1. 153.3 MILLION REGISTER TO VOTE IN INDONESIA'S PRES'L ELECTION, COMMISSION SAYS.

A total of 153,357,307 Indonesians have registered to vote in the July 5 presidential election, deputy chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU), Ramlan Surbakti, said.
Ramlan noted that the figure is final because the KPU will not extend the registration of voters beyond the May 25 deadline.
He expressed hope that despite the increase in the number of voters in the upcoming presidential election, voters would not make as many mistakes as those made in the legislative election last April 5.
Ramlan further said that because of the increase in the number of voters, the number of polling stations will also increase.
"There will be 4,768 additional polling stations to make a total of 581,393," he noted.

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2. EUROPEAN UNION MISSION RETURNS TO JAKARTA TO MONITOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

The European Union mission has returned to Jakarta to monitor the upcoming presidential election on July 5, a press release said.
Glyn Ford, chief of the EU general election monitoring mission, said the mission would return to the regions they had visited before, and continue with their work with a new focus.
"They will monitor the presidential and vice presidential contenders in the next couple of weeks," he added.
The 68-member mission will later join a 12-member EU core team which was already in the country at the end of February.
The EU election monitoring team will have a total of 230 members.
They have visited Indonesia to monitor the general election campaign and the legislative elections in April.
According to Ford, they would also make an objective assessment and refrain from supporting any of the presidential and vice presidential candidates in the July 5 election.

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3. SWEDEN URGED TO QUICKEN LEGAL PROCESS AGAINST ACEH REBEL LEADERS.

The Indonesian embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday called on the Swedish government to speed up the legal process against three Aceh rebel leaders living in that country and have them tried in court as soon as possible, a spokesman said.
Ben Perkasa Dradjat, the embassy's political officer, told ANTARA by phone the embassy had urged the Swedish government to speed up the legal process as the available evidence was already enough to arraign them in court.
On Tuesday morning (Swedish time), the Stockholm district prosecutor's office detained two of three leaders of the Aceh Separatist Movement (GSA) on the charge of having violated international law.
The local prosecutor's office had taken legal measures against GSA leaders Hasan Tiro, Zaini Abdullah and Malik Mahmud after raiding their respective homes.
Two of the three GSA leaders -- Zaini Abdullah and malik Mahmud -- were detained while the prosecutor's office had yet to detain Hasan Tiro perhaps because of his advanced age.
"However, it is not clear yet who the two detained GSA leaders are but they may be the younger ones. Hasan Tiro may still be a free man because of his advanced age," Ben said.
The three GSA leaders had been declared suspects in gross violations of international law.
According to Ben, any differences between the two governments in the interpretation of international law and in legal procedures in dealing with the GSA case had apparently been overcome so that. Sweden was finally able to take legal measures against Hasan Tiro and Zaini Abdullah who are Swedish citizens and against Malik Mahmud who is a Singaporean citizen.
In response to the Swedish government's effort to follow up on the GSA case, Ben said Indonesian officials in Jakarta had played a big role while the Indonesian embassy in Stockhlom had only bridged and helped the Swedish law enforcers.
"I was phoned by Marty (a spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry) on Tuesday morning about the measures against the three GSA separatists," he said.
Appreciation
In the meantime, Jakarta has expressed gratitude to the Swedish government and appreciated its commitment to concrete measures against the separatists.
In a press release, the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed readiness to cooperate with the Swedish government in taking legal measures against certain individuals on charges of leading armed rebelions in Aceh although they live abroad.
"The Indonesian government is ready to cooperate with the authorities in Sweden in support of ongoing legal process and is prepared to provide more evidence," the ministry said in the press release.
The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry also expressed hope that the legal process of the GSA leaders in Sweden could be settled fairly and peacefully within a short time.
The detention of the GSA leaders in Sweden was also expected to contribute to efforts to stop the armed rebelion, violence and terrorism committed by the GSA in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.

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4. JAPAN EXTENDS US$139,390 IN AID TO SUPPORT INDON ELECTIONS.

The Japanese Government has allocated US$139,390 in financial assistance to support the success of Indonesian presidential elections which will be held on July 5.
The Japanese financial assistance will focuse on dissemination of information about the implementation of the elections on July 5, Japanese Consul General Motokatsu Watanabe said in a press release.
The Japanese assistance will finance three educational programs on the implementation of Indonesia's first direct presidential elections, he said.
In cooperation with a non-govermental organization, LP3ES, the Japanese Government has alocated about US$67,883 of the amount for implementing the project in West Nusa Tenggara, he said.
"The two other programs will be carried out in Yogyakarta in cooperation with the Yayasan Parwi and the Social Networks of Indonesian Election Observers (JAMPPI)," he said.
He said that the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Yutaka Iimura and representatives of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the project in Jakarta, June 15, 2004.
The Japanese Government has also sent five experts to the General Elections Comission's (KPU) office to increase coordination and communication between the KPU and concerned institutions, he said adding that as many as 44 Japanese presidential election observers were also sent to some districts in the country.
In the legislative elections held on April 5, 2004, the Japanese Government allocated US$22 million in aid for the procurement of logistics and sent 17 experts and 26 observers, he added,

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5. TITO'S SON PRESENTS CREDENTIALS .

A son of former Yugoslavian president the late Broz Tito, Aleksander Broz, presented his credentials to President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Monday as Croatian ambassador to Indonesia.
In a state ceremony held at Merdeka Palace, Broz shared a light moment with Megawati reflecting on being children of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
The late president Tito and Indonesia's founding president Sukarno, Megawati's father, were among five world leaders who established NAM in 1955.
Nigeria Ambassador to Indonesia Mohammed Buba Ahmad also presented his credentials on Monday to Megawati, who was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda.

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6. INDONESIA WELCOMES SOVEREIGNTY HANDOVER IN IRAQ.

The Indonesian government welcomes the sovereignty handover in Iraq from the US-led coalition administration to an interim Iraqi government two days earlier than originally scheduled, a spokesman said.
"As long as the sovereignty handover complies with UN Resolution 1546, we welcome it because we had hoped for it since the first day of Iraq's occupation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said here on Monday.
Marty was responding to the sovereignty handover which took place on Monday in Iraq ending 14 months of occupation by US-led coalition forces. The event was originally scheduled to be held on June 30,2004.
Indonesia recently expressed its support for UN Security Council resolution 1546 on Iraq which, among other things, called for the sovereignty handover to Iraq to be effected on June 30, 2004.
According to Marty, Indonesia would seriously and closely monitor developments in Iraq after the handover.
"We will closely observe how sovereignty in Iraq will work out, particularly in relation with the handling or implementation of cooperation with the multinational forces," he said.
But, he said, it was too early for Indonesia to send an ambassador to Iraq because the security situation there still needed to return to normal.
Marty also voiced Indonesia's hope that the handover would create a condusive situation in Iraq so that its people could live peacefully and safely.
Indonesia was also hoping the violence in Iraq which escalated in the past few days will soon end, he said.
Indonesia earlier issued a statement deploring the violence in Iraq such as the murders of American and Korean hostages Paul Johnson and Kim Sun-il by militants. It said the murders were barbaric and a form of terrorism.
US and British officials were reported as saying the handover was a major step on the path to democracy in Iraq but one of the government's first actions as a sovereign power was expected to be the issuance of emergency laws, including curfews, to crack down on guerillas.

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7. INDONESIA, E TIMOR SETTLE MOST OF LAND BORDER PROBLEMS, SAYS INDON MINISTER.

Indonesia and East Timor have settled 90 percent of their land border problems, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said here Wednesday.
"With the spirit of cooperation, we have just signed a document on the process to determine land border," Wirajuda said after he and his East Timorese counterpart, Jose Ramos Horta, signed the record of discussion on bilateral land border.
Indonesia and East Timor, he said, have agreed on 90 percent of land border coordinates and the line of demarcation between the two countries.
The rest of the problems will hopefully be settled before September, he said.
Wirajuda further noted that Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to determine their sea border in their next meeting as well.
Meanwhile, visiting Horta expressed hope the two countries in their next meeting would reach a settlement on the remaining 10 percent of border problems.
East Timor integrated with Indonesia in 1975 but seceded through a United Nations-sponsored ballot in 1999.

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8. AUSTRALIA'S DOWNER TO VISIT INDONESIA FOR ASEAN MEETINGS.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer is scheduled to visit Jakarta from June 30 to July 2 to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC), a press statement from the Australian embassy here said Wednesday.
The statement said Downer's talks with the ASEAN ministers in Jakarta will focus on the proposed summit and free trade agreement between ASEAN and Australia and New Zealand.
"Those proposals underline the deep and substantial nature of our relationships," he said in the statement.
According to Downer, this year's ASEAN meetings have an added signifance for Austrlaia as the country commemorates the 30th anniversary of its dialog partnership since the first formal talks in 1974 brought Australia and the ASEAN together.
Initially focused on develoment cooperation, he said the dialog has expanded to cover regional issues, such as cooperation in combatting terrorism, people smuggling and people trafficking, the World Trade Organization, fight against diseases such as HIV/AIDS and SARS, and other topics of global significance.
"As the region's most important multilateral security forum, this year's ARF meeting is expected to endorse stronger measures to meet the critical challenge of countering the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons," Downer said.
With North Korea's weapons program continuing to threaten the security of the region, Downer said he would urge the country to grasp the opportunity presented by the third round of six-party talks in Beijing on June 23-26.
"It is important that North Korea is encouraged to renounce nuclear weapons and re-engage with the international community," said the Australian minister.
The statement said Downer also looks forward to ARF's adoption of a statement on Combatting International Terrorism in Transport Security as a clear expression of the Forum's resolve.
Apart from a series of significant bilateral meetings with his ASEAN counterparts, the statement said Downer will also meet with several Muslim representatives to enhance the Australian government's engagement with mainstream Muslim groups in Indonesia.
The foreign ministers of the 10-member ASEAN began their annual meeting here Wednesday, with their primary focus on security issues, including efforts to combat global terrorism.
Officially opened by Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the two-day talks will also discuss the situation in Myanmar and the North Korean nuclear issue.

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9. EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS TO VISIT JAKARTA.

European Commissioner for External Relations Chriss Patten is scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday for an ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting.
During his stay, Patten will hold a series of meetings with representatives from ASEAN countries and their dialog partners such as China, Pakistan, Japan and India in his capacity as coordinator of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), the European Union (EU) representative office in Jakarta said in a press release issued on Tuesday.
The release quoted Patten shortly before his departure to Jakarta on Tuesday as saying that Asia deserved to be one the main agenda of European countries' policies.
"While I am European Commissioner for External Affairs, we have laid bases for the creation of close relations between the two continentals and I believe we still can do more to face challenges facing us," he said.
While in Jakarta, Patten will join the European Union delegation led by former NATO secretary general Javier Solana in the ASEAN ministerial meeting and the ARF meeting.
In the two meetings, Patten said, EU will reiterate its commitment to establish close cooperation among members of the two organisations.
The commitment includes assistance for ASEAN to speed up the process of regional integration and strengthen the role of ARF as the only organisation in Asia with which EU will cooperate in the defence field, particularly to prevent threats to global peace, he said.

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