VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Today in History with the event on December 7, 1959 - Aceh was decided to be a Special Region.

Aceh, which was originally named as  Aceh Darussalam, had ever been  subsequently called as the Special Region of Aceh and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam in 2001-2009.  Then, it  becomes the province of Aceh nowadays. Aceh is the westernmost province in Indonesia.  It has its own regulated autonomy, compared with  other provinces in Indonesia, for historical reasons. On 7 December 1959, the Government of Indonesia formally designated Aceh as a special region. At that time, the special status was granted to Aceh in accordance with the Prime Minister's Decree No. 1 / Missi / 1959 whose contents include privileges, religion, worship and education.

Next the Event on December 7, 1995- Galileo's spacecraft arrived in Jupiter.

Galileo is an unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study Jupiter and  moon. It was named based on  astronomer and pioneer of  Renaissance, Galileo Galilei; the aircraft was launched on August 18, 1989 by the Atlantis space shuttle with the STS-34 mission. Galileo arrived in Jupiter on December 7, 1995, six years from its launch, with the help of the gravitational trajectories of the Venus and Earth.

Last event  on 7 December 2017 - International Civil Aviation Day.

International Civil Aviation Day refers to the decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1996, over the initiative of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which stipulated every 7 December as the day of International Civil Aviation.  Previously, ICAO had established International Civil Aviation Day since 1994, in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organization.

The first information is from Switzerland.

Indonesia participated in a charity bazaar organized by the United Nations Women's Guild (UNWG) at the United Nations Building, Geneva, Switzerland on 3 December. A written statement of the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva on Thursday (5/12) said that the charity bazaar was joined by UN member countries. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to women and children in some countries in need. In this bazaar, there were two types of stands available: handicraft booths and traditional food stands from bazaar participating countries. At the food stand, Indonesia sold fried rice, fried noodles, chicken satay, and rendang. In addition, traditional Indonesian cakes were also sold such as sesame balls, bakwan, rissoles, pastels, rolled pancakes, and panada.

The next information is from Malaysia.

A total of 23 travel agents from Aceh and 50 travel agents from Kuala Lumpur held a business meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday, in "Business Matching Aceh - Malaysia Tourism 2019" to sell Aceh's potential in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor State. The activity was organized by the Aceh Culture and Tourism Office in collaboration with the Selangor Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel (MATTA). Head of Tourism and Institutional Business Development Division of the Aceh Culture and Tourism Office, Ismail invited the two travel agents to increase cooperation because they have previously established relations.

The last information is from Berlin.

The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in cooperation with the Indonesian Coffee Council (Dekopi) has held a coffee workshop to improve the performance of Indonesian coffee exports to Germany recently. The event is expected to benefit Indonesian coffee entrepreneurs in determining strategies for entering the coffee market in Germany. Indonesian Ambassador in Berlin, as well as the Chair of the Declaration, Anton Apriantono through his written statement on Wednesday (4/12) said that exporting coffee to Europe, especially to Germany has greater complexity compared to other countries. Because consumers in Germany prioritize health. To be able to compete, Indonesian Arabica coffee needs to be further improved when cleaning and packing. In addition, consistency of the level of maturity and quality of seeds must be maintained.

Since December 10, 1950, the world has commemorated International Human Rights Day. In Indonesia, the National Human Rights Commission -Komnas HAM commemorates the day on Monday 9 December, attended by Vice-President Ma'ruf Amin.

In his remarks, VP Ma'ruf Amin emphasized the government's commitment to resolve the issue of past human rights violations. He also emphasized that the government continues to seek the best solution through studies by various competent agencies. To support the solution, VP Ma'ruf Amin expects the support of the National Human Rights Commission in conducting studies, research and mediation. He also said that the government is committed to making concrete efforts to fulfill human rights in the fields of civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, which have not yet been fully achieved. He also assessed the need for an ongoing process to achieve better human rights standards or qualities.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Ahmad Taufan Damanik said that past extraordinary human rights violations are still the homework of the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin government.

In addition, there are still other problems related to agrarian conflicts and natural resources. More importantly, there are problems of intolerance, discrimination and extremism with violence that can disrupt economic and political development.

Komnas HAM recorded 11 cases of extraordinary human rights violations which have been handled such as the 1965 Tragedy, Talangsari Case, Mysterious Shooting (Petrus), May 1998 Riots, Missing Activists, and the murder of human rights activist, Munir. These cases have not been resolved until now.

Damanik supports the plan of Coordinating Minister for Political Law and Human Rights, Machfud MD who will establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR). So, the cases of human rights violations can be resolved without delay. For Damanik, this is a step forward by the government.However, Damanik believes that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission should start revealing the truth first. What will be reconciled if the truth is not revealed?

Indonesia's step forward in fulfilling human rights is also recognized by the world. Indonesia has been elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period 2020-2022. This means that the world entrusts international human rights defense to Indonesia as a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Therefore, the Indonesian government must maintain the world's trust by showing its seriousness in resolving cases of extraordinary human rights violations at home. This is consistent with what is mandated in the 1945 Constitution and International Human Rights.

PHOTO : VOI/NUKE

Indonesian environment and forestry ministry held an ASEAN Coastal Clean-up 2019 at one of mangrove forest in the Northern part of Jakarta last Saturday (30/11). Twenty-six ambassadors from ASEAN member states and ASEAN partner countries attended the event. In her opening speech, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister, Siti Nurbaya, welcome all ambassadors and asked them to clean up the area along the mangrove forest. She also said that this event was part of Indonesia's commitment for the sustainability of the planet, particularly on the issues of coastal and marine areas as the legacy for future generations, so that they can still enjoy and live in harmony with nature. 

"Related to the reduction of marine pollution from land-based activities, Indonesia has made a commitment to reduce solid waste up to 70 percent by 2025. To achieve this commitment, in 2017, President Joko Widodo issued in a Presidential Decree regarding the National Policy and Strategy on Solid Waste Management. The Indonesian Government has also issued a Presidential Decree Number 38 of 2018 addressing strategic action plan on combating marine debris from 2018 – 2025. Indonesia has also launched a  National Action Plan to reduce plastic waste through various activities that must be carried out by all stakeholders in Indonesia. In line with this regulation, various stakeholders, including local government, businesses, communities, have taken initiatives and innovations in combattting marine litter" Minister Siti said. 

All ASEAN member states have already put the program in place but some are advance and some are not advance, so ASEAN working on it to make sure that waste management is part of the action plan. ASEAN focuses next year to recycle waste for energy as well as other purposes. ASEAN Secretary General, Dato Lim Jock Hoi said that Indonesia has many advance environmental programs. Indonesia and ASEAN are very aware about environment which is in line with SDG's. 

"There are a lot of environmental programs being implemented by Indonesian government not only program but also rules and regulations. There are so many rules that are enable Indonesian government to take action to reduce waste management, plastic and they even have  a center in Bali for marine plastic. I think Indonesia and ASEAN are very conscious about environment in line with SDG. So we are working very closely among ourself and among ASEAN member states and especially Indonesia. This year alone we have declaration on plastic debris and we have view centers now, one in Bali and the other one in Phuket. So we work closely in order to reduce environmental degradation in ASEAN. We know the impact on environment to our society, to our environment, so we believe this is a good inisiative and we should pursue it in the future" Asean Secretary General said. 

The Center will serve as a hub to strengthen capacity building in the field of protection of the marine environment from land-based activities, in particular nutrients, waste water and marine litter/microplastics. The center will seek to develop co-operation with relevant global and regional entities, other relevant international organizations, private sectors entities, and non-governmental organizations. Globally, people faced new challenges in marine environmental issues, such as increased in nutrients pollution, sewage and waste water pollution, and marine litter. Marine litter, especially plastics and microplastics pollution, has been a complex problem affecting ecosystems, social interactions, the economy, the health and the quality of life of the community. It has been estimated that around 80 % of marine pollution, including marine litter, come from land-based activities//NK/AHM/EDT