U
din Slamet laughed as he
recounted lifting his
motorbike on to the roof
almost every day to
protect it from the floods
of Jakarta’s high tide. His
makeshift, one-storey hut, constructed
on wasteland by the waterfront, was
barely habitable and he struggled to
eke out a living before a sea wall was
constructed in 2014. “The water would
come up to my neck. I had to sleep at
my neighbour’s,” he said.
Jakarta, home to some 10 million
people, is one of the fastest-sinking
cities on earth. Experts forecast that
one third of the city could be entirely
submerged by 2050.
Yesterday, President Joko Widodo
announced that Indonesia will move its
capital from Jakarta to the eastern edge
of Borneo island, as the country shifts
its political heart away from the
problem-ridden megalopolis.
Jakarta’s subsidence has been caused
by rampant construction and
groundwater extraction, prompted by
poor planning that has left 40 per cent
of the city without piped water.
Heri Andreas, an earth scientist at
Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of
Technology, calculates that in some
areas the ground is already two to four
metres below sea level. “The city is
sinking by one to 20cm a year,” he said.
About half a mile from Mr Slamet’s
house, Dodi Riyanto, 35, lives with his
wife and three children in the shadow
of the sea barrier on a rundown street
next to derelict warehouses and a slimy
pool of stagnant water.
Cracks in the wall leak once or twicea month, causing seawater to rush
through his front door, he said.
The concrete structure had offered
him a small win. “Before the wall the
water came up to my hip. Now it’s just
up to my knee,” he said. “It’s the risk of
living in this area but I don’t have
anywhere else to go.”
Subsidence is just one of Jakarta’s
formidable problems. Built in an
earthquake zone on swamplands near
the confluence of 13 rivers, the city has
been dogged by poor urban planning
that has created insufferable
congestion and choking pollution.
The proposed location in Borneo –
near the regional cities of Balikpapan
and Samarinda – is at “minimal” risk of
natural disasters, where government
already owns 180,000 hectares of land.
“The location is very strategic – it’s in
the centre of Indonesia and close to
urban areas,” Mr Widodo said in a
speech. “The burden Jakarta is holding
right now is too heavy as the centre of
governance, business, finance, trade
and services.”
The Indonesian side of Borneo has
five provinces, known for rainforests,
orang-utans and coal reserves.
According to the ministry of national
development planning, the ambitious
move will require new government
offices and homes to be ready for
1.5 million people – civil servants and
their families – to start relocating by
2024, at a cost of about £27 billion.
Meanwhile, environmentalists fear
the move will hasten the destruction of
forests that are home to orang-utans,
sun bears and long-nosed monkeys, as
well as increasing pollution from coal
mining and palm oil industries.
“The move will have an
environmental impact,” said Jasmine
Puteri, Greenpeace senior forest
campaigner. “Jakarta has suffered so
many failures from pollution, water
crisis, and flooding. We don’t want
these problems in the new capital.”
Indonesia is not the first South East
Asian country to move its capital. In‘Before, the
water came
up to my hip.
Now it’s upto my knee.
It’s the risk
of livinghere but I
don’t haveanywhere
else to go’Indonesia
moves capital
from sinking
Jakarta
Lebanon’s president calls Israeli drone strike a ‘declaration of war’
By Leila Molana-Allen in BeirutISRAELI jets reportedly attacked a Pal-
estinian fighter base in Lebanon’s
Bekaa Valley yesterday, as the Leba-
nese president described earlier Israeli
drone strikes as a “declaration of war”.
Officials confirmed three rockets
struck a Popular Front for the Libera-
tion of Palestine base in Qusaya, caus-
ing damage but no fatalities. The area is
known to have a network of cross-bor-
der underground tunnels often used
by Iranian-backed groups. The strikecame amid heightened tensions after
two drones crashed in the Hizbollah-
dominated Beirut suburb of Dahieh on
Sunday. One exploded, causing severe
damage to Hizbollah’s media centre
and wounding three members. Hizbol-
lah says it has identified the drones as
Israeli.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah chief,
gave a theatrical speech on Sunday,
warning: “From tonight, I tell the Is-
raeli army on the border, wait for our
response, which may take place at any
time ... Be prepared and wait for us.”If Israel is responsible, the attacks mark
the most serious Israeli incursion into
Lebanese territory since the 2006 war,
in which 1,200 Lebanese and 158 Israe-
lis were killed.
“What happened was similar to a
declaration of war which allows us to
resort to our right to defending our
sovereignty,” Michel Aoun, the Leba-
nese president wrote on Twitter.
He met Lebanon’s UN Special Coor-
dinator yesterday, while other Leba-
nese leaders appeared keen to find a
diplomatic resolution.“The Lebanese government sees it
best to avoid any sliding of the situation
towards a dangerous escalation,” SaadHariri, the prime minister, told ambas-
sadors of the UN Security Council.
A source inside the Lebanese ArmedForces told The Telegraph there would
be no official statement as it was their
judgment that the strike took place in
Syria, as Qusaya lies directly on Leba-
non’s border; the assessment that the
attack was in Syria may be a further at-
tempt to de-escalate the situation.
A spokesman for the Israeli Defence
Forces did not confirm either strike,
saying: “Israel does not comment on
foreign reports.”
Experts in the region, however, say
the border strike fits Israel’s pattern.
While the group attacked was Palestin-ian, the strike appears to be part of Is-
rael’s escalating conflict with Iran. This
particular branch of the PLFP is a splin-
ter group that has been controlled by
Iran since 2014. It has since been used
to run operations and facilitate arms
transfers for Iranian-backed Hizbollah.
“This base has been used as a train-
ing camp before, and Hizbollah domi-
nates this area,” says Phillip Smyth, a
specialist on Iranian proxy groups.
Some experts argue Israel is trying
to goad Hizbollah into conflict, forcing
them to fight on multiple fronts.Refugees ‘targeted by Rwandan spies’ after fleeing to Australia
By Phil Mercer in SydneyRWANDAN spies in Australia are in-
forming on refugees from the east Afri-
can nation, a local media investigation
has claimed.
The revelation comes as the Austral-
ian Security Intelligence Organisation
(ASIO) this weekend warned that inter-
ference from foreign agents had
reached an “unprecedented scale”.
The Australia Broadcasting Corpor-
pation (ABC) uncovered a covert re-
cording of an alleged Rwandan spy
filmed in a Queensland car park late
last year. The man can be heard detail-
ing how the Rwandan governmentruns secret missions from its embassies
and high commissions.
One Rwandan refugee and govern-
ment critic told the broadcaster he had
been threatened by a countryman
upon his arrival in Australia. He said
Queensland police urged him to stay
out of south Brisbane, where they be-
lieved Rwandan operatives worked.
The man claimed that spies were
planted in the country on student visas.
Dr Nadine Shema, a government ad-
viser on African-Australian relations,
told ABC she had warned Canberra of
the rising threat of intimidation to
Rwandan dissenters. The broadcaster
also found evidence that Julie Bishop,then the foreign minister, was warned
in 2017 that the Rwandan high commis-
sioner to Singapore had threatened to
kill a Rwanda-born resident of New
South Wales.
“The ambassador has diplomatic im-
munity in Australia,” police said.
Guillaume Kavarugand, the high
commissioner, did not comment when
approached by ABC.
Intelligence sources said China,
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, North Korea
and Malaysia were known to monitor
their diaspora in Australia, while seek-
ing to silence dissenters speaking out
against their former governments.
“Refugees who flee often have fam-ily connections remaining with (their)
home country,” explained Prof John
Blaxland from the Australian National
University. “The (foreign) government
can choose to exercise that power over
the minds of the residents in Australia
concerning safety and well-being of
relatives back home, and that can be a
very difficult pressure to resist.”
He said expats could be compelled or
coerced into “gathering information to
pass back to the home country” or
“conducting illegal acts”.
ASIO has cautioned that “both espio-
nage and foreign interference can in-
flict economic damage ... and threaten
the safety of Australians.”Moment of reflection Jumayah Jones, who survived the Christchurch
terrorist attacks that killed 51 people in March, prays at the Al Noor
mosque in the New Zealand city against a backdrop of painted windows.GETTY IMAGESBerlin rent
proposal to halve
monthly costs
Cattle ‘will starve’
after Spain bars
ship from docking
By Justin Huggler in BerlinRENTS in Berlin’s most fashionable
districts could be slashed by more than
half under controversial new controls.
The Berlin regional government is
considering plans to impose a maxi-
mum monthly rent cap on homes
across the city of just under €8 per
square metre (68p per square foot).
The proposals would have a dra-
matic effect on prices in the German
capital’s most fashionable neighbour-
hoods, which currently command
monthly rents of more than €17 per
square metre (£1.43 per square metre).
The plans, drawn up by a regional
minister from the socialist Left Party,
have been condemned by opponents as
“unconstitutional” and “an economic
catastrophe”.
Rents in Berlin have risen sharply in
recent years and the city is finding it
hard to live up to its unofficial motto of
“poor but sexy”. The rises have been
largely driven by Berlin’s lure for
young people as one of Europe’s trendi-
est cities, as the last decade has seen an
estimated 40,000 new residents flock
to the German capital.By James Badcock in MadridA BRITISH-RUN animal shelter in
Spain has asked the government to
come to the aid of 3,800 cattle on board
a transport ship which is being denied
leave to dock in Cartagena.
The animals on board the AK Julia
have no food and will “die of hunger”,
Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre said.
The young animals were due to stock
up on fodder in Cartegena last night on
their way from Brazil to Turkey.
But Sue Weeding of Easy Horse Care
said the Talia shipping company
contacted her after the vessel was
prevented from entering the harbour
because of a legal dispute between the
firm and a fuel supplier.
Blázquez Maritime Agency, which
operates Cartagena port, confirmed
that the docking had been cancelled.
A spokesman for Talia yesterday said
the firm was trying to “sort out this ar-
rest issue” with the court.
Mrs Weeding said Talia told her that
the cows ran out of fodder yesterday
and that there were no alternatives for
the supplies of pellets, ryegrass and
sawdust arranged in Spain.2005, Burma’s ruling generals moved
to Naypyidaw, a town in hills 320km
(200 miles) away from the colonial era
capital, Yangon. In the Nineties,
Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad
built an administrative capital in
Putrajaya, about 33km (20 miles) from
Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Widodo said the government
would soon submit a bill and the result
of a feasibility study to parliament, so as
to secure approval for the new capital, a
measure that analysts expect will be
passed quickly.
Rudy Prawiradinata, deputy minister
for regional development, said the
meticulous planning included studiesof other countries who had recently
moved capitals – such as Brazil’s switch
from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia in 1960.
“The economic impact was good in
Brazil so I think this is a very good
example for us,” he said, adding that
“environmental issues” would be at the
heart of the new city’s design.
He stressed that the relocation was
aimed more at a fairer distribution of
development across the country and
should not be viewed as a one-stop
solution to Jakarta’s problems. And
Jakarta would remain a financial centre
of Indonesia, similar to New York’s
relationship with Washington DC.
Mr Prawiradinata argued thatJakarta’s own chronic problems would
be addressed separately. But some
experts fear it may end up neglected.
“By moving the capital, you’re not
going to solve the problems of Jakarta,”
said Elisa Sutanudjaja, executive
director at the Rujak Center for Urban
Studies. “The ones really excited about
moving the capital are the developers.”
Meanwhile, Mr Slamet remains
optimistic about the future. The sea
wall left his property dry enough to be
able to open a small snack shop and
business is booming. “I don’t know, I
don’t care,” he said when asked if he
worries about Jakarta sinking. “It’s all
in the hands of the Almighty.”Dispatch
By Nicola Smith
AsiA Correspondent
in JakartaChildren play next
to an abandoned
mosque that stands
beyond the seawall
in the Muara Baru
area in JakartaWorld news
SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES‘The (foreign)
government
can choose to
exercise thatpower over
the minds ofthe residents
in Australia’‘I tell the Israeli army ... wait
for our response, which maytake place at any time ...
Be prepared and wait for us’12 ***^ Tuesday 27 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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