VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian government has discussed with the Chinese government relating to the evacuation option of Indonesian citizens from the central region of the new coronavirus transmission in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Once there is a green light, the government will immediately conduct the evacuation. Acting Spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a special interview with Voice of Indonesia on Monday (Jan 27) explained that there are several obstacles to evacuate Indonesian citizens from the Hubei province. One of the obstacles is that the residents in affected areas are prohibited to leave the province for a currently unspecified period of time.  If the Chinese government opens access shortly, the Ministry will immediately conduct evacuation.

From Indonesian government side of yesterday's discussion such things, options, including evacuation are also part of the discussion.  Essentially, all scenarios are prepared, because eventually the conditions in the field are decisive. We cannot force an evacuation if the area cannot yet be opened and Chinese government knows most about the conditions on the ground.

Moreover, Minister Faizasyah further explained that the Indonesian government will also continue to coordinate with countries whose citizens have been forced to stay in Wuhan, to see if there is an opportunity to evacuate their citizens. The Indonesian Embassy and university students in Wuhan communicate periodically through the Wechat group, while the Embassy tries to ensure their mental health. He also ensured that the government will do the best for the 252 Indonesian citizens in the affected areas. (VOI/SEKAR/TRS AF)

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama led a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday, January 27, to discuss ways to prevent coronavirus in Indonesia. The government has not issued a ban on flights from and to China, except from Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.

"We have only closed flights from Wuhan, while no ban on flights from other cities in China has been issued since there has been no statement from WHO," he said.

However, passengers and crew members of international flights including those from China to Indonesia are subjected to certain procedures, he said without elaborating.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto expressed the hope that the public will remain calm and called on them to maintain the immunity in their bodies.

"I want to call on the public to keep their life healthy so their immunity will be well maintained," he said.

A total of 243 Indonesians staying in Wuhan are in good health, he said

The Indonesian government is on full alert in anticipation of infected patients entering Indonesia, he said.

The government has not issued a ban on Chinese tourists entering Indonesia except those from Wuhan, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama said.

"In general, the Foreign Ministry has issued a travel advisory in yellow for China to remind Indonesian citizens wishing to travel to China. But the status of Wuhan is red or banned," he said. (ANTARA)

Indonesia's Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita attested to the fact that the coronavirus outbreak had yet to impact the exports of industrial products to China despite concerns of China's economy weakening owing to the pandemic.

"I think there is no impact yet of the outbreak in spite of concerns that China's economy will weaken significantly due to the virus outbreak. This is something that we have to monitor," Kartasasmita stated in Jakarta on Tuesday.

China’s authority has yet to confirm the incubation period of the virus, though Indonesia will remain vigilant, the minister stated.

"I think this is something to be observed closely. We have to remain vigilant," he noted.

Kartasasmita has also appealed to the Health Ministry to prevent the virus from spreading to the country through the import of raw material and substitutions from China.

"I will confirm this with Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, so that they could check all imported products from China," the minister stated.

The Wuhan coronavirus has, until now, claimed 106 lives, with almost 2,800 cases confirmed across China, as the country initiates emergency procedures to strive to rein in the pathogen's global spread.

The virus has spread quickly around the world since it was first discovered in Wuhan last month.

Several countries, including the United States, Australia, France, and Spain are looking to repatriate citizens and government employees from China. (ANTARA)

On January 26, 2020, the 38th annual peace proposal by Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist network, titled "Toward Our Shared Future: Constructing an Era of Human Solidarity" was released, marking the anniversary of the founding of the SGI.

Climate action and nuclear weapons abolition are Ikeda's main themes, with a focus on the individual lives and suffering often hidden behind macroeconomic indices. He describes climate change as "a fundamental challenge, on which the fate of humankind hinges," and stresses that it threatens to render meaningless global efforts toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Praising the energy of youth climate activists, he states, "When young people's will to transform reality merges with an indomitable optimism, the possibilities are limitless."

Ikeda proposes that UN Youth Climate Summits be held every year toward 2030 and calls for a Security Council Resolution mainstreaming youth participation in climate-related decision-making.

Consistent with his decades of action toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, Ikeda urges efforts to ensure that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) reaches 50 ratifications and thus enters into force this year, the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

He proposes holding a People's Forum for a World Without Nuclear Weapons centered on hibakusha and civil society in Hiroshima or Nagasaki to follow the treaty's entry into force. He also calls for a five-year extension of the New START Treaty between the US and Russia as the first step toward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations.

Alarmed by risks that cyberattacks or Artificial Intelligence (AI) could destabilize nuclear weapons systems, he urges that deliberations on a prohibition regime related to cyberattacks on nuclear systems, AI and other new technologies should begin at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference to be held from April at UN Headquarters in New York.

Ikeda also highlights the plight of children and youth deprived of educational opportunities due to armed conflict or natural disasters, and therefore calls for strengthening of the financial foundation of the UNICEF-hosted Education Cannot Wait global fund.

Ikeda concludes with a commitment to continued grassroots action, saying, "The SGI will further promote empowerment of, by and for the people, as we address the climate crisis and other challenges with an expanding movement of global solidarity."

The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a community-based Buddhist network promoting peace, culture and education with 12 million members. Every year since 1983, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (1928- ) has issued a peace proposal offering a Buddhist perspective and solutions to global problems on January 26, to commemorate the founding of the SGI. The year 2020 marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai and the 45th anniversary of the founding of the SGI. (Antara/Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet)

Source: Soka Gakkai International