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Political fatigue thinning
out crowds
 People
attend rallies only to collect free gifts as
presidential race faces prospect of dragging on for another four
months
Taxi driver Suyanto, reflecting the
sentiments of the wong cilik, said: 'Every day, we see these
candidates making promises. They can even promise us the moon.
They have not delivered. So, can you blame us for not being
interested?' (ST)
Police probe report may be
timed to hurt Bambang
It details raid on Megawati's party when he was a top
military official. (ST)
Mega-defeat on cards for Megawati - The
Age
Security beefed up at foreign premises - Washington
Times
Tough travel warning threatens relations with Jakarta - Sydney
Morning Herald
Intelligence on JI assassins - The
Australian
Terror Suspects Admits Meeting Bin Laden - Laksamana
D's Place Kemang
opens Friday June 18. First drink free. Beers Rp.10.000 - Mixed
drinks Rp.25.000 - D's Place at The Beat Kemang Raya 29
Indonesia welcomes Aceh arrests
Indonesia overnight welcomed the
arrest in
Sweden
 of the three top exiled leaders
of the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for alleged violations of international
law. A foreign ministry statement praised Stockholm's "steadfast
commitment to ending armed rebellion, acts of violence and acts of
terrorism perpetrated by GAM in Aceh and other regions of
Indonesia". (Herald Sun)
Also:
Aceh rebels unmoved by arrests (BBC)
Chinese Indonesians Back Hamzah-Agum
Ticket
Indonesians of Chinese descent on
Wednesday
expressed their support for the presidential-vice
presidential ticket of Hamzah Haz and Agum Gumelar in the July 5
polls. (Antara)
Singapore activists declare war on Batam island's sex trade
- Singapore activists declared war on the sex trade
flourishing on a nearby Indonesian island by debunking such common
myths that the customers are keeping jobless women and girls there
from starving. The group places condoms in hotels but said it is
not enough to promote safe sex. It wants to make men think about
their role in fuelling the flesh trade among the young. "Some
think younger girls are cleaner and thus they will be safer from
AIDS if they have sex with them," a group spokesman was
quoted. Neither is true, she said. Most of the fee goes to the
prostitute's pimp. A young sex worker might have slept with a few
hundred men by the time she is 15, rendering her no safer than
other women, Saleemah said. The appeal to men's consciences and
good sense came as an estimated 600 Singaporeans go to Batam every
Saturday for sex. Up to 40 per cent of the estimated 19,000 sex
workers in Batam are under 18. (Jakarta Post)
FROM THE
EDITOR:
 I
was happy to see so many orange fans (and around 15 brave
Germans!) coming to the BuGils Stadium last night. Although the
game started at 01.45, the stadium was packed! I remember another
late tournament, I think it was the Worldcup in 1994 (?), when I
was living 'in de kos' somewhere near Blora where the
George & Dragons Pub used to be. Together with some other Dutch
guys from our FC Knudde football team we made the effort to have
an totally orange outfit tailored. (I used to wear the same model
back on the farm in Friesland in dark blue!) My friend Elwin
promised to pick me up from the Blora bus stop at 3 O'clock in the
morning to watch a game of the Dutch football team at somebody's
home.
It was a strange experience to be only person on Jl Sudirman. I
remember the shocking quietness of that street at that very
moment. I could see stars and didn't hear a sound, except from an
occasional kaki lima moving slowly along. There I was, in a bright
orange work outfit -in the middle of the night - waiting of Jl
Sudirman to be picked up. Then I heard the sweeping sound of broom
slowly moving towards me. I looked around and saw this road worker
cleaning Jalan Sudirman in exactly the same outfit as I was
wearing at that moment: bright orange! The sweeper was still 50
meters away from me, when he noticed me and stopped. He gazed for
a second in my direction and then continued with a slightly
increased speed. He stopped at a distance of 5 meters from me and
rested on his broom. His eyes were sharply focused on me. The man
was in deep analyzing thoughts. Now I heard another sweeper coming
from the other site of Sudirman, not far from Hotel Indonesia. He
dragged the broom lazily behind him in our direction. This guy was
even wearing an orange shawl around his face; only his eyes where
visible. It was a weird scene. The two sweepers were standing next
too each other - speechless and with intense staring looks towards
me. Then finally one of them asked me in a very dry tone: "Mau
kemana, mister?" I realized the craziness of the situation and
answered: "I am going to Rasuna Said. They told me they need
some assistance to clean the streets over there..." At that
point Elwin in his old Ferozza arrived in high speed. He was also
wearing his orange outfit. I jumped in the car and we drove off,
leaving two absolutely perplexed street cleaners behind.
Every time when I come home late and I see these workers on
Sudirman late at night, I remember that scene. Maybe the story is
not funny at all, but what intrigues me until today is what the
thoughts were of these two persons at that very moment. How did
they analyse two bule's in exactly the same clothes as them? What
was their conclusion? When I jumped in Elwin his car at that
point, I think it was the very first time I heard somebody
whispering the words 'bule gila ....'
Bartele
(NOTE: 'Bule Gila' means Crazy Westerner or Crazy White Man. The
word 'BuGil' means naked in Bahasa Indonesia - red.)
On the picture left: Adel, ex-bar operation manager in BuGils who
used to support the Dutch. Now, living in Paris, she is shouting
Viva La France. In an almost impossible effort I am urging readers
to send an email to
adel@bugils.com and make her realise that she lost it. I
am not sure if she will reply all of the emails but to switch from
'Hup Holland Hup' to 'He, He Allez! ' is
unacceptable.
ELSEWHERE IS
ASIA:
Durian ice-cream for dying
German
PENANG
- Touched by a
dying German's love for her coffee shop's durian
ice-cream, a 75-year-old grandmother made two tubs of it to send
to him. (The Straits Times)
 Lesbian film sparks Indian protest
NEW DELHI, India.
Policemen will guard dozens of cinemas across India to deter
violence after a Hindu hardline party vandalized movie theaters to
protest against a Bollywood film about
a love affair between two women. (Reuters)
Four foreigners charged with kidnapping SA
diplomat
Three Pakistanis and a Singaporean were
charged with kidnapping South African diplomat
Cornelius Van Niekerk Scholtz. at the roadside near Hotel Nikko in
Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. (The Star)
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