Viktor Yeimo Has a Relationship with Indonesian APB, Veronika Koman

JAYAPURA, LELEMUKU.COM - The Papua Regional Police General Criminal Directorate continues to conduct investigations on the spokesman for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Viktor Yeimo, for his involvement in many cases Papua.

One of the investigations focuses is Viktor Yeimo's involvement with an Indonesian all-points bulletin (APB) Veronika Koman. From the investigation results, the police found that Viktor Yeimo was the data supplier for Veronika Koman, who was in Australia.

"Meanwhile, the investigation is about it because all this time they are both reporting untrue things about Papua. The person concerned (Viktor Yeimo) took the data from the KNPB and then shared it with Veronika Koman in Australia. So he is like a data supplier for Veronika Koman," said Chief of Papua Regional Police, Police Inspector General Mathius Fakhiri in Jayapura City, Tuesday (11/5/2021) morning.

Apart from examining the relationship between Viktor Yeimo and Veronika Koman, investigators also examined the supply of funds for the KNPB.

"We will check the flow of funds for this organization (KNPB). Including their action at the Papua governor's office in 2019. We understand whom the funds flow from, "he explained.

Previously, KNPB spokesman Viktor Yeimo was named a suspect in the riot case in Jayapura City in 2019. In addition, he was also charged with several other cases such as ITE, propaganda and treason cases.(HumasPolri)

Thai Court Grants Bail to Pro-Democracy Activist on Hunger Strike, Including Parit Penguin Chiwarak

BANGKOK, LELEMUKU.COM - A Thai court on Tuesday freed on bail two Thai pro-democracy activists charged with royal defamation, including Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, who has been on a weeks-long hunger strike to protest being denied bail 10 times since his February arrest.

The court also released Chaiamorn “Ammy” Kaewwiboonpan, who was arrested in March for allegedly burning a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in front of a jail during an anti-government protest. A bail hearing for a third activist, Panupong “Mike” Jadnok, also charged with defaming the monarchy, was delayed as they were waiting for results of his COVID-19 test, authorities said.

“The court examined the evidence at the hearing for a temporary release of Parit and Chaiamorn and considered that the circumstances of the cases have changed. Therefore, the court granted a temporary release of Parit and Chaiamorn,” the Criminal Court in Bangkok said in a statement, without elaborating on how the situation had changed.

Parit had been sent to a hospital on April 30, where he was force fed through a tube, the corrections department had said. At that time, his weight had dropped from 107 kg (236 lbs.) to 94.5 kg (208 lbs.), Thawatchai Chaiyawat, deputy director-general of the Department of Corrections, had said in a Facebook post.

After they were released from jail around 9:30 p.m., Parit and Chaiamorn flashed three-finger salutes to supporters who had gathered outside the prison. Parit’s family took him to Vibhavadi Hospital for treatment.

The three-finger salutes, borrowed from The Hunger Games movies, is a symbol of protesters’ demands that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha step down, that the Constitution be amended and that the monarchy be reformed. Since pro-democracy protesters first gathered in mid-July 2020, rallies have been held in Bangkok and across the nation as thousands have called for the three reforms.

Parit and Chaiamorn did not speak to reporters after their release, but Parit’s sister addressed the media.

“I'm glad that we get to be together after all. I think that we will not stop fighting,” Ploywarin Chiwarak told reporters.

“We have to keep fighting until the day we get democracy.”

Meanwhile, the court said Panupong tested negative for COVID-19 on May 6, but he had been tested again and results were awaited.

Kritsadang Nutcharat, a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), said the court allowed Parit to be released on 400,000 baht (U.S. $12,830) bail. Chaiamorn was allowed to be released on 250,000 baht ($8,000) bail. Neither the lawyer nor the court released details about who paid for their release.

Under bail terms, neither man can defame the monarchy or participate in protests. They also cannot leave the country and must wear electronic monitoring bracelets.

On April 30, Parit’s mother, Sureerat Chiwarak, shaved her head in front of the Criminal Court building in Bangkok after judges again turned down her request that Parit be released on bail on humanitarian grounds. Parit had been on hunger strike since March 15.

During that day’s hearing, TLHR attorneys said Sureerat offered to pay 200,000 baht ($6,400) for her son to be granted bail so he could get hospital treatment.

The court rejected that offer and sent Parit to Ramathibodi Hospital for treatment.

“My son is sacrificing what he loves and I am letting go of something that I love as well. I will start with shaving my hair,” Sureerat told reporters at the time.

“When the people see me walking around with a bald head, which may be ugly, please know that this injustice is happening in Thailand and it is even uglier than this.”

Parit, Panupong and five other pro-democracy activists, are accused of violating the strict royal defamation law during a two-day protest in September 2020.  Royal defamation, or Lese-Majeste, carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years per count.

At the time, protest leaders submitted a letter to the metropolitan police chief asking the king to accept political reform. They also placed a plaque in an area of Bangkok reserved for royal ceremonies.

March incident

Chaiamorn, a pop-star turned activist, was charged with Lese-Majeste, for an incident in late February, police and a lawyers’ group had said.

Local media showed Chaiamorn falling after climbing a scaffolding in front of Klong Prem Central Prison while holding a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), as he called for the release of Parit and three other protest leaders.

“The arson of the king’s portrait was my work and I assume sole responsibility. It has nothing to do with any movements,” Chaiamorn said in an Instagram posting at the time.

Parit and Chaiamorn join other pro-democracy leaders to be released on bail in recent weeks.

Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, who also began a hunger strike late in March on Lese-Majeste charges stemming from the September protest, was released on bail on May 6.

Jatupat “Pai” Boonpattararaksa and Somyot Pruksakasemsuk were released on bail on April 23 after the court ruled there was no sufficient reason to deny their request. Like the others, Jatupat and Somyot were charged with violating Article 112 – Lese-Majeste – at the September rally.

As of March 3, as many as 382 activists had been charged with alleged offenses stemming from the pro-democracy protests, according to TLHR. In addition, at least 68 protesters had been charged with Lese-Majeste since Prayuth announced in November that authorities would begin enforcing that law for the first time in about two years. (Wilawan Watcharasakwet| BenarNews)

Indonesian Military Says Missing Submarine Sank in Deep Water off Bali

DENPASAR, LELEMUKU.COM - Hopes for the survival of 53 sailors aboard a missing Indonesian Navy submarine dimmed Saturday when the military announced that the vessel sank and may have cracked and disintegrated in deep water off Bali as it went down.

Senior armed forces officials pointed to debris and objects from the submarine that were recovered in the ongoing search for the KRI Nanggala-402 as evidence of cracks that caused it to sink hundreds of meters below the surface of the Bali Sea.

The submersible boat lost radio contact after being cleared to dive during a torpedo training exercise early Wednesday morning.

“The search has shifted to the sub sunk phase, from the sub miss phase,” Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, the chief of the armed forces, told reporters in Bali, using a military term for a missing submarine.

The recovered items included a part used in the submarine’s torpedo system, a heat insulator and a bottle of lubricant for greasing the periscope, officials said as they displayed the recovered objects during a press conference at a military base on Bali. A Muslim prayer rug from the submarine was also recovered, they said.

“These objects would have never slipped out of the submarine unless there was pressure or cracks,” Hadi said.  

Navy Chief Adm. Yudo Margono indicated that the crew’s chances of survival were slim, but he and other military officials declined to say out right whether all the sailors on the submarine had perished, when reporters pressed them on this question.

“It did not explode, but there was a crack due to the depth of 700 meters [2,296 feet]. The pressure was so high that there could have been cracks in the submarine,” the Navy chief said.

Water might have flooded the submarine because of cracks but part of the submarine’s cabin could be compartmentalized to prevent more seawater from coming in provided that the hatches were closed, Yudo said.

“Seventy-two hours is the maximum limit in the event of an electrical blackout, but it can last up to five days if the electricity is on. But we suspect that there was a blackout,” he said, referring to the submarine’s oxygen supply, which had been expected to run out early Saturday.

“We have tried our best to find the KRI Nanggala, but this morning was the deadline for oxygen life support to run out. Oil spills and debris have become authentic evidence of Nanggala’s sinking,” Hadi said.

No bodies have been found so far, according to Yudo.

“We are still carrying out the search ... the depth of the sea we have detected is at 850 meters (2,790 feet), which is very tricky and presents many difficulties,” Reuters quoted the admiral as saying.

The announcement came as an Australian frigate, the HMAS Ballarat, and a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft arrived in Bali to join dozens of Indonesian vessels that have scoured the sea to locate the submarine during the past few days.

Singapore’s submarine-rescue ship, the MV Swift Rescue, was expected to arrive later on Saturday, the Navy said.

Malaysia and India are also sending ships to support the search effort.

The Indonesian military believes that the submarine sank to between 600 and 700 meters below the surface – far deeper than the German-made vessel was designed to dive.

Yudo said Singapore’s MV Swift Rescue ship and a similar vessel from Malaysia had remotely operated vehicles that could reach depths of 900 to 1000 meters.

The Ballarat is equipped with sonar technology that could detect underwater objects, he said.

“Together, all teams will work hard because the depth of the sea is 850 meters and it will be extremely hard to do lifting and evacuation work,” Yudo said.

The KRI Nanggala-402 was built by German company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1977 and came into service in 1981, the Indonesian military said.

From 2009 to 2012, the submarine was retrofitted by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, officials said.

Indonesia has five submarines, including the missing one.

Former Rear Adm. Soleman Ponto said the Nanggala might have broken up because the hull could no longer withstand the pressure.

“It is unlikely that they will survive,” he told BenarNews, referring to the crew.

“When pressure is high, the submarine will crumble like a squeezed tin – flattened.” (Tria Dianti | Benarnews)

ASEAN Leaders Meetin Jakarta, Call for Immediate Stop to Violence in Myanmar

JAKARTA, LELEMUKU.COM - Southeast Asian leaders called for an “immediate cessation” to killings in Myanmar and the opening of ASEAN-brokered talks between its military regime and parallel civilian government, as they and the Burmese junta chief met in Jakarta for an emergency summit Saturday on that country’s post-coup strife.

A statement from the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the end of the one-day talks, which lasted about three hours, indicated ASEAN would appoint a special envoy to facilitate talks aimed at “a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.” It also said the regional bloc would provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

“We, as an ASEAN family, had a close discussion on the recent developments in Myanmar and expressed our deep concern on the situation in the country, including reports of fatalities and escalation of violence,” said the chairman’s statement issued by Brunei, the current holder of ASEAN’s annual rotating chair.

In the bloc’s pursuit “to strengthen our regional solidarity and resilience, we reiterated that the political stability in ASEAN Member States is essential to achieving a peaceful, stable and prosperous ASEAN Community,” the statement also said.

It went on to say that the member-states reaffirmed a collective commitment to the principles enshrined in the 54-year-old bloc’s charter, “including adherence to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government, respect for fundamental freedoms, and the promotion and protection of human rights.”

The “Five-Point Consensus” on Myanmar called for the “immediate cessation of violence” with all parties exercising “utmost restraint”; a constructive dialogue among all parties; the mediation of such talks by a special envoy of the ASEAN chair, with assistance from the bloc’s secretary general; provisions of humanitarian assistance coordinated by ASEAN; and a visit to Myanmar by an ASEAN delegation, headed by the special envoy, to meet with all parties.

However, the five points did not include the release of political prisoners as the president of Indonesia – the largest country in ASEAN – and the prime minister of Malaysia had demanded in their speeches during Saturday’s summit.    

The statement, nonetheless, was the strongest collective one issued to date on the crisis in Myanmar, and a rare show of consensus that tested the 10-nation bloc’s founding principle of non-interference in members-states’ domestic affairs.

Although the statement said that the “ASEAN family” had “agreed” to the five points, it was not immediately known how Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the Burmese junta chief, whose forces have killed hundreds of civilian protesters since the Feb. 1 coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government, responded.   

Min Aung Hlaing did not give a formal statement, according to Agence France-Presse.

The meeting, which was the first high-level in-person meeting among ASEAN leaders since the coronavirus pandemic broke out early last year, was closed to the press because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

"It's beyond our expectation," Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters after the summit.

"We tried not to accuse his side too much because we don’t care who’s causing it," Reuters quoted Muhyiddin as saying. "We just stressed that the violence must stop. For him, it’s the other side that’s causing the problems. But he agreed that violence must stop."

Blunt words from Indonesia's leader

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was blunt in his remarks during the meeting, which he later conveyed during a post-summit news conference.

“The situation in Myanmar is something that is unacceptable and should not continue,” he told reporters.

“Violence must be stopped and democracy, stability and peace in Myanmar must be restored immediately.”

Jokowi said at the meeting, Indonesia demanded that Myanmar’s junta make three commitments: end its use of force, start an inclusive dialogue among parties by releasing political detainees at once and open access to humanitarian aid, under the coordination by ASEAN’s secretary general.

“Indonesia is committed to overseeing the continuation of this commitment so that the political crisis in Myanmar can be resolved immediately,” Jokowi said.

In his speech to the meeting, Prime Minister Muhyiddin echoed Jokowi’s remarks.

“Apart from immediately stopping the violence, my second point is to call for a meaningful, inclusive political dialogue which can only take place with the prompt and unconditional release of political detainees,” Muhyiddin said.

“This would be a good starting point and ease international pressure on Myanmar and ASEAN,” he said.

Muhyiddin said the ASEAN chair and secretary general must be given access into Myanmar to meet with all parties.

“This is much needed for ASEAN to provide an honest and unbiased observation. If ASEAN is allowed access, this can demonstrate to the world that it is on track in helping Myanmar restore normalcy in the country,” the Malaysian leader said.

The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia had called for the emergency summit after the junta failed to heed demands to end the violence and release political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Min Aung Hlaing arrived at Jakarta airport on a Myanmar Airways International flight in the early afternoon.

The general headed to the ASEAN Secretariat building, where the meeting was being held, after undergoing a COVID-19 test, the Indonesian president’s office said.

Apart from the junta chief, the other ASEAN states were represented in person by their top leaders, except for the Philippines, Thailand and Laos, who all sent their foreign ministers.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte cited their preoccupation with worsening COVID-19 outbreaks at home as their reason for skipping the meeting.

Also on Saturday in Jakarta, Christine Schraner Burgener, the United Nations special envoy on Myanmar met with Bui Thanh Son, the foreign minister of ASEAN member-state Vietnam, on the summit’s side lines, Vietnamese media reported. The U.N. envoy was going to the Indonesian capital to engage ASEAN leaders in discussions “focusing on a political solution” to the crisis in Myanmar, the world body had said earlier this week.  

Human rights groups, meanwhile, had criticized ASEAN for allowing the Burmese junta chief to represent Myanmar at the summit and exclude officials from the newly formed parallel National Unity Government (NUG) from attending it.

In a statement posted late Saturday on Facebook, the NUG said it welcomed “the encouraging news that ASEAN leaders have reached consensus that the military violence in Myanmar must stop and political prisoners be released.”

But it was not immediately clear whether the parallel civilian government was responding to the ASEAN chairman’s statement or to the speech by Jokowi.

“We appreciate the strong words from President Widodo of Indonesia calling for the release of our heroes,” Dr. Sasa, the union minister of international cooperation and spokesman for the NUG, said in the statement.

“We look forward to firm action by ASEAN to follow up its decisions and to restore democracy and freedom for our people and for the region.” (Ahmad Syamsudin/Ronna Nirmala | BenarNews)

Philippines Imposes 1-Week Lockdown in Manila to Combat COVID-19 Infections

MANILA, LELEMUKU.COM - The Philippines imposed a one-week lockdown on heavily populated metropolitan Manila and nearby areas beginning Monday, the same day it received 1 million vaccine doses, as the government sought to contain the surging numbers of COVID-19 infections.

The “enhanced community quarantine” announced on Saturday forces more than 24 million people inside their homes until Easter Sunday April 4, unless they are “essential workers” in the field of hospitals and banking, among others.

“Like what I said last Saturday, all social gatherings are prohibited,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a virtual news conference on Monday.

“Unfortunately, all these variants made the disease more infectious and more transmissible. So I’d like to stress, it’s not just foreign variants. Even the Philippine variant now, that’s something that no one could have done anything about because it’s in the nature of viruses to mutate,” Roque said.

The government enforced a curfew between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. the following day, banned all mass gatherings including Holy Week church services when millions of Catholic Filipinos traditionally congregate at places of worship.

On Monday, the health department said it had logged 10,016 new daily COVID-19 infections, the highest so far logged in the Philippines bringing the pandemic toll to 731,894. The health department also recorded 16 deaths, bringing the toll to 13,186.  

Bangladesh recommendations

Meanwhile in Bangladesh, the government on Monday issued an 18-point directive imposing restrictions on social, political or religious gatherings following a spike in COVID-19 infections there.

Bangladesh recorded 5,181 coronavirus infections on Monday, its highest one-day total since the pandemic began.

In addition to the restrictions, public transportation, hotels and restaurants are limited to 50 percent capacity while meetings, seminars, trainings and workshops must be arranged online.

A family medicine specialist in Dhaka blamed the government’s decision to go forward with 50th anniversary of independence celebrations last week with having a role in Monday’s restrictions.

“The authorities did not pay attention to this rise as they were busy with state functions in celebration of the golden jubilee of independence,” Dr. Lelin Chowdhury said. “The 18-point directive that has come today is like chasing after the coronavirus. You could not run faster than the virus, which was urgent.”

Mutations

Roque said the lockdown was necessary because the virus has mutated, making it more difficult for health experts to address. He also sought to dispel doubts about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, saying the government was doing its best to acquire them.

“With more people getting sick, there will be more people inevitably who will get sick in a serious and critical manner, so have your vaccine if you are able to have it now,” he said.

The nation began its inoculation program at the start of March, but had received only 1.12 million vaccine doses and had delivered the first dose to slightly more than 500,000 of the country’s 110 million people as of last week.

On Monday, the government received 1 million vaccine doses purchased from Chinese manufacturer Sinovac.

“We are expecting the delivery of around 1.5 million to 4 million of the remaining procured doses from Sinovac by April and May 2021, together with the 979,200 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the WHO-led COVAX facility,” said Carlito Galvez, a former general who is in charge of the government’s vaccine procurement.

“These will allow the country to further expand coverage of our vaccination program,” he said. (BenarNews)

A Singapore Skyline View for Migrant Workers

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The Ferris wheel in Singapore was getting hit with raindrops.

But the migrant workers riding the Singapore Flyer did not seem to mind. They were trying to see the city skyline from above.

They were just a small number of at least 20,000 workers getting a free ride as a gift from members of the public and businesses.

The program ItsRainingRaincoats began a few years ago to help spread kindness to Singapore’s migrant workers. In January, it began calling for ride tickets to be donated to the workers.

Dipa Swaminathan is the group’s founder. She said a volunteer saw the rides as a meaningful way to use tourism money provided by the government.

Singapore citizens ages 18 and older have received about $74 each in tourism money. They must spend it on attractions, hotels and tours – all businesses that have lost money during the coronavirus pandemic.

Swaminathan’s group worked with the Ferris wheel operator and a booking website to get tickets for the foreign workers. A lot of people see that the workers have given so much to Singapore “and this is their chance to give back,” Swaminathan said.

“There’s a lot of joy in giving. I think that’s what causes the public…to support us” in these kinds of actions, she told The Associated Press.

The group will keep organizing rides as long as tickets come in.

A ticket, which includes entrance to an interactive space, costs about $26. There are currently enough tickets for 20,000 workers.

That is two percent of the 700,000 to 800,000 people who live in Singapore, Swaminathan estimates.

She said the “contained” nature of the Ferris wheel makes it a good fit.

Volunteers reminded the riders to keep their facial coverings on and keep a one-meter distance during a recent visit.

Ganesan Thivagar recently visited with a few other migrant workers.

They waited while rides were briefly stopped for bad weather. When it was time to go on, the 165-meter-high wheel did not offer such great views.

But that did not affect the 34-year-old. He was paying attention to the areas he could see. And he was struck by how much Singapore had changed since he arrived 14 years ago.

He quickly began taking pictures for his family, who live in India’s Tamil Nadu state.

“I am happy to enjoy the trip and enjoy together with my friends. Thanks to Singapore, (I get to) come here,” Thivagar said.

Workers like Thivagar have had a hard time. Their small living spaces had high coronavirus infection rates early during the pandemic.

Migrant workers have made up most of Singapore’s 60,000 reported cases. Last year, the high infection rates brought sudden attention to their situation – crowded living conditions, low wages and lack of healthcare.

Although the infection situation is under control, these workers have had more restrictions on movement than the general population. The rules are being eased by officials.

Natarajan Pandiarajan, who is 29, said the restrictions were “really difficult.” He was thankful for a break like his recent ride on the Ferris wheel. “Inside many feelings I also have. But this time now, coming on, happiness,” he said. (VOA)

Cosmetic Surgeries Operations Rise in South Korea During Pandemic

SEOUL, LELEMUKU.COM - South Korean demand for cosmetic surgery operations sharply increased in 2020.

Last year, the industry in South Korea was worth about $10.7 billion dollars. That was an increase of around nine percent from 2019. South Koreans are expected to spend around $11.8 billion this year, says Gangnam Unni, the country’s largest online cosmetic surgery website.

Ryu Han-na is a 20-year-old university student. She got an operation on her nose in December.

Ryu took her classes online throughout 2020. She said the abilities to rest at home and to wear a face covering in public were important for her.

“I always wanted to get a nose job...I thought it would be the best to get it now before people start taking off masks when vaccines become available in 2021,” she said as she prepared for the operation, which cost around $4,000.

“There will be bruises and swelling from the surgery but since we’ll all be wearing masks I think that should help,” she added.

That thinking is leading to an increased demand for such operations in South Korea. Gangnam Unni data showed its users grew to about 2.6 million last year, an increase of 63 percent from a year earlier.

However, the pandemic made it nearly impossible to sell cosmetic services to foreign patients. As a result, the industry has tried to promote its services more to people in the country and nearby.

Promote means to make something more popular or well-known.

Cosmetic surgeons say patients are interested in operations on all parts of the face. Some want operations on parts of the face that are easily hidden under coverings, such as the nose and lips. But others want operations in places that face coverings do not hide.

Park Cheol-woo is a surgeon at WooAhIn Plastic Surgery Clinic. Park was responsible for Ryu’s operation.

“Both surgical and non-surgical inquiries about eyes, eyebrows, nose bridge and foreheads - the only visible parts - certainly increased,” Park said.

Surgeon Shin Sang-ho runs Krismas Plastic Surgery Clinic. Shin said many people have spent their emergency payment from the government at hospitals and surgical centers.

“I felt like it’s sort of a revenge spending. I’ve sensed that customers were expressing their pent-up emotions (from the coronavirus) by getting cosmetic procedures,” Shin said.

Pent-up emotions are feelings that have been held back or not expressed.

Government data shows that of about $13 billion in government payments, 10.6 percent was used in hospitals and drug stores. That was the third-largest area of spending behind supermarkets and restaurants. However, details of spending at hospitals were not provided.

A third wave of coronavirus remains a concern in South Korea as the country reports more daily cases. “We’ve seen growing numbers of cancellations...recently as people refrain more from going outside...” Park said. (VOA)

United States Sounds Warning as South Easy Asia Countries Choose Huawei for 5G

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM -  The United States is acknowledging that many countries are not heeding warnings about the possible security risks in allowing Chinese tech giant Huawei to build the next generation of high-speech wireless networks known as 5G.

The trend is particularly clear in Southeast Asia, where even U.S. allies are racing ahead to partner with Huawei and launch 5G networks in the coming years.

In February, Thailand launched a Huawei 5G test network in Chonburi. Thai authorities indicated that the affordability of Huawei's 5G services offset potential concerns over cybersecurity.

In the Philippines, its Globe Telecom is rolling out the nation's 5G network in partnership with Huawei.

In Malaysia, the country's leading communications and digital services company Maxis signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei to cooperate and accelerate 5G development.

This week, six former top U.S. military officials, including two who were commanders for the U.S. Pacific Command, issued a blunt warning of a future where a Chinese-developed 5G network could be widely adopted among American allies.

"There is reason for concern that in the future the U.S. will not be able to use networks that rely on Chinese technology for military operations in the territories of traditional U.S. allies or emerging partners in Europe, Asia and beyond," said the former military leaders in a statement.

"The immense bandwidth and access potential inherent in commercial 5G systems means effective military operations in the future could benefit from military data being pushed over these networks," they added.

And U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday warned some European countries could soon find themselves cut off from U.S. intelligence and other critical information if they continue to cultivate relationships with Chinese technology firms.

"We've done our risk analysis," Pompeo said, following a NATO ministerial meeting in Washington. "We have now shared that with our NATO partners, with countries all around the world. We've made clear that if the risk exceeds the threshold for the United States, we simply won't be able to share that information any longer."

For U.S. officials, the threat posed by a Chinese-built communication network could not be clearer.

"Huawei is not a state-owned enterprise. But Huawei is a Chinese company and what we do know is several things. One, broadly speaking, Chinese companies will respond to requests for demands from the Chinese government. Telecommunications is a vital part of national backbones. It has military security implications. It has financial and economic implications," said Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow of Washington-based Heritage Foundation.

​Cheap. Fast. Secure?

Huawei insists that it would not turn information over to Chinese authorities if they demanded it, but few outside analysts believe any Chinese company would stand up the country's authoritarian government. U.S. officials are even more direct.

"What we do is in our national interests, we see with companies like Huawei that are supported, if not directed, by central authorities in China. We see challenges and potential threats to the sanctity, the security of our systems in our networks, and the best we can do with our friends and partners and allies, is to share our information, share our experience," Patrick Murphy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told VOA at a recent seminar at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

That message clearly has had a mixed reception, especially after years when the United States' vast electronic eavesdropping capabilities have drawn criticism.

Richard Kramer, founder of Arete, a technology research firm based in London, said leaks from U.S. security agencies in recent years have revealed close cooperation between the federal government and U.S. telecoms and tech firms around intelligence gathering.

The U.S. position, he said, seems to be: "We don't want China to spy on us, but we want to be able to spy on them."

Will pressure backfire?

Even in countries where there are open political concerns over the growing power of Chinese influence, too much U.S. pressure could backfire, said Anthony Nelson, Director of the East Asia and Pacific practice at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global business strategy firm.

"Southeast Asian countries that are looking to balance their military relationships with the U.S. and China are not motivated by Washington's security concerns, with the notable exception of Vietnam," Nelson said.

Vietnam has had tensions with China in recent years over disputed territory and trade issues. Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S., Ha Kim Ngoc, told VOA that all companies operating in the country need to respect Vietnam's sovereignty.

"We have one principle: They need to respect our sovereignty, national sovereignty," said the ambassador at the recent USIP event. (VOA)

Students Worldwide Skip School to Protest Global Warming

STOCKHOLM, LELEMUKU.COM - They're angry at their elders, and they're not taking it sitting down.

Students worldwide are skipping class Friday to take to the streets to protest their governments' failure to take sufficient action against global warming.

The coordinated "school strikes," being held from the South Pacific to the edge of the Arctic Circle, were inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who began holding solitary demonstrations outside the Swedish parliament last year.

Since then, the weekly protests have snowballed from a handful of cities to hundreds, driven by social media-savvy students and dramatic headlines about the impact of climate change.

Thunberg, who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was cheered for her blunt message to leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this year, when she told them: "I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day."

Friday's rallies are expected to be one of the biggest international actions yet. Protests were under way or planned in cities in more than 100 countries, including Hong Kong; New Delhi; Wellington, New Zealand; and Oulo, Finland.

In Berlin some 10,000 protesters, most of them young students, gathered in a downtown square, waving signs with slogans such as "There is no planet B" and "Climate Protection Report Card: F" before a march through the capital's government quarter. The march was to end with a demonstration outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's office.

Organizer Carla Reemtsma, a 20-year-old university student, said social media had been key in reaching people directly to coordinate the massive protests in so many different locations, noting that she was in 50 WhatsApp groups and fielding some 30,000 messages a day.

"It's really important that people are getting together all over the world, because it's affecting us all," she said.

Critics, supporters

Some politicians have criticized the students, suggesting they should be spending their time in school, not on the streets.

"One can't expect children and young people to see all of the global connections, what's technically reasonable and economically possible," said the head of Germany's pro-business Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner. "That's a matter for professionals."

But scientists have backed the protests, with thousands signing petitions in support of the students in Britain, Finland and Germany.

"We are the professionals and we're saying the young generation is right," said Volker Quaschning, a professor of engineering at Berlin's University of Applied Sciences.

"We should be incredibly grateful and appreciative of their bravery," said Quaschning, one of more than 23,000 German-speaking scientists to sign a letter of support this week. "Because in a sense, it's incredibly brave not to go to school for once."

Scientists have warned for decades that current levels of greenhouse gas emissions are unsustainable, so far with little effect. In 2015, world leaders agreed in Paris to a goal of keeping the Earth's global temperature rise by the end of the century well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Yet at present, the world is on track for an increase of 4 degrees Celsius, which experts say would have far-reaching consequences for life on the planet.

"As a doctor, I can say it makes a big difference whether you've got a fever of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit) or 43 C (109.4 F)," said Eckart von Hirschhausen, a German scientist who signed the call supporting striking students. "One of those is compatible with life, the other isn't."

Other action

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have publicly welcomed the student protests, even as their policies have been criticized as too limited by environmental activists.

In France, activist groups launched legal action this week for failing to do enough to fight climate change, citing a similar successful effort in the Netherlands.

In Germany, environmental groups and experts have attacked government plans to continue using coal and natural gas for decades to come. Activists say that countries like Germany should fully "decarbonize" by 2040, giving less-advanced nations a bit more time to wean themselves off fossil fuels while still meeting the Paris goal globally.

Other changes needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions include ramping up renewable energy production, reining in over-consumption culture now spreading beyond the industrialized West and changing diets, experts say.

"The fight against climate change is going to be uncomfortable, in parts, and we need to have a society-wide discussion about this," said Quaschning.

That conversation is likely to get louder, with several U.S. presidential hopefuls planning to campaign on climate change.

Luisa Neubauer, one of the Berlin group organizing Fridays for Future, said politicians should take note of the young.

"For the European elections in May, we're urging everyone to think about whether they want to give their vote to a party that doesn't have a plan for the future and the climate," she said. (VOA)

Tick Tock, Tick Tock: Tokyo Olympics Clock Hits 500-day Mark

TOKYO, LELEMUKU.COM - Tick tock, tick tock. The Tokyo Olympic clock has hit 500 days to go. Organizers marked the milestone on Tuesday, unveiling the stylized pictogram figures for next year's Tokyo Olympics. The pictogram system was first used extensively in 1964 when the Japanese capital lasted hosted the Olympics _ just 19 years after the end of World War II.

A crude picture system was first used in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and later in London in 1948. But the '64 Olympics originated the standardized symbols that have become familiar in every Olympics since then.

Japanese athletes posed with the pictograms and their designer, Masaaki Hiromura. Organizers also toured regions that will host Olympic events, including the area north of Tokyo that was devastated by a 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and resulting damage to nearby nuclear reactors.

Unlike other recent Olympics, construction projects are largely on schedule. The new Olympics stadium, the centerpiece of the games, is to be completed by the by the end of the year at a cost estimated at $1.25 billion.

That's not to say these Olympics are problem free.

Costs continue to rise, although local organizers and the IOC say they are cutting costs — or at least slowing the rise.

As an example, last month organizers said the cost of the opening and closing ceremonies had risen by 40 percent compared with the forecast in 2013 when Tokyo was awarded the games.

Overall, Tokyo is spending at least $20 billion to host the Olympics. About 75 percent of this is public money, although costs are difficult to track with arguments over what are — and what are not — Olympic expenses. That figure is about three times larger than the bid forecast in 2013.

Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee and a powerful International Olympic Committee member, is also being investigated in a vote-buying scandal that may have helped Tokyo land the Olympics.


Takeda has denied wrongdoing and has not resigned from any of his positions with the IOC or in Japan.

He is up for re-election to the Japanese Olympic Committee this summer and could face pressure to step aside. (VOA)

As Sanctions on North Korea Remain, Kim’s Economic Development Goals May Recede

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may not be able to achieve his economic development goals given the divergent ideas over denuclearization exhibited by Washington and Pyongyang after the Hanoi summit, said experts.

After the Hanoi summit broke down last month over discussions of Washington’s demand on denuclearization and Pyongyang’s demand on sanctions relief, Kim made a first public statement emphasizing economic development, a goal he set for this year during his New Year’s Day speech.

If the sanctions are not lifted, North Korea and its citizens will likely to face tougher economic conditions this year.

North Korea’s main state media outlet, Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), reported on Saturday that Kim stressed last week “the need to concentrate all efforts of information and motivation on accelerating socialist economic construction.” KCNA added that Kim emphasized the [North] Korean people should “further display their might in the spirit of self-reliance.”

Ahead of the report, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton told Fox Business Network last week the U.S. is looking to increase sanctions if Pyongyang is not willing to denuclearize.

“They’re not going to get relief from the crushing economic sanctions that have been imposed on them,” Bolton said. “We’ll look at ramping those sanctions up in fact.”

A State Department official said on Thursday that the U.S. is not looking to provide exemptions to South Korea to resume joint economic projects with North Korea, which Seoul has been pushing for since the first inter-Korean summit in April.

Missile sites

Based on commercial satellite imagery, North Korea appeared to be rebuilding the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Tongchang-ri last week. Pyongyang began to dismantle the largest missile engine test site in the country after the first summit with the U.S.in Singapore in June.

Movements around the Samundong facility near Pyongyang were also detected last week, suggesting North Korea might be preparing for a missile launch.

Built in 2012, the Samundong facility's mission is the development of long-range missiles and space-launch vehicles, such as the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts agree is capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

Experts said Kim will not be able to develop North Korea’s economy, one of the world’s most opaque, without a sanctions lift from the U.S.

According to South Korea’s central bank, North Korea’s economy shrank 3.5 percent in 2017, a year after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions banning North Korea’s key exports including coal, textiles and fisheries and limited its imports of oil. Without the income derived from selling those export commodities, the North Korean economy is likely to face limits on its growth.

“Sanctions are really serious obstacles to the prospects for North Korea to fully develop its economy,” said Scott Snyder, director of the U.S.-Korea policy program at the Council of Foreign Relations.

Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the North Korean economy is likely to dwindle as the result of sanctions.

“Kim’s economy is in difficult shape, squeezed by sanctions,” Manning said. “Some think it is likely to contract in 2019.”

Snyder said North Korea will likely continue to look for ways to bypass sanctions, and turn to Russia and China, which have been willing partners in that effort in the past. But, he thinks that Pyongyang is unlikely to get very far with Moscow and Beijing.

Since the U.S.-North Korean summit process started in June, Snyder said China has eased off enforcing sanctions in the past two months.

"But I believe that China is willing to continue to apply sanctions up to a point, and that the level of relaxation on the part of China is not going to be sufficient to meet North Korea’s desire toward its needs," he added.

Joshua Stanton, a Washington-based attorney who helped draft the North Korea Sanctions Act in 2016, thinks the consequence of sanctions are not rigorous enough at the current level to deter evasions by North Korea.

“So far, they are not,” Stanton said. “You need to go out to Chinese banks that continue to launder money for North Korea. And although the Trump administration threatened that, it hasn’t followed through with that threat.”

US legislation

A day before the Hanoi summit that took place Feb. 27-28, Congressman Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, introduced a bill calling for the prohibition of lifting sanctions on North Korea.

Stanton said Congress will likely look for ways to make sanctions stronger now that North Korea has demonstrated its unwillingness at the Hanoi summit to agree to U.S. demands on denuclearization.

Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, said North Korea is most likely to turn to South Korea for concessions and look to resume inter-Korean projects, such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang tourism, which South Korea has been planning to discuss with the U.S. prior to beginning preparatory work because of potential sanctions violations.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex that opened in 2004 included factories where South Korean manufacturers could employ North Korean workers for low wages. It was shut down in 2016 following a North Korean nuclear test. South Korean tours to the venerated Mount Kumgangended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot by a North Korean guard.

Gause said, “It will definitely make it more difficult for [South Korean President Moon Jae-in] to just provide concessions to North Korea with the United States taking a hardline following Hanoi.”

Snyder thinks “the inter-Korean projects cannot go ahead under current circumstance because they would pursue contrary to the sanctions efforts,” and if South Korea tries to resume the projects with North Korea, “it would definitely create tension.”

“So I believe South Korea is going to get essentially a red light on the idea of large-scale economic cooperation," he added.

Gause, on the other hand, thinks inter-Korean economic projects could help U.S. negotiate denuclearization with North Korea.

“If the South Koreans were able to get some sanctions relief and provide North Korea with some resources, maybe reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex or Mount Kumgang, that could actually lay the path for better negotiations with the United States down the line than if we just take a hard line against North Korea, and they go into a shell,” said Gause.

After the Hanoi summit, Snyder said North Korea is looking for a way to boost its leverage over the U.S. position by making a preparation to resume testing.

“One leverage that North Korea can use to push back on the U.S. position is the idea of making preparations for possible resumption of testing," he said. “It’s kind of logical move for North Korea to make as a means by which to send the signal that the North Koreans also have some leverage and they’re not just going to roll over.” (Christy Lee-VOA)

North Korea May Be Preparing Missile or Space Launch

SACRAMENTO, LELEMUKU.COM - There are indications North Korea may be preparing for a missile or space launch, National Public Radio is reporting. The U.S. news outlet said an analysis of satellite images of the Sanumdong facility near Pyongyang reveal the presence of trucks, cars, rail cars and cranes.

"When you put all that together, that's really what it looks like when the North Koreans are in the process of building a rocket," said Jeffrey Lewis, a researcher at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

Lewis has studied the images, which were provided by DigitalGlobe, a U.S. commercial provider of space and earth imagery.

This development comes on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump saying he would be "very disappointed" if North Korea is resuming nuclear testing after his recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump made the comments to reporters Friday as he prepared to travel to Alabama to view tornado damage. He said he has greatly improved U.S. relations with North Korea during his time in office.

"Look, when I came in," he said, "under the Obama administration, North Korea was a disaster. You were going to war, folks, whether you know it or not. ... I inherited a mess."

He continued, "Right now you have no testing, you have no nothing. Let's see what happens, but I would be very disappointed if I saw testing."

Trump and Kim met last week in Vietnam in a summit meant to reach an agreement on North Korean denuclearization. But the meeting broke down over an impasse over how many sites North Korea would shut down.

Following the summit, South Korean newspapers reported there was evidence of new activity at the Sohae long-range rocket site, a site Kim agreed last year to shut down as part of confidence-building measures with the United States.

North Korean state media acknowledged the failed meeting for the first time Friday, saying the people of North Korea blame the United States for the collapse of the talks.(VOA)

Benjamin Netanyahu Campaign Draws Accusations of Incitement

JERUSALEM, LELEMUKU.COM - When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into political trouble in the past, he has lashed out at the media, the political opposition and Israel's Arab minority with incendiary and divisive language to galvanize his nationalist base.

Ahead of April 9 elections, Netanyahu has zoned in on prominent Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi.

The Israeli leader, slumping in the polls after the dramatic announcement of his pending corruption indictment, is portraying Tibi as a threat to national security in a charged campaign that critics say questions the loyalty of the country's Arab citizens.

Using his own nickname, Netanyahu has been repeating a campaign mantra: “Bibi or Tibi.” The snappy slogan, eagerly parroted by his hard-line allies, highlights Netanyahu's efforts to paint his challengers as weak “leftists” conspiring with Arab Israelis and a hostile media to oust him.

It also shines a spotlight on Tibi — an affable, media-savvy political veteran who speaks fluent Hebrew. Tibi is known for his harsh criticism of government policies toward the country's Arab citizens and toward Palestinians who live under Israeli control in territories Israel captured in 1967.

“Until this week, I didn't know that against my will I was a leading candidate for prime minister,” he said with a smile from his home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Despite the humor, Tibi said he is concerned about what he views as Netanyahu's attempt to demonize Israel's Arab minority.

“He is delegitimizing the Arab parties, the Arab lawmakers and the Arab public in general,” he said. “He's trying to transmit that it is either me, the supposed patriotic Jewish leader, or the Arabs will take over the country and decide who will be the prime minister. And he portrays this as a nightmare.”

Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's 9 million residents. They hold full citizenship rights but have faced decades of discrimination.

The outgoing Netanyahu-led government further stoked tensions by passing a controversial law that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. A parliamentary panel recently recommended banning an Arab party from running in the election, while Netanyahu has courted anti-Arab extremists in hopes of improving his re-election chances.

Part of Netanyahu's typical stump speech these days alleges that his prime challenger, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, will be unable to build a ruling coalition without the backing of Arab parties. Arab parties never sat in an Israeli coalition government, and they say they have no interest in doing so now.

Gantz has been quick to reject the association, flaunting his tough military record of pounding Gaza militants and saying he would not rely on the Arab bloc in parliament to stabilize a future government.

The charge nonetheless is part of the Netanyahu campaign playbook that has worked before.

Fearing a possible loss on election day in 2015, Netanyahu mobilized his supporters by releasing a frantic midday video in which he warned that Arab voters were heading “in droves” to the polls. The move, for which he later apologized, appeared to help turn the tide and secure another term for him.

If he wins again, he's expected to walk back his rhetoric once more, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute.

Plesner said Netanyahu tends to speak in two voices about the Arab minority.

He said Netanyahu has earmarked unprecedented budgets to Arab communities to try to close the wide economic gaps between Arabs and Jews.

But during election campaigns, Netanyahu attempts to mobilize his base, Plesner said. Netanyahu “recruits the ultimate `other' of Israeli life, which is the Arab minority,” he said. “It is cynical, and it is effective.”

Such rhetoric will encourage more Arab voters to sit out the election, said Thabet Abu Rass, co-director of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, a non-profit dedicated to promoting equality in Israel.

“A lot of people are now saying we cannot continue to play the game and pretend Israel is a state for all its citizens,” he said. “And they'll say we have to highlight this by boycotting the election.”

At the same time, many Israeli Jews, especially among Netanyahu's right-wing base, consider the Arab minority disloyal for sympathizing with the Palestinians and other Arab adversaries. A decade ago, Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara fled into exile after he was accused of spying for Hezbollah — a charge he denied.

The 60-year-old Tibi illustrates many of the contradictions faced by Israel's Arabs. He's worked as a gynecologist in Israeli hospitals and served for years as a member of parliament, but also advised Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader.

For the past two decades, Tibi has advocated for Arab rights in Israel and for a Palestinian state. Hard-line lawmakers frequently brand him a fifth-column in the Israeli legislature.

But he is also considered the most popular Arab lawmaker, even among Israeli Jews. He is a regular on their television screens, known for his witty quips.

In parliament, he's earned praise for his environmental and consumer legislation and for his promotion of Holocaust commemoration that touched many Jews.

In the current election campaign, he has refrained from endorsing any of Netanyahu's challengers, wary of playing into the prime minister's hands. Tibi said he is ill at ease with the leadership of the Blue-and-White party, which includes Gantz and two other former chiefs of what he calls the “occupation army.”

But he makes no qualms about wanting to unseat Netanyahu, whom he accuses of “Arab hatred” and of leading Israel down a dangerous path by deepening control over the occupied West Bank and its millions of Palestinians.

“It's possible that Benjamin Netanyahu is leading us toward a binational state, and then it will either be an apartheid state in which only the Jews can vote or a democratic country in which there is one person, one vote,” he said. “If that happens, tomorrow I will run against Bibi. Then it will really be Bibi or Tibi.” (VOA)

Indonesia Speeds Up Development in 4 Strategic Tourism Destinations

JAKARTA, LELEMUKU.COM - Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono has expressed the Government’s commitment to improve infrastructure and facilities in four tourism strategic areas (KSPN), namely Lake Toba, Borobudur Temple, Labuan Bajo, and Mandalika.

Those four tourism strategic areas are part of the Twelve National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN) known as “the New Bali”.

Basuki added that with adequate infrastructure and facilities, it is expected that tourists will stay longer in Indonesia. He also said that infrastructure development in those areas also takes into account disaster risk management.

In the meantime, Head of Center for Strategic Areas Development (BPIW) of Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing Hadi Sucahyono said that BPIW continued to coordinate with a number of related agencies such as the Geological Agency and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

“Infrastructure development in the KSPN is planned in an integrated manner, including by structuring the area, improving road access, providing raw water and clean water, managing waste and sanitation, and improving residents’ occupancy through an infrastructure development master plan prepared by the Regional Infrastructure Development Agency,” he said.

The master plan for the development of KSPN, he added, is made for the next ten years with more details made in a five-year plan, while an evaluation is carried out annually. “Key tourism areas become a top priority in our infrastructure development,” Hadi said.

“The focus is on the development of four KSPN given the number of tourists visiting the areas continues to increase. Investment is a key driver to boost economic potentials of the regions,” Hadi said, adding that infrastructure development is not only to attract tourists but also to improve quality of life of the communities and to boost local economic potentials.

“The Ministry supports the development of infrastructure that is not only beneficial for tourists but also for low-income communities,” Hadi added.

In Mandalika, the Government has made several efforts to re-structure Kuta village by repairing six roads, pavements, drainage systems, and public open spaces equipped with a playground that can be enjoyed by the locals.

The Government has also provided assistance for low-income communities with decent housings through 200 self-help housing programs in Central Lombok regency, which can be used as homestays. Moto GP circuit will also be built in Mandalika with the five-star hotel standard around the area.

In Lake Toba, the Government has improved access from Silangit airport to both the outer ring and the circumference in Lake Toba, including by dredging the river channel and building Tano Ponggol bridge as well as the Lumban Pea and Lumban Julu integrated rest area.

In Kampung Ujung, Labuan Bajo, which is the hub to cross to Komodo Island, eateries have been built, equipped with accessible roads and drainage.

In Borobudur Temple, the Government has revamped a number of tourist destinations near the temple such as Mendut Temple, Pawon Temple, and Puthuk Setumbu. The Government has also improved access from the new airport in Kulonprogo. (Setkab)

#UninstallBukalapak Campaign Can Hurt Indonesian E-Commerce

JAKARTA, LELEMUKU.COM - Coordinator of Special Staff to the President Teten Masduki said that President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo is not angry on Bukalapak CEO Achmad Zaky’s controversial tweet.

“The President is not angry and accepts his (Zaky) apology,” Teten told reporters after accompanying President Jokowi in a meeting with Zaky at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Saturday (16/2). The President asked the CEO of Bukalapak to be more careful and despite the wrong data used, he agreed with the issue raised by Zaky.

Teten expressed hope that the meeting can stop the recent commotion which according to him is ‘economically unfavorable.’

The Government has provided a lot of support in terms of, for example, regulation and financing in order to help many start-up companies to grow. Therefore, the President is concerned that the recent #UninstallBukalapak hashtag movement on Twitter would hurt e-commerce business in Indonesia.

For the record, Bukalapak is one of the four Indonesian unicorns (start-up company with a current valuation of US$1 billion or more) that developed during the administration of President Jokowi. The other three are Go-jek (ride-hailing and logistic service), Traveloka (airline ticketing and hotel booking service), and Tokopedia (online marketplace).

“These four companies, which are also listed in 10 strongest startups in Southeast Asia, are our pride,” Teten said. (Setkab)

Iran's Javad Zarif Accuses Israel and US of Seeking War

TEHRAN, LELEMUKU.COM - Iran's foreign minister on Sunday accused Israel of looking for war and warned that its actions and those of the United States were increasing the chances of a clash in the region.

Addressing the Munich Security Conference, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also criticized the U.S. administration after Vice President Mike Pence this week called on European powers to pullout of the nuclear deal with Iran. Zarif urged France, Germany and Britain to do more to save that accord.

"Certainly, some people are looking for war... Israel," Zarif said. "The risk [of war] is great. The risk will be even greater if you continue to turn a blind eye to severe violations of international law."

Accusing Israel of violating international law after bombing campaigns in Syria, Zarif criticized European powers for not calling out Israel and the United States for their behavior in the region.

"Israeli behavior is putting international law on the shelf, U.S. behavior is putting international law on the shelf," he said.

Speaking to his Cabinet on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iranian belligerence was the main destabilising factor in the entire Middle East.

"We must deny Iran nuclear weaponry and block its military entrenchment in Syria. We will continue taking constant action to ensure Israel's security," he said in remarks broadcast on Israeli media.

Europe falling short

Vice President Pence on Friday accused Iran of Nazi-like anti-Semitism, maintaining his harsh rhetoric against Tehran just a day he attacked European powers for trying to undermine U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Zarif said the U.S. had an "unhealthy" and "pathological obsession" with Iran and accused Pence of trying to bully his allies.

"All in the name of containing Iran, the U.S. claims, and some blindly parrot, that it is Iran that is interfering in the region, but has it been asked whose region?" Zarif said.

"Look at the map, the U.S. military has traveled 10,000 kilometers to dot all our borders with its bases. There is a joke that it is Iran that put itself in the middle of U.S. bases."

Zarif, who said Iran was committed to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers for now, also accused France, Britain and Germany of not doing enough to ensure Tehran received the economic benefits of that accord.

These three countries this month set up the Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a new channel for non-dollar trade with Iran to avoid U.S. sanctions. But diplomats say it is unlikely to allow the big transactions that Tehran says it needs to keep a nuclear deal afloat.

Washington's major European allies opposed last year's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to abandon the deal, which also includes China and Russia, under which international sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for Tehran accepting curbs on its nuclear program.

"INSTEX falls short of commitments by the E3 [France, Germany, Britain] to save the nuclear deal," Zarif said. "Europe needs to be willing to get wet if it wants to swim against the dangerous tide of U.S. unilateralism." (VOA)

Iran Government Faces Angry Online Backlash Over Activists' Abuse Claims

TEHRAN, LELEMUKU.COm - In early January, labor activist Esmail Bakhshi posted a letter on Instagram saying he had been tortured in jail, attracting support from tens of thousands of Iranians online.

Bakhshi, who said he was still in pain, also challenged the intelligence minister, a cleric, to a public debate about the religious justification for torture. Late last month, Bakhshi was rearrested.

Sepideh Qoliyan, a journalist covering labor issues in the Ahvaz region, was also rearrested on the same day after saying on social media that she had been abused in jail.

Bakhshi's allegations of torture and the social media furor that followed led Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to call for an investigation, and the intelligence minister subsequently met with a parliamentary committee to discuss the case, a rare example of top officials being prompted to act by a public backlash online.

"Each sentence and description of torture from the mouths of #Sepideh_Qoliyan and #Esmail_Bakhshi should be remembered and not forgotten because they are now alone with the torturers and under pressure and defenseless. Let us not forget," a user named Atish posted on Twitter in Farsi on Feb. 11.

"When thousands of people share it on social media, the pressure for accountability goes up," said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director at the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. "Sham investigations won't put it to rest. Social media is definitely becoming a major, major public square in Iran."

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said last month, without naming Bakhshi, that allegations of torture online constitute a crime.

His comments follow growing pressure from officials to close Instagram, which has about 24 million users in Iran. Iran last year shut down the Telegram messaging app, which had about 40 million users in the country, citing security concerns.

"Today you see in cyberspace that with the posting of a film or lie or rumor the situation in the country can fall apart," Dolatabadi said, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

"You saw in recent days that they spread a rumor and announced the rape of an individual or claimed suicide and recently you even saw claims of torture and all the powers in the country get drawn in. Today cyberspace has been transformed into a very broad platform for committing crimes."

Arab population

The arrests of Bakhshi and Qoliyan are part of a crackdown in Ahvaz, center of Iran's Arab population. Hundreds of activists there pushing for workers' and minority rights, two of the most contentious issues in Iran, have been detained in recent weeks.

The Arab minority in southwest Iran has long claimed that it faces discrimination from the central government. Frustration has occasionally turned into violence: in 2005 the city was struck by bomb attacks for which government sources blame Arab separatist groups.

Last autumn, gunmen killed 25 people, including 12 Revolutionary Guards, in Ahvaz. Islamic State and an Arab separatist group both claimed responsibility. Officials vowed revenge and hundreds of people were arrested.

On Wednesday, a suicide bomber killed 27 Revolutionary Guards in southeast Iran, where the Baluch minority shares the same grievances as the Arab community: government neglect and discrimination.

"The general situation with regard to human rights in Iran is reaching a crisis point," said Mansoureh Mills, Iran researcher for Amnesty International. "This wave of arrests of Ahvazi Arabs is one part of the Iranian authorities waging a year-long campaign to completely crush dissent."

Two of Abbas Zahiri's brothers were among many people arrested on the day of the Ahvaz attack. They were accused of taking video footage on their phones near the scene and are currently in jail, in poor health, according to Zahiri.

"They are under pressure to confess their links to those who carried out the attack," Zahiri, 18, told Reuters from Ahvaz.

In recent weeks, several activists in Ahvaz have been sentenced to death on security charges, according to their families and human rights groups.

Abdollah Marmazi, an Arab rights activist, was arrested last autumn on security charges after the Ahvaz attack. He was not allowed to see his lawyer or contact his family for months, his sister Amal said in an interview from London. Last month, he was sentenced to death.

Their brother Hatam, also an Arab rights activist, was killed in jail after being arrested last summer, according to Amal. "My family has no hope of seeing him again," she said.

"They believe he is dead."

Judiciary offices in Ahvaz and Tehran said nobody was available to comment.

Human rights

Amnesty documented the arrest in 2018 of more than 7,000 "protesters, students, journalists, environmental activists, workers and human rights defenders, including lawyers, women's rights activists, minority rights activists and trade unionists."

Bakhshi and Qoliyan were initially arrested last November after attending a gathering of workers from the Haft Tapeh sugar cane factory who were demanding unpaid wages.

Hundreds of workers from an Ahvaz steel mill were protesting about unpaid wages at the same time. Authorities feared that the labor protests could dovetail with grievances of minority rights activists and cause further unrest, analysts and activists said.

Labour activists elsewhere in the country went online to support the protesting Ahvaz workers.

Both Bakhshi and Qoliyan turned to social media to detail the abuse they said they faced in custody after they were released in December. Bakshi wrote in Jan. 4 on Instagram that security agents beat him "to the edge of death."

"Today, after the passing of approximately two months from that difficult day I still feel pain in my broken ribs, kidneys, left ear and testicles," Bakshi wrote. The post was shared thousands of times on social media.

After Rouhani's call for an investigation, parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy commission met Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi on Jan. 8. Alavi denied Bakhshi had been tortured, the spokesman for the parliamentary committee, Ali Najafi Khoshroodi, told the Tasnim news agency.

The government did not announce any further investigation of Bakhshi's allegations, an indication that the meeting may have been largely symbolic, analysts say.

Iranian state TV aired a report on Jan. 19 in which Bakhshi and Qoliyan admitted having ties with individuals and groups outside the country planning to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

Rights groups say the videos were false confessions recorded under duress. Bakhshi and Qoliyan were rearrested a day after the broadcast.

Their arrests demonstrate Rouhani's inability to rein in the intelligence ministry, where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say.

Still, the ministry's role in arrests in Ahvaz and elsewhere has dented Rouhani's pragmatic reputation, analysts say.

"People are not going to look to Rouhani as an alternative to the more hardline elements like the Revolutionary Guards or the people who control the judiciary," Ghaemi said. "This is going to put Rouhani and his administration squarely in the camp of hardliners that he has tried so hard to distinguish himself from." (Reuters/VOA)

Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Set To Begin Historic Pakistan Visit

ISLAMABAD, LELEMUKU.COM - Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will begin his maiden two-day state visit to Pakistan Sunday, where he is expected to announce investment projects worth billions of dollars.

The rare high-profile trip, however, comes amidst Pakistan’s dangerously escalating tensions with archival India over last week’s deadly suicide bombing in the disputed Kashmir region.

New Delhi accuses Islamabad of playing a role in the attack that killed more than 40 Indian security forces. Pakistani officials deny the charges as baseless.

Crown Prince Salman, known as MBS in short, will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including members of the royal family, key ministers and 35 leading businessmen. He is scheduled to hold meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistani military chief, General Qatar Javed Bajwa.

Pakistan maintains strong political, cultural, economic and defense ties with Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Kingdom hosts more than 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates, and is a key source of oil supplies for Islamabad - on deferred payments, as well cash grants to help Pakistan’s often ailing economy.

“The historic visit will take the bilateral relations to the new heights,” Finance Minister Asad Umar said before MBS was due to arrive in Pakistan.

During Crown Prince Salman’s visit the two countries will sign eight agreements in various sectors, including energy and an estimated $10 billion oil refinery in Gwadar where China has recently built and activated a major seaport.

The unprecedented Saudi investment is being viewed by Prime Minister Khan’s nascent government as a major boost for Pakistan, which is facing an economic crisis and balance of payments pressure.

Investment Minister Haroon Sharif said the government has also arranged a conference of visiting Saudi businessmen with their Pakistani counterparts to promote private partnership and investments.

High Regional Tensions

But last week’s deadly suicide car bombings in Kashmir and in a border region of neighboring Iran have raised regional tensions. Tehran has accused Pakistan-based anti-Iran militants for orchestrating the attack that killed 27 personnel of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The Indian government has vowed to punish and internationally isolate Islamabad, while Iranian leaders are demanding Pakistan bring to justice perpetrators of the bombing in Sistan-Baluchistan border province.

Pakistani leaders have rejected Indian allegations as unfounded and pledged cooperation to investigate them provided New Delhi shared “evidence” with Islamabad.

“It is preposterous to think that Pakistan can be “isolated”,” Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said in a special briefing to foreign diplomats on the rising bilateral tensions.

Pakistan maintains close counterterrorism cooperation with Iran and officials say bilateral ties have significantly improved in recent years. Officials reject suggestions Islamabad’s deepening ties with Riyadh are undermining relations with Tehran.

Former Pakistani diplomat, Asif Durrani, insisted the militant attacks in Iran and Indian Kashmir could be an attempt to overshadow the royal visit and put Pakistan under pressure.

“Iranian and Indian accusations against Pakistan over these incidents, even if for varied reasons, smack off ulterior motives to malign Pakistan despite the fact that these incidents wouldn't benefit Pakistan in any way,” noted Durrani who was Islamabad’s ambassador to Tehran until a few months ago.

Durrani noted that the Saudi prince’s visit has assumed extra importance due to the prevailing situation in the region, especially in the backdrop of Riyadh-Tehran Iran rift.

Pakistan has always walked a tightrope while trying to maintain a balance between Iran, and Saudi Arabia

Sunni-dominated Pakistan has deep ties to Saudi Arabia in all fields, but it shares a porous border with Shi’ite Iran, stretching over 900 kilometers. A fifth of Pakistan’s more than 200 million residents are Shiite Muslims who maintain close cultural and religious ties with the Iranian nation. (VOA)

Inpex LNG Tanker Oceanic Breeze Makes First Call at Japan

TOKYO, LELEMUKU.COM - Inpex Corporation announced that the LNG Tanker Oceanic Breeze called for the first time at Inpex’s Naoetsu LNG Terminal (the Terminal) located in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, delivering a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Inpex-operated Ichthys LNG Project (the Project) in Australia.

Oceanic Breeze is owned by Oceanic Breeze LNG Transport S. A. (OBLT), a joint venture between Inpex Shipping Co., Ltd. (Inpex Shipping) (30%) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line) (70%), and designated to transport the 0.9 million tons per year of Ichthys LNG entitled to INPEX.

Oceanic Breeze’s transportation and delivery of Ichthys LNG to the Terminal marks a significant milestone in Inpex’s development of a global gas value chain business, positioned as one of the company’s business targets outlined in Vision 2040 announced in May 2018.

Going forward, Inpex will continue to strive to serve its customers with safe and stable supplies of natural gas, an environmentally friendly fuel.

Inpex Corporation is Japan’s largest exploration and production (E&P) company, and a mid-tier E&P player just behind the world’s oil majors.

Inpex is currently involved in approximately 70 projects across more than 20 countries, including the Ichthys LNG Project in Australia as Operator. Inpex aims to become a leading energy company and continue providing a stable and efficient supply of energy to its customers. (Inpex)

Gay Muslim Comic Gone From Instagram After Indonesia Warning

JAKARTA, LELEMUKU.COM - An Instagram account that published comic strips depicting the struggles of gay Muslims in Indonesia has disappeared from the site following a frenzy of moral outrage online in the world's biggest Muslim nation.

The Ministry of Communications said Wednesday that the account under the username Alpatuni was pornographic, which violated the law on information and electronic transactions. In a statement it said Instagram had “fulfilled” its request made in a warning letter for the account to be removed.

Instagram, however, said it had not removed the account. A spokeswoman said there were a number of reasons an account may no longer be accessible including the account holder deleting it, deactivating it or changing the username.

The comics depicted gay characters facing discrimination and abuse, which has become increasingly common in Indonesia since late 2015 when conservative politicians and religious leaders began a campaign of portraying lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as a threat to the nation.

An account of the same name on Facebook, which owns Instagram, was also no longer accessible.

The social media company is regularly in the crosshairs of regulators, rights groups and the public as it unsuccessfully tries to balance what CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called “giving people a voice” and demands for censorship of content posted on the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.

Instagram's content guidelines, published in Indonesian, say the service is a mirror of the diversity of the community.

Human Rights Watch's Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono criticized the government's demands that the account be blocked.

“That account describes mostly the problems of gay individuals in Indonesia. It's no secret that many LGBT individuals are arrested, their houses raided, some are sentenced to prison terms,” he said. “The Indonesian government does not help them in demanding the removal of that account.”

The communications ministry said it appreciated that members of the community reported the gay Muslim account, which “accelerated” its removal.

Some Indonesian netizens in turn congratulated the ministry. On Twitter, Fahmi Alfansi Pane, a policy analyst at the Indonesian parliament, thanked officials for “acting decisively” to protect public morality but also told The Associated Press he had never seen the comics.

Local media, quoting the communications minister, reported the ministry would block Instagram in Indonesia if the Alpatuni account wasn't removed.

The government frequently threatens to block Western social media and internet companies for content deemed illegal but has never taken such measures, possibly fearful of a public backlash due to the huge popularity of the services with Indonesians.

In 2017, it briefly and partially blocked the Telegram messaging app because of its failure to remove groups linked to violent jihad. (VOA)