Cashing in on Christmas without Christianity

Deutsche Welle, 24 December 2013

Even predominantly Hindu and Muslim countries deck the halls and department store windows during the traditional Christian holiday. For retailers, especially, this makes the season's profits all the more merry.

Students in China parade, dressed as Santa Claus

Bratwurst sizzles as the spicy aroma of mulled wine wafts between the vendors' wooden stalls. Santa parts the crowd, dispersing candy to a swarm of children. He's come a long way from the North Pole to face the blazing Indian sun, but he couldn't pass up the German Christmas market in Delhi - even if the country is overwhelmingly Hindu.

Move over, baby Jesus. For many non-Christian countries like India and China, Christmas has become a seasonal necessity, spiking retail sales, spreading secular cheer and prompting festive store-window displays intent on luring big spenders.

But back to the Christmas market. The Indo-German Chamber of commerce has been sponsoring the event in Delhi for 16 years now. Here, religion takes a back seat.

The Christmas market in Delhi was such
 a success that Mumbai launched its own
version

"It is a totally commercial event meaning to promote Indo-German trade and culture in the joyful setting of a Christmas market, which is so famous in Germany," said Navina Choudhury, project director of the event where Indian and German vendors peddle their wares. "It's popular for everybody who's fun-loving and wants to buy Christmas goodies or just do shopping in a fun atmosphere."

Aside from the social aspect, Choudhury says it's a platform for businesses to garner recognition. Big German corporations like Audi, for example, help sponsor the event.

"A lot of companies get good branding and exposure in this format," she said, adding that the event tends to draw 10,000 - 12,000 visitors annually. Beyond the Christmas market, however, Choudhury said the holiday cheer extends into Delhi's public sphere. "Hotels, markets, everything gets decorated in a Christmas fashion. Nobody would do without it."

Deck the New Year's tree?

Against the soundscape of minaret calls in Istanbul, Christmas decorations dangle from the streetlamps. Department stores tout trimmed trees. But don't go calling them Christmas trees. In Turkey these pines are marketed as "New Year's Trees."

Christmas decorations dangle from street lamps on Istanbul's shopping
street Istikal Caddesi

Even if it's not exactly called Christmas, Muslim-majority Turkey also profits from the holiday spirit. Fancy hotels, retail chains and fancy restaurants deck the halls.

Pelin Cakar heads the upscale "Luca" restaurant in Istanbul's classy Bebek district. Christmas trees - or New Year's trees, rather, dot the dining room. A string of lights lines the outdoor terrace.

"For us, they aren't decorations for Christmas, but rather, for the New Year," Cakar said. "We decorate because it's a festive month, and because the decoration fits accordingly."

Despite the alluring decorations, Cakar says that cashing in on the holidays isn't her priority. "For us the financial aspect isn't our foremost focus, the social aspect is. But of course, the decoration is beautiful and inviting for the guests. We also have a lot of international guests who like it."

Santa speaks Chinese, too

Across the globe in China, pine trees are illuminated and red-suited Santas pose for portraits. "With more and more Western influence in Chinese cities, Christmas as an event, much more commercial than religious, has become common in China," said Shanghai-based media producer Jose Qian.

Although rural communities may be exempt, big cities like Shanghai and Beijing go all out.

"Christmas trees and similar decorations appear in most office buildings and shopping malls. Merry Christmas signs and Santa Claus costumes are popular in many commercial venues," Qian said, adding that classic Christmas carols can often be heard in public."

Since Christmas falls near the traditional Chinese New Year between January and February, the Christmas season gives retailers a reason to launch major sales already in December. Qian said most sales are in the clothing and dining sector.

"The sales season lasts for one and half months, during which time shopping volume goes up," Qian said. "All kinds of promotions are organized and retailers obviously benefit from this."

According to Professor Kent Deng of the London School of Economics, the Christmas boom provides a lifeline to some Chinese manufacturers.

"From the producers' point of view, a lot of small and medium companies depend on Christmas for their livelihood," Deng said. In addition to producers of trinkets, the manufacturers of gadgets or popular tech gifts also pin their success on the commercialization of holidays.

Shopping malls erect massive trees, speckled with colorful baubles. Santa enthusiasts can even get their photo taken with jolly old Saint Nick. Even if the public isn't entirely clear on who the potbellied fellow is, they know that he helps make wishes come true.

"This comes from Hollywood movies," Deng said. "Here, Santa speaks Chinese, of course. But if someone looked at the photo, you wouldn't recognize that this is a non-Christian country."

Santa poses Marilyn Monroe-style in Taiyuan, Shanxi province of China

In China, Christmas is celebrated not necessarily by giving gifts, says the economist, but rather, by splurging on a good meal. And this is where French, Italian and German restaurants profit. Deng says Western restaurants are some of the greatest financial beneficiaries of the Christmas season in China.

"The Chinese have a very strange reinterpretation of the Christmas celebration," Deng said. "You must go to a posh restaurant and have some foreign wine and some fine food. You are for that day, a European person." He laughs, adding, "You can appreciate they have such a romantic view about Christmas. You spend all your disposable income. You eat the best food of the year."

Multi-purpose merry wishes

And the interpretation of the Western holiday doesn't end there. "As a social norm, Chinese do send Christmas cards that say 'Merry Christmas,'" Deng said, estimating that about 100 million families will be sending cards this year. "This is a social formality. Often they link this to the New Year since it's only five days apart, so they'll copy the European style."

European or not. Christian or not, back in India, Navina Choudhury says religion isn't necessary to appreciate the holiday.

"I'm not a Christian, but my daughter has always had a Christmas tree. Santa brings gifts. It is a very important festival in India, even for non-Christians. We all celebrate it."

With additional reporting by Senada Sokullu in Istanbul.

Related Article:

"THE RECALIBRATION OF BELIEF"– Aug 18, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

OPM Fighters ‘Tired of Living in the Jungle,’ Ready to Settle in Villages, Papua District Head Claims

Jakarta Globe, Banjir Ambarita, December 19, 2013

West Papuan students shout slogans during a rally in Surabaya on Dec. 2, 2013,
 demanding the independence of West Papua province from Indonesia. (EPA
Photo/Fully Handoko)

Jayapura. The head of Papua’s Puncak Jaya district claimed on Thursday that the majority of the members of the local Free Papua Movement (OPM) faction — known as the National Liberation Army and led by Goliath Tabuni — have decided to leave the group and return to their villages.

“According to the confessions of underlings of Goliath Tabuni, they’ve grown very tired of living in the jungle for years,” district head Henock Ibo told local journalists in the Wamena district center on Wednesday. “They’ve gotten very, very tired.”

The OPM is an an outlawed militant separatist organization.

Henock said that as many as 100 of Goliath’s men had participated in a Dec. 11 Christmas celebration in Puncak Jaya, along with local officials and residents. He said his administration had invited Goliath to join in the event, which also marked the district head’s one-year anniversary in office, but the separatist leader refused to show up.

Henock said that those 100 men had returned to their villages and were learning to live like the other villagers.

He said his administration would train them to become members of the local public order agency (Satpol PP) and would build 100 homes for them.

“The Papua governor is also helping to build habitable houses for them,” Henock said, according to local media site bintangpapua.com.

Ferry Marisan, director of Papua-based rights group Elsham, expressed doubts over Henock’s claim.

No media reports have quoted any of the supposed former OPM member, Ferry said.

“That’s a one-party claim by the district head,” he told the Jakarta Globe. “We cannot be sure of that yet.”

With 100 member gone, Henock said, Goliath’s OPM group would consists of only 15 members.

“I think the [security] situation will improve now,” he said

The Papua Legislative Council in Jayapura said they welcomed the news and praised officials in Puncak Jaya for their work.

“We need to appreciate the Puncak Jaya district head for continually establishing communications with [the OPM members], so that they have now chosen to return among the people,” council deputy speaker Yunus Wonda said on Thursday.

He said the government needed to continue to direct attention toward the former OPM members so that they would not return to the separatist group.

Yunus urged Indonesian security personnel to make efforts to understand local culture and the character of the Papuan people in dealing with separatist movements.

“We wish for synergy to be built and, more importantly, [there should be] no suspicion of one another,” Yunus said. “Don’t focus on power. If there’s a problem, settle it well by building communications.”

The OPM, which fights for the independence of Papua and West Papua from Indonesia, is divided into factions, including one led by Goliath, which Indonesian security personnel have accused of being responsible for a string of attacks against police and soldiers over the past few years.

New Soekarno Film Keeps History Alive

Jakarta Globe, Lisa Siregar, December 16, 2013

Actor Ario Bayu, center, as former President Soekarno in the new film
‘Soekarno: Indonesia Merdeka.’ (Photo courtesy of MVP Pictures)

Soekarno is best remembered as Indonesia’s first president. The man whose immortal words declared Indonesia as a new, free nation emerging from the destruction and chaos of World War II. But to many Indonesians, he is also remembered as a man of action who disliked being dependent on any party.

One of his most famous sayings was “ Jas Merah ,” short for “ Jangan Sekail kali Meninggalkan Sejarah ” or “do not ever forget the history.”

It is a strong statement and often quoted in many texts.

“Soekarno: Indonesia Merdeka” the movie is an effort to keep the history alive for many generations. Director Hanung Bramantyo, popular for directing religi-drama hits such as “Ayat-Ayat Cinta” (“The Verses of Love”) and “Sang Pencerah” (“The Enlightened One”), said his newest film is the only one about history that relives the moment of our proclamation of independence. Most Indonesians have heard Soekarno’s voice when reading the text, but no real footage from the extremely important event, so Hanung decided to tackle that.

“I made this film to commemorate Soekarno, and naturally, there has to be a scene of when he proclaimed independence,” he said.

Unlike the recent film “Lincoln,” starring Daniel Day Lewis, which only highlights the last years of the former American president’s life, “Soekarno: Indonesia Merdeka” has a very ambitious script that tells the story of Soekarno beginning with his childhood.

Before Soekarno, he was named Kusno, and as a young child, he was frail and very prone to illness. His father changed his name to Soekarno in the hope that the boy would someday be a knight like legendary hero Adipati Karno.

At age 24, Soekarno (Ario Bayu) gives a very captivating speech demanding independence from the colonial government. He is then exiled to Ende and Bengkulu, before finally returning to Java upon the arrival of the Japanese army.

The film reveals Soekarno’s qualities as a statesman and a ladies’ man. Known for being married to nine women, the film includes two — his second wife Inggit (Maudy Koesnaedi), who was with him during his difficult times, and his third wife Fatmawati (Tika Bravani) who tailored the Indonesian flag used during the proclamation of independence.

Lukman Sardi portrays Soekarno’s sidekick, Hatta, while Tanta Ginting gives a powerful performance as Sjahrir, a man with a fierce personality and short-tempered remarks. These three figures often disagree with each other in their ways of thinking. Through their dialogues, members of the audience see the fate of their nation state as discussed decades ago.

The script, also written by Hanung, is based on different literary sources, such as Soekarno’s autobiography by Cindy Adams, “Penyambung Lidah Rakyat,” “Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi” and other references from other real characters involved in the story. Initially, Hanung wanted to create a Soekarno trilogy but after many discussions and qualitative research, he decided to do only one first.

“If this one is doing well, we hope we will be able to make two other movies,” he said.

Hanung said this film is his interpretation of the history of Soekarno. When reading literature for research, he was perplexed by the complexity of Soekarno’s character. One question lingered in his mind while developing the script.

“It’s whether or not Indonesia would exist if there was no Soekarno,” he said.

The film was not without challenges. During production, Hanung encountered problems with Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the former president’s daughter and the current head of Yayasan Pendidikan Soekarno. Soekarno’s family wanted another actor, Anjasmara, to play the main role. Rachmawati held a press conference back in September to announce that she no longer supported the production of the film and pulled back as a financial backer of the project.

Hanung said deciding on the main cast took a very long time. Before Ario Bayu, Hanung considered to cast Agus Kuncoro as Soekarno. Both were filmed in full costume during an important scene with Fatmawati. After a small group discussion, the team decided to give the role to Ario Bayu.

“I know it’s a tough choice, but the film is a matter of perspective,” he said. “I don’t mean to discredit anyone by making this movie.”

Hanung kept saying the film was not a critique. He simply realized that so far, no one had done a movie about Soekarno, so he felt that it had to be done.

‘Soekarno: Indonesia Merdeka’

Directed by Hanung Bramantyo

Starring Ario Bayu, Maudy Koesnaedi, Lukman Sardi

137 minutes

Indonesian

Independence War Propaganda Uncovered

Jakarta Globe, Thessa Lageman, December 16, 2013

Photographs taken durin the Indonesian war for independence have recently
 been published. Censorship laws and government propaganda kept the photos from
public view during the height of the conflict. (Photo courtesy of Dienst voor
Legercontacten and Nationaal Archief)

The Dutch Indies, 1945-1949. Only about 10 percent of the Indonesian population wanted independence. These “roving gangs” needed to be stopped, but there was definitely no war raging. At least, this was the picture created for the Dutch by a successful propaganda war.

The information given to the Dutch population at the time of the Indonesian War of Independence was misleading, according to Dutch historian Louis Zweers. The Dutch military communication service decided which photos and information could be published in the newspapers. It proved to be a successful strategy.

The Dutch believed that their soldiers were protecting the Indonesian population against a few “long-haired terrorists” or “bandits,” instead of thousands of guerrilla fighters.

They had no idea that in fact a war was raging and that at least 100,000 Indonesians and over 5,000 Dutch soldiers died in the years between 1945 and 1949.

Zweers, who was born in 1948, analyzed thousands of photos and news reports from the war. They had been lying untouched in boxes in the National Archive in The Hague for decades, until in 1995 he received a phone call from an archivist.

“It clearly had little priority,” Zweers recalled. “People didn’t want to know about it.”

He himself had become interested in Indonesia at a young age, because of his grandfather who had taken part in the military expedition in Lombok in 1894 and left him his awards, photos and papers.

In addition, the historian’s niece moved to Indonesia to be with her Indonesian husband in 1951, at a time when almost all the Dutch left the country.

This interest in the country resulted in the compilation of 20 books about the Dutch Indies and Indonesia, and his Ph.D. thesis about the censorship of the news on the Indonesian War of Independence.

Zweers reached the conclusion that the battle for public opinion in the Netherlands was equally important as the actual battle being fought in Indonesia. The Dutch government wanted to maintain its hold on the colony and did everything it could to convince the world that a “building mission” was going on, and not a “combat mission.”

“The Dutch military did the exact same thing recently when referring to the Dutch mission in Afghanistan,” Zweers explained.

The Dutch referred to the military activities in Indonesia as politionele acties , or police actions, and the term has been used in the Netherlands ever since.

“This veiled language was used to make clear that it was a justified, internal matter to restore law and order,” Zweers said.

If people knew that an actual war had broken out, the Netherlands would be even more fiercely criticized by the Americans and British, he added. The picture that was sent out would also have a big influence on the morale of the Dutch soldiers’ families.

The 250 employees that worked for the Dutch military communication service in Batavia therefore made sure the press zoomed in on the humanitarian side of the conflict and legitimized the Dutch military action. This all went very smoothly, especially after hiring American PR agency Swanson.

Photographs taken durin the Indonesian war for independence have recently been

 published. Censorship laws and government propaganda kept the photos from public

 view during the height of the conflict. (Photo courtesy of Dienst voor Legercontacten

and Nationaal Archief)

At the beginning of the war, obedient journalists were allowed to visit certain areas outside Batavia together with press officers. Journalists could also travel inland by jeep without being accompanied, but this was extremely dangerous, because of the various militias and the fact that being Dutch automatically made them a target. Most journalists stayed at hotels in the capital and attended the press conferences and receptions. One exception was Dutch war correspondent Alfred van Sprang, who worked for United Press and disguised himself as an American.

During the last months of the war in 1949, when a fierce battle was being fought between the Indonesian freedom fighters and the Dutch army, the press was denied access to all areas of operation. Thousands of victims died in the jungles and mountains of Java and Sumatra, but the Dutch still read stories about how their army was helping to bring order in Indonesia. The newspapers frequently showed photos of Dutch soldiers offering food and clothes to the thankful Indonesian people.

“The soldiers did things like this too, but photos of casualties did not pass the censorship, because it would give an undesirable image of the war,” Zweers noted.

The pro-government Dutch media did not attempt to break from the army press officers’ censorship. The foreign press was more critical — and the army press officers had a harder time convincing them that the war was a humanitarian intervention. According to the Dutch press offices, foreign journalists were biased and supported the Indonesian republicans.

Occasionally, a letter from a Dutch soldier telling his family the true story of what was really going on slipped through the cracks. Some of these letters were published in the few critical, left-wing press. However, this did not cause widespread outrage among the Dutch population. Zweers believes this was because there were no photos published with those letters.

“There was no visual proof of burned kampongs or civilian casualties,” he said. “Also, most people believed the army when they responded by saying that these reports were highly exaggerated.”

A war does not exist without photos, and no photos means no impact on public opinion, according to the historian.

“The same goes for Syria at the moment. Only after photos of the gas attack were spread did a shock wave hit the world and could voices be heard saying the chemical weapons had to be removed from the country.”

Also, the photos taken in the Dutch Indies were still black and white.

“Blood doesn’t look as shocking in gray,” Zweers said.

“During the Vietnam war, color photos and moving pictures were shown. You could hear the cries of the wounded. That made a big impression.”

Nowadays war photos are often taken with mobile phones and immediately posted on the Internet.

Photographs taken durin the Indonesian war for independence have recently been

 published. Censorship laws and government propaganda kept the photos from public

 view during the height of the conflict. (Photo courtesy of Dienst voor Legercontacten

and Nationaal Archief)

Amateur photos were taken at the time in the Dutch Indies as well, but very few of actual acts of war. And most of those few photos were not found until much later — even up until now.

Recently, an ex-marine who fought in the Dutch Indies between 1946 and 1948 showed two photos that he owned of mass graves at Madura on Dutch TV.

One might wonder what would have happened if there had been more press freedom and a more critical coverage of the war by the Dutch press.

Would the Dutch people and the 150,000 Dutch soldiers who were fighting against the Republic of Indonesia have been more strongly opposed to this war? Zweers believes the answer is yes.

“There certainly would have been more protest in the Netherlands, as happened in the United States during the Vietnam War.”

“However,” he adds, “you never know whether the politicians and the military would have listened to the public.”

LGBT Campaigners Stand Up in Central Java

Jakarta Globe, Ari Susanto,December 15, 2013

Gesang, based in Solo, Central Java, also campaigns for HIV prevention in
the LGBT community. (JG Photos/ Ari Susanto)

Their gathering was once forcibly disbanded by hard-line Muslim groups, while at work and in their social lives they are discriminated against and their city is known for Islamic terrorism.

But the Gessang Foundation, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights advocacy group and community — one of the first of its kind in Indonesia — has only been emboldened by these  challenges. The group strives to spotlight LGBT issues in Indonesia’s largely  conservative society, even at the risk of being targeted.

In December 2003 a gay gathering in Tawangmangu in Solo, Central Java, was intimidated by the Solo Islamic People (UIS) accusing them of spreading abnormal sexual behavior. The event had to be canceled by the organizer due to fears of violence.

The same happened in September 2006, when a Gessang gathering to campaign for HIV/AIDS prevention among gay men was disrupted by the Hizbullah Front, one of the largest Islamic organizations in Solo. The hard-line group burst into the venue and took over the stage, ending the event.

It is a sad example of how LGBT groups are still living under repression said Argyo Demartoto, the founder of Gessang. It is in this context that Solo’s proximity to Yogyakarta — where the Principle on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity was signed — is rendered ironic.

The Yogyakarta principle signed on Nov. 9, 2006 by lawmakers from across the world was adopted as global charter for LGBT rights, becoming effective on March 26, 2007 at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Gessang, established in 2005, has encouraged other LGBT communities in several cities of Central Java to form their own advocacy groups. Gessang now has more than 700 openly and non-openly LGBT persons making it one of the largest LGBT organizations in Indonesia.

“Most of them are men from the middle and upper classes, well-educated, from assorted professions including doctors, lawyers, lecturers, teachers, artists, businessmen, and others,” Argyo said, who is also a sociology lecturer at a state university in Solo.

He has conducted various studies on LGBT in Indonesia as part of his work.

According to Argyo, LGBT has long been a part of Indonesian culture including in Solo. Homosexuality was described vividly in Serat Centhini, a popular compilation of Javanese verse written in 1815 during the reign of Pakubuwana V of Solo’s Surakarta kingdom.

There are also traditions of homosexual behavior in Ponorogo, East Java and the island of Nias off North Sumatra. While people of transgender are found in almost all ancient traditions across Indonesia.

To promote LGBT rights, Gessang  regularly stages art and cultural performances like “September Ceria,” which showcases the community’s skills in  theatrical drama, singing, and dancing.

“The most urgent work for us now is to continue with our HIV/AIDS prevention campaign. If we talk about health and  sexuality, our agenda will be more accepted in wider society,” Argyo said.

In 2005, Gessang, in support with the Global Fund, helped the establishment of two voluntary counseling and testing clinics. Since then, Gessang has been working closely with Solo’s Health Office and the local office of the National AIDS Prevention Committee.

Related Articles:

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: Regarding homosexuality or transsexuals. WHY are they the way they are and WHY are they not accepted in mainstream society?

Answer: [From the Kryon Office]

There is often a tremendous amount of information on subjects that are not necessarily part of the on-line magazine Q&A database. Kryon has been channelling for fourteen years, with 9 books covering many, many topics. Homosexuality was one of them from the very beginning. Please see our "Books index page" for subjects contained in the Kryon books: [http://www.kryon.com/direct.html]

An excerpt from Kryon Book 6, page 306

Question from the book: Dear Kryon, I am gay, and an enlightened man. I live in an American society that barely tolerates me, and actually has some laws against my way of life. The church I used to belong to cast me out as being evil and anti-God. I don't feel that I am violating some Human ethic. My love is as true as any heterosexual, and I am a light worker. Tell me what I should know.

Answer from the book: Dear one, less than two generations from now, there will be those who find this book and laugh at the quaintness of this very question. Before I answer, let me ask you and those reading this to examine a phenomenon about Human society and "God."

Thirty years ago, interracial marriage was considered to be wrong by the laws of God. Now your society finds it common. The spiritual objections around it were either dropped or "rewritten" by those divinely inspired and authorized to do so. Therefore, your actual interpretations of the instructions from God changed with your society's tolerance level--an interesting thing, indeed, how the interpretations of God seem to change regularly to match a changing culture!

The truth, of course, is that you find yourself in a situation that is known to create a test for you. Right now, in this time, you have agreed to come into your culture with an attribute that may alienate you from friends and religious followers. You have faced fear of rejection and have had to "swim upstream," so to speak, just as an everyday life occurrence. Your contract, therefore, has been set up well, and you are in the middle of it. Additionally, like so many like you, you have a divine interest in yourselves! You feel part of the spiritual family. What a dichotomy indeed, to be judged as evil by those who are the high spiritual leaders--interpreting God for today's culture.

Now I say this: What is your intent? Is it to walk with love for all those around you and become an enlightened Human Being in this New Age? Is it to forgive those who see you as a spiritual blight on society? Can you have the kind of tolerance for them that they seem not to have for you? Can you overlook the fact that they freely quote their scriptures in order to condemn you, yet they don't seem to have the love tolerance that is the cornerstone of their own message?

If the answer is yes, then there is nothing else you must do. Your INTENT is everything, and your life will be honored with peace over those who would cause unrest, and tolerance for the intolerable. Your sexual attributes are simply chemistry and setups within your DNA. They are given by agreement as gifts for you to experience in this life. Look on them in this fashion, and be comfortable with that fact that you are a perfect spiritual creation under God--loved beyond measure--just like all humans. But then you know that, don't you?

SBY Orders Police to Guard Christmas Celebrations from Terrorist Threat

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, December 13, 2013

Shoppers watch a performer dressed as one of Santa elves at Grand Indonesia
Shopping Town in Jakarta on Dec. 12, 2013. (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has warned of the possibility of terrorist attacks during the Christmas season that could be compounded by political tensions ahead of next year’s elections, saying he has ordered security forces to be on high alert in the coming weeks.

The president said at a conference in Jakarta on Thursday that he had received a report from Gen. Sutarman, the National Police chief, of “entities who have designed plans to disrupt security and order in certain places.”

“I have instructed to the vice president and related ministries to ensure that the security forces do their best to protect the series of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations,” he said.

All Indonesians, he emphasized, had a responsibility to ensure that their fellow citizens were able to celebrate their respective holy days in peace and safety.

Yudhoyono also warned that with legislative elections coming up in April and the rivalry between parties and candidates becoming more vicious, terrorist could try to mask their attacks as being politically motivated.

“This is a political year, and we are starting to see how heated the political situation in our country is becoming,” he said.

“It’s normal for the political atmosphere to warm up ahead of an election, but what’s important is that I’m calling on the political party elites and politicians to practice self-restraint.

“[Terrorists] may try to make it seem as though the attacks are related to the elections, when in fact that’s not the case,” the president said.

Sutarman said separately that police had increased their monitoring of potential terrorist activity “linked to any threats on places of worship.”

“We are also calling on the public to remain calm because the National Police will protect those who are celebrating Christmas as well as New Year’s Eve,” he said as quoted by Okezone.com.

Sutarman said some suspected terrorists under the police’s watch were known to be moving around from one location to another, indicating possible activity leading up to an attack.

“They may be making explosives. We have detected and monitored this,” he said, adding that police had made an undisclosed number of arrests.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, confirmed that police had carried out several arrests in recent days, but did not elaborate. He said on Thursday that security measures this year would be similar to those in previous years.

On Christmas Eve in 2000, a series of coordinated bombings by Islamist terrorists at several churches nationwide left 16 people dead and dozens injured.

Former E. Timor President Fumes Over Australia Spy Claims

Jakarta Globe – AFP, December 11, 2013

East Timor activists shout slogans during a protests in front of Australian
Embassy in Dili, East Timor on December 5, 2013. (EPA Photo/Antonio Dasiparu)

Former East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta on Wednesday warned Australia not to underestimate the damage caused by spying allegations, which he said had angered many of his countrymen.

Australia is accused of using an aid program as cover to place listening devices in the East Timor prime minister’s office and rooms used for cabinet discussions during negotiations on the Timor Sea gas treaty in 2004.

East Timor is now bringing an arbitration case at The Hague against Canberra, alleging it spied to gain commercial advantage and seeking to have the Aus$40 billion ($36 billion) 50-50 profit sharing deal it signed torn up.

Ramos-Horta, now a special envoy for the UN secretary general, said he had no idea at the time that Australia would violate their offices.

“I don’t know what Australia can do to restore confidence among East Timorese people or leaders. I hope Australia does not underestimate the anger, the disappointment that its spying, its espionage towards Indonesia and Timor Leste is causing,” he said.

Australia is also accused of tapping the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and inner circle in 2009.

Ramos-Horta said it would be understandable if Canberra had been spying on the likes of North Korea but not neighbors and allies.

“When you try to listen in to phone conversations of the president of Indonesia, a friendly country, or his own wife, or when you spy on a friendly neighbour like Timor-Leste which Australia helped to free in 1999 and which Australia claimed to be a friend, well it really undermines 10 years of our relationship,” he said.

As a UN envoy, Ramos–Horta played a key role in lobbying for Australia to win a seat on the UN Security Council last year, but he said that had he and the world body known about the spying allegations, it would have been a different story.

“Had we known that Australia was spying on us and spying on our friends… well if (that) news had transpired before the vote for the Security Council a year ago, I doubt Australia would have secured the seat,” he said.

Australia was elected to a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for a two-year role that began in January.

Ramos-Horta said Canberra must be more sensitive and transparent and admit it was at fault.

“Australia likes to lecture Timor-Leste and other countries about transparency and integrity in public life. Well, this has not been a very good example of transparency and honesty,” he said.

Agence France-Presse

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E. Timor takes Australia to top UN court over spying raid

Indonesia ‘In No Rush’ to Restore Australia Ties Over Spying

US attempts to halt Paris auction of sacred Native American artefacts

Embassy calls for delay to see whether masks and headdresses can be reclaimed by Hopi and San Carlos Apache tribes

theguardian.com, Kim Willsher in Paris, Sunday 8 December 2013        

A Kachina Angwushahai-i mask, circa 1860-1870, which is one of 25 Native
 American artefacts due to be auctioned in Paris. Photograph: Arnaud
Guillaume/AFP/Getty Images

International campaigners are making last-minute efforts to halt the sale in Paris of sacred ceremonial masks and headdresses from Native American tribes.

The US embassy appealed to the auction house to delay the sale, due to be held on Monday and Tuesday, so the 25 items from the Hopi and San Carlos Apache tribes can be identified to see whether they can reclaim them.

The battle follows attempts to halt an auction of 70 Hopi masks in Paris in April. Even the intervention of the Hollywood actor Robert Redford, who described the earlier sale as a "criminal act … that could have serious moral consequences", was not enough to halt the €930,000 (£780,000) sale.

On Friday, Survival International, which campaigns for the rights of indigenous peoples, lost a legal challenge over the latest auction. The French judge, Claire David, said neither moral nor philosophical considerations could justify preventing a legal sale.

On Saturday, Mark Taplin, the US charge d'affaires in Paris, delivered a letter to the EVE auction house asking for the sale to be delayed.

"The embassy made this request on behalf of the two tribes so that they might have the opportunity to identify the objects, investigate their provenance and determine whether they have a claim to recover the items under the 1970 Unesco convention on the export and transfer of ownership of cultural property, to which France is a signatory, or under other laws," the embassy said in a statement.

US diplomats emphasised the "great importance" of the objects to the Native Americans and said they should not be sold "precipitously and in the absence of consultation" with the two tribes.

The sale of sacred Native American artefacts was banned in the US in 1990 but there is no similar legislation in France.

The EVE auction will sell more than 100 Amerindian artefacts, but the rare masks, described as "exceptional" are the most contested. Among them, is a version of the Tumas Crow Mother mask dating from the 1860s and given a catalogue price of between €60,000 and €80,000.

EVE auctioneer Alain Leroy said: "Never has a sale of Amerindian art gathered together as many ancient and rare objects."

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Killer whales have been thrilling whale watchers this week in Puget Sound. But
they were especially exciting Tuesday when nearly three dozen orcas surrounded
 the ferry from Seattle as it approached the terminal on Bainbridge Island. NOAA
Fisheries Service photo by Candice Emmons

.

Indonesia ‘In No Rush’ to Restore Australia Ties Over Spying

Jakarta Globe, December 8, 2013

Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott, left, is welcomed by Indonesia’s
 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as he arrives for the ABAC Dialogue with
 Leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Nusa Dua,
Bali in this Oct. 7, 2013 file photo. (Reuters Photo/Romeo Gacad)

The office of the Indonesian president suggested on Sunday that it was reluctant to immediately “normalize” the country’s strained bilateral relations with Australia after Prime Minister Tony Abbot said in a radio interview that the country would continue to gather intelligence on Indonesia.

Teuku Faizasyah, the Indonesian presidential spokesman for foreign affairs, said there was a “different nuance” to Abbott’s statement that contrasted with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s comments a day earlier during her meeting in Jakarta with Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa. Marty said after the meeting he was reassured Australia would cease targeted surveillance of Indonesian officials.

“We need to further study PM Abbott’s statement because it seems to have a different nuance to that of Foreign Minister Bishop,” Faizasyah said on Sunday.

“We won’t be in a rush to normalize the bilateral relations until we’re convinced that Australia sincerely wishes to move the relationship forward.”

Indonesia-Australia ties plumbed the lowest depth since the 1990s in the wake of allegations that Australia had wiretapped phone conversations of Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and key officials in 2009.

The response from the Indonesian government was to suspend cooperation in areas spanning people smuggling and intelligence sharing.

Yudhoyono has hashed out new “protocols and codes of conduct” as a precondition for the relationship to resume to business as usual. Marty, however, has referred to his Thursday meeting with Bishop, which focused on the code of conduct talks, as “very constructive and open”

“There is almost no problem that cannot be resolved,“ the Indonesian foreign minister said. “Australia has declared its regret about the incident that has disrupted and hurt Indonesia’s interests.”

On Friday, though, Abbot said in an interview with Australia’s Fairfax radio that Australia would not stop collecting intelligence on Indonesia.

Asked whether Australia had agreed to stop collecting intelligence on Indonesia, Abbott replied,

“No. And [Indonesia] certainly has not agreed to stop collecting intelligence on Australia.”

Although after that he added, “But we are close friends, we are strategic partners and I certainly want Australia to be a trusted partner of Indonesia and I hope Indonesia can be a trusted partner of Australia.”

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Iran's Rouhani seen on casual hike in the hills

Google – AFP, 7 December 2013

Hassan Rouhani shows him (2nd right) greets youngsters during a hike in the

 Tochal mountain, north of Tehran, on December 6, 2013 (Website of the Iranian

 President Hassan Rouhani/AFP, Hojat Sepahvand)

Tehran — The personal website of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has published pictures of the cleric hiking in the mountains outside Tehran, his black turban replaced by a baseball cap.

The photos, which appeared on the website Friday, came as the recently elected leader has sought to present a friendlier and more moderate image of the Islamic republic, which reached a landmark nuclear deal with the West last month.

Hassan Rouhani hikes in the Tochal

 mountain, north of Tehran, on December

6, 2013 (Website of Iranian President

Hassan  Rouhani/AFP, Hojat Sepahvand)

The pictures show Rouhani, usually seen in the turban and robes favoured by Iran's clerics, in a black baseball cap and matching ski jacket walking along a dirt road and using hiking poles.

He is seen mingling and chatting with other hikers, including a group of women, and posing for a picture with the sun setting over Tehran in the background.

The website said Rouhani -- who defeated a pool of conservatives in a June presidential election after vowing to engage with the West -- goes hiking once or twice a week.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who must approve all major decisions and who is seen as more distrustful of the West, is also fond of hiking, and state media have published similar pictures of him in the past.

Iran and a group of major powers broke through a decade of gridlock last month to agree on an interim deal that would freeze parts of Iran's controversial nuclear programme while easing some of the crippling international sanctions against it.

The West and Israel have long suspected Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons capability alongside its civilian programme, a charge denied by Tehran.

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