Eight Convicts Executed Despite World Leaders’ Appeal

Jakarta Globe, Apr 29, 2015

Indonesia carried out the execution of eight drug convicts early on April 29,
2015. (Antara Photo/Muhammad Adimaja)

Jakarta. Indonesia carried out the execution of eight drug convicts by firing squad on Nusa Kambangan, Central Java, early Wednesday despite multiple efforts from human rights activists and united appeals from world leaders to stop the killings.

Those people executed were “Bali Nine” duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, both Australians; Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian diagnosed with a mental illness; Raheem Agbaje Salami, Martin Anderson, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Okwudili Oyatanze of Nigeria; and Indonesian national Zainal Abidin.

Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso of the Philippines was saved from Wednesday’s execution after President Joko Widodo met with several activists and ministers early in the day following a report that a woman who recruited Veloso had surrendered herself to Philippine authorities.

A Frenchman, Serge Atlaoui, was initially part of this group to be executed, but he was granted a temporary reprieve after his lawyer managed to file a final appeal on the verge of the deadline on Thursday.

The executions were carried out despite last-minute appeals from Australia, France and the European Union to Joko to halt the planned action just hours before.

“It is not too late for a change of heart,” the two countries and the EU said in the statement.

“It is our honest hope that Indonesia can show mercy to the condemned prisoners.”

The statement says that the ideals of forgiveness and rehabilitation are just as fundamental to Indonesia’s justice system as they are to their own.

“In making this appeal, we ask that Indonesia also reflect on the impact on its global standing and international reputation. We support Indonesia’s efforts to secure clemency for its citizens abroad. Halting these executions would help its endeavours,” the two countries and the EU said.

Australia, France and the EU also expressed their support for the recent statement by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in which he called for Indonesia to refrain from carrying out the executions and urged Joko to urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment.

“We fully respect Indonesia’s sovereignty. But we are strongly opposed to the death penalty at home and abroad,” they said.

“These executions will not deter drug trafficking or stop others from falling victim to drug abuse. To execute these prisoners now would achieve nothing.”

Executioners and a total of 12 ambulances carrying coffins had been deployed to Nusakambangan prison island earlier on Tuesday.

“Each person will face 14 executors,” the Central Java Police chief, Insp. Gen. Noer Ali, said. “There are nine people in total,” he said, apparently unaware that Veloso’s executed would be delayed.

Pope Francis shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
right, during a meeting at the Vatican on April 28, 2015. (Reuters Photo/
Osservatore Romano)

Ban as a Western stooge

France, Australia and Brazil have been the most vocal critics of Joko’s decision to carry out the executions.

A senior lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has criticized the UN chief for pleading with Joko not to execute the nine drug convicts on death row, implicitly accusing Ban of being a Western stooge.

“The death sentence is a positive law that applies in Indonesia and the judges’ verdict is legal,” said Tubagus Hasanuddin, a member of the House of Representatives’ Commission I, overseeing international affairs.

“Ban Ki-moon’s stance has proven that the United Nations can easily be influenced by big countries like Australia and France.”

Tubagus said Ban’s statement, made through his spokesman last week, has undermined the UN’s authority.

“Capital punishment is still being used in many countries, like in the Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia and many other countries including the United States,” said Tubagus, a retired Army general who is now a lawmaker for Joko’s PDI-P.

“Why hasn’t Ban made a fuss about that, too? Is he upset because Jokowi criticized him at the Asian-African Conference?” he said, referring to the president’s statement calling for UN reform over its failure to eradicate global economic inequality.

Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, another PDI-P stalwart, has also said that Ban’s request would not change Indonesia’s stance on capital punishment.

“Even if there are a thousand UN secretary generals [making such a request], President Jokowi will still hold on to the court’s ruling,” Tjahjo said.

“The verdict was made by the judges, it is legally binding and has to be carried out.”

Michael Chan, the brother of death row inmate Australian Andrew Chan, is at
the dock crossings of Wijaya Pura, Cilacap, Central Java, on April 28, 2015.
(Antara Photo/Idhad Zakaria)

Last-minute moves

A Yogyakarta court earlier on Tuesday was said to have rejected the second appeal that Veloso had filed.

“The rejection for the second appeal filed by Veloso is based on the law that stipulates there will be no second appeal if the first one has been rejected,” Sleman District Court spokesman, Marliyus, told state-run news agency Antara.

The appeal was rejected only a few hours after it had been submitted by Veloso’s lawyer on Monday afternoon.

But Anies Hidayah of the Migrant Care said that with the surrender of Veloso’s recruiter it was clear that she was just a victim of human trafficking.

“We have conveyed it to President Jokowi, and I think this is a chance for her to escape execution,” she said after meeting with Joko.

Australian national Chan got married in prison on Monday, ahead of his execution, according to a media report.

Chan, a ringleader of the so-called “Bali Nine” gang, married his Indonesian girlfriend Febiyanti Herewila in the maximum-security prison on Nusakambangan island.

“They just got married. They held a simple wedding in the prison,” Chan’s brother, Michael Chan, told news portal Detik.com.

Michael said his brother had decided to hold a simple wedding because he knew he didn’t have much time left. “The time is limited and they knew there would be an execution on Tuesday. That’s why they decided to get married today,” the brother said on Monday.

Govt Starts Distribution of Social Benefit Cards

Jakarta Globe, Novy Lumanauw, Apr 28, 2015

President Joko Widodo, center, distributes the Indonesia Health Card (KIS) to
workers at a rubber plantation in North Sumatra. (Antara Foto/Septianda Perdana)

Jakarta. Tens of millions of disadvantaged Indonesians will start receiving the government’s much-touted Indonesia Health Card (KIS) and Indonesia Smart Card (KIP) from this week — months after the flagship social benefit programs were officially unveiled.

The government says the cards will improve Indonesians’ access to education and health services, and it aims to distribute them to more than 100 million people.

A total of 88.2 million people will receive the KIS card, which provides the nation’s poor and near-poor with access to healthcare.

Card holders will be entitled to treatment at public primary care clinics (puskesmas) and treatment in third-class hospitals. Benefits provided under the health card will be managed by the Social Security Agency (BPJS) but funded by insurance premiums of Rp 19,225 ($1.60) per person — paid by the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, 20.3 million people will be provided with the KIP card, which entitles students from underprivileged families to 12 years’ free education, as well as education resources and free higher education provided they pass university entrance exams.

Workers at a rubber plantation in North Sumatra were the first to get their hands on the KIS cards on April 18, but the government started national distribution on Tuesday.

Distribution of the cards, a campaign promise of President Joko Widodo, was slated for late 2014, but budget wrangling that was only resolved in January pushed the schedule back.

“We’ll start distributing the cards this week,” Joko said on Tuesday after disbursing 3,289 KIS cards to employees of state-owned shipping and dock company, Dok & Perkapalan Kodja Bahari, in North Jakarta.

The cards are similar to the Jakarta Health Card (KJS) and Jakarta Smart Card (JKP) implemented when Joko was governor of the capital,

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President Of Indonesia : We Need To Cooperate To Advance The Nation

Jakarta Globe, aacc2015.id, Apr 24, 2015

AACC2015, Bandung – The President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo invited all representatives of the Asian and African countries to start economic cooperation in order to increase the quality of life of their people.

“The Spirit of Bandung is to advance people’s welfare. Therefore, we must cooperate,” said President Joko Widodo at the height of the commeration of the 60th Anniversary of the Asian African Conference (AAC), in Bandung, on Friday (24/4).

According to the President, the Spirit of Bandung that was agreed by the founders should be a unifier that opens every economic cooperation potential. This should be a good momentum to produce various economic agreements in order to improve people’s welfare.

Still fresh in our memory is the struggle for independence by our predecessors. At that time, all Asian and African countries experienced the impact of colonialism. The Asian African Conference fosters a spirit of togetherness that was initiated by the Spirit of Bandung, to fight colonialism.

Previously, five countries were still dreaming of gaining independence from colonialism, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia. Their dream to gain independence inspired the birth of the Spirit of Bandung, the President added.

Through the AAC Commemoration, Joko Widodo invites all people of the represented countries to inflame the Spirit of Bandung in Asian and African in order to fight for peace, end poverty, and provide better welfare. (Photo: Host, Translator: Mia)

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"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader. Remember where you heard it... in a strange, esoteric meeting with a guy in a chair pretending to channel. [Kryon being factious... Kryon humor] Then when you hear it, you'll know better, won't you? "Maybe there was something really there," you'll say. "Maybe it was real," you'll say. Perhaps you can skip all the drama of the years to come and consider that now? [Kryon humor again]

These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes. .."

".. Many years ago, the prevailing thought was that nobody should consider China as a viable player on the economic stage. They were backward, filled with a system that would never be westernized, and had no wish to become joined with the rest of the world's economic systems. Look what has happened in only 30 years. Now, look at Africa differently …”

"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit.. ...."

Bandung Message Signed

Jakarta Globe, aacc2015.id, Apr 27, 2015

AACC 2015, Bandung – ndonesian President Joko Widodo, Chinese President Xi Jinping and King of Swaziland Mswati III symbolically signed the Bandung Message in the Merdeka Building in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.

The Bandung Message is one of three documents produced in the meetings held as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Asian-African Conference (AAC).

The three documents are the Bandung Message, the Strengthening of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) which contains an implementation framework and follow-up of the Bandung Message, and the Declaration of Palestine.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir has said China and Swaziland were selected to sign the Bandung Message along with Indonesia, based on particular consideration.

Nasir noted that China was selected to represent Asia to sign the document because it is a large and advanced country, while Swaziland was chosen to represent Africa because it is among the stable countries in the continent.

Besides the Bandung Message, the AAC also declared the document on the NAASP, and on the Declaration of Palestine which contains eight points, namely support for Palestinian independence,  appreciation of Palestine’s struggle and tenacity,  promotion of the two-state solution,  condemnation of Israel’s occupation,  condemnation of Israeli attacks,  support for the reconstruction of Gaza,  encouraging the realization of Palestine’s application for membership to the United Nations,  and pushing Asian and African countries that have yet to recognize Palesine as a country to do so. (Bambang Purwanto)

Bali Nine: diplomatic effort intensifies for Australians and other foreigners due to face firing squad

Along with one Indonesian, two Australians, four Nigerians, a Brazilian and a Philippines citizen could be shot as early as midnight on Tuesday local time

The Guardian, Michael Safi, Monday 27 April 2015

Protesters from the migrant worker community during a protest to support
Mary Jane Veloso. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images

Last-ditch diplomatic efforts to spare some of the eight foreign nationals scheduled to face a firing squad in Indonesia for drug offences have intensified as the end of a 72-hour notice period looms.

Along with Indonesian Zainul Abidin, four Nigerians, two Australians, a Brazilian and a Philippines citizen could be shot as early as midnight on Tuesday local time.

The condemned include Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, for their part in the plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin from Bali in 2005.

Hopes have been raised that 30-year-old Filipina Mary Jane Veloso could be spared following lobbying on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur by the Philippines president Benigno Aquino.

A statement on Monday from the Indonesian president Joko Widodo indicated he was sympathetic to her case and would consult with the country’s attorney general before “resum[ing] the conversation” with Aquino.

Supporters of Veloso claim the single mother was unaware her suitcase contained about 2.6kg of heroin when she flew into Yogyakarta in 2010. Philippines boxer and lawmaker Manny Pacquiao joined the calls to show Veloso clemency on Sunday.

Relations between Jakarta and Canberra have frayed over plans to execute Chan and Sukumaran. The Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has been trying to speak with Widodo by phone for seven weeks, and wrote a letter to the Indonesian leader at the weekend, appealing for mercy.

“This is not in the best interests of Indonesia, let alone in the interests of the young Australians concerned,” he said on Monday.

Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, warned on Monday that carrying out the mass execution would “harm Indonesia’s international standing”.

“I’ve called on the president of Indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency and I do not believe it is too late for a change of heart,” she said, raising the fact that Widodo has campaigned to spare Indonesian citizens on death row around the world.

“I ask no more of Indonesia than it has asked of other nations where Indonesian citizens are on death row, including for serious drug offences,” she said.

Protesters massed outside the Indonesian consulate in Sydney on Monday evening. The former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yuhyohono has cancelled an address to the University of Western Australia that was scheduled for Friday, citing “sensitive timing”.

Controversy also surrounds the Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte, whose lawyers claim suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, joined the chorus of opposition to the executions on Sunday, asking that Widodo “urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition”.

Serge Atlaoui of France won a temporary reprieve at the weekend after officials agreed to wait until his legal challenges have been exhausted. The French president, Francois Hollande, had warned of severe “consequences with France and Europe” if the Frenchman were killed.

The Indonesian president has otherwise refused to be swayed by the international pressure, pledging to clear the country’s death row of drug offenders as part of a crackdown on the “national emergency” of narcotics. Official figures are unreliable, but it is estimated around 41 foreigners are currently on death row in Indonesia for drug crimes.

Six people, including five foreigners, were shot in the first round of executions on 18 January, among them a Dutch and Brazilian citizen. Both countries pulled their ambassadors from Indonesia in retaliation.

It was revealed on Monday that the king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, had personally appealed to Widodo to spare the Dutchman, 52-year-old Ang Kiem Soe.

Brazil has also refused to accept the credentials of the new Indonesian ambassador.

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Indonesia defiant as UN leads condemnation of looming executions

SBY Talks Up the Positives of Globalization

Jakarta Globe, Apr 25, 2015

Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, right, defends the 'thought
revolution' campaign of President Joko Widodo, left.(Rumgapres Photo/Abror Rizki)

Jakarta. Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono emphasized the beneficial affects of globalization on Indonesia on Saturday following a week in which President Joko Widodo called for a reorganization of international institutions to reflect the rise of emerging markets.

“Don’t always view globalization as a threat. See it as an opportunity,” Yudhoyono said on Saturday in Jakarta. “This country must advance in harmony and stability.”

The former president also lent his support to Joko Widodo’s “mental revolution,” a loosely defined idea calling for a change of national mindset.

“His idea aims to change how we form the national character. I agree with the president completely,” Yudhoyono said.

Speculation continues to surround whether Yudhoyono intends to remain in front-line politics. The former president has cut a more vocal public figure of late, telling journalists he was considering retaining the chairmanship of the Democratic Party.

Indonesia defiant as UN leads condemnation of looming executions

Yahoo – AFP, Nick Perry, 26 April 2015

Children of Filipina drug convict and death row prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, Mark

 Darren, 6 (lower front C), Mark Daniel, 12 (C), and other relatives arrive in Cilacap

 to visit Nusakambangan maximum security prison island on April 25, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Azka)

Indonesia on Sunday signalled it was determined to push ahead with the execution of eight foreign drug convicts, despite a growing wave of global condemnation led by United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.

Authorities on Saturday gave formal notice to the eight -- from Australia, Brazil, Nigeria and the Philippines -- that they would be executed by firing squad imminently, along with an Indonesian prisoner.

However, a Frenchman also on death row for drug-related crimes was granted a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure on Jakarta.

Protesters hold signs reading "Save 

Serge Atlaoui" on April 25, 2015 during a

 rally near the city hall in Metz, eastern

 France, in support of the French national 

on death row in Indonesia for drug

trafficking (AFP Photo/Alexandre Marchi)

The group have been moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where Indonesia puts condemned prisoners to death, and Jakarta says the executions could be as early as Tuesday although no official date has been set.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo told Indonesian news channel MetroTV that preparations for the executions were "100 percent" complete.

The convicts recently lost appeals for mercy to President Joko Widodo, who has taken a hard line against drug traffickers and refused to back down on the executions despite mounting international criticism.

UN chief Ban added his voice to appeals for the convicts to be spared.

"The secretary general urges President Joko Widodo to urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition," a spokesman for Ban said.

Australia, which has mounted a sustained diplomatic campaign to save its two citizens in the group, also renewed appeals following Saturday's news.

"Nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young Australians are executed," said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

"I again respectfully call on the president of Indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency. It is not too late for a change of heart."

Widodo refused to comment on Sunday.

France has stepped up pressure on Jakarta in recent days, with President Francois Hollande warning of "consequences" if its citizen, Serge Atlaoui, is put to death.

The warning came shortly before it was announced that Atlaoui had won a temporary reprieve to allow him to pursue a further legal appeal.

Brazil vowed to press Indonesia not to execute its national Rodrigo Gularte for humanitarian reasons, saying he suffers from schizophrenia.

No backing down

Australian drug traffickers Andrew 

Chan (left) and Myuran Sukumaran 

wait in a holding cell during their 

2006 trial in Denpasar, Indonesia

 (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)

Despite the appeals, Indonesia has shown little sign it is willing to back down and the foreign ministry indicated Sunday that Ban's statement would not change their plans.

"We note the statement by the UN but we also note that there was no similar statement made when recently two Indonesians were executed," ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told AFP, referring to the execution this month of Indonesian domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

He added that it was "not the intention of Indonesia" to damage ties with other countries.

The executions have been delayed for weeks, with Indonesia coming close to carrying them out in February, but then agreeing to let final legal appeals be resolved following an international outcry.

However Saturday's announcement signals they are finally going ahead.

While Jakarta has not announced a date, lawyers for two of the convicts -- the Filipina and one of the Nigerians -- said they had been informed it would be on Tuesday.

Authorities have said they are awaiting the outcome of the appeal by the sole Indonesian in the group, which could come as early as Monday.

Relatives of the condemned prisoners have been rushing to Cilacap, the town that serves as the gateway to Nusakambangan.

The family of the Australians, heroin traffickers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, arrived Saturday to visit the men, crossing over to Nusakambangan accompanied by embassy officials.

"We ask that the president please, please show mercy," Sukumaran's brother Chinthu told reporters.

Echoing his plea, Chan's brother Michael said, "He's the only one that can stop it."

"It's not too late to do so," he added. "I please ask the president, please show mercy."

Indonesian troops conduct security exercise

 around Nusakambangan maximum security

 prison island, seen in the background, off

 central Java island, on April 24, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Azka)

Relatives of Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, including her sons aged six and 12, went to see her Saturday and again on Sunday, while families of Gularte and one of the Nigerians also visited.

Veloso's lawyer Edre Olalia said her legal team had filed a request for a second judicial review of her case and Indonesian authorities had promised to let all appeals run their course before the executions.

"We are not giving up, we will never give up," Olalia told reporters in Cilacap, adding that Veloso was "an innocent mother".

Gularte's lawyer Ricky Gunawan said his legal team would also submit a request for a second judicial review of his case on Monday as well as medical proof of his mental illness.

He said he met Gularte to discuss the legal process "but unfortunately his mental capacity is not adequate to understand about situation now he is facing".

Three of the African traffickers are confirmed as being from Nigeria. However it is not clear whether the fourth holds Ghanaian or Nigerian nationality.

Indonesia has some of the world's toughest anti-drugs laws. In January it executed six drug convicts including five foreigners, sparking international outrage.

Belt and Road key to future of Africa-Asia cooperation

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-04-26

Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Asian-African Summit 2015 in Jakarta,
April 22. (Photo/Xinhua)

At the Asian-African Summit or Bandung Conference 2015 held in Jakarta, Indonesia, President Xi Jinping of China delivered a speech calling for win-win cooperation between Asian and African counties. China still has an important advantage in its huge labor-intensive industry to help Africa's developing counties develop their economies, China Securities Journal reports.

Xi said China will push for cooperation between Asian and African nations, pledging to give zero tariff treatment to 97% of categories to most developing nations which have diplomatic ties with China and will continue to offer subsidies to developing counties without any political conditions. China hopes all countries in the region can work together to on its New Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Belt and Road) initiatives and join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), pushing for joint maintenance of regional and world peace and stability.

In 1955, representatives from 29 Asian and African countries and regions gathered in Bandung to discuss independence, peace and economic prosperity. The Bandung Conference opened a new chapter in the developing countries' struggle for national independence, economic development, social progress and a more balanced international order.

Beijing's Belt and Road initiative will explore the deeper-level cooperation potential and expand cooperation room among related countries along the routes. For developing countries, insufficient funding for infrastructure is one of the most difficult problems. The AIIB aims to make up this shortfall. So far, the AIIB has attracted 57 nations to be its founding members.

The Belt and Road will involve territory occupied by around 4.4 billion people, accounting for 63% of the world's population, with total economic output of about US$2.2 trillion, representing 30% of the world's total. The nations along the routes are mostly new and emerging economies. The Belt and Road will build on existing foundations to push for more complementary cooperation to expand regional cooperation.

China and Pakistan have jointly promoted the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as one of the important projects in building the Belt and Road, triggering rising investments.

Due to rising worker salaries, China has gradually lost its advantage in labor costs, with a large volume of labor-industries destined to gradually move out of the nation. While Africa, which has a population of over one billion, will be the only place in the world that can receive China's huge labor-intensive industry, especially as the average per capita salary in African countries is only about one-fifth to one-tenth of China's.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version) 

“… The Future of the Illuminati

Now, I want to tell you something that you didn't expect and something I've reported only one other time. What about all of the money that the Illuminati has? There are trillions and trillions of euro in banks, under their control, waiting. What are they going to do with it and where are they going to use it? It's still here. They're waiting.

This group is waiting for something to happen that they know is going to happen, for they see it coming as much as I do. However, I would like to tell you something that they don't expect. With awareness comes generational shift. Those in charge of this money will not always be elders. The indigos eventually will have it.

They are waiting for something to happen in Africa - the building of a new civilization, a continent that has nothing to unlearn. Once Africa is cured, once it's ready, a new civilization can be created from the ground up. Africans will be ready to learn everything about building a foundation for the most advanced civilization ever and will do it with the most modern and inventive systems available. Eventually, this new continent will even beat the economics of China.

This is the prediction and always has been, and the Illuminati's money will fund it. Did I say the Illuminati will fund it? [Kryon laugh] The Illuminati's money will fund it, but there is a difference from the past, dear ones. The ones who inherit the positions in the Illuminati will be a different consciousness. Listen, they are not suddenly going to be the ones who have the good of everyone in their hearts - hardly. They want to make money, but what they will see instead is a way to make a great deal of money through this investment. In the process, it will automatically help hundreds of thousands, and they will be at the beginning, the foundation, that builds the new Africa. The new African states of unification eventually will create a continent stronger than any of the others, and it will have one currency. The resources alone will dwarf anything in the world. ...”

An Artistic Homage to the Awesome Powers of Nature

Jakarta Globe, Tunggul Wirajuda, Apr 26, 2015

Mount Tambora’s eruption, the ‘Kuldesak Tambora’ exhibit features performances
and works of art inspired by volcanic explosions.  (The Peak Photos/Tunggul Wirajuda)

Dancers from the Wayang Kulit Gunung Wong Urip troupe made their way onto the stage amid the din of the gamelan orchestra and modern drums.

Booming explosions from the instruments recreated the sensations of a volcanic eruption and amplified the sense of panic emanating from the white-and ashen gray-clad performers. Their bewilderment was palpable as they scrambled to get away from the implied threats of lava and volcanic rock.

Dressed and moving in a combination of Javanese and Balinese styles, the dancers wailed and vainly implored for their lives to be spared, before succumbing to poisonous gas and collapsing on stage.

The scene is part of the troupe’s fictional take on the destruction of the West Nusa Tenggara kingdoms of Tambora, and its neighbors Sanggar and Pekat, during the eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815.

The performance is part of “Kuldesak Tambora” (“Tambora’s Culdesac”) an exhibition at the Bentara Budaya cultural center in Central Jakarta, revisiting the disaster on its 200th anniversary. An epochal moment in Indonesian history, the volcanic eruption killed an estimated 70,000 to 90,000 people, leaving their remains and that of their kingdoms beneath layers of lava and volcanic ash, aptly earning them the nickname “Indonesia’s Pompeii.”

Wayang Kulit Gunung Wong Urip’s performance then took a stoic turn.

“Its unfortunate that the [Indonesian] government and the public continue to be ignorant about the lessons of Tambora’s eruption. Our studies and research in volcanology are behind that of Western countries, making them more scientifically aware of the natural phenomenon,” lamented the wayang in his soliloquy. “Researchers from various Western universities flock to Indonesia to research the country’s volcanoes. On the other hand, most Indonesian universities don’t even have a volcanology department.”

 (JG Photo/Tunggul Wirajuda)

Bentara Budaya director Hariadi Saptono echoed the performer’s sentiments, noting that Indonesia has the world’s largest number of volcanoes with over 400 mountains, 127 of which are still active. He also pointed out that Western records of eruptions and their impact have been more comprehensive than those of their Indonesian counterparts.

“The West was far more advanced than Indonesia [at the time of Mount Tambora’s eruption], even as countries like Great Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal occupied various parts of country,” Hariadi said. “The eruption was heard by British army personnel as far away as Bengkulu, Makassar [South Sulawesi], and Padang [West Sumatra]. This also showed the inroads these foreigners had made in Indonesia since they looted the keraton of Yogyakarta under Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1811.

“Western records also note that [1816] was a year ‘without summer,’ as volcanic ash from Tambora shot up into the stratosphere and blocked out the sun across Europe and the United States.”

While the disaster brought about widespread famine, failed harvests and other agricultural and economic hardships, the Tambora’s eruption was most felt in popular culture of the time.

“British writer Mary Shelley was inspired to write her classic book ‘Frankenstein,’ which came about from a contest to alleviate boredom due to the glum weather. Meanwhile, German inventor Karl Drais invented the bicycle as an alternative form of transportation after crop failures caused the widespread starvation of horses,” Hariadi said.

“Weather abnormalities caused by ash clouds inspired painters like J.M.W. Turner to create landscape paintings featuring never-before seen shades and hues of striking orange.

 “On the other hand, Indonesian sources are nearly silent about the disaster, except for a short story in writer Ganes T.H.’s adventure series ‘Si Buta Dari Goa Hantu’ [‘The Blind Man From the Haunted Cave’] entitled ‘The Werewolf From Mount Tambora.’

“Equally mystifying, particularly to Western researchers, is the habit of a volcano stricken area’s inhabitants to come back to the land instead of evacuating it, as is the custom overseas. While this might seem like madness to the Western world, it reflects the Indonesian people’s resilience and in the face of disaster.”

Nonetheless, the toll of volcanic eruptions that occurred after Tambora, like the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatau to the more recent eruptions of Mount Merapi in 2006 and 2010, play a prominent part in the exhibition. In one corner, a macabre memento of a volcano’s power is seen in the remains of a water buffalo that was stripped to its skeleton by the blast.

But the most ominous souvenir of all is perhaps a small portrait of the late Mbah Maridjan, a shaman who paid for his attempts to appease Mount Merapi with his life.

“Kuldesak Tambora” serves as a frightening reminder of both the calamitous impact of volcanoes and the awesome, destructive powers that brew in our own backyard.

Related Article:

"Eruption" - Apr 15-16, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New

DPRK (North Korea) to establish 2nd int'l tourist zone

English.news.cn  2015-04-24  Editor: huaxia

File photo shows DPRK's first international tourist zone Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang.

(Xinhua/KCNA)

PYONGYANG, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has declared a second international tourist zone, the official KCNA news agency reported Thursday.

The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly on Wednesday promulgated a decree, announcing the establishment of the Mubong special zone for international tourism.

The special zone will cover some areas of the Mubong workers' district in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province, the decree said.

The DPRK Law on Economic Development Parks and other regulations on foreign investment will apply in the special zone, said the KCNA.

It is the second international tourist zone set up in the DPRK after the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang international tourist zone established in June 2014.

Peace in the Korean peninsula was the main focus of the Democratic People’s 

Republic of Korea during AAC plenary sessions at the Jakarta Convention Centre, 

Wednesday (22/4). To realise such peace, support from Asian and African countries

 is necessary.

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Peace In Korean Peninsula Requires Asian African Support

60 years after first Bandung Conference, a very different world

Want China Times, Editorial 2015-04-25

Xi Jinping, center left, is flanked by Joko Widodo as they walk to the meeting
venue for the Asian-African Summit in Bandung, Indonesia, April 24. (File photo/CNA)

Around 30 leaders of Asian and African countries gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to mark the 60th anniversary of the first Asian-African Conference of 1955, which led to the Non-Aligned Movement.

Both President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Shizo Abe of Japan attended the event, even though the two countries have not been actively involved in the past. This showed the two rivals' efforts to seek allies and forge ties.

The main goal of Xi's appearance at the event, which was mainly attended by Chinese officials at the level of the deputy foreign minister in the past, is to enhance China's global influence as the country is promoting the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the "Belt and Road" trade route initiatives.

Xi urged Asian and African nations to work together to promote the building of a community of common destiny for all mankind in his speech at the summit, calling for trade and investment liberalization and cooperation among developing countries.

It is important for China to ease other countries' concerns about its construction in the disputed South China Sea, when the country is seen as an emerging power that is stronger and has greater potential than Russia.

Abe, on the other hand, was seeking to ease tensions created by Japan's involvement in territorial disputes and controversies surrounding its actions in World War II and a proposed amendment of the country's postwar pacifist constitution, while reminding the world about its important role in the Asia-Pacific region.

The small influence of the Non-Aligned Movement that started 60 years ago shows that only countries with real strength can change how the global politics work. This year's summit in Bandung is perhaps a new landmark in which the world sees the rise of a new power and the reshaping of global balance of power.

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Xi joins Asian, African leaders in Bandung commemoration

Interview: Ex-Singapore official: Zhou Enlai was center of Bandung Conference in 1955

Jokowi Calls for Reform of UN at Asian-African Conference

President Joko Widodo, center, chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, as

 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, looks on at the opening of the

60th Asian-African Conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. (AACC2015/Prasetyo Utomo)