Chairperson of the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia Daily Executive Wisnu Bawatenaya on Tuesday at the Jakarta Presidential Palace called on all Hindus in Indonesia to participate in the 2019 General Election which will be held in April. Although he did not mention support to one of the candidate pairs, he hoped that Hindus in Indonesia could exercise their right to vote on the voting day.

"So I said earlier to welcome the party of democracy with independence and joy. So it’s like looking at a crossroad, at the end of a three-way intersection, we just choose where we are going. Of course we will lead the best way. More people come to polling stations. All must come to use their rights and their obligations," said Wisnu.

Furthermore, Wisnu Bawatenaya also hopes that the Indonesian nation can maintain solid unity amidst the diversity owned by the Indonesian people. He also hoped that the upcoming April elections would run peacefully and smoothly. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)

President Joko Widodo received the Executive Board of Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday morning. During the meeting, the President was accompanied by Minister of Religion Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin and Special Staff of President, Ari Dwipayana. After meeting the President, the Chairperson of the Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia Wisnu Bawatenaya said that during the meeting, PHDI reported the plan to commemorate the Day of Silence or Nyepi Day to be celebrated on March 7, 2019. Related to that, Wisnu said that the PHDI would organize rituals at Prambanan Temple on Wednesday as part of the series of Nyepi Holy Day Celebration. In addition, he conveyed that the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) will also carry out the Santi Dharma activities as the culmination of the Nyepi Day commemoration in Bali Province. President Joko Widodo is scheduled to attend the peak of Nyepi Day commemoration. Responding to the report, according to Wisnu Bawatenaya, the President has instructed that the whole series of Nyepi Holy Day celebration activities can be carried out in an orderly and safe manner.

"We come to report to the President on the occasion of the Nyepi holy day which falls on March 7. Then tomorrow, on Wednesday, March 6, we will carry out a ritual at Prambanan temple, then we will also carry out the Dharma Santi in Bali at the Art Center. The time will be adjusted to the president’s schedule. We will carry out around April 5 in Bali. President Jokowi has told us to carry out this activity in an orderly and safe manner," said Wisnu Bawatenaya.

Wisnu Bawatenaya further said that the Dharma Santi celebration which is scheduled to be held in April, will be a means to unite all Hindus which spreads throughout Indonesia. At the peak of the Nyepi Holy Day celebration, all Hindus will form a joint commitment in building a more advanced Indonesia in the future. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)

The Indonesian government on Thursday, February 28, officially imposed zero tariffs on Palestinian imported commodities. Indonesian Minister of Trade, Enggartiasto Lukita, Palestinian Ambassador in Jakarta, Zuhair al Shun and Indonesian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, A.M. Fachir, held a meeting with the Indonesian Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, at the Vice Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday regarding the start of the tariff abolition. In the initial stages, the implementation of the decision was applied to commodities of dates and olive oil which are planned to be exported before the Ramadan fasting month this year. In his press statement, Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita, said Vice President Jusuf Kalla also stressed that "zero tariffs" will also be applied to other Palestinian commodities and without feasibility studies like trade other agreements in general with other countries.

“We are friends, we are brothers, so we are not talking about profit or not profit. Even the Vice-President re-emphasized that he would oder to apply zero tariff for any commodities Palestine wants to export to Indonesia,” said Enggartiasto Lukita.

Meanwhile the Palestinian Ambassador in Jakarta, Zuhair Al Shun, welcomed the long-awaited decision of the Indonesian government. He has also submitted a list of other commodities which are considered potential to be given zero tariff in Indonesia. The Ministry of Trade noted that so far the volume of trade between Indonesia and Palestine had only reached 3.5 million US dollars. Palestine is the 164th Indonesia's export destination. The main export commodities to Palestine include coffee, tea, pasta, bread, perfume and soap. Meanwhile, Palestine is the 162nd source of import for Indonesia, with dates as the main import commodity. (VOI/RETNO/AHM)

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries have no other option but to provide solid and concrete support to Palestine, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

"I want to remind the OIC members about our unfinished work, which is the Palestinian issue, (considering) the situation is getting worse," Marsudi remarked at the 46th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Friday (March 1).

In a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Saturday, Marsudi encouraged all OIC members to support the struggle of Palestinian people to achieve their independence.

Indonesia, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, will continue to provide its full support for the Palestinian cause.

One of the concrete measures taken by Indonesia to help Palestinian people is by providing financial assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for desalinating water facilities in Gaza as well as conducting capacity building program for Palestinian women refugees in Jordan.

Marsudi will deliver the assistance to the UNRWA Headquarters in Amman, Jordan, after the OIC meeting wrapped up.

"The only choice for the OIC is to strengthen solidarity and concrete support for Palestine," Marsudi noted.

The OIC meeting is held at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, on March 1-2, 2019, under the theme "Fifty Years of Islamic Cooperation: Roadmap for Prosperity and Development."

At the meeting, Bangladesh handed over the chairmanship of OIC CFM to the UAE. The meeting will also ratify more than 130 draft resolutions related to OIC cooperation on various issues.

During the meeting, the Indonesian government submitted three draft resolutions related to the establishment of the OIC Contact Group for Peace and Dialogue, Islamic Office for the Boycott of Israel, and the Global Pact on Migration.

In addition, the Indonesian government submitted an annual resolution draft regarding the first meeting of the OIC Medicines Supervisory Board that was held in Jakarta in November 2018 as well as Indonesia’s role and assistance to help handle the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, Myanmar. (ANTARA)