Govt instructs police to hunt killers, calls on Ahmadiyah to abide by decree

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 02/06/2011 10:41 PM | National

The government instructed on Sunday police to hunt killers in the Anti-Ahmadiyah violence, but it also called on Ahmadiyah to abide by the 2008 joint minister decree that banned the sect from spreading false Islamic teaching to the public.

The two points were among seven results of a meeting attended by Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, Attorney General Basrief Arief, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, and Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi.

The other outcomes were the government condemning the violence, the government calling on the people to avoid violence against Ahmadiyah and report any dispute to the faith supervisory coordinating team, religious affairs minister, home minister and attorney general evaluating basic problems in Ahmadiyah case, the need of early detection on potential violence, and a call for religious leaders and local leaders to create conducive atmosphere.

Three people were killed in the Anti-Ahmadiyah violence in Cikeusik, Banten on Sunday.

Japan PM calls for opening up country, tax debate

The Associated Press, Tokyo | Tue, 01/04/2011 9:35 AM | Headlines

Opening up: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks during his first news conference of the year at his official residence in Tokyo, Tuesday.Kan said he wants 2011 to be the year that Japan opens up to rest of the world, and called for debate on raising the sales tax to prop up ailing finances as the country's population shrinks and ages. (AP/Shizuo Kambayashi)

The Japanese prime minister said he wants 2011 to be the year Japan opens up to rest of the world and called Tuesday for debate on raising the sales tax to prop up ailing finances as the country's population shrinks and ages.

To revive its economy, Japan needs to embrace free trade and reform its protected farming sector, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in a nationally televised press conference to set his agenda for the new year.

"I want this to be Year One of opening up the country" of the modern era, Kan said.

Kan asked for cooperation from his political opponents, saying the public has been disappointed by political squabbling that has paralyzed parliament. He also called for the eradication of "money politics," a reference to the series of scandals that have plagued Japanese politicians over the years.

He also raised the possibility of increasing the consumption tax to shore up the country's finances, a potentially politically poisonous notion. Support for the ruling party plunged and it lost badly in July's upper house elections after he suggested that Japan needs to raise its 5 percent sales tax to as high as 10 percent.

"The need for a discussion about social welfare and the resources required, including tax reform and raising the consumption tax, is clear to everyone," he said.

Japan's economy is entering its third decade of stagnation, and last year China overtook it to become the world's second-biggest economy. Last month, the Cabinet approved a record 92.4 trillion yen ($1.11 trillion) draft budget aimed at creating jobs and reviving growth.

At the same time, the country faces a looming demographic squeeze. Last year, its population fell by a record 123,000 people, and stood at 125.77 million as of October. Young people are waiting longer to get married and choosing to have fewer children because of careers and economic concerns.

Japanese aged 65 and older make up about a quarter of the country's current population. The government projects that by 2050, that figure will climb to 40 percent.

In office since last June, Kan also said he wanted to work to decrease the burden of the U.S. military presence in the southern island of Okinawa, which hosts more than half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan under a security pact with Washington.

Kan has said he would stick to an agreement with the U.S. to move a controversial U.S. Marine base to a less crowded part of Okinawa - a plan that faces strong opposition from local residents who want the facility removed from the island entirely.

SKorea calls for urgency in NKorean disarmament

Becky Bohrer, Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea | Wed, 12/29/2010 11:15 AM | World

South Korea's president is calling for urgency in dismantling North Korea's atomic weapons program, saying the country's nuclear disarmament must be achieved through diplomacy.

President Lee Myung-bak made the remarks Wednesday. He cited as a reason for urgency the North's push to build a powerful nation in 2012 during the 100th year after the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung.

Lee says there must be "big progress" in the North's denuclearization next year, and says it must be done through the now-stalled six-party disarmament talks.

It was not clear if Lee's comments reflected a new flexibility on when to resume the talks. Seoul previously has been hesitant to restart them until Pyongyang shows a firm commitment to denuclearization.

Yenny Wahid calls for reconciliation to develop PKB

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/21/2010 7:42 PM | National

Yenny Zannuba Wahid, daughter of the late former president Abdurrahman Wahid, is seeking reconciliation with Muhaimin Iskandar, the current chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), saying it would be for the betterment of the party and its followers.

Yenny acknowledged that the reconciliation was actually the idea of her father, widely known as Gus Dur, one of the founders of the party.

“Let us honor the last will of Gus Dur, who had great plans when he established the party,” she said.

Yenny said the moment had come for conflicting factions in the party to come together and settle their differences.

“I will ask Muhaimin to participate at the upcoming national conference in Surabaya. In fact, if he is planning to name a candidate for the chairmanship once again at the conference, it’s all right with me,” she said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.