JAKARTA: Indonesian lawmakers canceled plans to ratify controversial revisions to the country's election laws, the deputy speaker of Parliament said, after thousands of protesters rallied in front of the parliament building.
If implemented, the changes could have further enhanced the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo.
Parliament met in an emergency session Thursday to overturn one decision made by Indonesia's Constitutional Court on election procedures, while amending another. But the legislature canceled the ratification after failing to achieve a quorum amid the protests outside.
“It was stated that the revision of the regional election law cannot be implemented. This means that today the revision of the regional election law will not be implemented,” Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told reporters in Jakarta.
Indonesian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters who attempted to storm the parliament building after they tore down a section of fence and threw rocks at police. Protesters occupied roads in front of the building. Some held banners and signs, while others started a fire and burned tires.
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to an age limit that prevents people under 30 from running for regional governorships, which would prevent Widodo's youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, 29, from running in a regional contest in Central Java.
The court also made it easier for political parties to nominate candidates by cutting back a requirement that they hold 20% of a local legislature.
Parliament on Wednesday passed an emergency motion to change the minimum age to serve as governor to 30 at the time of inauguration and further ease nomination requirements, and had planned to ratify the change in a plenary session on Thursday.
The moves triggered widespread condemnation on social media and raised concerns about a potential constitutional crisis. The legislature was forced to cancel passing the law after failing to achieve a quorum.
Widodo, popularly known by his nickname Jokowi, began his second and final five-year term in October 2019 and is not eligible to run again. He leaves office in October.
Widodo's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the incoming vice president after the same court created an exception to the age limit for the post for former regional leaders. The decision was made while Widodo's brother-in-law, Anwar Usman, was serving as chief justice. Usman was criticized for participating in a case involving a close relative and later dismissed.
Activists, students, workers and Indonesian celebrities and musicians joined the protest Thursday, voicing concerns about democracy in Indonesia.
Protests were also reported in other big cities, including Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Makassar.
In Yogyakarta, at least 1,000 protesters rallied in front of Yogyakarta’s parliament building, the state palace and the city's ceremonial center. Their demands included voting down the regional election bill, respecting the Constitutional Court's ruling and rejecting political dynasties.
The simultaneous protests in major cities showed anger at parliament’s efforts to overrule the Constitutional Court decision to allow more candidates to compete in the regional elections, said Yoes Kenawas, a political analyst at Atma Jaya Catholic University.
"They also opposed the dynastic politics carried out by President Jokowi,” Kenawas said.
Indonesia cancels ratification of controversial election law changes as thousands protest
https://arab.news/99885
Indonesia cancels ratification of controversial election law changes as thousands protest
- Power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world’s third-largest democracy
UAE to develop Indonesia’s new 100 MW floating solar power plant
- Country’s first floating solar plant was built with the help of UAE’s Masdar
- Renewables currently account for about 13 percent of Indonesia’s energy mix
JAKARTA: Indonesia has signed an agreement with the UAE to develop a 100 MW floating solar power plant in West Java, its second collaboration with Emirati giant Masdar after the Cirata project — Southeast Asia’s largest floating photovoltaic installation.
The project was announced by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s office following his meeting with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Masdar will help Indonesia’s state utility company PLN to build a solar power infrastructure on West Java’s Jatigede reservoir, more than 200 km east of the capital Jakarta.
“Indonesia and the UAE, we have such close and friendly relations … Masdar is also one of the best companies in the world when it comes to renewable energy,” Husin Bagis, Indonesia’s ambassador to the UAE, told Arab News on Thursday.
The project will be Masdar’s second floating solar plant, after the 145 MW Cirata Floating Solar Photovoltaic Plant on a reservoir, also in West Java. It was inaugurated in November 2023 by then President Joko Widodo and cost $100 million.
Aside from being the biggest in Southeast Asia, the Cirata plant, which can power around 50,000 households, is the third-largest floating solar plant in the world.
During Subianto’s Abu Dhabi visit, Indonesia and the UAE also agreed to increase the capacity of the Cirata solar power plant.
“UAE is looking for joint ventures in Indonesia … There have been talks of more renewable energy projects in Indonesia to help us build at least a capacity of 2 GW in the near future,” Bagis said.
According to PLN, the plant’s maximum capacity could still be expanded, as the solar panels installed so far only occupied about 4 percent of the Cirata reservoir. Regulations permit up to 20 percent of the area to be utilized by the plant.
In 2023, renewables accounted for around 13 percent of Indonesia’s energy mix. The country of 270 million people has been working to increase its renewable energy sources to meet its pledge of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of heavily polluting coal, and most of its power needs are met by burning fossil fuels. In 2023, renewables accounted for around 13 percent of its energy mix.
Taliban morality enforcers arrest men for having the wrong hairstyle or skipping mosque, UN says
- The Vice and Virtue Ministry published laws last August covering many aspects everyday life in Afghanistan
- The Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has emphasized the primacy of Islamic law
The Taliban’s morality police have detained men and their barbers over hairstyles, and others for missing prayers at mosques during Ramadan, a UN report said Thursday, 6 months after laws regulating people’s conduct came into effect.
The Vice and Virtue Ministry published laws last August covering many aspects everyday life in Afghanistan, including public transport, music, shaving and celebrations. Most notably, the ministry issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public.
That same month, a top UN official warned the laws provided a “distressing vision” for the country’s future by adding to existing employment, education, and dress code restrictions on women and girls. Taliban officials have rejected UN concerns about the morality laws.
Thursday’s report, from the UN mission in Afghanistan, said in the first 6 months of the laws’ implementation, over half of detentions made under it concerned “either men not having the compliant beard length or hairstyle, or barbers providing non-compliant beard trimming or haircuts.”
The report said that the morality police regularly detained people arbitrarily “without due process and legal protections.”
During the holy fasting month of Ramadan, men’s attendance at mandated congregational prayers was closely monitored, leading at times to arbitrary detention of those who didn’t show up, the report added.
The UN mission said that both sexes were negatively affected, particularly people with small businesses such as private education centers, barbers and hairdressers, tailors, wedding caterers and restaurants, leading to a reduction or total loss of income and employment opportunities.
The direct and indirect socio-economic effects of the laws’ implementation were likely to compound Afghanistan’s dire economic situation, it said. A World Bank study has assessed that authorities’ ban on women from education and work could cost the country over $1.4 billion per year.
The Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has emphasized the primacy of Islamic law and the role of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue in reforming Afghan society and its people.
In a message issued ahead of the religious Eid Al-Fitr festival that marks the end of Ramadan, Akhundzada said it was necessary “to establish a society free from corruption and trials, and to prevent future generations from becoming victims of misguided beliefs, harmful practices and bad morals.”
More than 3,300 mostly male inspectors are tasked with informing people about the law and enforcing it, according to the report.
Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available for comment about the report.
US and Russia swap prisoners
- Russia released a dual Russian-US citizen jailed for donating to a charity providing aid to Ukraine
- The US freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus
MOSCOW: Russia released a dual Russian-US citizen jailed for donating to a charity providing aid to Ukraine, her lawyer said on Thursday, in what the Wall Street Journal described as a swap for a Russian-German national jailed in the United States.
A lawyer for Ksenia Karelina, who was found guilty last year of treason by a Russian court for donating money to a US-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine, said she was on her way back to the United States.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official conducted talks for the swap in Abu Dhabi, according to a CIA official quoted by the Journal.
“Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia,” Ratcliffe said in a statement to the Journal. “I’m proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort, and we appreciate the Government of U.A.E. for enabling the exchange.”
Karelina left for the US on a plane from Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning, her Russian lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said.
She was swapped for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the US for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
The US Justice Department said last year that Petrov had participated in a scheme to procure US-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers supplying weaponry and other equipment to the Russian military.
Beijing slams ‘irresponsible remarks’ after Zelensky says Chinese recruits fighting for Russia
- Foreign ministry spokesman: Beijing ‘has always required that its nationals stay away from areas of armed conflict’
BEIJING: China warned parties in the Ukraine war on Thursday against making “irresponsible remarks” after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Beijing knows its citizens are being recruited by Russia to fight in the conflict.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that Kyiv had details of 155 Chinese nationals who had been deployed to assist Moscow’s invasion, a day after claiming the Ukrainian army had captured two Chinese soldiers in the eastern Donetsk region.
Asked about Zelensky’s assertion on Thursday, Beijing’s foreign ministry told “relevant parties” to “refrain from expressing irresponsible remarks.”
“We would advise the relevant parties to recognize China’s role correctly and clear-headedly,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing, without mentioning Ukraine or Zelensky by name.
China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the grinding three-year war despite criticism from Western governments that its close ties to Russia have given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that the “overt involvement of Chinese citizens in combat operations... is a deliberate step toward expanding the war.”
“They drag other countries into war,” Zelensky said of Russia.
“I believe that they are now dragging China into this war.”
Lin said Beijing “has always required that its nationals... avoid involving themselves in armed conflicts in any form.”
“China is not a creator of or party to the Ukraine crisis. We are staunch supporters and active promoters of a peaceful resolution,” he said.
Pope Francis meets privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla during his Vatican convalescence
- Meeting with the pontiff during the royal couple’s four-day state visit to Italy
- It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after weeks on the hospital
ROME: Pope Francis met privately with King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Wednesday at the Vatican during the royal couple’s four-day state visit to Italy and on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary, the Vatican announced.
It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.
The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.
The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”
The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.
The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.
Charles addresses Parliament
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.
Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the UK and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.
“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.
The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.
“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.
Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.
“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.
During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.
The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.
On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.
In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.
Climate change warnings
Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”
He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.
Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”
Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.
