Collaboration between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia to counter terror threat must continue: Minister

The suicide bomb attack in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Tuesday is another "tragic, unnecessary loss of life", but it is unlikely to be the last such incident, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday.

That is why the ongoing collaboration between Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia to counter the threat of terrorism in the region must continue, he added.

"The governments at the highest levels are fully committed to continuing this effort," said Dr Balakrishnan. Such effort includes countering terrorism, fundamentalism and extremism and dealing with the flows of young people, both those going from the region to the Middle East and those returning.

Ten people, mostly German nationals, were killed and 15 others injured after a militant from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) blew himself up in Istanbul's busiest tourist district on Tuesday.

"Our condolences and our thoughts are with the families," said Dr Balakrishnan. "But unfortunately it is not likely to be the last such incident.

"And it just shows why we need to pay attention to this, share information, work collectively and effectively across boundaries, because it's a transnational problem (and) a clear and imminent threat to peace and security all over the world."

The minister was speaking to the Singapore media in Jakarta at the end of his two-day inaugural visit to Indonesia as Singapore's top envoy.

Dr Balakrishnan had earlier on Wednesday called on President Joko Widodo.

He also met his Indonesian counterpart, Ms Retno Marsudi, as well as Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, among others on the first day of his visit.

"I would say our relationship with Indonesia is long, deep and multi-faceted and it's a healthy relationship," he told reporters. "In fact the key topics that were discussed focused very much on the economy and how Singapore and Indonesia can collaborate in expanding the scope for investments (and) this builds again on a very good pre-existing track record."

On the subject of the transboundary haze crisis, Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore is keen to resume a bilateral project in Indonesia’s Jambi Province as party of the country’s haze prevention efforts. The initiative had included ways to detect hot spots on a local level, sustainable agriculture and how to deal with and manage hot spots when they arise.

He also said that Mr Joko and Mr Luhut have given him their assurances that they are serious about preventing a repeat of last year’s crisis, which led to record levels of air pollution in the region.

“I accept their assurances, it is coming right from the very top... so let’s work with them and give them some space to make this happen,” he added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also working towards Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meeting Mr Joko for their first Leaders' Retreat, "perhaps in the middle or this year".

The meeting between the two leaders is set to be held in Indonesia after Mr Joko called on Mr Lee in Singapore during his introductory visit last year after he was elected in October 2014.

On what his expectations are in regards to how the two countries will address various outstanding bilateral issues, Dr Balakrishnan said: "There will always be issues, we will always do our best to resolve them... but like I said, we will try our best not to allow differences to slow us down, to impede the momentum for growth because we actually have a very full agenda, many things to do together." (kes)

Aid convoys reach 3 Syria communities besieged for months

Aid convoys reach 3 Syria communities besieged for months

Aid convoys delivered long-awaited food, medicine and other supplies to three besieged communities Monday, part of a U.N.-supported operation to help tens of thousands of civilians cut off for months by the war in Syria.

Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25.

The U.N. Security Council took up the issue Monday. The U.N. says 4.5 million Syrians are living in besieged or hard-to-reach areas and desperately need humanitarian aid, with civilians prevented from leaving and aid workers blocked from bringing in food, medicine, fuel and other supplies.

It will take several days to distribute the aid in the town of Madaya, near Damascus, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria, and the supplies are probably enough to last for a month, aid agencies said.

"It's really heartbreaking to see the situation of the people," said Red Cross spokesman Pawel Krzysiek, who oversaw the distribution in Madaya. "A while ago, I was just approached by a little girl and her first question was, 'Did you bring food?'"

Added Sajjad Malik, a representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees who took part in the operation: "It's cold and raining, but there is excitement because we are here with some food and blankets."

The operation marked a small, positive development in a bitter conflict now in its fifth year that has killed a quarter of a million people, displaced millions of others and left the country in ruins.

Rebels opposed to President Bashar Assad are in control of Madaya, a mountain town about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus. Government troops and fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have surrounded the town. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks.

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari denied anyone was starving in Madaya and blamed Arab television especially "for fabricating these allegations and lies."

Speaking at U.N. Headquarters, he blamed "armed terrorist groups" for stealing humanitarian aid and reselling it at prohibitive prices.

"The Syrian government is not and will not exert any policy of starvation against its own people," Ja'afari said.

An Associated Press crew saw the first three trucks cross into Madaya on Monday, although journalists were not allowed to accompany the aid workers. At the town's entrance, several civilians — including five children shivering against the cold — said they were waiting to be taken out.

"I want out. There is nothing in Madaya, no water, no electricity, no fuel and no food," said Safiya Ghosn, a teacher who stood at the entrance of the town hoping to be evacuated.

Simultaneously, trucks began entering Foua and Kfarya, which are both under siege by rebel groups hundreds of miles (kilometers) to the north.

Tales of hunger and hardship have emerged from those inside all three communities: Pro-government fighters recently evacuated from inside Foua and Kfarya have said some residents are eating grass to survive. Residents of Madaya similarly have reported living off soup made of leaves and salt water.

Madaya has attracted particular attention in recent days because of reports of deaths and images in social media of severely malnourished residents. The aid operation, which is being facilitated by the U.N., was agreed on last week.

Some Assad supporters have said the photos were faked, and others alleged the rebels were withholding food from residents.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders says 23 people have died of starvation at a health center it supports in Madaya since Dec. 1, including six infants and five adults over 60.

Krzysiek, the Red Cross spokesman, said in a statement that he saw a lot of people on the street, "some of them smiling to us and waving to us, but many just simply too weak."

Almost 42,000 people in the town are at risk from hunger, said Yacoub El Hillo, the U.N.'s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV channel showed a group of people, including women and children, waiting for the convoys at Madaya's main entrance. In interviews, they accused rebel fighters inside of hoarding humanitarian assistance that entered the town in October and selling the supplies to residents at exorbitant prices.

Ghosn, who spoke to journalists accompanied by government officials, also blamed rebels in Madaya, saying: "Their depots are full while we go hungry. We have to humiliate ourselves to go to them and beg for food."

The trucks in Madaya were carrying humanitarian aid including food and health supplies, blankets, materials for shelters and soap, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

"We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to facilitate sustained and unimpeded access to all people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria," Dujarric said.

The U.N.'s World Food Program has said it will ship one month's worth of food for more than 40,000 people in Madaya from Damascus and enough for 20,000 people to Foua and Kfarya from the city of Homs.

A group of eight major international aid groups, including CARE International, Oxfam, and Save the Children, welcomed the aid convoy but also warned that a one-time delivery won't save starving people.

"Only a complete end to the 6-month-old siege and guarantees for sustained aid deliveries alongside humanitarian services will alleviate the crisis in these areas," the statement said.

Peter Wilson, Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador, said in New York it was "good news that those convoys are getting through, although it's little and it's late."

"It's important to remember that Madaya represents only 10 percent of those who are under siege and 1 percent of those who need aid in Syria," he added.

In Homs, meanwhile, regional Gov. Talal Barazzi said a 26-car convoy of food and clothing entered the Waer neighborhood of Homs as part of an agreement reached last month between the Syrian government and militants in the area. The deal earlier saw the evacuation of 720 people from Waer, including 300 militants.

In reports of fighting Monday, the state-run SANA news agency reported that a rocket, presumably fired by rebels, hit a residential neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo, killing three children and wounding two other people. It said the Syrian army had begun a major offensive in the countryside west of the city. (kes)(+)
- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/12/aid-convoys-reach-3-syria-communities-besieged-months.html#sthash.X2NPOfSt.dpuf

Giant golden statue of Mao demolished in central China

A village in central China has abruptly demolished a statue of the country's founder, Mao Zedong, after images of the structure covered in gold paint and looming 37 meters high over farmland attracted heated discussion on social media.

Although the official reason for the demolition is unknown, with even a high-level Communist Party newspaper struggling to explain the episode, the rise and fall of the Mao monument in rural Henan province highlights the political sensitivities in China surrounding a historical figure alternatively revered and criticized by both the public and the government.

The project, reportedly financed by entrepreneurs, cost US$460,000 and was near completion last week when it was nixed by local officials after images of the statue elicited mixed reactions on Chinese social media, and the story was picked up by domestic and international media.

The People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, said the statue may have lacked approval from cultural management authorities, though it also cited an official as saying that did not appear to be the reason. Local officials could not be reached for comment on Monday, and some agencies' publicly listed telephone numbers appeared to be disconnected.

Since his death in 1976, Mao has been both revered as a founding father and blamed for political turmoil and disastrous economic policies that claimed millions of lives. Successors including Deng Xiaoping, China's paramount leader during the 1980s, openly rebuked the cult of personality that had been built around Mao and warned cadres about the risk of overly concentrated influence.

Even as China's current president, Xi Jinping, consolidates power to a degree that has drawn comparisons to Mao, he warned in a 2013 speech against "worshipping" revolutionary leaders without pointing out their mistakes.

Still, Mao, known as the "Great Helmsman," has kept a firm grip on the imagination for a large swath of the population, particularly the dissatisfied, rural poor, drawing notice of central authorities.

Last month, the Global Times, a Communist Party tabloid, reported on the latest Mao statue to rise in rural northwestern China, where villagers sang revolutionary songs in a quasi-religious ceremony that featured "ecstatic dance" and a shamanistic figure brandishing a sword.

"Building Mao temples is not encouraged by the central government or local authorities," the article noted.
- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/11/giant-golden-statue-mao-demolished-central-china.html#sthash.zpyTWBwq.dpuf

Strong earthquake struck off Indonesia's Talaud islands

A strong earthquake struck off North Sulawesi province in central Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.4 quake hit 265 kilometers (165 miles) north-northwest of Indonesian town in North Maluku province, or 233 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Sarangani in the Philippines, at a depth of 12.9 kilometers (8 miles).

The Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the quake which struck just 22 minutes before midnight (16:3 GMT) 8Monday, centered about 58 kilometers (36 miles) southeast of Talaud islands in North Sulawesi province, has no potential to trigger tsunami.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. (kes)

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/12/strong-earthquake-struck-indonesias-talaud-islands.html#sthash.Lm0ifVn9.dpuf

Health Experts Scrutinize IPB as after Hepatitis A Outbreak

Health Experts Scrutinize IPB as after Hepatitis A Outbreak

The Health Ministry, the Bogor Health Agency and authorities from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) have set up a special team to conduct monitoring at the college campus following an outbreak of hepatitis A, which has infected at least 28 students.

The ministry’s director general for disease control and environmental health (P2PL), Mohamad Subuh, said on Sunday that the team had been working to discover the source of the outbreak and how the virus had spread across the campus and its vicinity.

“We have moved quickly and will see the results soon. However, we believe that the virus spread through contaminated food or eating utensils or the drinking water supply at the IPB campus canteen or dormitories,” Subuh said.

To determine the primary source of the virus, the team had taken samples, including mineral water samples from two dormitories and canteens as well as water for bathing from two dormitories, for further examination, he said.

He added that the ministry expected that results from the tests would be available in two weeks.

The hepatitis outbreak made news on Wednesday after IPB officials reported to the Bogor Health Agency that several students in one dormitory had fallen ill.

The students reported symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle ache, joint pain and light fever.

They were treated at several nearby hospitals, including Karya Bhakti Pratiwi, Medika Graha, Hermina and Bogor General Hospital.

Laboratory tests showed that the students had contracted hepatitis A — a contagious disease caused by a virus that is spread through food and water.

The health agency declared a health emergency (KLB) within the campus until Thursday, when it detected no other outbreaks outside the IPB area.

The Health Ministry’s Subuh added that the public did not need to worry about the KLB status as the ministry had confirmed that there were no similar outbreaks reported outside of Bogor.

“We just need to be more careful and aware of food and drink hygiene in our surroundings, particularly during this rainy season,” Subuh said.

Meanwhile, IPB deputy rector for academic and student affairs Yonny Koesmaryono said the campus had conducted medical checkups on a large number of IPB students since Friday.

Out of 480 students that underwent the checkups on Friday and Saturday, 46 were suspected of having Hepatitis A and were therefore referred to Karya Bhakti Pratiwi Hospital for further examination.

However, Yonny confirmed that blood and laboratory checks on the 46 showed that they had not contracted hepatitis A.

“IPB itself is conducting a quick response on the sources of food, such as canteens. We have deployed a team to clean all 137 campus cafeterias today [Sunday],” Yonny said.

He added that the team had also conducted a campaign to promote hygiene among all food vendors operating inside the campus.

Next Thursday, the team will also target food vendors outside of the campus.

“It will be our target to conduct more aggressive monitoring of the canteens,” Yonny said.

“But we also urge the students to be more careful when choosing their food. It’s quite difficult because students usually aren’t that worried about the food they eat.” (foy)
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- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/14/health-experts-scrutinize-ipb-after-hepatitis-a-outbreak.html#sthash.Bwlz6aOQ.dpuf

National scene: BNPT warns of IS influence

National scene: BNPT warns of IS influence

The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has warned that alleged Indonesian supporters of the radical Islamic State (IS) group, since their return to Indonesia from Syria, have integrated with other members of society.

BNPT chief Comr. Gen. Saud Usman feared that the returnees could spread their radical views of Islam through religious events to other people. “They live among us and they spread their beliefs,” Saud said in Jakarta on Saturday, as reported by tribunnews.com.

According to identification procedures by the Foreign Ministry and the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s immigration directorate general, 169 Indonesians who were deported from Syria now live in various places in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Saud asked the people to report any suspicious activities or suspicious groups of people in their neighborhoods to the authorities.

According to Saud, Indonesia faces a threat of terrorist acts like kidnappings, bombings or shootings. He said the people had to support the security personnel in maintaining security in the face of terrorist intentions.

“If they have the opportunity, they will execute [their terrorist acts]. Therefore, we have to strengthen our protection of vital facilities like airports, markets, seaports, stations and other places whether many people gather,” Saud said. - 

Embassy tells RI students not to attend 1965 tribunal

The government has allegedly tried to ban Indonesian students from attending a “people’s tribunal” on the 1965 Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) purge in The Hague.

The head of the tribunal’s organizing committee, human rights lawyer Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, said on Wednesday that the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague had warned the Indonesian Students Association (PPI) in Leiden, The Netherlands, not to attend the tribunal, to be held from Nov. 10 to 13.

“I received a letter that says ‘our Indonesian students were called to the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague and told they will lose their scholarships if they join us. The embassy itself has decided it is a form of resurrecting communism’,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Nursyahbani said the embassy had no business intimidating Indonesian students and had no right to revoke their scholarships.

Likewise, Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) chairman Haris Azhar lambasted the reported actions of the embassy.

“I’ve heard about it and I believe it’s such an unnecessary thing to do. For me, it shows an archaic mentality. Why does our government, which is paid for by the people’s money, block its own people’s initiative [to seek justice]?” he told the Post on Wednesday.

The embassy and the PPI were not able to be reached for comments on the allegation.

Fifty years ago, following the events of Oct. 1, 1965, an estimated 500,000 Indonesians accused of being members or supporters of the PKI were killed, and many hundreds of thousands of people were detained without trial or exiled. The mass killings, and the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators, has long been enveloped in social and political amnesia.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has maintained that the government will not resort to any judicial mechanism to resolve past human rights abuse cases, including the 1965 purge.

Luhut said the government was still exploring what he called “a format that fit the Indonesian way” to deal with past rights abuse cases.

Since there has been no official attempt to find out who was behind the killings, who the victims were exactly, and where they are buried, a number of Indonesian and local researchers, activists and 1965 victims at home and in various countries in Europe have taken the initiative to hold the tribunal called the “International People’s Tribunal [IPT] for the 1965 crimes against humanity”.

“The tribunal’s mission is to examine the evidence for these crimes against humanity, develop an accurate historical and scientific record and apply principles of international law to the collected evidence. Testimonies will be given by a selected number of victims and survivors both from Indonesia and political exiles currently living elsewhere,” a press statement from the organizing committee said.

However, since the IPT is not a criminal court, it has no mandate to provide justice or compensation to the victims.

“It will endeavor to push the state to take its responsibility toward the victims and their families, and toward Indonesian society as a whole,” the organizing committee said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir denied the allegation. “The information [that we receive] from the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague says that the news is not true. There’s never been intimidation or banning,” he told the Post on Wednesday. - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/05/embassy-tells-ri-students-not-attend-1965-tribunal.html#sthash.5HWE1pg0.dpuf