After Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces at the end of the World War II, on 17 August 1945, people of the former Dutch colony in South East Asia declared the independence of the Republic of Indonesia.
In spite of this fact, the Dutch Armed Forces wanted to re-conquer said former colony, for which purpose they tried every efforts, including mass murder of hundreds even thousands of Indonesian people.
One of the bloodiest massacre took place on 9 December 1947 in Rawagede (now called Balongsari) a village located between Karawang and Bekasi, West Java, where the Dutch killed 431 innocent people.
In the past I would think that the Rawagede Massacre would remain a mystery, and those responsible would not be touched by the laws, just like the Westerling Massacre in Sulawesi, or victims of Nazi massacre in Europe. Especially that the Indonesian government doesn't seem to support this action.
That's why I was pessimistic when I read that 10 widows of the victims of the Rawagede Massacre initiated legal action against the Netherlands on 10 September 2008.
But thank God, I was very happy when I read on The Jakarta Globe and the blog of Dutch blogger Colson that last Wednesday, 14 September, a Dutch Court has ruled that the Netherlands must pay compensation to seven of the widows (the other three widows died while waiting for the verdict).
I hope this success would inspire the families of victims of other mysterious killings, such as people who died after the 30 September 1965 tragedy, and/or Trisakti University students and others who were killed after the Reformasi on May 1998, and/or the killing of Munir, to initiate legal actions against anyone allegedly responsible for those killings.
Of course it would not be easy considering that it has been very long time, therefore witnesses and/or evidences might not be available anymore, but who knows ?
Showing posts with label West Java. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Java. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
A place for weekend: Kampung Sampireun
The resort was built based on the concept of the Sundanese people of West Java, where my parents come from, on an area of 5,5 Hectares including 1,5 Hectares of lake, that lies 1,000 Kilometer above sea level.
It has 22 various sizes of bungalows, each of them equipped with a boat, a traditional spa, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a multi-function room, swimming pool, fishing pond, waterfall, etc.
The room rates range from Rp 2,1 Million to Rp. 4,5 Million per night / nett. During holidays there will be a surcharge of 10%.
For more details, please visit the website : www.kampungsampireun.com.
Photos : Courtesy of Kampung Sampireun.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Bicycle Bomb in Bekasi
A bicycle is the most safest means of transportation, because we can ride on it without using any fuel, thus saving our environment from any pollution.
But yesterday, I learned that a bicycle can also be used to injure or kill people, i.e. after I heard the news about the explosion of a home made bomb strapped to the back of a bicycle in Bekasi, Wwsta Java (town outside Jakarta), badly injuring the rider of said bicycle i.e Ahmad.
More story about the bicycle bomber can be read on the article (below) quoted from The Jakarta Globe.
Considering that the alleged Bicycle Bomber carried two threatening letters, and location of explosion was near two Policemen, I wonder whether the bomb was targeted at the Police.
Bicycle Bomber No Terror Expert, Bekasi Police Say
Ulma Haryano, Farouk Arnaz & Zaky Pawas | October 01, 2010
But yesterday, I learned that a bicycle can also be used to injure or kill people, i.e. after I heard the news about the explosion of a home made bomb strapped to the back of a bicycle in Bekasi, Wwsta Java (town outside Jakarta), badly injuring the rider of said bicycle i.e Ahmad.
More story about the bicycle bomber can be read on the article (below) quoted from The Jakarta Globe.
Considering that the alleged Bicycle Bomber carried two threatening letters, and location of explosion was near two Policemen, I wonder whether the bomb was targeted at the Police.
Bicycle Bomber No Terror Expert, Bekasi Police Say
Ulma Haryano, Farouk Arnaz & Zaky Pawas | October 01, 2010
Jakarta. A man who allegedly tried to blow up two policemen in a botched suicide attack in Bekasi on Thursday was an amateur, police said.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said the suspect, identified only as Ahmad, was in critical condition as officers investigated possible links to terror networks.
“What he did is still categorized as terror, no matter what the background. We are still investigating what his motive was, and where he managed to get a homemade bomb,” Iskandar said.
The 38-year-old man, described by police as a drifter who moved from one mosque to another, suffered serious injuries to his face, neck and torso in the blast and broke his right arm and leg.
Iskandar said it appeared Ahmad had sought to kill himself and Adj. Comr Herry Azhari and Second. Brig. Sugianto, who were unharmed in the attack.
The officers were stationed at the Sumber Artha traffic police post, near Sumber Artha market in Kalimalang, Bekasi.
People had seen Ahmad “roaming around the area for the past five days,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said.
Iskandar said that just before the blast, Herry had told Ahmad not to ride his ontel (vintage bicycle) on the sidewalk.
“Ahmad then lost control of his bicycle and hit the road divider and the crude bomb detonated,” he said. “We do not know whether the bomb detonated prematurely or not.”
Police said the bomb contained about 50 nails and gunpowder.
They added that Ahmad was carrying two suicide notes.
One of them read: “This bomb is for all you kafirs [infidels]! We will come chasing after you even if you run up to the clouds. Your death is certain. Mujahideens are still living in Indonesia.”
University of Indonesia criminologist Erlangga Masdiana agreed with the police view that the attack was amateurish.
“Real terrorists have clear goals,” he said.
“Unclear ones are usually only for sabotage. Of course every terrorist attack has a message, but it will not be on a piece of paper and very much obvious to regular people.”
He also pointed out the attack came days after the police, military and lawmakers had been talking about the need to cooperate in the war on terror.
“There is a strong suspicion that the person was just being used in order to achieve a certain agenda,” he said. “A real terrorist would not be that clumsy.”
Erlangga dismissed the idea that the target had been the traffic police as they were not a threat to terrorist movements.
The International Crisis Group’s Sidney Jones gave examples in which terrorist groups had hit back against law officers.
“We’ve seen policemen killed in March and April in Kebumen and Purwerojo, retaliation against prosecutors in Poso and plans from other terrorist in Indonesia for attacks that were never carried out on the National Police,” Sidney said.
She said the attack by 10 gunmen that killed three policemen in Medan last month was retaliation. “We can’t accuse the police of being lax. All terrorist attacks are difficult to predict.”
Ismail Hasani, a researcher with the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said Thursday’s incident further highlighted weakness in the country’s intelligence-gathering efforts.
He believed there was an “internal tug-of-war” between antiterror squad Densus 88, the police and the military over how to deal with terrorists.
The botched bombing came on the same day Densus 88 chief Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian was replaced by his deputy, Sr. Comr. Muhammad Syafii.
Tito will be the top deputy at the new National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT).
The body, which answers only to the president, is charged with preventing terrorism, protecting civilians, deradicalizing terrorists and building national preparedness.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said the suspect, identified only as Ahmad, was in critical condition as officers investigated possible links to terror networks.
“What he did is still categorized as terror, no matter what the background. We are still investigating what his motive was, and where he managed to get a homemade bomb,” Iskandar said.
The 38-year-old man, described by police as a drifter who moved from one mosque to another, suffered serious injuries to his face, neck and torso in the blast and broke his right arm and leg.
Iskandar said it appeared Ahmad had sought to kill himself and Adj. Comr Herry Azhari and Second. Brig. Sugianto, who were unharmed in the attack.
The officers were stationed at the Sumber Artha traffic police post, near Sumber Artha market in Kalimalang, Bekasi.
People had seen Ahmad “roaming around the area for the past five days,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said.
Iskandar said that just before the blast, Herry had told Ahmad not to ride his ontel (vintage bicycle) on the sidewalk.
“Ahmad then lost control of his bicycle and hit the road divider and the crude bomb detonated,” he said. “We do not know whether the bomb detonated prematurely or not.”
Police said the bomb contained about 50 nails and gunpowder.
They added that Ahmad was carrying two suicide notes.
One of them read: “This bomb is for all you kafirs [infidels]! We will come chasing after you even if you run up to the clouds. Your death is certain. Mujahideens are still living in Indonesia.”
University of Indonesia criminologist Erlangga Masdiana agreed with the police view that the attack was amateurish.
“Real terrorists have clear goals,” he said.
“Unclear ones are usually only for sabotage. Of course every terrorist attack has a message, but it will not be on a piece of paper and very much obvious to regular people.”
He also pointed out the attack came days after the police, military and lawmakers had been talking about the need to cooperate in the war on terror.
“There is a strong suspicion that the person was just being used in order to achieve a certain agenda,” he said. “A real terrorist would not be that clumsy.”
Erlangga dismissed the idea that the target had been the traffic police as they were not a threat to terrorist movements.
The International Crisis Group’s Sidney Jones gave examples in which terrorist groups had hit back against law officers.
“We’ve seen policemen killed in March and April in Kebumen and Purwerojo, retaliation against prosecutors in Poso and plans from other terrorist in Indonesia for attacks that were never carried out on the National Police,” Sidney said.
She said the attack by 10 gunmen that killed three policemen in Medan last month was retaliation. “We can’t accuse the police of being lax. All terrorist attacks are difficult to predict.”
Ismail Hasani, a researcher with the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said Thursday’s incident further highlighted weakness in the country’s intelligence-gathering efforts.
He believed there was an “internal tug-of-war” between antiterror squad Densus 88, the police and the military over how to deal with terrorists.
The botched bombing came on the same day Densus 88 chief Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian was replaced by his deputy, Sr. Comr. Muhammad Syafii.
Tito will be the top deputy at the new National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT).
The body, which answers only to the president, is charged with preventing terrorism, protecting civilians, deradicalizing terrorists and building national preparedness.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Mudslide in Bandung
Last Tuesday morning, a landslide hit the Dewata Tea Plantation in Bandung Regency, West Java, burying many workers and their houses.
Here is an article about the tragedy that I have quoted from The New York Times.
Rescue Teams Continue Search After Indonesia Mudslide
By PETER GELLING
Published: February 24, 2010
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Local villagers and government rescue teams, using sniffer dogs and farm tools, searched Wednesday for workers on an Indonesian tea plantation who were buried by a mudslide estimated to be 35 feet deep.
More than 17 bodies have been recovered, including two children, according to Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the country’s Disaster Management Agency. He also said they believed there were between 50 and 60 people still buried in the mud and presumed dead. The mudslide, in the village of Pasirjambu in West Java, happened about 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Mr. Priyadi said the authorities did not learn of the situation until eight hours later because of poor communication lines in the village, which is located about 125 miles southeast of Jakarta, the capital.
“I think also that people were panicking and so focused on saving their own lives and the lives of their family members that they didn’t think to contact the authorities sooner,” Mr. Priyadi said.
Villagers placed markers where they believed that people had been buried. Rescuers found two survivors under the mud, and they were being treated a local hospital.
Most of the victims were plantation workers — who are typically women — or their family members.
The rescue effort has been complicated by the remoteness of the village, which sits in a valley and is normally accessible only by a small road using all-terrain vehicles or motorbikes. Heavy rains and flooding in recent days worsened the road conditions, and the search was delayed overnight.
Backhoes and other heavy equipment began to arrive in the village Wednesday morning. The Indonesian vice president, Boediono, also traveled to the scene on Wednesday.
Fearing more landslides, the government evacuated about 1,000 people from the valley. The military set up temporary camps on higher ground nearby.
Although large-scale deforestation is often the cause of landslides in Indonesia, Mr. Priyadi said the heavy rains had likely set off the mudslide. He also said that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck West Java last September could have caused the hills in the area to crack and become unstable.
He said a survey should have been done to determine whether the area might be vulnerable to landslides.
The island of Java, the country’s most populated, has been deluged by rain this month, resulting in floods that have displaced thousands. In the city of Bandung, 55 miles from Tuesday’s mudslide site , flooding has displaced an estimated 10,000 families.
Thousands of people in Jakarta also were forced from their homes last weekend after city canals overflowed during heavy rains.
Here is an article about the tragedy that I have quoted from The New York Times.
Rescue Teams Continue Search After Indonesia Mudslide
By PETER GELLING
Published: February 24, 2010
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Local villagers and government rescue teams, using sniffer dogs and farm tools, searched Wednesday for workers on an Indonesian tea plantation who were buried by a mudslide estimated to be 35 feet deep.
More than 17 bodies have been recovered, including two children, according to Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the country’s Disaster Management Agency. He also said they believed there were between 50 and 60 people still buried in the mud and presumed dead. The mudslide, in the village of Pasirjambu in West Java, happened about 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Mr. Priyadi said the authorities did not learn of the situation until eight hours later because of poor communication lines in the village, which is located about 125 miles southeast of Jakarta, the capital.
“I think also that people were panicking and so focused on saving their own lives and the lives of their family members that they didn’t think to contact the authorities sooner,” Mr. Priyadi said.
Villagers placed markers where they believed that people had been buried. Rescuers found two survivors under the mud, and they were being treated a local hospital.
Most of the victims were plantation workers — who are typically women — or their family members.
The rescue effort has been complicated by the remoteness of the village, which sits in a valley and is normally accessible only by a small road using all-terrain vehicles or motorbikes. Heavy rains and flooding in recent days worsened the road conditions, and the search was delayed overnight.
Backhoes and other heavy equipment began to arrive in the village Wednesday morning. The Indonesian vice president, Boediono, also traveled to the scene on Wednesday.
Fearing more landslides, the government evacuated about 1,000 people from the valley. The military set up temporary camps on higher ground nearby.
Although large-scale deforestation is often the cause of landslides in Indonesia, Mr. Priyadi said the heavy rains had likely set off the mudslide. He also said that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck West Java last September could have caused the hills in the area to crack and become unstable.
He said a survey should have been done to determine whether the area might be vulnerable to landslides.
The island of Java, the country’s most populated, has been deluged by rain this month, resulting in floods that have displaced thousands. In the city of Bandung, 55 miles from Tuesday’s mudslide site , flooding has displaced an estimated 10,000 families.
Thousands of people in Jakarta also were forced from their homes last weekend after city canals overflowed during heavy rains.
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