News, August the 8th to August 17th
Politics
Governor elections in Jakarta
On the 8th of August governor election were held in Jakarta. The pollings opened at 7:30 a.m. in all districts of jakarta.
The results were announced yesterday, on August, the 16th. Fauzi Bowo won the governor elections along with his with party colleague Prijanto. 2,109 Mio (57.87 % ) voted for them.
Adang Darajatun and Dani Anwar received 1,535 Mio. votes (42,13%).
The committee for the control of the elections declared that 2,1 Mio. voters didn´t make use of the right to vote, despite the efforts to include all groups in the process of election.
For expample, prisoners, who are allowed to vote in indonesia, were brougnt to the voting boxes and also ill people and their families were be able to make their vote at home or in hospitals.
Despite this efforts, many people didn´t vote, because they partly didn´t know how to fill out the form to get registrated or they didn´t had any interest to vote.
The inhabitans of the islands, located a few miles at the coast in front of Jakarta (Pulau Seribu) were also able to vote, when a boat brought the voting boxes to their islands, but just a few used the possibility, also because they mostly didn´t even know the candidates.
Many people in the district of Cipayung in east-jakarta weren´t able to vote, because the forms to registrate for the voting weren´t sent to them, even though they were living in Jakarta for several years already and could provife all necessary documents to get registered.
In some disctricts even dieseased people along with four year old childs were found in the electoral register.
In other respects their were just small incidents. In the evening, the manual count of the ballot papers began.
Speech of the indonesian president on occasion of the independence day
Within the solemnisation of 62nd indonesian independence day, the indoensian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a speech in front of the parliament at the Nusantara III (Parliament Building) on the 16th of August 2007 at 10 o clock.
The speech was attended by most of the ministers, the vice president Jusuf Kalle and dimplomats from several countries.
The substance of his speech in headwords:
- Strengthening of indonesias unity and co-operation.
- Advancement of the national budget (APBN-Anggaran Pendapatan Belanja Negara), because the debts of indonesia grew in the last year, which could lead to a loss of trust by private investors and this could lead to deficiencies on the job market.
- The salarys of state official will be raised by 20%
- The investments in the health sector should be improved from 6,5 Trillion Rupiah (686 Mio. US $) to 18,8 Trillion Rupiah (2 Billion US $).
- The budget for the social sector should be enhanced, from 47,5 Trillion Rupiah (5 Billion US $) to 67,45 Trillion Rupiah (7,8 Billion US $).
- The enhancement of indonesia infrastructure has to get a main part of the efforts for the next year
- The investments in the education should also be improved by ca. 200% to 48,3 Trillio Rupiah (ca. 5 Billion US $)
- The economic growth for 2008 is estimated to 6,8%, the inflation is estimated to 6%
Disturbances in the province Aceh
In the run of the celebration of the indenpence day it came to several disturbences in Aceh, Indonesian flags, raised to celebrate the independece were burned.
The flag ceremonies had to be held under the protection of the poclice. The general surveillance by the police in aceh was intensified.
The government in Jakarta spoke of a violation of the helsinki agreement, which was signed on August, the 15th 2005 to secure the peace in the uneasy province and demanded the prompt seizure of the agitators.
The disturbances could be the result of disappointed expactations after the tsunamni catastrophy, when large amounts of donated funds got peculated.
Arraignment against Tommy Suharto
On August the 16th, Tommy Suharto was interrogated, in the presence of his lawyer, after he didn´t appeared on his first citation, because of a alleged illness.
The reason for the citation are allegations about the defalcation of Funds, during his work for the industry association BPPC (Badan Penyangga dan Pemasaran Cengkeh).
Also he was questioned, because he didn´t pay back two credits about 759 Billion Rupiah, he got from the banks KLBI (Bank Indonesia Liquidity Credit) and BBD (Dirut Bank Bumi Daya).
Tommy Suharto stated, that he already paid back both credits. After 7.5 hours of interrogation, the prosecution set up an accusal against Tommy Suharto.
He appealed against the accusal one day later, declaring, that he has enough arguments, that he already acquit his debt.
Already at January, the 25th 2007 he sued the bank BNP Paribas, because the blocked 60 Mio. of his funds, because they didn´t had any assertion of the origin of the money, which wasappointed to Tommy Suhartos company (Garnet Investment).
The government supported the bank and determined the bank not to pay the money.
Tommy Suharto and his network of companies have a monopoly position in the branches of Oil, Car production and the trade with cloves.
He owns about 24.000 hectars of estates adn a golf course in Britain. It could be assumed, that the suharto family owns more than 80 Mio. Dollars.
During the rule of his father, the suharto clan lined mor than 440 Mio. Euro in one´s pocket. An expert on the suharto family, George Junus Aditjondro comes to a pessimistic appraisementm that this money could be lost forever.
Art and culture
Celebrations of the indonesian independence day
Within the celebrations of the indonesian independence day may peformances and presentations will be held. In bigger cities a procession will be held also many small performances for children and adults will be organised.
The traditional flag ceremoney will be views live on the important TV stations.
Decline of the Achmad Bakrie award 2007 by Franz Magnis Suseno
On August, the 14th, the catholic priest Franz Magnis Suseno declined to accept the Achmad Bakrie award, which he should receive for his social engangement in indonesia.
He justified his decline with the unreadiness of the Bakrie Group to compensate the victims of the Sidoarjo mud flow.
The Sidoarjo mud flow was caused by drillings, which were arranged by a company of the Bakrie group.
The drilling encountered a subterranean mud sea, which started to drift out permanently. Several villages were buried under the masses of mud and thousands of farmers and villagers lost all of their assets.
Franz Magnis-Suseno demanded, that the Bakrie Group should better care about those victims, than about giving awards.
Franz Magnis Suseno is living more than 40 years in indonesia and if one of the most famous intellectuals.
Asmat Festival
The Asmat Festival will be held in a park, called Pantai Karnaval, Ancol, located in North Jakarta between August, the 12th and August the 19th.
The Asmat are a tribe from Papua, who will present their abilities in woodcarving. Ca. 100 members of the Asmat tribe will show about 11 wooden ships during the festival.The festival is held, within in the celebrations of Indonesias 62. Independence Day.
Nature and Science
Sumatra Tiger got captured
A sumatra tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) was captured and badly hurt in Sawahlunto, in West Sumatra on August, the 15th.
It was brought to Bukittingi, where his foot, which was hurt by a sling had to be amputeed. It has to be assumed, that the tiger is too badly hurt and traumatised to survive in nature, when he would get set free.
Since 2005 15 Sumatra Tiger were either captured or killed. On Sumatra are just 350 to 400 animals of these species left. It is assumed, that they will die out like their congener species on Java and Bali
