The wRap Indonesia: March 13, 2015

JAKARTA, Indonesia – In today’s wrap of stories, the latest update on the case of Indonesians in Turkey believed to be attempting to join the Islamic State

1. Indonesia says 32 held or missing in Turkey, suspected trying to join ISIS

Aside from the 16 Indonesians detained on Wednesday in Turkey, at least 16 more Indonesians are believed to be trying to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS). The group arrested on Wednesday included 11 children and 4 women. “We are still investigating… but it is clear that they wanted to join (ISIS) to have a better life in accordance with Islamic sharia laws,” Security Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno told reporters late Thursday. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said 16 other Indonesians who went missing from a tour group on February 24 had yet to be located, adding that Turkish authorities had yet to confirm if they were still in Turkey or had crossed into Syria. More than 500 Indonesians are believed to have gone to fight with ISIS. 

2. Jakarta city countil summons governor’s wife

The Jakarta City Council has begun exercising its legislative right to investigate Governor Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama, and part of this is an invitation for the governor’s wife, Veronica Tan, to show up for questioning. The leader of the investigation team declined to say why, but media are speculating that it has something to do with a picture of Veronica and Ahok’s brother attending a meeting at city hall on a project to revitalize the Kota Tua (old town) area of Jakarta. Read the full story in Bahasa Indonesia on Rappler.  

3. Indonesia scolds Australia over offer to pay for Bali Nine pair’s life in prison

Indonesia has reportedly rebuked Australia for telling the media it had offered to pay the cost of two drug traffickers’ life imprisonment if they were spared from the death penalty. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said the offer had been rejected, and that he was keen to keep diplomatic correspondence on the subject private. “Official communication between governments, especially between foreign ministers or between two heads of state, as diplomacy or relationship between two countries, ethically, is something secret in nature,” he said, according to The Guardian. “That’s why Indonesia would never reveal the content of a letter or communication between two ministers or two heads of state. We regret when friendly countries do their diplomacy through the media.” 

4. Indonesian child artist claims he was molested by Singaporean manager 

A 13-year-old Indonesian singer has reported his manager to the National Police, claiming he was molested during a roadshow in Malaysia and Singapore. The manager, a Singaporean national, allegedly demanded the victim to wear inapproriate clothes and perform sexual favors. The roadshow was initially planned for 6 days but took two months to finish. The National Commission on Children Protection is assisting in the case. Read the full story in Bahasa Indonesia on Rappler. 

5. American claims self-defense in Bali suitcase murder  

American citizen Tommy Schaefer confessed in a court in Bali on Thursday, March 12, that he killed his pregnant girlfriend’s mother, Shiela von Wiese-Mack, in a grisly case in which the victim’s battered body was found in an abandoned suitcase on the resort island. But Schaefer said it was self-defense, telling the court Wiese-Mack attacked him in anger because she objected to the couple’s relationship. “She squeezed my neck for about 20 to 30 seconds so I couldn’t see because my eyes were watering,” he told the court. “She wanted to reach for a bowl but I reached it before she did. I couldn’t see so I just swung it.” Read the full story from Rappler. – Rappler.com