Death Toll Mounts In Trio of Indonesian Natural Disasters

The death toll continues rising in the aftermath of the trio of natural disasters to strike Indonesia - an erupting Mount Merapi, earthquake, and subsequent tsunami.



Tsunami buoys were vandalized, but it isn't clear that it would have made any difference because of the close proximity between the epicenter of the quake and nearby villages. They may not have had any chance, even if warnings were sounded. Nearly 700 people are missing and presumed to have been swept out to sea. More than 340 others were killed in the combined natural disasters.

Mount Merapi has renewed its eruptions, putting thousands at risk from the ashfall.

More than 20,000 have been displaced.

Indonesian Tsunami Alert System Was Inoperative Because of Vandalism

Several hundred people were killed and hundreds of villages were damaged as a result of a tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake Monday. Yet, few were warned of the impending tsunami because the system was inoperable as a result of vandalism.

Ridwan Jamaluddin, of the Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, told the BBC's Indonesian service that two buoys off the Mentawai islands were vandalised and so out of service.

"We don't say they are broken down but they were vandalised and the equipment is very expensive. It cost us five billion rupiah each (£353,000; $560,000).

Another official, from the Indonesian Climatology Agency told the BBC's Indonesian service that both tide gauges and buoys are used to detect a tsunami, but the buoys are more important to generating an early warning.

"To predict a tsunami, we need the data from the buoy and the tide gauge, which is located near the beach. The buoy is more important because it is on the sea, so it will record the wave much quicker that the tide gauge," said the official, named Fauzi.
Difficulties

Residents of the Mentawai islands have told the BBC they heard no tsunami warning.

"There was not any siren to warn people in Sikakap [a small town on North Pagai island]," said Ferdinand Salamanang.

"Yes there was a quake and tsunami detection system in our port, but they are broken down. We did not hear any warning this time."

Despite the massive tsunami that killed more than 230,000 throughout South Asia, including Indonesia back in 2004, warning systems are still not getting the kind of priority that they should given the amount of damage that can be wrought. Indonesia is routinely hit with significant and massive earthquakes, any of which can cause tsunamis. Warning systems may help people closest to the coast get out of harm's way in time to avoid the surging waters that can inundate coastlines for miles. The Indonesian government has to do a better job prioritizing its funding for warning systems given the potential for massive death and devastation.

Indonesia's Mount Merapi Erupts, Killing 30

The volcano continues to spew ash over the surrounding area, but rescue crews have converged on the area looking for those who were injured or killed in the eruption. Some people refused to leave the danger zone, despite warnings from volcanologists of an impending eruption. That included the so-called spiritual guardian of the volcano.

He died in the eruption, along with at least 30 others.

Triple Natural Disasters Rock Indonesia

Indonesia has been rocked by a major earthquake, tsunami and volcanic eruptions in a triple display of nature's power. Villages near Mount Merapi are being urged to evacuate over the potential for a significant eruption. Scientists are concerned that a major eruption could threaten more than 11,000 people living nearby.

A 2-month old baby reportedly died as panicked villagers fled the area.

Up to 20 people were injured by hot ash spewed from Mount Merapi, said an AP reporter who witnessed them being taken away for treatment.

Some 11,400 villagers who live on the 9,737-foot (2,968-metre) -high mountain were urged to evacuate, but only those with four miles (seven kilometers) of the crater were forced by authorities to do so. Most of those who fled were the elderly and children. Some adults said they decided to stay to tend to homes and farms on the fertile slopes.

Private MetroTV reported that the baby died when a mother ran in panic after the eruption started. Its report cited a local doctor and showed the mother weeping as the baby was covered with white blanket at a hospital. The report did not make clear if it was a boy or girl.

That comes after a major 7.5 earthquake rocked the coast near Sumatra, setting off a tsunami. At least 100 were killed and hundreds more were missing when the tsunami swept through the coastal areas. Several major aftershocks were reported above magnitude 6.

Indonesia Warns Of Christianization Threat Over Proposal To Build Church

Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, and minorities have had a difficult time preserving their religious freedoms. The latest strain on religious relations in the country follows Indonesian Inslamists who are up in arms over the proposal to build a church in Bekasi, which has a Muslim-majority. Rallies continue to be held opposing the construction of the church and warn against the Christianization of Indonesia.

In June, the Bekasi F.P.I. leader told The Jakarta Globe, “All Muslims should unite and be on guard because … the Christians are up to something.” He also suggested that it might be necessary for mosques to establish militias and be prepared to fight a “war” to prevent “Christianization.”

As Al Jazeera explained in a video report last week, the small Christian group said that it had obtained all the necessary signatures from local residents who agreed to allow them to build their church, but then the Islamist vigilantes pressed people to withdraw their approval.

F.P.I. vigilantes have attacked a wide range of targets in the past, throwing rocks at members of minority Muslim sects, beating gay people, destroying bars and vowing to track down the editor of Indonesia’s short-lived version of Playboy magazine, Erwin Arnada, who is now in hiding.

As Reuters explained in June when the vigilantes attacked a group of Indonesian legislators, the F.P.I. “attracts limited support in moderate, majority Muslim Indonesia, but fear of being seen as defending vice means politicians and police often turn a blind eye to their attacks on targets, such as transvestites, which are deemed un-Islamic.”

It's not quite a mirror image to the debate about the Cordoba House proposal to build an Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero, but the parallels shouldn't be lost on anyone here.

It does, however, show that the world over struggles with religious freedoms and stresses that the United States and its First Amendment protections for free exercise of religion are there for a reason. Religious intolerance has been a significant issue as the central government has left issues largely up to the regional governments, increasing the intolerance of minority religious groups.

Death Toll From Pacific Rim Quakes and Tsunami Rise

A second quake in Indonesia piled on the damage caused by the first earthquake, and the death toll there is well above 500, with the toll likely to rise into the thousands as thousands of structures collapsed.

The 6.8 magnitude quake came on the heels of a 7.6 magnitude temblor the day before.

The worst hit was the West Sumatra capital of Padang, where at least 376 people perished, officials said.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the Ministry of Health's crisis center, said thousands of people may be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and houses.

Rescuers used hammers, chisels and their hands to claw through debris in a desperate search for survivors. Health care workers treated the injured in a semi-collapsed hospital. Makeshift morgues were overflowed with dead dead.

State-run Antara news agency cited reports that part of a hospital had collapsed, burying people under debris.

The earthquakes caused widespread power failures, making it difficult for authorities and aid organizations to evaluate damage.

Meanwhile the death toll from the tsunami in Samoa and American Samoa continues to rise. Scientists who issue the warnings have scant minutes to figure out whether a tsunami is likely, and they issued warnings within 15 minutes of the quake, but for those closest to the epicenter of the quake that was not enough time. Tsunami waves travel 500 miles per hour.

Natural Disasters Strike Pacific Rim Countries; Preparedness Still An Issue

Samoa and American Samoa was inundated following a tsunami yesterday caused by a strong 8.0 earthquake. More than 80 people were killed and the ultimate death toll isn't yet known because remote areas were flooded out. Meanwhile, Indonesia, which was the focal point of the massive 2004 South Asian tsunami that killed more than 250,000 people was hit by a strong quake that toppled buildings and trapped many more.

Despite having several years to implement a new tsunami warning system, it appears that there are significant flaws with the warning system.

For example, The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center immediately sent out an e mail statement today when the earthquake happened off Sumatra, warning that "there is a possibility of a destructive regional tsunami in the Indian Ocean." That message goes immediately to emergency services and the media who can issue warnings. But it seems difficult to clear the beaches and coastal towns and villages in time.

Thailand, for instance, recently held a massive tsunami evacuation drill across six southern provinces. Yet many villagers failed to hear the alert from the 79 warning towers that have been installed along the coast since the tsunami struck in Christmas of 2004. Instead, local officials resorted to hand-operated sirens and even car horns to alert villagers to the danger.

Some people have warned this could be dangerous in the event of a real tsunami.

A series of tsunami detection buoys have also been installed across the region by the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are supposed to inform people about a tsunami before it hits shore.

In Thailand’s case, a buoy off the popular tourist destination of Phuket, which was hit hard by the 2004 tsunami, is not working properly. It was launched in December 2006 but stopped transmitting for a month in mid-June this year.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the buoy is now operating on a back-up battery and will likely stop transmitting for good sometime next month. Thai authorities say they will replace it as soon as they can.

UPDATE:
Video from American Samoa:


There are reports of looting and people have been urged to stay away from low-lying areas and a need to clear the main highway so authorities can get help to where it's needed most. Additional video can be found here.

UPDATE:
There were apparently four separate tsunami events in Samoa and American Samoa and here's video of the second of four waves showing the devastation in progress.

Terrorists Strike In Jakarta, Killing Eight

Multiple bombs were detonated, killing at least eight people at a Jakarta Marriott and a Ritz Carlton. At least 53 people were injured. Both were known to have high security, and despite that, the terrorists murdered eight people. Indeed, the Marriott was the scene of a deadly bombing in 2003, which killed 12 and wounded 150.

Suicide bombers set off explosions at two hotels here Friday morning that killed eight people and wounded 53, police said, in Indonesia's worst terrorist attack in four years.

National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the bodies of two suicide bombers were found near the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in the city's central business district. At least one of the eight killed was a foreigner, but he said four bodies have yet to be identified. Eighteen of the people injured by were foreigners, he said.

A security sweep of the Marriott after the blast revealed another device in a room, which was defused. That suggests that the bombers were able to gain access to the hotel as guests.

The suicide bombers used explosive they were keeping in a room at the Marriott, Mr. Danuri said. The first bomb was detonated at the Marriott at 7:47 a.m. local time at the lounge in the lobby, near a meeting of foreign business people. That explosion killed five. The second bomb was detonated at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel 10 minutes later, on a second floor restaurant, killing two. One person later died in a hospital. The streets outside the two hotels, which sit adjacent to each other in a new business district in central part of the capital city, were covered in shattered glass and debris.

The dead included Timothy Mackay, chief executive of PT Holcim Indonesia, the local unit of Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd., a spokesman for the company said.

Mr. Mackey was among several victims attending an Indonesian business forum held at the J.W. Marriott Friday morning. The meeting, organized by consulting firm CastleAsia, was part of a series of events sponsored by the firm that gathers prominent business executives and political leaders to discuss Indonesian affairs.

So, who was behind the attacks? My best guess would be none other than Jemaah Islamiyah, which has ties to al Qaeda. Others suspect that it might be a splinter group that is dissatisfied with the leadership. The hotels are seen as symbols of the West, particularly the United States. The Marriott had been used by the US embassy for various events over the years, so the attacks are show an intent to attack a symbol of the United States.

Moreover, it shows the terrorists' willingness to repeatedly attack high value targets.

It will have an effect on Indonesia's economic situation, as the tourism industry is expecting to take a serious hit for the next several months until the fears of terrorism recede into dim memories.

UPDATE:
CCTV at the Marriott hotel captured the blast:


Meanwhile, Manchester United, which had been scheduled to compete in a soccer competition in Indonesia and which was planning on staying at the Marriott, has withdrawn from the competition.

UPDATE:
Two hours after the initial blasts, a car bomb went off in Jakarta, killing another two people.

Terror Strikes Indian Embassy In Kabul

A massive car bomb heavily damaged the Indian Embassy in Kabul. 40+ people were killed, including the Indian military attache and a diplomat. Several security guards at the nearby Indonesian Embassy were also killed.

A car bomb ripped through the front wall of the Indian Embassy in central Kabul on Monday, killing 40 people in the deadliest attack in Afghanistan's capital since the fall of the Taliban, officials said.

The massive explosion detonated by a suicide bomber damaged two embassy vehicles entering the compound, near where dozens of Afghan men line up every morning to apply for visas.

The embassy is located on a busy, tree-lined street near Afghanistan's Interior Ministry in the city center. Several nearby shops were damaged or destroyed in the blast, and smoldering ruins covered the street. The explosion rattled much of the Afghan capital.

This is the highest profile attack in Kabul in years.

10,000 Jet Into Bali To Confer On Climate Change Pact

Today is the start of a UN conference in Bali, Indonesia to hammer out a pact on global warming. It appears that the UN could not have picked a better location to host. Bali is one of the most inaccessible cities in the world from Europe and the US, and the 10,000 attendees have to fly into the country, expending serious amounts of the gases that the very same attendees claim are causing global warming.

Whatever happened to teleconferencing to limit the impact on the environment? I guess when you get to fly off to the exotic city of Bali, such concerns about the environment take a back seat to the fun in the sun. It shows the unseriousness about the very issue that these attendees claim is so dire that the failure to act will mean catastrophic changes to the world's climate. Jetting off to exotic locales to confer on the problem shows that the so-called environmentalists are more concerned with their airline miles than they are with reducing emissions.

Indonesia is claiming that it is planting millions of trees to offset the conference. Well, by that logic, if every nation simply plants more trees, we'd all be able to continue at the current pace of emissions, while providing the offsets needed for such emissions. However, such a plan would mean no money/tax on nations that emit, and therein lies the problem. The UN and climate change proponents are looking at a way of taxing countries and emitters, and they want to have their hands in the cookie jar.

It's entertaining to watch the spinning going on at Bali by the UN officials, but this conference will not accomplish anything:

''Public expectations for Bali to provide answers are big,'' de Boer exhorted the delegates. ''The eyes of the world are now upon you. There is a huge responsibility for Bali to deliver.'' But Bali won’t deliver an agreement to cut the carbon emissions that are the top reason for global warming. It won’t deliver commitments from the world’s top three sources of carbon emissions - including host country Indonesia - to accept emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Despite the millions spent on airfares, hotel rooms, taxis, and resort meals, it won’t deliver a dime to poor or rich countries to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Indonesia’s Environment Minister and president of the conference Rachmat Witoelar said: ''Climate change is unequivocal and accelerating,'' seemingly sounding the clarion call for bold action. Except that we’re talking about the UN here. ''Countries now have to agree on the agenda for the negotiations,'' Witoelar continued. ''This will cover the key areas for the new climate change deal and what the organizational and procedural arrangements are to get to this result.'' Wake me when CNN news personality Anderson Cooper floats by on the next melting ice cap.

''If you’re hearing messages about what it’s not, that’s because we and Indonesia have tried to keep realistic about what will emerge from the conference,'' UNFCCC conference spokesman John Hay explained. ''Politically, if there’s agreement for negotiations to be carried out to reach an agreement on a successor to Kyoto, then Bali is a success. Anything less is unacceptable.'' Hay added, ''It’s true that the Indonesian presidency for the conference and the UN are keen on managing expectations.'' Simpler, perhaps, than managing meaningful results.

Despite UN IPCC scientists’ calls for urgent action, there’s a palpable lack of urgency. Some officials here use the term ''road map'' to describe what’s likely to emerge from the Bali meeting. But in fact, the map is already drawn. After Bali 2007 comes Poland 2008, then Denmark 2009. By then, perhaps there will be a successor regime in place of Kyoto after 2012. But with three years of wiggle room, don’t be surprised if the route to agreement runs through additional resorts.

Kyoto doesn't limit China or India's emissions, even as China now exceeds US emissions, and is expected to grow even more over the years so that any reductions by the US or EU will be swallowed up by the increase in Chinese emissions.

Of course, there's also the problem with the science on which this conference is based. If you want to reduce pollution for the sake of cleaner air, that's one thing, but claiming that you have to reduce pollution because the climate will change if we don't is unadulterated folly. There is one sure thing about the earth's climate. It is always in a state of change. The earth has alternated between ice age and periods of warming. There are long-term cycles and shorter term cycles, both of which can span millenia.

UPDATE:
Well, Texas environmentalists haven't gotten the memo about sustainable and renewable energy sources like wind power. They're busy litigating a wind power project to death in Texas claiming that the wind turbines will kill migratory birds and that the permitting process didn't have the proper environmental reviews.

Indonesia Expresses Curious Method of AIDS Prevention

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. Indonesia, which has previously sought to prevent US doctors from helping an Indonesian man who suffers from an ailment that turns his hands into essentially tree stumps and wants to control access to potential virus strains prevalent in the country, has come upon the solution to the AIDS crisis.

Stoning.

This would be in accordance with Islamic law, of course.

“We strongly feel that condoms can't prevent people from getting AIDS. The pores of the latex are bigger than the virus itself,”he told Adnkronos International (AKI), adding that in his view the campaign was harmful and morally wrong.

“AIDS prevention should start by implementing Islamic laws and punishing rule breakers, infidels and those who engage in pre-marital sex.

"In Islam we normally throw stones at them,” said al-Anshori. The MMI is a Muslim umbrella organisation whose member groups promotes sharia law in Indonesia.

UPDATE:
Fixed error in first paragraph - Jersey City is celebrating World AIDS Day today, but the official day is tomorrow.

Indonesia Health Minister Slams US Doctor For Helping Tree Man

Indonesia's health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, lambasted the US doctor currently treating the 35-year-old man, who has the rare affliction caused by the Human Papilloma Virus.

Mrs Supari is angry that Dr Anthony Gaspari has taken blood and tissue samples out of the country to the United States in a bid to diagnose the illness. She claims such samples could be used in the future to make vaccines that the poor could not afford.

Developing nations such as Indonesia risk exploitation unless they maintain control over their virus strains, Mrs Supari said.

But her comments have now offended Dr Gaspari, an American dermatologist at the University of Maryland, who maintains that, while he took the samples without permission, his sole motivation was getting treatment for the man.

Known simply as Dede, the man, who lives in a village south of the capital Jakarta, has massive root-like warts growing from his arms and legs which have gone untreated for years.

The logic and reasoning of the health minister is simply astonishing. He'd rather watch thousands or millions of people suffer around the world because he thinks that Indonesia should control their virus strains.

Actually, I think it's even worse than that. It's astonishingly stupid.

Virus strains know no boundaries. With modern travel, anyone can transmit a virus halfway around the world in a matter of hours. It's what has epidemiologists worried about avian flu strains that might mutate into versions that can be transmitted from person to person. And yet, Mrs Supari has, refused to share samples of the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu until she receives assurances they will not be used to make expensive pandemic vaccines.

Despite talking about costs, cost isn't the concern here - control is. The Indonesian government thinks it can control access, and the assurances are really a cut of whatever is being made.

So, instead of furthering scientific understanding of the various ailments, Indonesia is standing in the way of vaccine development that could potentially save the lives of millions of people and/or other medical discoveries because of parochial concerns.

Indonesia wants control over something that it is incapable of dealing with. In fact, Indonesian doctors have been incapable of treating this man's condition for years. Yet, the Indonesian government wants to condemn this man and many others to continued suffering because they want to control something beyond their abilities.

HT: Ace

Cozying Up in Bali

CONVICTED Bali nightclub bombers have feasted on kebabs with Indonesia's anti-terrorism chief at an evening party held at his house.

The party, which brought together more than 20 Muslim hardliners and former terrorists who have shown "regret" for their actions, was the latest "soft" strategy in Indonesia's anti-terror campaign to try and turn former militants into informers, or advocates of religious moderation.

"We approach the terrorists with a pure heart,'' Brigadier General Surya Dharma, the head of Indonesia's anti-terror unit and host of the party, told Associated Press.

"We are all Muslims. We make them our brothers, not our enemy."

Mubarok, who is serving a life sentence for planning and carrying out the Bali bombings, was temporarily released from prison to attend the party, which was free of armed guards. He led the prayers at the celebration, timed to coincide with the breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Those key individuals involved in the Bali bombings, Islamic terrorists associated with Jemaah Islamiyah, have repeatedly seen their already short incarcerations reduced despite the fact that they were involved in a terrorist group that murdered 202 people and wounded another 267.

Now, we see that the people responsible for going after terrorists in Indonesia are wining and dining with the people who have no problem murdering tourists and engaging in mass casualty attacks.

One has to wonder just how serious the Indonesian government is in dealing with counterterrorism against the Islamists when they have no problem inviting them to feasts.

The fifth anniversary of the attacks is tomorrow - October 12.

UPDATE:
Here's the link to my posting on the reduced sentence for the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah.

Also blogging: Charles at LGF.

Another JI Terrorist Nabbed In Indonesia

It appears that the capture of earlier arrest of Abu Dujana along with a treasure trove of intel may have been the result of the capture of another top JI terrorist.

Indonesian police on Friday announced the capture on June 9 of Zarkasih, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, believed to be the Southeast Asian wing of the al-Qaida international terrorist network.

Terrorist Down In Indonesia

Indonesian authorities captured one of Jemaah Islamiyah's (JI) top thugs, along with flow charts of who knew whom. JI has ties to al Qaeda and has been implicated in multiple bombings and terrorist attacks in the region, including the Bali bombing that killed more than 200 people. Abu Dujana was apprehended along with a treasure trove of intel:

Indonesian police today confirmed they captured Indonesian’s most wanted terrorist Abu Dujana in a raid on the weekend.

There has been intense speculation that the terrorist leader was caught in one of a series of raids by Indonesia’s anti-terror squad, Detachment 88, across central Java.

Indonesian national police spokesman Inspector General Sisno Adiwinoto confirmed the fugitive’s arrest at a press conference in Jakarta today.

“Abu Dujana has been arrested with seven others,” he said.

The intel captured may prove to be even more important than Dujana's capture. He was captured along with six other terrorist suspects.

The IHT has more.

Holocaust Conference Gets Press

Today marks the start of a Holocaust affirming conference in Indonesia. I know, it's a surprise that the Islamic country is hosting such a thing, but it's true.

The event on the resort island of Bali -- attended by rabbis, Holocaust witnesses and Muslim leaders -- styled itself as an "anti-conference of Tehran", where a December 2006 meet cast doubt on the genocide of Jews during World War II, triggering worldwide condemnation.

Chairing the discreetly-organised conference is former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur, a moderate Islamic leader known to take courageous positions in Indonesia.

"Although I am a good friend of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I have to say he is wrong," Gus Dur told the conference, referring to the Iranian president's dismissal of the Holocaust as a myth.

"He falsified history ... I believe the Holocaust happened."

What's sad about all this is that such a conference would be newsworthy at all. Generally conferences on history and world events don't garner media attention, but because this is a conference on the Holocaust, in a predominantly Muslim country of Indonesia, and they're affirming the Holocaust's existence, it is newsworthy. The Holocaust is part of history and the facts are present for all the world to see, and yet you have national leaders like Ahmadinejad who alternatively suggest the Holocaust didn't happen and that they want to finish the job.