After what happened on the night of Nov. 8, 11-year-old John Ryan and his nine siblings are spending their first Christmas as orphans. They were all asleep when armed men barged into their shanty at the Market 3 area of the Navotas Fish Port Complex and grabbed Joaquin Garbo. The siblings saw how their father was dragged out of the house while still in his underwear. John Ryan's mother and eldest sister, aged 17, immediately went to the Station Anti-illegal Drugs (SAID) unit of the Navotas police, but the officer who faced them said Garbo wasn't there. [continues 1277 words]
JAKARTA, Indonesia - I.B. Agung Partha foresees an apocalypse, as he put it, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The threat is not a plague of locusts, nor one of Bali's dormant volcanos springing to life. It is in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital several hundred miles away, where Parliament is debating legislation that would ban beer, wine and spirits across the thousands of islands that make up this country. For Bali, whose beaches, lush landscapes and cultural attractions drew four million visitors last year, the effect would be something like the end of the world, said Mr. Partha, the chairman of the Bali Tourism Board. [continues 1143 words]
Ciliclap, Indonesia - INDONESIA executed four drug convicts yesterday but 10 others due to face the firing squad were given an apparent reprieve in a confused process one lawyer condemned as a "complete mess". The executions on a remote prison island went ahead despite strong protests from international rights groups, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union who had urged Indonesia not to proceed. Four inmates - three Nigerians and one Indonesian - were put to death just after midnight. One of the Nigerian prisoners was cremated hours later, while the bodies of the three others were being prepared for burial. [continues 294 words]
The Indonesian government said it had executed four drug traffickers, giving a reprieve of uncertain duration to 10 others who it had said would also be put to death. Deputy Attorney General Noor Rachmad said one Indonesian and three Nigerians were executed by firing squad. He said the government has not decided when the other executions will take place. It is the third set of executions under President Joko Widodo, who was elected in 2014. - - From news services [end]
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia on Friday executed three foreigners and an Indonesian convicted of drug crimes, an official said, as the country resumed a "war on drugs" that drew international condemnation last year after two mass executions of foreign drug convicts. The official, Deputy Attorney General Noor Rachmad, said that the Indonesian convict, two Nigerians and a Senegalese were executed by firing squad shortly after midnight. Mr. Rachmad said a decision had not yet been made about when 10 others convicted of drug crimes and sentenced to death, mostly foreigners, would be executed. [continues 665 words]
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been urged to cancel the planned executions of drug convicts and review his capital punishment policy as authorities prepare for executions on Nusakambangan prison island, Cilacap, Central Java. Pakistani Zulfiqar Ali, one of the death row convicts, was transferred on Monday to a secluded prison on the island from a nearby hospital, where he had been treated for cirrhosis since May. Zulfiqar, 52, was picked up from the hospital at around 11 a.m. to be put in an isolated cell ahead of the third round of executions expected to take place this week. [continues 474 words]
Indonesia may have felt proud when its delegation was chosen to represent 16 like-minded countries at a UN General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem at the UN headquarters in New York last April. For Indonesia, its selection to read a joint statement on behalf of countries that maintain the death penalty showcased trust from others in its persistence to keep capital punishment intact. But Indonesian representatives to the UN forum received boos from many among the 193 delegations attending the session. The jeers sent a message of derision for defending the death penalty as "an important component of drug control policy". [continues 817 words]
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has frequently expressed his intense anger with drug dealers, even to the extent of executing some of them. When speaking at the International Day Against Drugs on Sunday he proposed a new approach that could rival the actions of his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte. But just as capital punishment has not defeated the scourge of drug abuse in the country so Jokowi should never try to go that far, let alone consider breaking the rules. "Chase them, beat them, hit them. If the law permits, shoot them." Luckily the law does not permit such measures, he added. Nevertheless that's the President's punch line, which might represent the wish of the majority of Indonesian people, particularly parents who have sacrificed all they have to save their children from addiction. [continues 382 words]
Jokowi reinforces hard-line stance on drugs as more executions to take place Rights groups find irregularities in drug-related death row cases As a third round of executions nears, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo commemorating the UN's International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Sunday, took the moment to bolster his tough stance on traffickers. In a fiery appeal, Jokowi instructed the National Police and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) to pursue, arrest and "smash" small-, medium-or big-time drug dealers operating in the country and even "shoot them on sight if existing law allowed it", to tell the world that Indonesia was serious in its fight against drugs. [continues 615 words]
The World Health Organization defines addiction or dependency as a complex health condition that often requires long-term treatment and care. Sadly, that is the case with Indonesia's policy on drug crimes. To address the global problem of drugs, world leaders and activists gathered on April 19-21 at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in New York. Most countries represented moved from criminalization to decriminalization for personal possession or use. Some opted to regulate drug markets for certain types of drugs, mostly marijuana. Almost all delegates from the EU, Latin America, UN organizations and the special rapporteurs against torture and the right to health agreed to abolish the death penalty for drug offenders. [continues 608 words]
The Medan District Court on Wednesday decided on capital punishment for four Indonesians convicted of smuggling 270 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from Malaysia to North Sumatra. The four defendants are businessmen Ayau and Daud, alias Athiam, from Bengkalis, Riau, Lukmansyah, a security guard in Dumai, Riau, and Jimmy Syahputra, a resident of Deli Serdang, North Sumatra. The panel of judges found that they violated the Narcotics Law, which carries a maximum penalty of death for traffickers. "The defendants are proven to have conspired to traffic narcotics. With all the evidence, the judges rejected their defence and ordered the death penalty," said presiding judge Asmar while reading out the verdict on Wednesday night. [continues 368 words]
INDONESIAN police have set up "several" firing squads ready for deployment to a notorious prison island as the country finalises preparations for a fresh wave of executions of drug smugglers. Two British death row inmates, including grandmother Lindsay Sandiford (59), could be among the next batch of prisoners tied to a stake and executed. Commander Aloys Darmanto, the Central Java police spokesman, said yesterday the provincial mobile brigade unit has established several firing squads to be sent when needed to Nusakambangan prison island. [continues 241 words]
It is still fresh in the memory when the Indonesian public witnessed fellow citizens holding hands in solidarity to ask the government to spare the lives of drugs traffickers months before the execution last year. The calls grew louder approaching the execution date of April 29, especially following the revelation of the convicts' identities. Leaders of Australia, France and the Philippines urged Indonesia to save their citizens from capital punishment. But no such actions are seen today, since the government has kept the plan below the radar. [continues 398 words]
JAKARTA - Indonesia said it would resume executions of drug traffickers this year, after a brief hiatus since last year's controversial executions of mostly foreign convicts. Attorney-General H.M. Prasetyo told reporters yesterday that "more than one" person would be executed for drug offences this year and that foreigners were also on the list. "We will not stop. We will step up the war on drugs," Prasetyo said. Indonesia executed 14 convicts, including nationals of Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Nigeria, by firing squad last year despite repeated pleas for mercy from foreign governments and international organisations and activists. Amid international outrage, Indonesia postponed other scheduled executions. - - Reuters [end]
The South Sulawesi Wirabuana Military Command proposed on Thursday that the Army chief of staff dismiss Makassar Military commander Col. Inf. Jefri Oktavian Rotti for consuming drugs. "We have recommended his dismissal and for his successor to be inaugurated soon," Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Agus Surya Bakti said. Jefri was arrested while allegedly consuming drugs with the head of the operations command and control center, Lt. Col. Budi Iman Santoso, and five civilians at a hotel in Makassar on Wednesday. [continues 419 words]
The recent arrest of a number of soldiers, a police officer and a lawmaker for drug possession constitutes an achievement for the team involved and as well as a nightmare for the nation. The number of police and military personnel who were caught is an indication of the strong grip drug syndicates have on those institutions. It is regrettable that law enforcers who should be fighting drug trafficking and soldiers who are given the duty of protecting the nation were involved in drug crimes. [continues 138 words]
Indonesia uses faulty statistics to justify rights violations in drug crimes. A group of worldwide social organizations has sent a letter to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) to urge the removal of its support for the methodologically defective data produced by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), which it intends to use to increase punitive measures after declaring a national drug emergency. Antara/Agung Rajasa Major haul: Finance Minister Bambang Bodjonegoro (center), accompanied by National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Comr. Gen, Budi Waseso (right) and customs and excise director general Heru Pambudi, briefs the press at the BNN building recently following the confiscation of 270 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in Medan, North Sumatra, and Dumai, Riau. [continues 295 words]
The newly inaugurated National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso continues to make controversy. Soon after his inauguration, Budi said that he would review all laws related to drugs. He even said that he would send all drug users to prison, instead of making them undergo rehabilitation programs as mandated by the current law on narcotics. Budi also claimed that fighting drugs should include reviewing related laws, since imperfect regulations were an obstacle for BNN in performing its duties. Budi announced that he would propose a revision to Law No. 35/2009 on Narcotics, especially Article 54, which states that social and medical rehabilitation must be provided to drug addicts and victims of drug abuse. [continues 627 words]
Seven Foreigners Are Among Drug Convicts Killed. a Filipina Is Spared for Now. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Ignoring international pressure and heart-wrenching last-minute family pleas for clemency, Indonesia executed eight men on drug charges early Wednesday, Indonesian news media reported. However, authorities said they had spared for now a female prisoner from the Philippines who had been scheduled to die. Officials did not release an immediate statement confirming the executions of seven foreigners and an Indonesian. News reports cited unnamed officials, and Amnesty International said it had received confirmation of the executions. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said its one citizen among the condemned had been put to death. [continues 690 words]
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Two are young Australians portrayed back home as generally good lads. One is a Brazilian who is mentally ill. There are four Nigerian men, a female migrant worker from the Philippines and an Indonesian laborer. They come from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, but all nine were convicted of drug crimes in Indonesia. And all are scheduled to die soon in a mass execution on a remote island off the southern coast of Java. In what is believed will be the largest such execution in Indonesia in decades, firing squads could start the job as early as 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. [continues 1239 words]
MAKASSAR - Over the last few weeks we have witnessed, or perhaps been involved in, a fierce debate about drugs and how to deal with drug abuse, drug dealing and the accompanying issues in Indonesia. The polemic in particular turned emotional, since drug use is a sensitive issue. The controversy was triggered by the execution of nine convicted drug traffickers, including foreign nationals, and the handing down of death sentences to 10 others shortly thereafter. The strict law enforcement has sparked a diplomatic row between Indonesia and several countries whose citizens were or will be executed. [continues 857 words]
Life sentences for drug convicts have proven to be ineffective in Indonesia. After many years of delaying the execution of drug convicts - the execution of Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan has been postponed for almost a decade - drug trafficking still lingers. Life sentences never prevent drug traffickers from continuing their businesses. The case of the Nusakambangan prisoners Sartoni and Sutrisno was an obvious example that drug trafficking gets worse day after day. It is strange that they could manage such prohibited businesses from the prison. [continues 332 words]
Jakarta (AFP) - An Indonesian funeral home has reportedly prepared at least 10 caskets for police ahead of the planned execution of death-row convicts, including two Australian drug smugglers whose sentences have strained the country's relations with Canberra. The report came as Indonesia announced yesterday that it had on Friday night deported Ms Candace Sutton, a reporter for Australia's Daily Mail, as she had interviewed without a proper visa a relative of one of the Australian convicts in the coastal town of Cilacap. [continues 199 words]
Prisoners in Bali's Kerobokan jail are petrified they will be abandoned by the world after their mentors and advocates Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are killed this month. While the art, computer, bible and cooking classes co-ordinated by Sukumaran and Chan are well documented, few on the outside are aware of the advocacy role the men have played in the prison over many years. The two Australians use their extensive network of supporters to source food, medical supplies, money and other goods for fellow prisoners. [continues 583 words]
It's hard for me to comprehend how beautiful ancient Asian cultures, which have lived harmoniously with the earth for centuries, got sucked into this shameful and unholy American-led "war on drugs". It's actually a war on any drug that is not owned by the pharmaceutical industry - Big Pharma - and of course that includes nature's best pain-relieving plants: the opium poppy, cannabis and the coca plant. Now look at the illegal trade in heroin, pot and coke. [continues 134 words]
Aceh might be famous for its brutal application of Islamic sharia law, but it's also where a certain intoxicating weed has been getting people high for generations. Marijuana sales once helped fund the 30- year war waged by separatist rebels and when they descended from their mountain strongholds after the 2005 peace deal, the plantations remained. To this day, two lucrative cash crops - coffee and " ganja" - provide a healthy income in Aceh's rural hinterland. In a pungent smoke haze at a secret location in the capital, Banda Aceh, an enterprising group of young stoners is combining the two into what could perhaps be viewed as the essence of Aceh. [continues 431 words]
The country's two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have given their support to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's call for the swift execution of death-row inmates despite criticism from human rights campaigners. Jokowi paid a visit to the headquarters of the two organizations in Jakarta on Wednesday in his efforts to rally support for his tough stance on drug convicts. Citing the Koran and the State Constitution, NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj said drug trafficking was a serious crime punishable by death. [continues 372 words]
With the school and summer holidays approaching, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Bali office says it will work closely with the police, airport and port managements and related agencies to foil any drug smuggling and trafficking attempts in Bali. "The holiday season [between June and August] has not yet arrived but we have already dealt with two major drug cases within the space of a week," BNN Bali chief I Gusti Ketut Budhiarta told journalists over the weekend. Budhiarta said many drug smuggling cases in Bali occurred during the holiday period. [continues 468 words]
With the school and summer holidays approaching, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Bali office says it will work closely with the police, airport and port managements and related agencies to foil any drug smuggling and trafficking attempts in Bali. "The holiday season [between June and August] has not yet arrived but we have already dealt with two major drug cases within the space of a week," BNN Bali chief I Gusti Ketut Budhiarta told journalists over the weekend. Budhiarta said many drug smuggling cases in Bali occurred during the holiday period. [continues 520 words]
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is again under fire for going soft on drug convicts following the decision to parole Schapelle Corby. The Australian would have been eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of her original sentence, in 2017, if not for a five-year sentence reduction granted by Yudhoyono in 2012 and for 30 months of remissions she received over the years. The announcement of the parole came about two weeks after convicted French drug trafficker Michael Loic Blanc was released after he was granted parole in November. [continues 456 words]
Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby is expected to learn Friday whether Indonesian authorities have agreed to grant her parole after more than nine years behind bars on the resort island of Bali. Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is pictured on April 22, 2008 inside Kerobokan prison in Denpasar on the Indonesian resort island of Bali Corby, whose case attracted huge media attention and public sympathy in Australia, is due to find out her fate in the afternoon when Indonesian Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin announces his decision in Jakarta. [continues 410 words]
Indonesian justice minister who will decide whether Schapelle Corby will be released on parole from a Bali prison says the Australian will get no special treatment. After nine years behind bars for drug smuggling, Corby, 36, is inching towards parole. Her case was heard in Jakarta last week, but it's not known if the recommendation to Indonesia's Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin was for or against parole. Syamsuddin told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday that Corby's case is one of hundreds of requests, and she will get no special treatment. [continues 272 words]
When asked how Corby was likely to celebrate, ex-Corby family lawyer Kerry Smith-Douglas said she'll probably pop a cork of champagne and roll up a big marijuana joint the size of a cigar and kick back and enjoy herself. Visibly rattled, Today host Karl Stefanovic then asked, "You haven't been smoking yourself this morning, have you?" A laughing Ms replied: "My eyes are red, I know". After some nervous chuckles a clearly embarrassed and concerned Stefanovic quickly turned the interview to more serious matters, asking whether the Corby case had been poorly handled by lawyers from the outset. [continues 141 words]
Nine's telemovie on drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has angered her supporters. A father with white scraggly whiskers lightly nicotine-stained by the make-up artist and glued to his chin looks up at his daughter, a one-time beauty school student in a green dress seated before him in a prison garden. Her eyebrows are shaved down each day rather than plucked, so the actor playing Australia's most famous contemporary female prisoner, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 after being convicted for smuggling marijuana into Bali in a surf body board bag, can easily regrow her brows once filming finishes. [continues 638 words]
Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said on Wednesday that he would rule on Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby's parole application this week, raising speculation that Corby could be released soon. Corby was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, in October 2004 for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is currently detained at Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali. Amir said he would review the correctional board's recommendation, which completed its meeting on Jan. 30 and had given recommendations for 1,772 parole requests in total. [continues 384 words]
High-profile Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby will learn within days whether she will be granted parole from an Indonesian jail following a lengthy bid to win early release, a minister said yesterday. Indonesian Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin said the 36-year-old's application was among a large batch he would decide on by today although he stressed she would not get "special treatment". Corby, whose case has attracted huge publicity in Australia, was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 after being caught trying to smuggle 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into the resort island of Bali. [continues 261 words]
Schapelle Corby approaches final hurdles for parole bid, awaits Indonesia's political approval by Michael Bachelard, Indonesia correspondent for Fairfax Media Schapelle Corby has cleared two of the bureaucratic hurdles standing between her and her parole bid, and has only two more to go before she can be released from Kerobokan prison. A spokesman for the Indonesian Corrections department, Ayub Suratman, has confirmed that the Australian government has issued the convicted drug smuggler a new passport at the request of the country's immigration department. [continues 342 words]
The mind-set of law enforcers needs to be changed to make them understand that not all drug users are criminals and that they need rehabilitation instead of imprisonment, says a Supreme Court judge. "Users aren't criminals, and the mind-set of law enforcers such as police and prosecutors needs to change," Justice Surya Jaya said at a discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday. "The process in handling drug abusers isn't implemented well, and that's why we're seeing so many of them jailed." [continues 319 words]
Indonesia faces a long and hard battle against drugs. In recent months, the police have arrested several people who were allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the country. The nation's war against drugs must be fought on all fronts. The police are at the forefront but schools, families and the judicial system must all play their part. Unless we have strong laws to deter the sale of drugs, it will be an uphill battle. Currently, there are 3.8 million to 4.2 million drug users in Indonesia. If we fail to tackle this problem head on, this number will grow, putting at risk our youth and the future of this country. We must stop drug trafficking to prevent Indonesia from becoming a major market for drug dealers. [continues 202 words]
Anti-narcotics officers have thrown drug addicts a lifeline: Turn yourself in and you will receive rehabilitation and be spared prosecuted. Comr. Gen. Gories Mere, the head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), said on Sunday that the offer would be valid throughout June to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on June 26, and the anniversary of the establishment of the National Police, on July 1. "Those who come in to report their drug use won't be prosecuted but will be placed in rehab" at the BNN's rehabilitation center in Bogor, he said. [continues 150 words]
Indonesia's aviation industry has admitted concern over widespread drug use, and the House of Representatives will summon Lion Air management after the arrest of a Lion pilot for drug use in Surabaya on Saturday, the second such case in two months. Indonesia National Air Carriers Association secretary general Tengku Burhanuddin said the use of drugs among airline crews had tainted the industry's image, and he called on the government to take quick action to crack down on the circulation of drugs. [continues 414 words]
WE hadn't even parked the car when the dealer saw me. I looked like the perfect target - a fair skinned tourist with a local driver, The Daily Telegraph reported. He smiled at me warmly, which I returned (not knowing his agenda) and when I stepped out of the car he approached me. "You want to buy a phone?" he asked. "No thanks," I said simply. "A T-shirt? A T-shirt? Cocaine?" The jump from clothing to drugs confused me. So I asked him again. [continues 343 words]
JAKARTA: Social Services Minister Salim Segaf al Jufri says legalizing marijuana may have negative effects on the nation's youth. "I don't agree [with the idea of legalizing marijuana] because I fear it would be misused," he said Saturday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. A number of activists previously demanded the legalization of marijuana and recently held a rally commemorating the Global Marijuana March. Salim added that it would be difficult to determine whether individuals found in possession of less than 1 gram of contraband were first-time users. [continues 54 words]
The Nationwide Marijuana Circle (LGN) staged a march on Saturday to campaign for the legalization of marijuana in the country. They marched around the Tugu Tani monument in Central Jakarta. "What we want as our first step is for the government to provide objective information about marijuana," LGN chair Dhira Narayana said at the march. "People need to be informed that marijuana can be used to cure cancer. Marijuana also does not trigger any addiction that is more dangerous than coffee or tea," he said. [continues 71 words]
Convinced that marijuana could be used for medical purposes, a group in Jakarta is campaigning to promote legalization. The group called Lingkar Ganja Nusantara (Nusantara Marijuana Network) said that for decades, society has had misperceptions about marijuana, and the alleged ills that it may potentially cause, without ever looking into its potential benefits. "If we explore further, cannabis actually has more benefits than negative effects on humans," said network chairman Irwan Syarif. Irwan said that for medical purposes, marijuana could be used in cancer treatment procedures and could also work as an anti-inflammation drug. [continues 349 words]
Jakarta. The National Narcotics Agency has vowed to enhance its efforts on a recently launched initiative that involves seizing drug convicts' assets to prevent them from running drug operations from behind bars. Comr. Gen. Gorries Mere, who heads the agency known as the BNN, pointed out on Monday that the seizure of assets belonging to convicted drug traffickers and dealers was regulated by the 2009 Anti-Narcotics Law. "We have started this program just this year, with one or two cases at first. [continues 849 words]
The Jakarta Police are considering handing narcotics producers and traffickers hefty fines rather than locking them up, arguing that imprisonment did not appear to be an effective deterrent and was getting too costly for the state. Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman said that fines and confiscation of property were believed to be better strategies for dealing with drug-related crime, both by users and traffickers. "All money they've got should be confiscated by the state. They don't need to be put in prison. Since they don't have money anymore, they won't be able to buy [drugs] again." Sutarman said. [continues 339 words]
SCHAPELLE Corby doesn't think about the world outside the walls of her Bali jail often any more and says she no longer has much hope she will be freed any time soon. But with tears welling in her eyes during an exclusive interview outside her cell at Bali's Kerobokan Jail yesterday, she told how she still puts make-up on every day to make herself feel better. And she showed the intricate beaded necklaces and bracelets she makes to fill in time and keep active. [continues 400 words]
Youth and Sports Minister Adhyaksa Dault revealed Saturday evening that 15,000 Indonesians die of drug-related illnesses each year. "That's not even accounting the growth of HIV/AIDS patients; a social tsunami in and of itself, since what we know is only the tip of the iceberg," Adhyaksa said, as quoted by kompas.com on Sunday. He argued that the increasing number of drug abuse and people infected with HIV/AIDS were major issues facing all societal elements. A concerted effort to quell the two problems is needed, Adhyaksa said, adding that cigarette smoking was one of the avenues that eventually lead to drug abuse. [continues 90 words]
An anti-drug message from the Indonesian President to be broadcast by text message is expected to cause disruptions in cellular-phone text-messaging services in the country for more than 30 hours starting Tuesday afternoon. A spokesperson for the Postal and Telecommunications Directorate General, Gatot S. Dewa Broto said in a Tuesday press release the 160-character message will be sent to every user of cellular phones and fixed-wireless phones in the country. "We are making this announcement to prevent public misunderstandings during those hours, when telecommunication services may be disrupted," he said. [continues 52 words]
Inside Indonesia
