INDONESIA A NEWS

Global warming is not a future apocalypse, but a present reality for many of the world's poorest people, according to the most hard-hitting United Nations report yet on climate change, published yesterday. A catalogue of the "climate shocks" that have already hit the world is set out in the Human Development Report 2007/08. Fewer than two per cent of these have affected rich countries. Europe had its most intense heatwave for 50 years and Japan its greatest number of tropical cyclones in a single year. But far more intense drought, floods and storms than usual have plagued the developing world. Monsoons displaced 14 million people in India, seven million in Bangladesh and three million in China which has seen the heaviest rainfall - and second highest death toll - since records began. Cyclones blasted Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Hurricanes devastated the Caribbean and Central America, killing more than 1,600 Mayan people in Guatemala. Droughts have afflicted A

THREE Indonesian families rescued in the Timor Sea and delivered to Immigration officials on Christmas Island yesterday have a rightful claim to asylum if their debts through illegal fishing have placed them in danger, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside QC said yesterday.Fishermen Sukardi Liri, Sadar and Sangaji Jawa, their wives and 10 children arrived at the tiny Australian territory of Christmas Island aboard HMAS Tobruk at 7am yesterday and were taken by barge to the jetty at Flying Fish Cove at 10.50am, where locals waved and called out the Indonesian greeting "salamat datang". Strapped in navy-issue lifejackets and wearing navy hats, the children remained quiet until they reached a bus on dry land, when they began waving back to onlookers, including other children swimming near the jetty. They were taken to a construction workers' camp opposite the island's temporary detention centre. The baby and nine children were looked after in a creche set up for them whil

Most Indonesians support the enactment of sharia bylaws even though they know ordinances already in place in several regencies have failed to improve social welfare, a survey has found."People's welfare remains the same as it was before the sharia bylaws were enforced," said the survey report. The survey and its report was being discussed in a workshop in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java, on Thursday. Some regions have enacted sharia bylaws despite warnings the legislation deprives the civil rights of women and non-Muslims. In cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the research was conducted by the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture (CSRC) under Jakarta's State Islamic University in six regencies. Each regency had implemented sharia-inspired ordinances between August 2006 and October 2007, including Bireun in Aceh, Tasikmalaya and Indramayu in West Java, Bulukumba in South Sulawesi, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, and Tangerang in Banten province. The survey involv

American graduate student Brad Simpson discovered during his scouring of public records for his dissertation that on Dec. 15 1965, Maj. Gen Soeharto swooped down in a helicopter to join a meeting of Indonesian officials discussing then-President Sukarno's plan to nationalize Caltex facilities in Indonesia. Simpson found that Soeharto told the meeting in no uncertain terms the Indonesian army would not tolerate any move toward nationalization. Except until Simpson's work was complete, there was no written record of that one small part of Indonesia's history to be found anywhere in Indonesia. It was not until Simpson published his findings on relations between Indonesia and the United States in 2005 did these facts come to light here."His research is based on U.S. government documents open for the public," historian Asvi Warman Adam said. "Some questions are not answered yet, like who had the power to send Soeharto there? "Definitely not Soekarno, because

Mourners wearing black congregate by a lawn-fringed plot on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital as they await the arrival of the body of their relative and friend. Once the funeral service is over, they have the choice of taking a dip in the Olympic-size pool nearby, rowing a boat across the lake or, in the not-too-distant future, having lunch at an Italian restaurant. In a city where the dead literally face eviction if their relatives fail to pay regular fees for the upkeep of their graves, a new and vast cemetery-cum- entertainment complex aims to fill a niche for the rich. Arriving by helicopter to cut hours off a road trip to this sprawling complex 46 kilometres outside traffic-clogged Jakarta, the ambition of the developers is clear. So far, just 25 hectares out of a planned 500 have been developed at San Diego Hills Memorial Park. Tree-shaded roads wind through the hilly compound, a world away from public cemeteries in Indonesia that are invariably basic and often unkempt. &q

Yuhoyono said he had written personally to Myanmar's leaders urging them to open talks Indonesia's president is calling on Myanmar's ruling military to speed up the process of democratisation and hold talks with Aung San Suu Kyi. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had written a personal letter to Senior General Than Shwe urging the military government to immediately open dialogue with the opposition. "I keep telling my friends in Myanmar that a nation going through a democratic transition must be able to adapt, to respond to ongoing situations," he told Al Jazeera's Jakarta correspondent, Step Vassen. The crackdown in Myanmar has caused unease among fellow Asean members His comments come as Myanmar's ruling generals face ongoing international pressure to step back from their bloody crackdown on anti-government protests. Indonesia and Myanmar are both members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), an

INDONESIA'S climate change credentials are in tatters after a key player in the country's illegal logging business was acquitted of criminal charges over the destruction of 58,000ha of virgin Sumatran forest.Businessman Adelin Lis, the subject of an international manhunt and what Sumatran police called the most comprehensive investigation they have conducted into forest destruction, avoided a 10-year jail sentence and more than 120 billion rupiah ($14.4 million) in fines and reforestation imposts. Judges at the Medan District Court, in central Sumatra, ruled on Monday that the evidence against Mr Lis was inadequate to prove anything other than "administrative neglect". Environmental protection groups were assessing their next moves yesterday but predicted the world's judgment would be harsh ahead of the UN climate change conference in Bali next month. "This does irreparable damage to Indonesia's forest protection credentials, " Rully Syumanda, legal

Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan won a literary contest for foreign workers last month which was sponsored by the Taipei city government (The Jakarta Post, Oct. 2). The words from one winning piece were; "Please forgive me, time has buried my longing for your love, and I hope you find true love somewhere else". This is a sample sentence from a first-prize- winning essay titled Kinanthi, which was written by Sri Jumitai, an Indonesian migrant worker in Taiwan. Anik Krisnawati, another Indonesian migrant worker, won first prize in the poetry category for her poem titled Happiness Terminal. There are reasons why these works of literature are special and were chosen as winners. First, Sri Junitai and Anik Krisnawati won after beating participants from other countries; migrant workers from the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. Second, Kinanthi and Happiness Terminal were two of the best works of literature from a total 2,063 pieces submitted to the judging committee. After a

The Mimika Baru Police sub precinct office was attacked by a Paniai ethnic group early Saturday, following an incident that claimed the life a Paniaian policeman. The policeman, identified as Adj. Comr. Yance, had allegedly gone to the Mimika Baru Police office to protest the arrest of his son, who had been detained for alleged misbehavior and being under the influence of alcohol. The policeman later died at Mitra Masyarakat Hospital, in Mimika. A source told ^YAntara^Y the cause of the officer's death was unknown. Deputy Head of Papua Police, Brig. Gen. Andi Lolo, confirmed the attack but refused to offer further details about the incident.