Thursday, 02 November 2006 @ 4:33pm.
Another great scholar has left our midst…
“Clifford Geertz, an eminent scholar in the field of cultural anthropology known for his extensive research in Indonesia and Morocco, died at the age of 80 early yesterday morning of complications following heart surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Geertz was Professor Emeritus in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he has served on the Faculty since 1970.” A complete obituary may be found here.
In other news…
* “National blood supplies dropped to critical levels during the fasting month and hospitals are now urging the public to donate before they run out completely. In Jakarta for example, Palang Merah Indonesia (Indonesian Red Cross) usually has between 10,000 and 11,000 packs of blood in their supply, but currently only has around 4,000, which is far below the required minimum of 8,000 packs.” (28 October 2006, The Jakarta Post online; paraphrased)
* “Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra, former president Suharto’s youngest son, was recently freed after serving time in prison for arranging the 2001 murder of a Supreme Court justice. Tommy received a conditional release after completing only two-thirds of his jail term (numerous sentence reductions were factored in). Authorities said he displayed “good conduct” at prisons in Nusa Kambangan, Central Java, and in Jakarta. Tommy was originally sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2002 after he was found guilty of possessing guns and ammunition, plotting to kill Supreme Court justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, and evading arrest. In 2005, the Supreme Court cut his term to 10 years.” (30 October 2006, The Jakarta Post online)
* “Fifteen Muslim men have been arrested in connection with a spate of attacks on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in recent years, police say. The attacks include the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls last year and the bombing of two markets in 2004. Sporadic attacks between Sulawesi’s Muslims and Christians have continued despite a peace deal signed four years ago that put an end to fighting.” (31 October 2006 BBC News online)
* “An eight-person team from the European Union has begun monitoring work ahead of elections in Indonesia’s Aceh province. The head of the EU Election Observation Mission, Glyn Ford, says 36 more members will be arriving in just over a week with a further 36 bolstering their numbers shortly ahead of polling day, set for December 11. Under a peace pact signed between separatist rebels and the Jakarta government, Aceh will for the first time directly elect its governor and vice-governor, as well as district leaders in the polls.” (01 November 2006, ReliefWeb and Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
