VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, at the 5th World Assembly for Women (WAW!), encouraged women to become agents of world peace and tolerance, noted the Ministry's written statement issued and received here, Monday.

"I strongly believe in the power of women's involvement in promoting peace. Let us work together to promote the role of women as the agents of peace and tolerance," Minister Marsudi remarked at the 5th WAW! in Tokyo, Japan, that was attended by the vice president of Panama and women foreign ministers from eight countries.

At the meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marsudi expressed strong belief that women have high qualities of leadership, empathy, protection, and solidarity, so they are able to serve as effective agents of peace.

The minister emphasized that those qualities are well represented by Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden in her approach and handling of the terror attacks in Christchurch last week.

"The steps taken by Prime Minister Arden to address the shooting tragedy in Christchurch demonstrate great empathy that is able to boost the people's solidarity, and she is able to perform her role as the 'mother' of the nation," Marsudi stated.

According to Minister Marsudi, Prime Minister Arden's leadership has demonstrated that women, in fact, have the ability to be actively involved and contribute to peace.

Furthermore, Minister Marsudi highlighted the importance of increasing women's participation and empowerment, especially as negotiators and mediators. In this regard, Indonesia and the ASEAN will hold Regional Training on Women, Peace, and Security for women diplomats from all ASEAN countries. The program is expected to create a momentum for establishing a network of women negotiators and mediators for peace in Southeast Asia.

Minister Marsudi also urged women ministers to take similar actions in their respective regions in order to build the capacities of womankind as peace negotiators and mediators.

"I believe women negotiators and mediators will give deeper contribution to maintain global peace and stability," Foreign Minister Marsudi remarked.

The 5th WAW! Meeting was held by the Government of Japan in cooperation with Women 20, an engagement group of G-20 that promotes the issues of women's empowerment, gender equality, and inclusive development in international economics. The WAW! Forum is an embodiment of Japan's commitment to mainstreaming gender issues and women's empowerment in various sectors

People still remember the fear of the world community about the shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, the same action even though it did not take many casualties occurred again in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Monday March 18. Violence which killed around 3 people and 9 injured with 3 of them in serious condition. Perpetrators of Turkish descent with double passports were arrested by police around 8 hours after taking action on a Tram.

Actions in the City of Utrecht and Christchurch have similarities, which are both using firearms in carrying out their actions and together causing casualties and injuries. But what distinguishes it is that one is done at the other public transportation facilities in the house of worship. In New Zealand, the highest authority has stated that the action of immigrants from Australia is an act of terrorism. Whereas in the Netherlands, the Authority still excludes it as an act of non-terrorism. According to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, as quoted by the BBC, many questions and rumors. It is still unclear the motive behind the armed attack in Utrecht, terrorists or others, is still under investigation, although it also cannot rule out other motives behind the action.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish intelligence agencies were investigating the shooting to ascertain whether it was a terror attack or related to a family dispute. According to a source quoted from The Telegraphe, the shooter Gorkmen Tanis had many criminal records in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, according to a source from the BBC, the perpetrator had joined an armed group in Chechnya.

Regardless of the issue of the shooting action, whether it is categorized as terrorism or merely an act of criminal violence, this is a problem that the circulation of firearms is increasingly prevalent in the community. There is no denying the easy access to illegal firearms from the black market and online sites. They have firearms for various reasons, one of which is to defend themselves from increasingly uncomfortable situations. Although in some countries it is permissible for civilians to have weapons with strict conditions. But whatever happens to a firearm is dangerous and a strong and responsible personality is needed if you have a firearm. Because if you are in a place that is wrong and owned by a problem person, it will be very dangerous. We can also see that state regulations such as in New Zealand and the Netherlands even in European countries and the United States that have implemented and rigorous selection for owners of firearms can still be "missed", what about in African, Asian, and Latin American countries 

After the provision Village Fund and Sub-district Fund, the government plans to allocate the District Fund. The discourse on the district fund allocation came up at a national coordinating meeting of the heads of district, Ciputra Hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday (03/20/2019). Minister of Home Affairs, Tjahjo Kumolo explained that his side is currently processing the proposed district fund budget. He views that this budget is different from Village Fund and Sub-district Fund which are budgeted from the State Revenue. The district fund will be budgeted from the regional state revenue of each region.

On the same occasion, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati gave a positive signal to the proposal of the Minister of Home Affairs. Minister Sri said that she would review the funding allocation for the district. Therefore, she would discuss the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs to choose the most effective instrument to be used as the district budget.

If so, the District Fund will be disbursed to create a balance of development. It is known that the village and sub-district have received funding allocations from the State Budget.

At the end of last year, the government policy related to the sub-district funds became polemic. Even though the district fund policy is good, this is a polemic because the fund will be issued ahead of the presidential election. Thus, before the election, there is an assumption that this policy benefits the incumbent in the 2019 presidential election.

Although it is a mere discourse, this has the potential to cause polemic because it is highlighted prior to the April 2019 General Election. To dismiss this allegation, Minister Tjahjo said that he had lobbied the district fund to Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani for the past two years. Based on Minister Tjahjo's statement, it seems that this discourse does not appear suddenly in the context of elections. The critical question is that how useful this district fund is if it is realized.

Based on the Government Regulation No.19/2008 concerning districts, in addition to carrying out their role as fostering agents and supervisors of village governance, the district government also carries out various matters of population administration and licensing, as well as basic sector services, such as order and security affairs, education, health, poverty alleviation, community empowerment and concrete efforts to prosper the regional community.Viewing the major roles delegated to the district government, of course the district needs sufficient financial support. So far, the district government has received funding from the regional budget. Isn’t the fund enough so that there is a discourse about the provision of the district fund? What is the function of the district budget?

To answer the question, the government must conduct in-depth study. The effectiveness of the fund also needs to be studied in depth even though the proposal of the district fund is aimed at accelerating the development and public services at the lower levels.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya here, Friday , launched the Aceh Calendar of Events 2019 to promote tourist attractions of the country's westernmost province of Aceh Darussalam.

Acting Governor of Aceh Nova Iriansyah remarked that the launch of the Aceh Calendar of Events demonstrated the Aceh provincial government's commitment to supporting the central government's tourism program.

"The launch of the Aceh Calendar of Events 2019 is a proof of our seriousness in supporting the government's program to achieve the target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia," Iriansyah noted here, Saturday.

The calendar of events comprises 10 top events of Aceh and 90 major events of the province.

The 10 top events include the Aceh Culinary Fest 2019, Saman Gayo Alas Fest, and Aceh Diving Fest, which have been part of the "100 Calendar of Events Wonderful Indonesia 2019."

"The Light of Aceh" is the branding of Aceh tourism and co-branding of Wonderful Indonesia.

As one of the world’s best Halal cultural destinations, Aceh has become a halal tourism destination that has met the standard of Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI), and it is in accordance with the standard of the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).

The Aceh Administration has improved facilities and infrastructure to support the tourism industry.

He has urged the central government to encourage the opening of new flight routes connecting Aceh with Malaysia and Thailand, in particular, and to build a commercial airport in Sabang on Weh Island, one of the most scenic islands in Aceh Province. (ant)