SBY to meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 04/05/2011 8:59 AM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled on Tuesday to meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul and First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul at 10 a.m.

Gul arrived in Indonesia on Monday, in a diplomatic gesture to return Yudhoyono's visit to Turkey in June last year.

According to tempointeraktif.com, bilateral talks will follow an official state ceremony. The talks will focus on increasing cooperation and following up on the previous talks held during Yudhoyono's visit.

A number of memorandums of understanding in various sectors including energy, police matters and a visa-free agreement for diplomatic and official visit passports will be signed. Both Presidents are scheduled to hold press conferences following the meeting.

Yudhoyono and Gul are also scheduled to attend the Indonesia-Turkey business forum later in the afternoon.

Gul is slated visit the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery, as well as Istiqlal Mosque, and attend a state dinner in the State Palace in the evening.

President, ASEAN military chiefs attend breakfast meeting

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 03/31/2011 8:57 AM | World

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday began the day with a joint breakfast with military chiefs of 10 ASEAN member states, at the State Palace in Jakarta.

The breakfast banquet was held as part of the 8th ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM), which is an annual event.

A similar banquet was held last year in Hanoi, as Vietnam chaired the ASEAN in 2010. This year, Indonesia holds the chair post.

The meeting, the rest of whose sessions will take place at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta, covers defense and security issues in Southeast Asia, tempointeraktif.com reported Thursday.

This year, the meeting is expected to conclude with commitments to continuing and enhancing ASEAN countries’ partnerships in tackling terrorism in the region.

Yudhoyono is scheduled to lead a Cabinet meeting at his office after the breakfast, but the agenda of this meeting had not been made public at the time of the report.

President holds meeting on religious conflict

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 02/17/2011 10:00 PM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a meeting with ministers, religious figures and human rights activists Thursday to find a solution to the problem of violence related to religion.

“Relevant ministers are requested to find solutions [to the problem],” Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.

The impromptu meeting was attended by Vice President Boediono, Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, Attorney General Basrief Arief, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, Military chief Adm. Agus Suhartono and Cabinet secretary Dipo Alam.

Patrialis said that meeting participants discussed recent violent incidents.

This month has seen a number of violent incidents, such as the attack on Ahmadiyah in Banten that killed three, the church burnings in Temanggung, Central Java, and an attack on an Islamic boarding school said to be related with teachings different from mainstream Islam in East Java.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said the possibility of disbanding the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) was not discussed.

The FPI recently threatened to overthrow the government if it attempted to disband any mass organizations, itself included.

President instructs stern measures against murderers in anti-Ahmadiyah violence

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 02/06/2011 10:29 PM | National

Presidential special staff for political issues Daniel Sparingga said Sunday that the President had instructed the police to take stern measures against perpetrators in the deadly anti-Ahmadiyah violence.

“The president asks the National Police to take firm action towards the perpetrators, to capture them and drag them to court. The state stands firm and will not bow to a small group of people who conducts violence in the name of religion,” he said, as quoted by Metrotvnews.com.

Daniel said the Yudhoyono was highly concerned with the incident. “This is the time to say that enough is enough, violence and attacks towards certain groups under the name of religion must be stopped,” he said.

Tunisia issues intl warrant for ousted president

The Associated Press | Thu, 01/27/2011 10:38 AM | Headlines

Tunisia's government issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and six relatives, accusing him of taking money out of the North African nation illegally.

Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia after being driven from power this month by violent protests, was also being charged with illegally acquiring real estate and other assets abroad, Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said.

Interpol said its Tunis bureau issued a global alert seeking the arrest of Ben Ali and six family members, without specifying who. Chebbi said Ben Ali's wife, Leila, was among those wanted by Tunisian authorities.

As Chebbi spoke, Tunisian police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who have been pressuring the interim government to get rid of old guard ministers who served under Ben Ali. The clashes broke out in front of the prime minister's office in Tunis, the capital. Some demonstrators responded by throwing stones at police.

Several injured protesters were carted away from the melee. Others tried to smash the windows of a police van, leaving the ground covered in blood. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Ben Ali, his wife and their clan have been widely accused of abusing their power to enrich themselves. In France, where family members are believed to have assets ranging from apartments to racehorses, Paris prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into their holdings.

French media have reported that Leila left the country with millions in gold, but Tunisia's new central bank governor, Mustapha Kamel Nabli, says no gold was taken from the bank's vaults during the final days of Ben Ali's regime.

The former president fled Jan. 14 after 23 years in power, pushed out by weeks of protests driven by anger over joblessness, repression and corruption. His swift departure was followed by riots, looting and unrest.

On Wednesday, the justice minister highlighted the scope of that unrest: Some 11,029 prisoners - about a third of the country's prison population - were able to escape amid the chaos, he said. Of those, 1,532 prisoners are back behind bars and 74 other prisoners died in fires that broke out.

The top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman, wrapped up a three-day visit in Tunis on Wednesday, rejecting speculation that the United States was involved in Ben Ali's removal.

"This is a revolution by Tunisians for Tunisians, and the United States was not involved," Feltman told reporters, crediting the interim government for greater openness and steps toward political reform.

The state news agency TAP, citing a government spokesman late Wednesday, said officials planned to announce changes to the lineup of ministers on Thursday.

The caretaker government includes some former opposition leaders, but many top posts - including prime minister and the ministers of defense, foreign affairs and the interior - were retained by Ben Ali cronies. Demonstrators want those old-guard lawmakers out.

The interim government also eased back on its nightly curfew, now setting it at 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., TAP reported.

Tunisia's so-called "Jasmine Revolution" has sparked scattered protests and civil disobedience in the Middle East and North Africa.

In Cairo, anti-government activists pelted police with firebombs and rocks in a second day of clashes Wednesday to demand an end to President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30 years in power. Police responded with tear gas, beatings and live ammunition.

President Yudhoyono to sign 32 MoUs during India visit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/24/2011 10:09 AM | Business

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will work on developing stronger cooperation with India in politics, the economy, education, culture and technology during his three-day visit beginning today, an official said on Monday.

India invited Yudhoyono as a chief guest to Indian Republic Day on Jan.26, Presidential special staff for international affairs Teuku Faizasyah said in Jakarta on Monday, as reported by kompas.com.

Yudhoyono and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are expected to witness the signing of 17 government-to-government Memorandums of Understanding and 15 government-to-business MoUs. About 500 businessmen from both countries are also expected to attend the event.

The President is also scheduled to meet several high-ranking Indian officials including Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Indian opposition party chairwoman Srimathi Sushma Swaraj, and Indian Coalition Party chairwoman Srimathi Sonia Gandhi.

President tells military to lift its game

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/21/2011 3:12 PM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) said Friday that Indonesian soldiers must obey the rules and military discipline.

“I instruct the Indonesian Military Commander to impose serious sanctions on soldiers who break the rules and disciplines,” Yudhoyono said at a meeting with the Indonesian Military chiefs in Jakarta.

He said that he was concerned about the violations committed by soldiers, including the torture of civilians in Papua.

The violations and misdemeanors, even though they seemed small in scale, had tarnished the image of Indonesia among the international community.

“The United Nations, Europe and the United States were concerned about those incidents,” he said.

“The most important thing is to resolve the incident transparently and accountably.”

To prevent similar incidents from occurring in future, Yudhoyono called on military chiefs to provide troops with training before deploying them to conflict areas.

During the meeting, which was attended by 135 military commanders, Yudhoyono ordered the military chiefs to pay more attention to law enforcement and human rights, peacekeeping and the fight against terrorism.

Report: Iran's president fires 14 advisers

The Associated Press | Sun, 01/02/2011 10:03 PM | World

An Iranian pro-government website says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fired 14 advisers as part of an ongoing shake-up of his administration.

The Sunday report from mashreghnews.ir says Ahmadinejad sacked the advisers a day earlier in an effort to help reduce the size of the government. The dismissals have not been confirmed by state media or the president's office.

Last month, Ahmadinejad abruptly fired his longtime foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, as well as his vice president for youth affairs, Mehdad Bazrpash.

Those dismissals appeared to signal a rift at the top levels of the Iranian leadership, pitting the president against rival conservatives.

President buys 400 VVIP tickets for RI-RP match

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 12/16/2010 12:11 PM | Sports

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is keeping to his promise that he will watch the 2010 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup semifinal match between Indonesia and the Philippines tonight at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) secretary-general Nugraha Besoes confirmed the information.

“The President bought 400 VVIP tickets,” he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

A VVIP ticket costs Rp 500,000 (US$55.5), meaning that Yudhoyono spent Rp 200 million to attend the match.

The match's organizer has raised the ticket price for the West VIP section from Rp 205,000 to Rp 350,000. Tickets for the East VIP section also rose from Rp 150,000 to Rp 250,000 while tickets for other seating categories increased from Rp 25,000 to Rp 50,000.

President to return to Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 12/16/2010 2:00 PM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will return to Jakarta at 12 a.m. today after a two-day working visit in Semarang, Central Java.

Yudhoyono, accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and a few Cabinet members, will depart Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang with Garuda Airlines Flight Number GA 001.

The President is scheduled to arrive at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta at 1 p.m. and he will directly go to the Presidential Palace.

Yudhoyono is set to watch the national football team play the Philippines at the 2010 AFF Cup semifinal match at Bung Karno Soccer Stadium this evening at 7 p.m..