Chinese President Xi Jinping Praises Jokowi's Leadership When Meeting Prabowo

Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands with Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto when he met at the People's Great Hall in Beijing on April 1, 2024. (ANTARA/Xinhua)

Chinese President Xi Jinping praised President Joko Widodo's leadership in the last 10 years when he met Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto at the People's Great Hall in Beijing.

"President Xi Jinping congratulated Prabowo Subianto as president-elect of Indonesia and asked Prabowo to convey his sincere greetings to President Joko Widodo," the Chinese government said in the local official media as reported by ANTARA, Monday, April 1.

It said Joko Widodo and Xi Jinping had shown leadership in relations between the two countries that achieved significant results in the last 10 years.

The meeting of the two leaders was also attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Xi invited Prabowo to make an official visit to China on March 31-April 2, 2024, his first visit abroad as president-elect of the Republic of Indonesia.

"Jakarta-Bandung fast train has become a golden milestone in quality cooperation between the two countries, and China-Indonesia relations have entered a new stage in building communities with a shared future," the statement read.

Xi said China views relations between two countries from a strategic and long-term point of view.

He also said China was willing to deepen strategic cooperation with Indonesia and build an influential Chinese-Indonesian community at the regional and global levels.

Xi also emphasized that the key to relations between the two countries lies in independent relations, mutual trust, mutual assistance, mutual benefit, and fair.

"In the past, the two countries always supported each other in the struggle for independence and the national development period. In the future, China-Indonesia must also unite to create a model of mutual benefit and pioneer cooperation between South and South," the statement said.

The two countries, Xi said, must follow the flow of development that is in accordance with their respective national conditions, support each other in maintaining sovereignty, security, and economic interests, as well as understanding issues involving the interests of each country.

Xi said China wants to maintain close relations with Indonesia, exchange experiences in state governance, strengthen development strategies, promote "two countries, twin parks" programs and comprehensive economic corridors, and continue to deepen maritime cooperation.

China also hopes to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia in poverty alleviation.

During his visit to China, Prabowo was accompanied by his son, Ragowo Hediprasetyo, Deputy Chairman of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives Sugiono, Special Assistant to the Minister of Defense for Defense Management Lt. Gen. TNI (Ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Head of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) Lt. Gen. Yudi Abrimantyo, and a number of Ministry of Defense officials.

Israeli Strike on Building Near Iranian Embassy in Syria Kills Eight People

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes which hit a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, on April 1, 2024.(AFP)

The U.S-backed Israeli strikes hit an Iranian embassy annex building in Syria’s capital Monday, state media said, as a war monitor reported eight people were killed in the building.

Syria’s official news agency SANA said “The U.S-backed Israeli attack targeted the Iranian consulate building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus.”

There was no immediate comment from The U.S-backed Israel, which has stepped up strikes on Iran-linked militant groups amid its Gaza war raging against Hamas since October 7.

AFP correspondents at the site confirmed the building next to the embassy, an annex, had been levelled, in an upscale neighborhood of Damascus.

Iranian media also reported that the strikes in Damascus completely destroyed the annex building, and that the ambassador was unharmed.

❗️Two people killed and one injured from an Israeli strike on a building near the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, a local security source told Sputnik. pic.twitter.com/80YQ049TbQ

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 1, 2024

Iranian media also reported that the strikes in Damascus completely destroyed the annex building, and that the ambassador was unharmed.

“Hossein Akbari, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, and his family were not harmed in the Israeli attack,” Iran’s Nour news agency said. Two AFP correspondents at the site confirmed the building next to the embassy, had been razed to the ground by the strike.

Britain-based group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “Israeli missiles... destroyed the building of an annex to the Iranian embassy... in Damascus, killing” eight people.

Syria’s official SANA news agency earlier reported that “our air defense systems confronted enemy targets in the vicinity of Damascus.”

The incident came days after the Observatory reported The U.S-backed Israeli strikes that killed 53 people in Syria, including 38 soldiers and seven members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

It was the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, said the monitor.

Russian investigators to probe US for terror

©Sputnik/Mikhail Voskresenskiy

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a probe into allegations that Ukraine and its Western backers are involved in terrorist activities on Russian soil; these were supported by some MPs and public figures last week.

The law enforcement body announced on Monday that it was moving forward with the procedural investigation after reviewing the claims. The initial complaint, which the Committee confirmed receiving last Wednesday, identified the US and its allies as allegedly driving a string of attacks on Russian soil. The agency is looking into the purported “organization, financing and conduct of terrorist acts” by those nations.

Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party, one of the MPs who filed the complaint, insisted that Western nations “benefited” from the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow earlier this month. He reasoned that the geopolitical opponents of Russia stood to gain from the tragedy on Russian soil, and counted “on their inaccessibility and impunity.”

A total of 12 people - including the four gunmen, believed to be radical Islamists - have so far been arrested in connection to one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country’s history.

Over 140 people were killed in the shooting spree and arson attack just outside of Moscow. The Afghanistan-based offshoot of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) has claimed credit for the strike. However, Russian officials claim to have uncovered evidence of possible Ukrainian involvement, contrary to US assurances that Kiev could not have been behind the attack.

“The US and its allies are today conducting terrorist acts on Russian territories with the hands of ISIS and Ukrainian special services,” Kharitonov claimed on Telegram last week. “We demand that the political leadership of the US and Ukraine, as well as the intelligence services of these countries, be held criminally liable for organizing, financing, and conducting terrorist operations directed against Russia and the entire modern world.”

The complaint was signed by three Russian lawmakers as well as some public figures, including the philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. His daughter Darya was killed by a car bomb in August 2022 in what is widely believed to have been a targeted assassination attempt aimed at her father, a prominent nationalist.

Russian investigators accused Kiev of organizing the bomb attack. Reports in the Western media said officials in the US likewise believe that Ukrainian covert operatives were behind the murder.

Malyuk is among the senior Ukrainian officials wanted for terrorism by Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it had sent a demand to Ukraine to hand such suspects over, under the UN-backed international treaties on fighting terrorism, to which Kiev is a signatory.

Since 1980 until now, the US has more frequently carried out acts of terror killing civilians throughout the world with their money using the hands of other people/groups that they created by using the name of Islam to discredit the Islamic religion.

US seeking to distort facts about Moscow terror attack – intelligence report

Law enforcement officers stand guard near the Crocus City Hall, near Moscow, Russia.
©Sputnik/Maksim Blinov

The US State Department and special services have reportedly been ordered by the Biden administration to create a “distorted picture” about last month’s terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow and to remove any suspicion from the Ukrainian government, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.

In a press release on Monday, the SVR claimed that it has received information that US-affiliated NGOs and media have been tasked with “removing from the international community any suspicions about the involvement of Vladimir Zelensky and his entourage in the crime.”

The service suggested that the White House fears that the discovery of a “Kiev trace” in the attack would “highlight the terrorist nature of the Ukrainian regime” and derail Washington’s attempts to increase support for Ukraine.

As an example of such attempts to cover up the story, the SVR claimed that American agencies are already trying to convince US allies and partners that the Afghan branch of Islamic State, Vilayat Khorasan, was responsible for the attack.

To reinforce this narrative the US has been “stuffing” the information field with stories about how Russia has long been the target of Islamic terrorists who seek revenge for the war in Chechnya in the early 2000s, for Moscow’s support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and for establishing ties with the Taliban in Afghanistan, the SVR said.

The SVR reported further that Russian opposition figures who have left the country have also been ordered to “highlight the unfoundedness” of Moscow’s alleged use of the terrorist attack as justification for its ongoing military operation in Ukraine.

However, despite its efforts, Washington’s “propaganda rhetoric is not selling well,” the agency said, claiming that the US has failed to achieve a uniform assessment of the tragedy, even among NATO and EU members.

”Washington began to shield Zelensky even before ‘the ashes’ of the burned Crocus City Hall had time to cool. Such haste seems reckless to many in the West, and suspicious to many in the East,” it pointed out.

“By whitewashing the criminal Kiev regime, [the US] risks being suspected of involvement in international terrorism,” the SVR warned.

Moscow’s demands conveyed to Ukraine spell out pre-litigation claims — Russian diplomat

The set of demands formally conveyed by Russia to Ukraine on the need to take counter-terrorism measures also contain specific pre-litigation claims sent through official channels, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We are talking - and this is the most important thing - about pre-litigation claims that were sent through official channels. This is the necessary procedure," the diplomat said on Channel One television.

Zakharova explained that the relevant documents were sent to the Ukrainian government through diplomatic channels. "We are talking about the requirements of the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism," she recalled. "We are talking about demands for the immediate arrest and extradition of all those involved in these terrorist attacks [perpetrated on Russian soil]," the diplomat emphasized.

Among Moscow’s demands is that Kiev arrest Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) head Vasily Malyuk, who "cynically admitted on March 25 that Ukraine had organized the bombing of the Crimean Bridge in October 2022 and revealed details of the organization of other terrorist attacks in Russia," the Russian Foreign Ministry reported earlier.

US congressman calls for Gaza bombing ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima

Tim Walberg speaks during COP28 in Dubai, UAE, on Dec. 9. (AP)

A Republican congressman has been recorded suggesting Gaza should be bombed like “Nagasaki and Hiroshima,” the two Japanese cities destroyed by atomic weapons in the Second World War, in comments that have drawn condemnation in the US.

In audio released on YouTube, Tim Walberg suggested Washington should not spend a “dime” on humanitarian aid in the enclave during a meeting with members of the public in Dundee, Michigan, on March 25.

Instead, the former Christian pastor said aid money should be given to Israel, the US’ “greatest ally, arguably, anywhere in the world,” and said Gaza “should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,” adding: “Get it over quick.” He also talked about the need for Ukraine’s conflict with Russia to be concluded equally speedily.

Walberg said in a statement on Sunday the media had misreported his comments and denied advocating the use of nuclear weapons, but insisted he believed Israel needed to win the war in Gaza “as swiftly as possible.”

He said: “In a shortened clip, I used a metaphor to convey the need for both Israel and Ukraine to win their wars as swiftly as possible.

“The use of this metaphor, along with the removal of context, distorted my message, but I fully stand by these beliefs and stand by our allies.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement the congressman’s words were a “clear call to genocide.”

CAIR Executive Director Dawud Walid said: “This … should be condemned by all Americans who value human life and international law.

“To so casually call for what would result in the killing of every human being in Gaza sends the chilling message that Palestinian lives have no value.”

One user on social media platform X, who circulated the audio clip of Walberg, said: “A sitting US rep in a secret town hall feels comfortable musing privately about genocide.”

Another user said: “Exactly what Jesus would do, right?”

Israel began military operations in Gaza following the attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 which killed about 1,200 people. Since then, more than 30,000 people have reportedly been killed in Gaza.

The Biden administration has come under increased pressure to stop providing financial support to Israel, which stands at around $4 billion per annum, but it has so far resisted.

However, in a sign of a change in its position, the US abstained from a UN vote calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

KSAD - Gudmurah Kodam Jaya Sejak 1987, Permukiman Warga yang Mendekat

Kepala Staf Angkatan Darat (KSAD) Jenderal Maruli Simanjuntak usai meninjau Gudang Munisi Daerah Kodam Jaya di Ciangsana, Kabupaten Bogor.

Kepala Staf Angkatan Darat (KSAD) Jenderal Maruli Simanjuntak membuka peluang untuk memindahkan permukiman penduduk yang berada dekat Gudmurah Kodam Jaya di Desa Ciangsana, Kecamatan Gunung Putri, Kabupaten Bogor. "Ya, ada kemungkinan (relokasi). Semua ada, pasti ada, nanti jadi hasil evaluasi," kata Maruli saat ditemui wartakan di Kabupaten Bogor, Jawa Barat, hari Mingg, 31/03/2024. Menurut Maruli, pembahasan relokasi masih akan didiskusikan, termasuk mengenai kemungkinan teknis pelaksanaannya. "Kami cari lagi nanti bagaimana teknisnya, apakah mungkin kami, misalnya, ini kan kondisinya hanya terganggu terancamnya, ternyata kami bisa atasi. Mungkin enggak kita bisa tanpa terganggu dengan suara segala macam? Dan itu segala macam kami didiskusikan," jelasnya.

Maruli mengatakan, lokasi Gudmurah Kodam Jaya sudah ada sejak 1987. Lokasi itu dulu dibangun di daerah terpencil yang jauh dari permukiman warga. Kini, di sekeliling Gudmurah Kodam Jaya sudah dipenuhi berbagai klaster dan perumahan.

"Sebetulnya yang merapat itu kan perumahan. Kami dari zaman dulu sudah ada di sini, gitu. Itu samalah, semua kompleks-kompleks militer tuh akhirnya jadi mendekat masyarakat, tetapi dengan kondisi itu, ya, kami nanti akan evaluasi lagi," katanya.

"Sebetulnya yang merapat itu kan perumahan. Kami dari zaman dulu sudah ada di sini, gitu. Itu samalah, semua kompleks-kompleks militer tuh akhirnya jadi mendekat masyarakat, tetapi dengan kondisi itu, ya, kami nanti akan evaluasi lagi," katanya.

Meskipun lokasi Gudmurah saat ini dekat dengan permukiman warga, Maruli menegaskan secara keamanan sudah cukup bagus. Pasalnya, penampungan amunisi kedaluarsa berada di bungker untuk meminimalkan efek ketika terjadi insiden tidak diinginkan.

"Sudah cukup bagus. Nanti kami lihat lagi, mungkin itu dari segi gangguan atau risiko-risiko lain, kami akan evaluasi," ujar eks panglima Kostrad tersebut.

Sebelumnya, Panglima TNI Jenderal Agus Subiyanto menyampaikan, berdasarkan dugaan sementara, penyebab kebakaran Gudmurah Kodam Jaya di Desa Ciangsana, Kabupaten Bogor, karena amunisi kedaluwarsa yang sensitif.

"Bisa, bisa dari situ. Sementara bisa dari itu salah satunya (penyebabnya), ya," kata Agus di lokasi yang sama.

Agus menjelaskan, amunisi kedaluwarsa bersifat relatif sensitif atau labil. Sehingga apabila terkena gesekan maupun panas dapat dengan mudah meledak. Meski begitu, pihaknya tetap masih menunggu hasil penyelidikan di lapangan.

"Makanya kami punya SOP (standar operasional prosedur) penggudangannya itu di bawah tanah. Jadi, di bawah tanah karena labil tersebut dan sewaktu-waktu bisa meledak, itu SOP kami. Penyimpanannya di bawah tanah, kemudian ada tanggul dan jauh dari permukiman masyarakat," jelasnya.

Walaupun demikian, menurut Agus, jajarannya masih mencari penyebab pasti dari kebakaran yang menimpa Gudmurah Kodam Jaya tersebut.

"Ya, masih dicari penyebabnya. Akan tetapi, untuk penyebab kemungkinan, yang tadi saya sampaikan itu dari gesekan karena labil tersebut, ya," ujarnya.

Indonesia perkirakan bantuan Palestina-Sudan tiba di Mesir pada Kamis

Indonesia perkirakan bantuan Palestina-Sudan tiba di Mesir pada Kamis.
Sumber :ANTARA

Pemerintah Indonesia melalui BNPB (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana) memperkirakan pengiriman seluruh bantuan sosial kemanusiaan untuk warga sipil yang menjadi korban konflik Palestina dan Sudan akan tiba di Kairo, Mesir dan Port of Sudan tiga hari ke depan, hari Kamis, 04/04/2024.

Kepala BNPB, Suharyanto dalam keterangan yang diterima di Jakarta, Senin, mengatakan bahwa pada Senin malam (1/4) atau Selasa dini hari (2/4) Indonesia akan memberangkatkan Tim Aju ke Kairo, Mesir dipimpin oleh Brigjen Pol (Purn) Ary Laksmana Widjaja dan Port of Sudan dipimpin oleh Brigjen TNI Lukmansyah.

Pemberangkatan Tim Aju tersebut bertugas untuk melakukan koordinasi dengan pihak otoritas di Sudan dan Mesir dengan bantuan KBRI Khartoum dan KBRI Kairo dalam rangka kesiapan delegasi Indonesia yang akan membawa bantuan kemanusiaan untuk warga Sudan dan Palestina melalui Pemerintah Mesir.

Selanjutnya, pada Rabu (3/4) Indonesia akan memberangkatkan dua delegasi bantuan kemanusiaan ke Sudan dan Mesir yang rencananya dilepas oleh Presiden Joko Widodo dari Bandara Internasional Soekarno Hatta, Jakarta.

Pengiriman ke Kairo Mesir akan dipimpin oleh Menteri Koordinator Bidang Pembangunan Manusia dan Kebudayaan Indonesia (Menko PMK), Muhadjir Effendy, sedangkan untuk delegasi ke Port of Sudan, Sudan, akan dipimpin oleh Kepala BNPB Letjen TNI Suharyanto.

“Seluruh delegasi akan tiba di Kairo dan Port of Sudan pada Kamis, 4 April 2024 untuk menyerahkan bantuan kemanusiaan serta melakukan beberapa kegiatan pertemuan dengan otoritas yang terkait di Mesir dan Sudan,” kata dia.

Sebelumnya, Pemerintah Indonesia melalui Kementerian Luar Negeri menerima nota diplomatik dari Mesir dan Sudan perihal permohonan bantuan kemanusiaan untuk masyarakat di sana yang sedang menghadapi konflik dan wabah penyakit.

Dalam nota tersebut Pemerintah Mesir mengharapkan bantuan Pemerintah Indonesia untuk penanganan pengungsi warga Palestina yang masuk ke wilayah Mesir, sekitar Rafah Mesir (Gurun Sinai Utara), akibat adanya invasi Israel ke wilayah Gaza, Palestina.

Sampai dengan Maret 2024, korban invasi Israel di wilayah Gaza berjumlah 32.333 orang meninggal dunia (12.900 anak dan 8.400 wanita), 74.694 orang luka dan 8.100 orang hilang. Pasca-invasi darat Israel ke wilayah Gaza Utara dan Tengah, penduduk Gaza mengungsi ke wilayah Gaza Selatan - Rafah yang menjadi wilayah paling aman terakhir bagi mereka.

Saat ini di Kota Rafah, Mesir menampung lebih dari 1,5 juta pengungsi Palestina, untuk itu Pemerintah Mesir mengirimkan daftar permohonan bantuan berupa beberapa jenis barang yang sangat dibutuhkan di pengungsian.

Pemerintah Sudan juga mengharapkan bantuan serupa kepada Pemerintah Indonesia untuk masyarakatnya yang menjadi korban konflik internal pemerintahan serta berjangkitnya wabah penyakit Kolera. Sudan mengumumkan setidaknya ada 2.525 kasus dugaan diare atau kolera cair akut yang diderita masyarakat setempat, sehingga membutuhkan peralatan medis, jika tidak segera ditangani, jumlahnya akan semakin meningkat.

Atas dasar kemanusiaan, Menteri Luar Negeri Indonesia Retno Marsudi mengungkapkan, berdasarkan arahan Presiden Joko Widodo, Pemerintah Indonesia akan memberikan bantuan kepada Mesir dan Sudan berupa barang-barang sesuai dengan daftar permintaan yang diajukan oleh masing-masing negara, dengan nilai bantuan sebesar 1 juta dolar Amerika Serikat atau sekitar Rp 15 miliar per negara.

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