DTN News - SINGAPORE NEWS: President Tan Calls For More Exchanges Between Singapore And Indonesia

DTN News - SINGAPORE NEWS: President Tan Calls For More Exchanges Between Singapore And Indonesia

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Channel News Asia
(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - December 1, 2012: Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam has called for more cultural and student exchanges between Singapore and Indonesia to enhance bilateral people-to-people ties.

"It is the young people - Indonesia and in Singapore - that represents the true hope for our two countries. I'm happy that Gadjah Mada University has a very deep interaction with our universities in Singapore," said Dr Tan during his visit to Gadjah Mada University, one of Indonesia's top institutes of higher learning.

The Singapore president was speaking in Central Java, the final-leg of his five day state visit to Indonesia.

President Tan also visited Borobudur Temple in Magelang, which dates back to the 9th century.

He said the ancient Buddhist temple had a special significance not only for Indonesia but also for the world, adding that more cultural exchanges between Singapore and Indonesia should be encouraged. 

"I believe we can do more to encourage cultural exchanges between Indonesia and Singapore. Singapore has a number of developments which can be used to showcase some of the Indonesian cultural heritage," said Dr Tan.

Singapore can help showcase Indonesia's arts when the Singapore National Art Gallery opens in 2015, he added.

Dr Tan also visited Dukun, a village in Magelang located 15km from the foot of Mount Merapi.

Mercy Relief, a Singapore Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has been performing humanitarian work in the village since 2006.

It was the only foreign NGO that helped villagers evacuate and subsequently rebuild their lives after the 2008 Mount Merapi eruption.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Channel News Asia
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DTN News: Suspected Muslim Attackers Kill 2 Soldiers In Southern Thailand

DTN News: Suspected Muslim Attackers Kill 2 Soldiers In Southern Thailand *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) PATTANI, Thailand - August 24, 2009: Suspected Muslim rebels killed two soldiers Sunday in an attack on a government checkpoint in Thailand's insurgency-plagued south. Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack in Yala province, south of Bangkok August 22, 2009. Three civil servants were killed in a gun and bomb attack and a Muslim rubber tapper shot dead by suspected insurgents in Thailand's deep south on Saturday, police said. At least 10 men opened fire in the pre-dawn assault in Narathiwat province, police Lt. Thongchai Pookapan said. Three others a soldier, a policeman and a security volunteer were wounded. The attackers fled in pickup trucks after a 10-minute gunfight, he said. More than 3,700 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency flared in January 2004. The provinces are the only Muslim-majority areas in the Buddhist-dominated country, and their residents have long complained of discrimination by the central government. A massive security presence has failed to stop the violence, which has killed more Muslims than Buddhists. The militants target people working with the government, including soldiers, police and informants. They also stage attacks on civilians that are believed to be intended to scare the Buddhist community into fleeing. The insurgents have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.

DTN News: Buddhist Monk Killed In South Thailand Violence

DTN News: Buddhist Monk Killed In South Thailand Violence

*Source: Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) YALA, Thailand - June 12, 2009: A Buddhist monk was killed and another seriously injured when they were gunned down while collecting alms as more violence erupted in Thailand's restive south, police said on Friday.

Thai policemen inspect the site of a car bomb blast in Thailand's restive southern province of Narathiwat on June 7, 2009. Police said two persons were killed and 19 injured when 50 kilograms of explosive packed in a car were detonated through a mobile phone. More than 3,600 people have been killed and thousands more injured in five years of separatist violence across the three restive provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Buddhist-majority Thailand annexed the ethnic Malay area in 1902, sparking decades of tension.

The attack was the latest in a recent flare-up of bloody violence in the Muslim-majority region near the Malaysian border, where nearly 3,500 people have been killed in five years of unrest.

Police said suspected separatist insurgents dressed in exercise clothes rode past on motorcycles and fired automatic weapons at the monks as they collected food donations in an urban area of Yala province.

Thailand's south has been hit by its deadliest week of violence this year, with 24 people killed and more than 40 injured in the last seven days, which included the fatal shooting of 10 Muslims praying in a mosque.

Monday's attack raised tensions between Muslims and the region's minority Buddhists and villagers have accused the military of involvement, saying no Muslim was capable of such an act.

The army rejected the claims and blamed insurgents for the attack. The Organization of the Islamic Conference has urged Bangkok to probe what it said was the latest aggressive act on southern Muslims by "armed and organised elements".

Mystery surrounds who is behind the violence in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which was part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate until annexed by Buddhist Thailand a century ago.

No credible group has stated its aims or claimed responsibility for the gun, bomb and arson attacks, which the 30,000 troops stationed in the region have failed to prevent. (Reporting by Surapan Boonthanom; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Valerie Lee)