1) Indonesia is better prepared to face earthquakes and tsunamis due to rising public awareness, education by authorities, and more advanced technology like tsunami early warning systems. 2) ASEAN is also better prepared to deal with disasters compared to 2004 due to improved detection systems and communication between countries. 3) While earthquakes cannot be predicted, Indonesia can detect potential tsunamis within minutes and have issued warnings, though the recent earthquakes only caused small 1-meter tsunamis.

1. Indonesiabetterpreparedinfacingearthquake,tsunami
English.news.cn 2012-04-12 14:30:31 RSS Feedback Print CopyURL More
By CundokoAprilianto
JAKARTA,April 12(Xinhua) - Most people inIndonesia'searthquake andtsunami-proneareas are in
betterpreparationatanticipatingearthquakeandtsunami,supportedbyrisingawareness,active
socializationbyauthoritiesandmore advancedtechnology.
SutopoPurwoNugroho,headof Data Center,InformationandPublicRelationsatthe National Agencyof
DisasterMitigation( BNPB),saidthatTsunami EarlyWarning System(TEWS) hasbeenrunningsmoothly.
People were alsoresponsive onthe warningandimmediatelytookrefugetohigherlandsassoonas
theywere informedaboutthe potential tsunami,he said.
"Evacuationannouncementwasmade fromvariousmediasuchasmosque andchurch,"saidNugroho.
Dr. SurinPitsuwan,Secretary-General of ASEAN,alsothe ASEAN HumanitarianAssistance Coordinator,
alongwiththe ASEAN CoordinatingCentre forHumanitarianAssistance (AHA Centre) whoclosely
monitoredthe situation,saidthatASEAN isbetterpreparedtodeal withdisastersnow thanin2004
whenthe Great IndianOceantsunami hitand240,000 perished
"All devicesdetectingtsunami inthe IndianOceanworkedwell,andall capitalswere onalert,"added
Pitsuwan
The Jakarta-basedAHA Centre wasalsoinconstant contact withall tenASEAN countriesandits
partners.

2. Suharjono,aseismologistincharge of Indonesia'sMeteorology,ClimatologyandGeophysicsAgency
(BMKG) saidthat while earthquakescouldoccuratany time withoutnotice,the BKMGcoulddetectthe
presence of a tsunami withinseveral minutesof anearthquake.
He saidthat tsunamiswere more likelytooccurif an earthquake'sepicenter waslocatednearthe
junctionof twotectonicplates.
The 8.5 Richterscale-earthquakeoccuredonWednesdaylocatedin346 kilometerssouthwestSimeuleu
regency,followedby16 aftershocks.
The Meteorology,ClimatologyandGeophysicsAgencyhasissuedtsunami earlywarning.Moreover,the
PacificTsunami WarningCenter(PTWC) inHawaii alsoissuedtsunami traveltimesthatwere effectivein
Malaysia,India,Sri Lanka,Myanmar and others.
However,reportsbythe National AgencyforSurveyandCoordination andMapping(BAKOSURTANAL)
showedthatthe earthquakesonlygeneratedsmall tsunamisof about1 meter-heightinseveral coastsin
Sumatra Island.
Accordingto analysisof several earthquake expertsfromthe TechnologyInstitute of BandunginWest
Java province andAustralia-IndonesiaFacilityforDisasterReduction(AIFDR),the earthquakeswere
sourcedfromhorizontal fracture,notvertical fracture orbetterknownas"mega thrust".
Besides,theywere locatedinthe outerrise earthquake."The 8.5 magnitude wasfollowedby8.8
Richterscale twohours laterinIndoAustraliaplate meaningthatearthquakesgotfarerto the west,
significantlyreducingtsunami potentials,"Nugrohosaid.
Greenpeace planstocampaigninIndonesiawithRainbow Warriorship
10-13-2010 15:51 BJT
Text:A A A |Email

3. By CundokoAprilianto
JAKARTA,Oct.13 (Xinhua) - The environmentalgroupGreenpeace plannedtobringitsRainbow Warrior
Shipto Indonesiaforagreendevelopmentcampaign,the organization'sofficialtoldXinhuain an
interview onWednesday.
Bustar Maitar, teamleaderof ForestCampaignatGreenpeace SoutheastAsia,saidthatthe eventisto
mark 10 yearsof Greenpeace existence inthe SoutheastAsiaand5 yearsin Indonesia.
"The RainbowWarrior Shipwill promote a more environmentallyandsociallyresponsible development
that has beenthe passionof the governmentof Indonesia,"saidMaitar.He addedthat the Rainbow
Warrior will dockat TanjungPriokportin the capital cityof Jakarta where itwill be openedfor public
visit.
He saidthat the organizationwill holdseveralsupportingactivities.
"We'll holdworkshops,seminarsonforestmoratorium, involvinggovernmental officials,"saidMaitar.
Maitar saidthat initially,the shipwasscheduledtoarrive inIndonesiaonOct.13 andthere will be a
political dialogdiscussingaforestmoratoriumandthe launchof IndonesiaNGOCommonPlatformon
Moratorium,attendedbyGreenpeace officials,ambassadors/representatives,ministersandnon
governmental organizations.
However,Maitarsaid,due to documentmatters,the shipstill couldnotenterIndonesia.
"We still have towaitforan official statementfromthe government.We still don'tgetanycertaintyon
whenthe shipcouldenterthiscountry.But,we are tryinghard to make thispossible,"saidMaitar.
TeukuFaizasyah,the ForeignMinistry'sspokesperson,toldXinhuathatthere are two thingsthatshould
be met forthe shipto enterIndonesia.
"First,there shouldbe arecommendationfromagovernmentinstitution. Itcouldbe the Transportation
Ministryor the National MilitaryHeadquarters,"saidFaizasyah.
Andthe secondone,he said,there isa difference betweenonwhatGreenpeace saidinitsproposal and
the program itwill carry.
"In the proposal,itsaidthat the aimof the visitisfortourism.However,the Rainbow Warriorhas
differentprograms,"saidFaizasyah.
Accordingto Faizasyah,actually,the procedure processonlyneeds10days.
"However,due tothese obstacles,the processisdelayed.Greenpeace mustclarifythese first,"said
Faizasyah.

4. Greenpeace saidthatthe conditionisnotan obstacle forthe Rainbow Warriorto visitIndonesiaandto
supportthe government'scommitmentinmaterializingamore environmentallyandsociallyresponsible
development.
Indonesiaexpectstoattract more Chinese touriststhroughactivepromotion
JAKARTA,Nov.21 (Xinhua) — Indonesiaisexpectedtoattractmore Chinese touriststhroughactive
tourismpromotioninChina,suchasthe 12th ChinaInternationalTravel Mart(CITM) andthe World
ExpoShanghai China(WESC) 2010.
Chinese touristsare the fifthlargestinIndonesiaafterSingapore,Malaysia,JapanandAustralia.Last
year,as many as 356,000 Chinese touristsvisitedIndonesiaoutof total 6.5 millionof foreigntourist.
However,amajorityof Chinese touristshave selectedBali province astheirmaindestinationin
Indonesia,asBali issofamouscomparedwithotherparts of Indonesia.
Thispostsa challenge forthe central government,especiallyforlocal onesto promote otherregionsof
the country to attract Chinese touristsasthese regionshave manyattractive destinationswithvarious
cultures,artsand landscape beauties.
In fact,Indonesiahasa chance to attract more Chinese touristsasbothcountrieshave acharacteristic
proximity.“Chinesepeople like Chinese-friendlythings,suchasculinaryandtradition,”Counselof Social
and Culture inthe IndonesianEmbassyforChinaRosmalawati Chalidsaidonthe sideline of the China
International Travel MartinShanghai recently.
Chalidsaidthatsince an openeconomypolicyadoptedin1978, China’stourismhasbeengrowing
rapidly.The fasteconomygrowthpromotesthe increase of Chinese tourists.
In 1998, the numberof Chinese touristswasonly5.32millionwith six favorite countriesastheirtourism
destination.
Thisyear,the numbercouldincrease to50 milliontoall overthe world.
However,Chalidsaidthatnotmuchinformationcouldbe obtainedbythe Chinese aboutIndonesia’s
tourism.“80 percentof themknowIndonesia’stourismviathe Internetwhereastourisminformationin
the InternetisdominatedbyBali,”she said.
Therefore,Indonesianeedstobe more active inpromotingtourismdestinationbesidesof Bali,Chalid
said.
PromotionDirectorof the TourismMinistryEsthyRekoAstutyalsoadmittedthattourismpromotionin
Chinaisnot enough.“Most of themonlyknow Bali.Now,we wantto invite themtosee otherregions
like Manado(of NorthSulawesi province),”she said.

5. Chinese tourists’favoriteof beachtourismshouldbe respondedbyintroducingalternativedestinations
such as Wakatobi of SoutheastSulawesiprovince,Bunakenof NorthSulawesiprovinceandRajaAmpat
of WestPapuaprovince.
TitienMaryatinSoekarya,anofficial of the TourismMinistry,saidthatChinaisexpectedtobe the
largesttouristsupplierinthe worldinnearterm.“At leastthere will be 100 millionChinesetourists
goingabroad in2015 and Indonesiaisreadytowelcome them,”she saidatthe St.Ragis Hotel of
Shanghai recentlyinatable-topthatwasa part of a seriesof programsmade by the ministryinthe 12th
ChinaInternational Travel Mart.
On the occasion,as manyas 30 sellersfromIndonesiamade adirecttransactionwithmore than70
Chinese buyers.
In orderto attract more foreigntourists,the Indonesiangovernmenthasbeenimprovingsecurityand
providingcomfortforforeigntourists.Supportinginfrastructuressuchastransportation,especially
directinternational flighttoIndonesia,hasbeenimprovedandincreased.ByCundokoAprilianto
IAEA considersIndonesiareadytohave nuclearpowerplants:official
English.news.cn 2010-05-18 14:47:24 FeedbackPrintRSS
By CundokoAprilianto
JAKARTA,May18 (Xinhua) -- The International AtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA) considersthatIndonesiais
readyto have nuclearpowerplantsasnew energysource,anofficial saidinaninterview onMonday.
RespondingtoXinhua'squestions,Headof the National AtomicAgency(BATAN) Hudi Hastowosaidthat
Indonesiahasbeenpreparingto have the powerplantsforalongtime.
"And,the IAEA considersthatwe are ready.But whywe haven'tstartedyet?"he said,withsuch
preparation,Indonesiaonlyneedsadecisionfromthe presidentonthe project.
Accordingto Hudi,Indonesiaalreadyhas19 itemsthat are almostready.

6. He said12 itemsthatare consideredready,amongothers,are nuclearsafety,safeguard,surveillance
framework,radiationprotection,powernetwork,humanresource development,environment
protection,emergencymitigationplan,securityandphysical protection.
Meanwhile,fouritemsthatneedsustainabilityare fundingoption,shareholders'involvement,
supportingfacilitiesandindustrial involvement.
"What we are notready are establishmentof the secondNational Teamforcoordination,monitoring
and evaluation;andestablishmentof the secondNational Teamfordeterminingownershipor
operators,"saidHudi.
He saidthat Indonesiahashuge uraniumreservestosupportthe powerplants.
"Overall,we have uraniumresourcesof 59,000 tons uraniumoxide (UO),consistingof hypothetic
categoryto indicatedcategoryinWestKalimantanandEastKalimantanprovinces,"saidHudi.
Accordingto Hudi,the biggest reservesare inPapuaIslandthathadyet to be explored.
He saidthe agencyhas beenexploringseveral locationsforthe projectsnamelyBangkaBelitung
province,Bantenprovince andEastKalimantanprovince.
Hudi saidthat investmentforthe projectisinfluencedbyseveral points,namelylocal content,location
conditionthatincludestremorfactorandgeological condition,andgovernment'ssubsidy,among
others.
"Accordingto the NuclearTechnologyReview 2009 bythe IAEA,the overnightcosttobuilda nuclear
powerplantinAsiarangesfrom 1,300 U.S. dollars/kilowattelectricto3,700 dollars/kilowattelectric,
dependingonlocation,"he said.

7. On the otherside,he said,Malaysia,VietnamandUnionof ArabEmirate have followedIndonesiawith
the projectwhereastheyhave lesspreparation.
"Theyhave courage,managementandcapital,"saidHudi.
He saidthat the countriescomposedprogramsbyhiringoutsiders.
"For example,formerIAEA'sDirectorGeneral HansBlix fromSwedenwasrecruitedbyUAEto leadthe
project"ssteeringcommittee inthe country.Meanwhileaformerdirectorof the UnitedStatesof
NuclearRegulatoryCommission(USNRC) waschosentochairUAE's NuclearSurveillance Agency,"he
said.
China-Indonesiaartfestival tostrengthenpeople'sfriendship
Indonesia/Jakarta
8/11/2010
Xinhua
Chinaview
By CundokoAprilianto
JAKARTA,Aug.7 (Xinhua) -- The China-IndonesiaCultural ArtFestival heldhere onAug.6-7 isaimedto
introduce Chineseculture topublicinIndonesiaand strengthenfriendshipbetweenethnicslivinginthe
country,an experttoldXinhuainanexclusiveinterview recently.
Jeanne Laksana,chairwomanof the Chinese IndonesianWriterAssociation,saidthatthe art festival,
heldonAug.6-7, isa part of eventstocommemorate the 65th anniversaryof independenceof
Indonesiaand60th anniversaryof diplomatictiesbetweenIndonesiaandChina.

8. Besides,she said,the eventisaninvitationtocelebrate the diversityof the nationandtoreturnto some
historical momentsthatformedthe currentIndonesia.
"History,culture andvariousexperienceshave formedouridentitydiversity.We receive themasthings
that enrichus,not splitus,"saidLaksana.
She alsosaidin the era of NewOrderregime,Chineseculture andarthad noplace to grow inIndonesia.
But whenAbdurrahmanWahidbecame the fourthpresidentof Indonesia,Chinese couldexpresstheir
culture inIndonesia.
In fact,the Chinese NewYearhasbecome anofficial holidayinthe country.
"I thinkthis isa big progressforthe country (of lettingChinese culturegrowing),"she said.
On the otherhand,Indonesiantraditional cultureisenjoyedbymanyChinese.She saidthatmany
Chinese couldplayIndonesiantraditional musicinstrumentwell,referring tothe factthat manyChinese
middle-agewomencouldplayangklung,aWestJavamusical instrumentmade of bamboo,well inthe
performance.
"Althoughwe are notgenuine Indonesians,we wanttogive contributiontothe culture development
here,"she said.
She saidthat currently,Chineseculture growsrapidlyinIndonesiaaspubliccouldreceiveandenjoyit.
"For example,Indonesianslove Chinese genuineculinarylike siomayandbakpaoverymuch,"she said,
referringtoChinese foods.
She alsosaidthat Chinese martial artsof kungfu and wushuhave beenwidelyacceptedasnational
martial arts.

9. "You see,several genuineyoungIndonesiansperformedthe kungfuandwushu.Theyare championof
the martial arts competitioninAsia,"she said.
Editor:Wang Guanqun
Indonesianeedstomobilize resourcestoexpandaccesstojustice -- UNDP
11-21-2011 13:48 BJT
Text:A A A |Email
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By CundokoAprilianto
JAKARTA,Nov.21 (Xinhua) - Indonesiawasurgedtomobilize additional resourcestoexpandaccessto
justice forpoorand marginalizedpeople.
StephenRodrigues,deputycountrydirectorof the UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgram(UNDP),told
Xinhuainan exclusiveinterview thateventhoughIndonesiahasmade alot of progresson the issue,the
countrystill needspartnershipwithotherparties.
"I believethatthisprogramismovinginthe right direction.The countryistakinga lotof measures,
puttingpolicies andstrategiesinthe rightplace.But,itisalsoimportantto deployhumanresourcesand
financial resourcestomake ithappen.If we can mobilizeadditionalresourcestosupportthe countryin
effortstoexpandaccessto justice,Ibelieve thatwe can reach a remarkable successinthe coming
years,"saidRodrigues.
He welcomedIndonesia'spartnershipwithNorwayandwiththe Netherlandsinthe pastonthe issue,
sayingthat itis an importantstepforIndonesiatomove forward.
He stoppedshortof commentingsuchprograminothercountries,sayingthatthe mostimportantfor
the UNDP of IndonesianRepresentativeishow tomake it beneficial forIndonesians.
"We are not inthe businessof comparingone countrytothe next.Whatimportantto us iswhatis
happeninghere andhowtobenefitingpeople inthiscountry.That'swhywe believe andare very
confidentongoodpoliciesandapproachesneededinIndonesia.Malaysiaanditsownpartnerswill deal
withMalaysianissues,andthe Philippines,andsoon.But inIndonesia,itisimportantforusto support
the governmentandtosupportthe currentpoliciesandprogramsthatare goingto make difference
here,"saidRodrigues.

10. He addedthatcomparedto several yearsago,Indonesiahasmade veryimportantadvances,notonlyin
thisarea butalso inotherones.
"We were here inthe National AgencyforDevelopmentPlanning( lastweek),discussingthe launchof
global humandevelopmentreport.Thatreport,if we recalledlastyear,pointstothe factthat Indonesia
isone of the country that showedthe mostrapidadvance inhumandevelopmentforthe last40 years,
inareas of health,education,nationalincome andsoon,"he said.
He addedthatfor the UNDP, itis importanttosupporteffortsof the governmenttocontinue moving
alongthose lines.
"We knowthatthere are still gapsandthe governmentisverymuchaware of that.We are the partner
of the governmenttoaddressthose gaps,intermsineducation,accesstojustice,healthcare andsoon.
Andwe want to see the countryaccelerate ( the progress),"he said.
Indonesiareadytoleadactionsonsustainable developmentissuesinAsia
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By CundokoAprilianto
JAKARTA,Aug.22 (Xinhua) -- Indonesiaisreadytoleadactionsonsustainable developmentissuessuch
as womenprotection,familyplanningandhealthinAsia,atoplegislatortoldXinhuainanexclusive
interview onMonday.
Vice Speakerof the House of Representative PriyoBudi Santososaidthathe has receivedvisitby
delegationsof EuropeanUnionParliamentearlierinthe day,inwhichhe saidthat withinthe Asian
ParliamentForum,Indonesiawill reinforce successful programsinthe pastthatare now gettingless
attention.
"Duringthe meeting,ItoldthemIndonesiawill take the leadinAsiainissuesof sustainable
development,"Santososaid.

11. Accordingto Santoso,goodmomentuminPresidentSoeharto's erawhenfamilyplanninggaining
successshouldbe continuednow.
"Apparently,othercountriesinAsiaandEurope are takingthe issue seriouslyastheywantto learnfrom
Indonesiaabouthowtoprepare prosperousfamilyplanningandtocontrol the numberof population.
And,theirpresence here isveryimportanttogive usthe spiritthatwe usedto have,thatwe must
continue the spirit,"saidSantoso.
He saidthat the EU ParliamentregardsIndonesiaasaninterestingexample asademocraticnationwith
bigpopulationandMuslimmajority.He alsosaidIndonesiagivesprotectiononwomen'srole inpolitic.
"I toldthemthat here we give anextraordinaryprotection(onwomen'srole).Here,thiscountryis
'heaven'forwomenaswe neverdiscriminate womeninstrategicposition,bothinfamilyandpolitic.
But, I alsoexpressedmyconcernonwomen'srole inseveral Africancountries,"he said.
He addedthatthe delegationwere amazedbyafact that single parentphenomenonisnota common
thinginIndonesia.
"I toldthemthat womanas single parentisnotcommoninour traditionforcenturieswhileinEurope it
isregardedas a proud," he said.
Santosoalsosaidthat Indonesia'sdemographicdividendvoicedbyeconomists,wherethe countrywill
have manyyoungproductive generationsby2025 while manydevelopedcountrieshave more aging
population,shouldbe balancedwithdevelopmentof infrastructures.
"Too manypopulationsthatare not balancedwithinfrastructureswilltriggernew social problems.
There shouldbe a balance betweenthem.Controllednumberof populationandeconomicdevelopment
shouldbe balanced,"he said.
Editor:Luo Yuan