Macron vows to rebuild a 'more beautiful' Notre-Dame in 5 years

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart WILLIAMS and Clare BYRNE, April 16, 2019

Notre-Dame's spectacular Gothic spire collapsed as fire engulfed the cathedral
(AFP Photo/Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT)

Paris (AFP) - President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday vowed to rebuild Notre-Dame cathedral "even more beautifully" within five years, as France reeled with shock from the fire that gutted the great Paris landmark.

Macron announced the fast timescale -- for a process some experts said would take decades -- in an address to the nation where he hailed how the disaster had shown the capacity of France to mobilise and unite.

Pledges worth around 700 million euros ($790 million) have already been made Tuesday from French billionaires and businesses to restore the Gothic masterpiece.

Most of the roof has been destroyed, its steeple has collapsed and an unknown number of artifacts and paintings have been lost. The main organ, which had close to 8,000 pipes, has also suffered damage.

But the cathedral's walls, bell towers and the most famous circular stained-glass windows at France's most visited tourist attraction remain intact.

'Our history never stops'

Macron's defiant comments indicated he wants the reconstruction of the cathedral to be completed by the time Paris hosts the Olympic Games in 2024.

"We will rebuild the cathedral even more beautifully and I want it to be finished within five years," Macron said from the Elysee Palace. "And we can do it."

Macron said that the dramatic fire had brought out the best in a country riven with divisions and since November shaken by sometimes violent protests against his rule.

"What we saw last night in Paris was our capacity to mobilise and to unite," Macron said, hailing France as a nation of "builders".

"Our history never stops and that we will always have trials to overcome," he said.

Firefighters said the blaze had been extinguished after 15 hours (AFP 

Photo/Hubert Hitier)

'Saved in half an hour'

Images from inside the cathedral Tuesday showed its immense walls standing proud, with statues still in place and a gleaming golden cross above the altar.

However the floor was covered in charred rubble from the fallen roof and water while parts of the vaulting at the top of the cathedral had collapsed.

Junior interior minister Laurent Nunez told reporters at the scene that work to secure the structure would continue into Thursday, allowing firefighters access to remove remaining artifacts and artworks.

He said the building had been saved within a critical time window of 15-30 minutes by a team of 400 firefighters who worked flat out throughout the night.

Though "some weaknesses" in the 850-year-old structure had been identified, overall it is "holding up OK", he added.

President Donald Trump relayed Americans' "condolences" to Macron over the fire, the White House said.

French fire chiefs had earlier dismissed as "risible" comments by Trump that the fire should be tackled with water bombers, saying this risked destroying the entire edifice of the cathedral.

The Paris fire service said that the last remnants of the blaze were extinguished Tuesday, 15 hours after the fire broke out.

Renovation work on the steeple, where workers were replacing its lead covering, is widely suspected to have caused the inferno after the blaze broke out in an area under scaffolding.

Investigators interviewed witnesses overnight and began speaking with employees of five different construction companies that were working on the monument, said public prosecutor Remy Heitz.

"Nothing indicates this was a deliberate act," Heitz told reporters, adding that 50 investigators had been assigned to what he expected to be a "long and complex" case.

The world reacted in shock after the blaze enguled Notre-Dame (AFP Photo)

'For future generations'

A public appeal for funds drew immediate support from French billionaires and other private donors as well as from countries including Germany, Italy and Russia which offered expertise.

French billionaire Bernard Arnault and his LVMH luxury conglomerate, rival high-end designer goods group Kering, Total oil company and cosmetics giant L'Oreal each pledged 100 million euros or more.

Support came from outside France as well, with Apple chief Tim Cook announcing the tech giant would give an unspecified amount to help restore a "precious heritage for future generations."

But experts had warned a full restoration will take many years. "I'd say decades," said Eric Fischer, head of the foundation in charge of restoring the 1,000-year-old Strasbourg cathedral.

Treasures evacuated

Thousands of Parisians and tourists watched in horror Monday as flames engulfed the building and rescuers tried to save as much as they could of the cathedral's treasures.

Many more came Tuesday to the banks of the river Seine to gaze at where the roof and steeple once stood.

A firefighter suffered injuries during the blaze, which at one point threatened to bring down one of the two monumental towers on the western facade of the cathedral that is visited by 13 million tourists each year.

The Holy Crown of Thorns, believed to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, was saved by firefighters, as was a sacred tunic worn by 13th-century French king Louis IX.

Rescuers formed a human chain at the site of the disaster to evacuate as many artifacts as possible, which were then stocked temporarily at the Paris town hall.

Firefighters were praised for helping save many of the most-celebrated treasures of Notre-Dame by dashing inside the burning cathedral, but officials warned that others were in a precarious state or entirely lost in the flames https://t.co/pF0qxYfXeL pic.twitter.com/MTeRjyI2dN

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 16 april 2019

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"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

".... Europe

Let's talk about Europe - Eastern and Western Europe. Look at the history. I want you to look at the history of the Europeans. What do you know about them? What did you study in school about them, American? You had to learn all those dates and facts. You sit in a country that's barely 200 years old and you had to memorize all the battles and all those conquerors and all those army specifics for hundreds of years! Fourteen hundreds, 1300s - all the way to the present century they seemed to be conquering each other on a regular basis. They warred with each other like the tides of the ocean, constant and predictable. When they got tired of that, they conquered other continents. The small country of Spain alone is responsible for conquering all of South America, middle America and well up into North America. Millions today are speaking their language who never did before they arrived.

The armies of Napoleon spread across parts of Europe like water flowing in a river, conquering everything in its path. There are some cities today in Europe that still don't know which country they belong to! This is because their borders kept changing so often! Now, that's history. I want you to look at it carefully. Still, there would be those who say, "This is just what men do. They create borders and cultures and they go to war. That's Human nature."

Fifty years ago, this new energy started to arrive. Oh, the alignments go slow, dear Human Being, but it was here. It was starting; it was beginning. Fifty years ago, something happened in Europe and you didn't hear much about it back then. Some very clear thinkers got together after World War II and said, "If we don't do something different and out of the box of today's thinking, it's all going to happen again because this is what we do. Men make war." Even the young country called America was involved in war. America itself almost split apart before that, because that's what men do. They split good things apart. It was obvious to these wise men that they could try something, something that might work - a uniting instead of separation. And so they formed an idea. Let me tell you what it was.

They said to themselves, "What if we could get as many countries as we can to agree to become a collection of 'country states'? If we start this now and go at it slowly, we could eventually have a system where we would trade together to the point where the borders come down, no checkpoints and no passports. All these cultures and former enemy countries would all trade evenly together, and for that to happen we might even have a common currency. Look at the United States, for this is how it works there. Europe would never go to war with itself again. It couldn't, since it would be allied financially."

Of course, they were laughed at! Everyone who heard it said it couldn't' be done and that there were just too many issues to solve. Those who objected said, "No, no, no. That's not what we do. We have too many different cultures. There's some with strong currencies, there's some with weak currencies. There are too many objections. Imagine going from one country to another without being inspected at the border? That won't work. Who are you to suggest something of this nature?" And the forward thinkers said, "We are unifiers. And we think it's a good idea so we will have strength and will never war again." That was two generations ago, 50 years.

Today, you have the European Union of States. There are more all the time, way past the original number of countries. Some are "standing in line" to be accepted! The borders are gone and the checkpoints are missing and the currency called the Euro is the strongest currency on Earth - stronger even than yours [the USA]. Now, let me tell you what did that. It's a consciousness shift that even 50 years ago was developing. Through two generations, it slowly allowed for free thinkers to unify things that had never been unified before. The result? These countries will never conquer each other again, because "history" ended at that moment. They started a new paradigm for Europe and one that has no historic profile known to man. The old history of the area is gone, and it will not repeat itself.

Those in the old Eastern Bloc of Europe, where there is still to this day very little unity, will still say, "History will again repeat itself. We are victims of it. It's only a matter of time." But not all of them feel this way. There are some who are starting to feel a unity of spirituality within their own cultures that they were never allowed to speak of before. So they are free thinking, out of the box of the old paradigm. It's new.

There are those who are standing on podiums and in pulpits and are proclaiming, "History is ended. It's the end of suffering. It's the end of dictatorships. It's the end of those who would put us in a low place. Instead, it's the beginning of discovering who we are." And although they don't say it in these exact words, they are discovering the creator inside - that which is the unity of God. So it's a full circle back to what the Angel told Muhammad, isn't it? For unity was the key to peace, and still is. It is a sacred principle and will never change.

Who would have thought this would have happened? The United States is what it is because 200 years ago the founders said, "Let us make a group of state countries without physical borders in a system that's never been tried. It's one of unity - the UNITED States of America." Oh, it had its tests, but the unifiers won. And it is why this country is what it is and is seen and respected for what it is and for what it's done. So young, it is, but representing the new energy, it is.

Your Declaration of Independence was channelled. Did you know that? It was collective effort channelling by those who had asked God for help. Go read it and feel that which is sacred inside, for it unifies and does not separate.

Violence erupts as Native Americans resist oil pipeline

Yahoo – AFP, Nova Safo, September 5, 2016

Native Americans ride with raised fists to a sacred burial ground that was
disturbed by bulldozers building the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL),
September 4, 2016 near Cannon Ball, North Dakota (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

Cannon Ball (United States) (AFP) - Protesters camping near Native American lands in North Dakota to protest the construction of an oil pipeline clashed late Saturday with construction company workers they blamed for destroying ancient sites.

Hundreds of protesters confronted a bulldozer crew in an area known as Cannon Ball, amid the vast grasslands of the northern US state.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe claims the crew dug up and destroyed sacred burial grounds, places of prayer and other cultural artefacts -- even after the pipeline developer had voluntarily paused construction in the disputed area less than a mile (1.6 kilometer) from the tribe's reservation.

Angry protesters broke through a fence and fought with private security guards, who employed dogs and pepper spray.

"They tried to push us back with their trucks and their bulldozers, but we just kept on coming," Seeyouma Nashcid, a protester from Arizona, told AFP.

Some protesters were left bloodied, and displayed signs of dog bites. The Morton County Sherriff's department said three private security guards were injured after being struck with fence posts and flag poles.

The tribe, whose reservation is located just south of where the 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) pipeline would cross the Missouri River, has been locked in a court battle to stop the project, which it says would endanger its drinking water and destroy historic sites.

Members of American Indian tribes from across the United States have rallied in support, gathering for months in a makeshift camp near the reservation.

On Saturday, protesters were suddenly alerted to renewed digging, a day after the tribe filed evidence in court of dozens of newly discovered artefacts, grave markers and sacred sites.

Native Americans march to the site of a sacred burial ground that was disturbed

 by bulldozers building the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North 

Dakota on September 4, 2016 (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

The tribe said in a statement that a two-mile stretch was destroyed before the bulldozer crew was confronted and stopped.

"This demolition is devastating," Standing Rock Sioux Tribe chairman David Archambault said in a statement. "These grounds are the resting places of our ancestors. The ancient cairns and stone prayer rings there cannot be replaced."

Witnesses said law enforcement officers were nearby during Saturday's clashes but did not immediately intervene. But sheriff's spokeswoman Donnell Preskey said deputies "were not on the scene when the conflict initially occurred," and arrived later.

The sheriff's office was notified of the situation by an emergency call from a private security officer.

Citing the safety and security of law enforcement, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said that the number of protesters made it "unsafe for officers to directly respond until further officers were able to respond."

A federal judge is expected to decide by September 9 whether to grant a temporary injunction to stop the pipeline construction under the river, as the tribe pursues its lawsuit.

The pipeline's US developer Energy Transfer Partners did not return a call for comment placed during a holiday weekend.

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe confront bulldozers working on the 

Dakota Access Pipeline in an effort to make them stop near Cannon Ball, North 

Dakota on September 03, 2016 (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

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Dutch bunker found under Tanjung Priok train station

Eny Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 03/18/2010 10:55 AM

Archeologists from the archeological directorate of the Culture and Tourism Ministry have found a bunker and some doors during excavations at Tanjung Priok train station, North Jakarta, between February and March this year.

Old Town management unit (UPT) chief Candrian Attahiyyat said Tuesday that the experts had completed digging for preliminary data about their findings.

“It is about a 2-meter underground hole. We have not yet determined the size of the bunker itself.”

Candrian estimated the bunker was constructed by the Dutch colonial government between 1938 and 1940, arguing that materials such as concrete and cement were only becoming widespread at the beginning of the 20th century.

The concrete bunker was large enough to accommodate about 100 people, but “It did not have an air supply. Therefore, it might have only been used for emergencies that lasted no longer than a day,” he said.

Based on similar structures found at other sites in the city, Candrian believed the bunker was built in preparation of the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia during World War II.

“We believe the bunker was a hideout. It seems the Dutch government feared a massive assault on the city. As a matter of fact, the fighting was relatively minimal [in Jakarta],” Candrian added.

But the archeologists had not yet determined whether the bunker was operational at the time, he added.

Similar bunkers have been found beneath government offices and strategic colonial sites across the capital, including Tanjung Priok harbor of North Jakarta, the Jakarta History Museum of West Jakarta, Lapangan Banteng, Menteng and Kebon Sirih of Central Jakarta, he said.

Candrian said the doors were found inside the basement, one of which was in front of the stairs leading to the bunker.

North Jakarta Mayor Bambang Sugiyono said that the doors were still being studied by archeologists.

“For now, the site of the excavation is closed to the public,” Bambang said.

Candrian said that his office was hoping to uncover another bunker under the Fine Arts and Ceramic Museum at Old Town.

“We want to examine whether all of the bunkers in the city have similar structures,” he said.

Bambang said that the excavation was part of efforts to promote the station as a tourism destination.

“We expect residents will enjoy visiting to learn about the history of the station. We plan to build a tourism information center and souvenir stalls,” he said.

Tanjung Priok station was opened on April 6, 1925, marking the first electric train service in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia’s former name).

Fighting To Save Salatiga's History

Jakarta Globe, Angela Dewan, January 29, 2010

Before and after. Many of Salatiga's historic buildings are now in disrepair. (JG Photo)

In the 1930s and ’40s, the Dutch buildings that lined the streets of Salatiga, Central Java, were iconic of Indonesia’s fight for independence — that is, of course, only when they were set on fire.

Back then, torching hotels and office buildings was a way of sending the Dutch colonialists a clear message: Get out!

The people of Salatiga today have no one to drive out and no reason to burn down the beautiful buildings that the Dutch left behind. In fact, members of the community are now fighting the government to protect the very buildings that their ancestors sought to destroy.

In stark contrast to Jakarta, there is only one mall in Salatiga — the modest Taman Sari, which has little more than a Ramayana department store.

The mall sits on the spot where the city’s main road, Jalan Sudirman, starts, along which hole-in-the-wall stalls offer locals everything they need and nothing they don’t. And unlike the high-rise buildings that dominate Jakarta’s skyline, there are none in Salatiga.

However, the luxury of walking along paved sidewalks and through parks while admiring this quaint city’s colonial architecture may soon become a thing of the past. This is because the local and provincial governments have yet to formally identify which buildings are a part of Salatiga’s heritage and therefore warrant legal protection.

“If we put up a lot of malls in Salatiga, we will be worse than Semarang, which has already lost many of its historical buildings,” said writer Eddy Supangkat, coordinator of Forped BCB Salatiga, the organization spearheading the campaign to conserve Salatiga’s heritage buildings.

“I want Salatiga to be known for its historical buildings, not for its malls.”

The local and provincial governments have had 65 years since independence to figure out what to do with their heritage buildings.

This month, they have been feeling the heat as the public demands that they get a move on.

“The Salatiga government doesn’t yet have legal authority over these buildings. They are the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, which acts through the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Agency [BP3],” Valentino Haribowo, head of the Salatiga government’s public relations department, told the Jakarta Globe.

Valentino gave his comments at the local government’s office, an old building marked with a gambrel roof, decadent high ceilings, grand iron light fittings and a white rendered exterior that are characteristic of Dutch architecture.

Even though the local government has denied responsibility for the buildings, Salatiga Mayor John Manuel Manoppo has given a private company permission to knock down a building in the military’s old headquarters, now known as the ex-Kodim complex.

The 100-year-old complex was bought by PT NV Yogyakarta last year. The company plans to develop a mall there and the complex is now completely fenced in with meters-high metal fences.

After months of public campaigns against the development, the company has put up a sign outside the complex that reads: “This land and building are legally owned by PT NV Yogyakarta.”

Through a few holes in the fence, the public can peer into the site, where the main building has been leveled off, save for a couple of walls.

“There’s no problem with the demolition. The only issue is what will be built afterwards,” Mayor Manoppo told members of the local media last year.

But following a spate of negative press and lobbying by the community — including an active Facebook group and a coin drive— the government has changed its tune and is now claiming that it wants the complex to be protected as a heritage site.

On Jan. 22, a group of activists marched to the local government office, demanding legal protection of the ex-Kodim complex.

On Wednesday, police questioned local government staff over the demolished building.

In theory, the complex is already legally protected. The 1992 Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage states that any building more than 50 years old is automatically considered a heritage site and should therefore be listed as such and preserved.

Forped BCB tried to have the ex-Kodim building registered as a heritage site before it was sold, so that NV Yogyakarta would be unable to develop the site. “What I am worried about is that there are more heritage buildings that have been sold to private owners,” Eddy said.

NV Yogyakarta’s operations were halted two weeks ago due to public pressure. The Conservation of Cultural Heritage Agency sent a warning letter to the Salatiga government, which then forwarded the message to NV Yogyakarta.

The warning, however, came too late.

“We sent BP3’s warning to the owner, but we didn’t realize the main building had already been demolished,” Valentino said.

It is unknown if or when NV Yogyakarta will go ahead with its development plans, although it has submitted a request to the local legislature for permission to develop the mall.

The local and provincial governments are now cooperating with BP3 to examine 16 buildings for heritage status consideration, including the government-owned office, one Christian church and a number of schools.

It is hoped that the move will be echoed throughout the country. On Jan. 20, Indonesia’s oldest movie theater, Bioskop Banteng in Pangkal Pinal, Belitung, was demolished. The theater was built in 1917.

In Salatiga, examples of old buildings that have been bought and demolished include a Dutch film studio that is now a KFC restaurant and a former hotel and school that are now markets.

The ex-Kodim and Bioskop Banteng cases have raised suspicions of corruption in local governments.

“The local governments are the ones allowing these buildings to be knocked down,” Joe Marbun, coordinator of the Cultural Heritage Advocacy Community, told the Globe.

“These buildings are legally protected by law, so why are they being demolished? The governments obviously have motives.”

When asked how much the local government would profit from a new mall in town, Valentino did not respond, only saying that the Salatiga government now supported the protection of the ex-Kodim building.

Eddy was not willing to speculate. “I’m not exactly sure if there’s corruption in this part of the government and I wouldn’t want to falsely accuse anyone. I prefer to think positively,” he said.

He added that he was certain corruption existed in some parts of the local government.

But he is happy with the positive support he has found in the community.

“It is important we preserve our history, like Bung Karno said Jasmerah: ‘ Jangan sekali-kali melupakan sejarah ’ [‘Don’t ever forget your history’].”

Historic, cultural buildings at risk of destruction

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon | Tue, 12/15/2009 8:47 AM

Kasepuhan Palace Mosque, Cirebon

Dozens of historic buildings with important cultural heritage value in Cirebon city, West Java, are at risk of further damage because of a lack of maintenance, with some on the verge of collapse.

According to the head of Cirebon Legislature Commission B on construction, Tjipto, the city had listed 52 buildings it believes the government should preserve.

“[Cirebon councilors] are continually urging the government to take concrete measures to save the historic buildings. We don’t want them fall apart,” Tjipto said.

Local cultural observer Ahmad Syubhanuddin Alwy said most of the heritage buildings were in a vulnerable state. “I’m afraid they will be ruined if the government fails to take the necessary steps quickly,” he said.

“The old neglected buildings appear eerie. Many of them have corroded because of their old age,” Alwy said.

“If the heritage buildings are lost, the history of the city will be lost also. The government should take concrete steps to save them, because they are part of the history of the city as well as the country,” he said.

Most of the damaged historic buildings were built during the Dutch colonial period, while some are were part of the Cirebon sultanates when it was divided into the Kasepuhan and Kanoman sultanates.

Among the heritage buildings still standing is Kasepuhan Palace, built in 1529, and Kanoman Palace, built in 1588.

Always said the Kasepuhan Palace represents the Cirebon (Islamic) influences as well as that of the Chinese (Buddhist) and Indian (Hindu).

The three cultures are manifested in the Singa Barong carriage, which was the official vehicle of the Kasepuhan Palace ruler.

The Singa Barong carriage was made in 1549 by Panembahan Losari, assisted by Ki Notoguna and Kaliwulu. The carvings on the horse-drawn carriage show a mixture of influences from three cultures.

“A mix of three cultures is represented by a three-pointed spear in an elephant’s trunk, meaning the unity of three human strengths — creation, emotion and intention,” Alwy said.

One of the buildings from the colonial era still standing is the Kesambi penitentiary, built around 1910.

Warehouse (1918) in Cirebon Port

“Other colonial period buildings include the Bank Indonesia building, the PT BAT cigarette factory and the Santo Joseph church,” Alwy said.

Alwy urged the central government to be involved in preserving the cultural heritage buildings.

“The government should undertake clear and concrete measures to protect these buildings.”

Huib Akihary: The Best of Both Worlds

Sara Veal, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/23/2009 12:10 PM

Huib Akihary: JP/J. Adiguna

In 1983, following a five-day voyage from Jakarta, Huib Akihary stood at the boat's bow at sunrise, watching the two points of the Bay of Ambon grow and gradually encircle him, welcoming him to his father's homeland.

When the boat finally arrived in Ambon, the then 29-year-old waited for the other passengers to disembark, as he had told his aunt he would be the last one off the boat.

"Then four police officers came to the boat and they were asking for me. I said, *I haven't done anything, just visiting my family'," Akihary says.

"*No, no problem,' they said. *Just your aunt has asked us to get you off the boat.' So I was escorted by them and met my aunt for the first time . then she told me that my uncles, cousins and nephews were also there . There were more than 40 people standing there, some of whom had traveled two days to Ambon."

This auspicious reception signaled an important step in Akihary's lifelong journey to understand his Moluccan heritage, leading him to become an expert on Indonesia and Holland's mutual architectural history, and culminating in his appointment as director of Museum Maluku, in the Netherlands, in March this year.

Akihary was born and raised in Holland by a Dutch mother and a Moluccan father. Although he grew up outside the Moluccan diasporic community, he was always interested in his father's culture and roots.

"My thinking and reasoning are Dutch, yet my feelings and emotions are Moluccan. Adat *tradition*, family matters, music, food and helping each other as much as possible are basic Moluccan cultural values and are very much part of my personal life. I try to incorporate that in my Western way of thinking and find a balance in both," he says.

Akihary has two teenage sons, with whom he says he shares Moluccan culture via literature, film, music and cuisine.

"I present it to them and they can choose by themselves if they want to absorb it or not," he says.

"In my case, if I have the name Akihary, I have to know where it comes from."

The name Akihary is well-known in Ambon and increasingly representative of Moluccans overseas. Akihary says many of his relatives in both Indonesia and the Netherlands are highly involved in their immediate community and the wider Moluccan diaspora, as businesspeople, teachers, solicitors and ministers. His cousin Monica Akihary is the lead singer of Boi Akih, a world jazz ensemble that performs Moluccan songs.

"We all share a mutual interest in our Moluccan culture and traditions wherever we live," he says. "As Monica and I play an important role in spreading and conserving Moluccan culture, our family supports us in every way."

Since his first visit to Indonesia in 1983, he has returned several times: in 1984 to research his thesis on the history of architecture of the city of Batavia between 1870 and 1942; in 1988 for a seminar on Indonesia and Holland's mutual architectural heritage; and in 1990 to conduct a five-year inventory of all the Portuguese and Dutch fortifications in the Moluccas, a project cancelled in 1991 for political reasons.

Last month, the Moluccan governor and diplomatic community invited Akihary, in his capacity as Museum Maluku director, to Ambon to organize a musical theater project, Paku Coklat, performed by the Moluccan Music Theatre Ensemble, and reportedly a sell-out success.

His position as director of Museum Maluku is one he has strived for since graduating as an art historian from the University of Amsterdam in 1986, the same year the museum was founded.

"I was involved with the museum since the start, as an adviser, as a member of committees and as chairman of the foundation of Friends of the Museum. In the 90s I was asked to organize a few exhibitions," he says.

"Under my direction and in close cooperation with the newly appointed curator Dr. Jet Bakels, a very experienced museum worker, the Museum Maluku will focus on a broader audience, broader than simply the Moluccan community in the Netherlands."

He says partners will include institutes and individuals worldwide that study Moluccan culture, such as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, government departments in Moluccan province and Moluccan cultural societies in Jakarta.

"It's important to join hands and strengthen the cultural identity of Moluccans wherever they live," he says, adding there are significant communities in California and Jakarta.

"I have a very active role now in preserving, discovering, documenting, registering and describing Moluccan culture... In short, safeguarding it for those who live abroad."

Although his focus is on Moluccan heritage, his doctoral research on Batavia means he is knowledgeable about Jakarta's architectural treasures, citing the city as a modern marvel, as well as a major example of Indonesian and Dutch mutual heritage.

"When you drive through Jakarta at night it's beautiful, with all the lights and all the high-rise buildings," he says.

"At present, these buildings, as well as shopping malls and complexes, have an international style. The interesting question is if modern Indonesian architecture and urban planning will find ways and means to develop its own Indonesian identity."

A unique Indonesian identity, he says, remains evident in the architectural remnants of Jakarta's past.

"The layout of Jakarta still shows the history of its growth since 1600, such as the town near Pasar Ikan with its Dutch layout of streets and canals *Kali Besar*," he says.

"This is why it makes me sad when I see that they are destroying a building without knowing its meaning or historical value."

So far, Akihary feels his greatest professional achievements have been his publications on Dutch colonial architecture in Indonesia, which he says have helped Indonesian architects in their urban planning, as well as architectural exhibitions he has participated in, such as at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

"But by far I am most proud of and feel very privileged to have the chance to work on and to promote the Moluccan culture as the new director of Museum Maluku in close cooperation with Moluccans worldwide. It's very rewarding in many ways."

PT KAI renovates historical Lawang Sewu building in Semarang

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang | Tue, 03/03/2009 5:53 PM  

State-owned railway company PT KAI of Semarang has renovated historical Lawang Sewu building and planned to create it as a ticket reservation centre and tourism object after being neglected for 25 years. 

Over the past one week, the company has deployed some workers to clean up and paint some rooms at the first and second floor of the building, which located in the Tugu Muda area. 

The company's spokesperson Warsono told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that his office was renovating only some main rooms at the first and second floors and targeting to finish them all this month. 

“We will also make the old building as a center for executive and business classes tickets reservation to make easier for residents thanks to the building strategic location as compared to Tawang station,” he said. 

To attract more visitors, he added, the company would provide the building with antique locomotive made in 1908 from Germany. 

The Lawang Sewu building was built on Feb. 17, 1904 and was the headquarter of Nederlandsch Indische Spoorweg Maatschapij or the Dutch Indies Rail Company. (ewd)

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