Recent blog posts

Atheist civil servant arrested for blasphemy

Atheist civil servant arrested for blasphemy
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang | Sat, 01/21/2012 1:08 PM

A 30-year-old civil servant in the Dharmasraya regency of West Sumatra, identified as Alexander, was arrested on Friday for blasphemy after creating a Facebook fan page titled Ateis Minang (Minang Atheist), which was ‘liked’ by some 1,238 Facebook users.

Dharmasraya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Chairul Azis said that the man was arrested because of his writings on the fan page and his direct statements saying that he did not believe in God.

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Activists express doubt over ‘lungs of the world’ plan

Activists express doubt over ‘lungs of the world’ plan
Elly Burhaini Faizal, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/21/2012 1:05 PM

Activists were pessimistic that the government plan to allocate 45 percent of forests in Kalimantan as “the lungs of the world” would work, as mining activities and land clearing for oil palm plantations had taken up more than half of the forests on the island.

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REDD+: Opportunities to alter deforestation

REDD+: Opportunities to alter deforestation
Agus Purnomo and Yani Saloh, Jakarta | Thu, 01/26/2012 10:33 AM

The recent Durban climate talks had mixed results and different implications for each country, including Indonesia. On the main issue of reducing emissions from deforestation and peat land conversion, known as REDD, Durban made progress in setting reference emissions levels, measuring emission reductions (including agreements on measuring), reporting and verifying (MRV) of achieved REDD+ outcomes, and the implementation of safeguards to mitigate negative impacts of REDD+ projects.

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Bima regent’s office torched by angry mob

Bima regent’s office torched by angry mob
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/27/2012 8:40 AM

Thousands of protesters staging a rally in front of the Bima regent’s office over the handling of a recent deadly clash at Sape port on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), ran amok and set fire the building on Thursday.

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Exterminators arrested for orangutan killings

Exterminators arrested for orangutan killings
The Jakarta Post | Mon, 11/21/2011 9:49 PM

The police have arrested two palm oil plantation workers for allegedly killing dozens of monkeys and orangutans in Puan Cepak village in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan.

The suspects, both exterminators, claimed that they were paid to kill the animals under orders from a supervisor.

“They received Rp 200,000 [US$22] to kill a monkey and Rp 1 million for an orangutan,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said on Monday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

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Letter: Prosecute the killers of orangutans

Letter: Prosecute the killers of orangutans
| Wed, 12/14/2011 9:55 AM Jakarta Post

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is extremely distressed and appalled to learn that Malaysian palm oil companies are responsible for genocide against Indonesia’s endangered orangutans.

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Police detain 40 over ‘plantation camp mob’

Police detain 40 over ‘plantation camp mob’
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan | Fri, 01/20/2012 9:42 AM

The South Tapanuli Police in North Sumatra detained 40 people on Thursday for an alleged crime linked to a land dispute.

The detainees were alleged to have carried out an arson attack that damaged offices, houses and cars owned by plantation company PT Tanjung Siram in Sigompulan district, North Padang Lawas regency.

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Local tribes to ask for support in palm oil dispute


Dayak 2.0: Ferry, a member of the Dayak tribe from Kotim, Sibabe, Central Kalimantan, fidgets with his cell phone while attending a press conference in Jakarta on Friday. Representatives of local tribes came to Jakarta to ask for the government's help in resolving disputes between their tribes and oil palm companies in Central Kalimantan. (JP/ Jerry Adiguna)

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Maria Agatha van Noordwijk: Delving deeper into orangutan conservation

Maria Agatha van Noordwijk: Delving deeper into orangutan conservation
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/04/2012 9:54 AM

Maria Agatha van Noordwijk raised her eyebrow as she crossed out several Indonesian names on the list of orangutans she and her fellow experts and students studied in conservation projects in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
JP/Ridwan Max SijabatJP/Ridwan Max Sijabat

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Prime Indonesian jungle to be cleared for palm oil

Prime Indonesian jungle to be cleared for palm oil
Fakhrurradzie Gade, Associated Press, Aceh | Fri, 12/09/2011 4:32 PM

The man known as Indonesia's "green governor" chases the roar of illegal chainsaws through plush jungles in his own Jeep. He goes door-to-door to tell families it's in their interest to keep trees standing.

That's why 5,000 villagers living the edge of a rich, biodiverse peat swamp in his tsunami-ravaged Aceh province feel so betrayed.

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