Legislators travel abroad for comparative studies

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/06/2011 9:53 AM

At least four groups of House of Representatives (DPR) members are traveling abroad this month for what they claim are “comparative studies”.

They are from the special committee for the bill on social conflict management, the Legislation Body, the Agriculture Commission and the Manpower Commission, tempo.co reported on Tuesday.

Deputy Chairperson of the special committee for the bill on social conflict management, Eva Kusuma Sundari, said two teams of the committee were traveling to Sweden and India respectively, each team consisting of seven House members and two staffers. They left on Dec. 3 and would return on Dec. 9.

“We will report the results of our studies to the public,” she said.

Deputy Chairperson for the Legislation Body, Ida Fauziah, said that 11 members in charge of the bill for drug and food control had left for China for a comparative study and would return on Dec. 9.

The Agriculture Commission conducted comparative studies in the United States, Japan, China and India. They left at the end of last month and are scheduled to return home today. Their trips are in relation to the deliberation of the food bill and the bill on farmers’ protection and empowerment.

“The comparative studies are very important because of, among other things,tariff systems, protection, farmers’ financial institutions,subsidies, promotion, agriculture insurance and food institutions,”Herman Khaeron, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission from Democratic

Party said.

As for the Manpower Commission, they are traveling to South Korea and Hong Kong. They are in South Korea regarding the deliberation of the revision of the Law for the Replacement and Protection of Indonesian

Migrant Workers. “On our way back home, we will drop off in Hong Kong to find out the conditions of Indonesian migrant workers there,” said Rieke Dyah Pitaloka from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Yusril to challenge AGO travel ban in court on Monday

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 07/18/2011 10:36 AM

The Jakarta State Administrative High Court will begin proceedings on the lawsuit of former Law and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra against the Attorney General’s Office, which had extended a travel ban on him.

Yusril said he would read out his lawsuit against the AGO and that he had prepared legal arguments on the travel ban, which according to him, was based on laws that have been revoked.

“I simply request that the court annul a travel ban against me issued on June 24, 2011,” he said, as reported by tribunnews.com.

Yusril added that the court had held two preliminary hearings and that today’s session would be open to the public.

Earlier, the AGO had extended a travel ban on Yusril because it had not completed an investigation into a corruption case surrounding the procurement of an online registration system (Sisminbakum) for the ministry during Yusril’s tenure.

Cuba says travel changes not enough

Paul Haven, The Associated Press, Havana | Mon, 01/17/2011 10:18 AM | World

Cuba said Sunday that the Obama Administration's decision to lift some travel restrictions on students, academics and religious groups and make it easier for America to send money were positive steps, but not nearly enough while Washington maintains its 48-year trade embargo on the island.

The changes announced last week mean that students seeking academic credit and churches and synagogues traveling for religious purposes will be able to go to Cuba. Any U.S. international airport with proper customs and immigration facilities will be able to offer charter services to the island.

The plan will also let any American send as much as $2,000 a year to Cuban citizens who are not part of the Castro administration and are not members of the Communist Party. Previously, only relatives could send money.

"Though the measures are positive," Cuba's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday, "they are well below what was hoped for, have a limited reach and do not change (U.S.) policy against Cuba."

The ministry said most of the changes simply bring U.S. policy back to where it was during the Clinton Administration, before President George W. Bush toughened restrictions. They do not alter Washington's trade embargo, which Cuba refers to as a "blockade."

"These measures confirm that there is no will to change the policy of blockade and destabilization against Cuba," the ministry said. "If there exists a real interest in widening and facilitating contacts between our peoples, the United States should lift the blockade and eliminate the restrictions that make Cuba the only country in the world to which North Americans cannot travel."

Under the embargo, American tourists are still prohibited from visiting Cuba and most trade with the island is barred. Obama had previously made it easier for Cuban-Americans to visit family and send money home, and cultural exchanges had greatly expanded under his watch.

Still, relations between the Cold War enemies remain frosty, in particular over the detention of an American subcontractor held in Cuba since December 2009 on suspicion of spying.

The changes, announced by the White House on Friday, will be put in place within two weeks. They do not need congressional approval.

RI generates Rp 117 billion from Dutch travel expo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011 9:49 AM | Business

Taking part in a six-day travel expo in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Indonesia generated Rp 117 billion (US$ 12.5 million), far below last year’s figure of Rp 200 billion.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry said this year’s figure was a result of transactions obtained by 18 travel bureaus and tourism operators from Indonesia that took part in the Vakantiebeurs (Holiday Bourse), which ended on Sunday evening.

Among participants that attracted a lot of visitors was a spa company. All of its products, including aromatherapy goods, sold out and some visitors reportedly expressed an interest in opening a branch in the Netherlands, kompas.com reported.

Data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry revealed that from January to November 2010, around 142,100 Dutch tourists came to Indonesia. This was far below the number from Singapore (988,500), Malaysia (934,700) and Australia (662,700).