VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Israel has told civilians in the northern Gaza Strip, including residents of Gaza City, to move to the south of the enclave, saying it will be safer there as the military attacks Hamas following its Oct. 7 cross-border assault.

However, Israeli warplanes have continued to hit sites in southern Gaza, spreading fear among the evacuees that they are just as vulnerable there as they were in their homes in the north. Here is an overview of the situation.

WHY IS ISRAEL STILL HITTING THE SOUTH?

Since telling Gazans to head south, the Israeli military (IDF) has continued to pound targets across the area, killing an unknown number of civilians. In all, authorities in Gaza say 6,546 Palestinians have died since Israeli strikes started on Oct. 7.

Residents said the bombardment of the south intensified on Oct. 25. One strike brought down several apartment buildings in Khan Younis, some 10 km (6 miles) from the Egyptian border.

The IDF has said that even if Hamas's main power centre is in Gaza City, it is nonetheless entrenched among the civilian population across the enclave.

"Wherever a Hamas target arises, the IDF will strike at it in order to thwart the terrorist capabilities of the group, while taking feasible precautions to mitigate the harm to uninvolved civilians," the military said on Wednesday, reiterating previous statements.

The military has said the homes where militants live are "legitimate targets" even if civilians live alongside them.

"The so-called private home is not a private home," a senior Israeli air force officer told reporters in a recent briefing.

WHY DID ISRAEL ORDER THE EVACUATION SOUTH?

The Israeli military said on Oct. 12 that nearly half of Gaza's 2.3 million population should move to the southern half of Gaza within 24 hours. The military said the order was aimed at moving civilians away from "Hamas terror targets", which it believes are concentrated in the north.

Military spokesman Jonathan Conricus subsequently said: "We are preparing the area for significant military activity in Gaza City. That is the next stage. That's why we are asking civilians to go south of the Gaza River."

Israel has massed troops on the border with Gaza and is widely expected to launch a land invasion.

On Oct. 18, the military urged residents of Gaza to evacuate to what it called a humanitarian zone in Al Mawasi, on the coast of southern Gaza.

Israel renewed its warnings on Oct. 22, saying that anyone staying in the north could be identified as sympathisers of a "terrorist organisation" if they did not leave.

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE MOVED?

Hamas has urged Palestinians to ignore the Israeli warnings.

Israel said on Wednesday it had attacked Hamas roadblocks that it believed were stopping people evacuate.

Despite Hamas's attempts to stop an exodus, residents and international aid organisations say there has been a mass displacement of people away from the north and other areas of the enclave seen as a especially vulnerable to attack.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated on Oct. 24 that more than 1.4 million people are internally displaced (IDPs) within Gaza.

Gaza's border crossings with both Egypt and Israel are closed, effectively trapping residents inside the enclave.

WHAT HAS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SAID?

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said giving hundreds of thousands of people just hours to leave their homes was "dangerous and deeply troubling". Many Western governments have called for a pause in the fighting to open humanitarian corridors for the trapped civilians. Arab nations have called for Israel to stop the war. (Reuters)

UK AMbassador to Indonesia give his credential to Indonesian President, Joko Widodo at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta - 

VOInews, Jakarta : Dominic Jermey CVO OBE, who has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia and non-resident Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Timor- Leste, presented his credentials to the President of Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency President Joko Widodo on 23 October 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Dominic Jermey’s previous diplomatic postings include serving as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Afghanistan (2016-2017) and to the United Arab Emirates (2010–2014). Mr Jermey was British Representative to the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, reporting to the UK Ambassador in Jakarta. 

“It is a great privilege and honour for me to present my credentials to the President of Republic of Indonesia His Excellency Joko Widodo. There is huge potential to further strengthen the relationship between Indonesia – the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the UK – a G7 economy and Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. The UK’s partnership with Indonesia continues to grow from strength to strength, focused on business, climate change, biodiversity as well as prosperity and security in the Indo Pacific. Our trade between the UK and Indonesia was worth £3.5bn in 2022 and I want to grow this further as we continue to boost two-way investment. I am very proud of the UK’s long standing collaboration with Indonesia on climate change, energy transition and clean growth – demonstrated through the recent agreement around the Low Carbon Development Initiative - this will ensure Indonesia’s economic growth is sustainable and resilient against the impacts of climate change. I am very much looking forward to my new role as the British Ambassador to Indonesia, working together with our friends and colleagues from Sabang to Merauke, delivering benefits and creating a better, safer and greener future for our peoples”, British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste Dominic Jermey said//VOI 

Integrated Crisis Communication Management System webinar in the Parekraf Sector - 

VOInews, Jakarta : Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Menparekraf/Kabaparekraf), Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno believes in the presence of the Surebro system! (Surveilance, Response and Broadcast) issued by the Communications Bureau of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Baparekraf is able to overcome issues that trigger tourism crises quickly and accurately.

In the Integrated Crisis Communication Management System webinar in the Parekraf Sector, Wednesday (25/10/2023), Sandiaga said the tourism business is a reputation business that is felt by tourists through sensory perception. So, when this reputation is disturbed by something that is not in accordance with tourists' perceptions, this will trigger a tourism crisis.

"A reputation crisis is the starting point for the threat of a tourism crisis. If there is bad news that creates uncertainty and anxiety, such as during a pandemic, we must immediately address this," said Sandiaga.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday, One of the efforts to prevent this crisis from occurring, continued Sandiaga, is strategic communication which is able to reduce the negative impact of the tourism crisis and reduce the anxiety of various parties, especially tourists and creative tourism actors. For this reason, the presence of the Surebro system! issued by the Communications Bureau of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Baparekraf is believed to be able to overcome the impact of a tourism crisis such as what occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This will certainly strengthen synergy and collaboration across ministries/agencies and a good narrative at the regional tourism level so that this (crisis) can be handled together," he said.

Sesmenparekraf/Sestama Baparekraf, Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani, added that the parekraf sector is very vulnerable to being affected by crises which can have an impact on the economy, job creation and infrastructure development. Therefore, there needs to be holistic crisis management by prioritizing effective communication that involves many elements and components.

This is because this integrated crisis communication management system cannot run alone without the support of parekraf stakeholders as well as tourism agencies and ministries/institutions as official information contributors.

"Effective communication is one of the most important resources in managing a crisis. Communication must be carried out in all stages of a crisis, namely before, during and after crisis. Through effective crisis communications, we can understand the risks we face; provide more complete, accurate and fast information; and reduce circulation "disinformation and misinformation can worsen crisis conditions," said Giri.

Meanwhile, Head of the Communications Bureau of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Baparekraf I Gusti Ayu Dewi Hendriyani explained the Surebro Crisis Communication Integrated Management System! is a new breakthrough for the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy organization which has five innovation values, namely the creation of an integrated management system, novelty, adjustments to the organizational structure, sustainability, and in accordance with the organizational values ​​of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Utilization of the Surebro system! In overcoming the tourism crisis, three steps are carried out, namely :

1. Surveillance, by looking at public sentiment through crisis detection analysis (CDA) and media monitoring. Furthermore, these potentials are categorized into three impacts on the tourism and creative sector, namely low, medium and high.

2. Response, with a crisis risk assessment strategy, action in the first 15 minutes, 30 minutes and one hour, as well as action when the crisis continues up to the preparation of a press release.

3. Broadcast, with amplification on owned and paid media of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, PR-ing, and regional Tourism and Creative Economy Crisis Management Forum

"One of the monitoring products that we have in crisis communication is Crisis Detection Analysis. So this is our monitoring of issues in the tourism and creative sector and we detect potential crises in the future and then we mitigate them early on before the issues get bigger by preparing recommendations "follow-up on crisis communication management with outputs such as standby statements, press releases, infographics and posters," said Dewi.

This webinar was also attended online by a number of officials within the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy as well as representatives from Ministries/Agencies and local governments//VOI

GATF 2023 talkshow - 

VOInews, Jakarta : The national airline Garuda Indonesia, in collaboration with Bank Mandiri, is once again holding the 2023 Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF) which will be held from 27-29 October 2023 simultaneously in 7 (seven) major cities in Indonesia, namely Jakarta, Medan, Palembang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar and Jayapura. The GATF 2023 in Jakarta will be held in Halls 3 and 3A, Indonesia Convention and Exhibition (ICE), BSD City, Tangerang.

GATF 2023 is a travel fair event from Garuda Indonesia which has been held periodically since 2008 to be able to provide a variety of special promotional choices for flight tickets and domestic and international tour packages with attractive offers, one of which is through offering discounts on flight tickets of up to 80 percent and various other added value. This offer is valid for the travel period until 29 October 2024.

Garuda Indonesia President Director Irfaniaputra revealed that the implementation of GATF 2023 is not only a sustainable step for the company to contribute to efforts to improve the national tourism sector but also to optimize the growth of air travel, especially in maximizing year-end holiday moments.

"Approaching the end of this year, during the implementation of GATF 2023 this time we are also trying to be closer to the community by providing opportunities for them to get various attractive offers in carrying out tourist trips by holding this program simultaneously in 7 big cities in Indonesia," said Irfan.

Irfan continued that by collaborating with Mandiri as a bank partner, in this implementation Garuda Indonesia presents various added values for service users, especially by providing additional cashback of up to IDR 4 million. Apart from offering special flight tickets with discounts of up to 80%, at this GATF, Garuda Indonesia will also carry out a flash sale which provides additional discounts at certain hours.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday, apart from offering special prices, Garuda Indonesia at GATF 2023 also offers various other promotional programs such as 0% installment up to 12 Months with Bank Mandiri, 50% Bonus Redeem Livin' points to GarudaMiles, Member Get Member Bonus up to 2500 Miles, Discount up to 43% for Award Ticket Redemption, 10% Discount Garuda Indonesia Cargo, 20% Discount Lounge Access up to Discount up to 80% Prepaid Baggage. Specially at this year's GATF there is also a daily domestic flight ticket auction program starting from IDR 300,000.

Apart from providing attractive offers for accessing flight tickets, Garuda Indonesia also provides a Welcome Bonus of 600 miles for new GarudaMiles junior members who register during the program period, as well as a Welcome bonus of 2023 miles for new GarudaMiles Regular members who register during the 2023 GATF period.

This year, to increase the services that visitors can enjoy, Garuda Indonesia is also collaborating with the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights by providing passport making services at GATF venues with a certain quota every day.

"Using the concept of one stop shopping for traveling, it is hoped that by holding this GATF, Garuda Indonesia can facilitate the need for safe and comfortable air accessibility for the community, and it is hoped that it will further strengthen the solidity of the tourism ecosystem. "Apart from that, through this GATF event we hope that we can also help maximize the growth of the Company's performance by optimizing efforts to increase passenger traffic towards the end of the year," concluded Irfan/VOI