Two days ago Dame Patricia
O'Sullivan OAM slipped peacefully away in her
sleep.
We all lost a true champion for the disabled and under-priviledged and a true champion of building close relationships between Australia and Indonesia.
Dame Patricia was the driving force
behind the creation of POSH - The Patricia O'Sullivan Humanitarian
Project - that has supported thousands of young children in East Java with
hearing disabilities.
Those of you who have had the privilege
of visiting the Karya Mulia School for Deaf Children in Surabaya, would
have been deeply touched by the work of POSH.
Since Dame Patricia suffered an
untimely stroke some years ago, her daughter Trisha Henderson has taken over the
vision and responsibility for this incredible project.
Dame Patricia would be justifiably proud
of her daughter and those that work so hard to make the lives of so many young
children in East Java just a little better.
Dame Patricia made a difference in our world and we bid her farewell.
Tolong menikmati blog resmi Indonesia Institute. Minggu ini kita lihat perang terhadap KPK melanjutkan. They are facing four pretrial motions filed by four anti graft suspects. What a farce.
No doubt there will be many more twists and turns as the case plays out and the predatory elites on trial writhe in further desperation.
'Pemerhati anak Australia kunjungi lapas Kutoarjo,' by Ivan Aditya, February 2015.
The Indonesia Institute's Colin Singer visited an Indonesian prison and was surprised to see constructive efforts to reform the young inmates.
'People with a disability should be included as equal partners in disaster planning,' by Michelle Villeneuve, March 2015.
People with a disability are four times more likely to die in the event of a natural disaster than the general population. In disaster prone Indonesia, a new program is being undertaken where disabled people are being surveyed about disaster preparation.
'Better starve than borrow,' by Graham Duncan, March2015.
Bamboo Microcredit has changed lives in Indonesia, but it started out as a crazy idea. Read about it here.
By Maria Rita Career diplomat Paul Grigson has been appointed as Australian
Ambassador to Indonesia, replacing Greg Moriarty who is bound to leave
the country this late December.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot appointed the deputy secretary
of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the ambassador amid
the politically-sensitive climate between both countries.
The last two cases disrupting the ties between the two countries were
the repatriation of asylum seekers on boats to Indonesian waters and
the exposure of espionage on former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and a string of Indonesian officials.
As reported by Sydney Morning Herald on December 2, 2014, Paul Grigson, an ex-journalist with the AAP
news wire, was expected to boost the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
Grigson was assigned to encourage Indonesia, as the ASEAN leader, to
take part in addressing tensions in the South China Sea.
Grigson has known ASEAN Countries well, since he has recently run the
Southeast Asia division of DFAT in Canberra. He was also the Australian
Ambassador to Thailand in 2008-2010 and to Rangoon (Myanmar) in
2003-2004. This article originally appeared 23 March in Tempo.
In the last couple of days, Tangerang residents received a chain of
'terror' through text messages via cellphones from a sender that claimed
he/she was a member of the Islamic Nation of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
A
number of threats had been made by the 'terrorist', who claimed his
origins is from East Lampung. Starting from an airplane bomb at the
Soekarno-Hatta airport, until a death threat towards President Joko
Widodo (Jokowi).
The terror began when a text message delivered
from the number 085758905xxx on Wednesday, March 18, in which was
written: "Lufthansa aircraft of Jakarta-Berlin route skid off the runway
during takeoff at the Soekarno-Hatta airport at 10:25am passengers all
dead. Mr Nur Rakhman, Atc Soekarno-Hatta Officer 085758905xxx".
But
after the authority went to confirm the text message, the info was
discovered to be false report. "The info is unreliable, the source of it
is unclear," said Yudis Tiawan, the Manager of Public Relations and
Protocol of Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Yudis also confirmed that the info
was a hoax.
Commissioner Martinus Sitompul, head of Public
Relations of Jakarta Police, stated that the Police is currently
investigaring the source of the text message. "We are investigating the
number," he said to Tempo on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
When the
number was being contacted, it sent more text messages, such as: "We
will kill all Police forces. Just you wait and see. We, ISIS members,
are all sick of you... Jokowi should also die."
Another text
message wrote: "We are not fooling around. We, ISIS, will destroy the
National Police, Attorney General, and the skinny president. We have
declared that drugs destroy our generation, whereas drugs also gave
people spirit. If you want to die then just die, not the drugs. As ISIS
members, we were named as rebels, but we only recruited, we also paid
them to join us. You acted as if you are self-righteous . Take a look at
the corruptors, why are you all sitting around for."
Another
one also wrote: "We have instructed our member to do a preparation to
destroy you all. We are from East Lampung, our HQ is in Sumur Kucing,
East Lampung."
Mulyadi, a 40-year-old Tangerang residents who
also received the text messages, expressed his shock. "The sender of
these messages is a complete nutcase," he uttered.
According to
Martinus Sitompul, if the culprit has been found, he/she will be subject
to criminial act. "We will apprehend the culprit based on Electronic
Transaction Information Law," he said.
This article originally appeared 22 March in Tempo.
President
Joko "Jokowi" Widodo accepted on Thursday the credentials of new
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson, who was among six
foreign envoys arriving for their new assignments in Jakarta.
Committed to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put
aside the current strained relationship between the two countries, which
was caused by the Indonesia's plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted
of drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony, Jokowi reminded the
new envoys not to let Indonesia's execution policy hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also accepted the credentials
of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson
of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of
Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
"[During the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should
not be hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know
about," Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the
Australian department of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian
Ambassador to Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the
foreign affairs minister from 2007 to 2008.
He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar and was Australia's special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran
and Chan, but Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the
execution plan, turning down Canberra's offers of a prisoner swap and of
bearing the cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticise the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January
after Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included
citizens of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of
Indonesian ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the
government's firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte's family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M.
Prasetyo, said on Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would
take place in the near future, as the country's judiciary was still
processing appeals and case reviews for some of those set to be
executed. Prasetyo said the government had established no deadline for
the executions and also denied that the delay was due to foreign
pressure.
On Thursday, Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic
issues, including a potential co-operation with New Zealand on
geothermal plant construction in Indonesia.
"The technology related to geothermal [energy] is not easy [to
learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of geothermal energy,"
Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in Naypyitaw, he offered
an investment partnership for the construction of geothermal plants to
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/indonesia-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy#sthash.nJLQGhhk.dpuf
President
Joko "Jokowi" Widodo accepted on Thursday the credentials of new
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson, who was among six
foreign envoys arriving for their new assignments in Jakarta.
Committed to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put
aside the current strained relationship between the two countries, which
was caused by the Indonesia's plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted
of drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony, Jokowi reminded the
new envoys not to let Indonesia's execution policy hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also accepted the credentials
of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson
of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of
Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
"[During the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should
not be hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know
about," Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the
Australian department of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian
Ambassador to Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the
foreign affairs minister from 2007 to 2008.
He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar and was Australia's special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran
and Chan, but Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the
execution plan, turning down Canberra's offers of a prisoner swap and of
bearing the cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticise the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January
after Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included
citizens of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of
Indonesian ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the
government's firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte's family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M.
Prasetyo, said on Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would
take place in the near future, as the country's judiciary was still
processing appeals and case reviews for some of those set to be
executed. Prasetyo said the government had established no deadline for
the executions and also denied that the delay was due to foreign
pressure.
On Thursday, Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic
issues, including a potential co-operation with New Zealand on
geothermal plant construction in Indonesia.
"The technology related to geothermal [energy] is not easy [to
learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of geothermal energy,"
Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in Naypyitaw, he offered
an investment partnership for the construction of geothermal plants to
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/indonesia-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy#sthash.nJLQGhhk.dpuf
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
,
Jokowi put aside the current strained relationship between the two
countries, which was caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with
the executions of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have
been convicted of drug crimes. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
,
Jokowi put aside the current strained relationship between the two
countries, which was caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with
the executions of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have
been convicted of drug crimes. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
,
Jokowi put aside the current strained relationship between the two
countries, which was caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with
the executions of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have
been convicted of drug crimes. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
mmitted
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
nt
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo accepted on Thursday the credentials of new
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson, who was among six
foreign envoys arriving for their new assignments in Jakarta.
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo accepted on Thursday the credentials of new
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson, who was among six
foreign envoys arriving for their new assignments in Jakarta.
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo accepted on Thursday the credentials of new
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson, who was among six
foreign envoys arriving for their new assignments in Jakarta.
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo accepted on Thursday the credentials of new
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson, who was among six
foreign envoys arriving for their new assignments in Jakarta.
Committed
to maintaining good relations with Australia, Jokowi put aside the
current strained relationship between the two countries, which was
caused by the Indonesia’s plan to move ahead with the executions of
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who have been convicted of
drug crimes.
During a brief conversation after the ceremony,
Jokowi reminded the new envoys not to let Indonesia’s execution policy
hamper good ties.
Along with ambassador Grigson, Jokowi also
accepted the credentials of Maria Lumen Banzon Isleta of the
Philippines, Trevor Donald Matheson of New Zealand, Judit Nemeth-Pach of
Hungary, Victor Luis Ng Chan of Panama and Valiollah Mohammadi
Nasrabadi of Iran.
A Philippine national, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, is also on the list of death row inmates set to be executed.
“[During
the discussion] I said [to them that diplomatic ties] should not be
hampered by such matters of [...] such matters we all know about,”
Jokowi said, declining to mention the executions directly.
Ambassador
Grigson, who was a former deputy secretary of the Australian department
of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australian Ambassador to
Thailand from 2008 to 2010 and chief of staff to the foreign affairs
minister from 2007 to 2008. He has also served as ambassador to Myanmar
and was Australia’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan
in 2014.
Philippine ambassador Isleta is a former ambassador to Laos.
Australia
has made repeated calls for mercy on behalf of Sukumaran and Chan, but
Indonesia has insisted on pressing ahead with the execution plan,
turning down Canberra’s offers of a prisoner swap and of bearing the
cost of keeping the two Australians in prison for life.
Unlike Australia, the Philippine government has pledged not to criticize the death penalty leveled against Veloso.
Brazil
and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in January after
Indonesia executed a group of six drug offenders that included citizens
of those two countries.
Another Brazilian national, Rodrigo Gularte, was among those scheduled for executions along with Sukumaran, Chan and Veloso.
Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff rejected the credentials of Indonesian
ambassador-designate Toto Riyanto in February following the government’s
firm stance on the execution plan.
Gularte’s family has pleaded for clemency on the grounds of mental illness.
High-ranking
Jakarta officials, including Attorney General M. Prasetyo, said on
Wednesday that no executions of drug convicts would take place in the
near future, as the country’s judiciary was still processing appeals and
case reviews for some of those set to be executed. Prasetyo said the
government had established no deadline for the executions and also
denied that the delay was due to foreign pressure.
On Thursday,
Jokowi said he and the ambassadors discussed economic issues, including a
potential cooperation with New Zealand on geothermal plant construction
in Indonesia.
“The technology related to geothermal [energy] is
not easy [to learn], and New Zealand is a master in the field of
geothermal energy,” Jokowi said. Last year, during the ASEAN Summit in
Naypyitaw, he offered an investment partnership for the construction of
geothermal plants to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Ambassador
Matheson is a former ambassador to Italy. - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/ri-accepts-credentials-new-australian-envoy.html#sthash.H4gJWz0x.dpuf
Pemerhati anak warga negara
Australia, Colin Singer mengunjungi Lembaga Permasyarakatan (Lapas) Anak
Kutoarjo, Selasa (13/01/2015). Sekretaris LSM bidang hukum Justice for Peace
(JP) di negara bagian Australia Barat itu kagum dengan pola pembinaan anak didik
(andik) Lapas Kutoarjo.
Dalam kunjungannya, Colin
disuguhi berbagai fakta tentang kesibukan andik Lapas Anak Kutoarjo dalam
berlatih usaha, mendalami seni serta pendidikan formal. Bahkan Colin juga
membeli batik hasil karya para andik. "Bagi saya ini aneh, baru pertama
kali, namun saya sangat kagum melihat apa yang ada di Kutoajo," ucap Colin
menjawab pertanyaan KRjogja.com.
Kondisi tersebut berbeda
dengan di Australia. Lapas anak di Australia dibuat dengan sistem keamanan yang
ketat dan tidak ada kegiatan pembinaan seperti di Indonesia. Dalam peraturan di
Australia, lanjutnya, lapas memang dibuat untuk memberikan efek jera bagi
narapidana.
Untuk fasilitas, Lapas di
Australia dibangun dengan anggaran yang besar, sehingga setiap kamar tahanan
penuh dengan berbagai sarana untuk keperluan anak. Kendati demikian, kondisi
itu tidak menjamin penghuninya bisa direhabilitasi dan bisa kembali ke
masyarakat dengan baik. "Kebanyakan mereka terlibat kejahatan setelah
keluar dan kembali lagi ke lapas," ungkapnya.
Menurutnya, temuan tersebut akan menjadi bahan
diskusi antar aktivis di lembaganya. "Ini menarik, akan menjadi bahan
diskusi dan saya sangat tertarik untuk bisa menerapkannya di Australia,"
tuturnya. This article originally appeared 13 January in Kedaulatan Rakyat.
By Michelle Villeneuve Between March 14 and 18, the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
in Sendai, Japan, will be accessible and inclusive for people with
disability. The meeting will discuss the post-2015 framework to build
community resilience to disasters.
The conference’s Disability Caucus is working with local organisers
to ensure people with disability are among the expected 8000 delegates.
World leaders should use this opportunity to learn from people with disability about how natural disaster affects their lives.
Highly vulnerable
During natural disasters, the daily inequalities that people with
disability face are amplified. As the first to be left behind and the
last to be rescued, their rights to protection and safety are often
denied. People with disability are twice to four times more likely to be
killed or injured in natural disasters than the general population. Deaf
people may not hear early warning systems. People who cannot see, who
have trouble walking, or who rely on wheeled mobility might find it
difficult to flee and find protection.
In emergencies, equipment that helps them move or communicate might
be left behind. Life-sustaining supports and technologies may not
function.
In natural disasters, people with disability are also less likely to
receive aid. They have greater difficulty coping during recovery from
natural disasters. Inaccessible emergency shelters and inadequate
services further increase their risk.
To reduce their vulnerability during natural disasters, people with
disability should be included the planning and preparation for disaster
risk reduction (DRR).
Towards inclusion
Policymakers have largely ignored the potential for people with
disability to contribute to DRR planning and preparation. Without this
input their specific needs are often unmet.
To find out how to fulfil these needs, practical solutions should
come from people with disability themselves. To do so, they should be
included in all phases of planning, response and recovery from natural
disasters.
One of the ways to include people with disability in DRR planning and
preparation is by enabling them to take leadership. For example, in
Indonesia, the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and
Policy (CDRP) and Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB), a German
non-governmental organisation, are training people with disability to
administer surveys to their peers.
Indonesia is one of the world’s most disaster prone countries.
Involving people with disability in DRR in the volcanic archipelago is
extremely important as 80% of Indonesia’s districts are prone to natural
disaster. In Yogyakarta last month, 30 people learnt to administer the
Disability Inclusive Disaster Resilience Tool, a survey developed by
researchers at the University of Sydney. The program was supported by
the Australian government.
During the meeting a blind woman administered the survey in Braille
to a colleague. A deaf woman suggested adapting the tool to be used
through sign language interpretation.
Some participants with mobility impairments administered the survey
in Bahasa Indonesia, the country’s official language. Other participants
used Javanese, a common dialect in the Java province. They represent the wide variety of languages and cultures of
Indonesia. It is important to capture the diversity of disability
experience in any disaster planning and preparation initiative.
Following the training, local Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO)
will use this survey to gather information about the lived experience of
disaster from people with disability in diverse communities across
Indonesia.
So far 197 people have participated in the survey. Next month,
researchers will discuss findings with DPOs, DRR agencies and government
officials to translate findings into DRR practice that includes the
needs of people with disability.
Data gathered from people with disability and their carers is
important to better understand the specific vulnerability of people with
disability to disaster in Indonesia. Disability organisations can use
this information to better represent the varied needs of people with
disability when working with DRR agencies and government officials on
disability inclusive DRR strategies.
Michelle Villeneuve is a lecturer in Occupational Therapy Discipline at the University of Sydney. Her article originally appeared 13 March in The Conversation.
In 2007 knockabout guitar-strummer, tour
guide and sometime barista Zulfikar (Fikar) could usually be found serving
guests at Bukittinggi’s Bedudal Café, a backpackers’ favorite in the West
Sumatra city.
Enter former public servant Peter Johnston,
seemingly just another footloose Australian trying to understand Indonesia. But
this encounter would change not just the two men’s lives but those of hundreds
of Indonesians.
Peter was no wide-eyed newbie. His
archipelagic wanderings began in 2004.He’d formally studied the language in Yogyakarta.So when he harangued against inequalities it
was clear his concerns were not freshly found.
He figured the poor were forever shackled
to poverty without capital. In his homeland the state welfare system where he’d
worked as an administrator and social worker, helped with schemes to kick-start
people’s lives. But this was Indonesia where indifference to the plight of the
lowly was endemic in banks and government.
So how could the folks in the Lucky Country
next door help their less privileged neighbors without being patronizing?Click light bulb moment: Microcredit.
Great idea – but bars everywhere sweep up
grand schemes along with the fag ends and plastic trash come closing time.
Despite his scepticism Fikar kept his mind
open. Over three days and a few more coffees
the two men devised a small no-interest loan scheme to help poor entrepreneurs
start a business.
It would be called Bamboo because, Fikar
reasoned, the plant is strong, resistant, sustainable and multipurpose.His mother had even used it to make clothes
during the Japanese occupation of the 1940s.
But then, as usual, the Westerner left.
“I thought it would all be forgotten once
Peter moved on,” he said at a Bamboo board meeting in Bandung.The Australian members used their own money
to pay for travel and accommodation.
“In any case, I had no experience of
banking and the credit system – only its faults.”He’s involved in a long legal case fighting a
company that allegedly upped its interest rates without consultation.
What he did have was local knowledge and understanding
of the hand-to-mouth way the poor in Indonesia live and the pressures on family
budgets.A smart kid, the youngest of
ten children born in Bukittinggi, his ambition was to become a lawyer.
Reality hit: No money, no study.Plan B – use wits.He picked up English from the tourists,
rapidly became fluent and opened a guide business, Lite n’ Easy. When the haze
from burning forests drove overseas visitors away he learned how to fix
computers. It was a fickle life.
“I had zero capital and rented a
motorbike,” he said. “I was just stuck.”
is mother
His mother had warned hiom never to go into debH
His mother had raised him to beware of debt.“Better you don’t eat than borrow,” she’d
said, “avoid loan sharks.”
These are the high-interest unofficial
credit suppliers that cruise the meat and vegetable markets, They typically
charge Rp 200,000 (US $ 17) to lend Rp 1 million (US $ 83) over 40 days) keeping
small businesspeople afloat, or savaging them in a sea of debt - depending on
your economic philosophy.
For Fikar there was no ambiguity – but much
doubt about the chances of undermining a harsh lending system embedded in the
culture.
“I wanted to do something to help the poor
get out of their debt cycle,” he said. “There’s no leadership from the
government – it’s just about impossible for small people to get ahead.
“I’m a bit of a rebel and despise a
bureaucracy that seems to believe that if you can make it more difficult, then
why not?How can you fight an elephant?”
The answer came when Peter made good on his
promise with a draft for AUD $500 (Rp 5 million). Fikar, 40, was
astonished:“I told my friends to pinch
me."
“I lived near the market and regularly passed
a café that never had food on display after midday.I knew the owner and wondered how he could
live like that.So I asked what he’d do
with a no-interest loan.
“Of course he wanted to know who was behind
it. Why would Australians want to help when Indonesians refused?
“Eventually we lent him Rp 1.5 million (US
$125) which he spent on building stock.Now he has a bigger shop and his wife has a sewing machine which she
uses to make money.”
So Bamboo Micro Credit was born.It’s now an independent secular foundation
taking donations from Australians and channelling these to borrowers through
Fikar in Bukittinggi and agents in Malang (East Java) and Bandung (West Java).Hundreds have been helped as the loans are
repaid and the money recirculated through new clients.
“We are all smart in Indonesia, we are not
buffaloes,” Fikar said. “We have so much potential but are being held back
because the banks don’t want to know anyone whose collar is not smooth.
“Not everyone is right for a BMC loan.They must have plans for a sustainable
business, so inevitably some people hate me, but I’m not going to be bothered
by their negative energy. We now charge an administration fee of ten per cent
but the loans remain interest free.
“We’ve lost a little – but more than 90 per
cent of borrowers repay.If they default
their friends and family won’t get loans in future, so there’s social pressure.
Yet we have to be tolerant and understand there are other demands on families’
budgets, like paying for weddings, funerals and Idul Fitri celebrations.Sometimes we have to accept a slow payer so
knowing the culture is important. Most applicants are women.
“I
urge people just to be honest and tell me if there are problems with
repayments.Misfortune can happen to us
all – but don’t hide from me.I’m not
Dracula.
“The Australian board doesn’t interfere and
I only consult Peter if there’s a tricky decision to make.
“Now I think I might get to university.Then I can really understand the law and use
that knowledge to protect the poor.”
The
Birdman of Bunulrejo
Even as a small boy Farit Hermansya was an
accomplished gunman.
Together with his mates and an air rifle
he’d travel to forests near Blitar in East Java and shoot every perching bird
within range.
“I killed hundreds,” he said.“The numbers are countless.”
Then one day he had an epiphany. He’d winged
a bird.It looked in the little one’s
eyes knowing it was about to die. There was a brief contact between two living
creatures.Instead of wringing the
bird’s neck he tried to save its life.
Farit failed, but at that moment he turned
from killer to conservationist and began breeding exotic birds, mainly little
finches and parakeets.
It’s a hobby gaining popularity as
Indonesians get more disposable income, with many coming to Farit’s home in the
Malang kampong of Bunulrejo.Not all
buyers had cages, so he reckoned business might prosper if he supplied both
bird and lodging.
His business plan called for Rp 5 million
(US$400) to buy wood and tools.But
where to find such a sum?
“I knew it was pointless going to the
banks,” he said.“They want security
like the certificate for my home or motorbike.I have a friend who works as a debt collector – he warned me against
even trying.”
But a neighbor told him about a non-government
community development organization called Daya Pertiwi that also acted as a Bamboo
Microcredit agent.
Farit, 29, scaled back his plans by buying
tools second hand and scavenging timber.He was given a ten month Rp 1 million (US$83) no interest loan which
he’s repaying at Rp 100,000 a month.
A big cage can cost Rp 170,000 (US$14) but
most average half that sum.The birds
are more expensive with orange colored plumage fetching Rp 650,000 (US$52).
“I don’t expect there’ll be a need to
borrow again once this loan is repaid,” said Farit.“I can expand with the extra money I’m now
earning. I tell every buyer not to kill.I still feel guilty about the birds I’ve shot.”
Duncan Graham, a journalist and writer, lives in Malang East Java.
