VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): Myanmar can emerge from conflict if Russia stops supplying weapons to the military junta, Counselor of the US Department of State Derek Chollet said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Jakarta, Chollet stressed that "Russia should not get a pass on this" since it is Myanmar's most reliable friend right now in the international community, and Moscow is providing support to fuel the regime’s war machine, undermining ASEAN’s plan to cease violence and conduct national dialogue.

"If we want to see a solution to the conflict inside Myanmar and want to see Myanmar return to peace and return to democracy, one way that can happen is if the junta is no longer able to import arms, and we would make a very large step in that direction if Russia were to stop supplying arms to the junta," he added.

Chollet said the US will find ways to make it harder for Myanmar to acquire those weapons by imposing further sanctions against entities inside Myanmar.

So far, the United States has imposed sanctions against 80 individuals and 30 entities inside Myanmar, he informed.

According to him, additional sanctions and measures are necessary to make it more difficult for Myanmar’s junta to generate revenue to buy weapons and fuel the war.

In addition to sanctions, Chollet said that the US has also taken steps to support ASEAN and intensify pressure on the military regime in Myanmar to stop the violence, release those detained unjustly, and allow unhindered humanitarian access into the country.

Since the military coup more than two years ago, the military regime in Myanmar has unleashed widespread violence not seen in this part of the world in decades. Nearly half of the nation’s population is currently living in poverty and 17.6 million people need humanitarian assistance, according to the US Department of State.

Myanmar plans to stage elections this year, but the US believes that “without the participation of many of the country's key stakeholders, it is a recipe for prolonging the violence and instability.”  (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The United States will continue to impose further sanctions against Myanmar’s junta, Counselor of the US Department of State Derek Chollet said on Wednesday.

Additional sanctions and measures are necessary to make it more difficult for Myanmar’s junta to generate revenue to buy weapons, he added.

“We're committed to continuing to ratchet up the pressure on the junta and make it harder for them to generate revenue, which is fueling its war machine,” he told reporters in Jakarta.

The US has thus far enacted targeted sanctions against 80 individuals and 32 entities inside Myanmar. It will continue to do so until it changes course, he added.

Chollet said that Washington also remains committed to working with its allies and partners in ASEAN and beyond to try and address the multifaceted challenge coming from the crisis in Myanmar, due to “which, unfortunately, Myanmar is on the path to becoming a failed state in the heart of Southeast Asia.”

He informed that, during his visit to Jakarta, he met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to discuss ways to continue to work together to help build the capacity of the pro-democratic opposition in Myanmar.

The US strongly supports ASEAN's decision to downgrade the political representation of Myanmar at summits and at foreign minister-level meetings, he added.

"The regime needs to fully understand that as long as it continues to prosecute such a brutal campaign against their own people, they will suffer the consequences for that. And that will include further isolation in the international community," he said.

At a summit in Jakarta in April 2021, nine ASEAN leaders and Myanmar junta chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, had agreed to a five-point consensus on responding to the crisis in Myanmar.

The consensus called for an immediate end to violence in the country; dialogue among all parties; the appointment of a special envoy; humanitarian assistance from ASEAN; and the special envoy’s visit to Myanmar to meet with all parties.

However, two years after the military coup against the elected government of Myanmar, there has been no progress on part of the junta in implementing the peace plan initiated by ASEAN. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Agency of Domestic Policy Strategy (BSKDN) of the Home Affairs Ministry has accelerated the development of the Regional Financial Management Index (IPKD) application to support the implementation of the electronic-based government system (SPBE).

"We are making acceleration (of the development) so that the application, that has already been (tried to be) developed, can be operated well and obtain added value," BSKDN Head Yusharto Huntoyungo said, according to a press release received on Wednesday.

He made the statement while chairing the Facilitation of IPKD Upgrade and Maintenance Meeting with the developer team of the IPKD application here on Tuesday.

Huntoyungo said that there are several steps that need to be taken to develop the application. As the first step, the BSKDN and the developer team need to cooperate with the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil) of the Home Affairs Ministry, he informed.

One form of the cooperation concerns the population data that need to be inputted into the IPKD application. He said that through the cooperation, the validity of the data obtained from the IPKD application could be verified.

He said he hoped that the IPKD application would become a general application that supports the implementation of SPBE, such as the Regional Government Information System (SIPD) application, which is also owned by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

He also encouraged his staff and the developer team of the IPKD application to develop the application into one that can interact with other applications owned by the Ministry of Home Affairs' Directorate General of Regional Administration Development (Adwil) to accelerate the strengthening of data in the IPKD application.

If needed, a meeting to discuss it may be scheduled soon, he added. (antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has urged all Muslims to not only focus on fasting during the holy month of Ramadhan, but also on self-improvement.

"We should optimize Ramadhan as a momentum to improve our personal quality, not just to endure hunger and thirst," he said in a video message welcoming Ramadhan 1444 Hijri, which was accessed from here on Wednesday.

He also appealed to Muslims to increase their gratitude for the blessings and favors that they have received.

"Make this year's Ramadhan a momentum to thank Allah SWT (subhanahu wa ta'ala) for all His help to the Indonesian people, thus we are able to get through various tough challenges that we have faced so far," the Vice President said.

He urged all Muslims toimprove their mental strength, especially strengthen their self-control, and believe in everything that has been destined by Allah SWT.

In addition, he invited Muslims to welcome Ramadhan with joy and gratitude. He also expressed the wish that all Muslims would be able to carry out their religious rituals well during the holy month.

Furthermore, speaking about the political year ahead — Indonesia will hold the General Elections on February 14, 2024 — Amin reminded the public not to be influenced by false information, which could disturb national unity.

He also asked the public to maintain national peace and integrity.

"Entering the political year, I encourage all Indonesian people to maintain peace and unity, not to be provoked by hoaxes, which can pit one against another, and to uphold national commitments," he added.

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas announced on Wednesday evening that Ramadhan 1444 Hijri will start on March 23, 2023.

He informed that 12 observation officers from 124 locations across Indonesia had reported that they had sighted the hilal or the crescent moon that marks the start of the month in the Islamic calendar.

Furthermore, he said that the height of the seen hilal had reached between six degrees 46.2 minutes to eight degrees 43.2 minutes above the horizon, with the elongation angle between 7.93 degrees to 9.54 degrees. (Antaranews)