The police see factors of deliberate and meditated act in the dispatch of 100 coffins by Sumardy, CEO of Buzz&Co. Although the aim of sending the package was for advertisement, based on reports filed by the general public, the police are still processing this case.

Tanah Abang District Police Chief Adjunct Chief Comm. Johansen Simamora said that Sumardy can be prosecuted for causing anxiety in the society, based on Article 335 on Objectionable Act.

“There is still evidence of 31 coffins yet to be dispatched. We also confined a laptop containing the list of 100 recipients of the package,” Johansen, Monday evening, June 6, 2011 told Vivanews.com

Head of Operational Bureau Jakarta Regional Police Chief Comm. Sujarno confirmed there have been reports from the public regarding the matter. The Jakarta Post and Kompas.com editorial boards reported this case.

“We received the reports from the society which became anxious of the coffin dispatch,” said Sujarno.

The investigation into Sumardy was because his act is categorized as terror. The coffins were dispatched without informing the recipients.

In addition, the sender had never known the recipients of the package. This is what triggered suspicions, considering the number of cases of package dispatch earlier.

Sumardy is not the only one. His staff members and four couriers of the coffin dispatch were also under the investigation of Kebon Jeruk West Jakarta District Police. They are Teddy, Yosep, Viktor and the ‘project manager’, Mellyna.

Sumardy was found of sending small-size coffins for advertisement prior to the launching of Rest in Peace Advertising book. Inside the package there are flower and a piece of paper saying www.restinpeace.com, including a kind of code for login on the to-be-launched web that could only be accessed by 12pm WIB (Western Indonesia Time).

According to Sumardy, this is a breakthrough in advertisement world. The reason is a lot of people are weary of ads on television, and this method is a marketing strategy. He also emphasized that if this act is considered terror, he is ready to be investigated by the police.

In addition to The Jakarta Post editorial board, addressed to Daniel Rembeth, which arrived yesterday, some packages were also sent to Metro TV, RCTI, Kompas.com, Okezone.com, Detik.com and Tempo. Some packages were also sent to companies including Indosat Tbk, Garuda Food, Garda Otto and LG Indonesia.

E. Coli bacteria (ecoliblog.com)

In European countries, Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) bacteria has infected thousands of people. The outbreak has even caused tens of people died. However, it is signaled that the bacteria have not yet reached Indonesia.
According to Thomas Darmawan from Food and Beverage Entrepreneurs Association (GAPMMI), so far Indonesian food products are still safe from E. Coli bacteria because the fruits and vegetables imported from Europe are processed products.
“What we import is more of processed food such as sweets and raisins,” he said when contacted by VIVAnews.com Tuesday, June 7, 2011.
In spite of the fresh fruits import from France, he went on, the number is small. “We only import apples, and those are also safe,” said Thomas.
This also applies, he said, to other fruits and vegetables products coming from Asia-Pacific countries including Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan and China. “So our food products are still safe from E. Coli bacteria,” he said.
Earlier, Indonesian Health Ministry suggested that the people be cautious of diseases due to E. Coli bacteria. The reason is, according to Health Ministry, the outbreak has actually started in Germany in mid May 2011.
As of June 2, 2011, Germany has identified 520 cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), which caused the death of 11. There were 1,213 cases of enteroharmorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), out of which 6 died. This means there were 1,733 cases and 17 deaths.
“In addition to Germany, 11 other countries found similar cases, namely Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and US,” said Prof. Dr. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Director General of Contagious Disease Control and Environmental Health (P2PL) of RI Health Ministry in a press release VIVAnews.com received.Vivanews

Albert Torey 

Regent of Teluk Wondama, West Papua, Albert Torey, was rounded up by police as he was using meth at his home in Manokwari last night. His second wife was also on the scene. Police also confiscated two small meth packages at a total of 0.89 grams of weight.

Police spokesperson, Chief. Comm. Wachyono told VIVAnews that, "The Regent of Wondama was picked up at his house in Manokwari as he and his wife were using meth."

According to the police chief, Torey has been under surveillance for some time. "He had often escaped our ambush."

"The police will have to report to the President within no later than 48 hours," he said.

Indonesia is getting closer to obtaining an investment grade rating, its first since the Asian financial crisis more than a decade ago, after Fitch Ratings raised its outlook to positive from stable.

Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings Fitch Senior Director and Head, Andrew Colquhoun, said “The positive outlook reflects Fitch’s view that Indonesia’s favorable macroeconomic prospects are likely to see the credit profile strengthen further over the next 12 to 18 months, despite near-term risks from inflation and potentially volatile capital flows."

In addition, the ratings agency views that Indonesia's balance of payment has been sound since 1998. In fact, foreign exchange reserves recorded US$96.2 trillion, which was equal to seven months of imports and debt repayment.

According to Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution, the decision to improve the outlook reflects the international confidence toward Indonesia's economy amidst near-term inflation rate which poses risk over the nation.

"Indonesia only requires a small step toward investment grade," said Darmin on February 24.

Earlier, Moody’s Investors Service last month raised Indonesia’s credit rating to the highest level since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, citing the nation’s “economic resilience” and improving public debt position. Moody’s Ba1 rating is also one step below investment grade.

Just over a year ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a global commitment to Internet Freedom. Based on the universal human rights framework, Internet Freedom — or as Secretary Clinton deemed the freedom to connect — applies the freedoms of assembly, expression and associa

tion to cyberspace.

Today, as we look around at world events, this commitment is more important than ever. By preserving these rights in the digital era, we preserve the promise and the possibility of the Internet as a platform for ideas, innovation, connection, and economic growth.

Against the backdrop of Egypt and the largest Internet shutdown of our time, we have heard numerous calls to honor the freedom to connect, in particular to seek and share information over the Internet, from President Obama and Secretary Clinton and leaders around the world.

The Internet has become the public sphere of the 21st century – it is the global town square.

Indonesia is shining example of this phenomenon. Indonesians live in a free country where the constitution guarantees individual freedoms such as the freedoms of assembly, association, and expression.  As a result, Indonesians — regardless of gender, religious, ethnic, or economic background — have open Internet access through which to access information, express opinions, and come together online.

The kind of peaceful civic activism we have seen in Tahrir Square or in Tunis over the course of the past weeks or through the Indonesia Unite for Coins for Prita movements occurs increasingly on the Internet in parallel and in coordination with rallies in the streets.

People around the world come together every day on the Internet to connect to one another, sample a universe of news and information, or make their voices heard. And through this discourse, be it online or in person, new dimensions of debates that we have been having for centuries re-emerge: How best to govern, administer justice, pursue prosperity, and create the conditions for long-term progress, both within and across borders.

The connectivity that the digital age fosters has only added new urgency to how we reconcile these age-old issues. The choices governments make today will determine the face of the Internet in the future and they will not be easily made.

The choices we face are familiar, but the space in which we confront them is not. How do we protect liberty and security, transparency and confidentiality, freedom of expression while fostering tolerance and harmony?

First, too often liberty and security are seen as mutually exclusive, but we must have both to have either, both online and offline. We are reminded daily of both the promise and the peril of the information age.  We must have enough security to enable our freedoms, but not so much as to endanger them. In the balance between liberty and security, the fulcrum is the rule of law. Our allegiance to it does not vanish in cyberspace. Neither does our commitment to civil liberties. The United States is equally determined to track and stop terrorists and criminal activity online and offline.

In both spheres, we pursue this goal in accordance with our values.

It is no secret that “security” is often invoked as a justification for harsh crackdowns on Internet freedom. Governments that arrest bloggers, pry into the peaceful activities of their citizens, and limit or close off access to information under the guise of maintaining security are fooling no one. Silencing ideas does not make them go away.

Second, we must protect both transparency and confidentiality. Transparency is critical.  We can and should give citizens information about their governments and open the doors to commerce historically closed off to most people. But confidentiality is also paramount. It protects the ability of organizations and governments to carry out their missions and best serve the public interest.

Governments do have a higher standard to meet when invoking confidentiality, because they serve the public.  But all governments require some degree of confidentiality when dealing with matters such as public safety and national security.  For example, it would not be sensible to publish on the Internet details of sensitive negotiations between countries on how to locate and dispose of nuclear materials or how to combat the violence of drug cartels.

Third, we must seek to protect free expression while at the same time fostering tolerance. Just like a town square, the Internet is home to every kind of speech:  False, offensive, constructive and innovative. With an online population of more than 2 billion people that is rapidly growing, the varied nature of speech online will only proliferate.

There is no question, in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all people have the right to freedom of expression. The challenge is to fulfill a commitment to freedom of expression online while emphasizing the importance of harnessing the capacity of the Internet to advance tolerance and peace. We believe the best way to do this is to promote more speech not to limit it.

Exposing and challenging offensive speech, rather than suppressing it, allows for public scrutiny and response.  In the marketplace of ideas, those ideas with merit will become stronger and those without merit will in time fade away.

Through Internet freedom, we have the rare opportunity to tie together a human rights issue with our aspirations for mutual economic prosperity.  The principles of Internet freedom are rooted in the openness of the platform so that the Internet can remain an engine of ideas, innovation, and economic growth.

Open markets for new products and services catalyze entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment. We have seen investment and innovation in the global Internet marketplace flow to those nations that seek to make openness the hallmark of their Internet policy.

As we move forward and the universal town square of the Internet continues to flourish, we are confident that we can protect and advance the principles of liberty and security; transparency and confidentiality; and free speech and tolerance. Together they comprise the foundation of a free and open Internet.

We must have enough security to enable our freedoms, but not so much as to endanger them.

The author is the United States Ambassador to Indonesia