Corruption fuelling terrorism in Indonesia

Indonesia has succeeded in dismantling a major new Al-Qaeda-style terrorist network but corruption and complacency threaten to unravel its gains against home grown extremists, a think tank said Tuesday.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) also warned against calls for Indonesia to mimic Singapore's harsh internal security measures with a new intelligence bill due for debate this year.

"The bottom line is that the government is taking terrorism seriously, but much more needs to be done for political will to translate into effective action," the ICG said in a report entitled "Jihadi Surprise in Aceh".

"The Indonesian police, at both local and national levels, deserve credit for their fast work. But no one should be complacent that the job is over."

Police have arrested 48 alleged terrorists and killed another eight, including Dulmatin, one of the region's most wanted men and a key figure in the 2002 Bali bombings, since raiding a terrorist training camp in Aceh province, Sumatra island, in February.

The new group, dubbed "Al-Qaeda Indonesia in Aceh", represented a "third wave" of jihadist extremism in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, the ICG said.

Its members, several of whom are still on the run, were angry at the perceived softness of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah and critical of the tactics of faction leader Noordin Mohammed Top, who was killed last year.

But the death of leaders like Dulmatin and Noordin did not mean the threat had passed, the ICG said.

"Jihadi groups do not disappear after waves of arrests; they evolve and mutate, taking on new forms. The killing of a Noordin here or a Dulmatin there does not eliminate the ideology of salafi jihadism," it said.

"In fact the perceived 'martyrdom' of a few leaders can give the movement new life. It is essential to understand far better how, why and among whom the ideology has taken root and spread in Indonesia."

The government needed to reflect on a series of failures exposed by the extremists' recent activities, including poor intelligence and corruption.

"For all the progress that has been made in the last decade in understanding extremist networks and sharing information across the region about them, the ability to detect their activities remains weak," it said.

"That Dulmatin, one of the region's most wanted terrorists, could leave the Philippines, arrive in Indonesia and live in Jakarta for at least two years without anyone being the wiser suggests that there is still some way to go in improving basic information gathering and analysis."

Dulmatin, a bomb-making expert and one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people, had "no difficulty getting a fake local identification card and passport," it said.

The Aceh group had also used "corrupt police contacts to buy supposedly destroyed weapons... (illustrating) yet again how corruption becomes the lubricant for terrorist activities".

At least 12 members of the group had criminal records, mostly for terrorism, but had been free to accept visits from other extremists and use multiple mobile phones while in jail.

Terrorists were also using forging syndicates "with ties to government departments", the ICG said.

Despite such glaring failures, the ICG warned against extending arrest and detention powers to agencies other than the police.

"Indonesia's much-vaunted 'soft approach' toward terrorism should not be discarded. It is far more appropriate than a harsher regime, and the last thing Indonesia needs is a Singapore-style Internal Security Act... " it said.

Security Analysts say al-Qaida Indonesia in Aceh Temporarily Crippled

Indonesian authorities are learning a great deal about a new militant coalition calling itself al-Qaida Indonesia in Aceh. Since February security forces discovered a militant training camp in Aceh, and have killed eight suspects and arrested 48 others. But security analysts say more action is needed to monitor suspects and prevent extremists from spreading their violent message.

Security analyst Ken Conboy says before two Jakarta hotels were bombed last July, there was a long period of relative calm in Indonesia that allowed terrorist groups to reorganize. "For four years nothing had happened and I think there was quite a bit of complacency among some of the security forces," he said. "The common wisdom was that the most dangerous extremists had more or less gone into retirement. They were not doing anything. And then all of a sudden there was a huge wake up call in July of 2009, last year, when they realized that not only were they still around and active, but they had pieced together a relatively sophisticated operation under the noses of everybody in the city."

Indonesian security forces pursued the perpetrators of the hotel bombings, including mastermind Noordin Top, who was killed in a police raid in September.

As part of their efforts to disrupt new attacks, in February police discovered a new terrorist coalition operating a training camp in Aceh. In the crackdown that followed, 48 suspects were arrested and eight killed. Among the dead was Dulmatin, one of Indonesia's most wanted terrorist suspects for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

Terrorism expert Sidney Jones is with the International Crisis Group. Her new report details a great deal of intelligence about the new terrorist organization, which calls itself al-Qaida Indonesia in Aceh. "This group in some ways was less radical than Noordin Top's in that it believed that the goal should be to establish Islamic law, not just to blow things up. But that in the course of establishing Islamic law, it was permissible to make attacks on anyone who stood in the way," she explained.

She says the group advocates the assassination of elected Indonesian leaders opposed to imposing Islamic, or Sharia, law. Members also favored operating from the base they set up in Aceh in part because the semi-autonomous region of Indonesia has implemented Sharia.

Jones says Aceh residents, who in 2005 ended a 30-year separatist insurgency, reported the camp to authorities. "It was a huge miscalculation. Why they thought they would get support in a place like Aceh that is just recovering from violence, I have no idea, except that there were two people with long experience in Aceh who were part of this coalition," she said.

The crackdown that followed, she says, effectively dismantled the operation for now.

Her report details a number of recommendations to prevent the growth of new militant movements. Chief among them is increased surveillance of prisoners and ex-prisoners who have been involved in terrorist planning and recruitment.

Conboy says to do so effectively police will need additional resources and training. "There have been literally hundreds of extremists that have been detained over the years and to monitor all of them would be rather difficult," he said. "So I guess they have to do some profiling and figure out which ones are going to be the most likely repeat offenders, or the ones who were definitely not repentant when they were in detention and monitor them."

Jones also says Indonesian authorities should go after the growing number of organizations that spread extremist messages. She says, however, the government should censor them, but should monitor them, making sure they register with authorities and pay taxes.

"In a country that has just recovered from an authoritarian past and is doing extremely well in establishing democratic institutions, the last thing you want to do is start re-imposing censorship or restrictions on freedom of expression. So the dilemma is what can you do about these extremist media businesses? And one answer is look very carefully at existing regulations that have to do with publishing houses, and see whether each of these houses is obeying the law to the letter, and if not, they should be punished or they should be held in violation of those laws," she said.

Jones says Indonesia has had great success in using police enforcement to suppress terrorism but that more can be done in an open democratic society to prevent acts of violence.

pengadilan Amerika Kehabisan Kertas

Begitu buruknya dampak krisis keuangan Amerika Serikat sampai-sampai pengadilan pun tidak mampu membeli kertas untuk mencetak kasus-kasus baru.

Pengadilan sebuah kota di Ohio, AS, menyatakan hanya menerima pengajuan kasus baru jika yang bersangkutan membawa kertasnya sendiri.

Hakim Lee McClelland dari Pengadilan Kota Wilayah Morrow menyatakan, pengadilan hanya punya cukup kertas untuk dokumen-dokumen sidang hearing dan kasus-kasus tunda.

Pengadilan akan menghentikan penerimaan kasus baru, Senin (16/3 -2009), karena tidak mampu memesan kertas lagi.

Kepada harian The Columbus Dispatch, McClelland menyatakan, pemerintah wilayah belum membayar tagihan-tagihan barang kebutuhan pengadilan yang dipesan bulan November 2008.

Dia menambahkan, beberapa badan wilayah telah sukarela memberikan kertas saat mengajukan kasus mereka sendiri.

http://www.rileks.com/entertainment/ragam/omg/22034-ada-ada-saja-pengadilan-kok-kehabisan-kertas.html

beli BH buat nenek.

Menjelang Hari Valentine, seorang kakek bermaksud membeli hadiah buat si nenek. Berangkatlah si kakek naik bis sambil berpikir, “Beli apa ya?”

Di sebelahnya kebetulan duduk seorang gadis yang tengah membaca majalah yang di sampulnya ada iklan bra. Si kakek dapat ide untuk memberi hadiah bra buat nenek.

Sampai di toko lingerie, kakek tampak kaget dengan begitu banyak pakaian dalam bergantungan. “Beli apa, kek?” tanya penjaga toko kaget karena ada seorang kakek di tokonya. "Mau beli BH buat nenek," jawab sang kakek spontan.

Si penjaga toko bertanya, “Ukurannya berapa?”

Si kakek terlihat bingung, “Nah itu... masalahnya kakek lupa nomornya dan nggak bawa contoh”

Si penjaga toko mencoba cari ukuran, “Mungkin sebesar jeruk bali, kek?”

Si kakek masih terlihat bingung, “Wah, kegedean.”

Si penjaga toko iseng bertanya, “Jeruk Garut, kali ya?”

Kakek berpikir sejenak, “Kayaknya masih kegedean.”

Penjaga toko bingung, tapi tak hilang akal, “Oh ya, mungkin sebesar telur bebek?”

Si kakek tampak bersemangat karena tebakan penjaga toko itu tepat, "Ha, betul!” Matanya berbinar, “Tapi, yang didadar.”

Nenek 72 Tahun Pacari Cucu Sendiri dan Akan Punya Anak!

Seorang nenek berusia 72 tahun, Pearl Carter, dikabarkan berpacaran dengan cucunya sendiri yang berusia 26 tahun, Phil Bailey. Bahkan, keduanya bakal mempunyai bayi yang dikandung seorang wanita lainnya.

Menurut berita yang dilansir majalah New Idea di Selandia Baru, Pearl akan membayar US$ 54 ribu (Rp 486,8 juta) kepada wanita yang akan mengandung anaknya dengan Bailey. "Saya tidak peduli dengan pendapat orang. Saya mencintai Phil dan ia juga mencintai saya. Tidak lama lagi saya akan menggendong anak saya dan Phil akan menjadi ayah yang bangga," ujar Pearl.

Phil adalah anak dari anak perempuan Pearl, Lynette Bailey. Lynette merupakan anak kandung Pearl ketika ia masih berusia 18 tahun. Karena saat itu masih muda dan tinggal di keluarga Katolik yang kuat di Indiana, akhirnya Pearl menyerahkan Lynette ke tempat untuk diadopsi.

Lynette menjadi orang tua tunggal bagi Phil, yang kini menjadi tukang kayu. Ketika Lynette wafat, Phil mencari neneknya. Setelah bertemu, Phil dan Pearl menjalin hubungan asmara.

Pearl mengatakan, "Saya memanggil Phil ke kamar tidur saya. Mendudukkannya di kursi dan saya bertumpu kepadanya dan menciumnya. Saya awalnya menduga ia akan menolak. Tetapi ternyata ia malah balas mencium saya."

Kepada New Idea, Phil mengatakan, "Saya ingin menciumnya di sana saat itu. Perasaan saya luar biasa."

"Saya mencintai Pearl sepenuh hati saya. Saya memang tertarik dengan wanita yang lebih tua. Dan saya rasa Pearl cantik. Kini, saya akan menjadi seorang ayah. Saya tidak sabar lagi menanti itu. Kami memang sempat ditertawakan dan dicemooh ketika pergi ke luar dan bercumbu di depan publik. Tetapi kami tidak peduli. Anda tidak bisa menentukan kepada siapa Anda bakal jatuh cinta," lanjut Phil.

Setahun yang lalu, Phil mengatakan kepada Carter bahwa ia ingin seorang anak. Carter juga mengaku ingin memiliki anak. Akan tetapi, keinginan untuk memiliki anak dari benih mereka berdua tidak mungkin terwujud karena Carter sudah menopause.

Pasangan tersebut akhirnya memutuskan untuk menggunakan uang pensiun Carter untuk mencari wanita yang bersedia mengandung dan mendonorkan ovumnya. Mereka pun memasang iklan untuk mencari wanita tersebut. Iklan tersebut pun dijawab Roxanne Campbell, 30 tahun.

"Awalnya saya terkejut," ujar Campbell mengenai hubungan darah Phil dan Carter. "Tetapi mereka pasangan yang cerdas dan saya melihat mereka saling mencintai. Saya juga sadar bayinya akan dicintai juga." http://www.rileks.com/entertainment/ragam/omg/34179-edan-nenek-72-tahun-pacari-cucu-sendiri-dan-akan-punya-anak.html

Festival Santap Daging Kucing

Jika ingin tahu bagaimana rasanya daging kucing tanyakan saja pada warga Peru yang suka menggelar pesta makan kucing setiap September.

Seperti yang dilansir The Sun, acara itu dikenal dengan nama "Gastronomical Festival of the Cat" yang diadakan oleh penduduk Kota Canete, dekat Lima, Peru. Para undangan dipersilakan menikmati kenduri makan kucing sepuasnya selama dua hari berturut-turut.

Namun tak semua menyukai tindakan warga Canete. Lembaga pencinta hewan internasional dilaporkan kesal dengan pesta tahunan di Peru itu, yang mengorbankan beratus-ratus ekor kucing yang digoreng untuk disantap penduduk setempat.

Hal itu ada hubungannya dengan kepercayaan tindakan memakan penganan seperti burger kucing, kaki, dan ekor kucing yang digoreng dapat memulihkan masalah paru-paru selain meningkatkan tenaga batin. Malah, kucing yang dihidangkan itu banyak yang dipelihara khusus untuk pesta tersebut.

Tindakan kejam pada hewan itu keruan menuai hujatan lembaga pencinta hewan, PETA. “Memang tak masuk akal bila ada orang yang masih berpikiran kolot dan mempercayai anggapan salah, konon memakan kucing dapat memulihkan penyakit paru-paru," kata lembaga tersebut.

“Itu sama halnya dengan tindakan salah segelintir penduduk Asia yang memakan monyet untuk memulihkan tenaga batin,” kata juru bicara PETA
http://www.rileks.com/entertainment/ragam/omg/16322-waduhada-festival-santap-daging-kucing.html

Miss Transsexual Aceh 2010

Under the Shadow of Shariah Law, Transsexuals Take to the Stage in Aceh in Rare beauty Contest

In their best Acehese costumes, kitsch jewelry and towering hair buns, 40 transsexuals sashayed down a stage on Saturday to loud club music, disco lights and rapturous applause as they competed in the Miss Transsexual Aceh 2010.

The streets of Aceh may be monitored by the Wilayatul Hisbah, or Shariah Police, but that did not deter the audience in the auditorium of the Radio Republik Indonesia building in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, as they welcomed the finalists with screams and whistles.

There was no seat left unoccupied. Drag queens, homosexuals and members of Aceh’s minority communities forked out Rp 10,000 for tickets to the show, with some having to sit on the ground or watch from the balconies.

Transsexuals entertained the audience by lip-syncing to local songs and dancing to dangdut music. Some wore sexy outfits while others donned the hijab , the Muslim headscarf.

The winner of the Best Transsexual Catwalk wore a sash with the words “Cet Work,” a misspelling of the word catwalk, splashed across it.

Organized by Putroe Sejati Aceh (True Sons of Aceh), an organization that provides shelters for transsexuals, the 40 contestants represented 23 districts and cities in the staunchly Muslim province.

University student Zifana Letisia, from North Aceh, was crowned the pageant winner and will represent Aceh at the Miss Transsexual Indonesia 2010.

She said she was treated well at her campus despite her sexuality. “At campus, my achievements are quite extraordinary. Nobody dares to put me down.

“People on campus are polite, even respectful and proud of me, even though I am a transsexual,” Zifana said, adding that she did not take Islamic law lightly.

A third-year nursing student and part-time beauty therapist, Zifana, whose real name is Anggah, beat out finalists Jasmine Mulan Sayuri, from South Aceh, and Joy, from Central Aceh.

“We are very careful today [when it comes to Islamic Shariah law]. One day, we will build a special forum to try and find a middle-ground over this matter in Aceh,” Zifana said.

Organizing committee chairman Jimmy Saputra said the event had been approved by Aceh’s Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU).

“After we explained that this activity would be a positive event, the MPU scholars gave us permission,” said Jimmy, who also goes by his transsexual name Timmy Mayubi.

The event was judged by a three-person panel. The judges were Marini, from the Indonesian Women’s Coalition of Aceh, and Silver Sebayang and Santi, both from RRI Banda Aceh.

The pageant started out with 40 contestants, of which 15 were selected as finalists. These 15 were further winnowed down to the final six.

Many contestants struggled to understand the judges’ questions, which covered a wide range of issues, from corruption to the daily struggle of transsexuals and Shariah law in Aceh.

When asked to comment on allegations that the province’s Shariah Police were violating the laws they enforced, 23-year-old Alin, from Lhokseumawe, said in a lilting voice: “I will follow the law of Islamic Shariah because I live in Aceh.”

The audience burst into laughter when Carla, 20, who was representing Aceh Besar district, replied to a question on the link between poverty and corruption with the answer: “If [the concept of] poverty was not applied, there would be no corruption.”

Carla, in true beauty-queen style, kept poised and elegant despite the crowd’s reaction, and walked along the stage while waving her right hand.

Other contestants were unable to speak at all when questioned by the judges.

But some received standing ovations, including 19-year-old Joy, from Central Aceh district.

In response to a question on the existence of transsexuals at a time when Muslims were subject to Shariah law, Joy loudly declared: “The application of Islamic law in Aceh is not in accordance with the wishes of the people because many people in Aceh are still violating Shariah, especially during Ramadan when they are not fasting and commit adulterous affairs.”

Cut Nyak, 20, of Pidie district, said Shariah law was a “tool applied in Aceh to manage the public because the majority of Acehnese were Muslims,” adding that she supported the implementation of Islamic law in the province.

Aceh’s controversial Qanun Jinayat code is a set of local bylaws that were passed in September by the province’s legislative council, and replaced parts of the Criminal Code with sections of Islamic law for Muslims.

http://www.tglife.com/Columns/article1253_Miss_Transsexual_Aceh_2010.html