VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Thousands of Indonesian citizens living in South Korea have come to the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Seoul to participate in the presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, although they had to queue long and some did not necessarily get voting rights.

They came from various regions of Korea, including Daejeon, a distance of hundreds of kilometers from Seoul and small industrial cities like Ansan on the outskirts of the capital.

"The voting today is safe and under control. Not only in Seoul but also in other polling stations," said the chairman of the Seoul Overseas Election Committee (PPLN), Huda Ulinuha.

At the Indonesian Embassy, there are around 3,000 people registered in the final voter list. The figure has not counted hundreds of other Indonesian citizens who register in the place (special voter list - DPK) and have to wait for the rest of the ballots. They are those who are not certain yet to get the right to vote.

Some of those who have included in the special voter list have previously claimed to have been registered in the final voter list at other polling stations. However, because the polling stations set by PPLN were too far from the initial domicile, they finally asked to move the polling stations to Seoul which is easier to reach.

"I am domiciled in Incheon (Seoul's western suburb - ed), but my polling station is in Daegu, which is too far (more than 200km - red). Finally I asked to move to the polling station in Seoul," Christian Ho said.

In addition, many residents also sent ballots directly to the embassy for fear of not arriving. Actually they can send ballots by post to the embassy.

Overall, there are around 26,000 permanent voters in South Korea. As many as 8,000 of them chose to use the direct voting method to polling stations in four cities. Around 13,000 people use the postal method, while the rest are waiting for mobile polling stations in the outer cities of Korea. (ant)

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi officially submit on Thursday ( 11/ 4 ) Heri Ardiansyah to the family. At the same time, Mme. Marsudi also submit it symbolically corpse of Hariadin who died in the process of liberation in Southern Philippines.

On behalf of the Government, Mme. Retno Marsudi convey deep condolences over the death of Hariadin and hope the family can be resilient in the face of this ordeal. Both the Indonesian citizens taken hostage by armed groups in the southern Philippines since December 2018. (twitter menlu)

Women are not only part of the solution, but also a source of peace and security ", said the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, when officially opening the Regional Training on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) event held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 8 - April 10, 2019.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Foreign Minister delivered 3 (three) suggestions to ensure that women's involvement in security and peace. First, it emphasizes the importance of the role of women as agents of peace and tolerance. Second, doubling efforts to mainstream the role of women in the peace agenda in the Region. Third, build and foster a network of female negotiators and mediators in the Region.

To realize these three things, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held a Training on Women, Peace and Security for around 60 female diplomats from ASEAN member countries, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. The activity aims to be a place for learning and sharing best practices for young female diplomats in building capacity to analyze and prevent conflicts, and build post-conflict peace.

The training also seeks to align with Indonesia's commitment to being a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and ASEAN commitments as stated in the "Joint Statement on Promoting Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN" adopted by ASEAN leaders on November 13, 2017 at the ASEAN Summit 31st in the Philippines.

In a broader context, women also play a key role in maintaining peace through their role in the economic, social and cultural fields. Moreover, the UN Women research shows that women's participation in peace negotiations increases the possibility of sustainable peace by 20%.

However, despite the important contribution of women in peace and security, women's representation and role is still inadequate in various phases of the peace process. Seeing this, there is a crucial need to actively support women's participation in the ongoing peace process before, during and after the conflict.

For three days, the regional training participants had discussed and shared best practices with panelists who were full of experience in issues of peace & security. The panelists consisted of figures from the military and police, government, think tanks and non-government organizations. Participants will also be invited to visit the Social Rehabilitation Center for Children in Need of "Handayani" Special Protection (BRSAMPK) and the Indonesian Peace and Security Center (IPSC) Region.

With this activity, Foreign Minister Retno hoped that the role of women in peace and security should not be extraordinary, but rather became the norm. (mofa indonesia)