ExxonMobil must respond to a lawsuit alleging Indonesian soldiers under its control at a natural gas plant in Aceh province abused and murdered local people, a US appeals court has ruled.
Judges in Washington rejected the energy giant's second request to dismiss the suit brought by 11 Indonesians who claim the Texas-based company is responsible for the conduct of soldiers guarding its sprawling Arun facility on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has stated that the Indonesian Military (TNI) was the most responsible party for the shooting incident in Paya Bakong, North Aceh, Monday (3/6).
Sofyan Dawood, spokesperson for the GAM Aceh Transfer Committee, during a press conference at the committee’s office in Punteur village, Blang Mangat District, Lhokseumawe, stated that there was no reason for anyone to accuse GAM being behind the shooting.
This is because all GAM’s weapons have been destroyed.
Question: How do you see the implementation of the Aceh peace accord, especially the reintegration of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels into society?
Aguswandi, Banda Aceh
Just when you think you have things figured out, they turn topsy-turvy on you. This might be the best way to describe the fallout caused by those advocating the division of Aceh into two new provinces. There is no economic, political, or administrative need for establishing a new province in Aceh right now. The idea of dividing Aceh into two provinces comes solely from the political elite's interest groups who want to gain greater power locally, however irresponsibly.
Locally, these groups are mainly composed of the elite from the highlands of Aceh -- Central Aceh, South East Aceh, Benar Meriah. Last year, while the government representatives and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders met in Helsinki to labor on the peace agreement, the political elite of Aceh met in Jakarta to strengthen their demands for a new province called Aceh Leuser Antara (ALA).
The Sunday Times April 16, 2006 Massive fraud hits tsunami aidMichael Sheridan, Banda Aceh
Builders take charity millions THIS was supposed to be the scene of the world’s greatest aid effort, but endemic corruption has drained it of millions of pounds while leaving tens of thousands of tsunami victims stranded in tents.
Guwahati, March 10: William Nessen lived — and almost died — for the cause of Aceh’s struggle for independence from Indonesia, testimony to which is his award-winning film The Black Road.
On his first visit to the Northeast, an admittedly “inspired” Nessen said his future project could be based on the “stories of the struggles of the people of the region”.
The UK-based filmmaker’s area of interest is not just conflicts or struggles. “All important events concerning the region need to be documented through films,” he said.
With most of the reconstruction effort in Aceh focused on physical development, the government and donors should start paying better attention to education, activists say.
"Everyone is focused on building infrastructure. The fact that there are many children under five years of age, most of whom were orphaned after the tsunami and who are in need of education, has received little attention," the Indonesian Heritage Foundation's deputy director Rahma Dewi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Banda Aceh, acehkita.com. Sejumlah aktivis sipil mendeklarasikan Komite Persiapan Partai Rakyat Aceh (KP PRA), yang merupakan cikal bakal partai lokal pertama di Aceh. Deklarasi yang dilangsungkan di sebuah restoran di kawasan Lamnyong Banda Aceh, Kamis (16/3), ini dihadiri sekitar 500 massa pendukung partai tersebut dan sejumlah undang lain, termasuk Juha Christensen dari Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM).
Ketua Komite Persiapan PRA Thamrin Ananda dalam pidato politiknya mengatakan, komite persiapan sudah terbentuk di 11 kabupaten/kota yang ada di Aceh. Mereka menargetkan, komite ini terbentuk di 12 kabupaten/kota di Aceh. “Dalam aturan disebutkan, cabang harus ada di 50 persen kabupaten/kota yang ada di Aceh,” kata Thamrin.
Oxfam said it had found evidence that money had gone missing.
Despite widespread fears that aid money for Aceh would be lost to corruption, this is the first time there has been any solid indication of graft.
Oxfam said it hoped to have its programmes back up and running in the next few weeks.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Oberdorfer in Washington on Thursday denied a motion by Irving-based Exxon Mobil to dismiss the suit on sovereignty grounds.
Preparatory Committee of the Free Acheh DemocraticSecretariats: New York, United States.Tel/Fax. +1 718 337 8843 Stockholm, Scandinavia.Tel. + 46 739 756532 E-mail: committee@freeacheh.info
OPEN LETTER TO THE NOBEL PEACE COMMITTEE
The Norwegian Nobel Committee Drammensveien 19 NO-0255 OSLO Norway Dear Norwegian Nobel Committee Members We the Preparatory Committee of the Free Acheh Democratic strongly urges the Nobel Committee to reject the nomination by US Congressman Robert Wexler of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his “dedication to resolving the conflict in Aceh.”
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The final draft of the government's bill on Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam opens the possibility for the redrawing of its borders, which would violate the peace agreement signed by Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement. If the government went ahead with the division of Aceh, it would have major political implications for the election of the provincial legislature in Aceh in the 2009 general election. The decision could also have a profound effect on the future of the peace deal signed in August.
The final draft of the government's bill on Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam opens the possibility for the redrawing of its borders, which would violate the peace agreement signed by Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement.
If the government went ahead with the division of Aceh, it would have major political implications for the election of the provincial legislature in Aceh in the 2009 general election. The decision could also have a profound effect on the future of the peace deal signed in August.
By M K Anwar in Banda Aceh
Bandar Seri Begawan - A memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Brunei's Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Pehin Dato Hj Awang Badaruddin, and Governor of Aceh Province, Dr Ir. Mustafa Abu Bakar, Saturday has signalled the beginning of a B$2 million `relief package' for victims of the tsunami disaster that shook the region in December 2004.
The relief package that has been agreed upon will involve the construction of a small community of Desa Daerah Memplan Kabupatem Leupung, an area about 15km from BandaAceh. The $2 million is part of the generosity of the people of Brunei Darussalam and Yayasan.
Olle Tornquist, Oslo
Donors often say that the major obstacle in the post-tsunami relief and reconstruction work is poor co-ordination of the organizations involved. This may be true, but the observation does not help much unless we discuss why.
International development co-operation has become neo-liberal. A myriad of state and private actors compete for funds and influence on imperfect markets in order to reach diffuse goals. In addition, there is little trust in the state. In Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam it has even been repressive and suffers still from authoritarianism, corruption and inefficiency. To improve co-ordination, these factors should be addressed. But then the reconstruction work and the peace- and democracy efforts must be combined -- and this is not being done. That is the basic problem!
JAKARTA (AP): An EU-led team monitoring a peace deal in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province will stay up to six months more after its original mandate ends in March, Indonesia's vice president said Friday. The 200-strong mission has been in Aceh since August, monitoring the implementation of a peace agreement between a small separatist rebel army and government troops that ended 29 years of fighting.
The 200-strong mission has been in Aceh since August, monitoring the implementation of a peace agreement between a small separatist rebel army and government troops that ended 29 years of fighting.
Reporter : RadzieBanda Aceh, acehkita.com. Kepala Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi Aceh-Nias, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, mengatakan, pihaknya tidak mengundang pasukan TNI non-organik dari kesatuan Zeni untuk membantu percepatan pembangunan kembali Aceh pascatsunami.
“Tidak benar pasukan dikirim ke Aceh,” kata Kuntoro menjawab acehkita.com, usai Seminar Nasional tentang Evaluasi Peran Media Massa dalam Pembangunan di Aceh, Setelah Tsunami dan Perjanjian Perdamaian, yang diselenggarakan PWI dan Unesco, di Anjong Mon Mata, Banda Aceh, Rabu (28/12).
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Despite mounting criticism, the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) is pressing ahead with its plan to request the IndonesianMilitary(TNI) to deploy troops to help the body rebuild Aceh.
The troop deployment is crucial to speed up reconstruction projects in thetsunami-ravaged province, said BRR spokesman Sudirman Said here on Sunday.
By Mark ForbesDecember 24, 2005
INDONESIA'S military has announced plans to send more than 10,000 troops in Aceh to speed up tsunami reconstruction efforts.
But the move has threatened a fragile peace in the province.
The proposal, which follows a plea for assistance from Aceh's reconstruction agency, exposes concerns about the pace of the relief effort - more than 100,000 homes need to be built, remote areas still receive little assistance and many roads and bridges are unrepaired.
Sian Powell, Jakarta correspondentDecember 22, 2005SIX assault rifles were cut into small pieces in a hot Acehnese parade ground yesterday, the last weapons to be officially decommissioned in the drawn-out journey to peace in the beleaguered province.
Young rebel fighters dressed in navy and black fatigues marched in with the weapons during a ceremony observed by Indonesian generals and leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Enemies for 30 years, the generals and the rebel leaders sat together in Blang Padang field in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, to observe the symbolic end to a war that lasted three decades and killed thousands.
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia BANDA ACEH, Indonesia : Banda Aceh is in the midst of a baby boom, with some doctors handling 70 more births a month compared to the pre-tsunami days. So a Singapore initiative for a new reproductive healthcare clinic has been launched to help the city manage the increased births.
An Alice Springs water expert has just returned from Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province and says he is inspired by the spirit of the local people.
Graham Ride is the regional manager for the Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts Department in Alice Springs.
Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia on Wednesday welcomed the U.S. decision to lift a six-year ban on arms sales, saying the move would allow its military to upgrade aging weaponry.
Al-Qaida-linked militants have launched a series of deadly bombings on Western targets in the country since 2002 and the Bush administration long has wanted to lift the embargo on a nation it sees as a key ally in the war on terrorism.
Hundreds of chickens in Indonesia's tsunami-hit province of Aceh have died of bird flu.
Syamsul Basri, the director of animal health with the Agriculture Ministry, says poultry infected with the H5N1 strain of the virus have been discovered in three districts, including Pidie in the north-east of the province.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's military began pulling more soldiers from Aceh province on Saturday in the third stage of a peace pact ending a war between the government and separatists that has killed 15,000 people.
Under the August 15 pact, rebels from the Free Aceh Movement need to surrender 840 weapons to peace monitors by the end of the year during four phases while Indonesia, which had 30,000 soldiers and 15,000 policemen in Aceh before the truce, is required to trim its forces to no more than 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police.
He is visiting for the first time in 25 years to see the process for himself.
