ANTARA - The Indonesian National News Agency articles from February 2001

ANTARA - The Indonesian National News Agency archives from February 2001

PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT EASILY REORGANIZE MINISTRIES - OBSERVER.
February 20, 2001... Pontianak, W Kalimantan, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - President Abdurrahman Wahid would be well advised to refrain from reorganizing the ministries in his cabinet, economist Sri Edi Swasono has said. Swasono made a statement to that effect to ANTARA...

ELEPHANTS TRAMPLE ON FIELDS, HOUSES IN ACEH.
February 20, 2001... Banda Aceh, Aceh, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Dozens of elephants have recently trampled on hundreds of hectares of rice and corn fields and four houses in Panca and Lamkubu villages, Aceh Besar district in Indonesia's Aceh province. "Some...

MEDAN-BASED JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD IN ACEH.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - A journalist working for a weekly magazine in Medan, capital of Indonesia's North Sumatra province, was found dead in eastern Aceh on Sunday. The body of Rusli Radja, who works for the Pena Lestari weekly...

"CHIEF JUSTICE" ISSUE MIGHT RESULT IN 2ND MEMORANDUM - LEGISLATOR.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - President Abdurrahman Wahid's refusal to pick either of the two candidates for chief justice nominated by the House of Representatives (DPR) might become the reason for the House to issue him a second memorandum, a...

TUTUT BANNED FROM GOING ABROAD.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Former president Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hadiyanti Rukmana, popularly known as Tutut, has been banned from travelling abroad for one year after she was named a suspect in a corruption case involving US$...

PROBOSUTEDJO NAMED SUSPECT IN CORRUPTION CASE.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has named Probosutedjo, half-brother of former president Soeharto, a suspect in a corruption case involving an industrial forest project in South Kalimantan, an AGO spokesman...

INDONESIA DEPLORES US, BRITISH AIR ATTACKS ON IRAQ.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Indonesia deplores Saturday's (Feb 17) US and British air attacks on Iraq in which two civilians were killed and 20 others wounded, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said here Monday. "We really deplore the...

MEGAWATI STILL INTERESTED IN MEETING WITH THREE OTHER NAT'L LEADERS.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri is reported to be still hoping she and three other national figures (President Abdurrahman Wahid, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and People's Consultative Assembly Chairman Amien...

MP WANTS MULADI TO EXPLAIN HIS PLAN TO FORFEIT SUPREME COURT CHAIR CANDIDACY.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission II on home affairs and legal matters, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, said here Monday he expected Muladi to clarify on his plan to withdraw from the...

ISSUE ON CHIEF JUSTICE MAY PROMPT DPR TO ISSUE 2ND MEMORANDUM.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - As the post of Chief Justice is still vacant, the House of Representatives (DPR) may have a legitimate reason to issue another -- the second -- memorandum, an MP has said. Agun Gunandjar Sudarta, Golkar Party...

THAI MINISTER FILES CLEMENCY APPEAL TO INDONESIA PRESIDENT.
February 20, 2001... Medan, N Sumatera, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - A Thai cabinet minister has also sent a letter to President President Abdurrahman Wahid asking for clemency for two compatriots Namsong Sirlak (29) and Saelaw Praset (54), who had been sentenced to death...

DEMONSTRATION OUTSIDE MEETING ROOM OF HOUSE C'TTEE ON TRISAKSTI, SEMANGGI INCIDENTS.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Friends and relatives of students who died or were seriously wounded in the May 1998 Triskati and Semanggi incidents here Monday staged a peaceful demonstration outside the meeting room of a House of Representatives...

SILK AIR TO INCREASE FLIGHTS FROM SINGAPORE TO PADANG.
February 20, 2001... Padang, W Sumatera, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Singapore's Silk Air is scheduled to increase the number of its flights from Singapore to Padang, capital of West Sumatra province, to three times from twice a week by the end of March. The airline...

ACEHNESE FISHERMEN DETAINED IN THAILAND ASK FOR REPATRIATION.
February 20, 2001... Banda Aceh, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Traditional Acehnese fishermen stranded on the Thai island of Biyar had asked to be returned to Indonesia. Secretary of the Aceh Fishermen's Association Tgk M Adli Abdullah said here Monday he has received a...

PRESIDENT READY TO UNDERGO POLICE QUESTIONING OVER BULOGGATE, BRUNEIGATE.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - President Abdurrahman Wahid is ready to undergo questioning by the police regarding Buloggate and Bruneigate so that the cases can be settled conclusively and legally, two of his spokesmen said here Monday. ...

POLICE COORDINATING STEPS ON BULOGGATE, BRUNEIGATE WITH AGO.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - The National Police are maintaining close coordination with the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on concrete steps they need to take in connection with the House of Representatives' (DPR) memorandum served on...

ULEMAS DECLARE NEW "AJINOMOTO" EDIBLE (HALAL).
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - The ruling commission of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), in its meeting here on Monday, ruled that the new product of the Ajinomoto monosodium glutamate (MSG) was edible (halal). "All participants to...

PORTUGUESE CULTURAL DELEGATION TO VISIT FLORES.
February 20, 2001... Kupang, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - The president of the Portuguese National Cultural Center, Helena Vas da Silva, will visit East Nusatenggara, regional administration spokesman Alfred Wungubelen said here on Monday. He said Helena wished to visit...

CB DENIES DEPUTY GOVERNORS NAMED SUSPECTS IN LOAN MISUSE.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Bank Indonesia has denied a press report that its deputy governors, Miranda S Goeltom and Aulia Pohan, and former member of its board of governors, Iwan Prawiranata, have been named suspects in the misuse of loans...

ARMED GANG ACTIVITY IN ACEH INCREASING, SAYS TNI CHIEF.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - National Defence Forces (TNI) Commander Admiral Widodo AS said here on Monday the situation in the restive province of Aceh had not yet improved although a "provisional understanding" to stop violence had been...

DILI-JAKARTA TIES HAVE MUCH IMPROVED, SAYS BISHOP BELO.
February 20, 2001... Kuala Lumpur, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Visiting East Timorese Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo said relations between Dili and Jakarta have much improved through reciprocal visits by the two countries' leaders, sending positive signal to the people...

AKBAR ACCUSED OF ACQUIRING LAND THROUGH UNLAWFUL MEANS.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Chairman of the House of Representatives Akbar Tandjung was accused of having acquired a 23 ha land of his blood brother, Dato Usman Zahirudin (the late), in Srengseng, South Jakarta. The charge was conveyed by...

MP READY TO ORGANIZE RALLIES AGAINST US AIR RAID ON BAGHDAD.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - A member of parliament said on Monday he was ready to mobilize masses to rally in protest to last Saturday's US and British air raid on Baghdad. "I ask Abdul Kadir Jaelani, Ahmad Sumargono and other fellow...

RIZAL RAMLI TO MEET IMF DIRECTORS IN WASHINGTON.
February 20, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Rizal Ramli is planning to meet with the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington to clarify some unsettled problems relating to a review of the...

14.2 MILLION HECATRES OF FORESTS IN RI DAMAGED.
February 20, 2001... Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Forest damage in Indonesia in the past five years has escalated to some 14.2 million hectares because of activities of companies holding forest concessions (HPH) as well as daily activities of local...

INDONESIA: GOV'T WARNED IT COULD LOSE INT'L SUPPORT.
February 20, 2001... Indonesia risks losing support from foreign financial institutions if the country continues to neglect key reform strategies due to its lack of commitment and protracted political quarrels, economist said on Monday. -- The Jakarta Post

INDONESIA: AGO GETS TOUGH ON PROBO, TUTUT.
February 20, 2001... The Attorney General's Office yesterday named the half brother of former president Soeharto, Probosutedjo, as a suspect in a corruption case involving his company in a reforestration project (HTI) which took place in Kalimantan between 1984...

INDONESIA: EMPLOYEES THREAT TO PARALYSE BII.
February 20, 2001... Unsatisfied with directors' offer, emplyees will today stage a big-scale demonstration which could paralyse BII (Bank International Indonesia). -- Republika

INDONESIA: ADI SASONO ON FARMERS' CREDITS, RESTRUCTURIZATION TO MOVE POLITICAL ISSUES.
February 20, 2001... Former minister for cooperatives and small and medium enterprises Adi Sasono said the policy on restructurization of farming credit debts was made not to substantially settle the problem but it was political in nature, namely, to move...

INDONESIA: JOINT TEAM PROBES FARMING CREDIT MISUSE.
February 20, 2001... The government is expected to soon form a joint team to probe the farming credit abuse as a follow-up on the farming credit restructurization program. -- Bisnis Indonesia

INDONESIA: MEGA ASKS AMIEN, GUS DUR TO UNITE.
February 20, 2001... Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri said the key to settle political elite's conflicts is now in the hands of Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais and President Abdurrahman Wahid. -- Media Indonesia

INDONESIA: EDITORIAL: WARNING TO ABDURRAHMAN.
February 20, 2001... Whatever thoughts President Abdurrahman Wahid entertained in having his international advisers parade to his office over the weekend, one thing was glaringly apparent. The show outstandingly failed to deliver what we reckoned to be his most...

INDONESIA: EDITORIAL: A PYRRHIC VICTORY.
February 20, 2001... The air-strike by the United States and United Kingdom against Iraq a few days ago have to be seen in the context of an outrageous power-play game - an ancient and shameful facet of human nature. The ambition of the US to maintain its...

SATURDAY'S HEADLINES OF INDONESIA'S MAJOR DAILIES.
February 19, 2001... SET LIMIT ON BORROWING BY REGIONS: IMF The IMF on Friday reported some progress in negotiations with Indonesia on key issues holding up fresh loans since late last year, but repeated calls for curbs on direct borrowing by newly empowered...

SATURDAY'S EDITORIALS OF INDONESIA'S MAJOR DAILIES.
February 19, 2001... - THE AUSTRALIAN CONFIDENCE Despite the political uncertainty, Indonesia remains attractive to Australian businessmen. To underscore the point, an Australian delegation yesterday pledged to invest US$682 million in Indonesia over the...

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH FOREIGN ECONOMIC ADVISERS.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - President Abdurrahman Wahid met with four foreign economists here Saturday to hear their views on the latest developments on the domestic and global economies. The four are former Federal Reserve banker Paul...

JAPAN HELPS FUND ELECTRICITY PROJECT IN S KALIMANTAN VILLAGE.
February 19, 2001... Surabaya, E Java, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - The Japanese government has extended US$ 75,868 for the development of a small-scale electricity network in Sebamban Baru village in Banjarmasin district, South Kalimantan province. The memorandum of...

BALI TO USE RP 3.4 BILLION OECF LOAN TO BUILD FISHING PORT.
February 19, 2001... Denpasar, Bali, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Bali province will make use of a Rp 3.4 billion soft loan from Japan's Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) to build a fishing port in Jembrana district, a local official said Saturday. ...

ATTORNEY GENERAL TO TRACK DOWN RP 58 BILLION REFORESTATION FUND.
February 19, 2001... Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - The Attorney General's Office will soon investigate the use of Rp 58 billion in reforestation fund for the peat land project in West Kalimantan province and the 1997 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in...

OECF EXTENDS RP 28 BILLION TO BENGKULU.
February 19, 2001... Bengkulu, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - Japan's Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) has extended Rp 28 billion to Indonesia's Bengkulu province for the purchase of agricultural equipment, head of the provincial agriculture and forestry office, S...

DEMO AT HI CIRCLE CLAMORS FOR GOLKAR DISSOLUTION.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - Tens of people from the Anti-Golkar People's Front (Fromag) on Saturday afternoon staged a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) circle, demanding the dissolution of Golkar Party and the formation of a...

RIAU STUDENTS AGAIN CALL FOR PRESIDENT'S RESIGNATION.
February 19, 2001... Pekanbaru, Riau, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - Riau students and youths here on Saturday again staged a peaceful demonstration calling on President Abdurrahman Wahid to resign and on the central government to implement the reform agendas. A written...

INDONESIA INVESTMENT IN VIETNAM REMAINS RELATIVELY LOW.
February 19, 2001... Batam, Riau, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's total investment in Vietnam has remained small compared with those of other countries , a report said. According to data from the Vietnamese Planning and Investment Ministry made available to...

ANGRY MOB BURNS FORMER CONVICT TO DEATH.
February 19, 2001... Mataram, W Nusa Tenggara, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - An angry mob in Kenanga village, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday attacked a 38-year-old former prison inmate, Abdul Latif, and burned him to death. The mob appeared to have acted in revenge for...

JAPANESE AID FOR ELECTRICITY PROJECT IN S KALIMANTAN.
February 19, 2001... Surabaya, Feb 17 (ANTARA) - The Japanese government will provide US$75,868 in financial assistance for the installation of an electricity network in Sebamban Baru village in Banjarmasin district, South Kalimantan. A memorandum of...

SUNDAY'S HEADLINES IN INDONESIA'S MAJOR DAILIES.
February 19, 2001... FOREIGN ADVISORS ASK GOVT TO MAINTAIN POLITICAL STABILITY, SECURITY Four foreign economic advisors of President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday asked the Indonesian government to maintain political stability and security in a bid to be able...

GARUDA CONFIRMS AIRCRAFT EMERGENCY LANDING AT COLOMBO.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - PT Garuda Indonesia confirmed Friday that one of its aircraft carrying hajj pilgrims made an emergency landing at Bandaranaike airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pudjobroto, head of Garuda's communication department,...

JAILED ACEH REFERENDUM ACTIVIST FAILS TO BE MOVED TO MEDAN.
February 19, 2001... Banda Aceh, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - A jailed Acehnese activist who organized several huge protests in the restive province of Aceh Friday failed to be taken to the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan where he was scheduled to be tried on...

STATE AUDIT BOARD TO EXAMINE IBRA COMPREHENSIVELY - OFFICIAL.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The State Audit Board (BPK) will carry out a comprehensive audit on the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) starting in budget year 2001, Board member Bambang Wahyudi disclosed here Friday. "IBRA is one...

EDUCATION MINISTER TO OPEN RI-A'LIA MEET IN BALI.
February 19, 2001... Denpasar, Bali, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Education Minister Yahya Muhaimin is slated to open the Indonesia-Australia Joint Working Group Meeting 2001 on Feb 20, a member of the event's organizing committee said Friday. The meeting, which will...

GOLKAR CHALLENGES MINISTER TO REPORT HIS ACCUSATION TO POLICE.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - A Golkar Party official here Friday challenged Defence Minister Mahfud MD to lodge a formal complaint with the police as followup to his allegation that Golkar had used Rp90 billion from the coffers of the National...

LION AIRLINES SERVES MATARAM - KUALA LUMPUR ROUTE ONCE A WEEK.
February 19, 2001... Mataram, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Lion Airlines is poised to fly the Mataram (Lombok) - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) route once a week as the Indonesian region has great potentials. "For the time being, the biggest market covers the tens of...

ANTI-GOLKAR STUDENTS CLASH WITH POLICE.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - More than 1,000 students demonstrated in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Friday to demand the dissolution of the Golkar Party. At around 6.30 p.m. the students threw molotov cocktails at police who retaliated by...

VEEP INAUGURATES OCEAN FISHING PORT.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday inaugurated the Jakarta Ocean Fishing Port in Muara Baru coastal area, North Jakarta. The fishing port had been completed in the fourth stage construction of the...

PAL INDONESIA BUILDS PIONEER SHIPS FOR REGENCIES.
February 19, 2001... Surabaya, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The state-owned shipbuilding company PT PAL Indonesia in 2001 established cooperation with several regency-level administrations, including Merauke for the building of pioneering ships in those regions. "We...

PKB LAUNCHES "WHITE BOOK" ON BULOGGATE, BRUNEIGATE.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The Nation's Awakening Party (PKB) here Friday launched a "White Book" on what has become known as Buloggate and Bruneigate, two financial scandals over which the House of Representatives (DPR) recently issued a...

IFC COMPLAINS ABOUT RI'S JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) complained about Indonesian judicial system under which many unfair verdicts have been handed down, including one on a case incolving the IFC. "We are really...

POLICE DISPERSE ANTI GOLKAR DEMONSTRATORS.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Tens of policemen on motor bikes dispersed a band of anti Golkar party demonstrators who had gathered at Diponegoro street near Megaria area in Jakarta on Friday evening. Earlier, over 1,000 university students...

NEWS : NEW SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS AND DEMOCRATIC CONSULTATIONS AGREED FOR ACEH.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA)- Representatives of the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Friday, during their meeting in Switzerland, agreed to a new security arrangement and a process of democratic consultations...

ATTORNEY GENERAL MARZUKI DARUSMAN SHOULD BE REPLACED, SAYS ICW.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said here Friday if President Abdurrahman Wahid was really serious about wanting to improve law enforcement in the country, he should fire and replace Attorney General Marzuki...

SOEHARTO'S ELDEST DAUGHTER DECLARED SUSPECT IN CORRUPTION CASE.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Only months after former president Soeharto's youngest son, Tommy Soeharto, was convicted for corruption, another member of Soeharto's family, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana alias Tutut, has been formally declared a...

NO FOREIGN INVESTOR IN INDONESIA MOVES TO VIETNAM.
February 19, 2001... Hanoi, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - No foreign investors in Indonesia has relocated their businesses to Hanoi in Vietnam. According to the Vietnamese industry ministry and the Indonesian embassy in Hanoi on Friday, no foreign investor planned to...

JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO END SERVICE IN INDONESIA.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Japanese Abassador to Indonesia Takao Kawakami will terminate his 3-year assignment in the country on February 20, an official report said Friday. In a statement to mark the end of his service in Indonesia,...

TIES WITH INDONESIA MUST BE PRESERVED DESPITE UPSETS: LEE.
February 19, 2001... Singapore, Feb 16 (ANTARA/AFP) - Relations with Indonesia must be preserved despite temporaryupsets, Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said in remarks published here Friday. Lee, who began a five-day visit to Jakarta on Thursday,...

MINISTER AND AMBASSADORS TO VISIT AMBON.
February 19, 2001... Ambon, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Housing and Regional Infrastructure Affairs Minister Erna Witoelar and some ambassadors of the European Union countries are scheduled to visit Ambon on Feb. 20-21, to study the situation in the capital of Maluku...

FOUR CITIES IN SULAWESI GET ASSISTANCE FROM UNDP.
February 19, 2001... Makassar, S Sulawesi, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) starting from March this year will give assistance to four cities in Sulawesi, a UNDP official said on Friday. "The four are Manado (North Sulawesi),...

INDONESIAN, GAM AGREE ON NEW SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS.
February 19, 2001... Banda Aceh, Feb 18 (ANTARA) - Representatives of the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have agreed to a new security accord and democratic consultation process, reflecting their strong will to seek peace and democratic...

FOREIGN BUSINESS PLAYERS NOT AFFECTED BY POLITICAL SITUATION IN INDONESIAN.
February 19, 2001... Batam, Feb 18 (ANTARA) - Foreign business players were considered not to be affected by the current political developments in Indonesia, following mounting pro-and-anti President Abdurahman Wahid demonstrations in some parts of the country....

INDONESIA: PRESIDENT WAHID INVITES PEOPLE TO WRITE TO HIM ON REFORMS.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 18 (ANTARA) - President Abdurrahman Wahid here on Sunday asked the people to write to him on what they really wished to be reformed. "It's not merely the president who decides on what has to be reformed, but especially the...

INDONESIA: GREEN TURTLE HUNTING THREATENS MARINE SANCTUARY IN ENO ISLAND.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 18 (ANTARA) - The 114,000-ha marine sanctuary on Eno Island in Southeast Aru, Southeast Maluku, is now facing a threat posed by illegal hunting of green turtles, an executive of the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) said. ...

'POLITICAL RIFT TO END BY APRIL'.
February 19, 2001... In a display of self-confidence, President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid placed political uncertainties behind him on Sunday by saying that the crisis plaguing his 14-month-old tenure would be settled in the coming two months. -- The...

WORLD CONDEMNS US, BRITAIN.
February 19, 2001... The United States and Britain were condemned yesterday from almost every corner of the globe following an air raid over Baghdad, with officials and media accusing Washington and London of overreaching their power and showing disregard for...

FOUR NAT'L FIGURES FAIL TO MEET, ONLY GUS DUR APPEARS.
February 19, 2001... President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Sunday that the absence of three national figures in an event held on Sunday was not a big problem for him. He said that the meeting of four figures would not mean anything if they did not have good...

NOTES OF CABIET MEETING KEY OF FARMER CREDIT POLICY.
February 19, 2001... Chairman of Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI), Siswono Yudo Husodo, and economic observer Didik J Rachbini on Sunday urged the government to reveal the reasons behind its decision to implement the so-called farmer credit program. The...

EDITORIAL: REPUBLIC OF DENIAL.
February 19, 2001... The political events that took place over the last few days have reflected the country's loss of leadership. Or, in a more sophisticated term, the leadership of the country has stagnated resulting from an excessive feeling of suspicion...

MONDAY'S EDITORIALS OF MAJOR INDONESIAN DAILIES.
February 19, 2001... - ADVICE TO THE GOV'T These figures undoubtly are capable of giving useful advice to this nation. They are Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, former German central bank governor Ulrich Cartellieri, the former US Federal Reserve governor, and...

DEMONSTRATORS REJECT NEW STATISTICS CHIEF IN SE SULAWESI.
February 19, 2001... Kendari, SE Sulawesi, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Difference in interpretation on the principle of regional autonomy has taken its first toll in Southeast Sulawesi province's statistics office. A crowd of demonstrators, grouped in the Monitoring...

INDON NAVY READY TO REPATRIATE 371 JAYAPURANS FROM PNG.
February 19, 2001... Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Navy pledged its readiness Monday to help repatriate 371 Jayapurans who had fled to Vanimo, capital of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) Sandaun province, to escape unrests in Wamena, Irian Jaya...

TUTUT EXPECTED TO APPEAR BEFORE ATTORNEY GENERAL ON TUESDAY.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Former president Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardijanti "Tutut" Rukmana, is expected to appear at the Attorney General's Office here Tuesday to testify on a corruption case involving the state oil company,...

CALM RETURNS TO POSO, C SULAWESI.
February 19, 2001... Palu, C Sulawesi, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Calm has returned to Poso, Central Sulawesi after a few days of unrest in the eastern Indonesian town, police said here Monday. Mobs could no longer be found on the streets and the people have resumed...

PRESIDENT ATTENDS KUWAIT'S 40TH ANNIV CELEBRATION.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - President Abdurrahman Wahid, along with 4,000 orphans from Jakarta and its surrounding cities, attended Kuwait's 40th anniversary celebration here Monday. During the occasion, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Indonesia...

NATIONAL NEWS : JAKARTA SKIES TO BE LEAD-FREE BY JULY 1 - MINISTER.
February 19, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - Jakarta will be free from lead pollutants produced by vehicles running on premium oil by July 1, Environment Minister Sonny Keraf said here Monday. The ministry will start to eliminate the use of leaded gasoline...

JAILED ACEH ACTIVIST TO BE TRIED NEXT WEEK.
February 16, 2001... Banda Aceh, Feb 15 (ANTARA) - A jailed Acehnese activist who organized several huge protests in the restive province of Aceh is scheduled to be tried next week in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan on charges of instigating hatred...

VEEP TO INAUGURATE JAKARTA FISH PORT FACILITIES.
February 16, 2001... Jakarta, Feb 15 (ANTARA) - Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri is tomorrow (Friday) scheduled to inaugurate an operational facility at the Jakarta Ocean Fish Port in Muara Baru, North Jakarta. Spokesman for the Marine and Fishery...