VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

U.S. President Joe Biden joined Southeast Asian leaders in rebuking Myanmar's junta on Tuesday, as a regional summit opened without a representative from the country following its top general's exclusion for ignoring peace proposals.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had said it would accept a non-political figure from Myanmar at the virtual meeting, but the junta rejected that, saying it would only agree to its leader or a minister attending.

In an unprecedented snub to the leader of a member state, ASEAN had decided to sideline junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who led a Feb. 1 coup that spiralled into violence and chaos, for his failure to cease hostilities, allow humanitarian access and start dialogue, as agreed with ASEAN.

The decision was a huge rebuke to Myanmar's military and a rare, bold step by a regional bloc known for its code of consensus, non-interference and engagement.

"Today, ASEAN did not expel Myanmar from ASEAN's framework. Myanmar abandoned its right," said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who will be the group's chairman next year.

"Now we are in the situation of ASEAN minus one. It is not because of ASEAN, but because of Myanmar."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said ASEAN had a slot ready for Myanmar, but it chose not to join.

At the virtual summit, Biden voiced "grave concerns" over the violence in Myanmar and called on its military to release people who have been unjustly detained, the White House said.

Myanmar said its absence was "due to denial for the Head of State or Head of Government or his Ministerial level representation." A foreign ministry statement said it "does not intend to show its protest against ASEAN or to boycott ASEAN."

Addressing leaders, Indonesian President Joko Widodo lamented Myanmar's "unwelcome attitude" towards ASEAN's diplomatic efforts, Retno said.

"It's important for us to honour the principles of non-interference. But on the other hand, we're obligated to uphold other principles ... like democracy, good governance, respect for human rights, and a constitutional government," she said, quoting the president.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of ASEAN chair Brunei said Myanmar should be given space to return to normalcy in line with ASEAN's principle of non-interference. read more

The region's leaders urged "the mediation of the situation in Myanmar to uphold ASEAN's credibility", he said in a statement.

It was Brunei, with majority backing, that had decided to exclude the junta leader.

Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country for 49 of the past 60 years, has accusing ASEAN of departing from its norms and of allowing itself to be influenced by other countries, including the United States.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a retired general considered the ASEAN leader closest to Myanmar's coup-makers, urged the country to implement a five-point roadmap it agreed with ASEAN.

CREDIBILITY AT STAKE

"ASEAN's constructive role in addressing this situation is of paramount importance and our action on this matter shall have a bearing on ASEAN's credibility in the eyes of the international community," said Prayuth, who first came to power in a 2014 coup before his party won elections five years later.

ASEAN acted days after its special envoy, Erywan Yusof, said the junta denied him sufficient access, including to ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is charged with multiple crimes.

Suu Kyi, 76, appeared in court on Tuesday and denied one of the charges, incitement to cause public alarm, media reported. read more

Prayuth said he was hopeful the junta would trust ASEAN's intentions and that Erywan could visit Myanmar soon and make an "important first step in the process of confidence-building".

U.N. envoys say that since the coup, Myanmar security forces have killed more than 1,000 people and detained thousands, many tortured and beaten.

Myanmar has rejected this as biased and exaggerated by unreliable sources and blames "terrorists" loyal to a shadow National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of anti-coup groups, militias and ethnic minority rebels.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met NUG representatives on Monday. read more

Sullivan told a White House briefing on Tuesday he had praised their "courage and commitment" and discussed humanitarian aid and "diplomacy with the key countries in the region and those with influence on the military junta, and how the United States could send strong messages to those countries."

Biden attended a joint session with ASEAN, the first time in four years Washington has engaged at the top level with a bloc it sees as key to countering an increasingly assertive China. read more

Biden said ASEAN nations can expect him to personally show up in the region in future.

"Our partnership is essential to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, which has been the foundation of our shared security and prosperity for many decades," he said. (Reuters)

Indonesia deems it necessary for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to become a locomotive of stability and welfare in the region amid rivalry among the world's superpowers, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated.

“At this moment, ASEAN must be able to maintain its unity and centrality in order to be able to respond to the existing dynamics effectively. Indonesia is looking forward to ASEAN being able to become the locomotive of stability and welfare in the region,” the minister noted in a press briefing related to the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits monitored from here on Tuesday.

According to Marsudi, the significance of strengthening the ASEAN institution was one of the topics that President Joko Widodo discussed at the ASEAN Summit.

To this end, the head of state drew attention to the immediate strengthening of ASEAN’s institutional capacity and effectiveness.

“Indonesia proposes that the High Level Task Force that will begin to work next year develop the post-2025 ASEAN Vision in addition to giving recommendations on strengthening the ASEAN institution,” she remarked.

Indonesia is optimistic that by the end of next year, the recommendations would be accepted and a decision would be taken to apply them in 2023, she stated.

Thus, ASEAN will be prepared to realize the post-2025 New Vision, she remarked.

“Indonesia has submitted a concept paper on strengthening the ASEAN institution and calls for support from other ASEAN member states,” she stated.


The 39th ASEAN Summit, to be held on October 26-28 under the chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam, was attended by nine ASEAN leaders and the ASEAN secretary general.


President Joko Widodo was accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Minister/State Secretary Pratikno and Vice Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar on the first day of the summit on Tuesday. (Antaranews)

Conservation is not the only way to promote culture, Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim has emphasized.

This can also be achieved by making a culture popular, he said

"Advancing a culture also means mainstreaming it as an important element in the development of the country," he stated at the Lake Toba Indonesian Traditional Music Festival (FMTI), held in Samosir district, North Sumatra province on Tuesday.

Traditional music has accompanied the development of Indonesia as a nation with its culture passed down from generation to generation, he observed.

"Continuing to sing traditional music means keeping our solemn and sacred local wisdom alive,” he remarked.

The minister said he expects that through the implementation of the festival, traditional music from the Lake Toba region can become known nationally as well as internationally.

"In 2018, at the Indonesian Cultural Congress, we had established a strategy for the Advancement of Culture as a new directive for maintaining our traditional heritage," he added.

Hence, the ministry is striving to provide various initiatives of cultural promotion, comprising the Indonesian Traditional Music Congress, which has led to the establishment of the Music of Archipelago Collective Management Agency (LMK MN), Makarim said.

"The agency plays a very important role in advancing culture, especially in helping musicians to get their rights as artists," the minister remarked.

In addition, the ministry is trying to provide and include lessons on traditional music in formal and informal education so that students can be culture conservation agents, he said.

Saying he greatly supported independence in learning, the minister said he was delighted to see students learn more about their origins by studying traditional music.

"My little brothers and sisters, I encourage you to always maintain your cultural identity and keep creating various artworks," he remarked. (Antaranews)

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has said it has prepared several strategies for the prevention and handling of COVID-19 ahead of a number of international events scheduled to be held in Bali province.

The international events include the Masters Super 750 and Indonesia Open 2021 badminton championships in November 2021, BWF World Tour Finals in December 2021, a convention on the dangers of mercury titled 'COP-4 Minamata Convention' in March 2022, and the G-20 Summit in October 2022, he added.

"We should prove to the world that Indonesia can hold those events while still paying attention to health procedures and protocols according to WHO standards," head of the BNPB, Ganip Warsito, said here on Tuesday.

According to the directive and order of President Joko Widodo, the strategy for preventing and handling COVID-19 is essential and must be implemented immediately, especially because the government has also reopened Bali province for international travelers since October 14, 2021, he explained.

The decision has been taken based on the consideration and evaluation of the results of COVID-19 handling in Bali, which are considered good, Warsito said. Therefore, the province has also been deemed ready to welcome back tourists and organize large-scale national and international events, he added.

"This decision, of course, implicated that the local government together with the community and business actors must prepare themselves as well as possible, so that the reopening of economic activities can run sustainably, supported by high compliance of health protocols," he said.

The BNPB head pointed out that the main strategies in the transition from pandemic to endemic—strict implementation of health protocols, intensifying testing, tracing, and treatment (3T), as well as expediting COVID-19 vaccinations—should become a priority for the provincial, district, and city governments.

The BNPB will also organize an international event in the field of disaster mitigation—Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR)—which will be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, in May 2022, he informed. (Antaranews)