TREE PLANTING MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT FOOD SOVEREIGNTY PROGRAM by Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 30, 2014 (Antara) - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo attended a national commemoration of Indonesian Tree Planting Day (HMPI) 2014 and National Tree Planting Month (BMN) held in Tempursari village, Wonogiri District, Central Java, on Nov 29.

         Some 37,000 tree seedlings were planted, including a teakwood tree by Jokowi and Magnolia × alba, also known as the White Champaca, by First Lady Iriana Widodo, at the venue of the commemoration ceremony.

         "Preserved Forests to Support Food Sovereignty, Water and Renewable Energy" was the theme of this year's HMPI and BMN activities, according to Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya.

INDONESIA REITERATES UNWAVERING SUPPORT TO PALESTINE by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 29, 2014 (Antara) --  The Indonesian government organized an international seminar themed "Unwavering Support of Indonesia to Palestine and the Role of the United Nations" at the office of the foreign ministry on November 28.  
   The event, which included a photo exhibition dubbed "Our Hearts, Our Minds and Our Hands," was held to observe the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People that falls on November 29.

        "Indonesia has, and will always, stand by Palestinian people in their fight for their right to build an independent and sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital city," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi said in her opening remarks.  

INDONESIAN, FILIPINO BUSINESSMEN ENCOURAGED TO "RE-DISCOVER" ENDURING TIES by Fardah

  Jakarta, Nov 29, 2014 (Antara) - Sixty five years ago, the Philippines opened a consulate in Jakarta, and soon Indonesia followed the move by establishing a consulate in Manila,  to mark the official diplomatic ties between the two neighboring countries.

         "For 65 years, our two countries have never gone through any serious misunderstanding. This says much about the friendly neighborliness that we have sustained since the start of our official ties in 1949," Roberto G Manalo, Charge d'Affaires of the Philippines Embassy in Jakarta said in his opening remarks in Investment Conference 2014 themed "The Philippines and Indonesia at 65:Partners in Growth" organized by the embassy on Nov. 27, 2014.

          Indonesia and the Philippines are perfect to be partners in business, but in reality it has not been the case, as the statistic shows that bilateral trade and investment value is very low, according to him.

65 TAHUN HUBUNGAN INDONESIA-FILIPINA MITRA DALAM PERTUMBUHAN Oleh Fardah

    Jakarta, 28/11/2014 (Antara) - Pada 24 November 1949, 65 tahun yang lalu, Filipina membuka kantor konsulatnya di Jalan Imam Bonjol, Jakarta, yang menandai terjalinnya hubungan diplomasi resmi kedua negara dan tak lama kemudian Indonesia pun membuka konsulat di Manila.

         Kedua bangsa memiliki sejumlah kesamaan secara historis, etnis, budaya, geografis dan ekonomi yang merupakan aset yang dapat dikembangkan bagi kesejahteraan rakyat masing-masing negara.

         "Filipina selalu menghargai hubungan bilateral dengan Indonesia. Selama 65 tahun menjalin hubungan diplomatik, tidak pernah terjadi kesalahpahaman yang serius antara Indonesia dan Filipina," kata  Kuasa Usaha Filipina di Jakarta, Roberto C. Manalo pada acara "Konperensi Investasi 2014 antara Filipina dan Indonesia @65: Mitra dalam Pertumbuhan" yang diselenggarakan di Jakarta, 27 November 2014.

JOKOWI FINALLY ALLOWS MINISTERS TO ATTEND MEETINGS WITH PARLIAMENT by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 26,2014 (Antara) - The House of Representatives (DPR) was recently "shocked" by Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto's letter containing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's instruction to ministers and other high ranking officials to skip all meetings with lawmakers before the Parliament resolves its internal problems.

         In the letter No.SE-12/Seskab/XII/2014 and dated Nov. 4, 2014,  all ministers,  the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, the head of the National Police, the TNI chiefs of staff, the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the attorney general, were asked to abstain from responding to any invitation by the DPR to have a hearing or working meeting with them.

GOVT TRIES TO MITIGATE IMPACTS OF FUEL PRICE HIKE ON POOR by Fardah

   Jakarta, Nov 26, 2014 (Antara) -- The administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been trying to convince the public that the recent move to hike the prices of fuels by Rp2,000 per liter will eventually help improve their welfare.

         When announcing the price hike on November 17, the president stated that the large amount of funds that were allocated for fuel oil subsidy could be diverted to aid farmers by providing them with irrigation facilities, seeds, and fertilizers, or to help fishermen by providing them with fishing boats, machines, and cold storage units.

         He believed that diverting the subsidies to those productive sectors was necessary for the welfare of all people, the poor and the rich alike.      

INDONESIA BETTER PREPARED FOR TSUNAMIS by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 25, 2014 (Antara) - For most Indonesians, the memories of the deadly tsunami, which devastated Aceh Darussalam Province and Nias Ditrict (North Sumatra Province) just one day after Christmas about ten years ago, are still fresh in their minds.

         The tsunami, which was triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Aceh on Dec. 26, 2004, has been the most devastating one in living memory. It affected 18 countries in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa, killed more than 250 thousand people in a single day, and left more than 1.7 million people homeless.

         In Aceh and Nias alone, the tsunami caused wide-scale destruction, killed more than 200 thousand people and rendered some one million people homeless.

SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN STILL RAMPANT IN INDONESIA by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 23 (Antara) - Nearly 25 years ago, a global promise was made to uphold and protect the rights of children at all costs to ensure their all-round growth and well-being, so that they achieve their maximum potential.

        The pledge was marked with the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the UN General Assembly on 20 November, 1989.   
   The Children's Rights Convention stipulates four general principles: non-discrimination, the child's best interests, their right to life, survival, and development, and respect for their views.

INDONESIA HOSPITAL IN GAZA AWAITS MEDICAL SUPPLIES by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 22, 2014 (Antara) -- The construction of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, Palestine, has been completed, but the supply of medical equipment and facilities is being hampered by traffic restrictions on people and goods in areas bordering Gaza and Egypt.

         "The physical construction of the hospital is completed, but it has yet to be stocked with medical equipment," Dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad, a member of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia presidium, said.

         The Indonesia Hospital, first initiated in 2009, has been built in Bayt Lahiya, North Gaza, with funding from the Indonesian public. It is expected to be opened in February 2015.

SUMATRA, JAVA HIT BY FLOODS IN EARLY RAINY SEASON by Fardah

  Jakarta, Nov 21, 2014 (Antara) - As Indonesia begins to experience heavy rains, several provinces of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, West Sumatra, North Sumatra, Riau, and Bengkulu on the Sumatra Islands, and Jakarta and West Java on Java Island, have reported floods.

         In Aceh, thousands of villagers in Menggamat, South Aceh District, have been isolated since Nov. 19, 2014, as a landslide buried a seven-kilometer-long road there.

FLOODS HIT JAKARTA AS RAINY SEASON JUST STARTS By Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 20, 2014 (Antara)-  The rainy season has just started in Jakarta, but parts of the capital city were already flooded, and  some 17,837 inhabitants of East Jakarta and South Jakarta were displaced due to the flooding.

         Kampung Pulo, which is densely populated area located along Ciliwung River's bank in East Jakarta, was the worst hit by flood waters that reached a height of up to four meters on early Nov. 20, 2014.

         Floods forced 17,569 residents of Kampung Pulo, Bidara China, and Cawang in East Jakarta to seek temporary shelters, Chandra Gunawan of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) said.

INTERIOR MINISTER HALTS IMPLEMENTATION OF E-ID CARD PROJECT by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 19, 2014 (Antara) - Since the beginning, the implementation of electronic-Identification (ID) card project has faced many problems such as late arrival of data recording equipment and corruption allegations.

        The launch of the e-ID card or locally known e-KTP project in several cities simultaneously had been delayed by the home affairs ministry due to various obstacles.

        The launch had initially been scheduled for August 1, 2011. But, later it was carried out in early 2012.

        The ministry had allocated Rp6.3 trillion ($642 million) from the state budget for the introduction of e-KTP nationwide, with the target of providing at least 170 million people with e-KTP by late 2012.

        Indonesia`s total population is around 257 million, but only those above 17 years old are eligible for e-KTP.

"SAVE AL AQSA" RALLIES STAGED IN JAKARTA, MATARAM, BATAM by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 17, 2014 (Antara) - At least three rallies protesting against Israeli violations and violence at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem were staged in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta, Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara) and Batam (Riau Islands) on November 16.

        Indonesian Muslims are very concerned about the situation related to Al Aqsa Mosque, with radical Jewish settlers, under the protection of heavily-armed Israeli officers, often breaking into the premises.

        The Jewish extremists caused damages inside Al Aqsa, and Israeli security officers blocked all Muslims from praying in the ancient mosque, which is Islam's third-most sacred place of worship after Masjidil Haram in Mecca and Nabawi Mosque in Medina.

        Al Aqsa is also the second mosque to ever be built on earth and the first qibla (the direction they face while praying) of Muslims.

JOKOWI'S MARITIME AXIS VISION ATTRACTS SOME NATIONS by Fardah

  Jakarta, Nov 16, 2014 (Antara) - A number of nations have expressed their interest in establishing cooperation in maritime-related activities with the Indonesian government since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo revealed his maritime axis vision a month ago.

    Among the attracted nations are the United States, Japan, China, Australia, the Netherlands, and France.

    Jokowi received more maritime cooperation offers from the major nations when he attended the APEC Forum in Beijing, China, on Nov. 10-11; the 25th ASEAN Summit and the Ninth East Asian Summit (EAS) in Myanmar on Nov. 12-13; and the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 15-16, 2014.

    During his debut at those summits, Jokowi showed case his vision of transforming Indonesia into a global maritime axis before several world leaders.

JAKARTA CLAIMS TO BE BETTER PREPARED TO TACKLE FLOODS by Fardah

  Jakarta, Nov 15, 2014 (Antara) -- Jakarta is notorious for its traffic jams and floods during the rainy season, which usually begins late in the year and lasts until February or March.

          In January 2014 alone, when the season reached its peak, floods claimed 23 lives, displaced tens of thousands of people and inflicted losses amounting to some one trillion rupiah in Jakarta.

         Last year, Jakarta suffered material losses worth Rp20 trillion, or US$2 billion, as a result of floods

AHOK'S LONG AND WINDING ROAD TOWARD GUBERNATORIAL SEAT by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 15, 2014 (Antara) - The inauguration of Jakarta governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as Indonesia's seventh president on October 20, 2014 does not automatically pave the way for his deputy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, alias Ahok, to assume Jakarta's top executive job.

         Jokowi, former mayor of Solo, and Ahok, former district head of East Belitung, were sworn in, respectively, as Jakarta's governor and deputy governor on October 5, 2012.

         Two years later, on Oct. 6, 2014, Jokowi resigned from his gubernatorial seat, after he won the presidential election in 2014.

         But, Ahok's ascension was not automatic, as Jakarta's legislators from the Great Indonesia Coalition (KIH) and the Red and White Coalition (KMP) have differing interpretations about the laws on the governorship.

JOKOWI SHOWCASES HIS MARITIME AXIS VISION ON WORLD STAGE by Fardah

   Jakarta, Nov 14, 2014 (Antara) - New Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, during his debut at the APEC Summit and the East Asian Summit (EAS), highlighted his vision of transforming Indonesia into a global maritime axis before several world leaders.
    "Indonesia, a maritime nation, wants to become a global maritime axis, which can bring prosperity to its people," he affirmed during the plenary session of the 9th EAS held to coincide with the ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on Nov. 13, 2014.

        As a nation located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indonesia must affirm itself as the world's maritime axis, he stated. 

INDONESIA SHOULD APPEAL TO UN OVER ISRAELI AGGRESSION AGAINST AQSA by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 13, 2014 (Antara) - Israeli police clashed with Palestinians last week at the entrance to al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third most sacred place, after what Palestinians termed an "illegal storming of the mosque" by Israeli extremists who were protected by some 300 Israeli security forces, Today's Zaman reported.        The incident is just one in a series of actions, incidents of violence and violations committed by Israeli forces and Jewish lunatics towards the compound of Al Aqsa, the second mosque built on Earth and the first Qibla (direction for prayers) of Muslims.         The violence and violations have elicited condemnations from leaders of Muslim majority countries such as Jordan and Turkey, as well as the Indonesian public.

MARITIME MINISTRY, NAVY TO JOINTLY FIGHT ILLEGAL FISHING by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 8, 2014 (Antara) - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti recently voiced her concerns about Indonesia being the only country in the world to allow access to foreign boats to fish in its waters.

         "Only in our country can foreign boats fish," she stated in Jakarta, on Nov. 8, 2014.

          She cited the example of Australia, which has issued a policy to close access to 70 percent of its coral barrier reef area since 2009.

         The minister was of the viewpoint that implementing such a policy was necessary to preserve the nation's fish stocks.

SAIL TOMINI TO PROMOTE CENTRAL SULAWESI AS INTERNATIONAL TOURIST DESTINATION By Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 9, 2014 (Antara) - Next year will be the turn of Central Sulawesi province to be promoted as an international tourist destination through the maritime event, Sail Tomini 2015.

         The exact date of the Sail Tomini 2015 event has yet to be decided, but it will be held in the Parigi Moutong district of Central Sulawesi---a heterogeneous region where local tribes such as Tomini, Tinombo, and Moutong live together with migrants from other islands, including Bali.

INDONESIA AIMS TO BECOME WORLD'S LARGEST COCOA PRODUCER by Fardah

 Jakarta, Nov 7, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia, currently the world's third-largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast and Ghana, is leaving no stone unturned to become the global leader in cocoa production in the next three years.

        This ambition was recently revealed during the visit of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to Sulawesi, which is one of the country's major cocoa producers. 
    Jokowi urged the cocoa farmers to work harder, so that the country could surpass Ivory Coast and Ghana, the two African countries that have been the world's first- and second-largest cocoa producers.

         Africa accounts for 70 percent of the global cocoa production, with Indonesia being the largest producer outside Africa.

INDONESIA STRONGLY CONDEMNS ISRAELI VIOLENCE IN AL AQSA MOSQUE by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 6, 2014 (Antara) - Ongoing violations and violence by Israeli Zionist Jews in the Al Aqsa compound have been condemned by the Indonesian government.

         The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a statement following a total closure of Al Aqsa Mosque by Israel recently, said that Israel must allow access to the mosque and guarantee the safety of Muslims carrying out their prayers in the Al-Aqsa mosque.

         The government has called the Israeli move a violation against human rights, and particularly the religious freedom of all Muslims in Jerusalem, Palestine.