VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi officially opened the 15th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in 2022. In a statement after the opening of the BDF, Retno said the theme taken at this time's BDF was "Democracy in a Changing World: Leadership and Solidarity." This is relevant to the current world situation which is facing extraordinary challenges.

"In order to face this challenge, strong and effective collective leadership and world solidarity are needed," he said after opening the BDF, Thursday (8/12) in Nusa Dua, Bali, which was monitored virtually from Jakarta.

Minister Retno conveyed that a number of institutions have reported that the quality of democracy is currently declining.

“International IDEA reports that democracy is in decline or stagnant. This stagnation or setback also occurs in even established democratic countries," he said.

In addition, Freedom House data shows a decline in democracy over the last 16 years. Meanwhile, the V-Dem Institute said the average quality of democracy had fallen to the level it was 30 years ago. And in Asia Pacific itself, it is estimated that 54% of the population lives under a democracy.

However, according to Retno, despite all the challenges that exist, there are still many people who believe democracy must continue to be developed, including Indonesia. He explained, with democracy, Indonesia has succeeded in managing the Covid-19 pandemic well.

"With democracy, we have managed to carry out or manage this pandemic well," he said.

Apart from that, according to him, Indonesia is also pushing for vaccine equality globally. Indonesia is also pushing for health funding support for developing countries.

Retno Marsudi also expressed optimism for democracy in facing the challenges of a world recession in 2023.

"The principle of solidarity is very important in promoting an inclusive recovery," he said.

Although democracy is not perfect, according to Retno, Indonesia's experience has shown that democracy works.

“Democracy pays off; democracy delivers and democracy is once again the best way to govern and serve the interests of the people," he said.

The 15th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) was held in a hybrid manner. The 2022 BDF was attended by 323 participants from 112 countries and 5 international organizations, and 52 of them attended virtually. (VOI/Andy)

Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Teuku Faizasyah said that in its 15 years of existence, the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) has been actively promoting the process of joint learning about democracy with the government.

"BDF continues to build initiatives to promote democracy that grows in the country and encourage countries to balance political and economic development," he said at the closing of the 15th Bali Democracy Forum, Thursday (8/12) in Nusa Dua, Bali.

According to Teuku Faizasyah, in the process, BDF has also made a real contribution, especially to ensure that democracy works and becomes a guide for countries.

"BDF has positioned itself as the main forum for discussing and exchanging experiences in promoting democracy in the Asia Pacific region," he said.

Teuku Faizasyah said that at the implementation of the 15th BDF in 2022, he witnessed an increasing sense of belonging to BDF by the participating countries. This, according to him, is the main capital to continue to encourage the formation of a democratic architecture in the region.

"Next year we will focus more on monitoring and evaluating all recommendations and proposed actions resulting from the BDF results," he said.

In closing the 15th BDF, Teuku Faizasyah said that BDF was physically attended by 200 participants from 112 countries and 5 international organizations. In addition, hundreds of students participated in BDF who took part in various forums at BDF virtually.

"In essence, the exchange of views is a manifestation of the spirit of democracy to respect different points of view. Some of them are not necessarily in line with our respective national interests and positions," he said.

Even though the participants shared their views in various forums at BDF, according to Teuku Faizasyah, the government must be able to collaborate so that global challenges can be overcome. (VOI/Andy)

The Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD)-Sukabumi City Office coordinated with related agencies to conduct a proper assessment of the impact of the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked the city on Thursday.

The quake that struck at around 7:50 a.m. local time prompted panic-stricken residents to run out of their homes and flee onto the streets, but as of 9 a.m. local time, there were no reports of damages and casualties," the agency's head, Imran Wardhani, remarked.

Nonetheless, the agency's personnel continued to coordinate with their counterparts conducting a proper assessment, he remarked while urging locals to continue to stay alert for aftershocks.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the quake's epicenter was located around 22 kilometers away from southeast of Sukabumi City at a depth of 104 kilometers.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia due to the fact that the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

On November 21, 2022, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake had jolted Cianjur District in West Java Province at 1:21 p.m. local time.

According to the Cianjur district administration, the number of houses brought down and severely damaged by the recent earthquake had increased to 8,151.

"The number of severely damaged houses has increased, from 7,817 to 8,151 units. They all have been verified," Secretary of the Cianjur District Government Cecep Alamsyah noted at a press conference on December 4.

Alamsyah said the number of houses suffering moderate damages had also increased, from 10,589 to 11,210 units.

The number of houses with mild damages also went up, from 17,195 to 18,469 units, he said, adding that the earthquake had also severely damaged 525 school buildings, 269 houses of worship, 14 healthcare facilities, and 17 office buildings.

As of December 4, death toll from the Cianjur quake had reached 334, while eight residents were still missing, he stated.

According to Alamsyah, the government has prepared 2.5 hectares of land in Sirnagalih Village to be used for building 200 earthquake-resistant houses.

This deadly quake has triggered an outpouring of sympathy from various elements of society.

The sympathy with the Cianjur quake victims, for instance, is also shown by Andalas University (Unand), a leading public university in West Sumatra Province.

The university, on Sunday (Dec 4), dispatched six members of its nursing faculty to join a humanitarian mission in Cianjur District.

The Bangka Belitung Islands provincial government has also demonstrated its solidarity with the earthquake victims by handing over one billion rupiah in cash to the Cianjur district administration. (Antaranews)

The 5.8-magnitude earthquake, which rattled Sukabumi city, West Java province, on Thursday morning was triggered by a deformation in the Indo-Australian Plate, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.

Head of the BMKG’s Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Daryono, informed on Thursday that the epicenter of the earthquake was located at 7.09 degrees south latitude and 106.95 degrees east longitude.

More precisely, the center of the quake was on land and was located 22 kilometers (km) southeast of Sukabumi city at a depth of 122 km.

"Considering the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake was a medium-sized quake (caused) due to deformation or rock fracture of the Indo-Australian Plate -- which is also popularly known as an intraslab earthquake or Benioff earthquake," the BMKG official informed.

He said that source mechanism analysis showed that the earthquake, which struck at 7:50 a.m. local time, had an upward movement or thrust fault mechanism.

The quake was felt by people living in Bekasi, Cisolok, Sukabumi, and Garut areas of West Java province at an intensity of II on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, meaning the vibrations were likely to cause hanging light objects to sway, he added.

The residents of Bandar Lampung city in Lampung province, Sumur sub-district of Pandeglang district, and South Tangerang city in Banten province, as well as Jakarta also felt the shocks at an intensity of II MMI.

Meanwhile, people in Cianjur, Lembang, Bogor, Bandung, Pangandaran, Padalarang, Pamoyanan, and Sumedang areas in West Java province felt the shocks at an intensity of III MMI, meaning the vibrations felt as if a truck was passing.

Furthermore, residents in Rancaekek area sensed the vibrations at an intensity scale of IV MMI, hence, many people felt the shocks during the day.

As of 8:15 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB), the BMKG recorded one aftershock measuring 3.0 in magnitude, which occurred at 8.05 a.m. WIB.

Daryono appealed to the public to remain calm, not be influenced by false information, and avoid buildings that were cracked or damaged by the earthquake.

"Make sure that the building where you live is quite earthquake-resistant, and there is no damage due to the earthquake, which could endanger the stability of the buildings before returning," he said. (Antaranews)