VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. The United States, Germany, France and other G7 countries called on Friday for an independent and transparent investigation into alleged human rights abuses during the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

Ethiopia’s federal army ousted the former regional ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), from the capital Mekelle in November.

Thousands of people died, hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes and there are shortages of food, water and medicine in the region. The government says most fighting has ceased but there are still isolated incidents of shooting.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said last week Eritrea has agreed to withdraw troops it had sent during the fighting into Ethiopian territory along their mutual border, amid mounting reports of human rights abuses. Eritrea has denied its forces joined the conflict.

The G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed their concerns in a joint statement.

“All parties must exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection of civilians and respect human rights and international law,” they said.

“It is essential that there is an independent, transparent and impartial investigation into the crimes reported and that those responsible for these human rights abuses are held to account,” the ministers said.

They said the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Tigray must be swift, unconditional and verifiable and that a political process acceptable to all Ethiopians should be set up that leads to credible elections and a national reconciliation process.

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said in March it was ready to work with international human rights experts to conduct investigations on allegations of abuses. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Australia is investigating whether a blood clotting case recorded on Friday is related to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a health official said, raising concern in a nation where most people are expected to receive the drugmaker’s shot. A 44-year-old man was admitted to a Melbourne hospital with clotting days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, suffering serious thrombosis and a low count of platelets, or blood cells that stop bleeding.

“Investigators have not at this time confirmed a causal link with the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, but investigations are ongoing,” the deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, told a televised briefing.

More was expected to be known on Saturday, he added.

On Thursday, Britain identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events following use of the vaccine, and several nations, including Canada, France, Germany and Spain, limited its use after similar reports.

Australian regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has said previously the AstraZeneca vaccine was not tied to an increase in overall risk of blood clots, however.

In a statement on Friday, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation said, “There is not a higher overall rate of relatively common types of blood clots (...) reported after COVID-19 vaccination.”

Australia launched mass vaccinations for its 25 million people in February, with most expected to receive the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. In late March, CSL Ltd began domestic production of 50 million doses.

Australia has been highly successful in curbing the virus with snap lockdowns, border closures and swift tracking, reporting just under 29,300 infections and 909 deaths. It has had troubles rolling out its vaccination program, however, missing a March target by about 3.3 million doses as states and the federal government bickered over the blame.

Vaccination supplies in the northeastern state of Queensland will end within days, health officials said on Friday, adding that they were uncertain about the next delivery. [L1N2LV033] (Reuters)

Jakarta. Chairperson of the House of Representatives (DPR) Puan Maharani has called on the government to be cautious in applying policies on face-to-face learning in schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In principle, we must prioritize the safety of students, educators, and other officers at the school, so that a balance is struck between safety aspects and students’ learning," she noted in her statement here on Friday.

Maharani drew attention to this aspect, so that the government can avert the transmission of COVID-19 in schools in the wake of school clusters arising in several areas that had already conducted face-to-face learning.

The DPR Speaker gauged that limited face-to-face learning at schools should also be based on the parents' permission, as they are aware of the student's condition.

If some parents are keen that their children continue with the distance learning method (PJJ), then the school should accommodate the request in line with the government's policy plan.

"It must be ensured that all schools and parents know and understand that children can still continue with the distance learning method if the parents want it. Make sure that information on the Education Ministry's decision is disseminated well," Maharani emphasized.

The  Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician also urged the government to immediately test the safety of vaccines for children, so that students get accorded priority for COVID-19 vaccination.

The government had earlier targeted limited face-to-face learning to commence in July 2021 after teachers and educators were administered the COVID-19 vaccine. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. The government has focused on the recovery of micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) that significantly contributed to driving national economic growth, Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto stated.

"The government has given priority to the recovery of MSME owing to their strategic role in the nation’s economy. MSMEs have contributed 61.1 percent to the national economic growth and absorbed 97 percent of the total workforce, or some 116.9 million workers," Hartarto noted in a statement here on Friday.

Hartarto remarked that of the total budgeted Rp699.43 trillion for the national economic recovery program, Rp184.83 trillion were channeled for MSME.

Budget disbursal for MSME and corporate funding was conducted through the provision of six stimuli: interest rate subsidy for MSME, productive aid for micro enterprises, return of guarantee services (IJP) subsidy, fund placement in public banks, tax incentive, and credit restructurization.

The minister stated that some MSMEs were plunged into grave problems owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey involving 195,099 MSME conducted by the Cooperative, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises Ministry found that 23.10 percent of the MSME had experienced a decline in their business turnover, 19.50 percent encountered obstacles in distribution, and 19.45 percent faced problems in working capital.

An Asian Development Bank (ADB) survey encountered a similar condition, wherein 30.5 percent of the MSME in Indonesia had recorded a decline in domestic demand and 48.6 percent were temporarily closed.

"One of the government's moves to revive MSME's economic activity is by providing stimulus in working capital through the micro loans scheme with low interest rate and without additional collateral," he revealed.

In 2020, the government had waived off interest payments and deferred principal installments of KUR for MSMEs affected by the COVID-19 outbreak for a maximum of six months.

It also established super micro KUR targeting laid-off workers and the micro-scale home industry.

In 2021, the government has extended the provision of interest subsidy of three percent, postponement of principal installments and relaxation of KUR provisions by extending its term as well as an increase in the ceiling to Rp253 trillion.

"The government will need the help of all stakeholders, including the public and MSME operators, to ensure that all government policies have been implemented properly. Thus, the MSME could strengthen their businesses and boost the national economy," Hartarto added. (Antaranews)