VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 11 - World powers bear responsibility for ignoring crimes against humanity that may still be perpetrated by authorities in North Korea amid a focus on its nuclear programme, a U.N. human rights investigator said on Wednesday.

Tomas Ojea-Quintana urged the U.N. Security Council to refer grave violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.

He voiced concern at reports of severe punishments imposed for breaking COVID-19 lockdown measures, including alleged orders to “shoot on sight” anyone trying to cross the border.

“Crimes against humanity may be ongoing,” Ojea-Quintana told the U.N. Human Rights Council.

He had received information confirming the findings of a landmark 2014 U.N. Commission of Inquiry on extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, political persecution and “the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation” in the isolated country.

“The urgency to stop violations of such a scale, gravity and nature cannot take a back seat to national interests or geopolitical interests,” Ojea-Quintana told the Geneva forum.

This was not justifiable under the U.N. Charter, he said, adding: “I believe that the Security Council bears responsibility for its inaction against the continuation of crimes against humanity in the DPR Korea.”

Ojea-Quintana presented his latest report, issued last week, which said that drastic measures taken by North Korea to contain the novel coronavirus have exacerbated abuses and economic hardship for its citizens, including reports of starvation.

“We are concerned about increasing reports of starvation, imprisonment and summary executions,” U.S. charge d’affaires Mark Cassayre told the council.

Australia’s deputy ambassador, Jeffrey Roach, said that North Korea’s top priority should be improving the lives of its citizens. “Instead, the regime’s focus remains on developing weapons of mass destruction and the vehicles for delivering them,” he said.

North Korea’s mission to the U.N. in Geneva did not respond to Reuters’ queries for comment. Pyongyang does not recognise the U.N. investigator’s mandate and boycotted Wednesday’s debate.

It has previously rejected U.N. allegations of crimes against humanity. (Reuters)

Mar. 11 - West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan met with Vice President Ma'ruf Amin in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss a proposal for accelerated development in the province.

"We asked for guidance and directives from the vice president in the capacity as chief of the team for accelerating welfare development in Papua and West Papua, in accordance with presidential instruction number 9, 2020," Mandacan said.

The proposal covers a number of sectors aimed at promoting the local people's welfare, he added.

He said he has proposed the arrangement of the national strategic tourism area (KSPN) in West Papua, with the theme of biodiversity conservation, culture, and religion.

"The proposal for the KSPN program comprises two areas, namely Sorong-Raja Ampat (which has been developed) and Manokwari-Pegunungan Arfak," he added.

He said he has also proposed the creation of job training centers and excellent senior high schools to promote the quality of local human resources.

"We need a job training center to produce skilled, ready-to-work, professional workers," he stated. (Antaranews)

Mar. 11 - Schools will prepare for resuming direct learning after educational practitioners receive COVID-19 vaccines under the national immunization program, Minister of Education and Culture, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, has informed.

“After vaccines have been administered to educational practitioners, face-to-face learning is eagerly and quickly to be conducted for all educational institutions, starting from early childhood education, primary education, and middle education,” said Makarim during a working meeting with Commission X of the House of Representatives here on Wednesday.

Direct learning must be accelerated by following the health protocols as well as participation in the COVID-19 vaccine program, he remarked.

Once they are vaccinated, teachers, educational practitioners, and regional governments are expected to push forward direct learning according to the situation of the educational institutions in each region, he observed.

Therefore, the minister said he expects the loss of learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic to end.

“After all teachers and educational practitioners have been vaccinated, direct learning will be allowed for higher education. However, the rectors will decide whether to start conducting direct lectures or not,” he informed.

The government is targeting to inoculate as many as 5.5 million teachers and educational practitioners in three stages by the end of June, 2021. They have been prioritized given the difficulties of online learning, Makarim said.

The first stage will cover teachers and educational practitioners at the level of early childhood education (PAUD), elementary schools (SD), and schools for the disabled (SLB). The second stage will cover teachers and educational practitioners teaching at junior high schools (SMP), senior high schools (SMA), and vocational schools (SMK). The third stage will cover lectures and higher educational practitioners.

Primary education teachers will be accorded priority given the huge number of students and teachers facing difficulties with online learning amid the pandemic, Makarim explained. (Antaranews)

Mar. 11 - The ASEAN-Norwegian Cooperation Project on Local Capacity Building for Reducing Plastic Pollution in the ASEAN Region (ASEANO) has awarded grants to four young scientists and researchers, including an Indonesian, for research on reducing plastic pollution.

ASEANO said it disbursed the grants, in collaboration with Indonesian think-tank Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), as part of efforts to find innovative solutions and ideas to tackle the problem of plastic pollution.

“More than 11 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, and this is expected to double in the next 20 years,” said Norwegian Ambassador to ASEAN, Morten Hoglund, during an event held to select the four recipients of the ASEANO research grants on Tuesday (March 9, 2021).

The Ambassador reiterated Norway’s strong commitment to clean oceans and rivers, adding that it has been one of the country’s strongest priorities globally for the past few years.

“In the ASEAN region, we have entered into a number of partnerships to assist local and national authorities,” he said.

The recipients of the grant included an Indonesian lecturer from Padjajaran University, Ibnu Faizal, whose research revolves around waste distribution and pattern on the mangrove ecosystem in Citarum River’s estuaries, especially in Muara Gembong area in West Java. His research, selected from 181 proposals sent in from all over ASEAN, has won him a US$7,500 grant from ASEANO.

Muara Gembong, a subdistrict of Bekasi Regency, West Java has been named the most polluted area in the province, and Faizal’s research could unveil many new aspects of the origins of plastic waste and its impact on Citarum River’s estuaries, according to ASEANO.

Indonesia produces 6.8 million tons of plastic waste annually. Based on a 2017 survey, only 10 per cent, or 680 thousand of the 6.8 million tons of plastic waste was recycled, while 9 per cent, or 620 thousand tons of the plastic waste ended up in the ocean and rivers.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Trang was also awarded a US$7,500 grant for her doctoral research on the impact of plastic litter on the seagrass communities in Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area in Vietnam. She will conduct her research over a three-month period.

The other recipients of the ASEANO grant are Thailand’s Kanin Laopirun and Philippines’ Princess Lydia S Fuentes. Laopirun’s research is focusing on assessing the circular economy and plastic waste management in Thailand, as well as the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Fuentes is studying the socio-economic impact of marine litter on coastal barangays of Roxas City, the Philippines.

“The objective of the ASEANO research grant competition is to provide an opportunity for knowledge transfer and know-how among academics in ASEAN member countries and find the solution to plastic pollution through evidence-based policy,” said Ratnawati, research manager with CSEAS.

With the funding, it is hoped that young researchers will come up with new and innovative solutions to reduce plastic waste, especially marine debris in the ASEAN, she added.

ASEANO is a three-year program in the Norwegian-ASEAN Regional Integration Program. It mainly focuses on capacity and knowledge development for tackling plastic pollution in the ASEAN region, and targets Indonesia and the Philippines as first case studies areas. (Antaranews)