SBY ini. http://id.news.yahoo.com/antr/20100827/tpl-menhan-jangan-remehkan-kekuatan-indo-cc08abe.html Menhan: Jangan Remehkan Kekuatan Indonesia Antara - Sabtu, 28 Agustus Menhan: Jangan Remehkan Kekuatan Indonesia Jakarta (ANTARA) - Menteri Pertahanan Purnomo Yusgiantoro menegaskan, jangan remehkan kekuatan militer dan non militer Indonesia menghadapi berbagai ancaman terutama terhadap Malaysia. Kekuatan kita tidak ada masalah. Kita siap. Apalagi Pasukan Reaksi Cepat kita siap untuk ditempatkan (deploy) jika perlu, katanya, usai menghadiri buka bersama jajaran kementerian politik, hukum, dan HAM di Jakarta, Jumat. Apalagi, Indonesia memiliki batalyon tempur yang banyak (terutama TNI Angkatan Darat) dan handal yang siap digerakkan setiap saat. Batalyon tempur kita terbaik di ASEAN, kata Purnomo. Kita juga punya sumber daya manusia yang banyak. Jadi, dari sisi kesiapan, kekuatan, dan gelar, tidak ada masalah sama sekali. Jadi jangan `under estimate` dengan kekuatan kita, ujarnya. Menhan menambahkan, kesiapan, kekuatan dan gelar tersebut meliputi kekuatan darat, laut dan udara. Sebelumnya, Purnomo menyatakan Indonesia juga siap menghadapi Malaysia di meja perundingan. Kita memiliki data dan fakta yang kuat tentang titik wilayah kita baik darat maupun laut yang berbatasan dengan Malaysia, ungkapnya. Hubungan Indonesia-Malaysia kembali menghangat pasca penangkapan tiga petugas Kementerian Laut dan Perikanan oleh aparat Malaysia, saat bertugas di Tanjung Berakit, Indonesia. Namun, akhirnya kedua pihak sepakat kembali merundingkan persoalan perbatasan kedua negara di Kinabalu, Malaysia pada 6 September mendatang.
CiKEAS Palm Oil Industry Hoping for World Bank Funding
Refleksi : Bagus, bagus, silahkan pinjam duit supaya hutan menjadi lebih kecil lagi dan hutang bertambah banyak. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/palm-oil-industry-hoping-for-world-bank-funding/393241 Palm Oil Industry Hoping for World Bank Funding Eny Wulandari | August 27, 2010 Share This Page Although the Indonesian Palm Oil Association said it was confident environmental issues would not keep the World Bank from resuming its financing of the industry, senior government officials said producers could continue to rely on commercial loans if the funding fell through. Fadhil Hasan, head of the association, also known as Gapki, said on Friday that he expected local palm oil firms to qualify for World Bank funds even if they failed to meet the International Finance Corporation's sustainable environment criteria. Fadhil said Gapki planned to address the issue during a World Bank strategy forum on palm oil financing in Frankfurt on Tuesday and Wednesday. Indonesia will also be represented by deputy trade and agriculture ministers, as well as industry representatives. The IFC, a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the World Bank Group, stopped financing palm oil firms in September over environmental concerns. It said funding would only resume after it introduced comprehensive verifiable sustainability regulations. Last month, the IFC released a draft framework for re-engagement in palm oil financing. The financing suspension followed accusations from environmental groups that Indonesian palm oil producers, especially Sinar Mas, were engaged in widespread deforestation - a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Indonesian palm oil firms claim Greenpeace, which receives financing from the European Commission, is waging a smear campaign against them to help European producers of alternative edible oils such as rapeseed. An independent audit of the deforestation allegations against Sinar Mas this month answered few questions definitively, and both Sinar Mas and Greepeace claimed victory. Deputy Trade Minister Mahendra Siregar said on Thursday that he expected the Frankfurt meeting to focus not only on environmental issues, but also on the palm oil sector's contribution to public welfare and the economy. The sector directly employs an estimated three million people. Mahendra said the nation would not focus on seeking financing during the meeting because most of the country's big palm oil companies have been able to obtain funding from banks. He suggested that the IFC help improve the welfare of small-scale palm oil farmers. If we receive funding, we will channel it to the small-scale palm oil industry, which accounts for 45 percent of the total sector in the country, he said. Palm oil is one of Indonesia's leading exports. The crude palm oil sector grew by 16.2 percent in the first half of this year, with exports valued at $5.71 billion. For 2009, total exports amounted to $10.37 billion. China, India and Malaysia are the primary customers overseas. Additional reporting by Antara, Reuters Related articles Tax Directorate Investigating Wilmar; EU Set to Ban Palm Oil From Deforested Land 10:42am Jun 10, 2010 CPO Exports From Indonesia Could Grow 10% Under Indian Trade Deal 9:47pm Aug 11, 2009 CPO Producers Say Green Efforts Not Paying Off 9:14pm May 31, 2009 Unilever to Continue Relying on Indonesia for Palm Oil 8:35pm May 19, 2010 Palm Oil Futures Down on Crude, Debt Crisis Fears 9:29pm May 9, 2010
CiKEAS Archaeologists find new clues why the Maya left
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-08-25-maya-pompeii_N.htm?csp=obnetwork Archaeologists find new clues why the Maya left By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY YUCATAN, Mexico- Bird calls ring from the forest, echoing amid the crumbling ruins whose darkened doorways have long beckoned explorers and scholars. The Maya ancients who built the ruins of Kiuic (kee-week) here fled those doorways in a hurry, an international archaeology team now realizes. Left behind may be frozen-in-time clues to the fabled collapse of their civilization. Why did they leave? That's the question, says archaeologist George Bey of Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. The ancient Maya fled Kiuic, nestled in the Puuc (pook) foothills of the Yucatan, around 880. Things were going full-bore, construction was underway. And things stopped, Bey says. LIVE CHAT: Prof. George Bey takes your questions at 4 p.m. ET Archaeologists have explored Kiuic's ruins for more than a century, but working since 2000, Bey and colleagues are now reporting the first evidence of this rapid abandonment. USA TODAY was invited to the site to see what has been uncovered in the latest excavations. The classic Maya peopled the lowland forests of Central America during Europe's Dark Ages, building a civilization of pyramids, palaces and slash-and-burn milpa farms made by burning trees and planting seeds in the ash. Maya rulers oversaw city-states that warred with one another, created elaborate calendars and lasted centuries. The abandonment of those monument-strewn centers stands as one of archaeology's most-debated mysteries. The collapse was underway in modern-day Guatemala by 800, but didn't take place at Kiuic until almost a century later. Preserved almost like Pompeii Farther north, at centers such as Mayapan, pyramids and temples stayed in business until the arrival of Spain's conquistadors in the 1500s. The Maya people themselves remained, of course, with millions living today in Central America, from modern-day El Salvador to Mexico. Scholars are entranced with the ruins at Kiuic that still bear the last traces of their owners' flight, a Maya version of Pompeii, the entombed town of Roman archaeological fame. Overlooked and overgrown for more than a millennium, a variety of clues now beg for interpretation: . Walls, perfectly laid out with corner and vault stones, lying flat on the ground and waiting to be erected atop the second floor of a palace. . A half-finished plaza, one side stuccoed and completed, the other composed of bowling-ball-sized stones. . Pots and grinding stones left neatly in homes, awaiting their owners' return. At Kiuic, the evidence for rapid abandonment now appears more compelling, says archaeologist Takeshi Inomata of the University of Arizona-Tucson, who heads efforts to investigate the Maya settlement of Aguateca in Guatemala, a site suddenly abandoned in 830 during warfare. It is a very important discovery. Pumas roam the forest lining the overgrown trail leading out of Kiuic. Stones crumble underfoot on the tree-bedecked hillside, threatening to tumble visitors to the forest floor. Once a stair built of the stones, the Escalero al Cielo (Stairway to Heaven) leads to ruins of a temple courtyard and many homes that await 200 feet above. The climb kept away looters, and also sometimes older archaeologists, says Tomás Gallareta Negrón of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, a co-director of the site with Bey and William Ringle of Davidson (N.C.) College. Gallareta Negrón has pioneered efforts to turn the site into a nature reserve and education center. Kiuic has been visited by archaeologists since at least 1841, when John Lloyd Stephens, the so-called American Traveler, recorded the site for his Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, a best seller of the pre-Civil War era. Some of the ruins he noted at that time still stood there this summer, such as the three-story-tall Yaxché pyramid and Kuche palaces. But the Stairway to Heaven homes high above the site now attract as much, or more, attention from the archaeologists. During excavations last year, archaeologists found pottery and stone tools left in place inside homes, including a wealthy farmer's kitchen room perched on the edge of the hill. Corn grinding stones called metates still rest on their sides next to doorways, at the ready for preparing another meal. In June, excavations revealed more pottery left neatly under another collapsed roof in the farmer's home. And under the floor of the main room, researchers found the site of a double burial. We think these are ancestors of some kind, a burial arrangement in line with the practices of the ancient Maya, says archaeologist Stephanie Simms of Boston University. They certainly merited special treatment, she says, buried with jade beads and elaborate stone tools. The owners never returned, Simms says. People left the hill in haste, they
