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Wednesday, December 11, 2013
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International
Venezuelan president faces first electoral test Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
Heavy rain lashes down just before the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday Dec. 10, 2013.
World leaders, South Africans remember Mandela Associated Press Writer
JOHANNESBURG — Joyous, singing South Africans gathered in the rain Tuesday to honor Nelson Mandela at a massive memorial service that is expected to draw some 100 heads of state and other luminaries, united in tribute to a global symbol of reconciliation. Crowds converged on FNB Stadium in Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was a stronghold of support for the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied as a prisoner of white rule for 27 years and then during a peril-fraught transition to the all-race elections that made him president. However, steady rain kept many people away. Shortly before the start of the ceremony, there were some 20,000 people in the 95,000capacity stadium. Other area stadiums equipped with giant video screens for anticipated overflow crowds were largely empty. “I would not have the life I have today if it was not for him,” said Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened. “He was jailed so we could have our freedom.” Rohan Laird, the 54-year-old CEO of a health insurance company, said he grew up during white rule in a “privileged position” as a white South African and that Mandela helped whites work through a burden of guilt. “His reconciliation allowed whites to be released themselves,” Lair said. “I honestly don’t think the world will see another leader like Nelson Mandela.” Workers were still welding at a VIP area as the first spectators arrived amid an enormous logistical challenge of organizing the memorial for Mandela, who died Dec. 5 in his Johannesburg home at the age of 95. U.S. President Barack Obama landed in South Africa early Tuesday. Besides Obama,
eulogies were to be delivered by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and Cuban President Raul Castro. Other speakers include the presidents of Brazil, Namibia and India, as well as tributes from Mandela’s grandchildren. South African President Jacob Zuma was to give the keynote address. Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, was at the stadium. So were actress Charlize Theron and singer Bono. Tuesday was the 20th anniversary of the day when Mandela and South Africa’s last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring peace to their country. Mandela said in his acceptance speech at the time: “We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born.” The sounds of horns and cheering filled the stadium ahead of the ceremony, due to start at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT, 4 a.m. EST). Rain sent those who arrived early into the stadium’s covered upper deck, and many of the lower seats were empty. People blew on vuvuzelas, the plastic horn that
was widely used during the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010, and sang songs from the era of the antiapartheid struggle decades ago. “It is a moment of sadness celebrated by song and dance, which is what we South Africans do,” said Xolisa Madywabe, CEO of a South African investment firm. The 95,000capacity soccer venue was also the spot where Mandela made his last public appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. After the memorial, his body will lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, once the seat of white power, before burial Sunday in his rural childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province. Police promised tight security, locking down roads kilometers (miles) around the stadium. However, the first crowds entered the stadium without being searched. John Allen, a 48-year-old pastor from the U.S. state of Arkansas, said he once met Mandela at a shopping center in South Africa with his sons. “He joked with my youngest and asked if he had voted for Bill Clinton,” Allen said. “He just zeroed in on my 8-year-old for the three to five minutes we talked.”
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelans cast ballots in municipal elections Sunday being watched as a gauge of popular support for President Nicolas Maduro, who was counting on a recent crackdown on businesses to prevail in his first electoral test since taking office eight months ago. The National Electoral Council said it expected to announce results three hours after all polling stations closed. Under Venezuela’s electoral law, polling stations had to stay open after their scheduled 6 p.m. closing time if voters were still in line, as commonly occurs. Voting went off in relative calm, with only minor disruptions and isolated acts of violence, but turnout seemed to be light, at least in the impoverished Petare neighborhood and some other districts of the capital. The vote for mayors and city councils in this deeply polarized country was bound to be competitive. Maduro defeated opposition leader Henrique Capriles by a razor-thin margin in the election held in April to choose Hugo Chavez’s successor following his death from cancer. Capriles has refused to recognize the results, alleging fraud Since then, Venezuela’s economic troubles have deepened, with inflation touching a two-decade high of 54 percent, and shortages of everything from toilet paper to milk spreading while the black market value of the currency plunges. Disapproval of Maduro’s rule has been rising, especially within the coalition of ideological leftists and members of the military that he inherited from Chavez. But the 51-year-old former bus driver has managed to regain momentum by going after groups and businesses he accuses of waging economic war against his socialist government. Among the most popular measures: the seizure of dozens of retailers and the slashing of prices on plasma TVs, refrigerators and other appliances. Local pollster Luis Vicente Leon said the offensive helped boost president’s approval rating from 41 percent in September to just over 50 percent, about the same level of support he garnered in the April election. “These elections are going to ratify what the government is doing against this fictitious inflation,” janitor Antonio Doria said as he stood in line to vote at a school in Petare. While the opposition claimed it’s the target of a campaign by Maduro to intimidate media that provide airtime to its events, pro-government candidates were helped by abundant coverage of almost-daily appearances by the president.
government... From page 1 “Total value of the agricultural budget in 2014 in the Agriculture Agency reaches IDR 76 billion, while last year amounted to IDR 61.5 billion. However, it is impossible for us to mention the percentage of fund allocated for the agricultural activities because the fund of the agricultural activity is scattered in other regional working units. For example, it existed in Public Work Agency related to the improvement of agricultural infrastructure that could reach tens of billions, in the Culture Agency related to subak, in the Agriculture Agency, Livestock Agency, while there were also some other funds from state budget and state-owned companies. Additionally, there are also national fertilizer subsidy and national seed program,” said Wisnu. Related to the free market, his party claimed to have anticipated and prepared farmers by various improvement programs for the capacity and quality of production and human resource development. “We need the improvement in the horticulture and fruit product quality. We’ve done it through the regional bylaw on the protection of local fruits. Besides, we also boost the rice production by providing a wide range of seed choices. Fertilizer and tractors are also available. In terms of marketing, it is also improved so during massive harvest the price will not drop,” he concluded. (kmb29)
International
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
INDONESIA Corruption remains main obstacle Antara
JAKARTA - Corruption is considered among the foremost factors hampering business development in Indonesia, in addition to inefficient bureaucracy and lack of infrastructure, Vice Minister of Transportation Bambang Susantono said on Tuesday. “A survey conducted by the World Economic Forum recently found that 19.3 percent of the respondents believed that corruption had disturbed business activities in Indonesia,” Bambang said. Further citing data from the survey, Bambang pointed out that 15 percent of the respondents had chosen bureaucratic inefficiency as the factor hampering business in Indonesia followed by 9.1 percent, who thought it was a lack of infrastructure. Another survey conducted by Berlin-based NGO Transparency International stated that Indonesia’s efforts to eradicate corruption from the country were progressing. The survey called the Corruption Perception Index 2013 was released last week on Tuesday and placed Indonesia at the 114th
position among the 177 countries being evaluated by the NGO. The latest ranking is a positive development, considering that Indonesia was ranked 118th last year. According to Transparency International Indonesia, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had successfully uncovered corruption cases involving high ranking officials and parliament members during the past one year. However, more challenges are expected as Indonesia plans to hold a general election next year. Transparency International highlighted the need for transparency in the use of campaign funds and evaluating the track record of parliament members or candidates ahead of the election. The NGO also called on the Indonesian
people to be more active in ensuring a more transparent and accountable election in 2014. The global Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 adjudged Denmark and New Zealand as the least corrupt, while Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia were the worst performers this year. The Corruption Perception Index is based on experts’ opinions about public sector corruption in each country. Countries’ scores can be helped by allowing strong access to information systems and rules governing the behavior of those in public positions, while a lack of accountability across the public sector, coupled with ineffective public institutions can hurt these perceptions.
Court jails ex-Islamic party head for graft Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA - An Indonesian court has jailed the disgraced former head of the country’s biggest Islamic party for 16 years over a scandal in which bribe money was laundered as gifts for dozens of women, including an adult magazine model. The controversy, which erupted when an aide was discovered in a hotel room with a naked college student, has shattered the clean image of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), damaging its chances at polls next year. Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, who was president of the PKS when the scandal emerged, was found guilty late Monday by the anti-corruption court in the capital Jakarta of accepting bribes from a meat import company. Anti-graft investigators seized 1.3 billion rupiah ($110,000) in bribe money as well as six luxury cars from Ishaaq during the investigation. The meat company, Indoguna Utama, had pledged to give him 40 billion rupiah in kickbacks to use his influence with the government to have its beef import quota raised, the court heard. “Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq was proven legally and convincingly guilty of conspiring in crimes of corruption and money laundering,” chief judge Gusrizal Lubis told the court. He was found guilty of corruption and money laundering and jailed for 16 years. He was also ordered to pay a one-billion-rupiah fine. Ishaaq said he did not accept the verdict
and would appeal.Two executives from Indoguna Utama were previously found guilty and jailed over the case. The scandal emerged in January when anti-corruption agents raided a hotel room and discovered Ishaaq’s aide, Ahmad Fathanah, with the naked student shortly after receiving bribe money.It snowballed into a huge controversy, even by the standards of graft-ridden Indonesia.Fathanah was found to be the main conduit for the bribe money. Evidence emerged he bought gifts for 45 women -- including an adult magazine model -- to launder the cash. He was jailed for 14 years in November
over the scandal. Ishaaq, the former head of a party that trumpeted its conservative Islamic credentials to win votes, was found to have lavish spending habits and evidence emerged he had multiple wives.The PKS was already facing a tough fight to win votes at elections next year as the popularity of Islamic parties wanes in Muslim-majority Indonesia. The case also comes as the coalition government -- of which the PKS is a member -- struggles to recover from a string of scandals that have hit President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party.
AP Photo
Former leader of the Prosperous Justice Party, Indonesia’s largest Islamic-based political party, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq waves to reporters after his sentencing at the corruption court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 9, 2013.
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KPK to auction seized goods to foster anticorruption spirit Antara
JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to auction several of the goods it has seized during the past six months on Wednesday at the Gelora Bung Karno sports center in Central Jakarta, the Commission’s Director for Anti-Gratification Affairs Giri Supradiono announced on Tuesday. “There are 78 items that will be auctioned. All profits will go into the state account,” Giri stated. Among the goods that will be auctioned on Wednesday are watches, bags, shirts, cell phones, shopping vouchers and paintings. According to Giri, the goods that will be auctioned are not many because most corrupt officials used money as a tool of transaction. The anti-graft commission had seized a total of Rp2.5 billion (US$209,147) in cash in 2012, which was used for various purposes in the different cases being investigated. Giri further stated that the auction would be used as part of the government’s efforts to promote an anti-corruption spirit in the public.
Three asylum seekers die in boat sinking off Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA - Three asylum seekers including a toddler died when their Australia-bound boat sank in rough seas off Indonesia’s Java island but 29 others were rescued, police said Tuesday. Hundreds of asylum seekers have died trying to make the sea voyage to Australia in recent years, and Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the sinking highlighted the dangers of people-smuggling. The vessel had been carrying 32 people -- including members of the Rohingya Muslim minority from Myanmar, Iranians and a Bangladeshi -- who wanted to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island, police said. But the small, wooden vessel sank off West Java province early Monday after being battered by big waves, provincial police spokesman Martinus Sitompul told AFP. “Fishermen found the boat off Ciawi beach in Garut district,” he said. The Bangladeshi asylum seeker and two from Myanmar -- including the two-year-old -- drowned but the other 29 were rescued by the fishermen and handed over to immigration authorities, he said. Morrison said no request was or had been made for Australian assistance, by either passengers onboard the vessel or the Indonesian authorities involved in the rescue.