VIVAnews - The Center of Financial Reports and Transaction Analysis (PPATK) suspected that there were several terrorist fund flows in the country.

The alleged terrorist's transactions were found in ten cities in several well-known banks, as stated by the PPATK chairperson Yunus Husein in Jakarta on Friday, Aug. 21.

The suspected transactions were detected in Yogyakarta, Makassar, Bekasi, Solo, Poso and Jakarta. "I have not figured which bank but it is spread," he added.

PPATK also investigated transactions made in conflicted areas but the investigation has not led to evidences relating the terrorism to the money transactions.

"Most of the demand [to investigate] comes from the police. They have gained information. We, on the other hand, have no knowledge which [transaction] relates to the terrorist," he said.

VIVAnews - Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta said remission for first degree crime convicts was allowed to be granted. “But it will be restricted,” Mattalatta said at his office in Jakarta on Friday, August 21.

First degree crimes include terrorism, drug abuse, corruption and serious human rights violations.

The Minister also said the requirement was that the convicts must serve one-third of their period of imprisonment. The regulation is based on the Governmental Decree No. 28/ 2006 on the Requirements and System of Convicts' Rights.

Regarding remission grant for the terrorists, Mattalatta said, “[It will still be given] because there have been a lot of them who have been granted remission. If we revoke the remission, it might be considered human rights violation,” he said.

Mattalatta continued by saying that the remission was granted because the government had social awareness. “If the government doesn't have it, we won't be changing the remission regulations. With the previous regulations, it's really easy. The convicts would certainly be granted remission within six months,” he said.

When asked whether or not the government is watching over former terrorist criminals, Mattalatta said there was not such supervision. However, he said the government had established a special counseling for them. “We consult it with Densus 88 [Anti-terrorism special unit],” he said. The Minister also explained there was not any special budget provided for the counseling.

VIVAnews - Saudi Arabian security officers have captured over a thousand of Indonesians who were protesting in front of the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) building in Jeddah. Apparently, that is what the protesters wanted. They wanted to be arrested and deported back to Indonesia.

The report was given by Indonesia Foreign Affairs Department spokesperson, Teuku Faizasyah. According to him, the arrest was initiated by protests carried out by hundreds of Indonesians in front of KJRI Jeddah on Thursday night, August 20 local time. They demanded concern about them so that they could return to their home country.

“At 10.30 pm local time (around Friday, 2.30am Indonesia time), there was a protest in front of KBRI Jeddah by about 568 Indonesians (360 males and 208 females) whose residential permit has expired,” Faizasyah said at a press conference at the office of Foreign Affairs Department, Jakarta on Friday, August 21.

The action has forced Saudi Arabian police to arrest and take the protesters to the immigration office’s detention center. The arrest report, Faizasyah said, was apparently expected by hundreds of other Indonesians who also wished to be seized.

“After hearing the report, there were at least 500 other Indonesians, whose permit has expired too, coming to the office. Later they were evacuated by the police and placed in the detention center,” Faizasyah said.

Now, there are 1068 of them staying at the center. “In one hand, (the arrest) is what they ever wanted. But, it is the process that took them here which I am most concerned of,” Faizasyah said.

The Indonesian citizens were intentionally dealing with the immigration office’s security in order to be deported out of Saudi Arabia for free. They are not allowed to leave the country unless they pay the overstay charge. To avoid the obligation, they expect to be placed in certain place before being allowed to fly home to Indonesia.

Some of them are runaway immigrant workers who are also worried about having to pay the fine and ended up joining them staying in improper places such as under the bridge.

A few days ago, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said he was concerned about the mental condition of the said Indonesians. Most of them recklessly went to Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage but do not have a ticket to return home.

By staying together under the bridge and expecting to be caught by security officers to be deported, they would ruin Indonesia’s global image.

The government, according to Faizasyah, has taken inter-departmental coordination steps to carry out the repatriation. A special team has been sent to discuss with Saudi Arabian government about the comprehensive way in dealing with the matter.

“Once they are placed in the detention center, the consequence is deportation,” Faizasyah said. However, the Saudi Arabian government has not given any update on the issue. In fact, they asked the Indonesian government to discuss about it among themselves.

“The problem is finding the money to bring them back home. That’s what we are still figuring out. As a matter of fact, they are responsible for what they have done. Actually, some of them are willing to pay for their repatriation. But they don’t want to pay for the overstay charge,” Faizasyah said.

Jurudong, Brunei (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) -- General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited has been selected for the next stage of Brunei's competition to provide a Joint Operations Centre for the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The announcement was made by Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, at BRIDEX 2009, the 2nd Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition and Conference, on 15 August 2009.

The Joint Operations Centre (JOC) will provide the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and Ministry of Defence (MinDef) with a facility to deliver command and control capability for military commands and civil organisations at both a national and international level and be interoperable with its NATO and ASEAN allies and coalition partners.

General Dynamics is committed to providing an enduring capability based on Brunei's Vision 2035. General Dynamics UK is the Prime Contractor and Systems Integrator delivering the UK's flagship C4I system across the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force; and the latest enhanced version was used successfully on British exercise in Brunei recently. General Dynamics UK is also delivering similar systems to other customers worldwide.

The core of the General Dynamics solution for the Brunei JOC is a low-risk Microsoft Windows based solution using best-of-breed products enabling ease of use and local sustainability. General Dynamics will provide both support and training packages tailored to meet the needs of the RBAF.

General Dynamics UK is teamed with Systematic UK for the Brunei JOC. Systematic UK recently won the contract to provide its SitaWare product to be the core software around which the United Kingdom's JOC will operate over the coming years, thus providing a single unified Common Operating Picture (COP). This same product is at the core of General Dynamics UK's Brunei JOC proposal.

Welcoming the announcement, Andrew Browne, Vice President C4I Systems, said: "General Dynamics UK is very pleased to have been selected for the next stage of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces' JOC programme, after a rigorous demonstration and assessment of our technical solution and capabilities. Customers worldwide trust us to deliver. We are confident that our bid, which offers both technical excellence and superb benefits in knowledge transfer for the Bruneian ICT business sector, and also leverages our experience in developing international education partnership programmes, will provide Brunei with the best JOC solution. Our unique experience as the UK MoD's premier communications partner supports our proven track record, delivering interoperability for key programmes of national importance for Britain and its military partners globally."

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Royal Brunei Armed Forces Joint Operation Centre

The JOC C4ISR will be linked with existing and planned applications and networks from the Brunei MINDEF and other Government Departments and Non Governmental Organisations. The system is required to work with legacy equipments and systems. It should be interoperable with coalition partners for deployed operations and civil agencies for disaster relief and homeland security operations.

Systematic UK

The Systematic SitaWare software is a world leader, especially in military messaging and international interoperability. It is used in many UK C4I systems, including Bowman. It has recently been selected for the UK MoD JOC to provide the UK Future (Joint) web service Data Repository on JC2SP. This will enter service over the next 18 months.

General Dynamics UK is currently working with Systematic UK to provide NATO interoperability into Bowman through integration with Bowman's ComBAT C2 application. This is an example of open architectures enabling rapid insertion of world-class capabilities.

General Dynamics UK

General Dynamics UK is the prime contractor and systems integrator of Britain's flagship Bowman communications and data system, and has successfully delivered complex communications integration programmes for Britain's key allies and partner across the world.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), is a leading player in the UK's knowledge economy and industrial base. Established in the United Kingdom for over 40 years, it employs over 1,600 people at 10 UK and international facilities. A prime contractor and complex systems integrator, working in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and other allies, growing key intellectual property, skills and capabilities in its UK research facilities and workforce, whilst harnessing world-leading technology.

General Dynamics UK led a key MoD Defence Technology Centre research consortium and, together with a growing C4I export programme, plays a central role manufacturing and developing technology to deliver network enabled capability and ISTAR in the battlespace. The Company is widely recognised as a leading contender to supply and integrate the next generation of Armoured Fighting Vehicles for the British Army. For further information visit www.generaldynamics.uk.com

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 92,000 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com

SOURCE: General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Son of former president Soeharto Hutomo Mandala Putra, or Tommy Soeharto, expressed Tuesday his intention to return to Golkar amid efforts of the former New Order government`s political machine to seek a new leader that could help regain its past glory.

"Now is the right time for me to return to politics apart from business. My target is always high even in the political arena," Tommy told reporters, saying he had never dropped his membership in Golkar and therefore as a cadre he had a right to run for the party`s general chairmanship.

Tommy all of a sudden came up to the surface amid Golkar`s efforts to seek a new leader to replace Jusuf Kalla, the outgoing vice president. Kalla was named by his party as a presidential candidate in last July presidential election but lost the contest to his boss incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democrat Party.

This year, Golkar`s popularity is fading after its defeat by the Democrat Party in last April`s legislative election. In the 2004 legislative election Golkar was the winner but last April it won only 19.21 percent of the parliamentary seats behind the Democrat Party which won 26.43 percent.

In last July`s presidential race, Golkar`s presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla likewise suffered a defeat winning only about 12 percent of the votes, far behind Yudhoyono who grabbed more than 60 percent and Megawati of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) with over 26 percent.

Amid the business Golkar to prepare names of candidates that would be selected in a Golkar meeting in Riau in October, Tommy`s name came up to the surface among Aburizal Bakrie, Surya Paloh, Yuddy Chrisnandi and Ferry Mursyidan Baldan.

Tommy said after being absent for 10 years in the political field he felt being called to return to Golkar. He said Golkar was the right and most suitable party for him. Tommy admitted that he had a moral responsibility to the party which was developed by his father. In addition to it Tommy also used to become a member of the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) from Golkar`s Functional Group faction from 1993 to 1998.

"Until now I am still a Golkar Party member and I still have its membership card," he said. Tommy born on July 15, 1962, said that party elite members had long approached him to return to help develop the party again.

The functional unit of ulemas of Jakarta, the party`s religious wing led by Asraf Ali, had recently predicted that party would choose Tommy as its new leader. Tommy who still leads PT Humpuss expressed concern over the current situation in the country which had been threatened by divisions due to various factors including foreign intervention in many fields.

According to Golkar Executive Chairman Burhanuddin Napituplu, the Tommy`s intention to return to Golkar would instill a new spirit to the party. He told newsmen after a discussion on "Golkar Rises" that there was no prohibition for Tommy Soeharto and members of the Cendana (Soeharto) family to return to Golkar.

Syamsul Muarif, general chairman of SOKSI, an organization affiliated to Golkar, also said his side would not question the return to Golkar of Tommy and his readiness to take part in the chairmanship race in its National Working Meeting on October 4-7, 2009.

"There is no problem. Golkar is open to the nomination of any of its cadres for its chairmanship," Syamsul Muarif said.

Muarif said although there was no problem with his intention to nominate himself, yet Tommy had to meet the requirements set by Golkar Party for its would-be general chairman candidates.

The requirements included a fact that a would-be candidate should have beem a cadre for at least ten years and have an executive post in Golkar`s executive board or in a post one level lower than the executive board.

Muarif said that each cadre wishing to take part in the race should nominate himself or be nominated in the national meeting by a small team, which will decide whether or not Tommy Soeharto had the right to be nominated for the Golkar general chairmanship.

In response to Tommy`s intention to join the race, candidate Yuddy Chrisnandi said he did not feel Tommy was a threat to him, saying: "I welcome positively Tommy Soeharto`s bid." He made the statement a moment after Tommy expressed his readiness to take part in the contest in Golkar`s VIIth meeting in Riau in October.

Yuddy said that Tommy`s readiness to return to the party was a good thing both for Golkar and the nation because it would serve as a means for Golkar to prepare its future cadres. If there are many cadres who are ready to become Golkar`s general chairmen, it meant that the development of cadres within the Golkar body is running well.

In the meatime, Aburizal Bakrie, another cadre who is widely tipped to become the next general chairman of Golkar to replace Jusuf Kalla, said he had not yet been informed of Tommy`s readiness to take part in the Golkar chairmanship race. "I still don`t know about it," he said.

He said that the nomination and the election of a general chairman was in the hands of regional branches which would decide it in a national working meeting. "Matters regarding the election of the general chairman are in the hands of regional branches," he said.

However, a chairman of a Golkar regional branch for Gorontalo, Fadel Muhammad said he had doubts about Tommy`s intention to compete in the Golkar chairmanship contest. Fadel who is also Gorontalo governor, said he was still gathering information on the issue.

"I have checked it with several sources but I could not find that Tommy had an intention to join the race," he said in a text message to ANTARA News.(*)

Seoul (ANTARA News/AFP/Reuters) - Former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung died Tuesday at the age of 83, a hospital spokesman said.

"He was declared dead at 1:43 pm (0443 GMT)," a spokesman for Seoul`s Severance Hospital told AFP. "His heart began failing at 1:35 pm and stopped minutues later despite our efforts to revive it."

Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the first summit between leaders of the rival Koreas. Reports said he died of heart failure.

Kim was a towering figure in South Korea`s struggle for democracy, best known internationally for his 2000 meeting in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il which helped warm ties between the two states that have not yet officially ended their 1950-53 war.(*)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Three industrial sectors in Indonesia have an opportunity to win the competition in both domestic and international markets at present and in the future.

Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman said here on Thursday that the thee industrial sectors were defense and security-based industry, natural resources-based industry, and creative industry.

"If we compete in technology industry that others have had, we will fail. But if the industrial development is based on our own strength, its competitive power would be outstanding," Kadiman said.

At the side lines of a workshop on technological planning and development to reach Indonesian vision as a new industrial country in 2020, the research and technology minister said the defense and security-based industry had a wider opportunity to become a high competitive industry.

He said that so long as defense and security product was concerned, the government would make every effort to use home-made products.

"The market for defense and security industry is expected to grow well because the president and vice president continue to encourage the people to use home-made products," Kadiman said.

While for creative industry such as batik, music, and films, Kadiman was of the opinion that Indonesia had wider opportunity to become world`s player.

"Other industry that has high competitive power is the natural resources-base industry such as agricultural, forestry, and fishery products," Kadiman said.

Therefore he admitted that the government should make policy, funds availability, and incentive for such industrial sectors to grow well and become the world`s players.

"The incentive can be in the form of fiscal and non fiscal. For example, whoever is able to develop herbal medicine from the plants in Indonesia should be given incentive, both fiscal and non fiscal," Kadiman said.

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said his office did not have special funds for technological invention and development to support the industrial development at home, so he left the effort to the Research and Technology Department.

"We hope the research and development institutions can develop the existing technology or to invent the new ones that can serve as the basis for industrial development in the country," Fahmi Idris said.(*)

Beijing (ANTARA News/Xinhuanet-OANA) - A woman in Tunisia is pregnant with a record-breaking 12 babies, according to media reports Tuesday.

The teacher, who has not yet been named, is expecting six boys and six girls.
She conceived the babies following fertility treatments after suffering a number of miscarriages.

Dr. Mark Hamilton, of the British Fertility Society, confirmed the extraordinary pregnancy in Gafsa, Tunisia, was possible, but carried "colossal" risks.

The woman, who will need constant medical monitoring, reportedly told doctors she was "feeling fine and looking forward to hugging her six boys and six girls."

The father, named in reports only as Marwan, claimed his wife wanted to give birth naturally, but medical experts said this would be impossible.

Nadya Suleman of Bellflower, Calif., currently holds the record for the longest-living octuplets in history.(*)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the Constitution should not be amended too frequently.

In his speech at the commemoration of Constitution Day at the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) building on Tuesday, the head of state said a good constitution was one that did not need amending over long periods of time.

"There must be knowledge of the basic essence. So ways of seeing and a discourse on the need for an amendment must be referred to its essence," he said.

President Yudhoyono said the constitution as the foundation of statehood could be amended only when people really wanted the needed change to meet challenges that required an adjustment to their most basic law.

He said constitutional amendments must not be made a goal but a means of creating a better life.

"Actually constitution must be adaptive to developments and is not a sacred book which cannot be changed. Fundamental constitutional change must occur only upon real need while frequent changes are not good," he said.

He said a constitution must be general and comprehensive in scope but did not regulate everything in detail as details would be elaborated in the underlying legal systems such as laws and government regulations.

Apart from that a constitution must also present clear and strict rules that give no room for multi-interpretation, he said.

A constitution, the head of state said, had to regulate functions of checks and balances particularly among the executive, legislative and judicative branches of government.

"Power must not be allowed to be wielded unchecked to become absolute. Experiences from home and abroad have shown how dangerous it is if power becomes absolute," he said.

To ensure the rights of citizens, he said, the constitution must also explain the correct relationship between the state and the people.

President Yudhoyono said the amendments that had been made to Indonesia`s constitution were part of the nation`s efforts to find the right form of democracy.

"If we observe closely we know that efforts by the nation to formulate our constitution ran almost parallel with efforts to find the right form of democracy," he said.

In the midst of current transformational and transitional period President Yudhoyono called on all components of the nation to continue implementing the existing constitution without hesitation or reservations.

The commemorative function was also attended by Vice President Jusuf Kall and the chiefs of other state institutions.

Several state institutions and other elements had signed a declaration making August 18 Constitution Day for commemoration every year.

The launch was confirmed by Presidential Decree Number 18, 2008, and aimed at reviving national constitutional awareness.

The Committee for the Preparation of Indonesian Independence (PPKI) in a plenary session on August 18, 1945, adopted the country`s first constitution which eventually was always referred to as the 1945 Constitution (UUD `45).

The 1945 Constitution was amended four times since the advent of the reform in 1999.(*)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Prabowo Subianto, the running mate of Megawati Soekarnoputri in the presidential race on July 8, expressed congratulations to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono on Tuesday following their confirmation as president- and vice president-elects.

"I will send my congratulation by mail to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono this evening," he said at a press conference following their confirmation as president-and vice president-elects by the General Election Commission (KPU).

He said Gerindra Party would also pray for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono so that they would always be given strength to implement their mandate as president and vice president later.

Prabowo, who is also the chief patron of the party, said the congratulation was a form of Gerindra`s commitment to democratic processes in the recent legislative and presidential elections and their results.

"We remain consistent to develop civil democracy by accepting the results of the legislative as well as presidential elections and the decision of the constitutional court on disputes over the results of the elections," he said.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Boediono won 60.80 percent of the votes in the presidential race on July 8, leaving Megawati and her running mate Prabowo in the second place with 26.79 percent of votes and incumbent vice president Jusuf Kalla and his running mate Wiranto 12.41 percent of votes.

Megawati and Kalla had challenged the results of the vote counting but the constitutional court recently issued a ruling confirming their validity.

Inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono as president and vice president is scheduled on October 20, 2009.(*)

Yangon (ANTARA News/Reuters) - U.S. Senator Jim Webb met Myanmar top military leader Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday and announced the release of an American jailed for visiting the Nobel peace laureate.

Webb met Than Shwe at the country`s remote new capital of Naypyidaw on the second day of his visit and later talked with Suu Kyi for about 45 minutes at a guest house arranged by government officials in Yangon.

Webb`s office later released a statement saying American John Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years hard labor by Myanmar`s military government, would be released.

A Myanmar court sentenced Suu Kyi to another 18 months of house arrest for violating a security law after Yettaw swam uninvited across a lake to her home in May. Yettaw was sentenced to prison in a parallel trial on three charges, including immigration offenses.

"I am grateful to the Myanmar government for honoring these requests," said Webb, who also asked the country`s leadership to release Suu Kyi. "It is my hope that we can take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying a foundation of goodwill and confidence-building in the future."

Webb, a Democrat who is chairman of a Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, is the first member of Congress to travel in an official capacity to Myanmar in more than a decade. He has been described as the first senior American
official ever to meet Than Shwe.

"Yettaw will be officially deported from Myanmar on Sunday morning. Senator Webb will bring him out of the country on a military aircraft that is returning to Bangkok on Sunday afternoon," a statement from the senator`s office said.

In Washington, White House spokesman Michael Hammer said, "We`ve seen the reports of Senator Webb`s visit to Burma and are keeping up with the developments, including the impending release of American citizen John Yettaw."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, traveling with President Barack Obama, told reporters on Air Force One that Webb`s mission "was something he did independently ... We`re hopeful for the American citizen`s release."

Webb`s visit comes in the wake of world anger over the conviction of Suu Kyi, a symbol of the movement for democracy in Myanmar, and some Myanmar dissident groups expressed unhappiness about the timing of his visit.

The Obama administration, which had earlier indicated it was reviewing its policy toward Myanmar, has denounced Suu Kyi`s conviction.

The United States has for years tried to use sanctions to persuade the generals to release political prisoners. Asian nations have argued it is better to engage the junta than to isolate a resource-rich country situated between India and China.

Webb supports a pro-engagement policy with the junta. Webb`s office said on Aug. 6 that he would travel to five countries in Southeast Asia on a two-week mission "to explore opportunities to advance U.S. interests in Burma (Myanmar) and
the region."

Earlier on Saturday, the senator also met three representatives of Suu Kyi`s National League for Democracy party in Naypyidaw. He was due to end his three-day visit on
Sunday.

Webb is a former US Navy Secretary and a Vietnam War veteran who speaks Vietnamese.(*)

Bogota (ANTARA News/AFP) - Colombia said Friday it had struck a deal with the United States allowing Washington to use its military bases in a move that has drawn angry fire from governments across Latin America.

"This agreement reaffirms the commitment of both parties in the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism," Colombia`s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Officials here said the two countries agreed the text of an agreement, which now has to be reviewed by government agencies in Bogota and Washington before getting a final signature.

The controversial deal would permit the US military to operate surveillance aircraft from seven bases to track drug-running boats in the Pacific Ocean.

A top US general said Thursday that the United States needed to reassure regional powers about the deal, after reports of negotiations rankled several leaders and even prompted neighboring Venezuela to claim the "winds of war" were blowing.

"I think we need to do a better job of explaining to them what we`re doing and making it as transparent as possible, because anybody`s concerns are valid," General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference this week.

Washington sought out its ally Colombia to make up for the loss of its hub for counternarcotics operations in Manta, Ecuador.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa had refused to renew an agreement that allowed the US military to fly out of Manta for the past ten years.

The deal is worth over 40 million dollars for Bogota, along with expanded US military assistance for Bogota`s counternarcotics efforts, according to a US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cartwright and Defense Secretary Robert Gates also said this week the deal was not a unilateral move but the product of a partnership with Colombia designed to target drug cartels.

"The strategic intent is, in fact, to be able to provide to the Colombians what they need in order to continue to prosecute their efforts against the internal threats that they have," Cartwright said.

Colombia raised concern throughout the region, which has a troubled history of US military interventions, after announcing July 15 that it was negotiating the deal.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led the charge, alongside his Ecuadoran counterpart and ally Rafael Correa.

Speaking in Quito at a regional summit last weekend, Chavez said he was fulfilling his "moral duty" by telling fellow leaders that the "winds of war were beginning to blow."
"This could generate a war in South America," he said.

Frank Mora, a US Defense Department official for Latin America, insisted however that the controversy was a tempest in a teapot.

"This agreement simply formalizes what already almost exists right now," he told AFP.(*)

Zamboanga, Philippines (ANTARA News/AFP) - President Gloria Arroyo on Saturday called for the "annihilation" of Muslim extremists from the southern Philippines after a bloody battle left 23 soldiers dead.

"The war against terror must be pursued. The annihilation of the Abu Sayyaf must be done," Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro quoted Arroyo as saying.

She also warned that members of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), who joined in the slaughter of the soldiers, would be hunted down despite a ceasefire with the rebel group, Teodoro said.

The president made the remarks in a command conference in Zamboanga, where she visited wounded soldiers and attended the wake of the troopers killed fighting the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists on southern Basilan island on Thursday.

Teodoro warned that the government also knew which MILF groups had aided the Abu Sayyaf in the fighting and warned that the government would go after them as well.

"Those who were involved in the attacks will also be included among those to be neutralised and arrested," he said, referring to the MILF.

"There are cases we have already filed against them and we have filed protests," with the international group monitoring the government`s ceasefire with the MILF, Teodoro told reporters.

Some 23 soldiers and 20 Abu Sayyaf members were killed when the military overran a training camp run by the militants on Basilan.

MILF fighters have been identified as helping the Abu Sayyaf in the fighting despite having a ceasefire with the government. Press reports say the rebels mutilated the bodies of the slain soldiers.

Teodoro warned the MILF leadership that if they attempt to use the peace process to shield their fighters who took part in the violence, "then they are countenancing this illegal activity".

However he said operations against the MILF in Basilan should not affect efforts to revive the peace talks. "We know their command and control in Basilan is loose and the leaders there make their own decisions," he said.

Teodoro did not say that additional forces would be sent to Basilan to help in the operations against the extremists but he stressed that the government side had the "momentum" against the rebels as they had just captured a major Abu Sayyaf camp.

The Abu Sayyaf, formed in the early 1990s with support from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been linked to the worst terror attacks in Philippine history, including deadly bombings and mass kidnappings.

The larger MILF has been waging an Islamic separatist campaign in the southern Philippines for 30 years but five years ago they signed a ceasefire with the government to negotiate for peace.

Although the peace talks collapsed in August, 2008 after MILF commanders attacked Christian communities in the south, both sides have recently taken steps to resume the talks.(*)

Gaza City (ANTARA News/AFP) - Six people were killed and 50 wounded in fighting on Friday after Hamas police stormed a mosque in Gaza where radicals had declared an Islamist "emirate" in the Palestinian territory, emergency services said.

The clashes began in the afternoon after weekly prayers in the southern city of Rafah, which straddles the Egyptian border, and were continuing after dark, witnesses said.

At least one of the dead was a Hamas policeman, while 10 of the wounded were said to be in critical condition.

At the same time, an Egyptian security official said a three-year-old boy was critically wounded by a bullet from the fighting across the border.

Following the prayers, a group of Palestinians announced the formation of the Islamist emirate, defying the authority of Hamas, which has ruled the impoverished enclave for the past two years, witnesses said.

"We are today proclaiming the creation of an Islamist Emirate in the Gaza Strip," Abdul Latif Musa, a representative Jund Ansar Allah (Soldiers of the Partisans of God), said at the Bin Taymiyya mosque, the witnesses reported.

Musa was surrounded by armed fighters when he made his statement, according to the witnesses.

In reaction, the Hamas interior ministry warned that those violating the law would be pursued and arrested.

"Everyone outside the law and carrying arms in order to spread chaos will be pursued and arrested," a statement said.

At the same time, Hamas premier Ismail Haniya denied that the group exists.
"No such groups exist on the ground in Gaza," he said at prayers in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. He blamed the "Israeli media for spreading this information with a view to turning the world against Gaza."

Hamas seized power in Gaza in June 2007 after a week of vicious fighting with forces of the secular Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas.

Itself Islamist, Hamas is regarded by the United States and Israel as a terrorist group and Israel maintains a blockade on the territory.

US-based monitoring service SITE Intelligence said Jund Ansar Allah announced its allegiance to the "Islamic Emirate in the Heart of Beit al-Maqdis (Jerusalem)" in a message issued on its website and jihadist forums on Friday.

A translation of the statement declared that Abu al-Nur al-Maqdisi (Abdul Latif Musa) was the leader.

"We are arrows in your quiver. By Allah, you will only find us to be loyal and obedient soldiers and strong and firm men."

It said all the group`s military factions had "dissolved into the Islamic Emirate in the Heart of (Jerusalem)" and called on "all the loyal and truthful in the heart of (Jerusalem) to hurry to declare allegiance to the Islamic Emirate."

It also called on all Muslims in Gaza to "support the mujahedeen (holy warriors), to aid them and to host them."

To Muslims elsewhere, it issued a call to "back this fresh emirate, to support it with money, weapons and men."

Finally, it said: "to the enemies of Allah, the soldiers of tawhid (unification) will not rest and they will not tire till the faith of Allah the Great and Almighty gains victory, till the entirety of Muslim lands are liberated and till our imprisoned Aqsa (mosque in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem) is purified from the desecration of the accursed Jews."

Jund Ansar Allah seeks the strict enforcement of Islamic Sharia law and accuses Hamas of being too liberal, witnesses said. It is said to have threatened to burn down Internet cafes and to seek greater modesty on Gaza beaches.

Musa demanded Hamas "cease its aggression against Salafists," SITE reported.
Rafah is the Gaza stronghold of the so-called Salafist movement, of which Jund Ansar Allah is said to a part and which are ideologically close to Al-Qaeda.(*)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia should cooperate with Malaysia to root out the network of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin M Top who has been operating in Indonesia since 2000.

The Indonesian government and people should forge cooperation with Malaysia to arrest Noordin Mohammad Top, the Malaysian extremist wanted for masterminding a series of suicide bombings in Indonesia, Mussni Umar, the spokesman of the Indonesian delegation in the Indonesia-Malaysia Eminent Persons` Group (EPG), said on Wednesday.

"The governments of the two countries should step up cooperation to arrest Noordin Mohammad Top," Umar said, adding the recent police raids on terrorist hideouts in Bekasi, West Java, and in Temanggung, Central Java, should be a good momentum for the Indonesian government to dismantle Top`s network in the country.

Umar said the series of terror bombings that had happened in a number of Indonesian cities in the past few years had tarnished Indonesia`s image and created fear among the people.

"Terrorism is the common enemy of Indonesia and Malaysia," Umar said.

Meanwhile, five bodies of suspected terrorists at the Soekanto police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, have been identified as Dani Dwi Permana, Nana Ihwan Maulana, Air Setiawan, Eko Joko Sarjono, and Ibrohim.

Dani and Nana were the suicide bombers at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in the Mega Kuningan area in Jakarta on July 17, 2009, while Air and Eko were terror suspects shot dead by the police during a raid on their hideout at Puri Nusapala housing complex in Jatiasih, Bekasi, West Java, on Aug 7, 2009.

Air and Eko were shot dead after they tried to throw a hand- bomb at police officers conducting the raid.

Police said DNA tests showed on Wednesday that the fifth body was identified as Ibrohim, a militant killed in a police raid in Temanggung, Central Java, last Saturday, and not as Noordin M Top as previously assumed.(*)

Semarang (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian police are currently investigating the source of funds used by the terrorist network led by Noordin M Top, a spokesman said.

"We are making use of sophisticated IT technology for the purpose, and will involve the Financial Transaction Analysis and Reporting Center (PPATK)," the head of the National Police`s public relations division, Inspector General Nanan Soekarna, said at a function at the Police Academy here on Saturday.

He said finding the terrroists` donors was very important because a lot of funds must have been involved in their recruiting or operational activities.

"Right now it is all still being investigated by a team in the field using those methods," he said.

Regarding the call of the National Commission on Human Rights that the police should continue to respect human rights in their operations, Nanan said arrests of terror suspects were always carried out according to certain procedures.

"The case of a terrorist suspect being killed occured because it was a must to avoid more victims from the police as well as the community," he said.

Nanan said, since 2000, a total of 437 terrorists had been brought to justice.

Regarding restrictions on the sale of chemical substances, he said they were imposed as part of efforts to monitor distribution of the substances in the community.

"We do not intend to create problems for buyers and only want to monitor their purchases and what they are to be used for," he said.

He said the police hoped buyers and traders would help in this respect, especially in reporting large-scele purchases of chemicial substances.

Nanan said, in line with the National Police Chief`s directive, the important thing now was making the people aware of the problem and persuading them to help the police in preventive efforts so that none of their family members would fall victim to terrorism.

He said the police wished people would watch for possible suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods. "In case they find suspicious activities they are advised to immediately report them to the police so that action can be taken immediately," he said.(*)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the younger generation in the country on Saturday to reject violence and be part of a future peace-loving civilization.

He made the call at a ceremony held to mark the confirmation of the team to raise the national flag at the commemoration of the anniversary of the country`s independence day at the State Palace on Monday.

The head of state said a great civilization was marked by the use of peaceful ways for the settlement of problems and not violence like irresponsible terrorism.

"I wish you will be part of the great civilization. I wish the the next generation will be more civilized, peace-loving and shun violence," he said.

To the selected members of the younger generation to represent their respective home provinces the president appealed to always maintain the patriotism and nationalism.

The president viewed the tasks of raising the flag in the morning on August 17 and lowering it in the evening as reflecting the nation`s unity and brotherhood in carrying out the task of developing the nation.

The Paskibraka team consists of 33 members from the country`s provinces. They are male and female students of senior highs aged between 16 and 18 years that have passed selection.

To them the President said that the theme for this year`s anniversary celebration was rise up, unite and progress.

After the holding of recent general elections the head of state called on elements to unite and rise up to again conduct national development stifled by a great crisis ten years ago.

"As a nation we are determined as of this year to be more united, to rise up again and to progress. I would keep saying that only with unity could we be safe through all the challenges, problems and tests," he said.

President Yudhoyono said Indonesia would be more advanced, respected and better-off if the people would unite and never give up.

Several cabinet ministers attended the ceremony, including education minister Bambang Sudibyo.(*)