Friday, 7 October 2022

Ulang Tahun ke-70 Putin 7 Oktober

Ulang Tahun ke-70 Putin 7 Oktober

Ulang Tahun ke-70 Putin 7 Oktober


Vladimir Putin berlibur di Siberia pada hari ulang tahunnya di 2019.kremlin.ru






Ulang Tahun ke-70 Putin 7 Oktober 2022, Semua Media Barat Mengulas, namun tujuannya Untuk membangun Opini Presiden Rusia itu lemah.







Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin, lahir pada 7 Oktober 1952, menjadi presiden Rusia pada tahun 2000. Pemberitaan bombastis dari Media Barat tentang Vladimir Putin di hari ulang tahunnya mengalir secara serentak dengan tujuan membangun opini negatif kepada Putin. Sebaliknya Media Rusia, tidak satupun yang mempublikasikan perayaan ulang tahun Putin.



Ramzan Kadyrov Menjanjikan Acara Besar di Chechnya



Beberapa hari sebelumnya, pemimpin Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov telah menjanjikan “acara besar,” termasuk pacuan kuda dan upacara pembukaan pusat pelatihan judo yang dinamai Putin, seorang penggemar seni bela diri yang terkenal


“Rakyat Rusia sangat beruntung memiliki presiden seperti itu,” kata Kadyrov Selasa dalam sebuah posting di aplikasi perpesanan Telegram. “Merayakan ulang tahun ke 70 presiden kami, kami menunjukkan kepada seluruh dunia betapa kami menghargainya.”


Dan di St. Petersburg, kampung halaman Putin, seorang seniman lokal akan memamerkan karya "Putin dengan Anak Anjing" pada hari Jumat - lukisan berukuran dua kali dua meter yang menunjukkan Putin menggendong seekor anjing muda.


“Putin dengan Anak Anjing” oleh artis Alexei Sergienko.twitter.com/Kremlinpool_RIA


“Saya menggambarkan Vladimir Putin sebagai pahlawan cerita manusia sederhana,” kata seniman Alexei Sergienko Kamis dalam sebuah wawancara dengan outlet media lokal Spbdnevnik.


Tetapi acara di Chechnya dan karya seni di St. Petersburg jauh lebih sederhana daripada perayaan ulang tahun Putin di tahun-tahun sebelumnya, ketika presiden dianugerahi anjing, anak harimau — dan bahkan kalender yang menampilkan mahasiswi berbikini.


Salah satu cara yang disukai Putin untuk menghabiskan hari ulang tahunnya di masa lalu adalah dalam pertemuan dengan para pemimpin asing, seringkali di luar negeri.


Pada 2013, Putin menghadiri KTT Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia-Pasifik tahunan di Bali, ulang tahun bersama Presiden China Xi Jinping dan Perdana Menteri Jepang Shinzo Abe.


Putin berada di KTT Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia-Pasifik (APEC) tahunan di Bali untuk ulang tahunnya pada tahun 2013. kremlin.ru


Dia juga merayakan dengan teman-teman lamanya dan politisi Eropa Silvio Berlusconi dan Gerhard Schroeder.



Putin akan bertemu dengan rekan-rekan CIS-nya di hari ulang tahunnya



Sebuah pertemuan yang direncanakan pada hari Jumat dengan para pemimpin dari Persemakmuran Negara-Negara Merdeka (CIS) yang didominasi Moskow—sebuah pengelompokan negara-negara pasca-Soviet—kemungkinan tidak akan dilakukan.


Sebelumnya, juru bicara Kremlin Dmitry Peskov mengatakan bahwa pembicaraan pada 7 Oktober akan menjadi tahap penting dalam persiapan KTT CIS yang dijadwalkan minggu depan di Astana. Pada 12-14 Oktober, ibu kota Kazakhstan, yang memimpin Persemakmuran pada 2022, akan menjadi tuan rumah KTT CIS, Konferensi tentang Langkah-langkah Interaksi dan Membangun Kepercayaan di Asia, serta pertemuan para kepala negara Asia Tengah-Rusia.


Putin telah berulang kali menekankan bahwa pembentukan CIS dibenarkan, integrasi negara-negara diperdalam baik dalam keamanan maupun ekonomi.


Menurut Presiden Rusia, secara umum, hubungan yang telah dipertahankan sejak zaman Uni Soviet memainkan peran positif, banyak proyek telah dikembangkan di tingkat yang baru. Dia yakin bahwa selama lebih dari 30 tahun CIS telah berjalan jauh, memantapkan dirinya sebagai asosiasi integrasi regional kelas berat di mana negara-negara anggota berusaha membangun hubungan berdasarkan prinsip bertetangga yang baik, kemitraan, saling menguntungkan, dan mempertimbangkan kepentingan satu sama lain.


kremlin.ru


Sekretaris Eksekutif CIS Sergey Lebedev sebelumnya memperkirakan bahwa KTT Astana akan membahas masalah kerja sama ekonomi, termasuk dalam konteks sanksi Barat. Lebedev menarik perhatian pada fakta bahwa karena sanksi yang dijatuhkan terutama terhadap Rusia dan Belarusia, negara-negara Persemakmuran lainnya juga menderita, sehingga penting bagi kepala negara untuk membahas masalah-masalah mendesak dan menemukan cara terbaik untuk menyelesaikannya demi kepentingan masing-masing negara CIS.



KTT untuk ulang tahun Presiden



Peskov menyatakan keyakinannya bahwa pada pertemuan di St. Petersburg para pemimpin negara-negara CIS akan memanfaatkan untuk memberi selamat kepada rekan Rusia mereka pada hari jadinya. Namun, juru bicara Kremlin mencatat bahwa secara formal protokol KTT tidak menyiratkan "nada liburan." Menurut perkiraan Peskov, hari kerja Putin akan sibuk. Agendanya mencakup sejumlah panggilan telepon internasional, khususnya komunikasi dengan Presiden Turki Tayyip Erdogan.


Presiden Rusia sangat jarang mengambil hari libur pada hari ulang tahunnya sendiri dan paling sering menghabiskannya di tempat kerja.


Beberapa kali, KTT internasional besar yang dihadiri Putin diadakan pada 7 Oktober. Misalnya, Putin merayakan ulang tahun ke-50 pada 2002 di Chisinau pada KTT CIS, pada 2013 ia menerima ucapan selamat dari para pemimpin negara-negara Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia-Pasifik. di pulau Bali Indonesia pada KTT APEC.


Dari waktu ke waktu, jadwal kerja Putin membawanya ke negara asalnya St. Petersburg pada hari ulang tahunnya, di mana Presiden tidak hanya menerima ucapan selamat, tetapi juga mengadakan pertemuan bisnis dan negosiasi.

Rmb China Menggantikan Dolar AS sebagai Mata Uang Asing yang Paling Banyak Diperdagangkan di Bursa Efek Moskow

Rmb China Menggantikan Dolar AS sebagai Mata Uang Asing yang Paling Banyak Diperdagangkan di Bursa Efek Moskow

Rmb China Menggantikan Dolar AS sebagai Mata Uang Asing yang Paling Banyak Diperdagangkan di Bursa Efek Moskow


©Flickr / Chris






Lebih dari tujuh bulan setelah Barat bergerak untuk mengisolasi Rusia dari ekonomi global dengan sanksi ekonomi yang merusak, de-dolarisasi ekonomi Rusia telah begitu menyeluruh sehingga renminbi (rmb) atau mata uang Yuan China sekarang menjadi mata uang asing terbesar di Bursa Moskow, bursa saham terbesar.







Data dari Moscow Exchange Group menunjukkan bahwa 64.900 rmb-rubel transaksi dilakukan di Moscow Exchange (MOEX) pada hari Senin, dengan total $ 1,17 miliar. Sebagai perbandingan, nilai tukar dolar-rubel AS mencapai $1,12 miliar pada hari yang sama. Tren terus berlanjut sepanjang minggu, tampaknya menutup nasib dolar di Moskow yang diprediksi oleh Sberbank (Bank terbesar di Rusia, Eropa Tengah dan Timur, salah satu lembaga keuangan internasional terkemuka) bulan lalu.


Melampaui satu hari pertama kali terjadi pada 18 Agustus, tetapi perkembangan minggu ini menunjukkan tren yang lebih permanen.


Rusia sebagian besar telah terputus dari pertukaran dengan lembaga keuangan Barat sejak Maret, ketika AS dan sekutu NATO-nya memberlakukan sanksi sebagai tanggapan atas operasi khusus Rusia di Ukraina. Sistem pembayaran global seperti Mastercard dan Visa telah ditarik, dan layanan transfer bank SWIFT yang berbasis di Brussels telah mengeluarkan sebagian besar bank Rusia terbesar dari jaringannya. Selain itu, banyak perusahaan Amerika telah mengakhiri operasinya di Rusia, seperti Starbucks, Nike, dan Slack.


Kemitraan Moskow yang berkembang dengan China, yang meluas dari bidang ekonomi hingga militer dan politik, telah memberi Rusia mekanisme dukungan yang penting.


Kedua negara membuka alternatif SWIFT mereka sendiri, System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) Rusia dan Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) China, masing-masing pada 2014 dan 2015. CIPS terutama ditujukan untuk meningkatkan kehadiran global RMB dan diharapkan dapat memainkan peran yang lebih besar karena blok-blok ekonomi berbasis Pasifik menjadi lebih menonjol di tahun-tahun mendatang.


Inisiatif lain dengan tujuan yang sama adalah kesepakatan Gazprom bulan lalu dengan China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) untuk melakukan setengah pembayaran gas mereka dalam rubel dan setengah dalam rmb, dan tawaran diskon China kepada perusahaan India jika mereka menyelesaikan transaksi Rusia mereka dalam rmb bukannya dolar. Kedua proposal menjadi berita di bulan lalu.


China juga menjadi pembeli utama ekspor energi Rusia, yang juga mendapat sanksi dari Barat. Kontrak baru untuk minyak dan gas alam Rusia telah ditandatangani sejak Februari, dan China telah membeli begitu banyak gas Rusia yang murah sehingga sekarang menjual sebagian besar di pasar internasional dengan harga lebih tinggi dalam upaya untuk menutup beberapa kerugian ekonomi yang disebabkan oleh penguncian terkait COVID-19 tahun ini.


Secara keseluruhan, Rusia telah menjadi pasar terbesar ketiga untuk pembayaran rmb secara global, menurut data dari SWIFT tentang transaksi yang masih memungkinkan dengan entitas Rusia.


Pada bulan Juni, Iran mengusulkan agar Organisasi Kerjasama Shanghai (SCO), sebuah blok Eurasia yang mencakup Rusia, Cina, India, dan setengah lusin negara lainnya, menggunakan satu mata uang untuk perdagangan intra-blok. Teheran tidak menyarankan mata uang mana yang akan digunakan.

Democrats’ bill would pull US troops from Saudi, UAE in Retaliation for OPEC Oil Cuts

Democrats’ bill would pull US troops from Saudi, UAE in Retaliation for OPEC Oil Cuts

Democrats’ bill would pull US troops from Saudi, UAE in Retaliation for OPEC Oil Cuts


Saudi Arabia's Dhahran oil plants
©AHMAD EL ITANI - AFP






For years, Democrats pressured the former Trump administration to stop supporting the Saudi-led war in Yemen. However, when Joe Biden became president, he introduced only moderate changes to US policy. Now, refusing to cooperate with the US’ proxy war against Russia could be what gets US troops withdrawn.







A trio of House Democrats have introduced legislation that would remove the United States military from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in response to a drastic cut in oil production by OPEC+, to which both nations belong.


“This decision is a turning point in our relationship with our Gulf partners,” Reps. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania and Sean Casten of Illinois said in a statement announcing the bill on Wednesday.


The lawmakers added that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s support for the output reduction amounted to “a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine.”


House Democrats have introduced a bill to withdraw US air defense systems from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in retaliation for production cuts by the OPEC+ petroleum cartel, of which both nations are a part. The defensive systems are deployed to protect the two nations from missile strikes by the Yemeni Houthi movement, which is fighting an eight-year-long war against a joint Saudi-led coalition.


"Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s drastic cut in oil production, despite President Biden’s overtures to both countries in recent months, is a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine," read a Wednesday statement by US Reps. Tom Molinowski (D-NJ), Sean Casten (D-IL), and Susan Wild (D-PA).


"Both countries have long relied on an American military presence in the Gulf to protect their security and oil fields. We see no reason why American troops and contractors should continue to provide this service to countries that are actively working against us. If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to help [Russia President Vladimir] Putin, they should look to him for their defense."


Ironically, the US has threatened Riyadh with sanctions if it were to buy S-400 air defense systems from Russia.


They claimed that "by significantly boosting global oil prices, OPEC’s decision appears designed to increase Russia’s oil export revenues, enabling Putin to continue his war crimes in Ukraine, and undercutting Western sanctions."



Copy-Paste Bill



The bill is titled the “Strained Partnership Act,” and is a near-exact copy of a bill introduced in March 2020 by Republicans that targeted Saudi Arabia, except that it also includes air defenses deployed in the UAE. That bill was motivated by a perception that Riyadh’s decisions on oil production are hostile to the US if they don’t take US policy needs into consideration.


Army Spc. Timothy Jones operates a Patriot missile battery in Southwest Asia, Feb. 8, 2010. The Defense Department announced Oct. 11, 2019, that it will deploy two Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia. ©Tech. Sgt. Michelle Larche


“Saudi Arabia has shown indifference, if not malintent, for American energy producers during its feud with Russia. These are not the actions of a supposed ally or friend, and they will not be tolerated,” said US Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-SD). “US troops are deployed to other countries to serve our national interests, not theirs. With friends like this, who needs enemies?”



OPEC-US Negotiations



OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais said the group’s Wednesday decision to reduce its collective petroleum output by 2 million barrels per day beginning in November was based on bringing “security [and] stability to the energy markets.” Many members have failed to meet production quotas for the last several months, although Saudi Arabia is not one of them, and according to OilPrice.com, the production cuts could see Riyadh reduce output by 500,000 barrels per day by itself.


At the time, Russia and OPEC were locked in a dispute about oil prices, with Riyadh wanting to slash global petroleum output to keep prices high as COVID-19 lockdowns spread around the globe, bringing the world economy to a halt. Russia, the world’s largest oil exporter, wanted lower oil prices, but had agreed to coordinate output with OPEC under the OPEC+ umbrella.


US President Joe Biden previously made a failed bid in July to convince the Saudi monarchy to increase oil production and bring down oil prices. The Western boycott of Russian energy exports has helped push crude oil prices higher, helping to arrest economic growth in Western nations already battling record-high inflation.


The White House has expressed similar feelings about OPEC’s move, saying in a statement that Biden was “disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”


Biden hasn’t commented on the bill, but did mention the Department of Energy would release another 10 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve next month to compensate for the reduction.


People inspect the site of airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition on a workshop, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. The coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen accelerated airstrikes on the capital and elsewhere in the conflict-stricken country in recent weeks, as government forces advanced in the west coast and the key province of Marib, officials said Sunday. ©AP Photo / Hani Mohammed



What of the War?



When Biden was on the campaign trail, he pledged to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which by United Nations estimates has killed more than 377,000 people since 2015. However, after taking office in 2021, Biden only limited US weapons sales to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi on a case-by-case basis, and even deployed new air defense systems to both countries, including Patriot and THAAD systems. The Saudi-led alliance has been fighting to restore the Yemeni government to power since it was overthrown by the Houthi movement in 2015. The Zaidi Shiite group came to power on a wave of popular fury over a proposed federalization plan they said would amplify poverty in the country’s poorest regions, and over the government’s slashing of fuel subsidies.


The Saudi-led alliance has been fighting to restore the Yemeni government to power since it was overthrown by the Houthi movement in 2015. The Zaidi Shiite group came to power on a wave of popular fury over a proposed federalization plan they said would amplify poverty in the country’s poorest regions, and over the government’s slashing of fuel subsidies. Worldwide fury at the civilian deaths caused by the Saudi-Emirati bombing campaign helped push Congressional Democrats to pass measures demanding the US end its support for the war, but then-US President Donald Trump refused to take action, saying Saudi Arabia was an essential US ally against Iran.


As the ceasefire called in April showed signs of imminent collapse on Monday, the Houthis warned foreign oil companies about the possibility of new strikes on Saudi and Emirati soil.


The bill would remove all US military forces and equipment, including high-tech missile defense systems, from the two Gulf countries.


The troops and the equipment would be relocated to other areas in the Middle East “with the priority mission of protecting United States Armed Forces.”


There are about 5,000 US military personnel in Saudi Arabia and UAE.


The Democratic bill resembles legislation introduced in March 2020 by Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota that also called for the removal of US forces from Saudi Arabia amid a dispute over oil prices.


“(A)s the United States and the rest of the world are battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kingdom continues to reject its leadership role in serving as a stabilizing force for global energy markets,” Sullivan said at the time. “This is unacceptable, particularly because the Kingdom’s actions are directly and negatively impacting the American citizens I am honored to represent. If Saudi Arabia refuses to change course when we’ve requested that it do so, the United States must seriously reconsider the level of American support — including military support — for such partnerships that fail to support us in turn.”

Federal agents - In Hunter Biden probe, agents see evidence of tax, gun-purchase crimes

Federal agents - In Hunter Biden probe, agents see evidence of tax, gun-purchase crimes

Federal agents see chargeable tax, gun-purchase case against Hunter Biden


Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, speaks to guests during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 18 in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/AP)






Federal agents investigating President Biden’s son Hunter have gathered what they believe is sufficient evidence to charge him with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase, according to people familiar with the case. The next step is for the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, a Trump administration holdover, to decide on whether to file such charges, these people said.







The investigation into Hunter Biden began in 2018, and became a central focus for then-president Donald Trump during his unsuccessful 2020 reelection effort. Initially, the investigation centered around Hunter Biden’s finances related to overseas business ties and consulting work.


Over time, investigators with multiple agencies focused closely on whether he did not report all of his income, and whether he lied on gun purchase paperwork in 2018, according to the people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing case.


Agents determined months ago they had assembled a viable criminal case against the younger Biden. But it is ultimately up to prosecutors at the Justice Department, not agents, to decide whether to file charges in cases where prosecutors believe the evidence is strong enough to lead to a likely conviction at trial.


Given the intense political interest in a criminal probe involving the son of a sitting president, Attorney General Merrick Garland has made clear that the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, David C. Weiss, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017, is supervising the case.


Garland has vowed there will be no political or otherwise improper interference in the Hunter Biden case, and has not moved to push Weiss to make a decision, the people familiar with the matter said. It is not uncommon for Justice Department investigations to take years to finish.


A spokeswoman for Weiss declined to comment, as did spokespeople for the Justice Department, and the FBI and the IRS, the two primary investigative agencies.


Asked about the case, Chris Clark, a lawyer for Hunter Biden, accused investigators of leaking information. “It is a federal felony for a federal agent to leak information about a Grand Jury investigation such as this one,” Clark said in a written statement.


"Any agent you cite as a source in your article apparently has committed such a felony. We expect the Department of Justice will diligently investigate and prosecute such bad actors. As is proper and legally required, we believe the prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly weighing not just evidence provided by agents, but also all the other witnesses in this case, including witnesses for the defense. That is the job of the prosecutors. They should not be pressured, rushed, or criticized for doing their job.”


Inside Hunter Biden's multi-million-dollar deals with a Chinese energy company


Any charging decision involving the Biden case is especially fraught because Trump and his allies have made accusations of corruption in Hunter Biden’s business dealings a key line of attack against Democrats, both before and after the 2020 presidential race. At the height of the election campaign, Trump allies revealed that a Delaware computer shop owner had turned over to the FBI a laptop that had apparently belonged to Hunter Biden. Trump and others argued the data on the laptop showed evidence of unethical and possible illegal business deals; Joe Biden and his supporters denounced the efforts as a smear.


In March, The Washington Post reported that two computer security experts had reviewed thousands of the emails purportedly from Hunter Biden’s computer and found they were authentic communications, based on cryptographic signatures from Google and other technology companies. It could not be determined for this article whether the laptop and its contents were useful in the Justice Department investigation.


The Biden probe has proceeded with relatively little fanfare in recent months amid the much larger and more public Justice Department and FBI investigation into whether Trump mishandled classified material at Mar-a-Lago — and a separate federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.


Trump and his allies have sharply criticized federal law enforcement over both those cases.


Questions about the younger Biden’s foreign business ventures have long dogged his father’s political life. Trump and his GOP allies specifically cite as ethical conflicts Hunter Biden’s past work for a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president, as well as his China-related business affairs. In a July 2019 phone call, Trump urged Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate both Joe and Hunter Biden — part of a pressure campaign that led to the first of Trump’s two impeachment trials in Congress.


In December 2020 federal agents sought to interview the younger Biden, leading him to publicly acknowledge that he was under investigation. “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” Hunter Biden said in a statement at that time.


Clark, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, said in his statement Thursday that he has “had no contact whatsoever with any federal investigative agent. Therefore, a rendition of the case from such an ‘agent’ is inherently biased, one-sided, and inaccurate. It is regrettable that law enforcement agents appear to be violating the law to prejudice a case against a person who is a target simply because of his family name.


Republicans have pressed the Biden administration to appoint a special counsel to take over the investigation into the president’s son, arguing the step was needed to ensure public confidence in the probe’s outcome. Under Justice Department regulations, any special counsel would still answer to the attorney general, however. Garland chose not to make such an appointment, instead keeping the case with Weiss, whose previous career as a federal prosecutor stretches back decades and includes violent crime and white-collar cases.


In the early days of the Biden administration, a Justice Department official said removing Weiss as U.S. Attorney as he was overseeing the Hunter Biden case would likely spark significant political backlash.


Biden will ask Trump's U.S. attorneys to step down, with a few exceptions


In April, after White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Biden “is confident that his son didn’t break the law,” Garland was asked at a Senate hearing about how the Justice Department is handling the case.


Weiss “is in charge of that investigation. There will not be interference of any political or improper kind,” Garland answered. “We put the investigation in the hands of a Trump appointee from the previous administration.”


The primary focus of the tax investigation has been whether Hunter Biden did not declare income related to his various business ventures, including overseas. The gun paperwork part of the investigation stems from 2018, a time period in which Hunter Biden, by his own account, was smoking crack cocaine.


In October of that year, Biden purchased a handgun, filling out a federal form in which he allegedly answered “no” to the question whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”


From the archives: How Ukraine put Trump and Biden on a collision course According to a book Hunter Biden later wrote about his struggles with substance abuse, he was using drugs heavily that year.


Prosecutions for false statements on gun-purchase forms are relatively rare, but they do happen. In the fiscal year that Hunter Biden purchased that handgun, Justice Department records show prosecutors received 478 referrals for lying on the forms. Of those, charges were filed in 298 cases, or about 60 percent of the time.


Federal agents refer to such cases as “lying and buying.” Historically, prosecutors have significant discretion to decide which ones are worth federal resources.


“A prosecutor can say they have bigger fish to catch, or they can decide to seek a deal,” said Joseph G. Green, a retired agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “As agents, we would always include as many charges as we could, but it’s ultimately up to the prosecutor to decide which ones they will bring.”

Pembantaian di Thailand: mantan polisi membunuh 24 anak dalam amukan pisau dan senjata

Pembantaian di Thailand: mantan polisi membunuh 24 anak dalam amukan pisau dan senjata

Pembantaian di Thailand: mantan polisi membunuh 24 anak dalam amukan pisau dan senjata








Seorang mantan polisi membunuh 34 orang, termasuk 23 anak-anak, selama amukan pisau dan senjata di sebuah pusat penitipan anak di timur laut Thailand pada hari Kamis, kata polisi, sebelum kemudian menembak mati istri dan anaknya di rumah dan mengarahkan senjatanya ke dirinya sendiri.







"Dalam salah satu korban kematian anak terburuk di dunia dalam pembantaian oleh seorang pembunuh tunggal dalam sejarah baru-baru ini, sebagian besar anak-anak yang meninggal di pusat penitipan anak di Uthai Sawan, sebuah kota 500 km (310 mil) timur laut Bangkok, ditikam sampai mati.", kata polisi.


Rentang usia anak-anak di pusat penitipan anak itu dari dua hingga lima tahun, kata seorang pejabat setempat.


Polisi mengidentifikasi penyerang sebagai mantan anggota pasukan yang dipecat dari jabatannya tahun lalu karena tuduhan narkoba dan dia menghadapi persidangan atas tuduhan narkoba.


Situasi saat peristiwa pembunuhan 37 anak oleh mantan polisi Thailand




Pria itu telah diadili pada hari sebelumnya dan kemudian pergi ke pusat penitipan anak untuk menjemput anaknya, kata juru bicara polisi Paisal Luesomboon kepada penyiar ThaiPBS.


Ketika dia tidak menemukan anaknya di sana, dia memulai pembunuhan, kata Paisal. "Dia mulai menembak, menebas, membunuh anak-anak di pusat penitipan anak Uthai Sawan," kata Paisal.


"Ini adalah pemandangan yang tidak ingin dilihat siapa pun. Dari langkah pertama ketika saya masuk, rasanya mengerikan," Piyalak Kingkaew, seorang pekerja darurat berpengalaman yang mengepalai tim responden pertama.


"Kami pernah mengalaminya sebelumnya, tetapi insiden ini paling mengerikan karena mereka masih anak-anak."


Sebuah van besar yang menurut polisi berisi mayat 22 orang, kebanyakan anak-anak, terlihat oleh Reuters berangkat dari kantor polisi menuju kota Udon Thani, 80 km (50 mil), di mana otopsi akan dilakukan.



AKU MEMINTANYA BELAS KASIHAN



Seorang fotografer Reuters juga melihat pada Kamis malam tubuh penembak, Panya Khamrapm, dipindahkan dalam kantong mayat dari sebuah van ke kantor polisi di provinsi tersebut.


Foto-foto yang diambil di pusat penitipan anak oleh tim penyelamat dan dibagikan kepada Reuters menunjukkan tubuh kecil dari mereka yang tewas diletakkan di atas selimut. Kotak jus terbengkalai berserakan di lantai.


"Dia menuju ke arah saya dan saya memohon belas kasihan kepadanya, saya tidak tahu harus berbuat apa," kata seorang wanita yang putus asa kepada ThaiPBS, sambil menahan air mata.


"Dia tidak mengatakan apa-apa, dia menembak ke pintu ketika anak-anak sedang tidur, kata wanita lain, menjadi putus asa.


Polisi mengatakan senjata penyerang adalah pistol 9 mm dan diperoleh secara legal.


Orang-orang berkumpul di luar pusat penitipan anak yang menjadi lokasi penembakan massal, di kota Uthai Sawan, sekitar 500 km timur laut Bangkok di provinsi Nong Bua Lam Phu, Thailand 6 Oktober 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha


Kepala polisi Thailand mengatakan pelaku telah mencoba masuk ke tempat itu dan sebagian besar menggunakan pisau dalam pembunuhan.


"Kemudian dia keluar dan mulai membunuh siapa pun yang dia temui di sepanjang jalan dengan pistol atau pisau sampai dia pulang. Kami mengepung rumahnya dan kemudian menemukan bahwa dia bunuh diri di rumahnya," Damrongsak Kittiprapas.


Dia mengatakan beberapa anak selamat, tanpa memberikan rincian.


Sekitar 30 anak berada di fasilitas itu - sebuah bangunan merah muda satu lantai yang dikelilingi oleh halaman rumput dan pohon palem kecil - ketika penyerang tiba, lebih sedikit dari biasanya, karena hujan lebat membuat banyak orang menjauh, kata pejabat distrik Jidapa Boonsom, yang bekerja di kantor terdekat pada saat itu.


"Penembak datang sekitar waktu makan siang dan menembak empat atau lima petugas di pusat penitipan anak terlebih dahulu," Jidapa


Penyerang memaksa masuk ke ruangan terkunci di mana anak-anak sedang tidur, kata Jidapa. Seorang guru yang sedang hamil delapan bulan juga termasuk di antara mereka yang tewas ditikam, katanya.


Pembantaian itu termasuk yang terburuk yang melibatkan anak-anak yang dibunuh oleh satu orang. Anders Breivik membunuh 69 orang, kebanyakan remaja, di sebuah kamp musim panas di Norwegia pada 2011, sementara korban tewas dalam kasus lain termasuk 20 anak di Sekolah Dasar Sandy Hook di Newtown Connecticut pada 2012, 16 di Dunblane di Skotlandia pada 1996 dan 19 di sebuah sekolah di Uvalde, Texas, tahun ini.


Krisis penyanderaan sekolah Beslan di Rusia pada tahun 2004 menyebabkan 186 anak dibunuh oleh sekelompok penyandera.


Perdana Menteri Prayuth Chan-Ocha diperkirakan akan mengunjungi wilayah tersebut pada hari Jumat. Dalam sebuah pernyataan di Facebook, dia menyebut amukan hari Kamis sebagai "insiden mengejutkan".


Prayuth memerintahkan semua departemen pemerintah untuk mengibarkan bendera nasional setengah tiang pada hari Jumat untuk menandai tragedi yang "telah menyebabkan kesedihan bagi seluruh bangsa", kata juru bicaranya Anucha Burapachaisri.


Raja Maha Vajiralongkorn dan Ratu Suthida akan mengunjungi keluarga para korban di Udon Thani pada hari Jumat, menurut sebuah pengumuman lokal.


Pemerintah mengatakan akan memberikan bantuan keuangan kepada keluarga untuk membantu menutupi biaya pemakaman dan perawatan medis.


Undang-undang senjata sangat ketat di Thailand, di mana kepemilikan senjata api ilegal diancam hukuman penjara hingga 10 tahun. Namun kepemilikannya tinggi dibandingkan dengan beberapa negara lain di Asia Tenggara. Senjata ilegal, banyak yang dibawa dari negara tetangga yang dilanda perselisihan, adalah hal biasa.


Penembakan massal di Thailand tetap jarang terjadi, meskipun pada tahun 2020, seorang tentara yang marah atas kesepakatan properti yang gagal menewaskan sedikitnya 29 orang dan melukai 57 dalam amukan yang membentang di empat lokasi.

Moscow: West Forced Kiev Into Rendering Negotiations With Russia Impossible

Moscow: West Forced Kiev Into Rendering Negotiations With Russia Impossible

Moscow: West Forced Kiev Into Rendering Negotiations With Russia Impossible


©Sputnik / Vitaly Belousov






In late July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia is ready to resume full-fledged talks with Ukraine, but that Kiev is unwilling to initiate the negotiating process.







Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated that the West has forced Kiev to adopt a stance where negotiations with Moscow are impossible.


“We have paid attention to a recent decree by the Ukrainian president to approve the decision of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on the 'impossibility' of negotiating with the Russian president,” Zakharova told reporters on Thursday.


She drew parallels with the Minsk peace agreements, saying that Kiev at first "pretended that it wants to clinch them, then that those accords were being concluded and implemented only to finally announce that it was not going to deal with them, misleading the international community.”


“Already at the time it was obvious that this was done at the behest of the West, which does not want a cessation of hostilities (in Ukraine) and intends to continue them,” Zakharova emphasized.


The statement comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underscored late last month that Russia remains ready to negotiate with Ukraine.


“President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] said that Russia, of course, retains its willingness to negotiate. But as the situation changes, so do the conditions, and we have repeatedly spoken about this. But in general, the principle remains the same: all the goals of the special military operation (remain the same),” Peskov told reporters.


This followed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying in July that Moscow is ready to resume full-scale talks with Kiev and the ball is in Ukraine's court, but that so far its leadership has clearly shown its unwillingness to launch the process.


The top Russian diplomat earlier said that if the West hopes to resolve the situation in Ukraine militarily, peace negotiations are useless.


“If (the West) wants not negotiations, but the victory of Ukraine over Russia on the battlefield, then, probably, there is simply nothing to talk about with the West, since this approach does not allow Ukraine to move forwards towards the peace process,” Lavrov pointed out. He underlined that it was Ukraine that earlier abandoned the Moscow-Kiev negotiations.


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that he is not ready for talks with Moscow, and the Kremlin stressed there are no such prospects at the moment.


On February 24, Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine after the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, which - along with the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, have since become part of Russia, appealed for help in defending them from Kiev's attacks.


Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time that the goal of the special operation is “to protect people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” He added that to implement the task, it’s necessary to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for "bloody crimes against civilians" in Donbass.

Thursday, 6 October 2022

3 Siswa Korban Tembok MTsN 19 Jakarta Roboh Diperbolehkan Pulang, 1 Siswa Alami Patah Tulang Lengan Kiri

3 Siswa Korban Tembok MTsN 19 Jakarta Roboh Diperbolehkan Pulang, 1 Siswa Alami Patah Tulang Lengan Kiri

3 Siswa Korban Tembok MTsN 19 Jakarta Roboh Diperbolehkan Pulang, 1 Siswa Alami Patah Tulang Lengan Kiri


Tembok sekolah MTsN 19 Jakarta di kawasan Pondok Labu, Jakarta Selatan, jebol dan mengakibatkan tiga orang tewas, Kamis, 06/10/2022. (Suara.com/Yosea Arga Pramudita)






Tiga korban luka akibat tertimpa runtuhan gedung sekolah MTsN 19 Jakarta, Pondok Labu Jakarta Selatan, pada hari Kamis sore, 06/10/2022, telah diperbolehkan kembali ke rumah usai mendapat perawatan di RS Prikasih. Adapun ketiga korban luka berinisial ADA, NIF, dan ND.







Kepala BPBD DKI Jakarta, Isnawa Adji, mengatakan ketiganya sudah diperbolehkan untuk pulang, namun korban berinisial ADA harus kembali melakukan kontrol ke rumah sakit lantaran mengalami patah tulang di bagian lengan kiri bawah.


“Yang luka-luka sudah bisa dipulangkan. Namun ada 1 orang berinisial ADA, mengalami patah tulang lengan kiri bawah. Hanya diwajibkan kontrol,” kata Isnawa, saat dikonfirmasi.


Isnawa mengatakan sedikitnya ada 3 siswa yang meregang nyawa. Mereka berinisial DSG, MAE, dan DAL.


Detik-detik siswa kakinya terhimpit dinding tembok MTsN Pondok Labu yang roboh




Mereka tewas di tempat usai tertimpa runtuhan bangunan sekolah. Adapun bangunan yang roboh merupakan bangunan yang berada di pekarangan sekolah.


Isnawa menuturkan insiden bermula saat hujan dengan intensitas tinggi mengguyur wilayah Jakarta. Saat itu, gorong-gorong di sekitar lokasi tidak mampu menampung debit air hujan.


Tembok tersebut juga tidak mampu meredam derasnya air. Para siswa yang menjadi kirban, saat itu tengah asik bermain dia area taman sekolah


Tembok sekolah MTsN 19 Jakarta di kawasan Pondok Labu, Jakarta Selatan, jebol dan mengakibatkan tiga orang tewas, hari Kamis, 06/10/2022. (Suara.com/Yosea Arga Pramudita)



“Bukan tembok ruangan kelas yang roboh,” ungkapnya.


Sementara itu, Polres Metro Jakarta Selatan hingga kini masih fokus dalam penanganan korban luka dan jiwa dalam insiden tersebut. Selain itu, kepolisian juga fokus terhadap pengamanan aset milik sekolah.


Dalam insiden yang terjadi sekitar pukul 14.00 WIB tersebut, tiga siswa kelas 8 meninggal dunia. Tembok yang roboh itu juga membikin luapan air membanjiri lingkungan MTsN 19 Jakarta.


"Saat ini kami fokus penanganan korban dulu dan pengamanan aset sekolah. Prioritas malam ini adalah mengamankan TKP dan mengamankan aset dan barang-barang di sekolah dan penyisiran di TKP," kata Kapolres Metro Jakarta Selatan, Kombes Ade Ary.