VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo on Tuesday gave directives to a number of middle and high-ranking military (TNI) and police (Polri) officers to maintain neutrality in the current year of politics.
"We also have a commitment that the military and police would support the neutrality of government policy," Air Force Deputy Chief Rear Marshal Wieko Syofyan stated, after the briefing at the Presidential Palace here, on Tuesday.

President Joko Widodo reminded the role of TNI and Polri as law enforcers in the regional head, legislative, and presidential elections.

During the closed door meeting, the president received high-ranking TNI and police officers, accompanied by the Minister of State Secretary Pratikno.

In the meantime, Military (TNI) commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and Police Chief General Tito Karnavian reiterated the neutrality of TNI and police late last month in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, with regard to elections that will soon be held in the country.
"TNI and police members have no voting rights. They stand above all groups to assure security and order," Tjahjanto stated.

Tjahjanto, along with Karnavian, at a meeting with thousands of TNI and police members, advised their members to continue cooperation to create solidity or unity, citing the hard work to assure the security of regional elections in June this year and legislative as well as presidential elections next year.

Karnavian, on the occasion, praised the unity that has been developed so far between the TNI and the police.

He noted that it was the basic capital needed to preserve security in the province not only for the elections but also for the daily lives of the people.

"We are all serving the nation and the state, and so we must unite," he remarked.
Thousands of soldiers and police officers from across East Kalimantan gathered at the meeting to listen to the directives from their chiefs. (antara)

A Cultural Parade welcoming  the 536th anniversary of Cirebon Regency took place successfully. It featured a variety of traditional art attractions and parades. As reported by the National Radio News Agency, Cirebon Regent caretaker, Selly Andriany Gantina, in Cirebon Regency, Saturday, March 31, expressed appreciation for the Cultural Parade though it still   needs to be further enhanced. This involves maximizing the role of all levels of society, including the Regional Leadership Unit with a variety of creativity and innovation. Meanwhile, Head of Department of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports of Cirebon Regency, Hartono, said the implementation of the Cultural Parade ​​this year went well with the enthusiasm of high participants. Hartono hopes, through the Cultural Parade, the young generation can find out about the traditional art in Cirebon regency and can repackage it  like in 1960-1970. KBRN 01.04.2018 Sg trans by Rezha

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi will soon meet Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Yuyu Sutisna to solve Air Force land used for the construction of railway lines linking Adi Soemarmo Airport to Balapan Station in Solo, Central Java.

"I will meet him on Monday to discuss the use of the land owned by the Air Force for the project," he said in Boyolali, Central Java, on Sunday.

The minister made the remarks while inspecting the construction of railway station at the airport, along with Solo Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo. Nearly 2.5 hectares of land owned by the Air Force will be affected by the project, he said. The minister said his side has no problem to compensate the land owned by local people for the project.

"Admittedly, there is small problem particularly related to the clearance of land owned by the Air Force," he said.

However, the construction of the railway tracks in several places has been running as expected, he said.

"We have set ourselves the target of completing the project at the end of 2018 and the railway line will become operational early 2019," he said. (antara) 

Indonesia`s coffee was promoted during the 2018 Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) held at the Hanoi International Center for Exhibition. The country`s pavilion located in Hall B1 was quite crowded with visitors looking for information on Indonesian tourist destinations and those wanting to taste Nusantara coffee, Heri Hermawan, head of the Marketing Area IV covering Indochina region of the Indonesian Tourism Ministry, said in Hanoi, Sunday. The ministry always promotes Indonesia`s coffee while participating in travel marts in various countries such in India, Spain, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea.

"Indonesia`s coffee stand always becomes an attraction for visitors, in addition to a replica of Pinisi Nusantara boat displayed in front of Indonesia`s pavilion," he said.

Indonesian barista Grammy Marella Averil of Home Coffee Roastery in Solo served coffee up to 300 visitors per day during the Vietnam Travel Mart. The 29-year old Averil offered four kinds of coffee - Aceh Gayo, Toraja, Mandailing and Sidikalang, to coffee lovers in Hanoi.

Meanwhile, the Tourism Ministry has set a target of attracting at least 74 thousand Vietnamese tourists in 2018, or up from 64 thousand in 2017.

"The target of receiving 74 thousand Vietnamese tourists is most likely achievable, as Vietnam has enjoyed high economic growth over the last 10 years," Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi informed ANTARA News on the sidelines of the VITM 2018.

The number of rich people in Vietnam has increased, and several of them are interested in traveling abroad, he noted. However, traveling to Indonesia from Hanoi is problematic due to the absence of direct flights.

"This issue of lack of accessibility has led to Vietnamese people opting to go for holidays in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Japan, and Hong Kong," he stated.

Indonesia sent seven travel bureaus from Bali and Yogyakarta to participate in the VITM held from March 29 to April 1, 2018. ( antara )