1. 8 The Japan Times Wednesday, July 1, 2015
The rise of a regional leader for Southeast Asia ‘Mareinats’ foster
belonging in crowded
reinsurance field
Savvy management —
and charm — succeed
through thick and thin
Country’s rich natural resources help feed the world
I
n 2015, Indonesia celebrates
its 70th anniversary as a na-
tion with one goal: Leading
Southeast Asia. The country’s vast,
young population (more than half
of which is below 29 years of age)
and its abundance of natural re-
sources have caught the attention
of investors who increasingly re-
gard it as a secure bet.
Joko Widodo’s recent election
as Indonesia’s president, with his
government’s strong commitment
to education and the improvement
of infrastructure across the country,
points to a period of growth and
development that analysts predict
will last many years.
Decades ago, one of the first
countries to realize the abundance
of opportunities in Indonesia was
Japan. With Japanese public and
private investment in the country
that represents 17 percent of total
inward investment, Japan is now
the second-largest investor in Indo-
nesia after Singapore.
“Japanese investment in the
country has not only modernized
Indonesian industry, but also im-
proved the country’s trade with Ja-
pan and the rest of the world,” said
the Japanese Ambassador to Indo-
nesia, Yasuaki Tanizaki. In fact,
since a free trade agreement was
signed between both countries in
2008, exports from Indonesia to Ja-
pan have increased by 46 percent.
In the coming years, the flow of
investment from Japan is expected
to grow not only in quantity, but
also in diversity. “The industrial
sectors coming to Indonesia have
changed a lot in the last few years,”
said Kenichi Tomiyoshi, president
and director of JETRO Jakarta.
“While before the mainstream of
investment consisted of autos and
auto parts, the past couple of years
have seen the tendency change —
with a boost in all sectors, espe-
cially agriculture, processed food
and services.”
One of JETRO’s missions in
the country is to help small and
medium-sized Japanese companies
invest in Indonesia.
Good relations between the two
countries — and the resulting un-
derstanding between markets —
have led to new partnerships and
joint ventures. “Thanks to these
collaborations, Japanese investors
are able to understand the local
market, while local entrepreneurs
see their industry modernized,”
said Norio Yamazaki, a JICA (Ja-
pan International Cooperation
Agency) expert (the Japan side
of the Indonesia investment co-
ordinating board, BKPM). “One
of JICA’s tasks is to find business
matches between corporate sectors
so that both markets can grow to-
gether.”
Meanwhile, new government
policies in place in Indonesia that
will facilitate the entry of for-
eign capital, the implementation
of a more modern education sys-
tem and the radical reform of the
country’s infrastructure network
are key aspects that should speed
the country to its desired status of
regional leader and international
reference. 
P
upuk Indonesia (PIHC) has
become the country’s key
player in exporting fertil-
izer technology to the rest of the
world. From its base in Jakarta,
capital of one of the world’s most
agriculturally intensive and inno-
vative economies, it has solidified
its high quality offerings to the
global market, including Japan.
The PIHC group’s restructur-
ing in 2011 fortified its response
to growing domestic and interna-
tional demand for fertilizer. This
brought together 10 subsidiaries:
Five of them in fertilizer produc-
tion (Petrokimia Gresik, Pupuk
Kujang, Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palem-
bang, Pupuk Kalimantan Timur,
Pupuk Iskandar Muda) and five
in other sectors (Rekayasa Indus-
tri, Mega Eltra, Pupuk Indonesia
Logistik, Pupuk Indonesia Energi
and Pupuk Indonesia Pangan).
Having served for over 35 years
across various roles in the group,
Arifin Tasrif was tasked with
overseeing this period as the new
entity’s president and director.
“Before, we had overlaps
across the business such as dou-
ble investment, competition and
individual financing,” said Tas-
rif. “With a unified strategy, we
streamlined the company to re-
duce inefficiencies to further im-
prove the synergy and productiv-
ity of all members. This included
taking advantage of joint procure-
ment for bulk ordering and shared
financial services, not to mention
standardizing recruitment and
training across the entire com-
pany.”
“With the latest technology
present in our new plants, our
production capacity has increased
enormously from 10.5 million
tons in 2009 to 11.26 million tons
in 2014, and relocating them near
ports and logistics hubs has also
allowed us to save on transporta-
tion costs,” he added. “We have
furthermore switched our main
energy source from gas to coal for
more savings, which also allows
us to use gas for the direct pro-
cessing of the product. Clustering
our operations into regions cov-
ering Sumatra, Kalimantan and
East Java has, in turn, helped us
deliver our products and services
much faster.”
Today, PIHC is Southeast
Asia’s largest fertilizer manufac-
turer. “Our goal is to raise capac-
ity from 12 million to 19 mil-
lion tons per year,” Tasrif said.
“By next year, we’ll be halfway
there.”
The company’s assets increased
by 119 percent from 2009 to 2014.
In the same period, revenue grew
by 88 percent. This has resulted in
the company’s total equity reach-
ing $444 million in 2014.
Today, about 70 percent of
PIHC’s current production is allo-
cated for Indonesian government
requirements. The remaining 30
percent is divided about equally
between the non-subsidized mar-
ket and exports, and it’s in these
areas where growth is booming.
“Huge opportunities await,
as demand is greater than our
capacity,” Tasrif explained. “I
see great potential regionally, in
countries such as the Philippines
and Myanmar, in addition to our
existing international markets,
which include the U.S., Europe,
Brazil and Australia.”
Japan remains a top prior-
ity for PIHC. In fact, the com-
pany signed a memorandum of
agreement with Mitsui in 2014.
“We work closely with Mitsui
to develop potential projects to-
gether,” he said. “We can bring
together Japan’s technology and
financial strength with our own
industry knowledge and natural
resources.”
“PIHC has worked with Toyo
Engineering, Chiyoda and Mitsu-
bishi Heavy Industry to build
plants, with a large part of the
urea fertilizer plant based on tech-
nology licensed by Toyo Engi-
neering,” Tasrif concluded. “We
are also open to working with
Marubeni and Sumitomo for en-
ergy sector projects. In February
this year, we inaugurated a coal
gasification demo plant in Cikam-
pek under a joint partnership with
IHI Corporation. The main goal
of the project is to use Indonesian
low-rank coal, one of our big-
gest natural resources, to produce
syn-gas — a basic intermediate in
many chemical commodities.” 
www.pupuk-indonesia.com
W
ith more than 35 years
of experience in the
insurance and reinsur-
ance sector, Robby Loho has run
PT Maskapai Reasuransi Indone-
sia Tbk. (Marein) since he was
named its president and director
in 2006. His decadeslong back-
ground in the business, together
with a keen knowledge of his
customers’ needs, has been key
to the company’s robust rejuve-
nation over the last several years.
Today, Marein is one of the best
national reinsurance companies
in Indonesia, and the first to be
publicly listed on the Indonesia
Stock Exchange.
Over the past decade, Loho
has directed and implemented
strict operational strategies that
have served as benchmarks for
employee performance and com-
pany profitability. Incentives for
increased productivity through a
system of corporate bonuses have
led to a sense of employee own-
ership within the company.
“One of our keys to success
has been the creation of an atmo-
sphere of teamwork, and a sense
of belonging among our people,”
he explained. “We call ourselves
‘Mareinats.’”
The creation and maintenance
of this support backbone has al-
lowed the powerhouse reinsurer
to provide the best customer ser-
vice in the industry, supporting
growth of the sector and increas-
ing corporate value for Marein’s
stakeholders.
The company is now prepared
to face new challenges in 2015,
as it revs up for a capital increase.
The move will enable Marein to
maintain its competitiveness in
the face of new regulator policy
that is pushing for mergers and
acquisitions in Indonesia’s rein-
surance sector. In the newly re-
drawn map made up of a smaller
number of stronger players, Ma-
rein intends to stand out.
Beyond Indonesia, in a pivotal
year for ASEAN and its plans to
build an economic community,
Marein is also looking to get
closer to its goal of becoming a
preferred reinsurance company
for the region. 
www.marein-re.com
T
he charming and affable
third-generation president
of one of Indonesia’s tex-
tiles and garments powerhouses,
Dan Liris, Michelle Tjokrosa-
putro credits much of her com-
pany’s success to the senior
managers and staff with whom
she has led it back to growth
after some challenging times.
When she was first pushed onto
center stage as a young adult,
Tjokrosaputro said she depended
on a strong sense of trust for her
peers.
“I have a lot of respect for our
directors, who helped turn the
company around during a time of
uncertainty,” said Tjokrosaputro.
“More than that, I find a lot of
joy in going to our facilities and
talking to our employees, who
we consider to be the heart and
soul of our company.”
Tjokrosaputro has been at the
helm of the 11,000-strong Dan
Liris since 2006, weathering
crashing cotton prices and glob-
al economic insecurity to help
build the family owned compa-
ny’s stellar international reputa-
tion to what it is today.
“Our biggest customers such
as Marks & Spencer have been
such an integral part of our busi-
ness for a very long time,” she
said. “Globally, Japan remains
one of our top export markets,
with Tokai as our biggest client
in the country.”
In fact, 23 percent of Dan
Liris’ total garment production is
now shipped to Japan as part of
increasing business ties with the
country. The company’s exports
are also progressively shifting
toward regional Japanese subsid-
iaries throughout ASEAN.
But while regional and global
aspirations are part of the com-
pany’s DNA, it is the strength
of its Indonesian customers that
keep the company growing. In
2013, Tjokrosaputro set up a new
retail brand called Bateeq, which
rethinks the way traditional In-
donesian batiks are marketed.
“With the growth of the Indo-
nesian economy, we thought it
was time to set up our own re-
tail store to take advantage of the
strong domestic market,” said
Tjokrosaputro. “In just two years
we have opened 25 retail outlets
throughout the country.”
International expansion for
Bateeq is also on her agenda.
“Before going international, I
want to make sure everything is
tried and tested,” she explained.
“My goal is to ultimately bring
Bateeq to Japan, as well. I hope
it can be done within the next
two years.”
Despite overseas ambitions,
Tjokrosaputro continues to re-
turn to the roots of her family’s
business as key catalysts for its
growth — its employees.
“Through thick and thin, we
want to continue taking care of
one another,” she said. “It’s a
family run business after all.” 
www.danliris.com
PT PUPUK INDONESIA LOGISTIK
PT REKAYASA INDUSTRI
World Eye Reports
This report was produced by WORLD EYE REPORTS.
You may view this online at:
info.japantimes.co.jp/international-reports/?t=wer
and at www.worldeyereports.com.
PUPUKINDONESIA
WER
WER
WER
MAREINDANLIRIS
www.worldeyereports.com
— ARIFIN TASRIF
President and Director
Pupuk Indonesia
— YASUAKI TANIZAKI
Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia
— KENICHI TOMIYOSHI
President and Director
JETRO Jakarta
— NORIO YAMAZAKI
Expert
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Huge opportunities
await, as demand
is greater than our
capacity. I see great
potential regionally … in
addition to our existing
international markets.”
Japanese investment in
the country has not only
modernized Indonesian
industry, but also
improved the country’s
trade with Japan and
the rest of the world.”
… the past couple
of years have seen
the tendency change
— with a boost in all
sectors, especially
agriculture, processed
food and services.”
Thanks to these
collaborations,
Japanese investors are
able to understand the
local market, while local
entrepreneurs see their
industry modernized.”
In the coming years, the flow of investment
from Japan is expected to grow not only in
quantity, but also in diversity.
Indonesia
Michelle Tjokrosaputro, President of Dan Liris
Robby Loho, President and
Director of Marein
Special Economic Reports
PAGE: 8

2. The Japan Times Wednesday, July 1, 2015 9
worldIndonesia Business Report
Bridging the gap, building a nation and
banking on international benchmarks
Japanese partnership forms basis of global expansion
Planting seeds of trust across the planet
T
he Asian financial crisis of the 1990’s
and Indonesian mining crisis of 2005
were turning points with vitally impor-
tant lessons for Bank Mandiri’s transforma-
tion into Indonesia’s most-admired and pro-
gressive financial institution. Today, Bank
Mandiri is Indonesia’s largest financial in-
stitution terms of assets, loans and deposits.
“We wanted to be a more diverse bank,”
said Budi Sadikin, Bank Mandiri’s group
CEO. “Corporate banking can be very vola-
tile, so we focused on retail to improve sta-
bility despite economic downturns.”
Sadikin was brought into Bank Mandiri
in 2006 to lead the development of the then
underdeveloped micro and retail banking di-
vision, and took the helm as CEO in 2014.
The bank currently has 2,300 micro-banking
branches across the country, and a diverse
income and balance sheet in which revenue
is split about 50-50 between corporate and
retail.
“Indonesia has a very large population,
and GDP per capita is increasing,” said Sa-
dikin. “In the future, we strongly believe that
retail contributions will grow dramatically.”
Only about 60 million out of a population
of 250 million Indonesians hold bank ac-
counts and have access to financial services
in the country. Bank Mandiri’s goal is to
bridge this gap to reach Indonesia’s young
and vibrant population through mobile bank-
ing.
“There has been a dramatic change in the
preferences of clients toward mobile and in-
ternet banking,” said Sadikin. “We looked at
the Indonesian mobile telecommunications
industry’s astonishing near-100 percent pen-
etration rate as an inspiration.”
Last year saw the launch of Bank Mandi-
ri’s e-cash mobile application, which allows
users to easily link or create accounts, using
only their mobile number to quickly send
or receive cash to their existing contacts. In
fact, the Indonesian government is now us-
ing Mandiri e-cash as a means of distributing
direct cash subsidies to individuals. By the
end of 2015, the bank expects to attract 50
million users to the service.
By reaching more of the local population
with its services, Bank Mandiri aims to do
its part in Indonesia’s effort to become a
strong middle-income nation. With the sup-
port of Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance, the
bank has been very active in communicating
this goal with the international community
through its participation in events such as the
recent Asia-Africa Summit in Jakarta and the
World Economic Forum.
“In these forums, we always emphasize
three main topics we need to develop in the
country to grow toward our middle-income
goal; financial inclusion, deepening the fi-
nancial market and entrepreneurship,” said
Sadikin. “We’re showing the world that we
have a very clear objective: Contributing to
the World Bank’s target of giving 2 billion
people access to financial services within
five years.” 
www.bankmandiri.co.id
P
T Binabusana Internusa Group (BBI) had
modest beginnings in the garment indus-
try. Its president and director, Lukas Luk-
man Widjaja, took the helm in 1989 and the
company started supplying hospital uniforms to
Japan’s Nagai in 1992. Since then, BBI’s stan-
dards for quality, sewing, hygiene and prompt
delivery have seen it rise to the top of the Indo-
nesian textiles and apparel sector.
“We have grown together over 23 years, and
we are very committed to our relationship with
Nagai — we are like family,” remarked Lukas
LW. “We now produce around 1.7 million gar-
ments for Nagai yearly. Transparency is vital for
constant improvement, so we regularly sit down
together and communicate.”
Apart from its partnership with Nagai, BBI
Group has also extended its business to produce
uniforms, fire-fighting garments, functional
wear, sportswear and fashion apparel for other
customers in Europe, North America and Japan.
Its most recent venture, Apparel One Indone-
sia (AOI) produces sportswear. AOI’s new fa-
cility in Semarang in Central Java will be com-
pleted in the fourth quarter of this year, and is
projected to be running 60 production lines by
2016. Thus, in consolidation with the existing
facility, it will reach 110 lines, in a total area of
46,000 sq. meters.
“To date, BBI Group employs 7,500 workers
and will grow to 12,000 worker in the next few
years, and to develop even further we need a
strong management team,” said Lukas LW. “We
therefore cultivate a management trainee pro-
gram to get new blood interested in the sector
and to develop expertise.”
BBI Group’s vision to be a world-class com-
pany known for quality and flexibility through
long-term partnerships with clients and a close
relationship with its employees goes hand-in-
hand with a sense of pride in its participation in
the development of Indonesia.
“I have always been proud of my country,
and believed in the Indonesian garment sector’s
competitiveness and world-class potential,”
concluded Lukas LW. “As a trained mechanical
engineer, I didn’t expect to be in the garment
sector. Now, I’m glad to be building our team
and serving our buyers while contributing to the
country’s development.” 
www.binabusana.com
S
elektani Horticulture does
more than just produce
flower seeds for growers
around the world — it brings
people together. Founded in
1983, the company has estab-
lished four farms across Indo-
nesia in North Sumatra, Central
and East Java. Next year, its par-
ent company, Bibit Baru, will
celebrate 45 years of serving as
its international partner.
As a global player, Selek-
tani has built long-term rela-
tionships with clients from the
Netherlands, Germany, the U.K.
and the U.S. It has also formed
lasting bonds with its Japanese
partners for the development of
technologies such as greenhouse
construction and piping.
“The Japanese understand cul-
tural diversity,” said Hendro Ba-
suki, founder and managing di-
rector of Selektani Horticulture.
“They are a great example for
Indonesia, which is still devel-
oping a common national value
as a young and independent na-
tion. We have a lot to learn from
the Japanese about the differenc-
es between the development of
urban and rural settings and the
modernization of agriculture.”
The company is currently in a
phase of renewal and regenera-
tion, as it moves from a family
business into a professional cor-
porate organization. The new
management team is focused on
improvements toward greater
prosperity to sustain the busi-
ness for the years ahead.
“We have built our reputation
on honesty and integrity, and
we have the expertise and ca-
pability to produce world-class
products,” said Basuki. “Mov-
ing forward, our most important
advancement is how we relate
to our customers’ needs. It is
important to continue building
trust as we reach out to more
partners from Japan and around
the world.”
In the future, Selektani Horti-
culture aims to build strong pil-
lars in both the international and
domestic markets for continued
stability. “In addition to distrib-
uting crop nutrition and micro-
nutrients domestically, we are
trying to create more interest in
flower and vegetable growing in
the local market through educat-
ing local growers with the right
attitude toward modernization,”
said Basuki. “Top to bottom co-
ordination with the government
is very important to achieving
this. In Indonesia, the challenge
is to help 200 million or so lower
income people move up to the
middle class, which will then be-
come a vast market to serve.” 
www.selektani.com
www.worldeyereports.com
BANKMANDIRIBBI
SELEKTANIHORTICULTURE
Lukas Lukman Widjaja, President and Director
of Binabusana Internusa Group (BBI)
— BUDI SADIKIN
CEO
Bank Mandiri
We’re showing the world
that we have a very clear
objective: Contributing to
the World Bank’s target
of giving 2 billion people
access to financial
services within five
years.”
— HENDRO BASUKI
Founder and Managing Director
Selektani Horticulture
We have built our
reputation on honesty
and integrity, and we
have the expertise and
capability to produce
world-class products.”
Selektani has built long-term relationships with
clients from the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K.
and the U.S. It has also formed lasting bonds
with its Japanese partners …
BBI Group’s vision to be a world-class company known for
quality and flexibility through long-term partnerships with clients
and a close relationship with its employees …
Selektani Horticulture aims to build strong
pillars in both the international and domestic
markets for continued stability.
Juba
AFP-Jiji
South Sudan Army soldiers
raped then torched girls alive
insidetheirhomesduringare-
cent campaign notable for its
“new brutality and intensity,” a
U.N.rightsreportsaidTuesday.
Rightsinvestigatorsfromthe
U.N. mission in South Sudan
(UNMISS) warned of “wide-
spread human rights abuses”
in a report based on 115 vic-
tims and eyewitnesses from
the northern battleground
state of Unity, scene of some of
the heaviest recent fighting in
the 18-month-long civil war.
Themilitary,theSudanPeo-
ple’s Liberation Army (SPLA),
launched a major offensive
against rebel forces in April,
with fierce fighting in Unity
state’s northern Mayom dis-
trict, once a key oil producing
area.
“Survivors of these attacks
reported that SPLA and allied
militias from Mayom county
carriedoutacampaignagainst
the local population that killed
civilians, looted and destroyed
villages and displaced over
100,000people,”theU.N.state-
ment read.
“Some of the most disturb-
ing allegations compiled by
UNMISS human rights officers
focused on the abduction and
sexual abuse of women and
girls, some of whom were re-
portedly burnt alive in their
dwellings.”
Civil war began in Decem-
ber 2013 when President Salva
Kiir accused his former depu-
ty, Riek Machar, of planning a
coup, setting off a cycle of re-
taliatory killings that have split
the poverty-stricken, land-
locked country along ethnic
lines.
The upsurge in fighting “has
not only been marked by alle-
gations of killing, rape, abduc-
tion, looting, arson and
displacement, but by a new
brutality and intensity,” the
U.N. statement added.
“The scope and level of cru-
elty that has characterized the
reports suggests a depth of an-
tipathy that exceeds political
differences.”
The U.N. children’s agency
said in a report earlier this
monththatwarringforceshave
carried out horrific crimes
against children, including
castration,rapeandtyingthem
together before slitting their
throats.
Two-thirds of the country’s
12 million people need aid, ac-
cording to the U.N. and one-
sixth have fled their homes.
SouthSudan
troopsraped,
burnedgirls
alive:U.N.
Surkh Dewal Afghanistan
Reuters
FightersloyaltotheIslamicState
have seized substantial swaths
ofterritoryinAfghanistanforthe
firsttime,witnessesandofficials
said, wresting areas in the east
fromrivalTalibaninsurgentsin
a new threat to stability.
Witnesses who fled fighting
in Nangarhar province said
that hundreds of insurgents
pledging allegiance to the Is-
lamicStatepushedouttheTal-
iban, scorching opium poppy
fields that help to fund the Tal-
iban’s campaign to overthrow
the Afghan government.
They also distributed direc-
tives purportedly from the Is-
lamicState’sMiddleEast-based
chief,AbuBakral-Baghdadi,al-
thoughitwasnotclearwhether
he issued them for the Afghan
theaterorifpreviousedictsmay
have been translated.
“They (Islamic State loyal-
ists) came in on many white
pickup trucks mounted with
big machine guns and fought
the Taliban. The Taliban could
not resist and fled,” said Haji
Abdul Jan, a tribal elder from
Achin district.
Jan, who saw the early June
clashes before fleeing to the
provincial capital of Jalalabad,
said some villagers welcomed
the new arrivals.
“UnliketheTaliban,they(Is-
lamicStatefighters)don’tforce
villagers to feed and house
them. Instead, they have lots
of cash in their pockets and
spend it on food and luring
young villagers to join them.”
Their accounts are the clear-
est sign yet that, beyond a few
defectionsbylow-levelTaliban
leaders and sporadic attacks,
Islamic State sympathizers
pose a more persistent threat.
Islamic State loyalists, most-
ly former Taliban disillusioned
by the movement’s unsuccess-
ful bid to return to power in
Kabul, are accompanied by
dozens of foreign fighters, wit-
nesses said.
The black Islamic State flag
hasbeenhoistedinsomeareas,
and foreign fighters preach in
mosques through translators.
The identity of the non-Af-
ghan insurgents is not known.
Hundreds of militants from
around the world already hide
out along the Afghan-Pakistan
border.
Local officials said fighters
following the Islamic State
group have seized some terri-
toryfromtheTalibaninatleast
six of 21 Nangarhar districts.
They are Kot, Achin, Deh
Bala, Naziyan, Rodat and
Chaparhar, according to pro-
vincialcouncilchiefAhmadAli
HazratandNangarharmember
of parliament Haji Hazrat Ali.
LocalarmyspokesmanNoman
Atefi said the Islamic State has
established a presence in
“seven or eight” districts.
Battles between the rival
militants are ongoing in Khog-
yaniandPachirAgamdistricts,
they said.
While the central govern-
ment controls the vast major-
ity of Afghanistan, events in
Nangarhar are ominous for se-
curity forces struggling to con-
tain the Taliban insurgency
after most NATO forces with-
drew six months ago.
Islamic State supporters
have proved ruthless, report-
edlybeheadingseveralTaliban
commanders, and the group’s
success in taking over swaths
of Iraq and Syria underlines
the risks to Afghanistan.
Government officials and
the U.S.-led training force
questionwhetherIslamicState
can gain a significant foothold
in Afghanistan, given that di-
rect links with the Middle East
have not been proven and the
Taliban remains dominant.
However, Islamic State loy-
alists in Nangarhar are de-
scribed as organized and well
funded.
Under the shade of a mud
wall in a makeshift refugee
camp in Surkh Dewal, outside
the city of Jalalabad, about 30
men recalled encounters with
Islamic State fighters.
AbdulWali,agreen-eyedref-
ugeefromAchininhis20s,said
he listened to foreign fighters
preaching in Arabic in local
mosques through translators.
“They tell them about Islam
and what people should do
and should not do,” Wali said.
Islamic State fighters also
distribute pamphlets “to warn
the people against many
crimes,” said tribal elder Haji
AbdulHakim,fromKotdistrict.
One letter smuggled from
Pachir Agam district was pur-
portedly from al-Baghdadi.
TheTaliban,whichissuedits
own warning to the Islamic
State not to interfere in Af-
ghanistan, acknowledged los-
ing ground in Nangarhar, but
said their rivals are not Islam-
ic State.
Witnesses said Islamic State
fightershaveestablishedastrict-
erregimeinNangarharthanthe
Taliban, who, while still harsh,
softenedtheirruletogainpopu-
lar support, said Malek Jan, a
tribal elder who fled Spinghar,
another affected area.
“They (Islamic State fight-
ers) burned poppy fields in
Shadal village and banned
shops from selling cigarettes,”
Jan said.
Opium smuggling and tax-
ing poppy production are key
sources of Taliban revenue.
Islamic State loyalists in
Nangarhar appeared to have
other sources of money.
Several people said they
have plenty of cash, and some
heard militants are selling
gold, unusual for the area.
It is unclear where the
money is coming from.
While there is little evidence
of direct links between Islamic
State forces in the Middle East
andmilitantsfightingunderits
banner in Afghanistan, offi-
cials in Kabul worry that
money and personnel may
begin to flow, taking the war to
a new level.
Still, the NATO-led military
assistance force said it viewed
reportsofmoremoneyflowing
to Islamic State offshoots as
“exaggerated,”spokesmanCol.
Brian Tribus said.
He added NATO had “not
seen any indication” that IS
had completely driven out the
Taliban from parts of Nangar-
har, and said any foreign fight-
ers were likely to be global
jihadis established in the re-
gion, and not newcomers.
Flush with cash, group pries away territory, recruits
AfghanTalibanlose
groundtoISloyalists
IS beheads women
over ‘sorcery’ claim
Beirut/Sanaa AFP-JIJI
The Islamic State group has
beheaded two women in
Syria on accusations of “sor-
cery,” the first such execution
of women in Syria, the Syrian
Observatory for Human
Rights monitor said Tuesday.
“The Islamic State group
executed two women by
beheading them in Deir Ezzor
province, and this is the first
time the Observatory has doc-
umented women being killed
by the group in this manner,”
Observatory chief Rami
Abdelrahman said.
The Britain-based monitor
said the executions took
place Sunday and Monday,
and involved two couples.
In both cases, the women
were executed with their hus-
bands, with each pair accused
of “witchcraft and sorcery.”
The Islamic State group has
become infamous for grue-
some executions and is
reported to have stoned
women to death on allega-
tions of adultery.
But the Observatory said
this was the first time it was
aware of the group behead-
ing women.
Elsewhere, the Islamic
State group claimed respon-
sibility for an attack on
Houthi rebel leaders Monday
in the Yemeni capital of Sana
that killed at least 28 people,
medics said, the latest deadly
assault on Shiites by the
Sunni extremists.
Yemen was previously the
preserve of the Islamic State
group’s chief rival, al-Qaida,
which controls swaths of the
south and east. But since
March, however, the Islamic
State group has claimed a
string of high-profile and
deadly attacks.
Christie readies
White House bid
Newark New Jersey AP
Gov. Chris Christie, who
spent three years as president
of his high school class, is
returning to his alma mater
to announce he will run for
president of his country.
The Republican governor
was set to launch his cam-
paign Tuesday in the old
gymnasium of Livingston
High School in the town of
Livingston, where he experi-
enced some of his first politi-
cal victories.
Christie’s remarks Tues-
day, to be delivered without a
teleprompter, will be aimed
at reintroducing himself to a
national audience that has
seen him fade from favor
among Republicans and then
try to climb back.
He’ll draw heavily on how
his upbringing shaped him in
articulating his vision for the
country. The governor faces a
tough sell with many conser-
vatives, while seeming to find
his stride at times in visits to
early voting states with the
lively town hall meetings he’s
known for at home.
In Brief
Armed South Sudanese government soldiers ride in a pickup truck near a village in Bor in January
2014. South Sudan troops raped and then torched girls alive inside their homes during a recent
campaign notable for its “new brutality and intensity,” a U.N. rights report said Tuesday. AFP-JIJI
An Afghan National Army soldier inspects passengers at a
checkpoint in Jalalabad province Monday. REUTERS
‘They came in on
many white pickup
trucks mounted
with big machine
guns and fought the
Taliban. The Taliban
could not resist, and
fled.’
HAJI ABDUL JAN,TRIBAL ELDER
Special Economic Reports
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