‘Mini-Brains’ Not Miniskirts the Issue in Indonesia: Pramono

Source : http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/mini-brains-not-miniskirts-the-issue-in-indonesia-pramono/508042

The statement by Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali that an anti-pornography task force was planning to regulate the heights of skirts continued to reap scorn on Thursday, including from one critic who said the problem was not the miniskirts but rather "mini-brains."

Deputy House of Representatives Speaker Pramono Anung said regulating skirts was not a state priority.

"The state or the government should not regulate miniskirts. Our society respect equality and does not hold women in contempt," he said.

He also said that the state had other priorities to deal with.

"What needs to be regulated are mini-brains and mini-morals," Pramono said.

"I do not agree with a regulation on miniskirts."

Golkar Party lawmaker Nurul Arifin also attacked the stance of the presidentially established anti-pornography task force, which includes Suryadharma as a member.

"Do not turn women into political toys that can be subordinated and discriminated against. The state has, in a structural way, acted unfairly against its citizens in cases like this," Nurul said.

She said the heights of skirts had no link to the mounting cases of rape and sexual harassment against women. Suryadharma's stance was "very discriminatory," Nurul said.

Nurul added that she pitied the male members of the task force, who she said seem to have their lust determined by the shortness of women's skirts.

Lugina Setyawati, a sociologist from the University of Indonesia, expressed disappointment with the task force's approach.

"It appears that the gender-mainstreaming programs initiated by the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection has not progressed or even remained stagnant. It has regressed," Lugina said.

She added that the dress one wears should not be used to gauge the morality of the wearer.

"The responsibility over moral propriety is shared by both genders," Lugina said. "Why should it always be the female who has to bear the responsibility?

"Why should women be asked to improve themselves and the way they dress while men are not asked to do something about the pornography that is clearly inside their heads?"

One of the few voices of support for Suryadharma came from the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), with its fatwa chief, Ma'ruf Amin, saying the institution supported regulations on women's attire.

"MUI is in support of a regulation on the way women should dress. In religion there is a rule that women should cover their aurat [entire body except the hands and face]," Ma'ruf said.

the proposal about Cocos Island is not being discussed at ministerial level in Australia

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Senator the Hon. Bob Carr

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL CAVANAGH ON CONNECT ASIA, RADIO AUSTRALIA

March 30, 2012

E & O E – PROOF ONLY

 

BOB CARR: We think Burma's acceptance of election observers at all is a big step forward, and should be welcomed as a sign of increasing transparency.

 

There's certainly more to be done, but I would like to put a positive interpretation on this. The presence of election observers and international media at this weekend's by-election is a very important step forward.

 

I think we should remind ourselves of how far we've come with Burma.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: So you're confident that it still is very open, and transparent, and free and fair?

 

BOB CARR: Well, there are going to be observers there to judge that, and we'll continue to liaise with all the stakeholders. That's not only the Government of Burma, of course, but the opposition, the range of opposition forces and with our partners in ASEAN.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: There are differing views from the members of the ASEAN countries and the wider region towards Burma. Do you notice though, is there more of a shift to a uniform stance towards Burma?

 

BOB CARR: I think the message from ASEAN is probably that the Government of Burma is taking risks as it opens up the system and takes steps - important steps - towards democracy. And we should be aware that as well as the stick of sanctions, we've got the carrot of lifting those sanctions.

 

And again, I'd emphasise, and it's reinforced by the talks I've had with ASEAN nations, Burma's come a long way. It's going to be far from a tidy or easy situation, but we should emphasise the fact that there have been hundreds of political prisoners released, there are by-elections taking place and Aung San Suu Kyi is a candidate. And there has been a reform of labour laws, developed in consultation, I understand, with the ILO.

 

These are big steps. We've come a long way, and we're hoping that the elections are going to be of the type that can be endorsed by all the participants and that the official observers are able to tick them off as being a sound, democratic process.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: While you were in Cambodia, you visited the so-called killing fields. How much did that reinforce to you the need for the Khmer Rouge tribunal?

 

BOB CARR: Very much, and we visited the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and saw a short moment of the trial. We, for a short period, observed the evidence given by Duch, who was regarded as the chief jailer of the regime, against Khieu Samphan.

 

Australia has put another $1 million into the trial, because we see it as being hugely significant, sorry - $1.6 million. And we emphasise that the trial has got to be seen as something independent of Government.

 

But the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, in which these trials are being held, is very important not just for this country, which has made such progress in moving beyond the civil war, but for humanity as a whole.

 

 MICHAEL CAVANAGH: Well, you met with Hun Sen and, also, other senior Government officials. You, yourself, have been quoted as saying the trials are proceeding on a robust basis and it's an effective example of international and national action.

 

 At the same time, as you point out, Australia has poured money into the tribunals. Is that because there is a worry that maybe there is not that impetus to continue and pursue those people that should be put on trial?

 

 BOB CARR: No. In discussing this with Cambodian ministers, I was reassured the trial process is continuing.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: Is there any concern at all that we've had two of the foreign judges step down from the tribunal in the last 12 months, one of them - the most recent - citing interference from his Cambodian counterpart? Is that a concern?

 

BOB CARR: Of course it is, and that's why I took it up and emphasised in my discussions with the Cambodian Government that it's very important it be seen as an independent process.

 

And, of course, we underlined the fact that, uniquely, this process is a joint international Cambodian exercise. That means judges from inside the country and administrators from inside the country sitting with their international counterparts.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: In Vietnam, the issue of the South China Sea and the tensions there, Vietnam's one of the countries pushing its claims, along with China and the Philippines. Did you discuss that at any length and did you notice any change in the position?

 

BOB CARR: No, the position of the claimants on the South China Sea is clear to us, it's been explained to us. We don't take a position on those respective claims - on those competing territorial claims being made in the Sea.

 

But we do see a need to clarify and pursue those claims, and accompanying maritime rights in accordance with international law, including the UN Law of the Sea Convention.

 

We've got a big stake in this, because 60 per cent, over 60 per cent of Australia's international trade is with North and South-east Asia, and transit through the South China Sea. So it is important, we believe, that agreement between China and the ASEAN states last year on guidelines, be pursued. Those guidelines implement the declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Seas, and we'd encourage China and the ASEAN countries to work towards a binding code of conduct, and refrain from actions that could increase tensions.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: Given that, and the greater military links now between Australia and the US, do the Vietnamese see that as a possible way of countering China specifically in relation to the South China Sea?

 

BOB CARR: I'm not sure I could place that interpretation on what the Vietnamese said. They restated their position, and I restated ours. I think that's where we can leave it at this stage, as we look towards this being dealt with in the context of that declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea, and the agreement between China and ASEAN states, which set that up.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: And you've also been in Singapore, met with the Prime Minister there, and Singapore has also moved to have closer defence links with the US, the US personnel in Northern Australia. Was that discussed in any way of combining the two, and widening it throughout the region?

 

BOB CARR: No, it hasn't been, it hasn't been. It's important to emphasise that, as my colleague, the Defence Minister Stephen Smith has said, the decision on the marine taskforce rotating through the Northern Territory is one that is a natural growth of the ANZUS relationship. And it's got to be seen in context with the greater access to RAAF bases in the Northern Territory for US aircraft, and in the longer term, greater naval access to HMAS Stirling. But no, we haven't pursued that with our Singaporean partners.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: How much did you need to explain to any of the countries about the latest tie-up with the US, and the defence links there?

 

BOB CARR: It came up when I was in Vietnam and we touched on it in Singapore, but it didn't require a great deal of explanation. I pointed out, as I've pointed out every time I've discussed this, that it's a rotating presence, it's marines being trained, conducting exercise in the Northern Territory. And of course being available for disaster relief, and for cooperative exercises with ASEAN countries, in perfecting our delivery, our performance, of disaster relief.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: At the same time that you're talking about this, the issue of Cocos Islands being used as a launching area for US drone flights, that also presents this image of greater ties between Australia and the US, and focusing very much on the region. Did that also figure in any of the talks?

 

BOB CARR: No. What I can say is that this morning the Indonesian Foreign Minister rang me seeking information about this, and I was able to say to him that the proposal about Cocos Island is very much a long term prospect that is not being discussed or decided at ministerial level in Australia.

 

 Indeed when Kurt Campbell, the US Assistant Secretary of State, was here a week ago, it wasn't raised by him, and he didn't seek to raise it.

 

 Stephen Smith said the night before last on 7.30 that the Cocos Islands are seen as a potential strategic asset for Australia, but there's been no conversation about what we might do, and we would certainly keep in touch with our regional partners, like Indonesia, as our thinking develops.

 

But at this stage, there's a lot of speculation about this, and there is no decision by Australia, and no request from the United States, about this sort of use of Cocos Island.

 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH: Did the Indonesian Foreign Minister express a view, or did he just want it explained to him?

 

BOB CARR: The Indonesian Foreign Minister, entirely reasonably, wanted some information and I was happy to tell him that we have no proposal before us, no request from the United States, that there's been no discussion at ministerial level in Australia. Obviously that island is a potential strategic asset, but there's been no conversation about what we might do with it.

 

And I can say that we would certainly be in contact with our regional partners and friends as our thinking develops, and it's entirely reasonable for Indonesia to seek information.

 

Ends

Saving Face : Acid Attack Practice is so rampant in Pakistan : Bilal Khar is a murder and criminal

Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 12:25 PM

Subject: Saving Face : Acid Attack Practice is so rampant in Pakistan : Bilal Khar is a murder and criminal

I can't say much...what a barbaric practice! Bilal Khar is a murder and criminal

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/pakistani-acid-victim-commits-suicide-slideshow/acid-attack-victim-fakhra-yunus-commits-suicide-photo-155214449--abc-news-topstories.html

http://news.yahoo.com/acid-attack-victim-fakhra-yunus-commits-suicide-155214145--abc-news-topstories.html

A woman who became the disfigured face of the shunned and forgotten women of Pakistan committed suicide, jumping from her sixth floor apartment window in Italy last week.

Fakhra Yunus was only 22 when her husband of three years, Bilal Khar, a member of Pakistan's politically elite Khar family, allegedly attacked her while she slept, the Asian Correspondent reported.

When Yunus and Khar met, she had been working as a prostitute, and the two soon married in 1998.

But almost immediately, Khar began abusing her, according to reports. She suffered through almost three years of abuse before she ran away. Khar soon allegedly located and attacked her with acid in 2000, but he has not been arrested and maintains his innocence.

The Washington Post noted that Yunus became the face of violence against women in the country after Pakistani activist Tehmina Durrani, author of "My Feudal Lord," helped Yunus escape to Rome and get treatment for her disfigurement. Durrani is known to speak out against the injustices women face in Muslim society. Over the years, Yunus underwent 38 facial reconstructive and plastic surgeries after the attack.

Durrani wrote of Yunus in The News Daily, "I have met many acid victims. Never have I seen one as completely disfigured as Fakhra. She had not just become faceless; her body had also melted to the bone. Despite her stark and hopeless condition, the government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was not in the least God-fearing. She was provided nothing...but disdain...and trashed."

Acid attacks are prevalent in Southeast Asia. According to the New York Times' Nicholas D. Kristof, who reported in 2008 that attacks were then at an all-time high in Pakistan, they are often the work of husbands who attack their wives as a form of revenge for refusing sexual advances or other proposals.

More than 7,000 deliberate burning attacks against women were recorded by the Progressive Women's Association of Pakistan in just two Pakistani towns between 1994 and 2008, according to Kristof's report. Only 2 percent of those cases were successfully prosecuted, he said.

Yunus' death came only a month after the documentary, "Saving Face," won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The film, which documented the women who have suffered such attacks, was said to have given Yunus hope for the future.

While plastic surgeons are continuously making strides to improve reconstructive plastic surgery procedures for victims like Yunus, it's difficult to imagine the emotional and psychological scars that remain, Dr. Malcolm Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told ABCNews.com.

"Our face defines us, provides information about our age, gender, and ethnicity, and is central to communication and our recognition by others," said Roth. "Individuals that fall outside of appearance norms due to severe facial deformity or disfigurement often experience psychological suffering and social isolation. We can only hope that awareness of the impact of these heinous crimes and the devastating suffering for the victims will discourage such further acts."

Of Yunus' 38 reconstructive procedures, experts say plastic surgeons likely resurfaced her face with skin grafts or free flaps. Dr. Garry Brody, professor of plastic surgery at the University of Southern California, said plastic surgeons are able to take tissue from an unburned area of the body, stretch it out with a balloon, and then use one sheet to cover the entire face.

"The face's expression is largely diminished, but it's quite an improvement," said Brody. "The survival rate is high for the procedure."

Psychological treatment typically goes hand-in-hand with reconstructive surgery, Brody said. "It is usually a team approach."

Nevertheless, the psychological scars may remain, even if the physical scars have been mended.

In the Washington Post article on Yunus,Durrani quoted an Italian professor who assisted in Yunus' recovery, "I tried to mend her physical scars, but was unable to heal her soul."

Yunus' body was buried Sunday, according to News Daily, which also reported that she left a written message saying that she was committing suicide because of the silence and atrocities committed by Pakistani leaders.

Cocos Islands will be a place for US military to operate a news version of Global Hawk?

Source : Reuters via Yahoo News

Australia could one day allow U.S. spy flights to operate from a remote Indian Ocean island, Defense Minister Stephen Smith confirmed on Wednesday, supporting the U.S. pivot to Asia but likely upsetting Australia's biggest trading partner, China.

Smith said the possible use of Australia's remote Cocos Islands territory had been raised with the United States, but the proposal was not under active consideration and was not among current plans for Canberra to strengthen military ties with Washington.

"We view Cocos as being potentially a long term strategic location. But that is down the track," Smith told reporters on Wednesday.

The Washington Post said the Pentagon was interested in using Cocos Islands, a series of atolls about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) west of Australia and south of Indonesia, as a new base for surveillance aircraft and allowing spy flights over the South China Sea.

China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan all claim territory in the South China Sea.

Cocos Islands could be an alternative to a U.S. base on the British territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which faces an uncertain future beyond its lease which expires in 2016, the Washington Post said.

Australia is a firm U.S. ally but counts China as its biggest trading partner and is careful not to antagonize it.

In November, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined his pivot to Asia and agreement with Canberra for a de-facto base for 2,500 marines near the northern city of Darwin.

Australia and the United States also agreed to allow greater U.S. air force access to northern Australian bases, and to give the U.S. navy greater access to an Indian Ocean naval base in Perth.

Smith said Australia had been open with China about its plans and its posture review which is likely to recommend more military assets move to the country's north to protect resource projects.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked about the possibility of U.S. spy flights out of the Cocos Islands, said cooperation was the "common aspiration and trend" in the region.

"We hope the region's relevant countries can uphold the new security concept of equality, common development, coordination, mutual benefit, and try to uphold safety for all, and relevant countries should adapt to this trend of the times," Hong told a regular briefing in Beijing.

"A BIT WORRYING"

The Washington Post, quoting U.S. and Australian officials, said the Cocos Islands, within flying range of both Southeast Asia and South Asia, could be ideal for not only manned U.S. surveillance aircraft but for Global Hawks, an unarmed, high-altitude surveillance drone.

The U.S. Navy is developing a newer version of the Global Hawk, known as the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance drone, or BAMS, that is scheduled to become operational in 2015.

Smith played down chances of a U.S. base on Cocos Islands, and said while Australia hosted joint facilities and visiting U.S. forces, it had never allow the United States to operate an independent base in Australia.

He said Cocos Island was not one of the government's priorities with its stronger military cooperation with the United States.

"We regard an enhanced presence by the U.S. in the Asia Pacific region as a force for peace, as a force for stability and a force for prosperity," he said.

Strategic analyst Hugh White, head of defense and strategic studies at the Australian National University, said Australia risked being caught up in a dispute between its strongest military ally and its biggest trading partner.

"All of this relates to the U.S. pivot to Asia. The U.S. pivot to Asia is all about the rise of China," White told Australian radio, adding it would be a mistake if Australia joined any U.S. push to try to contain China.

"It means that Australia is for the first time really since the end of the Vietnam war, starting to be seen by the United States as a strategic asset in its strategic competition with China.

"That is, of course, a bit worrying for Australia, because China is our biggest trading partner. Our future is going to be one where we are increasingly pulled between our old ally and in the United States and our economic future in Asia

http://m.yahoo.com/w/news_america/australia-open-u-spy-flights-indian-ocean-island-020907609.html?back=%2Fworld%2F&.ts=1332933153&.intl=us&.lang=en&.ysid=uJLGhyty4qN05diIJ5p8pL0v

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