Basten Gokkon Jakarta Globe 27 Oct 15;
Jakarta. President Joko Widodo has decided to cut short his first official visit to the United States as a forest fire crisis blazes out of control back home.
“The president has received recent updates from the minister for politics, legal and security affairs minister regarding the haze that has affected more Indonesian people,” Arrmanatha Nasir, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told the Jakarta Globe late on Monday.
He said Joko and part of his delegation would immediately return home on Tuesday after attending scheduled events in Washington, D.C., where the president met with President Barack Obama, congressmen and US executives on Monday.
Joko’s return means he will not attend much-anticipated meetings with technology executives from Apple, Google and Microsoft, among others. Representing him in Silicon Valley instead, Arrmanatha said, will be the communications and trade ministers, as well as the head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).
Arrmanatha said the president would fly to either South Sumatra or Central Kalimantan once he arrives back in the country. Both provinces are among the hardest hit by forest fires generating intense volumes of health-threatening haze.
A top legislator earlier on Monday lashed out at the president for going abroad just as the fire and haze crisis worsens. Up to three-quarters of Indonesia is affected to varying degrees by the haze.
President Jokowi Shortens His Visit in United States
Antara 26 Oct 15;
Washington DC (Antara News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has decided to shorten his visit in the United States and will immediately return home and directly head to the ongoing forest and land fires locations.
While in the Blair House Washington DC, Monday (Oct 26), about 10:30 a.m. local time, the president rang up the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security affairs (Menkopolhukan) Luhut Binsar Panjaitan (monitoring the countrys situation).
"Just now, I rang up Menkopolhukan regarding the smog condition especially in Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra provinces as I received information that most hotspots occur in South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan," Jokowi said.
The number of hotspots in South Sumatra reached 146 points and in Central Kalimantan amounting to 366 points.
Therefore, the president added, he decided to cancel his trip to the West Coast.
"Due to many complaints from the public relating to health impacts and social impacts caused by smog, I decided to cancel my trip to the West Coast," he said.
President admitted that from time to time he monitored the development of smog disaster management as well in terms of health services that should run well.
"From here (U.S. we will) directly go to Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra, while the planned visit to the West Coast with regard to cooperation in information technology and the creative economy, I assigned the relevant ministers to continue to the West Coast to meet with CEOs," the president state.
Before leaving for the U.S. on Saturday (Oct 24) President Jokowi said he would continue monitoring the countrys situation while on an official visit to the United States over the next five days.
"I will monitor the social, political, law and security related conditions from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day," Jokowi said at a press conference at the Halim Perdanakusumah Air Force base here, before departing for the United States on Saturday.
Reported by Hanni Sofia Soepardi
US Gives $2.75m for Indonesia to Fight Forest Fires
Basten Gokkon Jakarta Globe 26 Oct 15;
Jakarta. The United States will donate $2.75 million to assist Indonesian authorities combatting the most severe forest fires in living memory.
“This assistance is part of the United States’ wider effort to support Indonesian activities to suppress forest fires and to mitigate their effects on human health, as well as to support Indonesian government efforts to prevent future forest fires,” US Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., said in a statement obtained by the Jakarta Globe on Monday.
Blake said the package, which includes funding from the US Agency for International Development, will provide equipment and protective gear to ground-based firefighting crews in Central Kalimantan and other provinces worst hit by the fires.
He added that a team of technical advisers from the US Forest Service would arrive in Indonesia this week to provide support, including additional shipment of protective clothing for firefighters, and assist with the operational coordination, remote sensing and imagery efforts of the Indonesian government.
Nearly two million hectares of forest and peat have been razed so far this year to make way for plantations serving the oil palm and pulp industries, with six provinces in Kalimantan and Sumatra reported as hardest-struck by the consequential haze, including Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
Indonesia has recorded its second-worst haze crisis which has emitted more than 1.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide as of last week, according to data from the Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI), using finding from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED).
The report said that the staggering figure had surpassed the 2006 records, but was still far below the 1997 when the country produced almost 4.5 billion tons of the greenhouse gas.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has labeled the haze crisis a crime against humanity.
US, RI partner to address forest fires, haze
thejakartapost.com 26 Oct 15;
US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake, Jr. announced on Monday that the US would contribute an initial US$2.75 million in assistance to support Indonesia’s efforts to address the effects of forest fires and haze.
“This assistance is part of the US' wider effort to support Indonesia’s activities to suppress forest fires and to mitigate their effects on human health, as well as to support the Indonesian government’s efforts to prevent forest fires in the future,” he said in Jakarta on Monday.
Ambassador Blake said the US-Indonesia partnership would provide immediate assistance to populations affected by smoke, improve the effectiveness of current fire extinguishing efforts and address the impact of the fires on vulnerable populations.
The $2.75 million assistance package from the US includes United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) funding to help the Indonesian government to expand their health care centers' ability to respond to haze-related respiratory illnesses. The funding will also be used to support Indonesia’s efforts to raise public awareness of hazards associated with haze in the country.
“The funds will be provided through USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance [OFDA] through the American Red Cross to the Indonesian Red Cross,” said the US Embassy in Jakarta in a statement on Monday.
The embassy further said the funding would also be used to provide equipment and protective gear to firefighting crews located in provinces worst hit by forest fires, especially Central Kalimantan.
“It also will be used to support a team of US Forest Service technical advisers arriving in Indonesia this week to provide wildfire support,” the embassy said.
“The team will bring an additional shipment of protective clothing for firefighters, and assist the Indonesian government in carrying out operational coordination, remote sensing, and imagery efforts.” (ebf)
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo cuts short US visit due to worsening haze
Francis Chan, The Straits Times/ANN Jakarta Post 26 Oct 15;
Indonesia President Joko Widodo is cutting short his visit to the United States and will return to Indonesia, possibly flying directly to South Sumatra or Central Kalimantan.
He made the decision after he received news that conditions in the two regions affected by the haze, have worsened over the last two days.
"I decided to cancel my trip to the West Coast and I may fly directly to Kalteng (Central Kalimantan) or Sumsel (South Sumatra)," said Mr Joko, after a telephone conversation on the haze situation with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Luhut Pandjaitan on Monday.
A member of the presidential communications team told The Straits Times that Mr Joko had made the decision after receiving updates on ground conditions.
The Indonesian government is preparing for a massive operation, both on land and at sea, for what appears to be an imminent evacuation of thousands of babies and children from their homes in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
This comes as the forest fires, which produce the toxic haze, continue to burn unabated despite the extensive firefighting resources dedicated to putting them out.
Three navy warships have arrived in Kalimantan with relief supplies, with more put on high alert to deploy to affected areas soon.
In total, 27 ships, including 16 civilian vessels, are involved in the rescue operation.
This was Mr Joko's maiden visit to the US, and he was due to travel to San Francisco on Wednesday, where he would meet, among others, representatives from Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, as well as fund managers and venture capitalists to pitch Indonesia "as the largest digital economy in South-east Asia".
Those meetings will now be handed over to the relevant ministers, who will remain in the US for the remainder of the trip.
Mr Joko, however, will still meet with his American counterpart, President Barack Obama before he leaves Washington DC.
The president and First Lady Iriana are expected to arrive in Indonesia on Thursday. (kes)
Indonesia president to leave US early to deal with haze crisis
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo will cut short his trip to the United States on Tuesday to help deal with clouds of smoke over large areas of his country.
Channel NewsAsia 27 Oct 15;
WASHINGTON: Indonesia's President Joko Widodo will cut short his trip to the United States on Tuesday (Oct 27) to help deal with clouds of smoke large areas of his country.
Thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn agriculture in Indonesia's forests have forced schools and offices to close and airlines to cancel flights.
Indonesia's disaster agency says fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra have left 10 dead, some burned while fighting the blazes and others overcome by pollution.
"President Joko Widodo has decided to hasten his visit in the US to return home," said presidential spokesman Ari Dwipayana.
Widodo is now due to leave Washington late Tuesday, by which time he will have completed planned meetings in the capital, including with President Barack Obama.
But he will not head to America's West Coast as planned to meet with US tech sector executives and will instead dispatch ministers in his stead.
Indonesia has deployed 30 aircraft to fight the fires and for cloud seeding, with 22,000 troops on the ground and a flotilla of warships on their way.
At least half a million people have suffered from respiratory illness since the fires started in July and 43 million people live in the affected area.
- AFP/de
U.S. to give Indonesia S$3.83m aid for haze
Today Online 27 Oct 15;
The United States will contribute an initial US$2.75 million (S$3.83 million) to help Indonesia cope with the country’s worst haze crisis in years, said its ambassador to Indonesia yesterday.
“This assistance is part of the United States’ wider effort to support Indonesian activities to suppress forest fires and to mitigate their effects on human health, as well as to support Indonesian government efforts to prevent future forest fires,” said ambassador Robert O Blake, Jr.
The package will provide immediate assistance to populations affected by haze and smoke, improve the effectiveness of current fire suppression efforts and address the impact of the fires on vulnerable populations, said the embassy in the statement.
The assistance package includes funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Indonesia expand the ability of healthcare centres to respond to haze-related respiratory illnesses and support efforts to raise awareness of the hazards associated with haze in the region.
The funds will also provide equipment and protective gear to ground-based firefighters and will support a team of US Forest Service technical advisers arriving in Indonesia to provide wildfire support.
