Day: July 22, 2022

The Indonesian government encourages cooperation with the Timor Leste government in the efforts to prevent terrorism in Southeast Asia.

National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Head Commissioner Boy Rafli Amar met with Timor-Leste President José Manuel Ramos-Horta to encourage this cooperation. The two agreed to the effort to prevent terrorism.

The BNPT established close cooperation with partner countries, governments, and people to prevent radicalism and terrorism, he noted through a written statement on Thursday.

The misuse of religion by terrorists remains a trend. To this end, cooperation with religious organizations is necessary to align perception, given that terrorism is not part of religious teaching, he noted.

Propaganda quickly spreads through the digital world. To address this matter, education on religious teaching that promotes tolerance and how to properly interact in social media became an effective strategy to be implemented, Amar explained.

The agency currently focuses on prevention that involves efforts to develop a spirit of tolerance, including building an understanding among people that terrorism has nothing to do with religion.

Meanwhile, Ramos-Horta lauded BNPT’s action in handling terrorism effectively. Indonesia is deemed to be successful in handling terrorism.

He noted that apart from Timor-Leste, other western countries too had the same view.

Indonesia is a tolerant and peaceful country, which is commendable, considering its population reached 273 million, he affirmed.

Western countries perceive BNPT as being active in the efforts to prevent terrorism. Indonesia is a peaceful Muslim country, he remarked.

In addition to Timor-Leste, Indonesia forged cooperation with Belgium to strengthen terrorism prevention efforts.

The BNPT inked a memorandum of understanding with the Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) in Brussels, Belgium.

Indonesia’s BNPT and Belgium’s CUTA cooperate in terrorism mitigation through information exchange, strategy analysis, as well as best practices followed by both nations.

Source: Antara News

The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection is seeking to strengthen the National Children’s Forum (FAN) as a platform for children to participate in the nation’s development.

“Providing a space for children to discuss (issues) is a form of their involvement, not only as objects but subjects of development,” the ministry’s deputy for children’s rights fulfillment, Agustina Erni, explained here on Friday.

The National Children’s Forum has proven itself to be able to provide creative ideas to solve problems in their (respective) regions, she said.

According to information provided on its official website, FAN aims to bridge communication and interaction between the government and children across Indonesia in order to fulfill children’s rights to participate. Currently, FAN has spread from the level of villages, sub-districts, districts/cities, to provinces.

According to Erni, through FAN, the ministry is providing a space for Indonesian children to express their views and opinions on various children’s problems in each region.

In addition, the ministry is improving the forum by increasing the capacity, facilitators, and companions involved in FAN.

Welcoming the commemoration of National Children’s Day 2022 on July 23, Erni said that the government—at the central, provincial, and regional levels—is making efforts to implement Ministerial Regulation No. 1 of 2022 concerning the implementation of children’s forums.

In addition, synergy and collaboration are crucial for increasing children’s participation as the “2Ps” (informants and pioneers), she added.

“The ‘pioneers’ here is how children are expected to initiate positive action/contribute as agents of change. Meanwhile, as ‘informants,’ children are expected to report all matters related to the fulfillment of their rights through various channels that have been provided by the government,” Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga explained earlier.

If they cannot become pioneers, at least the children participating in the forum can become informants on cases of violations of children’s rights in their regions, she added.

Source: Antara News

Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Bintang Puspayoga, in a statement issued on Thursday, called for the empowerment of women to allow them to achieve independence and reach their potential.

“Women have amazing potential in economy and entrepreneurship, especially given that women and children constitute two-thirds of Indonesia’s population,” she remarked.

“This means that empowering women has become very important so that they can achieve their optimal potential,” she added.

Serious efforts to empower Indonesian women through economy and entrepreneurship are expected to help address the issue of the wide gender gap in Indonesia.

According to Puspayoga, women still encounter discrimination and unfairness in various national development sectors.

This can be observed from the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures a person’s life quality based on three important aspects, namely health, education, and economy, and the Gender Development Index, which compares women’s HDI with men’s.

The unfairness that women face is also reflected in the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which measures women’s active role, especially in politics, economy, and decision-making.

Indonesia’s low ranking on the three indices reflects the wide gender gap that still exists in the country.

This gender gap is the result of social constructs and stereotypes that have emerged due to a deeply embedded patriarchal culture that causes women to take on a double role, the minister explained.

“This became our collective duty to resolve this paradigm starting from the role and participation of women, public figures, and religious figures,” she said.

Earlier, during a public discussion here on July 14, 2022, the minister informed that the government has carried out various efforts to support businesswomen through its entrepreneurship strengthening program.

The government has held upskilling and entrepreneurship programs in sectors that many businesswomen are interested in, she said.

Source: Antara News

The Women’s Empowerment and Children Protection Ministry approached the family of a victim of bullying that was causal to the child’s death in Tasikmalaya, West Java.

The deputy of special protection for children at the Women’s Empowerment and Children Protection Ministry, Nahar, said that his administration was currently working towards solving the case through the local women and children protection technical unit.

“The regional women and children protection technical unit approached the victim’s family,” he remarked.

His administration also worked with the Tasikmalaya child protection agency to conduct further procedures.

“Coordination between local agencies (aims to) address this case through procedures and mechanisms for child protection, as set by the law in terms of child protection,” he elaborated.

Nahar expressed regret over the bullying of the victim that turned out to be deadly.

“Of course, we regret this condition. This has become a warning prior to National Children’s Day that the threat (of bullying) is looming large over us. Thus, we must not tire of ensuring that preventive efforts are made as best as possible,” he stated.

An elementary school child from Tasikmalaya, West Java, died, allegedly from depression.

The victim was bullied by peers, who forced the child to act indecently with a cat. The bullies then recorded the victim in the act and shared it on social media platforms, to the point that it went viral.

Prior to dying, the victim was in a state of trauma and depression, with continued decline in the health condition.

“The victim complained of pain in the throat to the point of refusing to eat or drink. Psychologically, the child always seemed down and often spaced out,” Nahar remarked.

The victim passed away at the Tasikmalaya Regional General Hospital.

Source: Antara News

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno will interact with concerned businesspersons in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, over Rp3.75 million tourist rate hike at Komodo National Park’s (TNK’s) two tourist attractions, effective August 1.

“I am ready to open dialogue and willing to find common solutions. I also want to invite all parties to improve the environmental quality and sustainability in the tourism ecosystem in Labuan Bajo and Flores,” Uno stated in Labuan Bajo, on Friday.

According to the minister, the entrance fee hike should be incorporated into the conservation issues based on studies of TNK areas that have limited visitor capacity. Thus, there is a limit in place of as many as 200 thousand visits to the TNK area.

Uno deems it necessary to look at the aspects of education, research, and sustainability to maintain the Komodo dragon population in the area.

Moreover, seeing the high interest in tourists for ecotourism, the government adopted a policy that would prioritize handling conservation and economic impacts. This was also in line with the report of NTT Governor Viktor Laiskodat, who highlighted the need for waste management and the preservation of coral reefs.

The government had earlier set an entrance fee of Rp3.75 million per person for tourists visiting Komodo Island and Padar Island. However, tourists would still be able to see Komodo dragons at Rinca Island without any tariff hikes.

Tourists, who have ordered and paid to travel to the two places before the price hike, were given a deadline until December-end by continuing to use the old tariff, Uno stated.

He also highlighted that the government was open to any discussion on this price increase and willing to find solutions together in a transparent manner to avoid any doubts about the policy.

“The government really wants to give priority to conservation and for this tourism to become better with sustainable and friendly aspects,” he emphasized.

With this policy, the government will disseminate information and provide education to related parties. The Rinca Island will be immediately readied for visitors, who find it difficult to pay conservation fees to Komodo Island and Padar Island.

Source: Antara News