REGIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS IN PAPUA RELATIVELY SMOOTH, PEACEFUL by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 15, 2017 (Antara) - Although reports on the implementation of gubernatorial election in Jakarta overshadowed simultaneous regional head lections (pilkada) in 100 other regions across the country on Feb 15, Papua still received a special attention because the province is considered risky in terms of security.
          Eleven districts and cities in Papua held pilkada, with the number of eligible voters reaching 1,445,976, and the number of candidates reaching 38 pairs.  
     The 11 regions were Jayapura District, Mappi, Sarmi, Nduga, Tolikara, Intan Jaya, Lany Jaya, Dogiai, Puncak Jaya, Yapen Island, and Jayapura City.
         Voting was held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time across 3,864 polling stations throughout the province.
         However, voter turnout during the implementation of the mayoral election in Jayapura City, the capital of Papua, was less than 60 percent, which is considered quite low, according to Governor of Papua Lukas Enembe.
          It appears that several residents of Jayapura were not aware of the mechanism of the pilkada, with only one pair of mayoral and deputy mayoral candidates, the governor stated.
         "I think the General Election Commission (KPU) has not done its best in disseminating information on the pilkada, either due to the lack of time or since the city was facing too many problems," he added.
           He also cited the fact that only one pair had taken part in the pilkada in Jayapura City, which might have discouraged several residents from exercising their right to vote.      

INDONESIA FACES MORE HOSTAGE-TAKING CRISES by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 11, 2017 (Antara) - From March to July 2016, Indonesia faced at least five hostage-taking incidents, with a total of 24 Indonesians being kidnapped for ransom by the Abu Sayyaf terror group hiding in the Philippines forests.

         However, most of the captives from the hostage-taking crises were gradually released unharmed until Oct 2016.   
    Four more Indonesians were also kidnapped in two separate incidents before 2016 ended. 
    On Nov 6, 2016, two Indonesian sailors, La Utu bin La Rali (52) and La Hadi bin La Adi (46), were abducted by the same Filipino kidnappers while fishing off Sabah in Malaysian waters.

         The two were taken from different ships by gunmen. La Utu bin La Raali worked on SSK 00520F ship and La Hadi bin La Adi on SN 1154/4F ship of Malaysia.

         The two Indonesians were believed to be held in Sulu region in the Philippines, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said following the kidnapping in Nov 2016.

         "(They are) in Sulu. A day after the kidnapping, I received information from my colleague in the Philippines that they had been taken to Sulu," Retno said.

         Retno did not have any further information on whether they had been taken hostages along with two other Indonesians who were kidnapped earlier by the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines waters.

INDONESIA COMMITTED TO CONTRIBUTING TO UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS by Fardah

   Jakarta, Feb 10, 2017 (Antara) - Indonesia has been participating in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions since 1957 and until now remains committed to contributing to the organization's efforts to maintain peace in the conflict-torn parts of the world.

        The Indonesian government's strong commitment was recently reiterated by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi during a coordination meeting held to discuss the deployment of Indonesian personnel in the UN Peacekeeping Forces.   
   Indonesian peacekeepers play an important role in maintaining international peace and security, according to Marsudi.

        "Indonesia's participation in the UN peacekeeping mission is the implementation of the mandate of the fourth paragraph of the preamble of the 1945 Constitution to create world order and is an integral part of its foreign policy and diplomacy," the minister noted.

        Indonesia is one of the biggest contributors in deploying its security personnel in the UN Peacekeeping Forces, in addition to providing the equipment of its main weaponry system for peace missions in 10 countries.        
   In fact, Indonesia is the tenth-biggest contributor among 124 countries that contribute to the UN Peacekeeping Forces.

HOPING FOR A CALM COOLING-OFF PERIOD OF SIMULTANEOUS "PILKADA" by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 8, 2017 (Antara) - Over 40 million eligible voters are expected to go to polling stations in 101 regions across Indonesia for the upcoming regional head elections, or locally called pilkada, which will take place simultaneously on Feb 15, 2017.
    A total of 337 pairs of candidates will be competing for gubernatorial seats in seven provinces, namely Jakarta, Aceh, Banten, Bangka Belitung, Gorontalo, West Papua and West Sulawesi; mayoral seats in 18 municipalities; and district heads in 76 districts.
         According to information from the General Elections Commission (KPU), which executes the simultaneous pilkada, the elections need at least 45.59 million pieces of ballot papers.
   Of the total, over 22.91 million pieces are for voters in district head and mayoral elections and 22.67 million for voters in governors (provincial head) elections.
         The hustle and bustle of the elections during the campaigning period (from Oct 28, 2016 to Feb 11, 2017) will end soon and a cooling-off period will be imposed from Feb 11 to 14, 2017, to give voters a chance to contemplate on who to vote as their future leaders.
         During the cooling-off period, all candidate pairs, campaign teams, volunteers and supporters must refrain from any activities considered as campaigning activities.      
   Local election commissions have asked the candidates to remove all banners and other campaigning materials in public places.

BANYUWANGI, BEST FESTIVAL CITY IN INDONESIA by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 6, 2017 (Antara) - Banyuwangi District in East Java Province deserves to be called the city of cultural and traditional art festivals for successfully organizing annual festivals since 2012 for tourism purposes.

         Last year, Banyuwangi had planned at least 58 festivals, including 20 new attractions, such as the Canal Rafting Festival, Sailing Ship Festival, Underwater Festival, and Badeng River Tubing Festival, in addition to the Paddy Planting Festival, and Fishery Festival, District Head Abdullah Azwar Anas stated. In 2015, the district had held 38 festivals. 
   This year, Banyuwangi has planned 72 activities to enliven the 2017 Banyuwangi Festival.

        For successfully holding festivals in the last five years, the Tourism Ministry has adjudged Banyuwangi District as the best festival city in Indonesia.

         Tourism Ministry Arief Yahya bestowed the title on Banyuwangi during the launch of the Banyuwangi Festival 2017 in his office in Jakarta on February 3, 2017.

INDONESIA HOPES US WOULD REMAIN OPEN, TOLERANT COUNTRY by Fardah

Jakarta, Jan 4, 2017 (Antara) - Thank God, Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, is not on the list of "Muslim travel ban" executive order signed by new US President Donald Trump on Jan 27, 2017, a week after his presidential inauguration.

            The controversial executive order restricts immigration from a number of Middle Eastern and African countries, temporarily bars most refugees from entering the United States and blocks visas from being issued to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, namely Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

        In response to a press question, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged Indonesians not to worry about the US policy because it would not affect Indonesia.

        "There is no direct impact on Indonesia," Jokowi said recently, adding that, however, the constitutional principles of equality and justice should be pursued.
      Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has advised Indonesian nationals living in the United States to stay calm after the executive order was signed.